I'm kinda okay with the 'Monsters University' outlook of it in that there may be something you dream of but you'll never really be tops in, but you can still put that ambition into another real talent you have.
Current Ash works okay in that regard, sure he'll likely never win the league and he sucks in many things he tries to actively pursue like the Alola school exercises, but he's competent where it counts. He's only a loser at face value.
I think Shudo's more cynical outlook was that the whole Pokemon trainer profession was a pipe dream. Many people tried to gain a livelihood through it only to grow up failures, while people who weren't good enough, be it their fault or not, were ostracised. No one wanted that future, so Kanto was depicted as rather strict and even extremist. Shudo's vision is that the professional world is pretty cruel and many have gone astray in life because of it (which is partway true).
Current Ash works okay in that regard, sure he'll likely never win the league and he sucks in many things he tries to actively pursue like the Alola school exercises, but he's competent where it counts. He's only a loser at face value.
I think Shudo's more cynical outlook was that the whole Pokemon trainer profession was a pipe dream. Many people tried to gain a livelihood through it only to grow up failures, while people who weren't good enough, be it their fault or not, were ostracised. No one wanted that future, so Kanto was depicted as rather strict and even extremist. Shudo's vision is that the professional world is pretty cruel and many have gone astray in life because of it (which is partway true).
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