Pokémon fans are showing support for Hong Kong democracy by redesigning iconic 'Mons, but Nintendo is keeping quiet. In case you haven't caught up with world events, protests have become the new normal in Hong Kong. Residents have been locked in a fight against the government as they try to push back against mainland China asserting its one-party rule.
Although Hong Kong is technically now a part of communist China, the city had previously been provided historic freedoms allowing it to elect its own representatives. Those privileges have slowly been eroded, culminating in the recent protests as residents try to restore democracy to the business capital of Asia. Those protests have turned deadly in recent weeks as the police have been authorized to use live firearms. One protestor was hospitalized after being shot by a traffic cop at a protest on Sunday.
The internet has been one of the main tools that Hong Kongers have used to protest the government. Besides posting scenes on social media, gamers have also been showing their support of Hong Kong in various ways. A Hong Kong Hearthstone player declared his support of the protest during a live-streamed tournament last month, resulting in Blizzard banning that player and taking back all of his tournament winnings. The backlash against Blizzard was intense and lead to a protest movement that redesigned the Overwatch character Mei as a Hong Kong supporter.
Now, Pokémon is getting in on the action. The hashtag #PokemonforHK is circulating on Twitter with artists redesigning Pokémon as symbols of the Hong Kong protests. The movement has been dubbed the Bauhinia Regional Pokédex. These pictures are being collected on this thread from Twitter user @uwu_uwu_mo, a self-proclaimed Hong Konger.
First up is Yungoos, who has been reconfigured with a yellow construction cap and yellow umbrella--both symbols of the Hong Kong protestors. Slowbro adds to that with a pair of metal tongs, which are often used to handle teargas canisters, and Mimikyu adds the V for Vendetta mask (used to conceal a protestor's identity).
Other artists are also encouraging people to get in on the action. User @pitatl has a helpful guide to redrawing Pokémon with Hong Kong protest symbols, including an eye patch, a black Hong Kong flag, and a gas mask.
So far, Nintendo has remained conspicuously quiet about the growing movement. China is an enormous market with an equally huge appetite for Pokémon, so we can't see Nintendo remaining silent if the movement continues.
Source: Eurogamer