. . .

[mtsilvermute]

INDEPENDENT ROLEPLAY BLOG for RED (of Pokémon Red/Blue).

~~~ Character sticky: Adult Red (27 y/o) from Pokémon Red/Blue. All Pokéverse RP accepted; game-event focus.

About page | OOC info

Admin sticky: 28 y/o, writer of 15+ years. Looking for experienced roleplayers for canon-divergent play. Private, independent, semi-selective, all themes accepted (no ERP).

「 Reblogs appreciated! 」

[judasrpc]

WEIRDLY SPECIFIC BUT HELPFUL CHARACTER BUILDING QUESTIONS

What’s the lie your character says most often?

How loosely or strictly do they use the word ‘friend’?

How often do they show their genuine emotions to others versus just the audience knowing?

What’s a hobby they used to have that they miss?

Can they cry on command? If so, what do they think about to make it happen?

What’s their favorite [insert anything] that they’ve never recommended to anyone before?

What would you (mun) yell in the middle of a crowd to find them? What would their best friend and/or romantic partner yell?

How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?

Do they give tough love or gentle love most often? Which do they prefer to receive?

What fact do they excitedly tell everyone about at every opportunity?

If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

When do they fake a smile? How often?

How do they put out a candle?

What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?

What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?

What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?

Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?

What simple activity that most people do / can do scares your character?

What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember?

Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?

What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?

How would they respond to being fired by a good boss?

What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?

What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?

How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them?

When they make a mistake and feel bad, does the guilt differ when it’s personal versus when it’s professional?

When do they feel the most guilt? How do they respond to it?

If they committed one petty crime / misdemeanor, what would it be? Why?

How do they greet someone they dislike / hate?

How do they greet someone they like / love?

What is the smallest, morally questionable choice they’ve made?

Who do they keep in their life for professional gain? Is it for malicious intent?

What’s a secret they haven’t told serious romantic partners and don’t plan to tell?

What hobby are they good at in private, but bad at in front of others? Why?

Would they rather be invited to an event to feel included or be excluded from an event if they were not genuinely wanted there?

How do they respond to a loose handshake? What goes through their head?

What phrases, pronunciations, or mannerisms did they pick up from someone / somewhere else?

If invited to a TED Talk, what topic would they present on? What would the title of their presentation be?

What do they commonly misinterpret because of their own upbringing / environment / biases? How do they respond when realizing the misunderstanding?

What language would be easiest for them to learn? Why?

What’s something unimportant / frivolous that they hate passionately?

Are they a listener or a talker? If they’re a listener, what makes them talk? If they’re a talker, what makes them listen?

Who have they forgotten about that remembers them very well?

Who would they say ‘yes’ to if invited to do something they abhorred / strongly didn’t want to do?

Would they eat something they find gross to be polite?

What belief / moral / personality trait do they stand by that you (mun) personally don’t agree with?

What’s a phrase they say a lot?

Do they act on their immediate emotions, or do they wait for the facts before acting?

Who would / do they believe without question?

What’s their instinct in a fight / flight / freeze / fawn situation?

What’s something they’re expected to enjoy based on their hobbies / profession that they actually dislike / hate?

If they’re scared, who do they want comfort from? Does this answer change depending on the type of fear?

What’s a simple daily activity / motion that they mess up often?

How many hobbies have they attempted to have over their lifetime? Is there a common theme?

[mtsilvermute]

8. What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish wasn’t true?

81. What is the weirdest thing that gets you angry?

90 loaded questions - accepting!

Red’s Journal - 5/14/2023

It’s 10:30 PM right now, and I’ve only just begun to write. I had a challenger at 4:00 PM today. Four hours later, I stood victorious—but not without a rumbling stomach and a Pikachu torn to shreds. He’s snoring on my shoulders as I pen this entry, as we battled through his typical naptime. 

The theory behind this challenger’s team tickled my brain. A historical Hoenn up-and-comer, he seems to have pivoted towards using a high volume of entry hazards by the time he began climbing the conference ladder. I strongly correlate entry hazards with cutthroat conference scenes that incidentally have strong double battle emphases, such as Hoenn and Sinnoh. And the Pokémon themselves represented such a travel trajectory, too. Aerodactyl with Stealth Rock and Earthquake? That’s common across the pond. Paired with some great offense (I respect a Dragonite enjoyer, to borrow a memetic phrase I recently learned from the internet), it’s no wonder he made it to the PWT top 32 last year. But in the middle of a team that is absolutely stacked with offensive power, he also has a Clefable. A Clefable? Then I remembered that Clefable is excellent in an inbred (so to speak) conference circuit in which entry hazards are king, which allows me to exploit that insularity by simply running Defog, Rapid Spin, and no entry hazards of my own while beating the Clefairy over the head with physical moves. Performing this counterstrategy was no joke, though: I spent a significant portion of our battle simply responding to his hazards and making switching decisions that didn’t leave one of my Pokémon lying face-first in the snow. I can tell when my team wants to tap out, regardless of their desires to win, and it was clear Blastoise was ready for dinner an hour into the match. But we got there eventually, thanks in no small part to Snorlax’s impeccable Returns.

When our battle ended, the challenger exchanged some words of praise and he headed back to the safe house, but not without a quick jab: “Guess I’m not part of the 30% yet after all.” I know what he was referring to. If you PC-search my estimated lifetime win-rate, you’ll see that it’s around 70%, depending on fluctuations throughout the year. (I’m currently at 90% five months into the year, whereas last year I was at 76%, for posterity’s sake.) I think the number has to do with my publicized PWT records and League-gathered data of my match wins. Obviously this challenger wasn’t slighting my win rate. Interpreting his comment as such would be stupid. But it made me reflect on how he might be thinking about my win rate, since he clearly cared enough to know it. I cannot help but contemplate why people care so much about this stupid number, especially my own—so much so that they would memorize it. Win rate doesn’t matter. It never has and it never will. I lose on my mountain all the time. I do not have the highest win rate of any Master, or even Trainer, on record—and that’s a good thing, for it means I’m still willing to make mistakes and learn from them. But does that mean that he sees me as a lesser person for having a lesser win rate than others, just as he clearly sees himself for not being victorious today? The more I write, the madder I become about this factoid, as if “becoming part of the 30%” is something to aspire to rather than abstractly understand is possible. I guess a better way to phrase my feelings is: Did you want to be a part of the 30%, or did you want to battle? Regardless of the outcome, you should feel satisfied with yourself, knowing that you either did your best and/or you learned something from it. It angers me to no end to know that people consider battling an equation that outputs either “success” (which you’re entitled to) or “failure” (which you only receive if you’re a bad person undeserving of the former). It makes no sense at all. But what do I know? My win rate is only 70%. 

That being said, people often assume that I feel entitled to winning—in just the same way that I am sensing in (projecting upon?) this challenger—given my status as Champion, and I do have to suppress that feeling some days. Some Champions go years and years without losing. Meanwhile, it’s not uncommon for me to lose once a week. And I do have to pretend that that doesn’t bother me. I do have to admit that I wish I was undefeated my whole life, or whatever outlandish thing they think is true about me—which tarnishes their view of me once they realize it isn’t true. One year I went 10-0 in the first week of the PWT and everyone couldn’t get enough of me, only to lose in the top 16. Was I supposed to say “it’s okay, losses happen; my win rate is only 70%” over and over again until I felt better? Or could I at least acknowledge that I might have some feelings of entitlement to victory that I’ve allowed to roam like Pokémon on the mountain, feral and waiting to pounce? Maybe I’m not all that unlike my recent 70-percenter after all. 

The real reason why win rate doesn’t matter, however, is that Pikachu is snoring with his head at my left ear, and he would be doing that whether or not I won today. Blastoise got his deserved dinner; Snorlax smiled from the corner of the living room; Charizard and Espeon chased each other around the house for a bit to burn off their last remaining bits of energy. We’re happy, whether we’re winners or not.

I’m tired, too. It’s time for bed. (The more tired I am, the terser my prose becomes. I’ll have to reflect on this realization when I read over previous journal entries.)

Good night to the 100%. Let’s dream of losing happily.

[memesfromstuff]

*: ･ﾟ✧   90 loaded questions / interview the muse.

found on this website, so credit goes to them.

What’s your favorite strategy for avoiding tough situations?

How often do you do things just for the attention?

Would you prefer to be manipulated or to be the manipulator?

What is something someone always tells you to do more of?

What is something someone always tells you to do less of?

Who do you look to blame when things go wrong?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish was true?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish wasn’t true?

When was the last time you lied to protect your image?

How often do you put on a happy face when you’re really not feeling it?

When do you think you began putting your guard up so much?

Who made you feel most anxious when you were a kid?

How do you speak about others when they’re not around?

What aspect of your life are you most delusional about?

How often do your admit you were wrong?

Which one of your biggest flaws do you like to rationalize the most?

Is it your fear of commitment or your fear of intimacy that makes you shut down more?

At what stage of a relationship are you most likely to withdraw emotionally?

What is the one compliment you always get that you’re too embarrassed to accept, so you deflect it?

What would someone say is your worst habit?

What is the one insecurity you are pretty sure has some basis in reality?

When was the last time you felt really insecure about the parts of yourself you pretend don’t exist?

What is the most interesting white lie you’ve told?

Do you ever feel like an imposter?

Do your friends know how competitive you are?

What’s the hardest thing about being rejected?

How do you deal when you know you’re being irrationally jealous?

How do you deal when you know someone’s not willing to give you what you want?

Are you ever afraid of people knowing who you really are?

If you went to a therapist today, what would they say is holding you back the most?

When was the last time you lowered your standards just to get someone else’s approval?

Is your need for revenge greater than your need for peace?

Have you stopped trying to control things yet?

Which parts of yourself do you still seek validation for?

How do you cope with being unfairly ignored?

Do you like punishing yourself for things that are out of your control?

What does someone say is your biggest problem when communicating?

Are you okay with not knowing what happens next?

Will you ever feel okay with being imperfect?

Does sabotaging yourself give you an odd sense of comfort?

How do you feel about being disliked by some people?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve done just to avoid failure?

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken just to prove yourself?

What’s the boldest thing you do every day, just to feel like you’re still in control?

What accusation would you defend yourself most fiercely against, even though you know it’s true?

What’s the most toxic thing about yourself you actually kind of secretly like?

How much do you enjoy being in control?

When do you give yourself permission to lose control?

What guilty pleasure are you currently justifying to yourself?

What is the most passive-aggressive way you’ve dealt with your rage?

What is the pettiest and most immature way you’ve avoided losing face?

What’s the worst habit you have that rewards you the most?

How do you get your needs met when you’re alone?

What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve done to please people?

What is the most ridiculous way you’ve rebelled?

What’s your favorite way to channel your aggression?

How do you cope with being betrayed?

Are you okay with disliking someone?

What is your favorite form of self-destruction?

What’s the one thing you struggle most to manifest in your life?

What’s the one thing that you manifest so easily, people are jealous of it?

What’s the most irrational reason you’ve ever had for disliking someone?

What is one fear that you’d be ashamed of your friends knowing about?

Which one of your deepest secrets do you think is the least common?

How do people normally find out you hate them?

What is your go-to strategy to deflect criticism, even constructive criticism?

What is one thing people always get wrong about you?

What emotion motivates you the most when you’re down?

What emotion makes you want to give up?

Are people shocked when you stand up for yourself?

How often do you say yes to the things you really want to say yes to?

How often do you say no to the things that make your skin crawl?

How far are you willing to go to maintain a relationship, even an unhealthy one?

What is the worst way someone’s ever abandoned you?

What is the worst way you’ve ever abandoned yourself?

How do you entertain yourself when you’re not around people?

Are you happier alone because you enjoy being alone or because you prefer it to being surrounded by horrible people?

What habit do you know you could quit but don’t want to?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding difficult people?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding conflict?

What is the weirdest thing that gets you angry?

What is the weirdest thing that makes you sad?

How often do you take responsibility for other people’s crappy behavior?

When are you most likely to shut people out?

Which insecurity would shock people if they knew about it?

What do you find yourself justifying to people, even when no justification is needed?

When was the last time you tried to please someone who made you angry?

What do people often tell you need to focus more on?

What do people often tell you need to focus less on?

What is the one thing that could make you happy, but you refuse to do it because you’re afraid of what others would think?

[mtsilvermute]

Understanding Pokémon Championship Structure

Championship structure as we understand it today is exceedingly new. By the mid-20th century, a new cultural understanding of “Pokémon Trainer” was beginning to emerge in response to rapid developments in battle technology and increased cognizance of Pokémon bonding practices. To fulfill the social, economic, and educational needs of this class, regions across the globe standardized key structures that Trainers take for granted today (such as challenging eight Gyms per region, battling an Elite Four, and being crowned a Champion by the end of one’s journey). These structures sustain an added layer of myth: By perpetuating an image of an ideal Pokémon Master and assisting in the realization of their dreams across regions, each region could work towards a common social goal that unified both people (in their sharing of the ideal) and Pokémon (in how Pokémon were brought into the fold to fulfill it). While the methods and mechanics of Pokémon battling are nothing new, these large-scale shifts towards systemically supporting future “Pokémon Masters” gave the entire Pokéworld a reason to fight for their respective futures.  

Certain problems with this model arose by the time of what history now considers to be the “mainline protagonists” of Pokémon. The accomplishments of Champions Red, Blue, Gold, and the like were consistently obliterating the so-called ceiling of Pokémon training. As more of these supposed prodigies arose to claim the title of Champion, the question of what to do with said Champions began to echo throughout conference rooms and email chains across regions. The talent curve of the youth was outgrowing the systems that had been initially created to nurture them. Structures were needed that could reflexively accommodate the goalposts that current and future Champions were consistently moving. 

This need for upper echelons of Pokémon battling created the Champion structure of today. The rest of this article outlines the “ladder” that one must climb to reach World Champion, why those rungs exist in the first place, and what kinds of rewards might lie in wait for those attempting to reach the top. “Legacy” rungs are those that have existed since before the post-Champion restructuring to provide context for their contemporary expansion. After brief explanations of these legacy institutions, a deep-dive into the contemporary Champion pathways follows. Please note that these rungs are written from the perspective of the Trainers, or would-be Masters. This post does not document what it takes to actually enter the listed positions (i.e. Gym Leader) nor the bureaucratic foundations of each facility. 

Click "Keep Reading" to view a detailed description of the flowchart above.

Legacy Structures Defined 

1. Gym Battling (Legacy)

This section needs little introduction and even less elaboration. Gyms serve as the primary facilities in which one comes of age as a Trainer. Receiving a badge from a Gym is a major point of pride; receiving eight Gym badges is the culmination of a lifelong effort, regardless of how long that life may have been lived before its realization. 

Importantly, Gym Leaders scale their teams to particular level brackets to facilitate an optimal training experience regardless of the skill level of their challengers. This practice justifies the flexible Gym order of each region’s respective pilgrimages and diversifies each Trainer’s journeys. Whether one obtains all eight Gym badges is an entirely personal decision that can take months, years, or decades to complete depending on one’s training prowess and priorities. With that said, obtaining all eight badges in a given region is not a Trainer guarantee, and possessing them justifies a lifelong career in Pokémon battling should one wish to pursue it.

2. Victory Road (Legacy)

Victory Road is a curated walk through wilderness that tests the strength of one’s bonds with their Pokémon. While each region has variations on the actual route to their respective summits, “Victory Road” broadly indicates a space designed to test a Trainer’s self-sufficiency and ability to navigate the challenges of the natural world with the help of their Pokémon. Only through time-tested trust in one’s companions can a Trainer survive harsh camping conditions, unruly weather, and distance from civilization and existing support networks. 

Victory Road’s “curation” is minimal. Pathways exist, as well as small-scale infrastructure (such as bridges), but the climb is intentionally arduous and can take a week to complete. Yet battle prowess alone does not signify Pokémon mastery. Therefore, each “Victory Road” weeds out those that might excel in combat but fail to see their Pokémon as comrades. 

3. The Elite Four (Legacy) and Regional Champion (Contemporary)

The Elite Four are precisely what they claim to be: a cohort of Pokémon Masters that have proven themselves to be the greatest of their respective regions. Challenging them is a privilege given to any Trainer who can claim eight badges and reach the end of Victory Road. 

After defeating the Elite Four, the victorious Trainer is invited to battle the standing Champion. Should the Trainer usurp the Champion, the Trainer is enlisted into the Hall of Fame and crowned the current Champion of their respective region. 

It’s important to note, however, the multiplicativity of Championhood and the relatively newer role of Regional Champion. Many Champions exist. Anyone who can defeat the current reigning Champion is crowned as such. Despite this new title, a Regional Champion acts as the active Champion of a particular region and is an administrative role that is formally given by the region’s Pokémon League. An incoming Champion may be considered for the role, as a previous Champion title is required to be Regional Champion; however, it is not necessarily the case that a newly crowned Champion would immediately become the Regional Champion. Such a title as Regional Champion would be negotiated, and later bestowed, by the region’s Pokémon League following one’s victory. Therefore, there need be only one regional representative of the title at a time regardless of the success of the most recent victor—and the status of Regional Champion may be denied (by the League) or rejected (by the victor) at will. 

4. Hall of Fame (Legacy)

One enters the Hall of Fame by becoming the standing Champion of a particular region. Once an honor reserved for a select few, the Hall of Fame has expanded exponentially over the decades as Trainers have become better versed in the arts of Pokémon battling and bonding both. Despite its growth, a place in the Hall of Fame sanctions a Trainer as a living legend, one whose Poké-prowess will be spoken of for years to come. 

Outside of garnering social capital and the undying trust of the Trainer community, the primary benefit of entering the Hall of Fame for a modern-day Trainer is that a Hall of Famer receives lifelong qualification to the Pokémon World Tournament. The Pokémon World Tournament (or PWT) is the newest structure built to sustain new chapters of the stories of Hall of Famers past and future. The PWT and its supporting ladder system are documented below under “Contemporary Structures Defined.” 

Contemporary Structures Defined 

At this point, one could consider their journey “over.” Such were the assumptions of each region at the turn of the century, who had not seen such meteoric rises to Champion status as Red, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Brendan, May, and the rest of them. These too-talented Trainers—now Masters in their own rights—deserved a “postgame” structure so as to continue to hone their skills and contribute to the ever-growing field of battle research. 

Thus was born the Pokémon World Tournament, an invite-only tournament structure catered to Champions and those of similar mettle. Showcasing high-powered Pokémon and training talent across all regions, the PWT is the ultimate goal of every professional Trainer who wishes to see their name in lights. 

The creation of the PWT, however, subsequently opened up alternative routes to Pokémon Mastery that play to different strengths and social environments. These pathways are documented below. Please note that the numbers do not correspond to a linear trajectory as they do in the Legacy pathways; they are solely for ease of listing. Consult the flowchart above for a visual representation of each progression pathway. 

1. Battle Facilities (Battle Subway, Battle Towers, etc.) 

Battle facilities are among the first high-end training opportunities available for anyone with eight Gym Badges of a given region. More than simple training grounds, however, these battle facilities are longstanding prestigious institutions, success in which rivals Hall of Famer status within the regional underground. Hence these battle facilities are extremely indebted to the socio-cultural makeups of their regions: Unova, for example, pioneered the creation of the Battle Subway in honor of its trademark train, while Battle Maisons represent the aesthetics and theatrics of their Kalosian homes. Featured battle formats are also variable by region, with facilities often boasting formats that are popular, or had been popularized, in that particular region. 

The biggest drawback of battle facilities is their lack of connection to other institutions, including the PWT proper. Riding the Battle Subway will not grant a Trainer access to the Elite Four, nor will a high ranking at a Battle House enshrine one in the Hall of Fame, regardless of region. Despite this pitfall, battle facilities are beloved pastimes with strong competition and even stronger communities, which more closely approximate art collectives than tournament series. Those who frequent these facilities are more likely to use combat as a form of creative expression, intersecting battling with thespianism, musicality, vocal performance, or other means of inciting applause. Becoming a Subway lifer, for instance, is an excellent way to make a name for oneself as both a competent Trainer and entertainer, just as Emmet and Ingo have before them. Though there may be no “greater pathway” that follows battle facility success, there is no greater pathway to crafting a fulfilling, self-contained competitive circuit than by visiting regional battle facilities. Their regulars make them worth the trip. 

2. Regional Conferences

Regional conferences are equivalent to national championships of their respective regions. Held once a year per region, conferences are high-stakes tournaments that are open to Trainers who have completed eight Gym badges in a given region. These events feature single-elimination rounds of typically single battles, though conference rulesets vary year to year, with certain regions tentatively supporting nationally beloved battle formats. One is only qualified to compete in a regional conference if they possess all eight badges of that region, which encourages Trainers to extensively travel to maximize their chances of annual victory. 

The draw to conferences lies in their ties to the PWT. The top 32 contestants of a regional conference are invited to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. The top 4 contestants of a regional conference receive an instant, one-time invitation to the PWT itself alongside a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. These challenger invites last until the next PWT, which occurs every two years, giving contestants time to train before taking down the Elite Four once and for all. This prize structure serves two purposes. Firstly, those who achieve top 32 status are given a “last-chance” opportunity to qualify for the PWT by defeating the Elite Four and Regional Champion, as anyone who enters the Hall of Fame receives automatic invitations to compete in the PWT for life thereafter. In addition, this provisional invitation allows for a one-time skip of Victory Road, which may save a Trainer a traumatic week of trekking depending on the region. For those in the top 4, a guaranteed spot in the PWT could be a career high, while the added opportunity to challenge the Elite Four for future automatic invitations might solidify their Champion status for the rest of their lives. Given the absurdly high levels of competition at conferences themselves, it is not unlikely that a top 32 contestant would be competitive against an Elite Four member. However, the Elite Four is known to upscale their teams’ strengths based on the determined skill levels of their challengers, which greatly raises the stakes of one’s invitational battle. 

Conferences were created as a first step in sanctioning high-end competitive battling in response to the influx of incoming Champions, thus sanctifying a true “competitive circuit” with an on-ramp to the PWT. Champions themselves have little need for conferences: Their Hall of Fame status guarantees that they need not qualify for the PWT through conference grinding. To maximize community-building in the competitive scene, however, previous Champions are enlisted as Guests of Honor and given special airtime at each conference. A Guest of Honor may be asked to commentate feature matches, engage in opening or closing ceremonies, perform moveset showcases at halftime, or simply allow VIPs to pet their Pokémon. Most importantly, the winner of every regional conference is invited to close the tournament with a no-stakes exhibition match against the Guest of Honor. Guests of Honor are usually announced two weeks ahead of a regional conference. This time frame fosters an air of excitement and added pressure for those who wish to win, as Trainers may begin to fill their crunch-time training sessions with daydreams of battling Cynthia or Green beneath the blinding lights. The Guest of Honor system thus encourages conference contestants to aim high in their performances while continuously enshrining previous Champions as the ones to watch out for, promoting environments as starry as the eyes of their competitors. 

