"Lumiose City-centric story gestures at the darker sides of living in a metropolis, but it usually does so in an all-ages-appropriate way that might not register for the kids playing the RPG. The supposedly harmonious city's urban redevelopment plan includes anti-homeless benches ? If we're supposed to be living alongside Pokémon in the Paris-inspired city, why do they live in walled-off Wild Zones? Yeah, they thankfully have free healthcare,"
"Rancun, a Lumiose City cop, asks if you can bring him a Shuppet to help with his investigations. In his mind, the ghost-type Pokémon's ability to sense negative emotions such as jealousy and vindictiveness is something that could help him identify criminals before they have a chance to commit a crime. If you've never encountered stories like the cyberpunk anime Psycho-Pass , there are entire subgenres of dystopian fiction about how police over-surveilling citizens based almost entirely on vibes can lead to an oppressive police state."
Lumiose City presents a metropolitan setting where redevelopment and public policy produce visible social contradictions. The city implements anti-homeless benches and confines Pokémon to walled Wild Zones despite ideals of human–Pokémon coexistence. Public healthcare exists alongside visible economic strain, with figures like Nurse Joy handling multiple roles. Law enforcement imagines recruiting Pokémon to detect negative emotions and preempt crime. The "Investigating with Shuppet" quest foregrounds an officer's plan to use a ghost-type Pokémon for surveillance and yields a humorous outcome when the Pokémon does not behave as the officer expects.
Read at Kotaku
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