By Dhs/x,Frank Yemi
Copyright inquisitr
The Pokémon brand is not playing along with the government’s latest viral flex. After the Department of Homeland Security pushed a Pokémon themed video that stitched raids and arrests to the franchise’s famous theme song and slogan, The Pokémon Company made it clear the campaign had nothing to do with them and that they were not impressed.
The clip blasted across social media with the catchphrase “Gotta Catch ’Em All,” turning alleged offenders into faux trading cards and setting off a backlash that mixed fandom outrage with legal side eye.
Hey @Pokemon please sue the hell out of the government. https://t.co/cqdPTQpUDf
— FVLAM (Austin) (@FVLAM) September 22, 2025
The video riffs on the show’s iconic opener and anthem, which is why it jolted so hard across the timeline. The montage shows agents cuffing suspects while the Pokémon theme plays, then ends with a “Worst of the Worst” segment that presents arrested individuals like collectible cards. Viewers instantly recognized the IP lift and started tagging Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, pressuring them to respond. Coverage from mainstream and gaming outlets framed the piece as a government propaganda reel borrowing a kids’ franchise to sell tough on immigration optics.
Within hours, press reports noted that Pokémon had disavowed the message and said the brand was not involved. The statement reads: “We are aware of a recent video posted by the Department of Homeland Security that includes imagery and language associated with our brand. Our company was not involved in the creation or distribution of this content, and permission was not granted for the use of our intellectual property.”
Border Patrol’s newest recruit. pic.twitter.com/KjGhBdsq7X
— CBP (@CBP) September 23, 2025
That simple distancing line carried a lot of weight, because the company has a long history of protecting its family friendly image and policing how its music, characters, and slogans are used. The tune itself, often called the Pokémon Theme, is synonymous with the series and its “Gotta catch ’em all” hook, which is exactly why the government’s choice landed like a barb. When a franchise built on nostalgia and adventure gets spliced into handcuffs and mug shots, it breaks the spell and invites a corporate clapback.
The defense from DHS is simple, highlight arrests, go viral, and project deterrence. The problem is that the messenger and the medium collided. You can rack up views with a slick cut, but when the soundtrack and slogan belong to a global entertainment brand with legions of young fans, the audience you attract skews more outraged than impressed.
Legal experts have been split on whether Pokémon would actually sue, with at least one former company lawyer predicting they might avoid a courtroom to keep the story from getting bigger. That does not mean DHS is in the clear, it just means the fight may play out in the court of public opinion rather than in filings. Either way, the government managed to turn a boast about apprehensions into a cultural controversy about consent, tone, and borrowing IP that was never meant to endorse a crackdown.
The blowback also arrives in a week when DHS faced flak for other pop culture tie ins, including criticism from Theo Von who found his clip embedded in immigration messaging without sign off. That pattern makes this Pokémon clash feel less like a one off and more like a comms strategy that is testing the limits of what big brands and public figures will tolerate. If the goal was to flood the zone with tough clips, the result is that the clips are now the story, and the brands at the center are loudly opting out.
