Pokemon Crystal (2000): Part 6

When you arrive at Goldenrod City, you are enticed by the bright lights of the casino. Encouraged to spend all of your money on gambling, you are told that you first need to acquire an official coin case, and you learn that one has been lost in the underground passage. With a sinking feeling, you head down, and are not overly surprised to be attacked. After one battle, one man tries to reassure you:

The hiker in question is the man who attacked you after declaring that he had 'plenty of energy' and who called you cold when you refused to give him your number. A good guy? Certainly not.

You decide that on second thoughts, the casino might also have some creepy people hanging around, so you swiftly beat the gym leader and leave, but not before she teaches you another move:

Now you have three ways to attract even more attention to yourself. These just make you feel worse. Is this really your new life, to 'attract' and 'lure' and 'entice' in order to be exploited? With a heavy heart, you leave the city.

On your way through the city gates, the guard asks you to do him a favour:

Already carrying two strange eggs, you don't want to get involved with yet another unknown package. At least you can refuse this request to be a runner.

Carrying on north past the city, one man decides to use you to impress his girlfirend:

 

Showing that he's hot stuff by attacking a child... the screen going black certainly doesn't help, and it's left to the imagination what exactly he did to you to demonstrate his 'hot stuff'.

A little later you find another police officer, who proves to be more unsympathetic than the first even as he can see you being attacked in front of him. :

You give up trying to talk to the police any more. Clearly they only hear what they want to hear.

Perhaps aware that the police officer can see you, the person who most recently attacked you asks to exchange numbers, claiming that he wants to know everything that you do and attempts to reassure you that it's safe:

 

Unconvinced, you flee north into the park, where a young woman is surprised that you weren't ogling her. Is she so twisted that she was hoping that a child would be sexualising her?

 

You run through the park, and find the way blocked by a 'wiggly tree'. A young girl watching the tree tells you that it 'jumps up' when it is wet, and you realise that you can only get past by squirting the tree. A clear metaphor for ejaculation. The girl is unable to squirt at it, but her sister will lend her the ability to do so if she can defeat the town gym leader.
 

 
You find the girl's adult sister, who lends you her squirtbottle after telling her sister that approaching the tree is dangerous. She's naturally unwilling to let her younger sister be violated, but seems to have no qualms about sending you.

 

On leaving the city to return to the 'wiggly tree', your 'friend' Liz phones to see how you are. Before you can attempt to tell her what's going on, she rubs in your face how much she enjoys the physical contact with her animal:

Nauseated by the thought of being nuzzled by anything, you run to the tree, squirt it, attack it as it comes alive, and are thanked by a nearby hiker who gives you a gift. Clear allegories for ejaculation, erection, and voyeurism.

 

At the crossroads you could turn to Violet City, but that would only take you back to the creepy Professor Elm and Mr Pokemon, and your unsympathetic mother. Instead you head further north towards the next city.

As you approach Ekruteak City, you hear a cracking noise. You pull out the egg that Professor Elm's assistant gave you, and watch as it hatches:
 

You hold this baby creature in your arms, and wonder how simple your life would be if you hadn't forcibly been given this in the first place.

Pokemon Crystal (2000): Part 5

The next morning, you leave behind the horrors of Violet City. As you follow the road south, you are called into battles by strangers: one young woman, Liz, appears friendly, so you decide to tell her your story.

 

So far, so unsympathetic. At least Liz offers you the choice of whether or not to exchange phone numbers. Feeling that a friend is exactly what you need right now, you agree.

A little further on, a young man engages you in battle, and afterwards insists that it was your fault:

Here we have a perfect example of victim-blaming in the Pokemon world. Feeling ashamed of all that has happened to you, now a stranger is insisting that it's your fault, implying that you're 'asking' for it by making eye contact. Most of the time you try to walk past people unnoticed and they still approach you, but you still feel as though you are to blame.

Still, at least some people will take no for an answer:

A little further on, you reach a cave. With no other option but to turn back, which you've established would be useless, you enter alone. Inside, plenty of people approach you, but you take notice of what one man has to say to you:

What could be happening? A deep, dark cave would be the perfect place for any kind of criminal activites. Rituals? Abuse? Maybe the very people who you've now become involved with are part of the group who secretly meet in the cave. Nobody seems interested in going to find out, but you decide to see what's going on, in case there's another child being hurt. Your path, however, is blocked.