Conferences typically last two days and occur once a month. Their dates vary based on calendar week, but conferences follow a standard pattern. Kanto jump-starts the conference season around late February to early March, with Johto’s conference in late March following it. Hoenn confers in mid-April; Sinnoh rounds out mid-May; and late June into early July hosts the PWT, providing a month of crunch-time to Tournament hopefuls. Unova restarts conferences in late July, followed by Galar in August. Paldea boasts a conference in October, and Alola ends the season in late November. Online metastrategy guides document the best way to grind conferences month by month, while full-time conference contestants blog about their culturally shocking experiences with Unovan trains, Kanto ferries, and Alolan “island time.” With their constant release cycles and rich opportunities for cultural exchange, conferences satisfy Trainers’ wanderlust, needs for endless competition, and desires for community, giving them the positive competitive outlet that older Champions wish they could have received throughout their careers. 

3. Battle Frontiers

Battle Frontiers are sprawling campuses designed to hone the competitive spirits of those who have completed a given region’s Gym circuit. Battle Frontiers were popularized in Hoenn and Sinnoh around the same time, differentiated by their arena infrastructures, battle formats, and prize support, and then exported to other regions with minimal renovation. 

Like the catch-all “battle facilities” described above, Battle Frontiers have a long history of being regional mainstays. However, upon the creation of the PWT and the streamlining of its corresponding ladder system, Pokémon Leagues revised Battle Frontiers to facilitate a pipeline to the PWT. Because of the regional specificity of facilities like the Battle Subway or Battle Maisons, it would be impossible for one tournament body to standardize them all. Doing so would be, at best, a massive cultural overreach, damaging the legacies of each region’s beloved battle environs. Alternatively, Battle Frontiers take similar forms across regions, and the diversity of their battle offerings ensure that Trainers are conference-ready rather than format one-tricks. Given the ease of normalizing their Trainer-focused features, the founding members of the PWT integrated Battle Frontiers into the PWT circuit rather than revise any other existing institutions.  

Simply put, Trainers that obtain all gold challenge items for a given region’s Battle Frontier (such as Hoenn’s “symbols” and Sinnoh’s “ceremonial prints”) receive a one-time PWT invitation, as well as an invitation to skip Victory Road and directly challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion, just as a top-4 placement at a regional conference would guarantee. On the surface, this math seems incongruent with conference math: A Battle Frontier grinder must battle hundreds of opponents to reach their chosen goal, whereas a conference attendee need only battle ten to fifteen contestants in a given weekend. Justifying this equivalency is that most battles in the Battle Frontier are versus less-skilled opponents, with difficulty ramping upward as one progresses. Conference skill levels, on the other hand, are relatively equivalent throughout the weekend because of the higher skill floor that one must meet to convincingly compete within them. In other words, most Battle Frontier rounds (Frontier Brains notwithstanding) could be considered fluff battles that would equal the amount of battles that a conference contestant would conduct throughout their preceding year of training, which rationalizes the consistency of conference difficulty levels. Once these “fluff battles” are subtracted from one’s record, the amount of Battle Frontier battles needed to obtain one’s golden prizes are equivalent to, or even less than, the amount of battles a conference contestant would conduct in a given weekend.

Even among aspiring Trainers, there is no social hierarchy nor rivalry between Battle Frontier grinders and regional conferencegoers. These two systems exist because they sustain different training pressures and senses of progression. A Trainer who fears the shame of being eliminated after round one at a conference might thrive on the Battle Frontier treadmill, whose incline is more level. A Trainer who might feel claustrophobic on a neighborhood Battle Frontier campus might revel in the worldly community of a regional conference across the pond. Regardless of one’s preferred qualification method, the PWT maintains both to ensure a steady stream of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

4. Pokémon World Tournament 

The Pokémon World Tournament is the pinnacle of Pokémon battling. Hosted in Unova every two years, the PWT is the most televised event in the world, bringing together all who value Pokémon regardless of experience in a manner analogous to the real-world Olympics. Once qualified, whether provisionally through the ladder or vis-à-vis Hall of Fame status, Trainers drop everything to prepare. After all, the list of PWT registrants reads like the index of a history book. Being so much as in the margins of it is an honor not to be taken lightly. 

The PWT lasts two weeks, Monday through Friday, between late June and early July. During the first week of competition, challengers complete ten Swiss rounds, two per contestant each day. Each round is best-of-one, Trainer versus Trainer, and has a time limit of one hour. Before rounds begin, contestants are split into two randomized player pools to accommodate space and time constraints, as it is not feasible to have hundreds of battles occurring simultaneously. The daily timetable for PWT week one, Monday through Friday, is as follows:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Round One, Group One 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Round One, Group Two 12:00 - 2:00 PM: Lunch and Halftime 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Round Two, Group One 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Round Two, Group Two 5:00 PM: Festivities end for the day, to be continued the following day with the next subsequent round

At 5:00 PM on Friday of the first week, Swiss round rankings are finalized with a cut to top 32. Tiebreakers are calculated based on opponent match win percentage (OMW%) and the amount of a Trainer’s conscious Pokémon at the end of each round. No match ties are possible: Self-K.O. moves, recoil moves, and status, weather, and force-K.O. moves are ruled in favor of either the attacker or defender depending on the category of the move. The top 32 contestants advance to the second week of competition following a weekend break, which begins a single-elimination best-of-one knockout bracket. Quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches have no time restrictions. The weekly timetable for PWT week two is as follows:

Monday: Top 32 bracket matches (16 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Tuesday: Top 16 bracket matches (8 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Wednesday: Quarterfinals (4 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Thursday: Semifinals (2 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Friday: Final championship match and closing ceremony

Opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and halftime shows are extravagant performances that celebrate diverse elements of the Pokémon world. Professors from all regions show off their recent evolutionary discoveries. Champions choreograph synchronized moveset showcases with other Champions. Beloved entertainers from battle facilities like the Subway create elaborate setpieces of their homes in which they dance, sing, or mock-battle, honoring the intersection of the mainstream and the underground from which they rose. Much like the ceremonies of the real-world Olympics, these aesthetic indulgences commemorate the cultures that make Pokémon society special, inspiring all peoples to appreciate their pasts and internalize the brightness of their collective futures. 

While running the PWT is a logistic nightmare, the rewards are plentiful. For the Trainers themselves, competing in the PWT solidifies Pokémon Mastery no matter their final result. One could leave the PWT reasonably assured that they would be back, either as a future Hall of Famer or a returning conference champion, after having learned many a lesson throughout the Swiss. The Swiss structure of the Tournament also increases the possibility that a PWT newcomer might battle against one of their heroes throughout the weeks. First-round pairings are variant, which makes pairing into a Champion possible for a newcomer, and points-based matchmaking increases the likelihood that an underdog may reach top 32 even if they meet Red in the first round. After-hours, the ability to coexist with fellow Masters increases opportunities for networking, community-building, and even bonding with others’ Pokémon. Friends are made for life based on their shared status as the best in the world, and it’s common for pockets of Champions to storm the streets like tourists in their own rights, temporarily living lives unburdened by League drama, Gym responsibilities, or full conference schedules. 

5. Mt. Silver

Red’s rise to Champion was unprecedented at the time. Between taking down Team Rocket and effortlessly sweeping the Indigo League, Red was arguably the first to embody the previously mythological ideal of Pokémon Master. In talks (or emails, rather) with the Indigo League succeeding his success, the League and Red agreed to sanction him as an ultimate Champion of sorts. Tucked away in a remote location of his choosing, Red would be the final pilgrimage of any Champion daring to meet Red’s level of fame. Upon scouting myriad regions to determine an appropriate locale, Red chose Mt. Silver for its environmental approximation of Victory Road and its unparalleled isolation. Mt. Silver was sanctioned thereafter as a nature preserve off-limits to all but the most capable of Hall of Famers, featuring minimal League interference with its natural state.

The danger of Mt. Silver cannot be overstated. One may only declare intent to climb Mt. Silver should they enter a regional Hall of Fame or achieve top-32 standing of a Pokémon World Tournament. Upon declaring such intent, a Trainer must submit to the League a dossier of their prospective team. This dossier includes a resume of each Pokémon’s previous achievements (such as Elite Four challenger appearances), their learned moves, and audiovisual documentation of their capabilities outside of combat (such as their usage of Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, or other HM moves; or evidence of extraordinary strength, mental fortitude, or capacities for care [in Pokémon such as Chansey]). While Mt. Silver is not strictly comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, one is required to make the journey with solely the six submitted Pokémon, skyrocketing the climb’s threat level. In addition, unlike Victory Road, the League cannot promise infrastructural assistance (such as bridges or paved pathways) outside of a basic trail that Red maintains monthly. Thus Mt. Silver remains one of the only pockets of true untamed wilderness in the region and cannot be assumed safe.

The requirements of the climb itself have been refined since the days of Gold’s ascension. Today, climbers are assigned a specific day and time of their battle. Climbers are then given one week to ascend to the top. Should they fail to arrive by their appointed battle time, their battle is cancelled, and they must journey back down the mountain from their current point without assistance. Challengers usually arrive a day or two early, upon which they enter a safe house with standard accommodations at which they may stay until the day of their battle. The safe house is customarily “booked” from the day of their climb and stocked to ensure at least seven days of hospitable living. Red does not socialize with challengers at this safe house, nor are they allowed inside his home. However, the summit upon which challengers battle Red marks an approximate halfway point between the safe house and Red’s house, making Red easily accessible in case of emergencies. 

Mt. Silver’s weather is notoriously savage. From November through March, no challengers are allowed to scale Mt. Silver. Red’s travel prospects are limited throughout that window as well, necessitating bulk grocery purchases and discouraging conference attendance (to this day, Red has never been to a conference in Alola). The Indigo League maintains a waitlist of challengers during the inaccessible winter season, who are then scheduled from the beginning of March onward (pending Red’s conference obligations), causing a deluge of battles for Red between March and late April. By the end of the summer, the flood of challengers slows to a trickle, only to become dammed throughout December again. This seasonal battle pattern allows Red to enjoy long stretches of spring activity before hibernating for the winter. 

6. Red

What can Red say for himself? There’s a reason he’s a man of few words. Only by witnessing his mastery atop Mt. Silver can one truly understand why he’s Kanto’s finest. Should you be convinced of your equivalence, you might as well submit an application and make the climb for yourself. After all, there’s nowhere for a Trainer to go but up. 

[mtsilvermute]

((OOC Update: I beat Pokémon Platinum for the first time!

This was my first foray through Sinnoh ever. I hadn't played the remakes, Diamond, nor Pearl (nor Arceus, but yeah). Same team as always (do you see a pattern here?). This was so much fun: I think this might be my new-favorite Pokémon game, tied with Pokémon XD. I'd have to revisit Hoenn to make that claim, though, so hold that thought... (I haven't played ORAS yet either. Crazy, I know.)

Anyway, the time has come to write. I played through Platinum in order to better understand Sinnoh-specific events and the generation as a whole; now that it's over, I feel a lot more confident with returning to roleplay. Journal entries, long-form posts, and ask meme stuff should be coming your way soon - and plotting is always just a DM away!

[mtsilvermute]

Understanding Pokémon Championship Structure

Championship structure as we understand it today is exceedingly new. By the mid-20th century, a new cultural understanding of “Pokémon Trainer” was beginning to emerge in response to rapid developments in battle technology and increased cognizance of Pokémon bonding practices. To fulfill the social, economic, and educational needs of this class, regions across the globe standardized key structures that Trainers take for granted today (such as challenging eight Gyms per region, battling an Elite Four, and being crowned a Champion by the end of one’s journey). These structures sustain an added layer of myth: By perpetuating an image of an ideal Pokémon Master and assisting in the realization of their dreams across regions, each region could work towards a common social goal that unified both people (in their sharing of the ideal) and Pokémon (in how Pokémon were brought into the fold to fulfill it). While the methods and mechanics of Pokémon battling are nothing new, these large-scale shifts towards systemically supporting future “Pokémon Masters” gave the entire Pokéworld a reason to fight for their respective futures.  

Certain problems with this model arose by the time of what history now considers to be the “mainline protagonists” of Pokémon. The accomplishments of Champions Red, Blue, Gold, and the like were consistently obliterating the so-called ceiling of Pokémon training. As more of these supposed prodigies arose to claim the title of Champion, the question of what to do with said Champions began to echo throughout conference rooms and email chains across regions. The talent curve of the youth was outgrowing the systems that had been initially created to nurture them. Structures were needed that could reflexively accommodate the goalposts that current and future Champions were consistently moving. 

This need for upper echelons of Pokémon battling created the Champion structure of today. The rest of this article outlines the “ladder” that one must climb to reach World Champion, why those rungs exist in the first place, and what kinds of rewards might lie in wait for those attempting to reach the top. “Legacy” rungs are those that have existed since before the post-Champion restructuring to provide context for their contemporary expansion. After brief explanations of these legacy institutions, a deep-dive into the contemporary Champion pathways follows. Please note that these rungs are written from the perspective of the Trainers, or would-be Masters. This post does not document what it takes to actually enter the listed positions (i.e. Gym Leader) nor the bureaucratic foundations of each facility. 

Click "Keep Reading" to view a detailed description of the flowchart above.

Legacy Structures Defined 

1. Gym Battling (Legacy)

This section needs little introduction and even less elaboration. Gyms serve as the primary facilities in which one comes of age as a Trainer. Receiving a badge from a Gym is a major point of pride; receiving eight Gym badges is the culmination of a lifelong effort, regardless of how long that life may have been lived before its realization. 

Importantly, Gym Leaders scale their teams to particular level brackets to facilitate an optimal training experience regardless of the skill level of their challengers. This practice justifies the flexible Gym order of each region’s respective pilgrimages and diversifies each Trainer’s journeys. Whether one obtains all eight Gym badges is an entirely personal decision that can take months, years, or decades to complete depending on one’s training prowess and priorities. With that said, obtaining all eight badges in a given region is not a Trainer guarantee, and possessing them justifies a lifelong career in Pokémon battling should one wish to pursue it.

2. Victory Road (Legacy)

Victory Road is a curated walk through wilderness that tests the strength of one’s bonds with their Pokémon. While each region has variations on the actual route to their respective summits, “Victory Road” broadly indicates a space designed to test a Trainer’s self-sufficiency and ability to navigate the challenges of the natural world with the help of their Pokémon. Only through time-tested trust in one’s companions can a Trainer survive harsh camping conditions, unruly weather, and distance from civilization and existing support networks. 

Victory Road’s “curation” is minimal. Pathways exist, as well as small-scale infrastructure (such as bridges), but the climb is intentionally arduous and can take a week to complete. Yet battle prowess alone does not signify Pokémon mastery. Therefore, each “Victory Road” weeds out those that might excel in combat but fail to see their Pokémon as comrades. 

3. The Elite Four (Legacy) and Regional Champion (Contemporary)

The Elite Four are precisely what they claim to be: a cohort of Pokémon Masters that have proven themselves to be the greatest of their respective regions. Challenging them is a privilege given to any Trainer who can claim eight badges and reach the end of Victory Road. 

After defeating the Elite Four, the victorious Trainer is invited to battle the standing Champion. Should the Trainer usurp the Champion, the Trainer is enlisted into the Hall of Fame and crowned the current Champion of their respective region. 

It’s important to note, however, the multiplicativity of Championhood and the relatively newer role of Regional Champion. Many Champions exist. Anyone who can defeat the current reigning Champion is crowned as such. Despite this new title, a Regional Champion acts as the active Champion of a particular region and is an administrative role that is formally given by the region’s Pokémon League. An incoming Champion may be considered for the role, as a previous Champion title is required to be Regional Champion; however, it is not necessarily the case that a newly crowned Champion would immediately become the Regional Champion. Such a title as Regional Champion would be negotiated, and later bestowed, by the region’s Pokémon League following one’s victory. Therefore, there need be only one regional representative of the title at a time regardless of the success of the most recent victor—and the status of Regional Champion may be denied (by the League) or rejected (by the victor) at will. 

4. Hall of Fame (Legacy)

One enters the Hall of Fame by becoming the standing Champion of a particular region. Once an honor reserved for a select few, the Hall of Fame has expanded exponentially over the decades as Trainers have become better versed in the arts of Pokémon battling and bonding both. Despite its growth, a place in the Hall of Fame sanctions a Trainer as a living legend, one whose Poké-prowess will be spoken of for years to come. 

Outside of garnering social capital and the undying trust of the Trainer community, the primary benefit of entering the Hall of Fame for a modern-day Trainer is that a Hall of Famer receives lifelong qualification to the Pokémon World Tournament. The Pokémon World Tournament (or PWT) is the newest structure built to sustain new chapters of the stories of Hall of Famers past and future. The PWT and its supporting ladder system are documented below under “Contemporary Structures Defined.” 

Contemporary Structures Defined 

At this point, one could consider their journey “over.” Such were the assumptions of each region at the turn of the century, who had not seen such meteoric rises to Champion status as Red, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Brendan, May, and the rest of them. These too-talented Trainers—now Masters in their own rights—deserved a “postgame” structure so as to continue to hone their skills and contribute to the ever-growing field of battle research. 

Thus was born the Pokémon World Tournament, an invite-only tournament structure catered to Champions and those of similar mettle. Showcasing high-powered Pokémon and training talent across all regions, the PWT is the ultimate goal of every professional Trainer who wishes to see their name in lights. 

The creation of the PWT, however, subsequently opened up alternative routes to Pokémon Mastery that play to different strengths and social environments. These pathways are documented below. Please note that the numbers do not correspond to a linear trajectory as they do in the Legacy pathways; they are solely for ease of listing. Consult the flowchart above for a visual representation of each progression pathway. 

1. Battle Facilities (Battle Subway, Battle Towers, etc.) 

Battle facilities are among the first high-end training opportunities available for anyone with eight Gym Badges of a given region. More than simple training grounds, however, these battle facilities are longstanding prestigious institutions, success in which rivals Hall of Famer status within the regional underground. Hence these battle facilities are extremely indebted to the socio-cultural makeups of their regions: Unova, for example, pioneered the creation of the Battle Subway in honor of its trademark train, while Battle Maisons represent the aesthetics and theatrics of their Kalosian homes. Featured battle formats are also variable by region, with facilities often boasting formats that are popular, or had been popularized, in that particular region. 

The biggest drawback of battle facilities is their lack of connection to other institutions, including the PWT proper. Riding the Battle Subway will not grant a Trainer access to the Elite Four, nor will a high ranking at a Battle House enshrine one in the Hall of Fame, regardless of region. Despite this pitfall, battle facilities are beloved pastimes with strong competition and even stronger communities, which more closely approximate art collectives than tournament series. Those who frequent these facilities are more likely to use combat as a form of creative expression, intersecting battling with thespianism, musicality, vocal performance, or other means of inciting applause. Becoming a Subway lifer, for instance, is an excellent way to make a name for oneself as both a competent Trainer and entertainer, just as Emmet and Ingo have before them. Though there may be no “greater pathway” that follows battle facility success, there is no greater pathway to crafting a fulfilling, self-contained competitive circuit than by visiting regional battle facilities. Their regulars make them worth the trip. 

2. Regional Conferences

Regional conferences are equivalent to national championships of their respective regions. Held once a year per region, conferences are high-stakes tournaments that are open to Trainers who have completed eight Gym badges in a given region. These events feature single-elimination rounds of typically single battles, though conference rulesets vary year to year, with certain regions tentatively supporting nationally beloved battle formats. One is only qualified to compete in a regional conference if they possess all eight badges of that region, which encourages Trainers to extensively travel to maximize their chances of annual victory. 

The draw to conferences lies in their ties to the PWT. The top 32 contestants of a regional conference are invited to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. The top 4 contestants of a regional conference receive an instant, one-time invitation to the PWT itself alongside a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. These challenger invites last until the next PWT, which occurs every two years, giving contestants time to train before taking down the Elite Four once and for all. This prize structure serves two purposes. Firstly, those who achieve top 32 status are given a “last-chance” opportunity to qualify for the PWT by defeating the Elite Four and Regional Champion, as anyone who enters the Hall of Fame receives automatic invitations to compete in the PWT for life thereafter. In addition, this provisional invitation allows for a one-time skip of Victory Road, which may save a Trainer a traumatic week of trekking depending on the region. For those in the top 4, a guaranteed spot in the PWT could be a career high, while the added opportunity to challenge the Elite Four for future automatic invitations might solidify their Champion status for the rest of their lives. Given the absurdly high levels of competition at conferences themselves, it is not unlikely that a top 32 contestant would be competitive against an Elite Four member. However, the Elite Four is known to upscale their teams’ strengths based on the determined skill levels of their challengers, which greatly raises the stakes of one’s invitational battle. 

Conferences were created as a first step in sanctioning high-end competitive battling in response to the influx of incoming Champions, thus sanctifying a true “competitive circuit” with an on-ramp to the PWT. Champions themselves have little need for conferences: Their Hall of Fame status guarantees that they need not qualify for the PWT through conference grinding. To maximize community-building in the competitive scene, however, previous Champions are enlisted as Guests of Honor and given special airtime at each conference. A Guest of Honor may be asked to commentate feature matches, engage in opening or closing ceremonies, perform moveset showcases at halftime, or simply allow VIPs to pet their Pokémon. Most importantly, the winner of every regional conference is invited to close the tournament with a no-stakes exhibition match against the Guest of Honor. Guests of Honor are usually announced two weeks ahead of a regional conference. This time frame fosters an air of excitement and added pressure for those who wish to win, as Trainers may begin to fill their crunch-time training sessions with daydreams of battling Cynthia or Green beneath the blinding lights. The Guest of Honor system thus encourages conference contestants to aim high in their performances while continuously enshrining previous Champions as the ones to watch out for, promoting environments as starry as the eyes of their competitors. 

Conferences typically last two days and occur once a month. Their dates vary based on calendar week, but conferences follow a standard pattern. Kanto jump-starts the conference season around late February to early March, with Johto’s conference in late March following it. Hoenn confers in mid-April; Sinnoh rounds out mid-May; and late June into early July hosts the PWT, providing a month of crunch-time to Tournament hopefuls. Unova restarts conferences in late July, followed by Galar in August. Paldea boasts a conference in October, and Alola ends the season in late November. Online metastrategy guides document the best way to grind conferences month by month, while full-time conference contestants blog about their culturally shocking experiences with Unovan trains, Kanto ferries, and Alolan “island time.” With their constant release cycles and rich opportunities for cultural exchange, conferences satisfy Trainers’ wanderlust, needs for endless competition, and desires for community, giving them the positive competitive outlet that older Champions wish they could have received throughout their careers. 

3. Battle Frontiers

Battle Frontiers are sprawling campuses designed to hone the competitive spirits of those who have completed a given region’s Gym circuit. Battle Frontiers were popularized in Hoenn and Sinnoh around the same time, differentiated by their arena infrastructures, battle formats, and prize support, and then exported to other regions with minimal renovation. 

