The Trainer's License (And what it means for Max)

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FabuVinny

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The trainer’s licence is a concept that we have not received a definition for and I believe requires some thought. As you probably already know, everyone qualifies for their trainer’s licence at the age of ten. This is usually the age that trainer’s get their starter Pokémon and can begin their Pokémon Journey.

The assumption that tends to be made is that everyone needs to be ten before they can have a Pokémon. This was fair enough back in episode one but now has no basis in canon due to all the little kids we have seen with Pokémon. As will become clear, I don’t subscribe to the theory that Max is now ten just because he is about to start training Pokémon.

There are plenty of other exceptions as well. While we don’t know Misty’s age, the beginning of her journey was not of the standard form seen of Ash, May or Gary. This has nothing to do with age as she simply left Cerulean one day; the implication being that it was after an argument with her sisters and she may even have began with three Pokémon. Sakura’s journey didn’t begin simply due to her age and she felt that she had to prove to her sisters that she was ready. Even Max was allowed to travel with Ash and May, though he didn’t have any Pokémon. We should also not forget the people who never become trainers for whatever reason.

Still, the norm for most kids still seems to be that they receive their first Pokémon and start their journey at the age of ten. The trainer’s licence apparently isn’t a licence to simply train Pokémon so what is it and why do most people not begin their journey until they can get it? I believe that the trainer’s license is used by the Pokémon League to be able to regulate trainers.

Think about it. The Pokémon have too much integration with humans for the League to realistically be able to have any control over who owns them. If a child wants a pet then I fail to see how the League can stop the Pokémon being used in that way. The League is a sporting organisation and not a form of government so it could only have control over the Gyms, contests and official competitions. In Max’s debut episode, his response to Ash’s stating that he isn’t the Petalburg Gym Leader is, “Of course I’m not, silly. Can’t you see I’m just a kid?” So a child apparently can’t become a Gym Leader though we have seen a number above the age of ten. The license therefore is for what the League has power over and simply owning a Pokémon clearly doesn’t come under that power.

So what implications would this have? All the main characters are already ten, and so not affected, other than Max. As I do not believe that he is ten – and there is plenty of evidence that the characters are ageless – then he can’t qualify for a trainer’s license. This is not problematic. Many characters appear to be travelling fairly aimlessly, particularly Ritchie who is all over the place in his three hoso appearances. However, Max can still find aims without entering a league tournament from simply making his Pokémon the best they can be to following the now out of use “Gotta catch ‘em all” catchphrase. Before it became apparent that Gary won’t be appearing in Sinnoh, I was speculating that Max might become a research assistant for him. I am currently toying with the idea of him helping Ritchie research legendary Pokémon though he could decide to do almost anything at this point. Whatever happens and whatever his current age, I look forward to seeing him pick up Ralts and begin his journey regardless of our lack of knowledge of the details of the trainer’s license.
 
Damn, this thing is canon? I thought it was just some fan idea.

But may I ask, is this just anime? Or do the other media also reference it?
 
Well, with all of the people we've seen with Pokémon by now, I don't think we've seen many others who have challenged the Gyms. That could possibly be it, that the liscense allows for official Gym battles in the regional competition someone's registered in, and after they defeat all eight, or fulfill whatever requirements the regional tournament's sponsor designates, they can go on. Remember that they checked Ash out on that stuff, and he had to reregister in each new region.

And about Brock's brother... well, Brock is a highly-esteemed leader, maybe he can transfer his Gym duties down to his brother and bypass the liscense thing. Or maybe it's a parental consent thing? Like, say, before 10, someone can own them if their parents say so, but after 10, their parents don't have jurisdiction over that. Or something.

I would imagine, though, that a retiring leader nominates his or her replacement. That's how it is in the game, with Koga and Wallace. And Blue could've just come back from the Indigo Plateau and noticed that the gym was up for grabs, and decided to apply for it. After all, in the anime, Agatha's there temporarily, probably just to make sure that trainers can still have a chance to get into the Indigo competition, and she'd possibly nominate another for the job after they get their credentials checked.

And remember, every time Brock's come back from another region, he's gone back to Pewter City, possibly to meet with League organizers.

I dunno. It gets confusing when you look at the games to try to set straight the anime, but that's what it's based on, so I don't suppose it's utterly forbidden to get some ideas there, right?
 
I beleive they can have a pokemon before the age of 10, just cant be a full-fleged licenced trainer until you get your liscence, which you probably get from a professor. Well, thats what i think.
 
I just figured that anyone can own Pokémon, but to be an official trainer that can challange gyms and enter trounaments, you have to have a license. And that license comes with a Pokédex and a choice of one of the three starters of your region.

I always assumed there was some kind of test to become an officially licensed trainer, but the fact that Ash and May knew next to nothing about what they were doing at their beginnings kind of contradicts that thought.

As Max and probably Misty (although she did enter the Whirl Cup) showed us, you don't neccesarily have to be a trainer to travel and own Pokémon. The main reason Max seems to refuse to catch Pokémon yet is because he wants to wait until he's officially a trainer.

About why not everyone becomes trainers... We've seen tons of times that the life of a trainer is incredibly difficult and most people end of quitting.
 
Yeah...anyways I doubt that any parent would allow their 10 year old child to travel even wth a monster in any universe.
 
Nah, every kid has to leave home someday, it said so on TV.

Haha, man that is an awesome quote...

Yeah, we all are aware of that problem.
 
It kind of confuses me as to why the age is ten and not older. You aren't mentally mature by that age, and as far as I'm concerned, not old enough to be out on your own. But that's not important right now.

Yeah, I always thought that you could own pokemon at any age, regardless of license. You could even train them; all you have to do is go into your backyard and carry on. But in order to participate in Gym battles, and ultimately, the League. I think that's all it's for; the pass for the chance to participate in that region's League.
 
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