Pokemon: Annoying Kid Show or Heinous Depiction of Animal Cruelty?

[Nuclear Unicorn]

Another thread in the Environmental Forum reminded me of this pet peeve I have with the TV show (the thread itself is way cool. Go check it out: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=115x245049).

Perhaps I'm being overly sensitive BUT...

...there's something about a show that has the so-called hero snatching wild animals out of their natural ahbitats to be stored in tiny, confining capsules only to be let out fight other captured animals until one of them is rendered unconscious.

WTF? Who wrote this show? Michael Vick?

I despised it as a child and now that I'm a little older and more politically aware I think it's a disgrace that the inherently cruel nature of this show is a mass-marketing the most callous of behaviors.

What next? A show depicting children gleefully pulling the wings off of flies and burning ants with magnifying glasses?