Like the catch-all “battle facilities” described above, Battle Frontiers have a long history of being regional mainstays. However, upon the creation of the PWT and the streamlining of its corresponding ladder system, Pokémon Leagues revised Battle Frontiers to facilitate a pipeline to the PWT. Because of the regional specificity of facilities like the Battle Subway or Battle Maisons, it would be impossible for one tournament body to standardize them all. Doing so would be, at best, a massive cultural overreach, damaging the legacies of each region’s beloved battle environs. Alternatively, Battle Frontiers take similar forms across regions, and the diversity of their battle offerings ensure that Trainers are conference-ready rather than format one-tricks. Given the ease of normalizing their Trainer-focused features, the founding members of the PWT integrated Battle Frontiers into the PWT circuit rather than revise any other existing institutions.  

Simply put, Trainers that obtain all gold challenge items for a given region’s Battle Frontier (such as Hoenn’s “symbols” and Sinnoh’s “ceremonial prints”) receive a one-time PWT invitation, as well as an invitation to skip Victory Road and directly challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion, just as a top-4 placement at a regional conference would guarantee. On the surface, this math seems incongruent with conference math: A Battle Frontier grinder must battle hundreds of opponents to reach their chosen goal, whereas a conference attendee need only battle ten to fifteen contestants in a given weekend. Justifying this equivalency is that most battles in the Battle Frontier are versus less-skilled opponents, with difficulty ramping upward as one progresses. Conference skill levels, on the other hand, are relatively equivalent throughout the weekend because of the higher skill floor that one must meet to convincingly compete within them. In other words, most Battle Frontier rounds (Frontier Brains notwithstanding) could be considered fluff battles that would equal the amount of battles that a conference contestant would conduct throughout their preceding year of training, which rationalizes the consistency of conference difficulty levels. Once these “fluff battles” are subtracted from one’s record, the amount of Battle Frontier battles needed to obtain one’s golden prizes are equivalent to, or even less than, the amount of battles a conference contestant would conduct in a given weekend.

Even among aspiring Trainers, there is no social hierarchy nor rivalry between Battle Frontier grinders and regional conferencegoers. These two systems exist because they sustain different training pressures and senses of progression. A Trainer who fears the shame of being eliminated after round one at a conference might thrive on the Battle Frontier treadmill, whose incline is more level. A Trainer who might feel claustrophobic on a neighborhood Battle Frontier campus might revel in the worldly community of a regional conference across the pond. Regardless of one’s preferred qualification method, the PWT maintains both to ensure a steady stream of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

4. Pokémon World Tournament 

The Pokémon World Tournament is the pinnacle of Pokémon battling. Hosted in Unova every two years, the PWT is the most televised event in the world, bringing together all who value Pokémon regardless of experience in a manner analogous to the real-world Olympics. Once qualified, whether provisionally through the ladder or vis-à-vis Hall of Fame status, Trainers drop everything to prepare. After all, the list of PWT registrants reads like the index of a history book. Being so much as in the margins of it is an honor not to be taken lightly. 

The PWT lasts two weeks, Monday through Friday, between late June and early July. During the first week of competition, challengers complete ten Swiss rounds, two per contestant each day. Each round is best-of-one, Trainer versus Trainer, and has a time limit of one hour. Before rounds begin, contestants are split into two randomized player pools to accommodate space and time constraints, as it is not feasible to have hundreds of battles occurring simultaneously. The daily timetable for PWT week one, Monday through Friday, is as follows:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Round One, Group One 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Round One, Group Two 12:00 - 2:00 PM: Lunch and Halftime 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Round Two, Group One 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Round Two, Group Two 5:00 PM: Festivities end for the day, to be continued the following day with the next subsequent round

At 5:00 PM on Friday of the first week, Swiss round rankings are finalized with a cut to top 32. Tiebreakers are calculated based on opponent match win percentage (OMW%) and the amount of a Trainer’s conscious Pokémon at the end of each round. No match ties are possible: Self-K.O. moves, recoil moves, and status, weather, and force-K.O. moves are ruled in favor of either the attacker or defender depending on the category of the move. The top 32 contestants advance to the second week of competition following a weekend break, which begins a single-elimination best-of-one knockout bracket. Quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches have no time restrictions. The weekly timetable for PWT week two is as follows:

Monday: Top 32 bracket matches (16 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Tuesday: Top 16 bracket matches (8 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Wednesday: Quarterfinals (4 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Thursday: Semifinals (2 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Friday: Final championship match and closing ceremony

Opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and halftime shows are extravagant performances that celebrate diverse elements of the Pokémon world. Professors from all regions show off their recent evolutionary discoveries. Champions choreograph synchronized moveset showcases with other Champions. Beloved entertainers from battle facilities like the Subway create elaborate setpieces of their homes in which they dance, sing, or mock-battle, honoring the intersection of the mainstream and the underground from which they rose. Much like the ceremonies of the real-world Olympics, these aesthetic indulgences commemorate the cultures that make Pokémon society special, inspiring all peoples to appreciate their pasts and internalize the brightness of their collective futures. 

While running the PWT is a logistic nightmare, the rewards are plentiful. For the Trainers themselves, competing in the PWT solidifies Pokémon Mastery no matter their final result. One could leave the PWT reasonably assured that they would be back, either as a future Hall of Famer or a returning conference champion, after having learned many a lesson throughout the Swiss. The Swiss structure of the Tournament also increases the possibility that a PWT newcomer might battle against one of their heroes throughout the weeks. First-round pairings are variant, which makes pairing into a Champion possible for a newcomer, and points-based matchmaking increases the likelihood that an underdog may reach top 32 even if they meet Red in the first round. After-hours, the ability to coexist with fellow Masters increases opportunities for networking, community-building, and even bonding with others’ Pokémon. Friends are made for life based on their shared status as the best in the world, and it’s common for pockets of Champions to storm the streets like tourists in their own rights, temporarily living lives unburdened by League drama, Gym responsibilities, or full conference schedules. 

5. Mt. Silver

Red’s rise to Champion was unprecedented at the time. Between taking down Team Rocket and effortlessly sweeping the Indigo League, Red was arguably the first to embody the previously mythological ideal of Pokémon Master. In talks (or emails, rather) with the Indigo League succeeding his success, the League and Red agreed to sanction him as an ultimate Champion of sorts. Tucked away in a remote location of his choosing, Red would be the final pilgrimage of any Champion daring to meet Red’s level of fame. Upon scouting myriad regions to determine an appropriate locale, Red chose Mt. Silver for its environmental approximation of Victory Road and its unparalleled isolation. Mt. Silver was sanctioned thereafter as a nature preserve off-limits to all but the most capable of Hall of Famers, featuring minimal League interference with its natural state.

The danger of Mt. Silver cannot be overstated. One may only declare intent to climb Mt. Silver should they enter a regional Hall of Fame or achieve top-32 standing of a Pokémon World Tournament. Upon declaring such intent, a Trainer must submit to the League a dossier of their prospective team. This dossier includes a resume of each Pokémon’s previous achievements (such as Elite Four challenger appearances), their learned moves, and audiovisual documentation of their capabilities outside of combat (such as their usage of Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, or other HM moves; or evidence of extraordinary strength, mental fortitude, or capacities for care [in Pokémon such as Chansey]). While Mt. Silver is not strictly comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, one is required to make the journey with solely the six submitted Pokémon, skyrocketing the climb’s threat level. In addition, unlike Victory Road, the League cannot promise infrastructural assistance (such as bridges or paved pathways) outside of a basic trail that Red maintains monthly. Thus Mt. Silver remains one of the only pockets of true untamed wilderness in the region and cannot be assumed safe.

The requirements of the climb itself have been refined since the days of Gold’s ascension. Today, climbers are assigned a specific day and time of their battle. Climbers are then given one week to ascend to the top. Should they fail to arrive by their appointed battle time, their battle is cancelled, and they must journey back down the mountain from their current point without assistance. Challengers usually arrive a day or two early, upon which they enter a safe house with standard accommodations at which they may stay until the day of their battle. The safe house is customarily “booked” from the day of their climb and stocked to ensure at least seven days of hospitable living. Red does not socialize with challengers at this safe house, nor are they allowed inside his home. However, the summit upon which challengers battle Red marks an approximate halfway point between the safe house and Red’s house, making Red easily accessible in case of emergencies. 

Mt. Silver’s weather is notoriously savage. From November through March, no challengers are allowed to scale Mt. Silver. Red’s travel prospects are limited throughout that window as well, necessitating bulk grocery purchases and discouraging conference attendance (to this day, Red has never been to a conference in Alola). The Indigo League maintains a waitlist of challengers during the inaccessible winter season, who are then scheduled from the beginning of March onward (pending Red’s conference obligations), causing a deluge of battles for Red between March and late April. By the end of the summer, the flood of challengers slows to a trickle, only to become dammed throughout December again. This seasonal battle pattern allows Red to enjoy long stretches of spring activity before hibernating for the winter. 

6. Red

What can Red say for himself? There’s a reason he’s a man of few words. Only by witnessing his mastery atop Mt. Silver can one truly understand why he’s Kanto’s finest. Should you be convinced of your equivalence, you might as well submit an application and make the climb for yourself. After all, there’s nowhere for a Trainer to go but up. 

[mtsilvermute]

Understanding Pokémon Championship Structure

Championship structure as we understand it today is exceedingly new. By the mid-20th century, a new cultural understanding of “Pokémon Trainer” was beginning to emerge in response to rapid developments in battle technology and increased cognizance of Pokémon bonding practices. To fulfill the social, economic, and educational needs of this class, regions across the globe standardized key structures that Trainers take for granted today (such as challenging eight Gyms per region, battling an Elite Four, and being crowned a Champion by the end of one’s journey). These structures sustain an added layer of myth: By perpetuating an image of an ideal Pokémon Master and assisting in the realization of their dreams across regions, each region could work towards a common social goal that unified both people (in their sharing of the ideal) and Pokémon (in how Pokémon were brought into the fold to fulfill it). While the methods and mechanics of Pokémon battling are nothing new, these large-scale shifts towards systemically supporting future “Pokémon Masters” gave the entire Pokéworld a reason to fight for their respective futures.  

Certain problems with this model arose by the time of what history now considers to be the “mainline protagonists” of Pokémon. The accomplishments of Champions Red, Blue, Gold, and the like were consistently obliterating the so-called ceiling of Pokémon training. As more of these supposed prodigies arose to claim the title of Champion, the question of what to do with said Champions began to echo throughout conference rooms and email chains across regions. The talent curve of the youth was outgrowing the systems that had been initially created to nurture them. Structures were needed that could reflexively accommodate the goalposts that current and future Champions were consistently moving. 

This need for upper echelons of Pokémon battling created the Champion structure of today. The rest of this article outlines the “ladder” that one must climb to reach World Champion, why those rungs exist in the first place, and what kinds of rewards might lie in wait for those attempting to reach the top. “Legacy” rungs are those that have existed since before the post-Champion restructuring to provide context for their contemporary expansion. After brief explanations of these legacy institutions, a deep-dive into the contemporary Champion pathways follows. Please note that these rungs are written from the perspective of the Trainers, or would-be Masters. This post does not document what it takes to actually enter the listed positions (i.e. Gym Leader) nor the bureaucratic foundations of each facility. 

Click "Keep Reading" to view a detailed description of the flowchart above.

Legacy Structures Defined 

1. Gym Battling (Legacy)

This section needs little introduction and even less elaboration. Gyms serve as the primary facilities in which one comes of age as a Trainer. Receiving a badge from a Gym is a major point of pride; receiving eight Gym badges is the culmination of a lifelong effort, regardless of how long that life may have been lived before its realization. 

Importantly, Gym Leaders scale their teams to particular level brackets to facilitate an optimal training experience regardless of the skill level of their challengers. This practice justifies the flexible Gym order of each region’s respective pilgrimages and diversifies each Trainer’s journeys. Whether one obtains all eight Gym badges is an entirely personal decision that can take months, years, or decades to complete depending on one’s training prowess and priorities. With that said, obtaining all eight badges in a given region is not a Trainer guarantee, and possessing them justifies a lifelong career in Pokémon battling should one wish to pursue it.

2. Victory Road (Legacy)

Victory Road is a curated walk through wilderness that tests the strength of one’s bonds with their Pokémon. While each region has variations on the actual route to their respective summits, “Victory Road” broadly indicates a space designed to test a Trainer’s self-sufficiency and ability to navigate the challenges of the natural world with the help of their Pokémon. Only through time-tested trust in one’s companions can a Trainer survive harsh camping conditions, unruly weather, and distance from civilization and existing support networks. 

Victory Road’s “curation” is minimal. Pathways exist, as well as small-scale infrastructure (such as bridges), but the climb is intentionally arduous and can take a week to complete. Yet battle prowess alone does not signify Pokémon mastery. Therefore, each “Victory Road” weeds out those that might excel in combat but fail to see their Pokémon as comrades. 

3. The Elite Four (Legacy) and Regional Champion (Contemporary)

The Elite Four are precisely what they claim to be: a cohort of Pokémon Masters that have proven themselves to be the greatest of their respective regions. Challenging them is a privilege given to any Trainer who can claim eight badges and reach the end of Victory Road. 

After defeating the Elite Four, the victorious Trainer is invited to battle the standing Champion. Should the Trainer usurp the Champion, the Trainer is enlisted into the Hall of Fame and crowned the current Champion of their respective region. 

It’s important to note, however, the multiplicativity of Championhood and the relatively newer role of Regional Champion. Many Champions exist. Anyone who can defeat the current reigning Champion is crowned as such. Despite this new title, a Regional Champion acts as the active Champion of a particular region and is an administrative role that is formally given by the region’s Pokémon League. An incoming Champion may be considered for the role, as a previous Champion title is required to be Regional Champion; however, it is not necessarily the case that a newly crowned Champion would immediately become the Regional Champion. Such a title as Regional Champion would be negotiated, and later bestowed, by the region’s Pokémon League following one’s victory. Therefore, there need be only one regional representative of the title at a time regardless of the success of the most recent victor—and the status of Regional Champion may be denied (by the League) or rejected (by the victor) at will. 

4. Hall of Fame (Legacy)

One enters the Hall of Fame by becoming the standing Champion of a particular region. Once an honor reserved for a select few, the Hall of Fame has expanded exponentially over the decades as Trainers have become better versed in the arts of Pokémon battling and bonding both. Despite its growth, a place in the Hall of Fame sanctions a Trainer as a living legend, one whose Poké-prowess will be spoken of for years to come. 

Outside of garnering social capital and the undying trust of the Trainer community, the primary benefit of entering the Hall of Fame for a modern-day Trainer is that a Hall of Famer receives lifelong qualification to the Pokémon World Tournament. The Pokémon World Tournament (or PWT) is the newest structure built to sustain new chapters of the stories of Hall of Famers past and future. The PWT and its supporting ladder system are documented below under “Contemporary Structures Defined.” 

Contemporary Structures Defined 

At this point, one could consider their journey “over.” Such were the assumptions of each region at the turn of the century, who had not seen such meteoric rises to Champion status as Red, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Brendan, May, and the rest of them. These too-talented Trainers—now Masters in their own rights—deserved a “postgame” structure so as to continue to hone their skills and contribute to the ever-growing field of battle research. 

Thus was born the Pokémon World Tournament, an invite-only tournament structure catered to Champions and those of similar mettle. Showcasing high-powered Pokémon and training talent across all regions, the PWT is the ultimate goal of every professional Trainer who wishes to see their name in lights. 

The creation of the PWT, however, subsequently opened up alternative routes to Pokémon Mastery that play to different strengths and social environments. These pathways are documented below. Please note that the numbers do not correspond to a linear trajectory as they do in the Legacy pathways; they are solely for ease of listing. Consult the flowchart above for a visual representation of each progression pathway. 

1. Battle Facilities (Battle Subway, Battle Towers, etc.) 

Battle facilities are among the first high-end training opportunities available for anyone with eight Gym Badges of a given region. More than simple training grounds, however, these battle facilities are longstanding prestigious institutions, success in which rivals Hall of Famer status within the regional underground. Hence these battle facilities are extremely indebted to the socio-cultural makeups of their regions: Unova, for example, pioneered the creation of the Battle Subway in honor of its trademark train, while Battle Maisons represent the aesthetics and theatrics of their Kalosian homes. Featured battle formats are also variable by region, with facilities often boasting formats that are popular, or had been popularized, in that particular region. 

The biggest drawback of battle facilities is their lack of connection to other institutions, including the PWT proper. Riding the Battle Subway will not grant a Trainer access to the Elite Four, nor will a high ranking at a Battle House enshrine one in the Hall of Fame, regardless of region. Despite this pitfall, battle facilities are beloved pastimes with strong competition and even stronger communities, which more closely approximate art collectives than tournament series. Those who frequent these facilities are more likely to use combat as a form of creative expression, intersecting battling with thespianism, musicality, vocal performance, or other means of inciting applause. Becoming a Subway lifer, for instance, is an excellent way to make a name for oneself as both a competent Trainer and entertainer, just as Emmet and Ingo have before them. Though there may be no “greater pathway” that follows battle facility success, there is no greater pathway to crafting a fulfilling, self-contained competitive circuit than by visiting regional battle facilities. Their regulars make them worth the trip. 

2. Regional Conferences

Regional conferences are equivalent to national championships of their respective regions. Held once a year per region, conferences are high-stakes tournaments that are open to Trainers who have completed eight Gym badges in a given region. These events feature single-elimination rounds of typically single battles, though conference rulesets vary year to year, with certain regions tentatively supporting nationally beloved battle formats. One is only qualified to compete in a regional conference if they possess all eight badges of that region, which encourages Trainers to extensively travel to maximize their chances of annual victory. 

The draw to conferences lies in their ties to the PWT. The top 32 contestants of a regional conference are invited to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. The top 4 contestants of a regional conference receive an instant, one-time invitation to the PWT itself alongside a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. These challenger invites last until the next PWT, which occurs every two years, giving contestants time to train before taking down the Elite Four once and for all. This prize structure serves two purposes. Firstly, those who achieve top 32 status are given a “last-chance” opportunity to qualify for the PWT by defeating the Elite Four and Regional Champion, as anyone who enters the Hall of Fame receives automatic invitations to compete in the PWT for life thereafter. In addition, this provisional invitation allows for a one-time skip of Victory Road, which may save a Trainer a traumatic week of trekking depending on the region. For those in the top 4, a guaranteed spot in the PWT could be a career high, while the added opportunity to challenge the Elite Four for future automatic invitations might solidify their Champion status for the rest of their lives. Given the absurdly high levels of competition at conferences themselves, it is not unlikely that a top 32 contestant would be competitive against an Elite Four member. However, the Elite Four is known to upscale their teams’ strengths based on the determined skill levels of their challengers, which greatly raises the stakes of one’s invitational battle. 

Conferences were created as a first step in sanctioning high-end competitive battling in response to the influx of incoming Champions, thus sanctifying a true “competitive circuit” with an on-ramp to the PWT. Champions themselves have little need for conferences: Their Hall of Fame status guarantees that they need not qualify for the PWT through conference grinding. To maximize community-building in the competitive scene, however, previous Champions are enlisted as Guests of Honor and given special airtime at each conference. A Guest of Honor may be asked to commentate feature matches, engage in opening or closing ceremonies, perform moveset showcases at halftime, or simply allow VIPs to pet their Pokémon. Most importantly, the winner of every regional conference is invited to close the tournament with a no-stakes exhibition match against the Guest of Honor. Guests of Honor are usually announced two weeks ahead of a regional conference. This time frame fosters an air of excitement and added pressure for those who wish to win, as Trainers may begin to fill their crunch-time training sessions with daydreams of battling Cynthia or Green beneath the blinding lights. The Guest of Honor system thus encourages conference contestants to aim high in their performances while continuously enshrining previous Champions as the ones to watch out for, promoting environments as starry as the eyes of their competitors. 

Conferences typically last two days and occur once a month. Their dates vary based on calendar week, but conferences follow a standard pattern. Kanto jump-starts the conference season around late February to early March, with Johto’s conference in late March following it. Hoenn confers in mid-April; Sinnoh rounds out mid-May; and late June into early July hosts the PWT, providing a month of crunch-time to Tournament hopefuls. Unova restarts conferences in late July, followed by Galar in August. Paldea boasts a conference in October, and Alola ends the season in late November. Online metastrategy guides document the best way to grind conferences month by month, while full-time conference contestants blog about their culturally shocking experiences with Unovan trains, Kanto ferries, and Alolan “island time.” With their constant release cycles and rich opportunities for cultural exchange, conferences satisfy Trainers’ wanderlust, needs for endless competition, and desires for community, giving them the positive competitive outlet that older Champions wish they could have received throughout their careers. 

3. Battle Frontiers

Battle Frontiers are sprawling campuses designed to hone the competitive spirits of those who have completed a given region’s Gym circuit. Battle Frontiers were popularized in Hoenn and Sinnoh around the same time, differentiated by their arena infrastructures, battle formats, and prize support, and then exported to other regions with minimal renovation. 

Like the catch-all “battle facilities” described above, Battle Frontiers have a long history of being regional mainstays. However, upon the creation of the PWT and the streamlining of its corresponding ladder system, Pokémon Leagues revised Battle Frontiers to facilitate a pipeline to the PWT. Because of the regional specificity of facilities like the Battle Subway or Battle Maisons, it would be impossible for one tournament body to standardize them all. Doing so would be, at best, a massive cultural overreach, damaging the legacies of each region’s beloved battle environs. Alternatively, Battle Frontiers take similar forms across regions, and the diversity of their battle offerings ensure that Trainers are conference-ready rather than format one-tricks. Given the ease of normalizing their Trainer-focused features, the founding members of the PWT integrated Battle Frontiers into the PWT circuit rather than revise any other existing institutions.  

Simply put, Trainers that obtain all gold challenge items for a given region’s Battle Frontier (such as Hoenn’s “symbols” and Sinnoh’s “ceremonial prints”) receive a one-time PWT invitation, as well as an invitation to skip Victory Road and directly challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion, just as a top-4 placement at a regional conference would guarantee. On the surface, this math seems incongruent with conference math: A Battle Frontier grinder must battle hundreds of opponents to reach their chosen goal, whereas a conference attendee need only battle ten to fifteen contestants in a given weekend. Justifying this equivalency is that most battles in the Battle Frontier are versus less-skilled opponents, with difficulty ramping upward as one progresses. Conference skill levels, on the other hand, are relatively equivalent throughout the weekend because of the higher skill floor that one must meet to convincingly compete within them. In other words, most Battle Frontier rounds (Frontier Brains notwithstanding) could be considered fluff battles that would equal the amount of battles that a conference contestant would conduct throughout their preceding year of training, which rationalizes the consistency of conference difficulty levels. Once these “fluff battles” are subtracted from one’s record, the amount of Battle Frontier battles needed to obtain one’s golden prizes are equivalent to, or even less than, the amount of battles a conference contestant would conduct in a given weekend.

Even among aspiring Trainers, there is no social hierarchy nor rivalry between Battle Frontier grinders and regional conferencegoers. These two systems exist because they sustain different training pressures and senses of progression. A Trainer who fears the shame of being eliminated after round one at a conference might thrive on the Battle Frontier treadmill, whose incline is more level. A Trainer who might feel claustrophobic on a neighborhood Battle Frontier campus might revel in the worldly community of a regional conference across the pond. Regardless of one’s preferred qualification method, the PWT maintains both to ensure a steady stream of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

4. Pokémon World Tournament 

The Pokémon World Tournament is the pinnacle of Pokémon battling. Hosted in Unova every two years, the PWT is the most televised event in the world, bringing together all who value Pokémon regardless of experience in a manner analogous to the real-world Olympics. Once qualified, whether provisionally through the ladder or vis-à-vis Hall of Fame status, Trainers drop everything to prepare. After all, the list of PWT registrants reads like the index of a history book. Being so much as in the margins of it is an honor not to be taken lightly. 

