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One of the surprise shows that I have been following for sometime is “Pokemon Concierge,” the new stop motion Pokemon show that is now available on Netflix. As someone who grew up during the Pokemon sensation in the early 1990’s, I was subjected to witnessing Pokemon beating the crap out of one another and being captured by Team Rocket many times. So, it was a breath of fresh air that Pokemon could go slice of life with “Concierge.”
This to me, is a good thing because “Concierge” teaches a very important lesson in the final episode of season 1 that I think neurodivergent families and mental health professionals can learn from. Sometimes, we all want to have those we love be more outside the box, more willing to learn to adapt, more being stepping into another world outside of their own.
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I will say there were plenty of times where I was forced into situations I didn’t want to be in, even though those around me had either good intentions or had their own agendas that I had to follow. When watching “Pokemon Concierge,” I see this demonstrated with Pikachu, who in this version, is very shy and somewhat depressed even though his trainer and the concierge, Haru, try to come up with ways to make Pikachu “more vocal” and “more outgoing.”
In this case, Pikachu comes to represent the individual that just wants people to accept them for who they are and nothing more. But, as I have said before time and again, you can’t just force someone to be different than who they are, as frustrating as it is. Recently, I’ve been dealing with outside professionals nag at me to be more outgoing and out of my comfort zone, just like Pikachu. Sure the intentions are good, but it’s something that I am not really that big into.
There is also the fact that the more that outsiders try to push, the more we try to push back. However, Pikachu doesn’t push back at Haru and his trainer, but it takes them both to realize that Pikachu is who he is and that’s okay. A common trap that a lot of professionals and families fall into is that they never take the individual’s feelings into consideration. The more I try to express my feelings, the more that I need to express them more in order to get the message across that I am who I am.
Now, I do also understand that there are families and professionals that want their loved ones to be more open and outgoing on account of respect in the community, positions in society and for the individuals overall mental health. The fact of the matter is that unlike Pikachu, you aren’t going to get everything you want out of the individual and that’s what is represented in Pikachu’s trainer.
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Of course, all this is succeeded at the end where Haru gives Pikachu a picture of him and Psyduck fast asleep together. It’s only after he sees it for the first time that Pikachu takes a baby step in finding his voice, calling out to Haru as he and his trainer sail off into the sunset. This is meant to show the viewer that even though Pikachu is who he is in terms of behavior, he isn’t afraid to take baby steps.
Of course, there is always going to be that one hardhead that says that he or she will approach an individual as they see fit and there is always going to be a right and wrong way to approach the situation.
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In conclusion, I do recommend “Pokemon Concierge” as it not only is a show meant to demonstrate that “Pokemon” is more than just battles and winning gym badges, but it’s also a good learning tool to help understand others as demonstrated with not just Pikachu, but Psyduck as well. If you haven’t checked out “Pokemon Concierge,” check it out on Netflix and you will see what I am talking about!!
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Catch you all later!!
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