Summoning monsters to do your bidding, recording their names in strange electronic tomes, holding millions of children in its thrall — is it any wonder the Christian community thought Satan might have had something to do with Pokémon's popularity?
The latest Did You Know Gaming explores the many times pocket monsters and religion clashed, and it's quite a few times, really. When an entertainment property becomes as big as Pokémon was around the turn of the millennium, religion enthusiasts tend to keep an eye out for signs that everything might not be on the up-and-up.
With correlations to ancient texts on demonology and creatures pulled from "Pagan" religions, the Christian community was concerned about what Pokémon might do to its children. They even began to believe the "Gotta Catch'Em All" theme song from the show said "I Love You Satan" when played backwards.
Eventually the Vatican weighed in, declaring the games free of "harmful moral side effects." It's highly likely the Vatican's research did not include searching "Pikachu Porn" on Google. DO NOT DO THAT.
It wasn't just Christians either. Check out the video to see how Pokémon was accused of being both anti-Semitic and part of a "Jewish conspiracy."