OniCornwalis
Active Member
I really didn't think I would have to say this, especially since most of the people here are pretty smart, but apparently I was wrong in that assumption. So, just to make things clear, I'd like to make sure that everyone in these forums understands that Gou IS NOT a psychopath. And at this point you may be wondering to yourself; "Why is he not one?" Well, to start, let's look at the qualities that make up a psychopath.
As stated by the 20-item Hare Psychopathy Checklist, a psychopath is a person that has a lack of empathy, is a pathological liar, has no sense of guilt, is impulsive and irresponsible, has reduced emotional responses and fails to accept responsibility for their own actions.
Based on this checklist, Gou only exhibits the quality of being impulsive and irresponsible, a trait that Ash also shares. Gou is a very emotional person, as shown by his respect towards Ash in episode 3 and excitement over catching new Pokemon, which crosses off having reduced emotional responses. Gou is a very empathetic person, as shown when he tries to save Scorbunny from being punished by the cafe owner in episode 4 and checks to see if his Metapod isn't hurt in episode 7 after it falls on the rock. Finally, Gou accepts responsibility for his own actions, as shown when he apologizes to his Scyther in the battle tournament. While Gou does have his issues, such as being socially awkward and being selfish sometimes, those are issues that a lot of people have, and don't automatically make someone psychotic. While it sucks that we don't see a lot of meaningful interactions between Gou and most of his Pokemon, he at least makes sure they're well cared for and doesn't treat them like dirt.
People on these forums believe that having emotional issues equals being a psychopath, which is completely false. As someone who has personally lived with a legitimate psychopath, seeing people misuse that term in order to make Gou look bad infuriates me, as I guarantee that almost all of you don't understand what you're saying when you call Gou psychotic. You can dislike Gou and call him selfish or insensitive at times, but PLEASE don't use a term to describe him that doesn't apply in any way, shape or form.
As stated by the 20-item Hare Psychopathy Checklist, a psychopath is a person that has a lack of empathy, is a pathological liar, has no sense of guilt, is impulsive and irresponsible, has reduced emotional responses and fails to accept responsibility for their own actions.
Based on this checklist, Gou only exhibits the quality of being impulsive and irresponsible, a trait that Ash also shares. Gou is a very emotional person, as shown by his respect towards Ash in episode 3 and excitement over catching new Pokemon, which crosses off having reduced emotional responses. Gou is a very empathetic person, as shown when he tries to save Scorbunny from being punished by the cafe owner in episode 4 and checks to see if his Metapod isn't hurt in episode 7 after it falls on the rock. Finally, Gou accepts responsibility for his own actions, as shown when he apologizes to his Scyther in the battle tournament. While Gou does have his issues, such as being socially awkward and being selfish sometimes, those are issues that a lot of people have, and don't automatically make someone psychotic. While it sucks that we don't see a lot of meaningful interactions between Gou and most of his Pokemon, he at least makes sure they're well cared for and doesn't treat them like dirt.
People on these forums believe that having emotional issues equals being a psychopath, which is completely false. As someone who has personally lived with a legitimate psychopath, seeing people misuse that term in order to make Gou look bad infuriates me, as I guarantee that almost all of you don't understand what you're saying when you call Gou psychotic. You can dislike Gou and call him selfish or insensitive at times, but PLEASE don't use a term to describe him that doesn't apply in any way, shape or form.
