Animal rights group PETA has condemned the Pokemon media franchise and video game series, saying it "paints a rosy picture of what amounts to thinly veiled animal abuse."

The Pokemon series tells the stories of young "trainers" who befriend wild critters called Pokemon, help them grow stronger, and coach them through a series of non-fatal sparring matches against other trainers.

In a statement released on October 8, the day after Nintendo released Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, the latest games in the franchise, PETA blathered:

Much like animals in the real world, Pokemon are treated as unfeeling objects and used for such things as human entertainment and as subjects in experiments. The way that Pokemon are stuffed into pokeballs is similar to how circuses chain elephants inside railroad cars and let them out only to perform confusing and often painful tricks that were taught using sharp steel-tipped bullhooks and electric shock prods …if PETA existed in Unova, our motto would be: Pokemon are not ours to use or abuse. They exist for their own reasons. We believe that this is the message that should be sent to children.

Aside from the fact that this is clearly a lame attempt to attract publicity on the back of a major video game release (which is why I’m not linking to their site, and you shouldn’t look for it, either) PETA seems to have missed the single biggest theme of the Pokemon series: That Pokemon should be treated humanely and live as our equals. The games are loaded with an endless stream of characters who go on and on about true friendship between man and Pokemon. It’s so saccharine and so completely the opposite of what PETA suggests that it boggles the mind.

As part of the campaign, PETA also developed and released a flash-based parody game which it calls "Pokemon Black and Blue." It is awful.

Last November, PETA attacked video game icon Mario for wearing "fur" - the Tanooki Suit, a frequent power-up in Mario games that grants the ability to fly.

PETA did not disclose in its statement how many actual, living, breathing animals died waiting for rescue while the organization spent its time and money campaigning against fiction.