Lt. Surge was the OTHER weird out of place thing about Pokemon other then Lavender Town... and i'd argue more out of place/weird.
I mean Lavender town was where Pokemon died... sure, weird change of tone... but hey... Pokemon get old and die... whatever. They turn into ghost pokemon... weird.
Now Lt. Surge. He was a Soldier. Who fought in a war. Raichu saved him from being killed by paralyzing his enemies.
So, what pretty much goes completely unmentioned/related is that each country has it's own army of Pokemon and Pokemon trainers (with guns? Probably) who kill each other in wars.
Is the beloved art of Pokemon training really just due to statist propaganda to brainwash and train children into being the soldiers of tomorrow?!
Maybe Sanalax just killed Blue's Raticate.
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