Pokémon Trainers still go to school?

[The Outrage]

Looking back at one of the comments made from one of the users which involved an interview between Iwata and Sugimori on what I can only assume to be an Iwata Asks segment. Shoutout to @Silktree if he could provide a link with the transcript.

Anyway the quote in question:

Sugimori: Yeah. Another thing is a certain down-to-earth characteristic. Until now, the stories have been small in scale—set in Japan, telling the tale of one young boy's summer. That's the basis for the Pokémon games.
Iwata: The story of a young boy catching bugs in the summer.

I get that the statement could be interpreted in a matter of ways:
-The boy's summer is for real life, not the games
-Literally means a summer for a trainer

But hear me out. Regions aren't that large, perhaps the entire journey does only take a few months. It could be possible that given their society's structure, they allow for students to take a semester off to do their Pokemon journey, after all, they have Pokemon schools. It could very well be like a co-op type thing. I know there are programs in university and high school where students aren't in school for a whole semester doing co-op.

 

[Silktree]

You're right that it was an Iwata Asks segment.

As I said before, Sugimori's comment should be taken with a grain of salt. This might have been possible in the original games where one could imagine that Professor Oak asked Red and Blue to take a leave from school to complete the Pokédex, but that decision resulted in both kids developing high-profile careers as trainers, and ever since then the games have been about that. Even after the credits, the adventure does not seem to be approaching its end.

Besides, there is only Pokémon school per a game, and suffice to say that the resident teacher doesn't recognize the player character.

 

[Laterose]

Homeschooling could be a common thing in the Pokemon world.

 

[DoctorKosmic]

You're right that it was an Iwata Asks segment.

As I said before, Sugimori's comment should be taken with a grain of salt. This might have been possible in the original games where one could imagine that Professor Oak asked Red and Blue to take a leave from school to complete the Pokédex, but that decision resulted in both kids developing high-profile careers as trainers, and ever since then the games have been about that. Even after the credits, the adventure does not seem to be approaching its end.

Besides, there is only Pokémon school per a game, and suffice to say that the resident teacher doesn't recognize the player character.

Correct, one POKéMON school. That doesn't mean there aren't actual schools around the region, they just don't show up in the games because they're irrelevant to the quest. Just like we never saw the place "Mom" ordered all her items and Pokédolls from in Gen II.

I like to think that in the Pokémon World, kids go to a school encompassing most fields of knowledge until the age of 10, at which point they can choose their path, going to the Pokémon school, continuing the regular field of study, with the subject up to the individual.

As of the game, it's summertime, and as such they have plenty of free time to either sit around the house doing nothing, go adventuring, or whatever they like. The professors naturally take advantage of this.

 

[The Outrage]

@Silktree, I assumed that those Pokémon schools are more or less prep-schools for young trainers whose parents could afford to send them there, though its only the Rustboro school that seemed high-maintenance.

On the recognition of trainers, most do live in the only town where there is a professor, and they are often very well acquainted.

As for the non-ending game end credits, how fun would it be for us to have finished the game only to wind up in school? Besides, being high-profile trainers give them something to do in their life, but what of the lowly bug catchers and youngsters? I'd imagine that they go to school and train pokemon on their down time.

 

[Composer]

Going on a journey with Pokemon for Summer holidays seems like a perflectly logical thing to me (except allowing 10 year olds to do it.)

All regions until Unova looked like it was late Summer > early Autumn,so Sugimori's statement seems correct in every single way imaginable.

 

[The Outrage]

Even with Unova, the scaling for the season was set so that you could finish it within one season. Gameplay and story segregation perhaps, but why a monthly change rather than weekly?

 

[The Knights of Wario Land]

I find this kinda hard to believe, since Pokemon Platinum takes place near the end of winter, when schools should normally be halfway through.

 

[Composer]

I find this kinda hard to believe, since Pokemon Platinum takes place near the end of winter, when schools should normally be halfway through.

It could be late spring in Sinnoh since it's located far to the north and Mt.Coronet affects it's climate.

 

[The Outrage]

@Super Dragoon, I did note the possibility that, given how Pokémon predominate their lives, that trainers are allowed to apply for a leave of absence for a semester, much like co-op programs in University and High School.

 

[Miar]

I think Trainers are exempt from school, that they don't have to attend, but they still can.

Not everyone who gets a license to train has to travel, but many do anyway.

 

[Pyradox]

Doesn't the TV say in BW that Freyja or Andrew Hilda or Hilbert took a year between the start of the game and when they beat Ghetsis? Then again, they are 15 so it's possible they don't go to school anyway.

 

[voidcritter]

Apart from Red, I don't think any of the other player characters had their ages confirmed in the games.

 

[Pyradox]

^^ They definitely look older. I'd put Dawn and Lucas at 11 or 12, but it's clear to see that Freyja and Andrew Hilda and Hilbert are older than them.

 

[The Outrage]

Note that it was because of the anime that fans even thought all journeys started at 10. The original games started at 11 according to the manuals. In Platinum, Caitlin is apparently 14, so the characters could most certainly be older.

For all we know, pre-BW characters could be 11-14 years of age, while BW are 16+