Pokemon Master - realistic approach

[michael147]

I have come to a conclusion that a Pokemon Master is not something high and mighty, but something very practical and realistic in the pokemon world.

In reality a master is an specialist with profound knowledge and positive experience who can succeed in their professional actions even beyond his workplace and/or task and/or troubles. For example, a surgeon in a hospital could be called such if he succeeds through various troubles, as operations often don't go smooth. Or an ambulance doctor, who just happened to be near, successfully helped a person with his disease, could be called such too.

In case of the Pokemon world, a Pokemon Master is a trainer who can train and battle succesfully against every pokemon except legendaries, also care not only for his party, but for all troubled pokemon he sees.

Shirona can be named a 'Pokemon Master'. The current champion title speaks for the great battle experience, while she also cared for a wild Meloetta and Shinji's Hikozaru.

As for Satoshi, I cannot say he has already become a Pokemon Master. I think he needs Takeshi's skills of cooking pokemon food and healing pokemon. But his battle experience and his experience of saving pokemon are of high level.

 

[Sham]

In my opinion Pokemon master means nothing and will never mean anything until the writers decide to conclude the show. It's an empty term that has little to no meaning and used as a catalyst to keep Ash on an eternal journey.

 

[AznKei]

In my opinion Pokemon master means nothing and will never mean anything until the writers decide to conclude the show. It's an empty term that has little to no meaning and used as a catalyst to keep Ash on eternal journey.

How would you feel if Ash ended his journey in SM and that Go is the main character of the current series instead of a companion and Eevee could be the new mascot of the anime since the franchise pushed aggresively to be as iconic as Pikachu recently?

As for the topic, I wouldn't think much about it. It has significance in the 1st Gen when you become the Champion and catch all 151 Pokemons at the time. But now, very few would ever attempt to do it.

 

[Leonhart]

I don't think we'll ever get a definitive meaning of what a Pokemon Master is, although I suspect that any character that has achieved Champion status is at least partially there. I honestly believe that the writers have never given us a concrete definition of what a Pokemon Master is because they wanted the term to be as vague and open-ended as possible.

 

[Sham]

How would you feel if Ash ended his journey in SM and that Go is the main character of the current series instead of a companion and Eevee could be the new mascot of the anime since the franchise pushed aggresively to be as iconic as Pikachu recently?

As for the topic, I wouldn't think much about it. It has significance in the 1st Gen when you become the Champion and catch all 151 Pokemons at the time. But now, very few would ever attempt to do it.

I'm into that. I was ready for Ash to leave 4 sagas ago. I don't see Go using Eevee since even though it's second in command in terms of Pokemon promotion these days; Pikachu is still number one. I see the next (if we do get one) main character still using Pika.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

"Pokémon Master" is whatever dream/goal you set for yourself, whether it's winning a league, catching a lot of pokémon, traveling the world and meeting as many pokémon as possible, or just getting out of bed every morning

 

[jaden767]

I always imagined that Pokemon Master meant someone who has mastery of all Pokemon types which I know sounds weird but for a while it made sense to me.

 

[Leonhart]

I always imagined that Pokemon Master meant someone who has mastery of all Pokemon types which I know sounds weird but for a while it made sense to me.

I suppose that this would make sense since a Pokemon Master would hypothetically need to know a lot about Pokemon overall, so it would be reasonable for a Pokemon Master to also know how to command every single Pokemon type efficiently.

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

A friend from another board describes it best: a Pokémon Master would be a trainer who've mastered all aspects regarding Pokémon. Not just being the best trainer but also the best on another aspects related to Pokémon.

This take could also explain Ash's current status in the show.

In my opinion Pokemon master means nothing and will never mean anything until the writers decide to conclude the show. It's an empty term that has little to no meaning and used as a catalyst to keep Ash on an eternal journey.

Actually, that part is an actual fact. At least considering what Takeshi Shudo had said about it on his blog. If I recall correctly he indeed say it was meant to be vague for the sake of making sure the show will go on.

 

[Leonhart]

A friend from another board describes it best: a Pokémon Master would be a trainer who've mastered all aspects regarding Pokémon. Not just being the best trainer but also the best on another aspects related to Pokémon.

This take could also explain Ash's current status in the show.

Well by this definition of the phrase Pokemon Master, I'd say that Satoshi has a long way to go considering that despite his long journey, he's nowhere close to mastering all aspects of Pokemon. He's far too inconsistent for the title right now, and I think that only characters like Shirona and Wataru come close to fulfilling that title.

 

[BabaVanga]

I think Pokémon Master is just one of the strongest (if not the strongest) trainer that have unique bond with his/her Pokémon and cares for other Pokémon, too. That's how I'd interpret "it's so much more than being the strongest battler".

 

[SerenaRulez]

I think Pokémon Master is just one of the strongest (if not the strongest) trainer that have unique bond with his/her Pokémon and cares for other Pokémon, too. That's how I'd interpret "it's so much more than being the strongest battler".

