What Percentage of People in the Pokemon World are actually trainers?

[Legacy]

Alright, this might be more of an anime-based question, but out of all the trainers in the Pokemon World, how many are actually registered trainers?

Sometimes it seems like everyone with a Pokemon is a trainer in the anime as well as the games.

From the movies, when we get a more detailed look at some of the cities Ash and co. travel to...it seems like there are more 'non-trainer' regular citizens walking around than actual trainers, although this is only an assumption. (thinking of movie 5)

Do you think being a Pokemon trainer in their world is like playing a particular sport in our world in terms of how many people are actually trainers? Like being a basketball player here...a lot of people play for fun, but the percentage of organized basketball players out of all the people on Earth is not that high?

 

[TTEchidna]

Likely about as many as who own pets of some kind.

 

[Sleet]

Probably. Or, based on the games/anime, just about 100%. But more realistically, what TTEchidna said.

 

[Cybersai]

I'd say 90-95%.

 

[The Outrage]

Likely about as many as who own pets of some kind.

Yeah, but just because they have Pokemon, doesn't mean they are card-carrying registered trainers. They could just have them as pets or companions.

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

Likely about as many as who own pets of some kind.

Not necessarily. Many people in the Pokemon anime especially, and to some degree in the games, own Pokemon simply as pets or aids for other thing. Many of the "TOTD"s aren't actually trainers.
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Look at how many people there are in towns. A good example would be a place like Cinnibar - all the tourists there s oppose to real trainers who actually showed up.

I'm sure there are a lot of them. But I'd think there are much more citizens and workers than trainers.

 

[Legacy]

Not necessarily. Many people in the Pokemon anime especially, and to some degree in the games, own Pokemon simply as pets or aids for other thing. Many of the "TOTD"s aren't actually trainers.
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Look at how many people there are in towns. A good example would be a place like Cinnibar - all the tourists there s oppose to real trainers who actually showed up.

I'm sure there are a lot of them. But I'd think there are much more citizens and workers than trainers.

I agree, in movies 5 and 10, there's a bunch of regular people walking the streets, like that mother and her daughter buying cotton candy in alamos.

It seems like trainers are like kids and older people who play sports.

 

[PDL]

Anyone can own or befriend a Pokémon, but a trainer is someone who befriends Pokémon and uses them to specifically battle and compete with other trainers.

I'm also guessing that it's probably very expensive to get a starter Pokémon as well. Especially since trainers have a choice between three of them, but only one is picked.

 

[bell02+]

Well, it's kind of different as well because some people classify themselves not as trainers but as other things like a breeder or a coordinator. Maybe like Pokemon Breeding and Coordination, a person can participate in the act of "Training Pokemon" without being a pokemon trainer. (Plus in both the games and the Anime there have been cases in which we've seen people with pokemon who are under the legal age of owning pokemon. So in that sense they can't be classified as a Certified Trainer)

 

[ShinyAeon]

I think the pet thing is applicable...a lot of people have pets in our world, but how many raise, breed, train or show animals as a hobby or a profession? The difference is that Pokemon's main sporting/talent areas all involve Pokemon in some way...it's a Bigger Business there than pet ownership is, here. Kids are encouraged to do it, given a free (or just cheap) ride to support them for a while, so that anyone who really could take to it is given the chance to find out...but many people discover it's not for them and drop it, though of course they can still have a Pokemon or two or six around in their lives.

I keep thinking of rural kids and the 4-H club, or the Scouting movement...a sponsored way to support kids in a certain field, that many kids get into for a while, but only a few eventually adopt as a permanent part of their lives (though some may remain casual hobbyists, like people can still go camping on vacation, or volunteer in their local Livestock Show or something...).

So...yeah.

 

[Luxio2k8]

It's likely that most people in the Pokémon World do own Pokémon, but mostly as pets and as helpers.

In terms of the "Hardcore Trainers" that actually go on traveling journeys to be in contests or earn gym badges I would say is more like around 25%.

 

[domesticshorthair]

I think the pet thing is applicable...a lot of people have pets in our world, but how many raise, breed, train or show animals as a hobby or a profession? The difference is that Pokemon's main sporting/talent areas all involve Pokemon in some way...it's a Bigger Business there than pet ownership is, here.

Kind of like, raising horses or dogs to race or something like that, you mean?

 

[Kalylia]

Kind of like, raising horses or dogs to race or something like that, you mean?

