Pokémon and Adolescence

In the Pokémon games, an 11 year old is seen as fit to go out on an adventure of their own. This suggests intriguing things about how Pokémon society views childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Let’s compare the Pokémon world with real world cultures:

The Pokemon world is thus not actually out of step with many cultures in treating 11 and 12 year olds as being on the path to adulthood. 11-12 is on the younger side, but historically this would not have been out of place as that is considered early adolescence.

What is unusual is the degree of independence given to young trainers. They are not being trained to make money, although they may earn money in their battles. They’re also able to travel across the world alone, without adult supervision. That is definitely out of the ordinary among known human cultures. Trainers seem to go to training school to learn about Pokemon, but it is unclear if training school involves any sort of guided activity into nature.

The Pokemon world is remarkably safe. There does not appear to be poverty or war in it. Adults are also highly cooperative and willing to help out young people. This reminds me of the Japanese TV Show ‘Old Enough,’ where a child between ages 3 to 6 is given an errand to complete. The child is followed by a safety crew to ensure that they don’t get into trouble, but they are meant to complete the errand without their parents. I suspect the Pokemon world must have a culture of instilling independence in children from a young age, as well as high communitarianism in watching out for younger people.

Although training is accessible to young people, employment seems limited to adults. There are no young adolescents employed at the Power Plants, Radio Stations, or Mines. This suggests that training functions as something distinct from employment. The difference, I believe, is that having a job affects other people, but training is something one mostly does for oneself and one’s Pokemon. There are thus limits on the freedoms granted to young people.

A Pokemon adventure is thus an interesting ritual for young people - it gives them a serious taste of adulthood and independence, where they need to rely on their wits to stay safe traveling between destinations. At the same time, they are given space to experiment and make mistakes. The developed route system shows that they are not traveling between entirely uninhabited places, which could be highly dangerous. Escape routes are fairly priced and available at marts across regions in case one is lost in a cave, which could become one of the more dangerous places to get lost. Even at sea, the routes are full of people. Young people may be traveling by themselves, but they are not alone.

Training appears to become a serious profession for some people, while others seem to have a short training adventure before settling into more traditional jobs. It’s not clear how one can become a professional trainer, but doubtless the experience young trainers get on their travels will help them once they reach whatever the age of majority is.

Overall, the Pokemon world is structured to make it feasible for young adolescents to travel on their own. The popularity of Pokemon training as a hobby means that one can find fellow trainers easily. And the community spirit is evident in trainers who gift young people rewards after beating them, or even healing their Pokemon. One marvels at the world they’ve made that combines the increased independence of traditional adolescence with the safety associated with modern countries.