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You’ll see us say it again and again, butthere’s no singular definition of a Pokemon Master. Even so, we know this is a common, decades-long, query withinPokemonfandom - and for good reason, too. Becoming a “Pokemon Master” is a stated goal of Ash Ketchum’s, and it’s brought up in the games, in the manga, in the card game… it’s everywhere.
We’ve tried our darnedest to arrive at some semblance of our own conclusion. This is going to be intensely debateable - and we invite the debate. Here’s our own findings on the number of Pokemon Masters in existence. And here’s hoping it satisfies.
What Is A Pokemon Master?
It feels necessary for us to attempt to define what it means to be a Pokemon Master at thestartof this article. But we could just as easily have waited until theendof it. You see,there’s never been a crystal-clear, definitive definition of what it means to be a Pokemon Master.
Now, thanks to the series finale of the original Pokemon anime back in March 2023,we have what is arguably a more substantial answer than ever before. Yet it’s entirely within the realm of personal interpretation whether to buy into that answer.
GottaCatchBefriend ‘Em All
At the end of his landmark 1,232-episode run as protagonist,Ash Ketchum proclaims that, to be a Pokemon Master, one must befriend every Pokemon in the world.
Now, whoa! Doesn’t this kind of fly in the face of what other media has often hinted at - namely,that one must become a regional champion, or catch every Pokemon, or perform some other heroic feat?Yes and no. While Ash’s words are unmistakable, there’s far more to consider within the context of the series finale (“The Rainbow and the Pokemon Master”) itself.
A major plot point revolves aroundAsh pondering the answer to his rival-turned-friend Gary asking him how much closer he is to becoming a Pokemon Master now that he’s become the World Champion.
I Choose You, Arbitrary Personal Definition
This is something thatAsh must consider for himself. The answer he arrives at - befriending every Pokemon - ishis own personal interpretation. Therefore,there’s no exact answer, despite instances through prior decades within the games, manga, even the show itself that have either hinted, or outright stated, something more specific.
There is perhaps no greater evidence that the definition is fluid than a2020 interview with Pokemon Journeys’ general director, Daiki Tomiyasu. Tomiyasu, when asked about what it means to be a Pokemon Master, said thathe had asked show supervisor Kunihiko Yuyamafor an answer. Yuyama had this to say:
It’s just the silly dream of a child. It’s something for him to idolize.
Not exactly the most hopeful words for us if we are to attempt to address the number of Pokemon Masters in the franchise’s fictional world, but c’est la Venonat.
How Many Pokemon Masters Are There?
All of this is to say,anyone who claims they can answer with absolute certainty is kidding themselves. The only reasonable approach, at least thatwe’vecontemplated, is toaddress individuals who have demonstrated keen supremacy within a specific Pokemon-related field.
To keep things remotely feasible, it would be best tocenter on characters with excellent performance in either a battling or research capacity. (One might argue that a Pokemon Breeder is oddly well-suited to achieving Ash’s personal goal, for instance; but we rather doubt a Pokemon Breeder is ever thought of as the benchmark for mastery in this regard.)
Elementary, My Dear Wattrel
If we’re thinking research, it’s natural that our go-to here would bePokemon Professors. Now, again,it’s unlikely that many Pokemon Professors are wandering the world proclaiming themselves picturesque Pokemon Masters.But hey, we think it’s at least a bit more probable than most professions.
In the games and anime, we meet the followingprofessors with major ongoing roles and substantial experience in the field:
If we were to widen the net on our own (subjective) interpretation of each character’s degree of prowess, we’d no doubt include plenty more names. As it stands, it’s rather unwieldy. After all,how many of the above characters wouldyousay could be labeled “Pokemon Masters” within their world?
We’re not entirely convinced this would apply to any of them. Butthe case could be made, especially for characters like Samuel Oak and Kukui. More on why we’d single out Kukui in a second…
Battle Frontier
We’ve arrived at what will, more than likely, bethe candidacy qualifier that many of our readers will more seriously consider, namely thebattle prowess of top-tier trainers. The following characters have shown incredible capability in this key regard.