I think that's actually pretty applicable. I mean, one has to realize that there are a great number more professions than just "Trainer" that involve Pokemon. There are Professors that study Pokemon, Professor's Aides that work like lab workers in Our world. There are Breeders that work to bring out the best in Pokemon. There are Coordinators, whose goals aren't just to defeat their opponent, but outshine them as well. There are Gym Leaders who not only train Pokemon and defeat other trainers, but usually provide some sort of lesson along the way. In recent years, we've also learned about Rangers, who act sort of like Pokemon Police and specialize in befriending wild Pokemon, not training eighty of their own. And let's not forget those pink-haired individuals in the games and anime that are responsible for healing trainers' Pokemon's wounds. Even going beyond what is completely obvious, there are probably individuals that are responsible for developing new Pokeballs or items for healing. I mean, someone had to invent the Potion.

In the anime, we also see Pokemon being used for other things. Even in the game to some extent. Some people use their Pokemon to help them in every day life, working as equals in a business.

So when we're talking about the percentage of people in the Pokemon world that are actually trainers, we need to keep in mind that not everyone who works with Pokemon is classified as a Trainer. And while it seems a little awkward to say, not everyone who trains a Pokemon is an actual Trainer. So to find the percentage of trainers, one would need to define what a Trainer is first.

In my opinion, a Trainer is an individual who works tirelessly to make his/her Pokemon stronger through battling. A Trainer focuses his/her energy on the battle, not necessarily the nutrition as a Breeder might, or the way a move looks, like a Coordinator would. A Trainer's goal is to expand his/her skills in the Pokemon world by developing a small mastery over each breed of Pokemon, hence the ever popular phrase "Gotta Catch 'Em All." Trainers form a bond with one or two of their Pokemon, but their end goals are to capture far too many Pokemon to have an extremely close bond with each and every one of them. Because of this desire to literally achieve a mastery in battle, some Trainers specialize in a single element, like most Gym Leaders and Trainers like Misty. For the Trainer, it's all about the battle.

Individuals that meet those stipulations aren't as common as one might think. For people that are actually Trainers, I'd say we're looking at maybe 10% of the overall population, and that's being generous. The percentage of the population that are involved with Pokemon in some way, shape, or form is probably bordering on 80-90%, but as I've already stated, that doesn't make them all "Trainers."

 

[Legacy]

I think that's actually pretty applicable. I mean, one has to realize that there are a great number more professions than just "Trainer" that involve Pokemon. There are Professors that study Pokemon, Professor's Aides that work like lab workers in Our world. There are Breeders that work to bring out the best in Pokemon. There are Coordinators, whose goals aren't just to defeat their opponent, but outshine them as well. There are Gym Leaders who not only train Pokemon and defeat other trainers, but usually provide some sort of lesson along the way. In recent years, we've also learned about Rangers, who act sort of like Pokemon Police and specialize in befriending wild Pokemon, not training eighty of their own. And let's not forget those pink-haired individuals in the games and anime that are responsible for healing trainers' Pokemon's wounds. Even going beyond what is completely obvious, there are probably individuals that are responsible for developing new Pokeballs or items for healing. I mean, someone had to invent the Potion.

In the anime, we also see Pokemon being used for other things. Even in the game to some extent. Some people use their Pokemon to help them in every day life, working as equals in a business.

So when we're talking about the percentage of people in the Pokemon world that are actually trainers, we need to keep in mind that not everyone who works with Pokemon is classified as a Trainer. And while it seems a little awkward to say, not everyone who trains a Pokemon is an actual Trainer. So to find the percentage of trainers, one would need to define what a Trainer is first.

In my opinion, a Trainer is an individual who works tirelessly to make his/her Pokemon stronger through battling. A Trainer focuses his/her energy on the battle, not necessarily the nutrition as a Breeder might, or the way a move looks, like a Coordinator would. A Trainer's goal is to expand his/her skills in the Pokemon world by developing a small mastery over each breed of Pokemon, hence the ever popular phrase "Gotta Catch 'Em All." Trainers form a bond with one or two of their Pokemon, but their end goals are to capture far too many Pokemon to have an extremely close bond with each and every one of them. Because of this desire to literally achieve a mastery in battle, some Trainers specialize in a single element, like most Gym Leaders and Trainers like Misty. For the Trainer, it's all about the battle.

Individuals that meet those stipulations aren't as common as one might think. For people that are actually Trainers, I'd say we're looking at maybe 10% of the overall population, and that's being generous. The percentage of the population that are involved with Pokemon in some way, shape, or form is probably bordering on 80-90%, but as I've already stated, that doesn't make them all "Trainers."

I agree with this.

That's why I liken the top trainers like Wallace and Cynthia to pro athletes in our world. They are celebrities who are always shown on TV doing their thing at a high level. Kids look up to them.

I liken the ten year old trainers like Ash to all the kids in our world who watch these pro athletes and play organized sports themselves, trying to be like their heroes.

And staying with the trainer/athlete analogy...I liken the rest (80%-90% as people have said) of the population in the Pokemon World who still have Pokemon and stuff to the people in our world who may play sports for fun or otherwise enjoy sports for fun but don't do it as part of an organized team.