If you grew up in the 1990’s like I did, chances are you were among the first to be exposed to “Pokemon,” the phenomenon that originated from Japan and forever changed Pop Culture in its own way. Something else you may have noticed is regarding some of the Pokemon as having displaying traits of neurodiversity in their personalities.

Perhaps the most notable is a Psyduck that was caught, although by accident, by the character Misty in the 1st season of Pokemon’s Indigo Saga.

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Now, looking at Misty’s Psyduck, this character was meant to be sort of the comic relief Pokemon of the main cast. His most notable trait is when it would come out of his Pokeball in substitution of another of Misty’s Pokemon whether its in a battle or a confrontation with the series’ antagonists, Team Rocket.

To Misty, this would seem like an annoyance, sort of “in the wrong place at the wrong time” kind of thinking, which is true. But, then again, Misty’s Psyduck is sort of like a neurodiverse individual: trying to do the right thing but is viewed as a hinderance by others around him.

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Let’s be clear, Misty’s Psyduck has a strong representation for the neurodiversity community and Misty herself is a strong representation for some neurotypicals who would much rather not interact with neurodiverse individuals around them.

Case in point?

Psyduck, in addition to being clumsy, is also very short minded, meaning he can’t think as well as others would. In the episode, “So Near, Yet So Farfetch’d,” Psyduck manages to escape from a drifter who has stolen all of Misty’s Pokemon for himself.

When she first questions him, Psyduck is unable to think clearly and she quickly turns frustrated with him. This is very common with neurotypical family members who struggle to communicate with their neurodiverse family members who want to know about something, but don’t realize that they are really overloading their minds.

This is very true in my family as some, particularly my folks, tend to overload me with questions that I cannot answer right away because again, my brain functions differently than theirs and the same holds true for when I am at my day job.

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In addition, Misty’s Psyduck is also prone to both emotional and physical abuse from Misty because as his trainer, she feels like she can bonk him on the head or unleash her frustrations out on him.

This is very common that I see a lot in society and it’s really unfortunate because it could be because of the family’s culture, the individual’s belief that physical discipline is the right way to solve anything or because the individual themself was raised the same way and now they are trying to pass it onto their own offspring.

Case in point?

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Bing Crosby, one of the greatest singers of the 20th century, gained some infamy with the revelation that he would beat the sons of his first marriage whenever they would get out of line. So much so that the oldest of the boys, Gary Crosby, wrote a tell all book called “Going My Own Way” that portrayed Bing as an abusive authoritarian.

Bear in mind also that this was the Mid-20th Century, a time when society was trying to recover from World War II and the last thing that society wanted was any more radical ideas or individuals coming to fruition, so you can understand where Bing was coming from.

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But to get back to the topic of Psyduck, do you think he deserves the abuse he gets? No, because he doesn’t deserve to be abused by Misty, but he does get abused anyway. Maybe it’s because Pokemon originated in Japan and in some Oriential cultures, such abuse is warranted to make children into better people.

However, what kind of message is that sending that neurodiverse individuals deserve to be treated in this manner? It’s a question that may never have a universal answer because it is part of the culture, sadly.

Misty’s Psyduck is a duck that tries his best, but never gets any credit for it simply because he gets overlooked in a way by Misty which is an absolute shame.

Psyduck can offer more to the table than he actually is because he clearly has the capability like a disabled/neurodiverse should if they are given a chance to prove themselves. But it comes from being around the right people and in “Pokemon: Detective Pikachu” (2019), he does get that chance when he is partnered with the character of Lucy (Kathryn Newton).

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Catch you all later!!