Between the games and anime, there aretwo instances of Kanto’s most capable trainers: Red/Ash (games/anime, respectively) and Blue/Gary (again, respectively).
Within the anime,neither Ash nor Gary appear to consider themselves qualified to be Pokemon Masters, but this is where an important distinction should be made:the games seem to have a more battle-oriented vague definition of Pokemon Master.As such,we’ll count Red and Blue. We won’t count Gary, but as for Ash, stay tuned until further down the article.
We need to emphasize again,this is all somewhat arbitrary ruling. We’re by no means experts. If anyone is, it’s the franchise’s creators, but their own vague responses means the fandom has to fill in the blanks (or, perhaps more wisely, never attempt to answer the question in the first place!).
Who else? Well, there’sLance, the ranking member of Kanto’s Elite Four, and eventually the Kanto Champion as wellonce Red departs from the role. His power in the games is significant; his power in the anime is equally so; and especially within the manga, he’s nigh-unstoppable (and surprisingly… evil). We’d sayhe’s a Pokemon Masterif ever there were one.
DittoCynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, whose own prowess is consistently excellent.Hoenn Champion Stevenseems poised to be a “probably”, whileWallace, the champion in Pokemon Emerald,is a not-so-much. Then there’sAlder and eventually, Iris in Unova, Diantha in Kalos, Leon in Galar, and multiple “champion-ranked” trainers in Paldea, Geeta chief among them.
Where do all these land?It’s all so frustratingly murky. But we’ll answer this to the best of our abilitysoon- with some heavy lifting from theanime.
Kukui’s a fascinating case study. He’s theAlola region’s foremost Pokemon Professor, he’s the creator of its Pokemon League,and he’s even the famously mysteriousMasked Wrestler. In the show, in the games, Kukui’s nonstop capable.If we’re counting any of these folks, we’ll count Kukui as well for Pokemon Master status.
Anime-Adjacent
We’d be leaving a heck of a blind spot in this analysis if we left outthe regional conference winners as seen in the anime. These are essentially the anime’s versions of League Champions; they’rethe ultimate victors in the tournament-style League battles at the conclusion of each region’s yearly competitions.
The following table chartsthe conference results within the year that Ash Ketchum attended.
Lily of the Valley
Manalo
Ash
Galar lacks a conference shown in the anime sincePokemon Journeys focuses on a multiregional World Coronation conferencewhich comes down to a top eight ofAsh (who wins), Leon (who is champion prior to Ash’s victory), Alain, Iris, Cynthia, Diantha, Steven, and Lance.
Now,that’s an interesting list. Each of the above are consideredMaster-class trainers- there’s that big word. It doesn’t mean they’re officially Pokemon Masters, of course; if it were that easy, this would all be so much easier to define.
What itdoesmean is thatper the World Coronation’s own reckoning, these eight trainers are the cream of the cropacross every major region introduced in the show. That’s as close to"definitive"as we can possibly get, and sowe’ll include all eight of them as Pokemon Masters even despite Ash’s undoubtedly upset protestations.
Putting It All Together
Phew. Let’s combine our findings to arrive at our personal list of qualifying Pokemon Masters.
As you may see,our findings are heavily influenced by the anime. We can certainly appreciate an argument that this is unfairly slanted. It’s also frustratingly linked to the major branch of Pokemon media that is theleastforthright about what it means to be a Pokemon Master - Ash’s own belief depicted in the series finale is completely of his own making.
That leaves us with two main answers: there are either11 so-called Pokemon Masters…or anywhere between zero and a nigh-infinite number, if we want to stick with the idea that it’s up to the character to decide for themselves. Needless to say,11 is probably a more satisfying answer.
It’s our best effort to answer an ultimately unanswerable question, andwe invite you to reach your own conclusion. We tried, and with any luck, at least a few of you will nod your heads along with this. If you think we’rewayoff the mark, let us know, and we’ll reassess.
