There has been a call for Pokémon to take legal action against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the government due to a recent video that incorporates elements from the well-known franchise.
The DHS is facing backlash after releasing a video on social media that integrates imagery and music from Pokémon alongside scenes of ICE raids.
The video, posted on X (formerly Twitter), features the famous tagline ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’ in its description.
This phrase is well-known in the Pokémon series, where Ash Ketchum and his companions strive to capture various Pokémon to achieve the status of ‘Pokémon Masters’.
In contrast, the DHS video uses this theme alongside images of immigration operations and arrests, paired with clips from the Pokémon series.
The video concludes with mock Pokémon cards displaying mugshots of detained individuals, their alleged offenses, nationalities, and the term ‘illegal’ as a listed weakness.
This appropriation of a children’s show has been met with strong disapproval from social media users, with many advocating for legal action from Nintendo, GameFreak, and Creatures, all stakeholders in The Pokémon Company.
One user commented: “Hey @Pokemon, please sue the hell out of the government,” and another queried the Pokémon X account: “You guys cool with them using your IP for this?”
Another post read: “We need to channel all of the world’s energy into @NintendoAmerica and @Pokemon to sue the F***** S*** out of Homeland Security for unauthorized visual representation!”
A further post declared: “NINTENDO!!! SUE THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!!!”
Additionally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection participated in the discussion, sharing a GIF of Pikachu donning a hat with the caption: “Border Patrol’s newest recruit.”
Nintendo is known for vigorously protecting its intellectual property. Last year, along with The Pokémon Company, it initiated a patent rights infringement lawsuit in Japan against Pocketpair over the creation of Palworld.
This is not the first instance of a government account facing criticism over its social media activity.
Earlier this year, ChatGPT offered a feature that allowed users to generate images in the style of Studio Ghibli films.
The White House later shared an image of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez’s arrest, stylized in the Studio Ghibli fashion.
UNILAD reached out to Nintendo and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.