Since the franchise began, Pokémon fans have been wondering how to be an active Pokémon Trainer. Who can be a coach? How old does a person need to be? And why did Ash Ketchum never have to go to school?
All these questions and many more are actually explained in one of the earliest Pokémon manga to be released, The Electric Tale of Pikachu. As a loose adaptation of the anime series, The Electric Tale of Pikachu starts off quite differently, and these differences allow for the first time a chance to explain some elements of the franchise, like the paper. coach license. For starters, Ash was not given to Pikachu by Professor Oak; he found it gnawing on the wires in his wall. The lack of an official start to Ash’s journey leaves him with many problems that the original anime’s Ash never had.
Pokémon trainers are absent from school for a reason
In chapter 1 of The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Ash meets Gary for the first time, who shows off his newly acquired Pokémon Trainer license, which Ash is of course envious of. Gary brags that he’s about to begin his Pokémon adventure, allaying the fact that Licensed Pokémon Trainers are exempt from the mandatory schooling. Gary also said that “the second they turn 10” kids will go get their permits, indicating that 10 is the minimum age to become a Pokémon Trainer, although there are occasional preschoolers from Pokémon game. The manga’s narrative later provides more details, including a note that only licensed Trainers are allowed to purchase Poké Balls.
Interestingly, the only requirement beyond the age of 10 is that future coaches must attend a half-day training workshop and pass an exam based on that. A Pokémon Trainer license seems to be fairly easy to obtain, as Ash decided to get his license after meeting Gary, and was apparently able to do so on the same day. When Ash caused a scene in town with his poorly trained Uncle Pikachu, the police even stopped him and demanded to see his driver’s license, while commenting on his freshness. ta. The manga then implies that there is a separate license to become a Professional Trainer, which has a much harder test with a passing rate of only 20%.
The legitimacy of Pokémon training and rearing isn’t really covered in the main anime or game series, so it’s nice that the manga offers a pretty reasonable explanation for it all. The school issue has also long been a point of contention among fandoms. While the new Pokémon Horizons anime shows its heroes learning remotely through their Rotom Phones, the anime’s Ash has never even acknowledged the concept of school. At least Pokémon manga has thought through this issue and come up with an answer, so while it may not apply to every sequel, it does give an idea of how legitimately being a Trainer works. pellets.