Pokémon Master
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- If you were looking for the mobile game, see Pokémon Masters EX.
A Pokémon League poster aimed at aspiring Pokémon Masters
Pokémon Master (Japanese: ポケモンマスター Pokémon Master) is a title in the Pokémon world. It is the goal of many Pokémon Trainers to become a Pokémon Master. However, exactly what this position is and how one attains it is vague and never fully explained.
In response to an email sent to its mailbag, Pokémon.com posted the following:
"I'm very sorry, but the Pokémon Company does not answer questions of this nature. It is the intent of the Pokémon creators that such questions be left to the imaginations and interpretations of Pokémon fans, adding more excitement and mystery to the Pokémon universe."
In the anime, Ash left Pallet Town and started his journey with the goal of becoming a Pokémon Master. In his endeavors to achieve this goal, he has traveled across many regions and competed in their respective Pokémon League Conferences, though he has mentioned that being a Pokémon League Champion is just one step towards becoming a Pokémon Master. In The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!, Ash specifies that to him, a Pokémon Master is someone who has befriended every Pokémon in the world.
Usage
- In Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen, after defeating Lance he says "I hate to admit it, but you are a POKéMON master!".
- In Gold, Silver, and Crystal, after defeating all the Electrode in the Team Rocket HQ, Lance says "The journey to becoming the Pokémon Master is long and difficult. Knowing that, will you keep going?"
- In HeartGold and SoulSilver, he instead says "The journey to becoming the Pokémon Champion is long and difficult. Knowing that, will you keep going?"
- Extreme Pokémon: The Guide for the Ultimate Fan calls Prima a Pokémon Master.
- She's also given this title in the English dub of The Mandarin Island Miss Match and Wherefore Art Thou, Pokémon?. In the Japanese versions of these episodes and both versions of Wired for Battle!, she's referred to by her proper title as an Elite Four member.
- The Official Pokémon Handbook states that a Trainer would deserve the title of Pokémon Master upon defeating or catching Mewtwo. The handbook also refers to the Elite Four members as "Master Trainers".
- According to A Sneak Peek at Pokémon, one of the tasks to become a Pokémon Master is to catch all Pokémon.
- The book Charizard, Go! states that a Pokémon Master must catch one of every kind of Pokémon and become a member of the Pokémon League.
- According to The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, a Pokémon Master is simply an elite Trainer who is considered a professional and regularly takes part in Pokémon League competitions.
- In Mewtwo Strikes Back, Nurse Joy (while brainwashed) invites the Trainers to have a battle against the world's greatest Pokémon Master on New Island, who is later revealed to be Mewtwo.
- In The Legend of Thunder!, Marina called Lance a great Pokémon Master.
- In his debut episode, Wallace is called a Champion Master. Likewise in Memories are Made of Bliss!, Cynthia is referred to as a Champion Master. Both of them are the last person to be battled at the Champion League. Champion Masters must defend their title against all opposing Trainers. In a sense, they are undefeated by any Trainer that has officially challenged them to claim their title. Ash states that becoming a Champion Master is one step toward becoming a Pokémon Master.
- In The Climb to Be the Very Best!, Ash says defeating Leon and winning the World Coronation Series will bring him one step closer to becoming a Pokémon Master.
- In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, a group of 153 trainers who are referred to as Master Trainers are scattered across the region (145 of which can be battled), each specializing in a different Pokémon (the original 151 plus Meltan and Melmetal).
- In the lead up to the third anniversary of Pokémon Masters EX, the official Twitter account for the game posed the question of what being a Pokémon Master meant, while also saying that trainers who go to Pasio to compete in the Pokémon Masters League could be considered as Pokémon Masters.[1]
- In The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!, Ash defines his view of a Pokémon Master as someone who's befriended every Pokémon in the world.
- Every rulebook for the Pokémon Trading Card Game starting from the Black & White Pokémon Trading Card Game Rules opens with a short section describing the basic ideas of the Pokémon franchise and the Pokémon Trading Card Game, entitled "Become a Pokémon Master!"
Theories
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This section contains fan speculation. There is no solid evidence for or against some parts of this article. |
- It has been theorized that when someone becomes a Pokémon Champion of a regional Pokémon League, they attain the title of Pokémon Master.
- This theory is supported by Lance calling the player a Pokémon Master upon his defeat in Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen, before revealing that the player must first defeat Blue to become the Champion.
- It is implied in the dub of Memories Are Made Of Bliss! that this is the case. However, the Japanese version explicitly states that it is only one step towards becoming a Pokémon Master.
- However, Ash became the Champion of the Alola League and still does not consider himself a Pokémon Master. He later won the title of Monarch during the World Coronation Series but does not consider himself a Master, as he admitted to Pikachu.
- In a 2008 interview with the webmaster of PokéBeach, Masamitsu Hidaka stated that when Ash becomes a Pokémon Master, it would be the last episode of the show.[2]
- It has been theorized that, in the context of the anime, Pokémon Masters are the members of the Elite Four.
- This theory is supported by the book Extreme Pokémon: The Guide for the Ultimate Fan, which calls Prima a Pokémon Master.
- After defeating Giovanni at Viridian Gym, when he gives the player the Earth Badge, he says it is "evidence of your mastery as a Pokémon Trainer," which could imply that a Pokémon Master is someone who has collected all of the Gym Badges in a region.
- In the context of the anime, this is not the case, as Ash has collected all the Gym Badges in multiple regions and still does not consider himself a Pokémon Master.
- It has been theorized that someone who is unbeatable in battle is considered a Pokémon Master.
- This was implied in Mewtwo Strikes Back, where Mewtwo referred to himself as a Pokémon Master, with him being the strongest being emphasized throughout the movie, as well as the Japanese version of Pokémon, I Choose You! where Ash says 「最高のポケモントレーナー…いや ポケモンマスター！そうともそれはオレだ！ 」 ("I will become the greatest Pokémon Trainer... no wait, scratch that. I'll become a Pokémon Master! Yeah, that'll be me!")
- The Official Pokémon Collector's Sticker Book implies that someone becomes a Pokémon Master by catching all Pokémon.
- It has also been theorized that this, along with becoming a Pokémon Champion, is the criteria.
- In I Choose You!, Verity questions if being a Pokémon Master meant being the world's strongest Pokémon Trainer; Ash replies that it is "much more than that".
- Goh asks Ash a similar question in Working My Way Back to Mew! and Ash gives a similar response.
- In a 2020 interview with the general director of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Daiki Tomiyasu reveals that he has asked the show's supervisor, Kunihiko Yuyama, what Ash's "I wanna be a Pokémon Master!" dream means. He responded "It's just the silly dream of a child. It's something for him to idolize."[3]
- In an ORICON NEWS interview following Ash becoming the Monarch of the World Coronation Series in Partners in Time!, Ash's voice actress, Rica Matsumoto, said "[Ash] may have become the strongest trainer, but it is said that the dream of becoming Pokémon Master is different." [4]
In other languages
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References
Related articles
| Animated series-exclusive Trainer classes | ||
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This Trainer class article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