The PWT lasts two weeks, Monday through Friday, between late June and early July. During the first week of competition, challengers complete ten Swiss rounds, two per contestant each day. Each round is best-of-one, Trainer versus Trainer, and has a time limit of one hour. Before rounds begin, contestants are split into two randomized player pools to accommodate space and time constraints, as it is not feasible to have hundreds of battles occurring simultaneously. The daily timetable for PWT week one, Monday through Friday, is as follows:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Round One, Group One 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Round One, Group Two 12:00 - 2:00 PM: Lunch and Halftime 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Round Two, Group One 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Round Two, Group Two 5:00 PM: Festivities end for the day, to be continued the following day with the next subsequent round

At 5:00 PM on Friday of the first week, Swiss round rankings are finalized with a cut to top 32. Tiebreakers are calculated based on opponent match win percentage (OMW%) and the amount of a Trainer’s conscious Pokémon at the end of each round. No match ties are possible: Self-K.O. moves, recoil moves, and status, weather, and force-K.O. moves are ruled in favor of either the attacker or defender depending on the category of the move. The top 32 contestants advance to the second week of competition following a weekend break, which begins a single-elimination best-of-one knockout bracket. Quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches have no time restrictions. The weekly timetable for PWT week two is as follows:

Monday: Top 32 bracket matches (16 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Tuesday: Top 16 bracket matches (8 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Wednesday: Quarterfinals (4 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Thursday: Semifinals (2 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Friday: Final championship match and closing ceremony

Opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and halftime shows are extravagant performances that celebrate diverse elements of the Pokémon world. Professors from all regions show off their recent evolutionary discoveries. Champions choreograph synchronized moveset showcases with other Champions. Beloved entertainers from battle facilities like the Subway create elaborate setpieces of their homes in which they dance, sing, or mock-battle, honoring the intersection of the mainstream and the underground from which they rose. Much like the ceremonies of the real-world Olympics, these aesthetic indulgences commemorate the cultures that make Pokémon society special, inspiring all peoples to appreciate their pasts and internalize the brightness of their collective futures. 

While running the PWT is a logistic nightmare, the rewards are plentiful. For the Trainers themselves, competing in the PWT solidifies Pokémon Mastery no matter their final result. One could leave the PWT reasonably assured that they would be back, either as a future Hall of Famer or a returning conference champion, after having learned many a lesson throughout the Swiss. The Swiss structure of the Tournament also increases the possibility that a PWT newcomer might battle against one of their heroes throughout the weeks. First-round pairings are variant, which makes pairing into a Champion possible for a newcomer, and points-based matchmaking increases the likelihood that an underdog may reach top 32 even if they meet Red in the first round. After-hours, the ability to coexist with fellow Masters increases opportunities for networking, community-building, and even bonding with others’ Pokémon. Friends are made for life based on their shared status as the best in the world, and it’s common for pockets of Champions to storm the streets like tourists in their own rights, temporarily living lives unburdened by League drama, Gym responsibilities, or full conference schedules. 

5. Mt. Silver

Red’s rise to Champion was unprecedented at the time. Between taking down Team Rocket and effortlessly sweeping the Indigo League, Red was arguably the first to embody the previously mythological ideal of Pokémon Master. In talks (or emails, rather) with the Indigo League succeeding his success, the League and Red agreed to sanction him as an ultimate Champion of sorts. Tucked away in a remote location of his choosing, Red would be the final pilgrimage of any Champion daring to meet Red’s level of fame. Upon scouting myriad regions to determine an appropriate locale, Red chose Mt. Silver for its environmental approximation of Victory Road and its unparalleled isolation. Mt. Silver was sanctioned thereafter as a nature preserve off-limits to all but the most capable of Hall of Famers, featuring minimal League interference with its natural state.

The danger of Mt. Silver cannot be overstated. One may only declare intent to climb Mt. Silver should they enter a regional Hall of Fame or achieve top-32 standing of a Pokémon World Tournament. Upon declaring such intent, a Trainer must submit to the League a dossier of their prospective team. This dossier includes a resume of each Pokémon’s previous achievements (such as Elite Four challenger appearances), their learned moves, and audiovisual documentation of their capabilities outside of combat (such as their usage of Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, or other HM moves; or evidence of extraordinary strength, mental fortitude, or capacities for care [in Pokémon such as Chansey]). While Mt. Silver is not strictly comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, one is required to make the journey with solely the six submitted Pokémon, skyrocketing the climb’s threat level. In addition, unlike Victory Road, the League cannot promise infrastructural assistance (such as bridges or paved pathways) outside of a basic trail that Red maintains monthly. Thus Mt. Silver remains one of the only pockets of true untamed wilderness in the region and cannot be assumed safe.

The requirements of the climb itself have been refined since the days of Gold’s ascension. Today, climbers are assigned a specific day and time of their battle. Climbers are then given one week to ascend to the top. Should they fail to arrive by their appointed battle time, their battle is cancelled, and they must journey back down the mountain from their current point without assistance. Challengers usually arrive a day or two early, upon which they enter a safe house with standard accommodations at which they may stay until the day of their battle. The safe house is customarily “booked” from the day of their climb and stocked to ensure at least seven days of hospitable living. Red does not socialize with challengers at this safe house, nor are they allowed inside his home. However, the summit upon which challengers battle Red marks an approximate halfway point between the safe house and Red’s house, making Red easily accessible in case of emergencies. 

Mt. Silver’s weather is notoriously savage. From November through March, no challengers are allowed to scale Mt. Silver. Red’s travel prospects are limited throughout that window as well, necessitating bulk grocery purchases and discouraging conference attendance (to this day, Red has never been to a conference in Alola). The Indigo League maintains a waitlist of challengers during the inaccessible winter season, who are then scheduled from the beginning of March onward (pending Red’s conference obligations), causing a deluge of battles for Red between March and late April. By the end of the summer, the flood of challengers slows to a trickle, only to become dammed throughout December again. This seasonal battle pattern allows Red to enjoy long stretches of spring activity before hibernating for the winter. 

6. Red

What can Red say for himself? There’s a reason he’s a man of few words. Only by witnessing his mastery atop Mt. Silver can one truly understand why he’s Kanto’s finest. Should you be convinced of your equivalence, you might as well submit an application and make the climb for yourself. After all, there’s nowhere for a Trainer to go but up. 

[mtsilvermute]

Understanding Pokémon Championship Structure

Championship structure as we understand it today is exceedingly new. By the mid-20th century, a new cultural understanding of “Pokémon Trainer” was beginning to emerge in response to rapid developments in battle technology and increased cognizance of Pokémon bonding practices. To fulfill the social, economic, and educational needs of this class, regions across the globe standardized key structures that Trainers take for granted today (such as challenging eight Gyms per region, battling an Elite Four, and being crowned a Champion by the end of one’s journey). These structures sustain an added layer of myth: By perpetuating an image of an ideal Pokémon Master and assisting in the realization of their dreams across regions, each region could work towards a common social goal that unified both people (in their sharing of the ideal) and Pokémon (in how Pokémon were brought into the fold to fulfill it). While the methods and mechanics of Pokémon battling are nothing new, these large-scale shifts towards systemically supporting future “Pokémon Masters” gave the entire Pokéworld a reason to fight for their respective futures.  

Certain problems with this model arose by the time of what history now considers to be the “mainline protagonists” of Pokémon. The accomplishments of Champions Red, Blue, Gold, and the like were consistently obliterating the so-called ceiling of Pokémon training. As more of these supposed prodigies arose to claim the title of Champion, the question of what to do with said Champions began to echo throughout conference rooms and email chains across regions. The talent curve of the youth was outgrowing the systems that had been initially created to nurture them. Structures were needed that could reflexively accommodate the goalposts that current and future Champions were consistently moving. 

This need for upper echelons of Pokémon battling created the Champion structure of today. The rest of this article outlines the “ladder” that one must climb to reach World Champion, why those rungs exist in the first place, and what kinds of rewards might lie in wait for those attempting to reach the top. “Legacy” rungs are those that have existed since before the post-Champion restructuring to provide context for their contemporary expansion. After brief explanations of these legacy institutions, a deep-dive into the contemporary Champion pathways follows. Please note that these rungs are written from the perspective of the Trainers, or would-be Masters. This post does not document what it takes to actually enter the listed positions (i.e. Gym Leader) nor the bureaucratic foundations of each facility. 

Click "Keep Reading" to view a detailed description of the flowchart above.

Legacy Structures Defined 

1. Gym Battling (Legacy)

This section needs little introduction and even less elaboration. Gyms serve as the primary facilities in which one comes of age as a Trainer. Receiving a badge from a Gym is a major point of pride; receiving eight Gym badges is the culmination of a lifelong effort, regardless of how long that life may have been lived before its realization. 

Importantly, Gym Leaders scale their teams to particular level brackets to facilitate an optimal training experience regardless of the skill level of their challengers. This practice justifies the flexible Gym order of each region’s respective pilgrimages and diversifies each Trainer’s journeys. Whether one obtains all eight Gym badges is an entirely personal decision that can take months, years, or decades to complete depending on one’s training prowess and priorities. With that said, obtaining all eight badges in a given region is not a Trainer guarantee, and possessing them justifies a lifelong career in Pokémon battling should one wish to pursue it.

2. Victory Road (Legacy)

Victory Road is a curated walk through wilderness that tests the strength of one’s bonds with their Pokémon. While each region has variations on the actual route to their respective summits, “Victory Road” broadly indicates a space designed to test a Trainer’s self-sufficiency and ability to navigate the challenges of the natural world with the help of their Pokémon. Only through time-tested trust in one’s companions can a Trainer survive harsh camping conditions, unruly weather, and distance from civilization and existing support networks. 

Victory Road’s “curation” is minimal. Pathways exist, as well as small-scale infrastructure (such as bridges), but the climb is intentionally arduous and can take a week to complete. Yet battle prowess alone does not signify Pokémon mastery. Therefore, each “Victory Road” weeds out those that might excel in combat but fail to see their Pokémon as comrades. 

3. The Elite Four (Legacy) and Regional Champion (Contemporary)

The Elite Four are precisely what they claim to be: a cohort of Pokémon Masters that have proven themselves to be the greatest of their respective regions. Challenging them is a privilege given to any Trainer who can claim eight badges and reach the end of Victory Road. 

After defeating the Elite Four, the victorious Trainer is invited to battle the standing Champion. Should the Trainer usurp the Champion, the Trainer is enlisted into the Hall of Fame and crowned the current Champion of their respective region. 

It’s important to note, however, the multiplicativity of Championhood and the relatively newer role of Regional Champion. Many Champions exist. Anyone who can defeat the current reigning Champion is crowned as such. Despite this new title, a Regional Champion acts as the active Champion of a particular region and is an administrative role that is formally given by the region’s Pokémon League. An incoming Champion may be considered for the role, as a previous Champion title is required to be Regional Champion; however, it is not necessarily the case that a newly crowned Champion would immediately become the Regional Champion. Such a title as Regional Champion would be negotiated, and later bestowed, by the region’s Pokémon League following one’s victory. Therefore, there need be only one regional representative of the title at a time regardless of the success of the most recent victor—and the status of Regional Champion may be denied (by the League) or rejected (by the victor) at will. 

4. Hall of Fame (Legacy)

One enters the Hall of Fame by becoming the standing Champion of a particular region. Once an honor reserved for a select few, the Hall of Fame has expanded exponentially over the decades as Trainers have become better versed in the arts of Pokémon battling and bonding both. Despite its growth, a place in the Hall of Fame sanctions a Trainer as a living legend, one whose Poké-prowess will be spoken of for years to come. 

Outside of garnering social capital and the undying trust of the Trainer community, the primary benefit of entering the Hall of Fame for a modern-day Trainer is that a Hall of Famer receives lifelong qualification to the Pokémon World Tournament. The Pokémon World Tournament (or PWT) is the newest structure built to sustain new chapters of the stories of Hall of Famers past and future. The PWT and its supporting ladder system are documented below under “Contemporary Structures Defined.” 

Contemporary Structures Defined 

At this point, one could consider their journey “over.” Such were the assumptions of each region at the turn of the century, who had not seen such meteoric rises to Champion status as Red, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Brendan, May, and the rest of them. These too-talented Trainers—now Masters in their own rights—deserved a “postgame” structure so as to continue to hone their skills and contribute to the ever-growing field of battle research. 

Thus was born the Pokémon World Tournament, an invite-only tournament structure catered to Champions and those of similar mettle. Showcasing high-powered Pokémon and training talent across all regions, the PWT is the ultimate goal of every professional Trainer who wishes to see their name in lights. 

The creation of the PWT, however, subsequently opened up alternative routes to Pokémon Mastery that play to different strengths and social environments. These pathways are documented below. Please note that the numbers do not correspond to a linear trajectory as they do in the Legacy pathways; they are solely for ease of listing. Consult the flowchart above for a visual representation of each progression pathway. 

1. Battle Facilities (Battle Subway, Battle Towers, etc.) 

Battle facilities are among the first high-end training opportunities available for anyone with eight Gym Badges of a given region. More than simple training grounds, however, these battle facilities are longstanding prestigious institutions, success in which rivals Hall of Famer status within the regional underground. Hence these battle facilities are extremely indebted to the socio-cultural makeups of their regions: Unova, for example, pioneered the creation of the Battle Subway in honor of its trademark train, while Battle Maisons represent the aesthetics and theatrics of their Kalosian homes. Featured battle formats are also variable by region, with facilities often boasting formats that are popular, or had been popularized, in that particular region. 

The biggest drawback of battle facilities is their lack of connection to other institutions, including the PWT proper. Riding the Battle Subway will not grant a Trainer access to the Elite Four, nor will a high ranking at a Battle House enshrine one in the Hall of Fame, regardless of region. Despite this pitfall, battle facilities are beloved pastimes with strong competition and even stronger communities, which more closely approximate art collectives than tournament series. Those who frequent these facilities are more likely to use combat as a form of creative expression, intersecting battling with thespianism, musicality, vocal performance, or other means of inciting applause. Becoming a Subway lifer, for instance, is an excellent way to make a name for oneself as both a competent Trainer and entertainer, just as Emmet and Ingo have before them. Though there may be no “greater pathway” that follows battle facility success, there is no greater pathway to crafting a fulfilling, self-contained competitive circuit than by visiting regional battle facilities. Their regulars make them worth the trip. 

2. Regional Conferences

Regional conferences are equivalent to national championships of their respective regions. Held once a year per region, conferences are high-stakes tournaments that are open to Trainers who have completed eight Gym badges in a given region. These events feature single-elimination rounds of typically single battles, though conference rulesets vary year to year, with certain regions tentatively supporting nationally beloved battle formats. One is only qualified to compete in a regional conference if they possess all eight badges of that region, which encourages Trainers to extensively travel to maximize their chances of annual victory. 

The draw to conferences lies in their ties to the PWT. The top 32 contestants of a regional conference are invited to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. The top 4 contestants of a regional conference receive an instant, one-time invitation to the PWT itself alongside a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. These challenger invites last until the next PWT, which occurs every two years, giving contestants time to train before taking down the Elite Four once and for all. This prize structure serves two purposes. Firstly, those who achieve top 32 status are given a “last-chance” opportunity to qualify for the PWT by defeating the Elite Four and Regional Champion, as anyone who enters the Hall of Fame receives automatic invitations to compete in the PWT for life thereafter. In addition, this provisional invitation allows for a one-time skip of Victory Road, which may save a Trainer a traumatic week of trekking depending on the region. For those in the top 4, a guaranteed spot in the PWT could be a career high, while the added opportunity to challenge the Elite Four for future automatic invitations might solidify their Champion status for the rest of their lives. Given the absurdly high levels of competition at conferences themselves, it is not unlikely that a top 32 contestant would be competitive against an Elite Four member. However, the Elite Four is known to upscale their teams’ strengths based on the determined skill levels of their challengers, which greatly raises the stakes of one’s invitational battle. 

Conferences were created as a first step in sanctioning high-end competitive battling in response to the influx of incoming Champions, thus sanctifying a true “competitive circuit” with an on-ramp to the PWT. Champions themselves have little need for conferences: Their Hall of Fame status guarantees that they need not qualify for the PWT through conference grinding. To maximize community-building in the competitive scene, however, previous Champions are enlisted as Guests of Honor and given special airtime at each conference. A Guest of Honor may be asked to commentate feature matches, engage in opening or closing ceremonies, perform moveset showcases at halftime, or simply allow VIPs to pet their Pokémon. Most importantly, the winner of every regional conference is invited to close the tournament with a no-stakes exhibition match against the Guest of Honor. Guests of Honor are usually announced two weeks ahead of a regional conference. This time frame fosters an air of excitement and added pressure for those who wish to win, as Trainers may begin to fill their crunch-time training sessions with daydreams of battling Cynthia or Green beneath the blinding lights. The Guest of Honor system thus encourages conference contestants to aim high in their performances while continuously enshrining previous Champions as the ones to watch out for, promoting environments as starry as the eyes of their competitors. 

Conferences typically last two days and occur once a month. Their dates vary based on calendar week, but conferences follow a standard pattern. Kanto jump-starts the conference season around late February to early March, with Johto’s conference in late March following it. Hoenn confers in mid-April; Sinnoh rounds out mid-May; and late June into early July hosts the PWT, providing a month of crunch-time to Tournament hopefuls. Unova restarts conferences in late July, followed by Galar in August. Paldea boasts a conference in October, and Alola ends the season in late November. Online metastrategy guides document the best way to grind conferences month by month, while full-time conference contestants blog about their culturally shocking experiences with Unovan trains, Kanto ferries, and Alolan “island time.” With their constant release cycles and rich opportunities for cultural exchange, conferences satisfy Trainers’ wanderlust, needs for endless competition, and desires for community, giving them the positive competitive outlet that older Champions wish they could have received throughout their careers. 

3. Battle Frontiers

Battle Frontiers are sprawling campuses designed to hone the competitive spirits of those who have completed a given region’s Gym circuit. Battle Frontiers were popularized in Hoenn and Sinnoh around the same time, differentiated by their arena infrastructures, battle formats, and prize support, and then exported to other regions with minimal renovation. 

Like the catch-all “battle facilities” described above, Battle Frontiers have a long history of being regional mainstays. However, upon the creation of the PWT and the streamlining of its corresponding ladder system, Pokémon Leagues revised Battle Frontiers to facilitate a pipeline to the PWT. Because of the regional specificity of facilities like the Battle Subway or Battle Maisons, it would be impossible for one tournament body to standardize them all. Doing so would be, at best, a massive cultural overreach, damaging the legacies of each region’s beloved battle environs. Alternatively, Battle Frontiers take similar forms across regions, and the diversity of their battle offerings ensure that Trainers are conference-ready rather than format one-tricks. Given the ease of normalizing their Trainer-focused features, the founding members of the PWT integrated Battle Frontiers into the PWT circuit rather than revise any other existing institutions.  

Simply put, Trainers that obtain all gold challenge items for a given region’s Battle Frontier (such as Hoenn’s “symbols” and Sinnoh’s “ceremonial prints”) receive a one-time PWT invitation, as well as an invitation to skip Victory Road and directly challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion, just as a top-4 placement at a regional conference would guarantee. On the surface, this math seems incongruent with conference math: A Battle Frontier grinder must battle hundreds of opponents to reach their chosen goal, whereas a conference attendee need only battle ten to fifteen contestants in a given weekend. Justifying this equivalency is that most battles in the Battle Frontier are versus less-skilled opponents, with difficulty ramping upward as one progresses. Conference skill levels, on the other hand, are relatively equivalent throughout the weekend because of the higher skill floor that one must meet to convincingly compete within them. In other words, most Battle Frontier rounds (Frontier Brains notwithstanding) could be considered fluff battles that would equal the amount of battles that a conference contestant would conduct throughout their preceding year of training, which rationalizes the consistency of conference difficulty levels. Once these “fluff battles” are subtracted from one’s record, the amount of Battle Frontier battles needed to obtain one’s golden prizes are equivalent to, or even less than, the amount of battles a conference contestant would conduct in a given weekend.

Even among aspiring Trainers, there is no social hierarchy nor rivalry between Battle Frontier grinders and regional conferencegoers. These two systems exist because they sustain different training pressures and senses of progression. A Trainer who fears the shame of being eliminated after round one at a conference might thrive on the Battle Frontier treadmill, whose incline is more level. A Trainer who might feel claustrophobic on a neighborhood Battle Frontier campus might revel in the worldly community of a regional conference across the pond. Regardless of one’s preferred qualification method, the PWT maintains both to ensure a steady stream of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

4. Pokémon World Tournament 

The Pokémon World Tournament is the pinnacle of Pokémon battling. Hosted in Unova every two years, the PWT is the most televised event in the world, bringing together all who value Pokémon regardless of experience in a manner analogous to the real-world Olympics. Once qualified, whether provisionally through the ladder or vis-à-vis Hall of Fame status, Trainers drop everything to prepare. After all, the list of PWT registrants reads like the index of a history book. Being so much as in the margins of it is an honor not to be taken lightly. 

The PWT lasts two weeks, Monday through Friday, between late June and early July. During the first week of competition, challengers complete ten Swiss rounds, two per contestant each day. Each round is best-of-one, Trainer versus Trainer, and has a time limit of one hour. Before rounds begin, contestants are split into two randomized player pools to accommodate space and time constraints, as it is not feasible to have hundreds of battles occurring simultaneously. The daily timetable for PWT week one, Monday through Friday, is as follows:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Round One, Group One 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Round One, Group Two 12:00 - 2:00 PM: Lunch and Halftime 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Round Two, Group One 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Round Two, Group Two 5:00 PM: Festivities end for the day, to be continued the following day with the next subsequent round

At 5:00 PM on Friday of the first week, Swiss round rankings are finalized with a cut to top 32. Tiebreakers are calculated based on opponent match win percentage (OMW%) and the amount of a Trainer’s conscious Pokémon at the end of each round. No match ties are possible: Self-K.O. moves, recoil moves, and status, weather, and force-K.O. moves are ruled in favor of either the attacker or defender depending on the category of the move. The top 32 contestants advance to the second week of competition following a weekend break, which begins a single-elimination best-of-one knockout bracket. Quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches have no time restrictions. The weekly timetable for PWT week two is as follows:

Monday: Top 32 bracket matches (16 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Tuesday: Top 16 bracket matches (8 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Wednesday: Quarterfinals (4 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Thursday: Semifinals (2 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Friday: Final championship match and closing ceremony

Opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and halftime shows are extravagant performances that celebrate diverse elements of the Pokémon world. Professors from all regions show off their recent evolutionary discoveries. Champions choreograph synchronized moveset showcases with other Champions. Beloved entertainers from battle facilities like the Subway create elaborate setpieces of their homes in which they dance, sing, or mock-battle, honoring the intersection of the mainstream and the underground from which they rose. Much like the ceremonies of the real-world Olympics, these aesthetic indulgences commemorate the cultures that make Pokémon society special, inspiring all peoples to appreciate their pasts and internalize the brightness of their collective futures. 

