>>58490263 (OP)
Anon, everything in pokemon is a reference, the very concept of the game is the childhood of Satoshi Taijiri and many Japanese children of the 80s. Capture bugs and make them fight, the concept of trading was born from one of the DQ fan programmers and the impossibility of changing rare items between games.
Every Pokemon since G1 is a reference to Japanese mythology and pop culture, with a few foreign touches here and there. Digglet is an arcade wack-a-mole, Koffing is a mockery of American pollution, Alakazam line are several famous psychics, and we can go on.
Being a reference does not make something good, but learning its origin is not bad either, in the end it is your decision if you think something is good or bad, but do not expect everyone to share your opinion.
