by Wujaman
Posted 04-06-2002

Pokemon (or Pocket Monsters, whichever you prefer) is a great anime.  Some may say its not real anime, but I disagree.  Anime is what you make it, really.  The only requirement is that it actually is Japanese animation.  However, two questions have plagued me since I watched the first episode of the series.  One, the legitimacy of Team Rocket, I will discuss in another rant.  The other is the vagueness of the term "Pokemon Master".  What are the qualifications for becoming a Pokemon Master?  Placing 16th in the Indigo League didn't make Satoshi (Ash) a Master.  Winning the Orange League didn't do it.  Having a combined 20 badges once he has completed the Jouto League probably won't do it either.  So that leaves me wondering-does Satoshi even know his own goal, outside of a vague phrase?  He has never said "I will place 1st in the Pokemon League!" or "I will collect a lot of Pokemon!"  He just spouts off this indistinct Pokemon Master phrase.

So, what do I think the requirements of being a Pokemon Master are?  The things that seem to bring Satoshi closer to his goal are more personal than widely acknowledgeable.  Becoming closer with Pikachu, for example, or making a new friend along his journey.  He occasionally spouts off the phrase when he has won a major battle or caught a new Pokemon, but I believe that this is his childish side speaking, and not a representation of the true method to achieve this ambiguous goal.  So, what is the real method to achieving this goal?  I believe that it involves being at harmony with both humans and Pokemon.  The two are forever intertwined, so understanding one will help you understand the other.  You must treat people as Pokemon and Pokemon as people.  You may win battles and accolades and things like that, but these are mere side effects of the symbiosis that you have with Pokemon everywhere. 

Now that I have covered that, I will go into some examples of Pokemon Masters on the show.  One of them is Takeshi (Brock).  His understanding of the Pokemon's feelings, rather than just their habits and requirements, make him very worthy of being a Pokemon Master.  Another is Shiba (Bruno) of the Elite Four.  He captures an Onix by doing it a service, rather than brutally weakening it.  This shows that he treats Pokemon like people.  There are many other examples, but they are scattered among the episodes.

So who isn't a Master?  Satoshi is beginning to become a Master, but as I mentioned above, his childish side is preventing him from seeing Pokemon from the correct perspective.  I think that with age, he will become a Master on his own.  Shigeru is most definitely not a master.  He uses Pokemon as tools to enhance his own public image.  He doesn't yet understand that Pokemon and people have the same souls, but different bodies.  Kasumi is not a Master, because she thinks of Pokemon more in the pretext of a pet, rather than a person trapped in a tiny body.  Kenji is also not a Master because he shows disapproval when his Pokemon fail him.  He must understand that Pokemon have failings, just as we do.  Musashi and Kojirou are beginning to become Masters, because of their connection with Nyasu.  However, because of their disdain of the feelings of other Pokemon, they have a long way to go. 

Well, I know that this rant was not very long, but I can't think of anything more to say, so I'll close it here.  Just remember that Pokemon Masters are not necessarily League champions or famous people, they are just everyday people who have reached a deeper understanding of Pokemon then as simply "pets".