While running the PWT is a logistic nightmare, the rewards are plentiful. For the Trainers themselves, competing in the PWT solidifies Pokémon Mastery no matter their final result. One could leave the PWT reasonably assured that they would be back, either as a future Hall of Famer or a returning conference champion, after having learned many a lesson throughout the Swiss. The Swiss structure of the Tournament also increases the possibility that a PWT newcomer might battle against one of their heroes throughout the weeks. First-round pairings are variant, which makes pairing into a Champion possible for a newcomer, and points-based matchmaking increases the likelihood that an underdog may reach top 32 even if they meet Red in the first round. After-hours, the ability to coexist with fellow Masters increases opportunities for networking, community-building, and even bonding with others’ Pokémon. Friends are made for life based on their shared status as the best in the world, and it’s common for pockets of Champions to storm the streets like tourists in their own rights, temporarily living lives unburdened by League drama, Gym responsibilities, or full conference schedules. 

5. Mt. Silver

Red’s rise to Champion was unprecedented at the time. Between taking down Team Rocket and effortlessly sweeping the Indigo League, Red was arguably the first to embody the previously mythological ideal of Pokémon Master. In talks (or emails, rather) with the Indigo League succeeding his success, the League and Red agreed to sanction him as an ultimate Champion of sorts. Tucked away in a remote location of his choosing, Red would be the final pilgrimage of any Champion daring to meet Red’s level of fame. Upon scouting myriad regions to determine an appropriate locale, Red chose Mt. Silver for its environmental approximation of Victory Road and its unparalleled isolation. Mt. Silver was sanctioned thereafter as a nature preserve off-limits to all but the most capable of Hall of Famers, featuring minimal League interference with its natural state.

The danger of Mt. Silver cannot be overstated. One may only declare intent to climb Mt. Silver should they enter a regional Hall of Fame or achieve top-32 standing of a Pokémon World Tournament. Upon declaring such intent, a Trainer must submit to the League a dossier of their prospective team. This dossier includes a resume of each Pokémon’s previous achievements (such as Elite Four challenger appearances), their learned moves, and audiovisual documentation of their capabilities outside of combat (such as their usage of Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, or other HM moves; or evidence of extraordinary strength, mental fortitude, or capacities for care [in Pokémon such as Chansey]). While Mt. Silver is not strictly comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, one is required to make the journey with solely the six submitted Pokémon, skyrocketing the climb’s threat level. In addition, unlike Victory Road, the League cannot promise infrastructural assistance (such as bridges or paved pathways) outside of a basic trail that Red maintains monthly. Thus Mt. Silver remains one of the only pockets of true untamed wilderness in the region and cannot be assumed safe.

The requirements of the climb itself have been refined since the days of Gold’s ascension. Today, climbers are assigned a specific day and time of their battle. Climbers are then given one week to ascend to the top. Should they fail to arrive by their appointed battle time, their battle is cancelled, and they must journey back down the mountain from their current point without assistance. Challengers usually arrive a day or two early, upon which they enter a safe house with standard accommodations at which they may stay until the day of their battle. The safe house is customarily “booked” from the day of their climb and stocked to ensure at least seven days of hospitable living. Red does not socialize with challengers at this safe house, nor are they allowed inside his home. However, the summit upon which challengers battle Red marks an approximate halfway point between the safe house and Red’s house, making Red easily accessible in case of emergencies. 

Mt. Silver’s weather is notoriously savage. From November through March, no challengers are allowed to scale Mt. Silver. Red’s travel prospects are limited throughout that window as well, necessitating bulk grocery purchases and discouraging conference attendance (to this day, Red has never been to a conference in Alola). The Indigo League maintains a waitlist of challengers during the inaccessible winter season, who are then scheduled from the beginning of March onward (pending Red’s conference obligations), causing a deluge of battles for Red between March and late April. By the end of the summer, the flood of challengers slows to a trickle, only to become dammed throughout December again. This seasonal battle pattern allows Red to enjoy long stretches of spring activity before hibernating for the winter. 

6. Red

What can Red say for himself? There’s a reason he’s a man of few words. Only by witnessing his mastery atop Mt. Silver can one truly understand why he’s Kanto’s finest. Should you be convinced of your equivalence, you might as well submit an application and make the climb for yourself. After all, there’s nowhere for a Trainer to go but up. 

[memesfromstuff]

*: ･ﾟ✧   90 loaded questions / interview the muse.

found on this website, so credit goes to them.

What’s your favorite strategy for avoiding tough situations?

How often do you do things just for the attention?

Would you prefer to be manipulated or to be the manipulator?

What is something someone always tells you to do more of?

What is something someone always tells you to do less of?

Who do you look to blame when things go wrong?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish was true?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish wasn’t true?

When was the last time you lied to protect your image?

How often do you put on a happy face when you’re really not feeling it?

When do you think you began putting your guard up so much?

Who made you feel most anxious when you were a kid?

How do you speak about others when they’re not around?

What aspect of your life are you most delusional about?

How often do your admit you were wrong?

Which one of your biggest flaws do you like to rationalize the most?

Is it your fear of commitment or your fear of intimacy that makes you shut down more?

At what stage of a relationship are you most likely to withdraw emotionally?

What is the one compliment you always get that you’re too embarrassed to accept, so you deflect it?

What would someone say is your worst habit?

What is the one insecurity you are pretty sure has some basis in reality?

When was the last time you felt really insecure about the parts of yourself you pretend don’t exist?

What is the most interesting white lie you’ve told?

Do you ever feel like an imposter?

Do your friends know how competitive you are?

What’s the hardest thing about being rejected?

How do you deal when you know you’re being irrationally jealous?

How do you deal when you know someone’s not willing to give you what you want?

Are you ever afraid of people knowing who you really are?

If you went to a therapist today, what would they say is holding you back the most?

When was the last time you lowered your standards just to get someone else’s approval?

Is your need for revenge greater than your need for peace?

Have you stopped trying to control things yet?

Which parts of yourself do you still seek validation for?

How do you cope with being unfairly ignored?

Do you like punishing yourself for things that are out of your control?

What does someone say is your biggest problem when communicating?

Are you okay with not knowing what happens next?

Will you ever feel okay with being imperfect?

Does sabotaging yourself give you an odd sense of comfort?

How do you feel about being disliked by some people?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve done just to avoid failure?

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken just to prove yourself?

What’s the boldest thing you do every day, just to feel like you’re still in control?

What accusation would you defend yourself most fiercely against, even though you know it’s true?

What’s the most toxic thing about yourself you actually kind of secretly like?

How much do you enjoy being in control?

When do you give yourself permission to lose control?

What guilty pleasure are you currently justifying to yourself?

What is the most passive-aggressive way you’ve dealt with your rage?

What is the pettiest and most immature way you’ve avoided losing face?

What’s the worst habit you have that rewards you the most?

How do you get your needs met when you’re alone?

What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve done to please people?

What is the most ridiculous way you’ve rebelled?

What’s your favorite way to channel your aggression?

How do you cope with being betrayed?

Are you okay with disliking someone?

What is your favorite form of self-destruction?

What’s the one thing you struggle most to manifest in your life?

What’s the one thing that you manifest so easily, people are jealous of it?

What’s the most irrational reason you’ve ever had for disliking someone?

What is one fear that you’d be ashamed of your friends knowing about?

Which one of your deepest secrets do you think is the least common?

How do people normally find out you hate them?

What is your go-to strategy to deflect criticism, even constructive criticism?

What is one thing people always get wrong about you?

What emotion motivates you the most when you’re down?

What emotion makes you want to give up?

Are people shocked when you stand up for yourself?

How often do you say yes to the things you really want to say yes to?

How often do you say no to the things that make your skin crawl?

How far are you willing to go to maintain a relationship, even an unhealthy one?

What is the worst way someone’s ever abandoned you?

What is the worst way you’ve ever abandoned yourself?

How do you entertain yourself when you’re not around people?

Are you happier alone because you enjoy being alone or because you prefer it to being surrounded by horrible people?

What habit do you know you could quit but don’t want to?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding difficult people?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding conflict?

What is the weirdest thing that gets you angry?

What is the weirdest thing that makes you sad?

How often do you take responsibility for other people’s crappy behavior?

When are you most likely to shut people out?

Which insecurity would shock people if they knew about it?

What do you find yourself justifying to people, even when no justification is needed?

When was the last time you tried to please someone who made you angry?

What do people often tell you need to focus more on?

What do people often tell you need to focus less on?

What is the one thing that could make you happy, but you refuse to do it because you’re afraid of what others would think?

[mtsilvermute]

On Kanto's Finest: An Introduction to Red's Roster

This post attempts to document the demeanors, behaviors, and personality traits of Red's roster, and how Red trains each Pokémon respectively. I'll be using sprites from Black and White to illustrate this post, as the updated designs and their animations match how I perceive each Pokémon in question. This was a lot of fun to write and I thank you for reading in advance!

1. Blastoise

Hot-headed and huffy, Blastoise is the most temperamental of Red's companions—though he balances his moods with a masculine coolness that makes him more of a bouncer than a diva. Blastoise can be gruff and aggressive, and his tendency to think—and act—independently can make training him a hassle. Yet few Pokémon can get down to business like Blastoise can: His heightened emotions intensify his battle presence, the shellfish (and perhaps a bit selfish) Pokémon putting his all into every move.

Blastoise's free-thinking nature and rigorous fighting style are at odds with full trainer control. In a perfect world, Blastoise would wish to battle without any Trainer direction at all, trusting his own instincts over the so-called "strategization" of his master. Battling with Blastoise is thus an exercise in thinking with Blastoise rather than for Blastoise—and doing so requires intense cognitive presence and interspecies empathy. As such, Red and Blastoise typically train with the intention of decreasing Blastoise's reaction times to Red's hand-signed commands. This training technique allows Blastoise to rapidly respond to Red's instructions without disrupting Blastoise's own internal timeline, while tightening their two-way understanding of the moments in which either of them should act of their own accord. Their training sessions hence feature a combination of movement drills and field simulations in which they practice offering control to each other to further cement their mutual trust.

Current moveset:

Dark Pulse Shell Smash Ice Beam Surf

2. Charizard

Charizard is the token worrier of the roster, an anxious wreck who is more likely to fear leaving the oven on than he is to burn down the house himself. In turn, Charizard has unwittingly adopted a parental role within the party, guarding both Red and his fellow Poké-companions with an overbearing paternalism.

Yet you don't live as a fire-breathing beast for so long without recognizing your own majesty. On-stage, beneath the spotlights, Charizard transforms, shedding his angst and anxiousness to become the epitome of draconic beauty. Charizard lives for the roar of the crowd—and only to hear it would he ever raise his voice.

Charizard is fairly easy to train. The difficulty of training Charizard is not, in fact, in his overwhelming bouts of anxiety, but rather the opposite: All inhibitions melt upon him using Flamethrower for the first time, reigniting Charizard's desire to perform and play. Much of Red's time training Charizard is spent facilitating circumstances that tap into, and harness, Charizard's primal side, such as flying to the summit of Mt. Silver or allowing Charizard to roar limitlessly for minutes on end. Training Charizard is thus synonymous with bonding, as Charizard's battle-readiness is more predicated on his environment than his willingness to execute skills (of which he is more than capable).

Current moveset:

Flamethrower Air Slash Roost Fly

3. Espeon

Espeon is, for all intents and purposes, a cat. Red's Espeon, however, has an uncharacteristically calm personality that averts the perils of typical housecat behavior. Espeon is the roster member least likely to act up—and, indeed, the least likely to act at all. Rarely does Espeon so much as meow. This low-maintenance placidity makes Espeon the most therapeutic presence in Red's roster, providing an air of stability and comfort to Red both on and off the field.

Espeon's unbothered disposition and psychic bonding make training him almost unnecessary. The burden of "training" Espeon falls most often on Red himself: He trains Espeon so infrequently that he is prone to forgetting his most recently standardized hand-signs or even Espeon's moveset proper. Fifteen-minute weekly training sessions, however, are typically enough to compensate for Red's memory. In lieu of actual fieldwork, Espeon and Red deepen their psychic bond by spending as much time together as possible—an extremely easy task given Espeon's permanent presence on Red's couch. In sum, Espeon's defensive moveset and domesticated demeanor require little upkeep, and Espeon's all-but-formalized classification as an emotional support Pokémon makes incidentally battling with him a breeze.

Current moveset:

Heal Bell Wish Psychic Signal Beam

4. Pikachu

This legendary Pikachu has the temperament of a teenager and emotional intelligence of the same. His unparalleled strength, in spite of his diminutive body and stunted evolution, is the product of hyperactivity and affect unbound. It was this combination of energy and behavioral simplicity that drew Red to Pikachu in the first place: As an autistic ten-year-old unable to express the bottomless depths of his emotions in a healthy (nor verbal) manner, Red found an immediate externalization of his inner self in Pikachu's sparking personality. Pikachu's easily intelligible attitudes and quickness to express himself nurtured Red's own behavioral self-understanding—and fourteen years later, their loving relationship has become about as fabled as their conjoined competitive prowess.

At risk of invoking conjecture, however, it is important to note that training Pikachu is only "easy" for Red to the degree that Red and Pikachu were so clearly made to complement each other. In the hands of any other trainer, training Pikachu would be a nightmare. Pikachu's tendency to wear his temperaments on his sleeve makes practicing difficult, often requiring coaxing should Pikachu not be "in the mood." On the other hand, Pikachu's susceptibility to bursts of energy requires Red to rapidly adapt to his needs: Pikachu frequently runs around till he tires himself out, and is prone to demanding playful attention at inopportune times to Red's internal chagrin. Yet Pikachu's inability to sit still engenders the most fulfilling training sessions of all of Red's Pokémon: Red and Pikachu frequently create elaborate attack sequences involving agility-based moves like Fake Out, Extreme Speed, Volt Tackle, and Volt Switch, practicing command chains for hours on end. Their instinctive compatibility when the two of them are "in the zone" fosters immediate learning for them both, and battle scholars informally rumor that Pikachu has demonstrated over a hundred unique moveset combos throughout Red's career.

Sentimentally, Pikachu resembles less closely a moody-yet-dignified Pokémon like Blastoise and more so a puppy, yet Pikachu's juvenile disposition is balanced by his intimate attention to Red's own needs in turn. Unlike a puppy, Pikachu is exceptionally self-aware, and Pikachu would never purposefully hurt, stress, nor push around Red in any manner that would cause genuine exhaustion. In fact, those close to Red would swear that Pikachu is just as trustworthy and responsible as his red-cloaked counterpart, and it is not uncommon for Red's loved ones to call upon Pikachu for assistance and support of their own.

Current moveset:

Fake Out Extreme Speed Volt Tackle Volt Switch

5. Snorlax

Snorlax has little reason to care for anything but sleeping and snacking. But Snorlax cares for Red—with a strength that radiates throughout every use of Return. By all accounts, Snorlax is well-kept: Red feeds him a special ultra-high-calorie fodder that meets his daily nutritional needs, all while supplying a special corner of the living room in which Snorlax may sleep unperturbed. Yet even more importantly, Red never fails to address Snorlax while awake: Even a simple brush, hug, or pet during Snorlax's few minutes of daily lucidity is enough to make Snorlax's mood soar. These ostensibly simple ministrations make a world of difference to the ostensibly solitary sleeping Pokémon, whose previous designations as a nuisance in the wild may have rubbed off on his allegedly thick skin.

Red does not, nor does he need to, train Snorlax. Snorlax's moveset is wickedly simple and has stayed consistent for over a decade. Red relies on highly visible hand gestures and sound cues—such as clapping—to signal which moves Snorlax should use during battle, and switching these cues happens rarely and without much fuss. In truth, Snorlax may love Red more than most Pokémon could ever learn to love their trainers, and Red spends an equal amount of time and energy ensuring that Snorlax will never feel anything less.

Current moveset:

Return Curse Crunch Earthquake

6. Venusaur

Anthropomorphically speaking, Venusaur is the epitome of a Pokémon that wishes not to be spoken to until he's had his morning sun. Unlike his tortoise-backed brother, however, Venusaur does not often display outward aggression nor grumpiness, instead sharing with Espeon a distinctly unbothered demeanor. Venusaur wishes for little but his basic needs to be met, and would be content with year-round summer and the occasional battle to blow off steam. Mt. Silver complicates these calculations, of course, but Red's efforts to maintain a healthy environment for Venusaur are both successful and worthy of Venusaur's commendation. As such, while some moments of nigh-autistic meltdowning are common for Venusaur in the early winter months, Venusaur rarely makes life hard for Red and repays his trainer with outward displays of gratitude.

Venusaur's need for consistent training arises from both their climate and Venusaur's restricted mobility indoors. Venusaur is entirely deferential to Red's commands and needs little practice to internalize Red's proposed battle strategies. However, Venusaur is prone to lethargy atop Mt. Silver and requires physical therapy to remain in fighting shape. Red often flies to southern parts of the mountain, where the air is warmer and the ground less icy, to allow Venusaur to connect with the grass beneath his feet. Venusaur will then practice maneuvering his vines, often joining Red's hands in veritable games of patty-cake. Venusaur's other preferred forms of stimulation include heavily stomping the ground, going for walks or jogs, or simply sunbathing for a short time. So long as Venusaur receives some form of weekly physiological enrichment, Venusaur remains content in Red's resort home, in which he enjoys a sunlamp and well-heated rooms.

Current moveset:

Sleep Powder Leech Seed Sludge Bomb Giga Drain

[mtsilvermute]

Understanding Pokémon Championship Structure

Championship structure as we understand it today is exceedingly new. By the mid-20th century, a new cultural understanding of “Pokémon Trainer” was beginning to emerge in response to rapid developments in battle technology and increased cognizance of Pokémon bonding practices. To fulfill the social, economic, and educational needs of this class, regions across the globe standardized key structures that Trainers take for granted today (such as challenging eight Gyms per region, battling an Elite Four, and being crowned a Champion by the end of one’s journey). These structures sustain an added layer of myth: By perpetuating an image of an ideal Pokémon Master and assisting in the realization of their dreams across regions, each region could work towards a common social goal that unified both people (in their sharing of the ideal) and Pokémon (in how Pokémon were brought into the fold to fulfill it). While the methods and mechanics of Pokémon battling are nothing new, these large-scale shifts towards systemically supporting future “Pokémon Masters” gave the entire Pokéworld a reason to fight for their respective futures.  

Certain problems with this model arose by the time of what history now considers to be the “mainline protagonists” of Pokémon. The accomplishments of Champions Red, Blue, Gold, and the like were consistently obliterating the so-called ceiling of Pokémon training. As more of these supposed prodigies arose to claim the title of Champion, the question of what to do with said Champions began to echo throughout conference rooms and email chains across regions. The talent curve of the youth was outgrowing the systems that had been initially created to nurture them. Structures were needed that could reflexively accommodate the goalposts that current and future Champions were consistently moving. 

This need for upper echelons of Pokémon battling created the Champion structure of today. The rest of this article outlines the “ladder” that one must climb to reach World Champion, why those rungs exist in the first place, and what kinds of rewards might lie in wait for those attempting to reach the top. “Legacy” rungs are those that have existed since before the post-Champion restructuring to provide context for their contemporary expansion. After brief explanations of these legacy institutions, a deep-dive into the contemporary Champion pathways follows. Please note that these rungs are written from the perspective of the Trainers, or would-be Masters. This post does not document what it takes to actually enter the listed positions (i.e. Gym Leader) nor the bureaucratic foundations of each facility. 

Click "Keep Reading" to view a detailed description of the flowchart above.

Legacy Structures Defined 

1. Gym Battling (Legacy)

This section needs little introduction and even less elaboration. Gyms serve as the primary facilities in which one comes of age as a Trainer. Receiving a badge from a Gym is a major point of pride; receiving eight Gym badges is the culmination of a lifelong effort, regardless of how long that life may have been lived before its realization. 

Importantly, Gym Leaders scale their teams to particular level brackets to facilitate an optimal training experience regardless of the skill level of their challengers. This practice justifies the flexible Gym order of each region’s respective pilgrimages and diversifies each Trainer’s journeys. Whether one obtains all eight Gym badges is an entirely personal decision that can take months, years, or decades to complete depending on one’s training prowess and priorities. With that said, obtaining all eight badges in a given region is not a Trainer guarantee, and possessing them justifies a lifelong career in Pokémon battling should one wish to pursue it.

2. Victory Road (Legacy)

Victory Road is a curated walk through wilderness that tests the strength of one’s bonds with their Pokémon. While each region has variations on the actual route to their respective summits, “Victory Road” broadly indicates a space designed to test a Trainer’s self-sufficiency and ability to navigate the challenges of the natural world with the help of their Pokémon. Only through time-tested trust in one’s companions can a Trainer survive harsh camping conditions, unruly weather, and distance from civilization and existing support networks. 

Victory Road’s “curation” is minimal. Pathways exist, as well as small-scale infrastructure (such as bridges), but the climb is intentionally arduous and can take a week to complete. Yet battle prowess alone does not signify Pokémon mastery. Therefore, each “Victory Road” weeds out those that might excel in combat but fail to see their Pokémon as comrades. 

3. The Elite Four (Legacy) and Regional Champion (Contemporary)

The Elite Four are precisely what they claim to be: a cohort of Pokémon Masters that have proven themselves to be the greatest of their respective regions. Challenging them is a privilege given to any Trainer who can claim eight badges and reach the end of Victory Road. 

After defeating the Elite Four, the victorious Trainer is invited to battle the standing Champion. Should the Trainer usurp the Champion, the Trainer is enlisted into the Hall of Fame and crowned the current Champion of their respective region. 

It’s important to note, however, the multiplicativity of Championhood and the relatively newer role of Regional Champion. Many Champions exist. Anyone who can defeat the current reigning Champion is crowned as such. Despite this new title, a Regional Champion acts as the active Champion of a particular region and is an administrative role that is formally given by the region’s Pokémon League. An incoming Champion may be considered for the role, as a previous Champion title is required to be Regional Champion; however, it is not necessarily the case that a newly crowned Champion would immediately become the Regional Champion. Such a title as Regional Champion would be negotiated, and later bestowed, by the region’s Pokémon League following one’s victory. Therefore, there need be only one regional representative of the title at a time regardless of the success of the most recent victor—and the status of Regional Champion may be denied (by the League) or rejected (by the victor) at will. 

4. Hall of Fame (Legacy)

One enters the Hall of Fame by becoming the standing Champion of a particular region. Once an honor reserved for a select few, the Hall of Fame has expanded exponentially over the decades as Trainers have become better versed in the arts of Pokémon battling and bonding both. Despite its growth, a place in the Hall of Fame sanctions a Trainer as a living legend, one whose Poké-prowess will be spoken of for years to come. 

Outside of garnering social capital and the undying trust of the Trainer community, the primary benefit of entering the Hall of Fame for a modern-day Trainer is that a Hall of Famer receives lifelong qualification to the Pokémon World Tournament. The Pokémon World Tournament (or PWT) is the newest structure built to sustain new chapters of the stories of Hall of Famers past and future. The PWT and its supporting ladder system are documented below under “Contemporary Structures Defined.” 

