What is your tolerance for character incompetence trainer wise?

[paulcreated]

After so many years we’ve seen a lot of beginning trainers in the anime, some start off a lot more competent than others. What is your tolerance for character incompetence as a trainer?

Ash started off as an idiot in Kanto. May didn’t know anything about Pokémon. Dawn started off with knowledge but got too overconfident and it led to her depression streak. Serena took a long time to even get into battling or be a trainer. Lillie didn’t know how to battle or throw a pokeball.

What’s your tolerance for these rookie/beginning trainer phases?

 

[TheWanderingMist]

High. No one starts out competent.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Iris? She has like 99 wins before she even started her journey.

She didn't know Charizard wasn't a dragon, her Excadrill didn't listen to her, she had plenty of problems before starting her journey.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

But she knew how to battle. All the other girls start off as practically helpless or incompetent.

Misty didn't.
May had basically never seen Pokemon, somehow.
Dawn didn't know anything either.
Iris essentially "started" before meeting Ash, back when she was a little kid and met Drayden.

 

[keepitsimple]

more of them should start off like iris. it was clear she was a rookie who wasn't very knowledgeable but she still wasn't pathetic and helpless. not knowing how to throw a ball is ridiculous and ~being a rookie~ doesn't justify that

 

[Sham]

She didn't know Charizard wasn't a dragon, her Excadrill didn't listen to her, she had plenty of problems before starting her journey.

Well Charizard is a Kanto starter and not native to Unova. Pokémon from other regions only appear in Eastern Unova and it was select few. Her not knowing Charizard was a honest mistake and not the weirdest thing.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Well Charizard is a Kanto starter and not native to Unova. Pokémon from other regions only appear in Eastern Unova and it was select few. Her not knowing Charizard was a honest mistake and not the weirdest thing.

Girl lived in village of dragon masters. Drayden was her mentor. Really it's something she should have known.

 

[Sham]

Girl lived in village of dragon masters. Drayden was her mentor. Really it's something she should have known.

But it’s not like she thought something like Mewoth was a Dragon, Charizard appears to be a Dragon (and even a generation later was able to become one) it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. Unova is far away from Kanto so I doubt they’d be educating children about far away places and their customs/Pokémon daily. I really don’t know why people expected her to know that like numerous of characters haven’t mistyped Pokémon way worse. It’s like asking your everyday American to know a bunch of Japanese knowledge; they’re bound to get something wrong.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

But it’s not like she thought something like Mewoth was a Dragon, Charizard appears to be a Dragon (and even a generation later was able to become one) it wasn’t out of the realm of possibilities. Unova is far away from Kanto so I doubt they’d be educating children about far away places and their customs/Pokémon daily. I really don’t know why people expected her to know that like numerous of characters haven’t mistyped Pokémon way worse. It’s like asking your everyday American to know a bunch of Japanese knowledge; they’re bound to get something wrong.

Actually, given the average American, I'd expect a rather high amount of random Japanese knowledge due to both the anime and historical factors.

 

[Sham]

Actually, given the average American, I'd expect a rather high amount of random Japanese knowledge due to both the anime and historical factors.

I don’t. No everyone is into anime nor is Japanese history that well documented outside of WW2 in schools

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Did anyone else dislike how Lillie couldn't even throw a pokeball? Watch the ep where Vulpix hatches and she tries to capture it, she can't even throw a ball and Snowy had to go into the ball itself.

No

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Did anyone else dislike how Lillie couldn't even throw a pokeball? Watch the ep where Vulpix hatches and she tries to capture it, she can't even throw a ball and Snowy had to go into the ball itself.

The girl was too terrified of Pokemon to touch them. Why would she magically know how to throw a Poke Ball?

 

[Satoshi & Touko]

To answer the thread's actual question, my tolerance is about as high as possible, seeing as I never have any investment in any characters or their goals. Personality and traits is what I'm more into.

 

[Leonhart]

I can usually tolerate trainers who aren't very strong or skilled if they're newbies, but when it's an established character like Satoshi during Best Wishes who made mistake after mistake in many battles, that's when I get irked.

 

[keepitsimple]

The girl was too terrified of Pokemon to touch them. Why would she magically know how to throw a Poke Ball?

it's literally just throwing an object at another object. you don't need experience with pokemon to be able to do that lmfao

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

I can usually tolerate trainers who aren't very strong or skilled if they're newbies, but when it's an established character like Satoshi during Best Wishes who made mistake after mistake in many battles, that's when I get irked.

Exactly

 

[AznKei]

I mostly blame the writers to make a joke on them when it's obvious the characters could have done things better than what they're depicted.

 

[TwilightBlade]

Whatever was wrong with Cameron from the Unova region is my limit for how incompetent a seasoned trainer can be because forgetting to bring a Pokemon to a full battle is where I draw the line.

As for new trainers, they should have common sense and should know the basics of throwing a Pokeball.

 

[Thumbs2]

It's all about consistency. If a character has a flaw and that leads them to mess up, that's fine. If they mess up because the plot needs them to mess up, that's lame.

 

[Aduro]

Its one of the things that annoys me most about Ash. He's been a trainer for so long and brute forces his way out of nearly all his problems. To the extent that if another trainer forced their pokemon to take that kind of punishment they would be considered abusive. It doesn't really gel with his character out of battle.


I'm fine with a rookie trainer making a lot of mistakes, so long as those mistakes cause problems for them and they learn from them. Some of May's better episodes came from her making terrible decisions as a trainer before improving for the sake of herself and her pokemon.

Its a definite problems when a character is incompetent but gets away with it. For example Ash getting the dynamo badge, basically for neglecting Pikachu's health.