Last February, the Pokemon Company, the brand manager for Nintendo / Game Freak's famous titular franchise, finally announced the seventh generation of the adorable (and sometimes terrifying) creatures that people of all ages have been catching, breeding, battling and bonding with for 20 years.

The newest games, "Sun and Moon," will be released in the United States on November 18, 2016, and will be backward-compatible with "Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow" via the Virtual Console and Poke Bank. Lest you think that I'm simply writing to solicit Nintendo's mega-franchise for a paycheck, there's something about the Hawaii-inspired region of Alola that I think is worth pointing out and exploring. To be straightforward, Pokemon approaches the potentially politically controversial topic of race depiction in fantasy with ease and hasn't really had any backlash.

As a fan of the popular role-playing games from Japan, I've noticed there's a new globalist outlook being promoted in their marketing and world-building, somewhat present since the fifth generation had two black Gym Leaders, Lenore and Iris (the latter of whom is also in the ongoing anime). The earliest appearance of an important person of color in the "Pokemon" games was Phoebe, a vaguely Pacific Islander archetype who was a member of the Elite Four. As for the TV show, I'm not well-versed enough in the anime's characters to pinpoint when and how impactful people of color have been, but Brock is noticeably not white, unlike his game counterpart, and he was present for many seasons. By no means is character diversity limited to the "Pokemon" franchise; Nintendo's first-party developer Intelligent Systems, makers of the "Fire Emblem" series, have fully fleshed-out characters of color that the player controls and bonds with. I think it's interesting how well Nintendo has decentered whiteness in their latest entry.

Alola, from what we can see, has a lot in common with America's 50th State. But nowhere do I get the sense that Game Freak, the developer of the "Pokemon" games, is culturally appropriating from "Hawaiʻi maoli" (although natives, of course, can correct me if I'm wrong). Rather, from the promotional images and art, there is a respectful, well-researched tone to the whole affair. And that's good! How often do we see depictions of non-white folks in fantastical fiction across mediums that aren't based on stereotypes? Considering how most children across the globe are not exposed to accurate representations of themselves in popular media, the fact that the Pokemon Company is highlighting the diversity of Nintendo's product is a progressive victory.

It can be difficult to avoid cultural appropriation when genuinely trying to depict persons, who historically, have been marginalized and societally treated as less than human. But "Pokemon" shows us that this can be done with determination, empathy and moral centering (and from an outside perspective, seems almost effortless). From "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to "The Hunger Games" novels, there is an increasing pressure for capitalists to be aware of and acknowledge the existence of non-white consumers. If fictional content producers, especially those of us who hold white privilege, lag behind the example of "Pokemon," then we may find ourselves racist relics in the dustbin of history.