I’m not a Pokémon fan or anything but wasn’t there a game in which the antagonists/villains were Pokémon rights activists, and they were in the wrong because the Pokémon actually wanted to battle? I think I heard about it somewhere.
But if it is the case that they are being enslaved though, then I honestly blame the Pokémon, cause literal fire breathing dragons are really allowing themselves to be bossed around by some 10 year old.