Pokemon: a bad influence?

Have you ever thought about how messed up Pokemon is? Let's take a look at some common themes:

Delinquency: At age 10, young men and women are allowed, if not encouraged, to strike out on their own, armed with a trusty bag of Pokeballs and some PBJ sandwiches. Does anyone go to school in the Pokemon world? Because it sure isn't encouraged. How do they have an economy?

Risktaking: Children run into patches of tall grass seeking to get into fights with vicious rats, angry birds, and poisonous snakes. We don't even have to mention the part about Rock Tunnel. They are also allowed to engage large groups of armed thugs, while the police do nothing.

Animal cruelty: Trainers capture wild animals, confine them, and then train them for battle. They also participate in black-market trading of these commodity animals. Selective breeding is encouraged. Is there anything wrong with this picture? Good thing that Kanto doesn't have PETA.

Extortion: When a trainer is defeated in battle, he "loses" half his money, and it is given to the victor. If they want to keep it, too bad! The winner still has a legion of viciously trained attack Pokemon at his disposal.

Gambling: No one stops the kid from entering the casino. No one stops him from getting a coin case. No one stops him from putting coins in and gambling. In fact, the player is encouraged to purchase coins in order to win more black-market animals and goods from the casino.

And they worry about violence in videogames.