Okay. You know what's terrifying? Pokemon.
I mean, beyond the obvious "they're killing machines" schtick. I mean the system on which the world is set up is inherently one of the darkest in any game.

So I've been reading a lot of Pokemon fanfiction lately (spread the love, yo! Writers need comments to survive!) and what struck me was how vastly different everyone's Pokemon worlds were. 

There's so much room for interpretation, yet everyone (including myself), glosses over some extremely potent hidden details in the lore which makes the game a million times darker.

The League.

What's weird about the Pokemon League?
They're practically the government.

Think about it.

Whenever there's some major political scuffle, they're the first to get involved. They are basically the only authority we see IN THE ENTIRE GAME and anything they do or say goes unquestioned.

It's safe to say that even if there are other authorities, they have no active role and interfere almost never.

Now let's just go over how incredibly broken system the League is running.

We see in every single game that these Pokemon are extremely dangerous and some of them are capable of going as far as to destroy the world (I'm looking at you Dialga and Palkia, you smug bastards) and yet the League never really interferes into far, far into the game. Instead, we see the player doing a hell of a lot more than they are.

A ten year old kid.

Let me restate this. 
A ten year old kid is stopping terrorist organizations and the government is doing jack shit.

Continuing from that, let's also assume if the Pokemon League plays a role similar to a government, they also handle economics. We see shops in every town, don't we?
No. We see Pokemarts.

Stores that specifically sell things tailored for Pokemon.

Free health care... for Pokemon.

Immense amounts of cash to be earned... but only if you fight your Pokemon. 

The entire world is locked into a Pokemon-centric economy.

Why?
These are dangerous monsters. You know, while the grunts seem to have terrible Pokemon, even Ratatta's evolution Raticate has teeth that can chew through steel. (Fun fact: bone is a lot easier to snap than steel is. Food for thought.)

However, the entire economy and basically everyone's livelihood is locked in around Pokemon. If the sport was to fall out of style, millions would lose their jobs and the Gym power structure would collapse.

A power structure which places the League at the top.

Do you want to be the very best?
Good. There's no choice in the Pokemon world.

The League demands that you catch them all.

As the player, you walk through this world. You fight. You beat gym leaders. You watch as the worst of what people are capable of unfolds and you do all of that on your own.

Then you, the player, take down the League... and become the Champion.

You get to lead the system that has put you through hell in the first place.

Pokemon.