Preschoolers and other young trainer classes

[インフェルノの津波]

Say hello to the newest trainer class, probably age four or five!

What do you think or any trainer class that's below the age of ten in general?

 

[vaporeon7]

I don't have any problem with them. They are just like any other trainer class to me. Just as long as they have lv10s and don't have lv60s they're are fine with me.

 

[Blaziken15]

I think it's unfitting to have a 4 year old being a trainer. I mean, would there parents actually let them.

So unrealistic.

 

[kelario26]

According to the anime you have to be ten, therefore making it illegal for the Preschooler trainer class to exist. Otherwise, in-game, they make good training tools.

 

[ShinyMeowth]

I support equality between everybody, and it is unacceptable to have a law stating that you can't be a trainer unless you are over ten. Thus I totally support preschoolers as trainers.

 

[The Ice Type]

This is probably how kids learn the fundamentals of battling nowadays. Aside from book smarts, the street smart trainers are the ones practicing from when they were young up until they obtain their first official Pokemon. My guess is that they're borrowing somene else's Pokemon until they get their own, or it's a family pet perhaps.

I would be against the preschooler going on their own journey far away from home though. Aside from that, I'd have to actually play Black and White to form my own opinion. Right now, though, I'm on the fence with it.

 

[GoGoShinyDunsparce]

There were the Tubers in RSE as well, they must have been about 4 or 5 and they never really bothered me as long as they stuck near their mothers : p Which they did.

 

[Oryx]

Yeah, I think of it like people that learn to drink responsibly a few years before they're 21. If the preschoolers are near an area that preschoolers would normally be (daycare for example), where adults would also be around to monitor them, there's no problem. Like someone else mentioned, it's probably not their own Pokemon anyway, and that makes them more able to control Pokemon when it comes time to make their own journey.

 

[Chiar]

I don't think 10 is the set age, but its the recommended age. They also are left under care of the Preschool Teachers, so they aren't leaving for a "Pokemon Adventure".

 

[Tox]

I don't think 10 is the set age, but its the recommended age. They also are left under care of the Preschool Teachers, so they aren't leaving for a "Pokemon Adventure".

That's exactly what I saw going to write. I don't really have a problem with it. Even anime-wise, it's no big deal as long as they aren't randomly standing out in a forest or anything. In the animé, I'm sure Max used a Pokémon in a trainer school episode (never watched it but I think I read it). I presume something like that could probably work in the games too.

 

[ShinyMeowth]

You mean like you have to be 21 to drink and 16-18-21 to get a driver's license in the real world? That's unequal? ven though it's clear that people <18 years of age (or even more adult people) generally have a lower sense of risk and judgement?

There's a reason why there's a 10 year limit, and even that's too early IMO. You're controlling monsters which can potentially hurt or kill people around you. Why shouldn't that be monitored?

First, in the Pokemon world you don't actually die by Pokemon attacks. If Team Rocket can survive attacks by Legendaries, I am sure everybody can survive a level 12 zigzagoon attack. Secondly, your drinking example is flawed. The 21-year old limit is simply crazy. I've been drinking socially at formal occasions since I was 12, and I did not get tipsy, let alone drunk once. Instead of setting a discriminatory limit based on something you cannot control (age), a more sophisticated system must be applied that actually is based on maturity and intelligence.

 

[fenyx4]

First, in the Pokemon world you don't actually die by Pokemon attacks. If Team Rocket can survive attacks by Legendaries, I am sure everybody can survive a level 12 zigzagoon attack. Secondly, your drinking example is flawed. The 21-year old limit is simply crazy. I've been drinking socially at formal occasions since I was 12, and I did not get tipsy, let alone drunk once. Instead of setting a discriminatory limit based on something you cannot control (age), a more sophisticated system must be applied that actually is based on maturity and intelligence.

In regards to the drinking example, not everyone's body has the same reaction to alcohol...some people have high tolerance to its adverse effects while others don't, etc. You may have been lucky, or your body just isn't that prone to alcohol complications. Genetics can also play a great role in influencing such an event. And if the alcohol effects on real-world youth were that negligible, we wouldn't even have it established.

Also, a standard Level 12 Zigzagoon Scratch could be survivable, but what about a Level 12 Zigzagoon using Explosion via Mimic?

On a side note, I can't believe they took out Mimic tutors after Generation 3!

A system limiting Pokemon usage based on maturity/intelligence would be nice (as well as applied to certain real-life issues such as voting - but that's been resolved for the most part IIRC), but I guess an age-imposed limit would be easier to enforce by the Pokemon League. :\

Anyway, the only thing I have an issue with is that Youngsters and Schoolgirls and the like contradict the sensible 10-year-old anime rule (and yes, I know anime =/= games). But as long as I can KO their weak Pokemon quickly and move on my way, works for me. :)

 

[Yukimi]

Preschoolers tend to be around schools, daycares or (at the most extreme) on the outskirts of town. It can be assumed they are almost always under some kind of adult supervision.
Not to mention, you don't see them using Pokemon like Druddigon; they usually stick to small, low-leveled Pokemon. In all likeliness, they don't travel and simply battle with the Pokemon they befriended or were given.

