Pokémon in Organized Crime
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Letter from the Chair Hello, Pokémon Trainers! I welcome you all, with building anticipation and excitement, to the first PokéMUN session at the fourth annual Winchester Model United Nations conference (and it’s virtual!) My name is Elina Chen, and I will be serving as your Chair for this specialized committee. I am currently a senior at Winchester High School, and this is my fourth year in the school’s Model United Nations Club, which I now serve as a club officer for. I have overseen previous committee sessions at WinMUN, and I regularly attend national Model UN conferences each year as well. Aside from being a member of MUN, I am also the president of the school’s Anime Club. I take pride in being an otaku, and Pokémon was the first anime I ever watched as I grew up, although it was quite a long time ago. PokéMUN will be a learning experience for me, so if anyone feels nervous about their lack of Pokémon knowledge, don’t worry! People all over the world fear that societal order will collapse due to the power imbalance that comes with the introduction of Pokémon, and are calling for immediate actions to implement regulations for moderating this uncontrolled power. During the committee sessions, we will be discussing one of the two topics provided to you: Pokémon Labor Rights and Pokémon Organized Crime. There will not be any specific storyline you need to follow, since you will be writing the stories yourselves with the background guide as a foundation. Everyone will have their individual stances on each of the topics, and your goal will be to pass regulations in your favor. I look forward to seeing the fate of Pokémon unravel before my eyes as you each debate your stances and voice your opinions. I expect great things from this committee, and I hope that everyone will put their best effort into debating Pokémon rights. The world needs your help, and they need it soon. I look forward to meeting you all at WinMUN IV, and I absolutely cannot wait to see how the future of PokéMUN will unfold. This year, it will be my honor to work with Yaozu Chen and Armen Bagdassarian, your two wonderful vice chairs. Although having two vice chairs in a relatively small specialized committee may or may not come as a surprise to you all, I am fully confident that they are just as excited as I am for PokéMUN this year, even if it’s a virtual committee this year. We may encounter technical difficulties and other issues while hosting our virtual PokéMUN, but I know that we will have a great time together, so bring along your Pokémon and get fired up! That being said, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me or your Vice Chairs. Feel free to email us even if you just want to talk about your favorite Pokémon or tell us some Pokémon jokes, we’d love to hear from you! Still Currently Watching Pokémon, Elina Chen PokéMUN Chair PokéMUN Background Guide 1 Letter from the Vice Chair Welcome to the world of PokéMUN (and WinMUN IV)! My name is Yaozu Chen, and I’m excited to serve as your Vice Chair for this committee. As a senior at Winchester High School, this is my fourth year participating in the Winchester Model UN Team, and my third year as a staffer for our WinMUN conference. WinMUN I was actually my first Model UN conference, but I have since attended other local and national conferences. Outside of Model UN, I am an officer for our school’s Science Olympiad team, an organizer for the Winchester Math Competition, and play the violin, but Pokémon has always been one of my hobbies. Like Elina, I watched Pokémon when I was younger, but I have also collected the trading cards and played many of the video games. I am looking forward to discussing Pokémon (and getting to know everyone’s favorite Pokémon) during committee. In this committee, we will explore the debate surrounding the role of Pokémon in the world. As many of you know, these “Pocket Monsters” possess a variety of powers, and it is up to you to determine how these new creatures will fit into society. While some of you may stress the need to respect Pokémon and live in harmony, others might have different ideas about the role of Pokémon. The diverse range of characters you all represent have a variety of different opinions and important backgrounds, and it is your job to explore and voice these opinions to shape the future of Pokémon. With no past examples of ideas to guide this committee, each of your efforts and voices will be instrumental in solving these issues. I look forward to seeing the bright ideas this committee will present, and I hope that you are excited as well. Though this committee is a bit unique and non-traditional, both in terms of being virtual and Pokémon-themed, I’m grateful to have the chance to work with Elina and Armen, both amazing delegates and teammates, to make this committee entertaining and fun. Hopefully we can make this committee more than just sitting in front of your computer on Zoom for a day. For experienced Model UN delegates, I hope that this committee will reinforce your debating skills and allow you to challenge yourselves. For newbies, relax! Just try speaking and remember to have fun. Again, if you have any questions or concerns, just let us know. We’re looking forward to meeting you all! Sincerely, Yaozu Chen PokéMUN Vice Chair PokéMUN Background Guide 2 Letter from the Vice Chair Welcome Trainers! My name is Armen Bagdassarian and I will be your vice-chair for the PokéMUN specialized committee at the fourth annual Winchester Model United Nations conference. I am a current sophomore at Winchester High School and have been a member of the Winchester Model United Nations club for two years now. Besides from MUN I am a build officer of the Winchester Science Olympiad team and on the Student Council. Pokémon has always had a special place in my heart. Ever since I was a little kid I would watch episodes of the anime whenever I could on Cartoon Network. Then, when third grade came around, I begged my parents for Pokémon cards so I could also play with my friends during recess. Finally in 8th grade I caught and traded Pokémon with my uncle with Pokémon Go. Basically, I’m trying to say that Pokémon has been a big part of my childhood and I cannot wait to be able to show my love for Pokémon with all of you! As most people our age know Pokémon are catchable monsters who throughout the games are used in battles between Pokémon trainers. These Pokémon possess different elemental powers and abilities and are a key part of the universe the humans of Pokémon live in. Our two topics for this committee will be Pokémon Labor Rights and Pokémon in Organized Crime. Pokémon Labor Rights will be all about the ethics of Pokémon’s use in society. Pokémon fight in battles and compete in contests, and it will be in your hands to decide where the line will be drawn with Pokémon’s rights in society. As for Pokémon in Organized Crime, this topic will be all about when Pokémon are used for, you guessed it, criminal activity. Powerful crime syndicates use these innocent monsters for their own motives and agendas. With the police unable to stop these syndicates and the only ones actively opposing them being vigilantes, it is in your hands to find a way to stop these crime syndicates and restore order. You will all have different views of these monsters' roles in the society of Pokémon, but will have to decide what the future of these creatures will be. Some might see this committee as the odd one out, as it is based on a fictional universe portrayed in video games, anime, cards, and manga. Regardless, I know for a fact that me and my talented colleagues Elina and Yaozu will make this committee an absolute blast. Elina and Yaozu are some of the most hardworking people I know, and I hope you will enjoy interacting with them as much as I do. Debate, discuss, problem-solve, but most importantly make sure to have fun! If there are any questions, comments, or concerns, please let one of the chairs know! I cannot wait to see you all on April 11th! With Best Regards, Armen Bagdassarian PokéMUN Vice Chair PokéMUN Background Guide 3 Background Information The Advent of Pokémon in our Modern World (year 4206) The brainchild of Satoshi Tajiri and the Japanese company "Game Freak," Pokémon took the world by storm during the release of Pokémon Red, Green and Blue in 1996. The popular role-playing video game imagines a world where so-called “Pocket Monsters” -- organisms with unique elemental powers -- coexist with humans in a near-utopian society. In the “Pokémon World,” Pokémon naturally roam freely in the wild, but are usually happy to collaborate with humans for both vocation and sport once captured (shown right). The appeal of escaping into this world quickly made Pokémon the world's largest media franchise overall by August of 2018, with successful anime series, movies, spin-off games, and merchandise. As time passed, the series’ fanbase became larger and gradually more fanatical. Additionally, scientific progress in studies of evolutionary development and genome editing became exponential.