As cute as they are, and as childishly innocent as the world they inhabit may seem, it's always worth keeping in the back of your mind the fact that people eat Pokémon.
A fantastic article on Modern Farmer looks at this secretive and unsavoury practice, drawing from both precedent (Slowpoke Tail) and conjecture (there's not much else to eat in the world).
"The friend-or-food determination is affected by physical appearance, as well", author Monica Kim writes. "Pokémon, like the adorable Pikachu, are de facto companions, while others, such as the bull-like Tauros and Krabby the crab, seem more closely linked to their real-world counterparts (i.e., edible)."
I'll never be able to look at them the same way again. Because suddenly they all look so damn delicious.
The Food Politics of Pokémon [Modern Farmer]