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:[citation needed]
"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 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?"
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".
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 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 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]
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 animated series, Pokémon Masters are the members of the Elite Four.
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 GymBadges in a region.
In the context of Pokémon the Series, 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!")
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".
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]