Unable to swim, and without any creatures that know how to swim and would let you ride on them, you can't find out. Uneasy, you phone the only person who's offered anything resembling friendship, Liz:

A dark cave, the way blocked by water, and with no phone signal. Nobody would be able to call for help in a place like this, which makes it perfect for any criminal group. Still worried about the strange loud noises from the depths of the cave, you sadly have no choice but to leave.

Finally, you leave the cave and enter the sunlight. Perhaps the people on this side of the cave can help you.

Of course, the first person you meet attacks you. After the battle, he requests your phone number, and reacts badly when you refuse:

Are there more vulnerable children in the mountains? Just how many rings are there exploiting children, or is everything part of one big network?

Tired, you reach Azalea Town. The exit to the town is blocked, so you enter the house nearest to the exit to find out where to go from here. The old man inside, Kurt, immediately makes you an offer regardless of your gender:

Your fears are put to rest for now as he tells you that a criminal organisation has kidnapped the town's mascot animals, and he goes off to confront them. His little granddaughter is left alone:

Besides her grandfather and her pet, she clearly has no contact with anybody else. Why is her grandfather keeping her so isolated? Since just the two of them live alone (you later learn that her father is working away), she has nobody to talk to about anything that could be happening, except for her grandfather's customers who come for 'balls'. Is this little girl trapped, like you?

You find Kurt down the town well, and he sends you to defeat the criminal organisation, Team Rocket. You soon learn that they are a ruthless gang who will stop at nothing for profit:

However, their worst crime so far seems to be chopping off the tails of the town mascots and selling them as delicacies. Horrific, yes, but certainly less so than the horrors against children that have been subjected to you by adults in a position of trust. While the world focuses on the ones dressed in black, who hurt animals, the crimes against children continue with nobody willing to listen.

Finally, you manage to defeat the leader of the group. They flee, and Kurt brings you back to his house where he presents you with a gift:

The idea of wanting to attract any more attention to yourself is horrifying, and you flee. As you reach the town exit, you are stopped by none other than the red-haired youth who'd attacked you back in Cherrygrove City. After insulting you, he again attacks you, and then threatens you:

Fearful, you race through the town's exit, with another victim-blaming statement from an old woman:

You find yourself in the dark woods. The way through is blocked by a tree, which you can only cut through after defeating the town's gym leader. Avoiding looking at Kurt's house on your way, you race into the gym and defeat the leader as quickly as you can before heading back to the woods. On your way, the town woodsman makes you an odd proposal:

Unsure what to make of this - your experiences with adults as of late has made you distrustful, and you doubt that it's a charcoal maker you'd be 'apprenticed' as - you cut through the tree and continue through the woods, with yet another threat made against you when you accidentally disturb someone:

Finally, you reach the end of the woods. You see a lady with a giant butterfly, perhaps she'll be sympathetic and will help you. Without a word, however, she teaches you a new move:

First the Lure Ball, now a move to attract more unwanted attention to yourself. You're only a child, you don't want to entice anyone, why does nobody seem to realise this? Nobody gives you the chance to tell your story: on the contrary, they encourage you to keep going with whatever it is you're doing:

On your tiring walk, you see a sign for the animal daycare. Perhaps the people there will look after you and let you rest. The old couple who run the place, however, have other plans...

Without having the chance to refuse, you are given another egg. Clearly this is the couple of whom Professor Elm and Mr Pokemon spoke, the ones who are clearly involved in something bigger. You're still unsure what the first egg is. Without waiting to find out more, you leave, and run straight into a policeman.

Finally, someone who can help! But no matter what you say, he only repeats that he's looking for suspicious individuals. You know plenty, but he won't listen. He's standing right beside the daycare, but clearly has no interest in investigating the people inside. Have they paid him off? Or are the police so convinced that a child has nothing important to say? After a while, you give up. You carry on towards the next town, with more people attacking you and one suspicious offer to 'make money':

You finally see the bright lights of Goldenrod City ahead of you. A thiriving monopolis, perhaps here you'll find somebody who will listen and take you seriously for once, you think to yourself as you enter the city.