Pokémon Rules in the United Kingdom

[Zaphod Scotsman]

For those of you who don't remember, I plan to write a Thomas/Pokémon crossover. However, while doing so, something made me realize that Pokémon laws would have to be put in place. Please don't ask what it was I don't remember. All the same, I do remember watching a video revealing a few secrets about the Pokémon Anime that were written in a light novel by the original heardwiriter, some of which dissatisfied me.

But before we go off topic, I'll list the 9 rules I came up with, as well as an explanation on them:

Rule 1: A person can start training Pokémon at the age of 10, but cannot challenge gyms until they graduate from secondary school. Further more, all trainers must have a license. This guarantees they will not harm their Pokémon in any way. In addition, all schools must teach students how to train Pokémon.

According to that novel, people in the Pokémon world are considered adults once they are ten. The U.K. would never allow that: they'd want their trainers to be well educated, not sloppy jerks. As for the gym challenging thing, well, honestly, I've no idea what,add me think of it. There were going to be exceptions added, but I decided they were irrelevant. For those of you who aren't from the U.K., secondary school is their version of high school.

Rule 2: Humans and Pokémon can never attack each other. Wild Pokémon are an exception since they can't be controlled by anybody other than themselves, but trainers must only fight back using their Pokémon unless none are able to do so. In addition, using a sword to fight a Scyther is allowed, as long as the sword isn't used to kill it.

I'm not sure I need to explain this one, but using a sword against a Scyther, well, I got that from the Black Knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and yes, during my absence, I've become a fan of Monty Python. However, I would appreciate it if nobody asked me why: I'm not shy of telling, but it has nothing to do with the current subject. Now let's move on before we go completely off topic.

Rule 3: One-hit KO moves are allowed, but must only be used as a last resort. This also goes for moves with 100% accuracy.

Not sure what made me come up with this rule, probably a desire of having everybody fight fair.

Rule 4: No trainer can have only one type of Pokémon on their team. Having Pokémon of only one type is like discriminating against other races: racist. If you are a gym leader, only one Pokémon on the team can only have a primary type: all others must have their own separate secondary type.

That's just how I feel about having only one type. Of course, gyms can't follow that sort of thing so I added the different secondary types for that purpose.

Rule 5: Pokémon battles can be held at any time, but if one is held during a class that doesn't focus on training Pokémon, the battling students must first sign a contract that says they will stay after school to finish up any work they missed. They must also finish all homework before battling. Furthermore, no Pokémon battles are to be held during work hours. In addition, an official can deny permission to cancel out any battles for any reason they see fit.

You know how kids dislike doing extra work? Well, this law was added to give them a reason NOT to have battles during a non-Pokémon class: most kids would rather wait until after school than have to do extra work. As for work hours, well, I don't think I need to explain that.

Rule 6: There is no rule 6.

Ok, I don't know what you're thinking, but I can guess: what's the point of not having a rule 6 if there's 9 rules? Even if it wasn't, you might still be confused about this. Well, once again Monty Python provided inspiration, their Bruces sketch to be exact. If you wish to watch it, well, here:

Rule 7: Pokémon are not to be abused. Furthermore, they cannot be used to aid in crimes. Any instances of abusing Pokémon will lead to their license being terminated. Should the offender not be a trainer, the punishment will be different.

There's definitely no need for this one to be explained. As for the different punishment, well, I'm not so sure myself actually: that was a last minute addition I added before creating this thread. I was originally going to tell you to use your imaginations, and yes, I just did. But anyway, doing so felt wrong.

In any case, coming up next:

Rule 8: If the trainer feels the need to release a Pokémon, the Pokémon must consent to said release first.

Pokémon have feelings too you know.

Rule 9: Gym leaders must be 18 or older and cannot bribe challengers to lose: doing so and being caught will result in the Gym Leader being fired.

The revelation that gym leaders will be fired if they lose three challenges in a row, to the point where they will bribe challengers to lose, really got me annoyed: all battles should end naturally in my opinion. Besides, Seasons 13-16 of Thomas and Friends have used a three strikes formula one time too many. As for the age, well, refer back to the first rule.

Final Note: Failure to comply with these rules will result in great punishment.

No need for that one to be explained, let's just say crime doesn't pay.

Well, there you have it: all twelve Pokémon rules of the U.K. Of course, there may be more, and I'll gladly listen to any suggestions to the current rules or any additional rules. Whether I add them or not, well, I'll have to see.

So, what do you all think? Are these rules reasonable or a little unfair?

 

[Beth Pavell]

You do need to make distinction between a law (Essentially) enforced by the government and a rule enforced by a sporting body. The other thing I would advise against is coming up with a rule simply to suit your own preferences as the author. Rule 9 looks like you're looking for a sensible reason to justify a preference of your own, for example, and it doesn't really work.

If these are intended to be reminiscent of UK laws, then the first place to look is UK law. UK law absolutely does regulate for animal welfare - that's why you can be prosecuted for mistreating an animal, that's why I had to buy my tortoise from a licensed breeder, and most awkwardly for Pokémon, that's why traditional sports like bull baiting and cock fighting are illegal.

You'll also run into problems unless you decide what the status of pokémon is in relation to humans. In our world we make a distinction between humans (Embodied in the concept of human rights) and other living things. It matters especially in a legal sense, in terms of what language is used to describe relations between humans and animals. There's a reason why in the UK you cannot be charged for murder if you callously kill an animal - murder is something a human does to a human.

