Trainer Rating Forum (possible spoilers)

[Dr. Sun]

In this thread, posters can take trainers on the show and give an appraisal of things like their strengths and weaknesses, their place in the pokemon world, and so forth. I'll start by describing Ash Ketchum:

Ash Ketchum

Age: 14 (as of the Battle Frontier saga)

Hometown: Pallet Town

Current roster:

Pikachu
[SPOIL]Donphan[/SPOIL]
Grovyle
Corphish
Swellow

Strengths:

Ash has a tremendous knack for training his pokemon-they've all become strong and powerful with even a minimum of training. Ash has also become a very skilled and experienced battler, often using conventional attacks in unconventional ways (using Flamethrower to burn up the battlefield, using Tackle to run up a Gastly's tongue, or using Thunder on stormclouds to power up his own pokemon). He is also notable for the kind way he treats his pokemon, letting them evolve and grow at their own pace, or refusing to evolve altogether if they don't want to change. This friendship increases the strength of the bond between him and his pokemon, and the bonds they share in battle.

Weaknesses:

If there is a criticism to be made of Ash, it is that he tends to rely on the same pokemon for too long over a long period of time, while others remain at Professor Oak's lab, lacking some of the development and training that make the pokemon on his team as powerful as they are. Fortunately, they are well taken care of by Professor Oak, and ably serve on those occasions when Ash calls on them.

General view in the world of pokemon training:

In just a few short years of training, Ash has progressed very far, being the first trainer to defeat Drake, the current leader of the Orange Crew, and has never finished lower than 16th overall in the three leagues he has participated in.

 

[ChaosMage]

May Normanson (random made-up name)

Age: 10 (doubted by many)

Hometown: Petalburg City

Current Roster:
[SPOIL]Combusken (starter, only pokemon with Grand Festival experience)
Squirtle (experience in 2 contests thus far, bred as a starter pokemon)
Munchlax (has yet to participate in a
Eevee (recently hatched from an egg)[/SPOIL]

Strengths:

May works well under pressure, and her pokemon have always performed well in contests, with seven ribbons and only two contest losses. She has always had good luck in battle and performs with originality and prowess in appeals. She also managed to reach the Top 4 in the latest Hoenn Grand Festival, a tremendous achievement for a first attempt. She also has a remarkable skill for quickly teaching and perfecting new moves for her pokemon that are not naturally achieved otherwise.

Weaknesses:

May has had problems with pokeblock making, and developed an interest in them at far too late in her Hoenn quest. [SPOIL]Only one of her pokemon has interest in her pokeblock, a naturally greedy Munchlax.[/SPOIL] She also does very little training due to the unusual natural ability of her pokemon, and the less powerful have been affected in battle by her occasional overconfidence. She has a tendency to send inexperienced pokemon into battle, which often causes issues with the performance of the pokemon.

General View:

May is a talented and well-instructed trainer, being the daughter of Petalburg's Gym Leader Norman and travelling partner of strong trainer, Ash Ketchum. She needs to work harder on the afforementioned training issues, but her performance with her pokemon (which are majoritively young and unevolved) has been very noteworthy. We wish her all the luck in the Kanto Grand Festival.

 

[The Big Al]

^I don't.

Brock

Age: 20's

Home Town: Pewter

Roster
[SPOIL]Forrest
Marshtomp
Bonsly[/SPOIL]

Strengths
As a Pokemon breeder, and the caretaker of his brothers and sisters for years, Brock is a very talented person. He can cook, officate, guide and other tasks.

Weaknesses
Traveling with Ash was the worst thing to happen to Brock. He's gone from being a major threat in the Kanto gym challenge to a joke. He rarely battles or breeds for that matter. If anything, his non Pokemon talents are exploited by his traveling parenters.

Overall view
You should have stayed in Pewter Brock. At least you had a future there.

James

Age: Unknown 20's perhaps

Hometown: Rural Kanto

Roster
[SPOIL]Manene[/SPOIL]
Cacnea

Strengths
James is actually a decent Pokemon trainer. He's proven that many times in his battles alone.

Weakness
He's a wuss and lets himself be bossed around by Jessie.

Overall
James should kick Jessie and meowth to the curb and become a legal Poke ringer. He's got the talent and as long as he stays away from Ash, he's got it made in the shade.