So the power of friendship? It would match with the main lesson that the show always teaches but at the same time it would feel too underwhelming if that is really all it takes to become a Pokemon master

 

[Leonhart]

I think Pokémon Master is just one of the strongest (if not the strongest) trainer that have unique bond with his/her Pokémon and cares for other Pokémon, too. That's how I'd interpret "it's so much more than being the strongest battler".

Well considering that Satoshi's one of the few lucky people who can merge with Gekkouga [which is the apex of Pokemon bonding] on top of his already strong bond with Pikachu, I'd say that this interpretation would make Satoshi the closest person to the Pokemon Master title.

 

[Animac]

I've never thought of "pokemon master" as a title related to battles, to be honest. The show over the years has implied that Ash just like pokemon battles, but when it comes to his dream he always mentions traveling to know more people and pokemons. At the start of this series they even made him say that the title is more than just being a powerful trainer. So, I guess, when the time comes and the definition is finally revealed*, a pokemon master will be more related to knowing and understanding pokemon, not only logical way but almost in a spiritual way, like those old wise old men in fantasy literature, but applied to pokemon. If you think about it, that fits a lot with Ash style compared to how the rest of characters interact with pokemon.
*If that even happen someday

 

[Bortgreen]

The simple fact of a Pokémon Master role being something vague means the anime can't end even if Ash wins the league

So I have no clue why Ash lost 6 leagues in really weird or forced ways(except maybe Johto)

 

[pancakemonster]

Obviously the goal of "Pokemon Master" is just meant to be a broad ideal so that Ash always has something to work towards, but I've always viewed his accomplishments in the first movie as a sort of vindication of him, in some way, already reaching that goal. He fights tooth and nail so that Pikachu isn't taken away from him by Mewtwo's pokeballs, manages to free all of the original Pokemon to fight against the clones, then sacrifices himself to end the meaningless conflict.

Think about it. You've got multiple other people there, some of whom we know are incredibly skilled trainers. But of all those, Ash is the MOST dedicated to his Pokemon, the MOST empathetic to the pain being caused by their fighting, and he's the only one with the guts to take a stand to end it, even at the cost of his own life. His sacrifice unifies all of the Pokemon there, including the clones, and causes Mewtwo to have a fundamental change of heart that ends his existential suffering. "Pokemon Master" may not be a real, tangible title, but I feel like in that movie he came the closest to that ideal that anyone ever could.

(Then they wiped his memory so the show could go on )

 

[LilligantLewis]

A friend from another board describes it best: a Pokémon Master would be a trainer who've mastered all aspects regarding Pokémon. Not just being the best trainer but also the best on another aspects related to Pokémon.

This take could also explain Ash's current status in the show.



Actually, that part is an actual fact. At least considering what Takeshi Shudo had said about it on his blog. If I recall correctly he indeed say it was meant to be vague for the sake of making sure the show will go on.

Quite frankly, I don't care what Takeshi Shudo said 20 years ago. That holds little to no weight today. The show is constantly evolving. For example, I bet if you told someone working on the show even 4 years ago, that Ash would win a league in 2019, they wouldn't believe you.

 

[Leonhart]

The simple fact of a Pokémon Master role being something vague means the anime can't end even if Ash wins the league

So I have no clue why Ash lost 6 leagues in really weird or forced ways(except maybe Johto)

I guess that perhaps the writers didn't want Satoshi to reach a position where he was the regional Champion in previous sagas due to them not knowing how to handle something like that. Even now in Pocket Monsters they seem to be going out of their way to avoid addressing the elephant in the room [Satoshi's status as a Champion].

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

Quite frankly, I don't care what Takeshi Shudo said 20 years ago. That holds little to no weight today. The show is constantly evolving. For example, I bet if you told someone working on the show even 4 years ago, that Ash would win a league in 2019, they wouldn't believe you.

You might not care - or like - but the people who worked in the show back in the day and still are there today most likely do. People such as Yuyama the lead director for the show.

Also, with the exception of the more "depressing", "dark" parts of what Shudo said - such as things concerning the gym leader job - are either not disproven or are still valid today.

Ash's goal being vague is a good setup and allowed them to keep the show around for so long so they probably like that idea and stick to it. Same goes for TR. To the point that only now, they are kind of being phased out (but are still around).

By the way, if you ask me, maybe the Kalos League result caused some sort of backlash and the head honchos decided to address it with Alola OR since they would no longer do a series adaptating the currently running game they just decided to get done with league quests and have an excuse to have Ash do something else.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

It was said back in DP's ending that winning the Champion League would make somebody a Pokemon Master.
Well, Alola has no such league. All it has is a normal league (which just started). So by that technicality, Ash is basically a Pokemon Master now.

Of course, that doesn't mean he suddenly has to stop traveling, ergo the show's not over.