Pokémon Trainer's license
A Pokémon Trainer's license, also known as a Pokémon handler's license or simply a Pokémon license, is a concept occasionally mentioned in older media in the Pokémon franchise. It is a license that gives the bearer the right to own Pokémon and be a Pokémon Trainer. In the anime, applicants must be at least ten years of age.
In the games
According to the blurbs of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, Red obtained his Pokémon Trainer's license and set out to become a Pokémon Master. However, the concept of needing a license to be a Pokémon Trainer has never been mentioned elsewhere in the games. Unlike in the anime, there is also no mention of a minimum age needed to be a Trainer, with Trainer classes such as Preschoolers and School Kids that appear to be younger than the player appearing. However, it is stated in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon that participants in the island challenge in Alola must be at least eleven years old.
In the anime
In Pokémon - I Choose You!, Ash is excited that he can get his Pokémon license upon becoming ten years old. In The Battling Eevee Brothers, Rainer tells Mikey that he could lose his "Trainer qualification" for leaving his Eevee alone and tied to a tree. For Gettin' Twiggy With It!, Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia refers to the minimum age at which a person may become a Trainer, with him writing a senryū about it: 「さあ10さい ぼくもわたしも トレーナー」 "Ah, the age 10; we will all be Trainers."
Despite Ash having been prevented from owning Pokémon until he was ten and other characters such as Max and Bonnie being explicitly stated to be too young to have their own Pokémon, there are some cases of children under the age of ten having been shown to own Pokémon in the anime, similarly to the games.
In the manga
The Electric Tale of Pikachu
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga, potential Trainers are required to attend a half-day training session before qualifying to take a brief test. Those who pass the examination receive a license. Only licensed Trainers are legally allowed to purchase Poké Balls.
In other languages
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