Jessie

Age: 20's?

Roster
Seviper
Dustox
Wobbufett

Home Town: Unknown

Strengths
None, Jessie is an awful battler and has gotten worse with time. She is radical and arrogant in her tactics.

Weakness
She's vain, stupid, bossy, arrogant, and generally an airhead. Whoever made her squad leader should have been shot.

 

[Momoko Lover]

Misty Whateverherlastnameis

Age:In her teens, I guess

Home Town:Cerulean City

Roster:
[SPOIL]Azurill[/SPOIL]
Corsola
Gyarados
Goldeen
Staryu
Politoed
Psyduck

Strengths
Misty is a very talented water pokemon trainer, and gym leader. She has very good qualities that shows that she could become a water pokemon master.

Weaknesses
She seems to be a little hot-headed and short-tempered when it doesn't seem necessary. She needs to seriously take a chill pill.

Overall
Misty seems to be a very good pokemon trainer, but just needs to cool it most of the time.

 

[Kamex]

Tracy Sketchit

Age: teens (some may argue early twenties... not sure though)

Hometown: Probably somewhere in the Orange Islands.

Current roster:

Marril
Venonat
Scyther

Strengths:

Tracy has good experience as a Pokemon Watcher and even found a Marril before it was known to man (or at least before it was officially numbered). As his 'job' requires, he is an excellent artist and fair Pokemon trainer in his own right. He was also somewhat knowledgeable in general.

Weaknesses:

Doesn't really have any... unless you count viewers/4Kids thinking he was too dull and demanding to see Brock again. Tracy was dealt quite a bad hand when it came to his airtime.

General view in the world of pokemon training:

Tracy made a lot of progress in his Pokemon Watching business, and after being shafted out of the show is at least being taught by the reknowned Professor Oak.

 

[Geki]

Gary Oak

Age: 15
Hometown: Pallet Town, Kanto
Current Roster: Blastoise, Umbreon, Dodrio

Strengths: Gary knows a lot about Pokemon's types and abilities, and he raises them well. He also has a knack for catching lots of Pokemon, regardless of their rarity.

Weaknesses: Gary's weakness is that he lacks love and friendship with his Pokemon. He needs to love them more and stop using them as if they're machines. His training style is the total opposite of Ash's.

General View: Gary was a great Pokemon trainer, but quit after his journey in Johto after losing to Ash's Charizard. He currently is traveling the Pokemon World as a Researcher.

 

[Alfonso]

You know.

It probably would be better if you guys didn't add those lame fake last names. It will only serve to confuse people who don't know better.

 

[The Big Al]

I'm going on the assumption *knocks on wood* that Brock's father was called his last name by most people. Therefore, Brock's last name is Flint.

 

[cold_katanagirl]

If May's last name is Norman... Then her dad is Norman Normanson.

... wtf & lol.

 

[Alfonso]

I'm going on the assumption *knocks on wood* that Brock's father was called his last name by most people. Therefore, Brock's last name is Flint.

Dude.

Wives don't call their husbands by their last name.

 

[The Big Al]

Dude, I haven't seen the special yet.

I deleted the last name anyway. I didn't give one for Jessie or James.

 

[Sharpshooter]

Current Roster: Blastoise, Umbreon, Dodrio

I know the guide says otherwise but it's likely he probably recalled back nearly all his pokémon. Considering it was only initially meant to be his Blastoise.

 

[Andromache]

While I unfortunately must agree that Brock's lost his battle edge (which I sorely miss), he does seem to have an excellent relationship with his Pokemon and he seems to be more of a Pokemon doctor than Pokemon breeder, which is fine by me. Perhaps not battling goes along with his character in the anime. I'm not sure. After all, Brock is sort of a pacifist in many situations. He doesn't generally leap into the fray like Ash does because Brock's generally easygoing and even-tempered. If his battle prowess seems to have gone out of practice, I say it's because he has Ash to do the battling and therefore never really needs to do much in that regard. As a gym leader, he only had himself to depend on so his real ability had the chance to shine. I think Lotad is the best example of his training ability. It took a lot of patience to perfect that watergun, and Lombre became quite dependable in battle, if still a bit out of it otherwise. And at the very least, he has a more level head when it comes to wins and losses as part of battle. Ash must win or he sulks.