Do Pokémon actually face consequences for their actions?

Imagine the scene: You’re sitting in court, shaking with nerves. A vile crime has been committed against you. One of your prized possessions has been taken, but the police managed to apprehend the culprit and return it. Now, you need to testify against the criminal who caused you so much emotional stress. You hear the door open behind you and freeze, knowing that walking down to the defendant’s table is the very person who has put you in therapy for months. You turn, slowly, and see him. Wide eyes glaring at you, the Meowth takes his seat. 

Something I’ve been thinking about for a while now is whether or not Pokémon are actually beholden to law and order. There’s evidence across the anime and the games to suggest both possible options, yet there’s no real, concrete evidence of anything definitive. Are Pokémon actually treated equally to humans for their actions?

My first thought when this question cropped up in my head was an immediate “yes”.” In the anime, Meowth is very clearly wanted by the authorities for the part he plays in Team Rocket’s operations. Sure, he’s doing this because he’s basically been raised by a criminal organisation, but he’s also responsible for his own actions. This isn’t the case of somebody training a dog to be violent. Meowth is able to talk, he’s able to make decisions, and he’s clearly responsible for himself. There’s an argument to be made that he’d be treated as somebody who has been groomed into a gang, but he’s absolutely still wanted for his crimes. 

But then I stopped to think. Pokémon are treated as property, right? In the same way that pets are. That implies that they have no more autonomy than an inanimate object. So maybe Pokémon in a modern age aren’t beholden by law, and Meowth is actually an exception. Or perhaps only trainer Pokémon that actually make their own decisions are considered as being under the thumb of the law. 

But there’s also an interesting kink here. We know from Pokémon Diamond, Pearl & Platinum’s Japanese releases that Pokémon and Humans used to marry. This implies people and Pokémon had equal rights, which also implies they were beholden to the same laws. So, is it the case that once Pokémon were equals, but over time we’ve regressed? Does racial inequality exist in the Pokémon universe? Did something happen that caused Human/Pokémon relations to turn sour?

We also know from several sources that Pokémon have been used as tools of war in the past. The most major example of this is Pokémon X & Y, where lore tells of a war that happened thousands of years ago in the region of Kalos. Both people and Pokémon were involved in this war, and several died (ignore the fact that this also means Pokémon CAN die, we’re not here to discuss that, I do not have time), but what is unclear is if they were essentially tools of war or if they were acting of their own volition. In Pokémon Red & Blue, Lt. Surge tells you of his time in the army, when he used electric-type Pokémon to seemingly commit war crimes on his enemies. Did Nuremberg-esque trials happen afterwards? Were the Pokémon able to say that they were just following orders? 

I think the most obvious answer here, judging by all of this evidence, is that no, Pokémon aren’t beholden to the law. Wild Pokémon kidnap people all the time, and it’s not like they’re actively being hunted as revenge. They’re also not being put down, like wild dogs.  People seem to just sigh and get on with their day. Meowth is an exception because he’s just annoyed the wrong members of law enforcement, but if a Lucario punches you in the face, you’re not able to get him imprisoned for assault, because it would be like doing the same thing to a dog for biting you. But this raises another question. One far darker. Are feral Pokémon put down? I’ll leave you with that one to mull over.

So next time you’re walking through a route, and you get accosted by a Rattata, think before you act. If you’re not careful, you might get shanked by it, and it won’t face any consequences for letting you bleed out in the tall grass.