Morality
Pokémon has been criticized by some Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Christian concerns over Pokémon have primarily addressed perceived occult and violent themes as well as the concept of "Pokémon evolution" (which some relate to the theory of evolution), which is said to go against the Biblical creation account in Genesis,[27] which the majority of Japanese, not adhering to Christianity, do not believe in.[28] [29] The Vatican, however, has countered that the Pokémon trading card game and video games are "full of inventive imagination" and have no "harmful moral side effects".[30] In the United Kingdom, the "Christian Power Cards" game was introduced in 1999 by David Tate who stated, "Some people aren't happy with Pokémon and want an alternative, others just want Christian games." The game was similar to the Pokémon TCG but used Biblical figures.[31] In 1999, the Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League pressured Nintendo to edit the image of the Pokémon trading cards for Golbat and Ditto because the cards depicted a left-facing manji, which the League interpreted as antisemitism, although these cards had been intended for sale only in Japan with Nintendo planning to release edited versions in North America the following year.[32] In 2001, Saudi Arabia banned Pokémon games and cards, alleging that the franchise promoted Zionism in violation of Muslim doctrine.[33][34] Pokémon has been accused of promoting materialism.[35] In 1999, two nine-year-old boys sued Nintendo because they claimed the Pokémon Trading Card Game caused their problematic gambling.[36]