Is Pokemon animal cruelty?

My short answer would be no.

My long answer is this:
Animal cruelty is a horrible act of not caring for an animal, specifically pets. Especially intentionally doing something to harm these animals. I have seen cases whether on the news or via other sources of animals nearly starved to death or chains so tight around their neck that its digging into their skin - ripping apart their fur and meat. I've seen cases of animals with sores covering their bodies. Cases where their ribs were showing due to starvation.

Comparing Pokemon to cases like this is not only ludicrous, but down right insulting and undermining the very REAL cases of people not caring for their pets or viciously harming animals. Pokemon is a fun, fictional game where the Pokemon are meant to be trained and battled. Trainers can do this any way they please, but there really is not a way to intentionally harm these pokemon.

If a person does not want a Pokemon, they can trade it or even release it into the wild. Pokemon are not necessarily tamed creatures: they're wild animals. They can get released into the wild and pretty much take care of theirselves. (what super powered dog, cat, or other realistic animal do you see shooting fire or calling down lightning?)

My training method does seem a bit harsh. I will take my lead Pokemon and train him until the PP of all his/her moves are out or until he/she faints. Then I switch to the next. I continue until my last Pokemon before going to the Pokemon Center.

But this is the game. This is the gameplay. This is how you train and get better. If you don't then the game does not progress. So how can it be compared to animal cruelty? It's quite ridiculous.

I never really agree when people have one Pokemon as an HM slave, however.

I honestly and genuinely love some of my Pokemon. I really miss my former Articuno, Dialga, and Jirachi. And its not some virtual love loss either. It's the loss of having cultivated these Pokemon to be what they were and having actually grown close to them over the course of the respective games they were in. I wish I still had each of those games (im really bad at keeping up with my Gameboy and DS games...) so I could visit those former Pokemon for awhile. I'm very excited about forming bonds with my new Pokemon in Black/White and really wish I hadn't lost my copy of SoulSilver so I can trade them over. I am also playing Platinum right now and can not wait to watch the pokemon in this game grow as well.

As a Pokemon trainer (yep, I totally call myself that), I know that training my Pokemon is what I must do in order to watch them grow and that its not cruel for me to do this.

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how important *is* that gamerscore

-so, what's you're gamerscore?
-...around 500
-*blank stare*

So, yeah, my Xbox gamerscore is "low". I find myself launching into reasons as to why its low when people ask about it. I've had my Xbox Elite for about a year. Before that I had an Xbox that I "lost" in a breakup (i got the Wii instead). I play my Wii, DS, and PSP way more then my Xbox because the games are a bit cheaper and I'm on a budget.

I just recently got PS3 and I do not feel some immense pressure to get trophies. But I feel like I need to get achievements...

This is probably starting to make games a little less fun for me. I rather like playing my other consoles and don't want to ditch playing them or buying games for then because I opt to get a 360 game. I'm sure noone else does this, however, and I'm just being overdramatic as usual.

The next games I probably get will not even be on the 360. Pokemon Black/White is for the DS and Dissidia 012 is for the PSP.

Personally, I don't think your gamerscore is an accurate account of whether you're a "good" gamer or even a dedicated one. Across the web some people say they won't play with someone that has a low gamerscore but you don't really know the backstory to why its that way...and you don't NEED to know. It's not important.

Your high score could mean a lack of a social life, but I don't judge you on that now do I ;)

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Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) - Nintendo Stole the Show

Every year, the gaming world turns to E3 to find out what the latest in gaming will be for the coming year. The only thing last year’s show did for me was say Final Fantasy 13 would be released on the Xbox 360 - a marvelous announcement indeed! This year, I was thrilled the entire show as my eyes stayed glued to G4’s coverage and my constantly updated twitter feed.