Video game companies, from small indie developers to major publishers, have been voicing their support of the Black Lives Matter movement. In a surprising move, another development company is now also pitching in: The Pokemon Company International. In a post on Twitter, the company announced that it would be donating $100,000 to the Black Lives Matter organization, and another $100,000 to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.This marks the first time that the Pokemon Company has taken a position regarding Black Lives Matter and the systemic oppression of Black people in America. In its post, the Pokemon Company goes on to say "we believe in friendship, inclusivity, and equity. These are the values that anchor the Pokemon brand. There is no place for oppression within our community." The company ended its post with "We believe that Black Lives Matter."

With these donations, The Pokemon Company is joining the likes of EA, Niantic and Square Enix in financially supporting organizations relevant to the Black Lives Matter movement. It is certainly doing more than the somewhat performative actions taken by Rockstar, which shut down its Red Dead Online and GTA: Online servers for two hours, and Infinity Ward, which recently promised to tackle the decade-long issue of pervasive racism in the Call of Duty franchise.

The Pokemon Company is doing what any multi-million-dollar gaming corporation should do right now. It's backing up words with financial actions. At this time, it simply is not enough for companies to say that they are for the Black Lives Matter movement, they must demonstrate it as well, and The Pokemon Company has done just that.