A recent online post from the US Department of Homeland Security has prompted calls from angry fans for The Pokémon Company to initiate legal action against the US federal department.
If you’ve somehow missed it, the post — entitled ‘Gotta Catch ‘Em All’ — contains a video mixing the Pokémon anime’s famous intro with footage of law enforcement agents handcuffing and detaining people.
The use of the Pokémon IP to promote the wave of recent, controversial arrests by ICE agents in the US has some fans calling on the IP owners to take legal action, with replies tagging official accounts on X and referencing Nintendo’s notoriety as a litigious company protective of its brands.
However, speaking with IGN, The Pokémon Company’s former Chief Legal Officer Don McGowan says that he believes a lawsuit is unlikely, mentioning specifically the green-card status of many of TPC’s executives in the US and a general aversion to publicity:
“I don’t see them doing anything about this for a few reasons. First, think of how little you see [The Pokémon Company International]’s name in the press. They are INSANELY publicity-shy and prefer to let the brand be the brand.
“Second, many of their execs in the USA are on green cards. Even if I was still at the company I wouldn’t touch this, and I’m the most trigger-happy CLO [Chief Legal Officer] I’ve ever met. This will blow over in a couple of days and they’ll be happy to let it.”
Referencing Pokémon’s famous catch phrase, the minute-long video plays the theme tune to the ’90s anime in its entirety, cutting between clips from the intro featuring Ash Ketchum and footage of doors being blown open with explosives.
‘Department of Homeland Security’ appears in a font similar to the Pokémon logo, followed by blurred footage of Border Patrol agents detaining people. A number of Pokémon TCG-style card mock-ups are shown at the end, displaying convicted individuals with a weakness to Ice-type.