Contemporary Structures Defined 

At this point, one could consider their journey “over.” Such were the assumptions of each region at the turn of the century, who had not seen such meteoric rises to Champion status as Red, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Brendan, May, and the rest of them. These too-talented Trainers—now Masters in their own rights—deserved a “postgame” structure so as to continue to hone their skills and contribute to the ever-growing field of battle research. 

Thus was born the Pokémon World Tournament, an invite-only tournament structure catered to Champions and those of similar mettle. Showcasing high-powered Pokémon and training talent across all regions, the PWT is the ultimate goal of every professional Trainer who wishes to see their name in lights. 

The creation of the PWT, however, subsequently opened up alternative routes to Pokémon Mastery that play to different strengths and social environments. These pathways are documented below. Please note that the numbers do not correspond to a linear trajectory as they do in the Legacy pathways; they are solely for ease of listing. Consult the flowchart above for a visual representation of each progression pathway. 

1. Battle Facilities (Battle Subway, Battle Towers, etc.) 

Battle facilities are among the first high-end training opportunities available for anyone with eight Gym Badges of a given region. More than simple training grounds, however, these battle facilities are longstanding prestigious institutions, success in which rivals Hall of Famer status within the regional underground. Hence these battle facilities are extremely indebted to the socio-cultural makeups of their regions: Unova, for example, pioneered the creation of the Battle Subway in honor of its trademark train, while Battle Maisons represent the aesthetics and theatrics of their Kalosian homes. Featured battle formats are also variable by region, with facilities often boasting formats that are popular, or had been popularized, in that particular region. 

The biggest drawback of battle facilities is their lack of connection to other institutions, including the PWT proper. Riding the Battle Subway will not grant a Trainer access to the Elite Four, nor will a high ranking at a Battle House enshrine one in the Hall of Fame, regardless of region. Despite this pitfall, battle facilities are beloved pastimes with strong competition and even stronger communities, which more closely approximate art collectives than tournament series. Those who frequent these facilities are more likely to use combat as a form of creative expression, intersecting battling with thespianism, musicality, vocal performance, or other means of inciting applause. Becoming a Subway lifer, for instance, is an excellent way to make a name for oneself as both a competent Trainer and entertainer, just as Emmet and Ingo have before them. Though there may be no “greater pathway” that follows battle facility success, there is no greater pathway to crafting a fulfilling, self-contained competitive circuit than by visiting regional battle facilities. Their regulars make them worth the trip. 

2. Regional Conferences

Regional conferences are equivalent to national championships of their respective regions. Held once a year per region, conferences are high-stakes tournaments that are open to Trainers who have completed eight Gym badges in a given region. These events feature single-elimination rounds of typically single battles, though conference rulesets vary year to year, with certain regions tentatively supporting nationally beloved battle formats. One is only qualified to compete in a regional conference if they possess all eight badges of that region, which encourages Trainers to extensively travel to maximize their chances of annual victory. 

The draw to conferences lies in their ties to the PWT. The top 32 contestants of a regional conference are invited to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. The top 4 contestants of a regional conference receive an instant, one-time invitation to the PWT itself alongside a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. These challenger invites last until the next PWT, which occurs every two years, giving contestants time to train before taking down the Elite Four once and for all. This prize structure serves two purposes. Firstly, those who achieve top 32 status are given a “last-chance” opportunity to qualify for the PWT by defeating the Elite Four and Regional Champion, as anyone who enters the Hall of Fame receives automatic invitations to compete in the PWT for life thereafter. In addition, this provisional invitation allows for a one-time skip of Victory Road, which may save a Trainer a traumatic week of trekking depending on the region. For those in the top 4, a guaranteed spot in the PWT could be a career high, while the added opportunity to challenge the Elite Four for future automatic invitations might solidify their Champion status for the rest of their lives. Given the absurdly high levels of competition at conferences themselves, it is not unlikely that a top 32 contestant would be competitive against an Elite Four member. However, the Elite Four is known to upscale their teams’ strengths based on the determined skill levels of their challengers, which greatly raises the stakes of one’s invitational battle. 

Conferences were created as a first step in sanctioning high-end competitive battling in response to the influx of incoming Champions, thus sanctifying a true “competitive circuit” with an on-ramp to the PWT. Champions themselves have little need for conferences: Their Hall of Fame status guarantees that they need not qualify for the PWT through conference grinding. To maximize community-building in the competitive scene, however, previous Champions are enlisted as Guests of Honor and given special airtime at each conference. A Guest of Honor may be asked to commentate feature matches, engage in opening or closing ceremonies, perform moveset showcases at halftime, or simply allow VIPs to pet their Pokémon. Most importantly, the winner of every regional conference is invited to close the tournament with a no-stakes exhibition match against the Guest of Honor. Guests of Honor are usually announced two weeks ahead of a regional conference. This time frame fosters an air of excitement and added pressure for those who wish to win, as Trainers may begin to fill their crunch-time training sessions with daydreams of battling Cynthia or Green beneath the blinding lights. The Guest of Honor system thus encourages conference contestants to aim high in their performances while continuously enshrining previous Champions as the ones to watch out for, promoting environments as starry as the eyes of their competitors. 

Conferences typically last two days and occur once a month. Their dates vary based on calendar week, but conferences follow a standard pattern. Kanto jump-starts the conference season around late February to early March, with Johto’s conference in late March following it. Hoenn confers in mid-April; Sinnoh rounds out mid-May; and late June into early July hosts the PWT, providing a month of crunch-time to Tournament hopefuls. Unova restarts conferences in late July, followed by Galar in August. Paldea boasts a conference in October, and Alola ends the season in late November. Online metastrategy guides document the best way to grind conferences month by month, while full-time conference contestants blog about their culturally shocking experiences with Unovan trains, Kanto ferries, and Alolan “island time.” With their constant release cycles and rich opportunities for cultural exchange, conferences satisfy Trainers’ wanderlust, needs for endless competition, and desires for community, giving them the positive competitive outlet that older Champions wish they could have received throughout their careers. 

3. Battle Frontiers

Battle Frontiers are sprawling campuses designed to hone the competitive spirits of those who have completed a given region’s Gym circuit. Battle Frontiers were popularized in Hoenn and Sinnoh around the same time, differentiated by their arena infrastructures, battle formats, and prize support, and then exported to other regions with minimal renovation. 

Like the catch-all “battle facilities” described above, Battle Frontiers have a long history of being regional mainstays. However, upon the creation of the PWT and the streamlining of its corresponding ladder system, Pokémon Leagues revised Battle Frontiers to facilitate a pipeline to the PWT. Because of the regional specificity of facilities like the Battle Subway or Battle Maisons, it would be impossible for one tournament body to standardize them all. Doing so would be, at best, a massive cultural overreach, damaging the legacies of each region’s beloved battle environs. Alternatively, Battle Frontiers take similar forms across regions, and the diversity of their battle offerings ensure that Trainers are conference-ready rather than format one-tricks. Given the ease of normalizing their Trainer-focused features, the founding members of the PWT integrated Battle Frontiers into the PWT circuit rather than revise any other existing institutions.  

Simply put, Trainers that obtain all gold challenge items for a given region’s Battle Frontier (such as Hoenn’s “symbols” and Sinnoh’s “ceremonial prints”) receive a one-time PWT invitation, as well as an invitation to skip Victory Road and directly challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion, just as a top-4 placement at a regional conference would guarantee. On the surface, this math seems incongruent with conference math: A Battle Frontier grinder must battle hundreds of opponents to reach their chosen goal, whereas a conference attendee need only battle ten to fifteen contestants in a given weekend. Justifying this equivalency is that most battles in the Battle Frontier are versus less-skilled opponents, with difficulty ramping upward as one progresses. Conference skill levels, on the other hand, are relatively equivalent throughout the weekend because of the higher skill floor that one must meet to convincingly compete within them. In other words, most Battle Frontier rounds (Frontier Brains notwithstanding) could be considered fluff battles that would equal the amount of battles that a conference contestant would conduct throughout their preceding year of training, which rationalizes the consistency of conference difficulty levels. Once these “fluff battles” are subtracted from one’s record, the amount of Battle Frontier battles needed to obtain one’s golden prizes are equivalent to, or even less than, the amount of battles a conference contestant would conduct in a given weekend.

Even among aspiring Trainers, there is no social hierarchy nor rivalry between Battle Frontier grinders and regional conferencegoers. These two systems exist because they sustain different training pressures and senses of progression. A Trainer who fears the shame of being eliminated after round one at a conference might thrive on the Battle Frontier treadmill, whose incline is more level. A Trainer who might feel claustrophobic on a neighborhood Battle Frontier campus might revel in the worldly community of a regional conference across the pond. Regardless of one’s preferred qualification method, the PWT maintains both to ensure a steady stream of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

4. Pokémon World Tournament 

The Pokémon World Tournament is the pinnacle of Pokémon battling. Hosted in Unova every two years, the PWT is the most televised event in the world, bringing together all who value Pokémon regardless of experience in a manner analogous to the real-world Olympics. Once qualified, whether provisionally through the ladder or vis-à-vis Hall of Fame status, Trainers drop everything to prepare. After all, the list of PWT registrants reads like the index of a history book. Being so much as in the margins of it is an honor not to be taken lightly. 

The PWT lasts two weeks, Monday through Friday, between late June and early July. During the first week of competition, challengers complete ten Swiss rounds, two per contestant each day. Each round is best-of-one, Trainer versus Trainer, and has a time limit of one hour. Before rounds begin, contestants are split into two randomized player pools to accommodate space and time constraints, as it is not feasible to have hundreds of battles occurring simultaneously. The daily timetable for PWT week one, Monday through Friday, is as follows:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Round One, Group One 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Round One, Group Two 12:00 - 2:00 PM: Lunch and Halftime 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Round Two, Group One 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Round Two, Group Two 5:00 PM: Festivities end for the day, to be continued the following day with the next subsequent round

At 5:00 PM on Friday of the first week, Swiss round rankings are finalized with a cut to top 32. Tiebreakers are calculated based on opponent match win percentage (OMW%) and the amount of a Trainer’s conscious Pokémon at the end of each round. No match ties are possible: Self-K.O. moves, recoil moves, and status, weather, and force-K.O. moves are ruled in favor of either the attacker or defender depending on the category of the move. The top 32 contestants advance to the second week of competition following a weekend break, which begins a single-elimination best-of-one knockout bracket. Quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches have no time restrictions. The weekly timetable for PWT week two is as follows:

Monday: Top 32 bracket matches (16 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Tuesday: Top 16 bracket matches (8 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Wednesday: Quarterfinals (4 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Thursday: Semifinals (2 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Friday: Final championship match and closing ceremony

Opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and halftime shows are extravagant performances that celebrate diverse elements of the Pokémon world. Professors from all regions show off their recent evolutionary discoveries. Champions choreograph synchronized moveset showcases with other Champions. Beloved entertainers from battle facilities like the Subway create elaborate setpieces of their homes in which they dance, sing, or mock-battle, honoring the intersection of the mainstream and the underground from which they rose. Much like the ceremonies of the real-world Olympics, these aesthetic indulgences commemorate the cultures that make Pokémon society special, inspiring all peoples to appreciate their pasts and internalize the brightness of their collective futures. 

While running the PWT is a logistic nightmare, the rewards are plentiful. For the Trainers themselves, competing in the PWT solidifies Pokémon Mastery no matter their final result. One could leave the PWT reasonably assured that they would be back, either as a future Hall of Famer or a returning conference champion, after having learned many a lesson throughout the Swiss. The Swiss structure of the Tournament also increases the possibility that a PWT newcomer might battle against one of their heroes throughout the weeks. First-round pairings are variant, which makes pairing into a Champion possible for a newcomer, and points-based matchmaking increases the likelihood that an underdog may reach top 32 even if they meet Red in the first round. After-hours, the ability to coexist with fellow Masters increases opportunities for networking, community-building, and even bonding with others’ Pokémon. Friends are made for life based on their shared status as the best in the world, and it’s common for pockets of Champions to storm the streets like tourists in their own rights, temporarily living lives unburdened by League drama, Gym responsibilities, or full conference schedules. 

5. Mt. Silver

Red’s rise to Champion was unprecedented at the time. Between taking down Team Rocket and effortlessly sweeping the Indigo League, Red was arguably the first to embody the previously mythological ideal of Pokémon Master. In talks (or emails, rather) with the Indigo League succeeding his success, the League and Red agreed to sanction him as an ultimate Champion of sorts. Tucked away in a remote location of his choosing, Red would be the final pilgrimage of any Champion daring to meet Red’s level of fame. Upon scouting myriad regions to determine an appropriate locale, Red chose Mt. Silver for its environmental approximation of Victory Road and its unparalleled isolation. Mt. Silver was sanctioned thereafter as a nature preserve off-limits to all but the most capable of Hall of Famers, featuring minimal League interference with its natural state.

The danger of Mt. Silver cannot be overstated. One may only declare intent to climb Mt. Silver should they enter a regional Hall of Fame or achieve top-32 standing of a Pokémon World Tournament. Upon declaring such intent, a Trainer must submit to the League a dossier of their prospective team. This dossier includes a resume of each Pokémon’s previous achievements (such as Elite Four challenger appearances), their learned moves, and audiovisual documentation of their capabilities outside of combat (such as their usage of Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, or other HM moves; or evidence of extraordinary strength, mental fortitude, or capacities for care [in Pokémon such as Chansey]). While Mt. Silver is not strictly comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, one is required to make the journey with solely the six submitted Pokémon, skyrocketing the climb’s threat level. In addition, unlike Victory Road, the League cannot promise infrastructural assistance (such as bridges or paved pathways) outside of a basic trail that Red maintains monthly. Thus Mt. Silver remains one of the only pockets of true untamed wilderness in the region and cannot be assumed safe.

The requirements of the climb itself have been refined since the days of Gold’s ascension. Today, climbers are assigned a specific day and time of their battle. Climbers are then given one week to ascend to the top. Should they fail to arrive by their appointed battle time, their battle is cancelled, and they must journey back down the mountain from their current point without assistance. Challengers usually arrive a day or two early, upon which they enter a safe house with standard accommodations at which they may stay until the day of their battle. The safe house is customarily “booked” from the day of their climb and stocked to ensure at least seven days of hospitable living. Red does not socialize with challengers at this safe house, nor are they allowed inside his home. However, the summit upon which challengers battle Red marks an approximate halfway point between the safe house and Red’s house, making Red easily accessible in case of emergencies. 

Mt. Silver’s weather is notoriously savage. From November through March, no challengers are allowed to scale Mt. Silver. Red’s travel prospects are limited throughout that window as well, necessitating bulk grocery purchases and discouraging conference attendance (to this day, Red has never been to a conference in Alola). The Indigo League maintains a waitlist of challengers during the inaccessible winter season, who are then scheduled from the beginning of March onward (pending Red’s conference obligations), causing a deluge of battles for Red between March and late April. By the end of the summer, the flood of challengers slows to a trickle, only to become dammed throughout December again. This seasonal battle pattern allows Red to enjoy long stretches of spring activity before hibernating for the winter. 

6. Red

What can Red say for himself? There’s a reason he’s a man of few words. Only by witnessing his mastery atop Mt. Silver can one truly understand why he’s Kanto’s finest. Should you be convinced of your equivalence, you might as well submit an application and make the climb for yourself. After all, there’s nowhere for a Trainer to go but up. 

[mtsilvermute]

Understanding Pokémon Championship Structure

Championship structure as we understand it today is exceedingly new. By the mid-20th century, a new cultural understanding of “Pokémon Trainer” was beginning to emerge in response to rapid developments in battle technology and increased cognizance of Pokémon bonding practices. To fulfill the social, economic, and educational needs of this class, regions across the globe standardized key structures that Trainers take for granted today (such as challenging eight Gyms per region, battling an Elite Four, and being crowned a Champion by the end of one’s journey). These structures sustain an added layer of myth: By perpetuating an image of an ideal Pokémon Master and assisting in the realization of their dreams across regions, each region could work towards a common social goal that unified both people (in their sharing of the ideal) and Pokémon (in how Pokémon were brought into the fold to fulfill it). While the methods and mechanics of Pokémon battling are nothing new, these large-scale shifts towards systemically supporting future “Pokémon Masters” gave the entire Pokéworld a reason to fight for their respective futures.  

Certain problems with this model arose by the time of what history now considers to be the “mainline protagonists” of Pokémon. The accomplishments of Champions Red, Blue, Gold, and the like were consistently obliterating the so-called ceiling of Pokémon training. As more of these supposed prodigies arose to claim the title of Champion, the question of what to do with said Champions began to echo throughout conference rooms and email chains across regions. The talent curve of the youth was outgrowing the systems that had been initially created to nurture them. Structures were needed that could reflexively accommodate the goalposts that current and future Champions were consistently moving. 

This need for upper echelons of Pokémon battling created the Champion structure of today. The rest of this article outlines the “ladder” that one must climb to reach World Champion, why those rungs exist in the first place, and what kinds of rewards might lie in wait for those attempting to reach the top. “Legacy” rungs are those that have existed since before the post-Champion restructuring to provide context for their contemporary expansion. After brief explanations of these legacy institutions, a deep-dive into the contemporary Champion pathways follows. Please note that these rungs are written from the perspective of the Trainers, or would-be Masters. This post does not document what it takes to actually enter the listed positions (i.e. Gym Leader) nor the bureaucratic foundations of each facility. 

Click "Keep Reading" to view a detailed description of the flowchart above.

Legacy Structures Defined 

1. Gym Battling (Legacy)

This section needs little introduction and even less elaboration. Gyms serve as the primary facilities in which one comes of age as a Trainer. Receiving a badge from a Gym is a major point of pride; receiving eight Gym badges is the culmination of a lifelong effort, regardless of how long that life may have been lived before its realization. 

Importantly, Gym Leaders scale their teams to particular level brackets to facilitate an optimal training experience regardless of the skill level of their challengers. This practice justifies the flexible Gym order of each region’s respective pilgrimages and diversifies each Trainer’s journeys. Whether one obtains all eight Gym badges is an entirely personal decision that can take months, years, or decades to complete depending on one’s training prowess and priorities. With that said, obtaining all eight badges in a given region is not a Trainer guarantee, and possessing them justifies a lifelong career in Pokémon battling should one wish to pursue it.

2. Victory Road (Legacy)

Victory Road is a curated walk through wilderness that tests the strength of one’s bonds with their Pokémon. While each region has variations on the actual route to their respective summits, “Victory Road” broadly indicates a space designed to test a Trainer’s self-sufficiency and ability to navigate the challenges of the natural world with the help of their Pokémon. Only through time-tested trust in one’s companions can a Trainer survive harsh camping conditions, unruly weather, and distance from civilization and existing support networks. 

Victory Road’s “curation” is minimal. Pathways exist, as well as small-scale infrastructure (such as bridges), but the climb is intentionally arduous and can take a week to complete. Yet battle prowess alone does not signify Pokémon mastery. Therefore, each “Victory Road” weeds out those that might excel in combat but fail to see their Pokémon as comrades. 

3. The Elite Four (Legacy) and Regional Champion (Contemporary)

The Elite Four are precisely what they claim to be: a cohort of Pokémon Masters that have proven themselves to be the greatest of their respective regions. Challenging them is a privilege given to any Trainer who can claim eight badges and reach the end of Victory Road. 

After defeating the Elite Four, the victorious Trainer is invited to battle the standing Champion. Should the Trainer usurp the Champion, the Trainer is enlisted into the Hall of Fame and crowned the current Champion of their respective region. 

It’s important to note, however, the multiplicativity of Championhood and the relatively newer role of Regional Champion. Many Champions exist. Anyone who can defeat the current reigning Champion is crowned as such. Despite this new title, a Regional Champion acts as the active Champion of a particular region and is an administrative role that is formally given by the region’s Pokémon League. An incoming Champion may be considered for the role, as a previous Champion title is required to be Regional Champion; however, it is not necessarily the case that a newly crowned Champion would immediately become the Regional Champion. Such a title as Regional Champion would be negotiated, and later bestowed, by the region’s Pokémon League following one’s victory. Therefore, there need be only one regional representative of the title at a time regardless of the success of the most recent victor—and the status of Regional Champion may be denied (by the League) or rejected (by the victor) at will. 

4. Hall of Fame (Legacy)

One enters the Hall of Fame by becoming the standing Champion of a particular region. Once an honor reserved for a select few, the Hall of Fame has expanded exponentially over the decades as Trainers have become better versed in the arts of Pokémon battling and bonding both. Despite its growth, a place in the Hall of Fame sanctions a Trainer as a living legend, one whose Poké-prowess will be spoken of for years to come. 

Outside of garnering social capital and the undying trust of the Trainer community, the primary benefit of entering the Hall of Fame for a modern-day Trainer is that a Hall of Famer receives lifelong qualification to the Pokémon World Tournament. The Pokémon World Tournament (or PWT) is the newest structure built to sustain new chapters of the stories of Hall of Famers past and future. The PWT and its supporting ladder system are documented below under “Contemporary Structures Defined.” 

Contemporary Structures Defined 

At this point, one could consider their journey “over.” Such were the assumptions of each region at the turn of the century, who had not seen such meteoric rises to Champion status as Red, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Brendan, May, and the rest of them. These too-talented Trainers—now Masters in their own rights—deserved a “postgame” structure so as to continue to hone their skills and contribute to the ever-growing field of battle research. 

Thus was born the Pokémon World Tournament, an invite-only tournament structure catered to Champions and those of similar mettle. Showcasing high-powered Pokémon and training talent across all regions, the PWT is the ultimate goal of every professional Trainer who wishes to see their name in lights. 

The creation of the PWT, however, subsequently opened up alternative routes to Pokémon Mastery that play to different strengths and social environments. These pathways are documented below. Please note that the numbers do not correspond to a linear trajectory as they do in the Legacy pathways; they are solely for ease of listing. Consult the flowchart above for a visual representation of each progression pathway. 

1. Battle Facilities (Battle Subway, Battle Towers, etc.) 

Battle facilities are among the first high-end training opportunities available for anyone with eight Gym Badges of a given region. More than simple training grounds, however, these battle facilities are longstanding prestigious institutions, success in which rivals Hall of Famer status within the regional underground. Hence these battle facilities are extremely indebted to the socio-cultural makeups of their regions: Unova, for example, pioneered the creation of the Battle Subway in honor of its trademark train, while Battle Maisons represent the aesthetics and theatrics of their Kalosian homes. Featured battle formats are also variable by region, with facilities often boasting formats that are popular, or had been popularized, in that particular region. 

The biggest drawback of battle facilities is their lack of connection to other institutions, including the PWT proper. Riding the Battle Subway will not grant a Trainer access to the Elite Four, nor will a high ranking at a Battle House enshrine one in the Hall of Fame, regardless of region. Despite this pitfall, battle facilities are beloved pastimes with strong competition and even stronger communities, which more closely approximate art collectives than tournament series. Those who frequent these facilities are more likely to use combat as a form of creative expression, intersecting battling with thespianism, musicality, vocal performance, or other means of inciting applause. Becoming a Subway lifer, for instance, is an excellent way to make a name for oneself as both a competent Trainer and entertainer, just as Emmet and Ingo have before them. Though there may be no “greater pathway” that follows battle facility success, there is no greater pathway to crafting a fulfilling, self-contained competitive circuit than by visiting regional battle facilities. Their regulars make them worth the trip. 

