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ICE recently released a video using the Pokemon theme song that has created quite an uproar online. ICE, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security, posted a video featuring officials making arrests, while the Pokemon theme song plays in the background with some video snippets from the anime. This ICE video immediately became the talk of the internet, with the most common question being whether The Pokemon Company gave permission for this.
The Pokemon Company has firmly denied granting permission for the ICE video, as reported by sources like BBC News and Variety. Here is a deeper look into what the Pokemon officials had to say and how the community has reacted to this incident.
What is the ICE Pokemon video?
The ICE Pokemon video showed scenes of officers making arrests, edited with clips and music from the Pokemon theme song. The video was titled “Gotta Catch ‘Em All”, and posted on the official X channel of Homeland Security. The same video was also posted on the official TikTok account of the White House.
Towards the end of the video, mugshots and alleged crimes of those arrested were also shown, edited as Pokemon TCG cards. The Pokemon font and color scheme were also used to write some text on the video, which adds to the overall theme of the video.
Did The Pokemon Company give permission to ICE for this video?
The Pokemon Company did not give ICE (or the Department of Homeland Security) permission to use their “intellectual property” for this video. The company has clearly mentioned this in their statements to various news outlets:
“We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand.”
Officials from The Pokemon Company have further reinstated their lack of involvement with the ICE video, as noted by this statement to the same news outlets:
“Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
How did the Pokemon community react to the ICE video?
The Pokemon ICE video caused severe uproar amongst both Pokemon fans and the general crowd, with the overall discourse swinging between parody and criticism. In a rare scenario, the general consensus for this one seemed to be the fans calling Nintendo to protect the Pokemon branding from being used in this context.
Nintendo has aggressively protected the Pokemon franchise, and their lawsuits against Pocketpair (and Palworld) are a testament to that fact. Their recent US patents had managed to turn heads just two weeks back as well. To that extent, many have already called out the ICE to “beware” Nintendo’s lawyers for this incident.
In a rarer scenario yet, the music community has come forward here, where u/Marco2169 posted on r/music:
“Don’t let them taint this song.”
The Pokemon theme song, by Jason Paige, is widely considered to be a holy grail among the music community. For most, it’s a nostalgic song that relates to their childhood, and seeing it used in such a manner has worried more than just one person. Another user u/Joshtice_For_All posted on the same subreddit:
“Please don’t ruin Pokémon for me. I’m begging you.”
On the more comic side of this entire fiasco, @KazumaRyuzen has replied to the official DHS video on X with their own fan-made rendition of “ICE, an enforcer type Pokemon”.
The user has also carefully chosen the four attacks for this Pokemon, which are “Detect, Pursuit, Bind, and Fly”, all move names that are clever word plays in this context.
On a side note, any unsuspecting person searching for Ice-type Pokemon on the internet might be in for a real surprise. Keep following Sportskeeda’s Pokemon hub for the latest news and more coverage.
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Edited by Anindit Sinha