Final note, Rule 10 makes no sense. The rules of taxonomic naming apply to species, not individuals. The reason is to prevent confusion by ensuring that there is only one name in use for any given species. The justification is off - It's a bit like saying there's a rule saying I can't teach my dog to guard sausages on the basis that it's difficult to do so

 

[Zaphod Scotsman]

You do need to make distinction between a law (Essentially) enforced by the government and a rule enforced by a sporting body. The other thing I would advise against is coming up with a rule simply to suit your own preferences as the author. Rule 9 looks like you're looking for a sensible reason to justify a preference of your own, for example, and it doesn't really work.

Thanks for the advice.

If these are intended to be reminiscent of UK laws, then the first place to look is UK law. UK law absolutely does regulate for animal welfare - that's why you can be prosecuted for mistreating an animal, that's why I had to buy my tortoise from a licensed breeder, and most awkwardly for Pokémon, that's why traditional sports like bull baiting and cock fighting are illegal.

Thanks for the info.

You'll also run into problems unless you decide what the status of pokémon is in relation to humans. In our world we make a distinction between humans (Embodied in the concept of human rights) and other living things. It matters especially in a legal sense, in terms of what language is used to describe relations between humans and animals. There's a reason why in the UK you cannot be charged for murder if you callously kill an animal - murder is something a human does to a human.

Once again, thanks for the info.

Final note, Rule 10 makes no sense. The rules of taxonomic naming apply to species, not individuals. The reason is to prevent confusion by ensuring that there is only one name in use for any given species. The justification is off - It's a bit like saying there's a rule saying I can't teach my dog to guard sausages on the basis that it's difficult to do so

Well, to be fair, I have had real-life experience: one of my dogs was given a name she wasn't familiar with and never responded to it.

 

[lucarioknight56]

In the real world, I'm sure people try to rename their own pets, even if it may end unsuccessfully.

Most of your laws seem fine, but I think that laws 9 and 10 seem more like preferences to avoid confusion and injury, rather than laws. Law imply that they will be enforced by the government, and if you fail to do so you will suffer a penalty. I think someone would be pretty confused and angry to see that putting on lipstick gave them a fine, or by attempting to rename their Pokemon. Both are rather...small quibbles, to say the least.

 

[Zaphod Scotsman]

In the real world, I'm sure people try to rename their own pets, even if it may end unsuccessfully.

Most of your laws seem fine, but I think that laws 9 and 10 seem more like preferences to avoid confusion and injury, rather than laws. Law imply that they will be enforced by the government, and if you fail to do so you will suffer a penalty. I think someone would be pretty confused and angry to see that putting on lipstick gave them a fine, or by attempting to rename their Pokemon. Both are rather...small quibbles, to say the least.

Well, to be fair, law 9 does say it isn't illegal. But you do have a point. What would you suggest for replacement laws? In addition, what do you think about rule number 6?

Edit: You know what? I'll just remove those two laws.

 

[Beth Pavell]

You might also find this useful:

Offences - InBrief.co.uk

 

[Ghostsoul]

Because Pokemon is a Fantasy World (Low Fantasy but still) I think stuff like 'rules' and 'laws' within certain countries within the Pokemon World (apart from those canonically explored, those being: Japan, France's and America's counterparts although American laws can still vary by state, and I'm assuming the Pokemon world's version of such places do too). Can be your decision, as long as they make sense and have logical reasons for being there in the setting and worldbuilding of the fic itself. If you want to go more in detail, then perhaps go into the history of these laws to explain them. This makes even more sense for AU fics since then the entire universe can be adapted based on what you want to write.

 

[Beth Pavell]

If the crossover is primarily set in Thomas the Tank Engine, then it makes most sense to base them heavily on UK legislation since Sodor is a fictional island in the Irish Sea

 

[Ghostsoul]

If the crossover is primarily set in Thomas the Tank Engine, then it makes most sense to base them heavily on UK legislation since Sodor is a fictional island in the Irish Sea

It's still your choice though, if you want to reference real life heavily, go ahead but the Pokemon universe tends to change a lot about how real life laws, politics etc. Work in the real world anyway.

 

[Zaphod Scotsman]

Well, I recently remembered the reason I decided to create the rule about nicknames, and not just because of Basilosaurus: it all started with the main Pokémon of the story, a female Charmeleon named Cooper. Cooper was originally going to be a boy, but I decided I wanted more female protagonists, so I made Cooper a girl. However, the rule was created so that there was a reason Cooper couldn't be renamed.

In any case, I also recently remembered that laws can be repealed: it happened with the 18th Amendment in America. So let's just say the law about nicknames not being able to be changed used to be valid, but was repealed at the beginning of the 21st century.

 

[Zaphod Scotsman]

I’ll be honest I had to check to see if double posting was allowed before posting this one. Anyway, I’ve decided to remove rule 10 and that’s due to a change of direction with my stories: I’ve decided all legendary Pokemon in my stories will now be just that, legendary. It’s possible to see them but they won’t be caught because their existence is meant to be debated. The only exception to this is Mewtwo, but then again Mewtwo was artificially created so I’m not sure if he counts as legendary. And yes, I know Mewtwo has no gender, I’m just thinking of the one from Movie One.

 

[Ereshkigal]

If you want some fun, include a few weird laws that haven't been repealed yet (some of which may or may not be enforced).

Examples:

It is legal in York for an Englishman with an electric type to Thundershock a Scot, except on Sundays.

No person shall, in the course of a business, import into England, berries which he knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect, are from Poland.

It is an offence to be drunk and in charge of tauroses and miltanks in England and Wales.

It is illegal to handle a goldeen in suspicious circumstances.

Operating a rapidash, miltank, or steam engine while intoxicated shall carry either a prison sentence or fine.