2. Regional Conferences

Regional conferences are equivalent to national championships of their respective regions. Held once a year per region, conferences are high-stakes tournaments that are open to Trainers who have completed eight Gym badges in a given region. These events feature single-elimination rounds of typically single battles, though conference rulesets vary year to year, with certain regions tentatively supporting nationally beloved battle formats. One is only qualified to compete in a regional conference if they possess all eight badges of that region, which encourages Trainers to extensively travel to maximize their chances of annual victory. 

The draw to conferences lies in their ties to the PWT. The top 32 contestants of a regional conference are invited to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. The top 4 contestants of a regional conference receive an instant, one-time invitation to the PWT itself alongside a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. These challenger invites last until the next PWT, which occurs every two years, giving contestants time to train before taking down the Elite Four once and for all. This prize structure serves two purposes. Firstly, those who achieve top 32 status are given a “last-chance” opportunity to qualify for the PWT by defeating the Elite Four and Regional Champion, as anyone who enters the Hall of Fame receives automatic invitations to compete in the PWT for life thereafter. In addition, this provisional invitation allows for a one-time skip of Victory Road, which may save a Trainer a traumatic week of trekking depending on the region. For those in the top 4, a guaranteed spot in the PWT could be a career high, while the added opportunity to challenge the Elite Four for future automatic invitations might solidify their Champion status for the rest of their lives. Given the absurdly high levels of competition at conferences themselves, it is not unlikely that a top 32 contestant would be competitive against an Elite Four member. However, the Elite Four is known to upscale their teams’ strengths based on the determined skill levels of their challengers, which greatly raises the stakes of one’s invitational battle. 

Conferences were created as a first step in sanctioning high-end competitive battling in response to the influx of incoming Champions, thus sanctifying a true “competitive circuit” with an on-ramp to the PWT. Champions themselves have little need for conferences: Their Hall of Fame status guarantees that they need not qualify for the PWT through conference grinding. To maximize community-building in the competitive scene, however, previous Champions are enlisted as Guests of Honor and given special airtime at each conference. A Guest of Honor may be asked to commentate feature matches, engage in opening or closing ceremonies, perform moveset showcases at halftime, or simply allow VIPs to pet their Pokémon. Most importantly, the winner of every regional conference is invited to close the tournament with a no-stakes exhibition match against the Guest of Honor. Guests of Honor are usually announced two weeks ahead of a regional conference. This time frame fosters an air of excitement and added pressure for those who wish to win, as Trainers may begin to fill their crunch-time training sessions with daydreams of battling Cynthia or Green beneath the blinding lights. The Guest of Honor system thus encourages conference contestants to aim high in their performances while continuously enshrining previous Champions as the ones to watch out for, promoting environments as starry as the eyes of their competitors. 

Conferences typically last two days and occur once a month. Their dates vary based on calendar week, but conferences follow a standard pattern. Kanto jump-starts the conference season around late February to early March, with Johto’s conference in late March following it. Hoenn confers in mid-April; Sinnoh rounds out mid-May; and late June into early July hosts the PWT, providing a month of crunch-time to Tournament hopefuls. Unova restarts conferences in late July, followed by Galar in August. Paldea boasts a conference in October, and Alola ends the season in late November. Online metastrategy guides document the best way to grind conferences month by month, while full-time conference contestants blog about their culturally shocking experiences with Unovan trains, Kanto ferries, and Alolan “island time.” With their constant release cycles and rich opportunities for cultural exchange, conferences satisfy Trainers’ wanderlust, needs for endless competition, and desires for community, giving them the positive competitive outlet that older Champions wish they could have received throughout their careers. 

3. Battle Frontiers

Battle Frontiers are sprawling campuses designed to hone the competitive spirits of those who have completed a given region’s Gym circuit. Battle Frontiers were popularized in Hoenn and Sinnoh around the same time, differentiated by their arena infrastructures, battle formats, and prize support, and then exported to other regions with minimal renovation. 

Like the catch-all “battle facilities” described above, Battle Frontiers have a long history of being regional mainstays. However, upon the creation of the PWT and the streamlining of its corresponding ladder system, Pokémon Leagues revised Battle Frontiers to facilitate a pipeline to the PWT. Because of the regional specificity of facilities like the Battle Subway or Battle Maisons, it would be impossible for one tournament body to standardize them all. Doing so would be, at best, a massive cultural overreach, damaging the legacies of each region’s beloved battle environs. Alternatively, Battle Frontiers take similar forms across regions, and the diversity of their battle offerings ensure that Trainers are conference-ready rather than format one-tricks. Given the ease of normalizing their Trainer-focused features, the founding members of the PWT integrated Battle Frontiers into the PWT circuit rather than revise any other existing institutions.  

Simply put, Trainers that obtain all gold challenge items for a given region’s Battle Frontier (such as Hoenn’s “symbols” and Sinnoh’s “ceremonial prints”) receive a one-time PWT invitation, as well as an invitation to skip Victory Road and directly challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion, just as a top-4 placement at a regional conference would guarantee. On the surface, this math seems incongruent with conference math: A Battle Frontier grinder must battle hundreds of opponents to reach their chosen goal, whereas a conference attendee need only battle ten to fifteen contestants in a given weekend. Justifying this equivalency is that most battles in the Battle Frontier are versus less-skilled opponents, with difficulty ramping upward as one progresses. Conference skill levels, on the other hand, are relatively equivalent throughout the weekend because of the higher skill floor that one must meet to convincingly compete within them. In other words, most Battle Frontier rounds (Frontier Brains notwithstanding) could be considered fluff battles that would equal the amount of battles that a conference contestant would conduct throughout their preceding year of training, which rationalizes the consistency of conference difficulty levels. Once these “fluff battles” are subtracted from one’s record, the amount of Battle Frontier battles needed to obtain one’s golden prizes are equivalent to, or even less than, the amount of battles a conference contestant would conduct in a given weekend.

Even among aspiring Trainers, there is no social hierarchy nor rivalry between Battle Frontier grinders and regional conferencegoers. These two systems exist because they sustain different training pressures and senses of progression. A Trainer who fears the shame of being eliminated after round one at a conference might thrive on the Battle Frontier treadmill, whose incline is more level. A Trainer who might feel claustrophobic on a neighborhood Battle Frontier campus might revel in the worldly community of a regional conference across the pond. Regardless of one’s preferred qualification method, the PWT maintains both to ensure a steady stream of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

4. Pokémon World Tournament 

The Pokémon World Tournament is the pinnacle of Pokémon battling. Hosted in Unova every two years, the PWT is the most televised event in the world, bringing together all who value Pokémon regardless of experience in a manner analogous to the real-world Olympics. Once qualified, whether provisionally through the ladder or vis-à-vis Hall of Fame status, Trainers drop everything to prepare. After all, the list of PWT registrants reads like the index of a history book. Being so much as in the margins of it is an honor not to be taken lightly. 

The PWT lasts two weeks, Monday through Friday, between late June and early July. During the first week of competition, challengers complete ten Swiss rounds, two per contestant each day. Each round is best-of-one, Trainer versus Trainer, and has a time limit of one hour. Before rounds begin, contestants are split into two randomized player pools to accommodate space and time constraints, as it is not feasible to have hundreds of battles occurring simultaneously. The daily timetable for PWT week one, Monday through Friday, is as follows:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Round One, Group One 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Round One, Group Two 12:00 - 2:00 PM: Lunch and Halftime 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Round Two, Group One 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Round Two, Group Two 5:00 PM: Festivities end for the day, to be continued the following day with the next subsequent round

At 5:00 PM on Friday of the first week, Swiss round rankings are finalized with a cut to top 32. Tiebreakers are calculated based on opponent match win percentage (OMW%) and the amount of a Trainer’s conscious Pokémon at the end of each round. No match ties are possible: Self-K.O. moves, recoil moves, and status, weather, and force-K.O. moves are ruled in favor of either the attacker or defender depending on the category of the move. The top 32 contestants advance to the second week of competition following a weekend break, which begins a single-elimination best-of-one knockout bracket. Quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches have no time restrictions. The weekly timetable for PWT week two is as follows:

Monday: Top 32 bracket matches (16 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Tuesday: Top 16 bracket matches (8 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Wednesday: Quarterfinals (4 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Thursday: Semifinals (2 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Friday: Final championship match and closing ceremony

Opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and halftime shows are extravagant performances that celebrate diverse elements of the Pokémon world. Professors from all regions show off their recent evolutionary discoveries. Champions choreograph synchronized moveset showcases with other Champions. Beloved entertainers from battle facilities like the Subway create elaborate setpieces of their homes in which they dance, sing, or mock-battle, honoring the intersection of the mainstream and the underground from which they rose. Much like the ceremonies of the real-world Olympics, these aesthetic indulgences commemorate the cultures that make Pokémon society special, inspiring all peoples to appreciate their pasts and internalize the brightness of their collective futures. 

While running the PWT is a logistic nightmare, the rewards are plentiful. For the Trainers themselves, competing in the PWT solidifies Pokémon Mastery no matter their final result. One could leave the PWT reasonably assured that they would be back, either as a future Hall of Famer or a returning conference champion, after having learned many a lesson throughout the Swiss. The Swiss structure of the Tournament also increases the possibility that a PWT newcomer might battle against one of their heroes throughout the weeks. First-round pairings are variant, which makes pairing into a Champion possible for a newcomer, and points-based matchmaking increases the likelihood that an underdog may reach top 32 even if they meet Red in the first round. After-hours, the ability to coexist with fellow Masters increases opportunities for networking, community-building, and even bonding with others’ Pokémon. Friends are made for life based on their shared status as the best in the world, and it’s common for pockets of Champions to storm the streets like tourists in their own rights, temporarily living lives unburdened by League drama, Gym responsibilities, or full conference schedules. 

5. Mt. Silver

Red’s rise to Champion was unprecedented at the time. Between taking down Team Rocket and effortlessly sweeping the Indigo League, Red was arguably the first to embody the previously mythological ideal of Pokémon Master. In talks (or emails, rather) with the Indigo League succeeding his success, the League and Red agreed to sanction him as an ultimate Champion of sorts. Tucked away in a remote location of his choosing, Red would be the final pilgrimage of any Champion daring to meet Red’s level of fame. Upon scouting myriad regions to determine an appropriate locale, Red chose Mt. Silver for its environmental approximation of Victory Road and its unparalleled isolation. Mt. Silver was sanctioned thereafter as a nature preserve off-limits to all but the most capable of Hall of Famers, featuring minimal League interference with its natural state.

The danger of Mt. Silver cannot be overstated. One may only declare intent to climb Mt. Silver should they enter a regional Hall of Fame or achieve top-32 standing of a Pokémon World Tournament. Upon declaring such intent, a Trainer must submit to the League a dossier of their prospective team. This dossier includes a resume of each Pokémon’s previous achievements (such as Elite Four challenger appearances), their learned moves, and audiovisual documentation of their capabilities outside of combat (such as their usage of Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, or other HM moves; or evidence of extraordinary strength, mental fortitude, or capacities for care [in Pokémon such as Chansey]). While Mt. Silver is not strictly comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, one is required to make the journey with solely the six submitted Pokémon, skyrocketing the climb’s threat level. In addition, unlike Victory Road, the League cannot promise infrastructural assistance (such as bridges or paved pathways) outside of a basic trail that Red maintains monthly. Thus Mt. Silver remains one of the only pockets of true untamed wilderness in the region and cannot be assumed safe.

The requirements of the climb itself have been refined since the days of Gold’s ascension. Today, climbers are assigned a specific day and time of their battle. Climbers are then given one week to ascend to the top. Should they fail to arrive by their appointed battle time, their battle is cancelled, and they must journey back down the mountain from their current point without assistance. Challengers usually arrive a day or two early, upon which they enter a safe house with standard accommodations at which they may stay until the day of their battle. The safe house is customarily “booked” from the day of their climb and stocked to ensure at least seven days of hospitable living. Red does not socialize with challengers at this safe house, nor are they allowed inside his home. However, the summit upon which challengers battle Red marks an approximate halfway point between the safe house and Red’s house, making Red easily accessible in case of emergencies. 

Mt. Silver’s weather is notoriously savage. From November through March, no challengers are allowed to scale Mt. Silver. Red’s travel prospects are limited throughout that window as well, necessitating bulk grocery purchases and discouraging conference attendance (to this day, Red has never been to a conference in Alola). The Indigo League maintains a waitlist of challengers during the inaccessible winter season, who are then scheduled from the beginning of March onward (pending Red’s conference obligations), causing a deluge of battles for Red between March and late April. By the end of the summer, the flood of challengers slows to a trickle, only to become dammed throughout December again. This seasonal battle pattern allows Red to enjoy long stretches of spring activity before hibernating for the winter. 

6. Red

What can Red say for himself? There’s a reason he’s a man of few words. Only by witnessing his mastery atop Mt. Silver can one truly understand why he’s Kanto’s finest. Should you be convinced of your equivalence, you might as well submit an application and make the climb for yourself. After all, there’s nowhere for a Trainer to go but up. 

[mtsilvermute]

Understanding Pokémon Championship Structure

Championship structure as we understand it today is exceedingly new. By the mid-20th century, a new cultural understanding of “Pokémon Trainer” was beginning to emerge in response to rapid developments in battle technology and increased cognizance of Pokémon bonding practices. To fulfill the social, economic, and educational needs of this class, regions across the globe standardized key structures that Trainers take for granted today (such as challenging eight Gyms per region, battling an Elite Four, and being crowned a Champion by the end of one’s journey). These structures sustain an added layer of myth: By perpetuating an image of an ideal Pokémon Master and assisting in the realization of their dreams across regions, each region could work towards a common social goal that unified both people (in their sharing of the ideal) and Pokémon (in how Pokémon were brought into the fold to fulfill it). While the methods and mechanics of Pokémon battling are nothing new, these large-scale shifts towards systemically supporting future “Pokémon Masters” gave the entire Pokéworld a reason to fight for their respective futures.  

Certain problems with this model arose by the time of what history now considers to be the “mainline protagonists” of Pokémon. The accomplishments of Champions Red, Blue, Gold, and the like were consistently obliterating the so-called ceiling of Pokémon training. As more of these supposed prodigies arose to claim the title of Champion, the question of what to do with said Champions began to echo throughout conference rooms and email chains across regions. The talent curve of the youth was outgrowing the systems that had been initially created to nurture them. Structures were needed that could reflexively accommodate the goalposts that current and future Champions were consistently moving. 

This need for upper echelons of Pokémon battling created the Champion structure of today. The rest of this article outlines the “ladder” that one must climb to reach World Champion, why those rungs exist in the first place, and what kinds of rewards might lie in wait for those attempting to reach the top. “Legacy” rungs are those that have existed since before the post-Champion restructuring to provide context for their contemporary expansion. After brief explanations of these legacy institutions, a deep-dive into the contemporary Champion pathways follows. Please note that these rungs are written from the perspective of the Trainers, or would-be Masters. This post does not document what it takes to actually enter the listed positions (i.e. Gym Leader) nor the bureaucratic foundations of each facility. 

Click "Keep Reading" to view a detailed description of the flowchart above.

Legacy Structures Defined 

1. Gym Battling (Legacy)

This section needs little introduction and even less elaboration. Gyms serve as the primary facilities in which one comes of age as a Trainer. Receiving a badge from a Gym is a major point of pride; receiving eight Gym badges is the culmination of a lifelong effort, regardless of how long that life may have been lived before its realization. 

Importantly, Gym Leaders scale their teams to particular level brackets to facilitate an optimal training experience regardless of the skill level of their challengers. This practice justifies the flexible Gym order of each region’s respective pilgrimages and diversifies each Trainer’s journeys. Whether one obtains all eight Gym badges is an entirely personal decision that can take months, years, or decades to complete depending on one’s training prowess and priorities. With that said, obtaining all eight badges in a given region is not a Trainer guarantee, and possessing them justifies a lifelong career in Pokémon battling should one wish to pursue it.

2. Victory Road (Legacy)

Victory Road is a curated walk through wilderness that tests the strength of one’s bonds with their Pokémon. While each region has variations on the actual route to their respective summits, “Victory Road” broadly indicates a space designed to test a Trainer’s self-sufficiency and ability to navigate the challenges of the natural world with the help of their Pokémon. Only through time-tested trust in one’s companions can a Trainer survive harsh camping conditions, unruly weather, and distance from civilization and existing support networks. 

Victory Road’s “curation” is minimal. Pathways exist, as well as small-scale infrastructure (such as bridges), but the climb is intentionally arduous and can take a week to complete. Yet battle prowess alone does not signify Pokémon mastery. Therefore, each “Victory Road” weeds out those that might excel in combat but fail to see their Pokémon as comrades. 

3. The Elite Four (Legacy) and Regional Champion (Contemporary)

The Elite Four are precisely what they claim to be: a cohort of Pokémon Masters that have proven themselves to be the greatest of their respective regions. Challenging them is a privilege given to any Trainer who can claim eight badges and reach the end of Victory Road. 

After defeating the Elite Four, the victorious Trainer is invited to battle the standing Champion. Should the Trainer usurp the Champion, the Trainer is enlisted into the Hall of Fame and crowned the current Champion of their respective region. 

It’s important to note, however, the multiplicativity of Championhood and the relatively newer role of Regional Champion. Many Champions exist. Anyone who can defeat the current reigning Champion is crowned as such. Despite this new title, a Regional Champion acts as the active Champion of a particular region and is an administrative role that is formally given by the region’s Pokémon League. An incoming Champion may be considered for the role, as a previous Champion title is required to be Regional Champion; however, it is not necessarily the case that a newly crowned Champion would immediately become the Regional Champion. Such a title as Regional Champion would be negotiated, and later bestowed, by the region’s Pokémon League following one’s victory. Therefore, there need be only one regional representative of the title at a time regardless of the success of the most recent victor—and the status of Regional Champion may be denied (by the League) or rejected (by the victor) at will. 

4. Hall of Fame (Legacy)

One enters the Hall of Fame by becoming the standing Champion of a particular region. Once an honor reserved for a select few, the Hall of Fame has expanded exponentially over the decades as Trainers have become better versed in the arts of Pokémon battling and bonding both. Despite its growth, a place in the Hall of Fame sanctions a Trainer as a living legend, one whose Poké-prowess will be spoken of for years to come. 

Outside of garnering social capital and the undying trust of the Trainer community, the primary benefit of entering the Hall of Fame for a modern-day Trainer is that a Hall of Famer receives lifelong qualification to the Pokémon World Tournament. The Pokémon World Tournament (or PWT) is the newest structure built to sustain new chapters of the stories of Hall of Famers past and future. The PWT and its supporting ladder system are documented below under “Contemporary Structures Defined.” 

Contemporary Structures Defined 

At this point, one could consider their journey “over.” Such were the assumptions of each region at the turn of the century, who had not seen such meteoric rises to Champion status as Red, Blue, Gold, Crystal, Brendan, May, and the rest of them. These too-talented Trainers—now Masters in their own rights—deserved a “postgame” structure so as to continue to hone their skills and contribute to the ever-growing field of battle research. 

Thus was born the Pokémon World Tournament, an invite-only tournament structure catered to Champions and those of similar mettle. Showcasing high-powered Pokémon and training talent across all regions, the PWT is the ultimate goal of every professional Trainer who wishes to see their name in lights. 

The creation of the PWT, however, subsequently opened up alternative routes to Pokémon Mastery that play to different strengths and social environments. These pathways are documented below. Please note that the numbers do not correspond to a linear trajectory as they do in the Legacy pathways; they are solely for ease of listing. Consult the flowchart above for a visual representation of each progression pathway. 

1. Battle Facilities (Battle Subway, Battle Towers, etc.) 

Battle facilities are among the first high-end training opportunities available for anyone with eight Gym Badges of a given region. More than simple training grounds, however, these battle facilities are longstanding prestigious institutions, success in which rivals Hall of Famer status within the regional underground. Hence these battle facilities are extremely indebted to the socio-cultural makeups of their regions: Unova, for example, pioneered the creation of the Battle Subway in honor of its trademark train, while Battle Maisons represent the aesthetics and theatrics of their Kalosian homes. Featured battle formats are also variable by region, with facilities often boasting formats that are popular, or had been popularized, in that particular region. 

The biggest drawback of battle facilities is their lack of connection to other institutions, including the PWT proper. Riding the Battle Subway will not grant a Trainer access to the Elite Four, nor will a high ranking at a Battle House enshrine one in the Hall of Fame, regardless of region. Despite this pitfall, battle facilities are beloved pastimes with strong competition and even stronger communities, which more closely approximate art collectives than tournament series. Those who frequent these facilities are more likely to use combat as a form of creative expression, intersecting battling with thespianism, musicality, vocal performance, or other means of inciting applause. Becoming a Subway lifer, for instance, is an excellent way to make a name for oneself as both a competent Trainer and entertainer, just as Emmet and Ingo have before them. Though there may be no “greater pathway” that follows battle facility success, there is no greater pathway to crafting a fulfilling, self-contained competitive circuit than by visiting regional battle facilities. Their regulars make them worth the trip. 

2. Regional Conferences

Regional conferences are equivalent to national championships of their respective regions. Held once a year per region, conferences are high-stakes tournaments that are open to Trainers who have completed eight Gym badges in a given region. These events feature single-elimination rounds of typically single battles, though conference rulesets vary year to year, with certain regions tentatively supporting nationally beloved battle formats. One is only qualified to compete in a regional conference if they possess all eight badges of that region, which encourages Trainers to extensively travel to maximize their chances of annual victory. 

The draw to conferences lies in their ties to the PWT. The top 32 contestants of a regional conference are invited to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. The top 4 contestants of a regional conference receive an instant, one-time invitation to the PWT itself alongside a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion. These challenger invites last until the next PWT, which occurs every two years, giving contestants time to train before taking down the Elite Four once and for all. This prize structure serves two purposes. Firstly, those who achieve top 32 status are given a “last-chance” opportunity to qualify for the PWT by defeating the Elite Four and Regional Champion, as anyone who enters the Hall of Fame receives automatic invitations to compete in the PWT for life thereafter. In addition, this provisional invitation allows for a one-time skip of Victory Road, which may save a Trainer a traumatic week of trekking depending on the region. For those in the top 4, a guaranteed spot in the PWT could be a career high, while the added opportunity to challenge the Elite Four for future automatic invitations might solidify their Champion status for the rest of their lives. Given the absurdly high levels of competition at conferences themselves, it is not unlikely that a top 32 contestant would be competitive against an Elite Four member. However, the Elite Four is known to upscale their teams’ strengths based on the determined skill levels of their challengers, which greatly raises the stakes of one’s invitational battle. 