 

[Cherrim]

I imagine the kids who have Pokémon got their Pokémon from their parents or guardians as... well, probably a means of protecting themselves since Pokémon are so common. :P Or they're spoilt brats, take your pick. Kinda like how some little kids have cell phones so that they can always be contacted or can contact their parents in emergencies. They also use 'em for recreation, too, depending on the kid.

I don't think it was ever actually said in any medium that kids can only become trainers at age 10. I think that's probably just the widely accepted age that kids go out on a journey, if they want to.

 

[Rai]

I love all of the young trainers. I help tutor at an elementary school and after I see the kids take out their pokemon cards and games. It's obvious how much they enjoy it and it warms my heart. I'm glad there are young trainers out there :3

 

[PlatinumDude]

I think that why the Preschooler trainer class is there is because the schoolteachers want their students to see what it would be like in a Pokemon trainer's shoes before they hit the age of 10.

 

[bobandbill]

According to the anime you have to be ten, therefore making it illegal for the Preschooler trainer class to exist. Otherwise, in-game, they make good training tools.

Thing is the games =/= the games - the games have actually distanced themselves from the anime ever since yellow pretty heavily (e.g. Sevii islands near Kanto instead of the Orange Islands), while it is the anime that bases itself off the games.

At any rate preschoolers aren't necessarily new - as pointed out the Tubers have kids under the age of ten and one could argue the youngsters/bug catchers were below the age as well. (And the protagonist in XD, although not made by Game Freak, looks about 8 years old, certainly...).

You mean like you have to be 21 to drink and 16-18-21 to get a driver's license in the real world? That's unequal? ven though it's clear that people <18 years of age (or even more adult people) generally have a lower sense of risk and judgement?

There's a reason why there's a 10 year limit, and even that's too early IMO. You're controlling monsters which can potentially hurt or kill people around you. Why shouldn't that be monitored?

Thing is the Pokemon world is pretty different to our world - they certainly don't apply anything near to how we would act if people could go about with fire-breathing creatures and all. I suppose it's one thing that gets ignored in effect... but my way of thinking about it is that Pokemon are like pets (only better!) and if plenty of kids have pets in 'the real world', then why can't kids have their own Pokemon, or family Pokemon to play with? Some battle for fun (because Pokemon like battling after all) but none of these kids actually go about on trainer journeys either, notable. [/ramble]

 

[Morning Sun Espeon]

Outside of the games you don't normally see small children out on their own with pokemon. Most kids are at daycares (as seen in the anime) or Schools. They are with pokemon (pre captured and tamed) to get a feel for what goes into being a pokemon trainer.

 

[Chiar]

I don't think that there should be an age law, just that the parents will trust you, or maybe you have to take a special course, like for riding a bike.
Also, where have you found that under 10 Years old can't go to an adventure? Maybe your in-game mother is overprotective. xD
And, OF COURSE, there so many unrealistic things in Pokemon that this is just a tiny thing pointed out.

Regarding the Pokémon world I'd say 10 is a good age to take responsibility over training and raising your own pokémon.
IRL the correct age would be 16.

No, there won't be any correct age. Could you imagine even an adult travelling around the world without any protection and battling wild creatures risking its life? The games can't be compared to the real life, so the topics about "it doesn't make sense!" are without sense itself.

I know, I replied to the user which clearly felt discriminated for his age which I think is ridiculous. Even though he's just 14, still a kid.

This is actually one of the most selfish comments I've ever seen. Such simple thought of thinking (older > younger) is completely wrong. The maturity doesn't depend solely on the age, but also the harshness of your education (for example, if you're spoiled, you won't grow mature quickly) and other things.
@Down
Sorry, I thought it's general Pokemon gaming. xD I completely forgot that this forum is for both games and the anime.

 

[Oryx]

I don't think that there should be an age law, just that the parents will trust you, or maybe you have to take a special course, like for riding a bike.
Also, where have you found that under 10 Years old can't go to an adventure? Maybe your in-game mother is overprotective. xD And NO, I don't mean any anime "facts". -.-
And, OF COURSE, there so many unrealistic things in Pokemon that this is just a tiny thing pointed out.

No, there won't be any correct age. Could you imagine even an adult travelling around the world without any protection and battling wild creatures risking its life? The games can't be compared to the real life, so the topics about "it doesn't make sense!" are without sense itself.

Wait, are you asking for a source within Pokemon for something, and then ruling out one of the largest sources of knowledge, the anime? There are no rl facts for Pokemon, you can only draw from the games and the anime pretty much.

Although I agree with your second point.