Conferences were created as a first step in sanctioning high-end competitive battling in response to the influx of incoming Champions, thus sanctifying a true “competitive circuit” with an on-ramp to the PWT. Champions themselves have little need for conferences: Their Hall of Fame status guarantees that they need not qualify for the PWT through conference grinding. To maximize community-building in the competitive scene, however, previous Champions are enlisted as Guests of Honor and given special airtime at each conference. A Guest of Honor may be asked to commentate feature matches, engage in opening or closing ceremonies, perform moveset showcases at halftime, or simply allow VIPs to pet their Pokémon. Most importantly, the winner of every regional conference is invited to close the tournament with a no-stakes exhibition match against the Guest of Honor. Guests of Honor are usually announced two weeks ahead of a regional conference. This time frame fosters an air of excitement and added pressure for those who wish to win, as Trainers may begin to fill their crunch-time training sessions with daydreams of battling Cynthia or Green beneath the blinding lights. The Guest of Honor system thus encourages conference contestants to aim high in their performances while continuously enshrining previous Champions as the ones to watch out for, promoting environments as starry as the eyes of their competitors. 

Conferences typically last two days and occur once a month. Their dates vary based on calendar week, but conferences follow a standard pattern. Kanto jump-starts the conference season around late February to early March, with Johto’s conference in late March following it. Hoenn confers in mid-April; Sinnoh rounds out mid-May; and late June into early July hosts the PWT, providing a month of crunch-time to Tournament hopefuls. Unova restarts conferences in late July, followed by Galar in August. Paldea boasts a conference in October, and Alola ends the season in late November. Online metastrategy guides document the best way to grind conferences month by month, while full-time conference contestants blog about their culturally shocking experiences with Unovan trains, Kanto ferries, and Alolan “island time.” With their constant release cycles and rich opportunities for cultural exchange, conferences satisfy Trainers’ wanderlust, needs for endless competition, and desires for community, giving them the positive competitive outlet that older Champions wish they could have received throughout their careers. 

3. Battle Frontiers

Battle Frontiers are sprawling campuses designed to hone the competitive spirits of those who have completed a given region’s Gym circuit. Battle Frontiers were popularized in Hoenn and Sinnoh around the same time, differentiated by their arena infrastructures, battle formats, and prize support, and then exported to other regions with minimal renovation. 

Like the catch-all “battle facilities” described above, Battle Frontiers have a long history of being regional mainstays. However, upon the creation of the PWT and the streamlining of its corresponding ladder system, Pokémon Leagues revised Battle Frontiers to facilitate a pipeline to the PWT. Because of the regional specificity of facilities like the Battle Subway or Battle Maisons, it would be impossible for one tournament body to standardize them all. Doing so would be, at best, a massive cultural overreach, damaging the legacies of each region’s beloved battle environs. Alternatively, Battle Frontiers take similar forms across regions, and the diversity of their battle offerings ensure that Trainers are conference-ready rather than format one-tricks. Given the ease of normalizing their Trainer-focused features, the founding members of the PWT integrated Battle Frontiers into the PWT circuit rather than revise any other existing institutions.  

Simply put, Trainers that obtain all gold challenge items for a given region’s Battle Frontier (such as Hoenn’s “symbols” and Sinnoh’s “ceremonial prints”) receive a one-time PWT invitation, as well as an invitation to skip Victory Road and directly challenge the Elite Four and Regional Champion, just as a top-4 placement at a regional conference would guarantee. On the surface, this math seems incongruent with conference math: A Battle Frontier grinder must battle hundreds of opponents to reach their chosen goal, whereas a conference attendee need only battle ten to fifteen contestants in a given weekend. Justifying this equivalency is that most battles in the Battle Frontier are versus less-skilled opponents, with difficulty ramping upward as one progresses. Conference skill levels, on the other hand, are relatively equivalent throughout the weekend because of the higher skill floor that one must meet to convincingly compete within them. In other words, most Battle Frontier rounds (Frontier Brains notwithstanding) could be considered fluff battles that would equal the amount of battles that a conference contestant would conduct throughout their preceding year of training, which rationalizes the consistency of conference difficulty levels. Once these “fluff battles” are subtracted from one’s record, the amount of Battle Frontier battles needed to obtain one’s golden prizes are equivalent to, or even less than, the amount of battles a conference contestant would conduct in a given weekend.

Even among aspiring Trainers, there is no social hierarchy nor rivalry between Battle Frontier grinders and regional conferencegoers. These two systems exist because they sustain different training pressures and senses of progression. A Trainer who fears the shame of being eliminated after round one at a conference might thrive on the Battle Frontier treadmill, whose incline is more level. A Trainer who might feel claustrophobic on a neighborhood Battle Frontier campus might revel in the worldly community of a regional conference across the pond. Regardless of one’s preferred qualification method, the PWT maintains both to ensure a steady stream of Hall of Fame hopefuls.

4. Pokémon World Tournament 

The Pokémon World Tournament is the pinnacle of Pokémon battling. Hosted in Unova every two years, the PWT is the most televised event in the world, bringing together all who value Pokémon regardless of experience in a manner analogous to the real-world Olympics. Once qualified, whether provisionally through the ladder or vis-à-vis Hall of Fame status, Trainers drop everything to prepare. After all, the list of PWT registrants reads like the index of a history book. Being so much as in the margins of it is an honor not to be taken lightly. 

The PWT lasts two weeks, Monday through Friday, between late June and early July. During the first week of competition, challengers complete ten Swiss rounds, two per contestant each day. Each round is best-of-one, Trainer versus Trainer, and has a time limit of one hour. Before rounds begin, contestants are split into two randomized player pools to accommodate space and time constraints, as it is not feasible to have hundreds of battles occurring simultaneously. The daily timetable for PWT week one, Monday through Friday, is as follows:

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM: Round One, Group One 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Round One, Group Two 12:00 - 2:00 PM: Lunch and Halftime 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Round Two, Group One 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Round Two, Group Two 5:00 PM: Festivities end for the day, to be continued the following day with the next subsequent round

At 5:00 PM on Friday of the first week, Swiss round rankings are finalized with a cut to top 32. Tiebreakers are calculated based on opponent match win percentage (OMW%) and the amount of a Trainer’s conscious Pokémon at the end of each round. No match ties are possible: Self-K.O. moves, recoil moves, and status, weather, and force-K.O. moves are ruled in favor of either the attacker or defender depending on the category of the move. The top 32 contestants advance to the second week of competition following a weekend break, which begins a single-elimination best-of-one knockout bracket. Quarterfinal, semifinal, and final matches have no time restrictions. The weekly timetable for PWT week two is as follows:

Monday: Top 32 bracket matches (16 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Tuesday: Top 16 bracket matches (8 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Wednesday: Quarterfinals (4 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Thursday: Semifinals (2 matches in a day; one match per contestant) Friday: Final championship match and closing ceremony

Opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies, and halftime shows are extravagant performances that celebrate diverse elements of the Pokémon world. Professors from all regions show off their recent evolutionary discoveries. Champions choreograph synchronized moveset showcases with other Champions. Beloved entertainers from battle facilities like the Subway create elaborate setpieces of their homes in which they dance, sing, or mock-battle, honoring the intersection of the mainstream and the underground from which they rose. Much like the ceremonies of the real-world Olympics, these aesthetic indulgences commemorate the cultures that make Pokémon society special, inspiring all peoples to appreciate their pasts and internalize the brightness of their collective futures. 

While running the PWT is a logistic nightmare, the rewards are plentiful. For the Trainers themselves, competing in the PWT solidifies Pokémon Mastery no matter their final result. One could leave the PWT reasonably assured that they would be back, either as a future Hall of Famer or a returning conference champion, after having learned many a lesson throughout the Swiss. The Swiss structure of the Tournament also increases the possibility that a PWT newcomer might battle against one of their heroes throughout the weeks. First-round pairings are variant, which makes pairing into a Champion possible for a newcomer, and points-based matchmaking increases the likelihood that an underdog may reach top 32 even if they meet Red in the first round. After-hours, the ability to coexist with fellow Masters increases opportunities for networking, community-building, and even bonding with others’ Pokémon. Friends are made for life based on their shared status as the best in the world, and it’s common for pockets of Champions to storm the streets like tourists in their own rights, temporarily living lives unburdened by League drama, Gym responsibilities, or full conference schedules. 

5. Mt. Silver

Red’s rise to Champion was unprecedented at the time. Between taking down Team Rocket and effortlessly sweeping the Indigo League, Red was arguably the first to embody the previously mythological ideal of Pokémon Master. In talks (or emails, rather) with the Indigo League succeeding his success, the League and Red agreed to sanction him as an ultimate Champion of sorts. Tucked away in a remote location of his choosing, Red would be the final pilgrimage of any Champion daring to meet Red’s level of fame. Upon scouting myriad regions to determine an appropriate locale, Red chose Mt. Silver for its environmental approximation of Victory Road and its unparalleled isolation. Mt. Silver was sanctioned thereafter as a nature preserve off-limits to all but the most capable of Hall of Famers, featuring minimal League interference with its natural state.

The danger of Mt. Silver cannot be overstated. One may only declare intent to climb Mt. Silver should they enter a regional Hall of Fame or achieve top-32 standing of a Pokémon World Tournament. Upon declaring such intent, a Trainer must submit to the League a dossier of their prospective team. This dossier includes a resume of each Pokémon’s previous achievements (such as Elite Four challenger appearances), their learned moves, and audiovisual documentation of their capabilities outside of combat (such as their usage of Fly, Surf, Waterfall, Rock Smash, Rock Climb, or other HM moves; or evidence of extraordinary strength, mental fortitude, or capacities for care [in Pokémon such as Chansey]). While Mt. Silver is not strictly comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, one is required to make the journey with solely the six submitted Pokémon, skyrocketing the climb’s threat level. In addition, unlike Victory Road, the League cannot promise infrastructural assistance (such as bridges or paved pathways) outside of a basic trail that Red maintains monthly. Thus Mt. Silver remains one of the only pockets of true untamed wilderness in the region and cannot be assumed safe.

The requirements of the climb itself have been refined since the days of Gold’s ascension. Today, climbers are assigned a specific day and time of their battle. Climbers are then given one week to ascend to the top. Should they fail to arrive by their appointed battle time, their battle is cancelled, and they must journey back down the mountain from their current point without assistance. Challengers usually arrive a day or two early, upon which they enter a safe house with standard accommodations at which they may stay until the day of their battle. The safe house is customarily “booked” from the day of their climb and stocked to ensure at least seven days of hospitable living. Red does not socialize with challengers at this safe house, nor are they allowed inside his home. However, the summit upon which challengers battle Red marks an approximate halfway point between the safe house and Red’s house, making Red easily accessible in case of emergencies. 

Mt. Silver’s weather is notoriously savage. From November through March, no challengers are allowed to scale Mt. Silver. Red’s travel prospects are limited throughout that window as well, necessitating bulk grocery purchases and discouraging conference attendance (to this day, Red has never been to a conference in Alola). The Indigo League maintains a waitlist of challengers during the inaccessible winter season, who are then scheduled from the beginning of March onward (pending Red’s conference obligations), causing a deluge of battles for Red between March and late April. By the end of the summer, the flood of challengers slows to a trickle, only to become dammed throughout December again. This seasonal battle pattern allows Red to enjoy long stretches of spring activity before hibernating for the winter. 

6. Red

What can Red say for himself? There’s a reason he’s a man of few words. Only by witnessing his mastery atop Mt. Silver can one truly understand why he’s Kanto’s finest. Should you be convinced of your equivalence, you might as well submit an application and make the climb for yourself. After all, there’s nowhere for a Trainer to go but up. 

[memesfromstuff]

*: ･ﾟ✧   90 loaded questions / interview the muse.

found on this website, so credit goes to them.

What’s your favorite strategy for avoiding tough situations?

How often do you do things just for the attention?

Would you prefer to be manipulated or to be the manipulator?

What is something someone always tells you to do more of?

What is something someone always tells you to do less of?

Who do you look to blame when things go wrong?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish was true?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish wasn’t true?

When was the last time you lied to protect your image?

How often do you put on a happy face when you’re really not feeling it?

When do you think you began putting your guard up so much?

Who made you feel most anxious when you were a kid?

How do you speak about others when they’re not around?

What aspect of your life are you most delusional about?

How often do your admit you were wrong?

Which one of your biggest flaws do you like to rationalize the most?

Is it your fear of commitment or your fear of intimacy that makes you shut down more?

At what stage of a relationship are you most likely to withdraw emotionally?

What is the one compliment you always get that you’re too embarrassed to accept, so you deflect it?

What would someone say is your worst habit?

What is the one insecurity you are pretty sure has some basis in reality?

When was the last time you felt really insecure about the parts of yourself you pretend don’t exist?

What is the most interesting white lie you’ve told?

Do you ever feel like an imposter?

Do your friends know how competitive you are?

What’s the hardest thing about being rejected?

How do you deal when you know you’re being irrationally jealous?

How do you deal when you know someone’s not willing to give you what you want?

Are you ever afraid of people knowing who you really are?

If you went to a therapist today, what would they say is holding you back the most?

When was the last time you lowered your standards just to get someone else’s approval?

Is your need for revenge greater than your need for peace?

Have you stopped trying to control things yet?

Which parts of yourself do you still seek validation for?

How do you cope with being unfairly ignored?

Do you like punishing yourself for things that are out of your control?

What does someone say is your biggest problem when communicating?

Are you okay with not knowing what happens next?

Will you ever feel okay with being imperfect?

Does sabotaging yourself give you an odd sense of comfort?

How do you feel about being disliked by some people?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve done just to avoid failure?

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken just to prove yourself?

What’s the boldest thing you do every day, just to feel like you’re still in control?

What accusation would you defend yourself most fiercely against, even though you know it’s true?

What’s the most toxic thing about yourself you actually kind of secretly like?

How much do you enjoy being in control?

When do you give yourself permission to lose control?

What guilty pleasure are you currently justifying to yourself?

What is the most passive-aggressive way you’ve dealt with your rage?

What is the pettiest and most immature way you’ve avoided losing face?

What’s the worst habit you have that rewards you the most?

How do you get your needs met when you’re alone?

What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve done to please people?

What is the most ridiculous way you’ve rebelled?

What’s your favorite way to channel your aggression?

How do you cope with being betrayed?

Are you okay with disliking someone?

What is your favorite form of self-destruction?

What’s the one thing you struggle most to manifest in your life?

What’s the one thing that you manifest so easily, people are jealous of it?

What’s the most irrational reason you’ve ever had for disliking someone?

What is one fear that you’d be ashamed of your friends knowing about?

Which one of your deepest secrets do you think is the least common?

How do people normally find out you hate them?

What is your go-to strategy to deflect criticism, even constructive criticism?

What is one thing people always get wrong about you?

What emotion motivates you the most when you’re down?

What emotion makes you want to give up?

Are people shocked when you stand up for yourself?

How often do you say yes to the things you really want to say yes to?

How often do you say no to the things that make your skin crawl?

How far are you willing to go to maintain a relationship, even an unhealthy one?

What is the worst way someone’s ever abandoned you?

What is the worst way you’ve ever abandoned yourself?

How do you entertain yourself when you’re not around people?

Are you happier alone because you enjoy being alone or because you prefer it to being surrounded by horrible people?

What habit do you know you could quit but don’t want to?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding difficult people?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding conflict?

What is the weirdest thing that gets you angry?

What is the weirdest thing that makes you sad?

How often do you take responsibility for other people’s crappy behavior?

When are you most likely to shut people out?

Which insecurity would shock people if they knew about it?

What do you find yourself justifying to people, even when no justification is needed?

When was the last time you tried to please someone who made you angry?

What do people often tell you need to focus more on?

What do people often tell you need to focus less on?

What is the one thing that could make you happy, but you refuse to do it because you’re afraid of what others would think?

[mtsilvermute]

(for the ask prompt!) 7, 19, 42

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish was true?

What is the one compliment you always get that you’re too embarrassed to accept, so you deflect it?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve done just to avoid failure?

Red’s Journal - 7/28/2024

An Unovan Conference came and went, and I with it. I can’t claim to understand the depths of my involvement with the Unovan League. Sometimes I get a singular email asking me to show up; sometimes I get an email chain, fifty long, requesting some semblance of showmanship, usually with Lance begging by the end of it for me to just play along. I’m not sure of the specifics. But if I were to guess, I would say that Unova is suffering from an identity crisis, begging for the approval of its bigger regional brothers. And so it’s sensical for it to pay appearance fees to the old guard so that it may garner legitimacy in the eyes of the rest of the world. 

Maybe that’s a bit too cynical. I don’t think Unova is a lesser region; simply a complicated one. It just feels as though Unova is constantly clamoring for approval within the ostensible old-world—Kanto, Johto, and the like—and will do anything for pedigree. And that complication means that sometimes I fly to Unova and enter an exhibition match for an opening ceremony and get shuffled into a League dinner at a table longer than the region’s lifespan and hear a supposedly “elite” group of four say things they wouldn’t repeat in polite company, and I wish endlessly for the softer grave of a pile of snow atop my dome. In those moments, I wish two things were true. Firstly, I wish that I had the agency that people assume I do—or, perhaps paradoxically, I wish I had the agency that they think I lack. Sometimes I feel as though a caricature of myself, paraded around like a prop for appearances, given instructions to meet at such-and-such a place for a photo op without any introduction nor debriefing on who surrounds me. Perhaps my muteness signals a lack of cognitive capacity that people internalize as an inability to make my own decisions—which becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as I rarely have the agency to, if only figuratively, “speak up” about how I’m treated. And secondly, sometimes I wish that I were capable of accepting the fame as deserved because of how uniquely subhuman I feel. If I were famous because of who I am, and not because of what I’ve done, then they’d treat me a lot differently. Less a prop and more a person. But because I am seen as a prodigy and not a companion of the mind, I am cyclically victimized by their projections without a Rapid Spin in sight. I suppose this is why I shudder at the accusations that I am, indeed, some kind of abnormality, even when they mean it as a compliment. I am not a child genius fully grown; I am an adult, as damaged as the rest of them, and I am currently judging their lack of emotional intelligence from across the dinner table. So much for being a guest of honor.

But I digress. I have had far more embarrassing conferences than this one. This one meant little in the grand scheme of things, and I actually quite enjoyed myself. The opening ceremony called for Charizard to assist in lighting the flame, an honor so indescribably deep that even Charizard himself shed a tear. Of course this is par for the course for Unova, desperate for validation of its place within Pokémon legacy that it would call not upon a Moltress but rather a kid from Kanto to sanctify its proceedings. But again, that’s too cynical, and neglects to account for Unova’s forgiveness of my previous misgivings. My seventeen-year-old self rejected a guest invitation to that same conference because he had no contemporary knowledge of Unovan Pokédexes and didn’t want to be embarrassed on a global stage. For pursuing me despite my previous rejection, and for not seeing it as a character flaw, the Unovan League deserves far greater respect than I do.

Now I am at home and at peace. Blastoise is snoring somewhere. I stopped typing to check my email and came across a junk mail ad for a new shop in Celadon, at which I stared for fifteen minutes. A challenger arrives in 15 hours and it is beyond my bedtime, so it might behoove me to rest.

[memesfromstuff]

*: ･ﾟ✧   90 loaded questions / interview the muse.

found on this website, so credit goes to them.

What’s your favorite strategy for avoiding tough situations?

How often do you do things just for the attention?

Would you prefer to be manipulated or to be the manipulator?

What is something someone always tells you to do more of?

What is something someone always tells you to do less of?

Who do you look to blame when things go wrong?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish was true?

What is the one thing people assume about you that you wish wasn’t true?

When was the last time you lied to protect your image?

How often do you put on a happy face when you’re really not feeling it?

When do you think you began putting your guard up so much?

Who made you feel most anxious when you were a kid?

How do you speak about others when they’re not around?

What aspect of your life are you most delusional about?

How often do your admit you were wrong?

Which one of your biggest flaws do you like to rationalize the most?

Is it your fear of commitment or your fear of intimacy that makes you shut down more?

At what stage of a relationship are you most likely to withdraw emotionally?

What is the one compliment you always get that you’re too embarrassed to accept, so you deflect it?

What would someone say is your worst habit?

What is the one insecurity you are pretty sure has some basis in reality?

When was the last time you felt really insecure about the parts of yourself you pretend don’t exist?

What is the most interesting white lie you’ve told?

Do you ever feel like an imposter?

Do your friends know how competitive you are?

What’s the hardest thing about being rejected?

How do you deal when you know you’re being irrationally jealous?

How do you deal when you know someone’s not willing to give you what you want?

Are you ever afraid of people knowing who you really are?

If you went to a therapist today, what would they say is holding you back the most?

When was the last time you lowered your standards just to get someone else’s approval?

Is your need for revenge greater than your need for peace?

Have you stopped trying to control things yet?

Which parts of yourself do you still seek validation for?

How do you cope with being unfairly ignored?

Do you like punishing yourself for things that are out of your control?

What does someone say is your biggest problem when communicating?

Are you okay with not knowing what happens next?

Will you ever feel okay with being imperfect?

Does sabotaging yourself give you an odd sense of comfort?

How do you feel about being disliked by some people?

What’s the strangest thing you’ve done just to avoid failure?

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken just to prove yourself?

What’s the boldest thing you do every day, just to feel like you’re still in control?

What accusation would you defend yourself most fiercely against, even though you know it’s true?

What’s the most toxic thing about yourself you actually kind of secretly like?

How much do you enjoy being in control?

When do you give yourself permission to lose control?

What guilty pleasure are you currently justifying to yourself?

What is the most passive-aggressive way you’ve dealt with your rage?

What is the pettiest and most immature way you’ve avoided losing face?

What’s the worst habit you have that rewards you the most?

How do you get your needs met when you’re alone?

What is the most ridiculous thing you’ve done to please people?

What is the most ridiculous way you’ve rebelled?

What’s your favorite way to channel your aggression?

How do you cope with being betrayed?

Are you okay with disliking someone?

What is your favorite form of self-destruction?

What’s the one thing you struggle most to manifest in your life?

What’s the one thing that you manifest so easily, people are jealous of it?

What’s the most irrational reason you’ve ever had for disliking someone?

What is one fear that you’d be ashamed of your friends knowing about?

Which one of your deepest secrets do you think is the least common?

How do people normally find out you hate them?

What is your go-to strategy to deflect criticism, even constructive criticism?

What is one thing people always get wrong about you?

What emotion motivates you the most when you’re down?

What emotion makes you want to give up?

Are people shocked when you stand up for yourself?

How often do you say yes to the things you really want to say yes to?

How often do you say no to the things that make your skin crawl?

How far are you willing to go to maintain a relationship, even an unhealthy one?

What is the worst way someone’s ever abandoned you?

What is the worst way you’ve ever abandoned yourself?

How do you entertain yourself when you’re not around people?

Are you happier alone because you enjoy being alone or because you prefer it to being surrounded by horrible people?

What habit do you know you could quit but don’t want to?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding difficult people?

What is your favorite strategy for avoiding conflict?

What is the weirdest thing that gets you angry?

What is the weirdest thing that makes you sad?

How often do you take responsibility for other people’s crappy behavior?

When are you most likely to shut people out?

Which insecurity would shock people if they knew about it?

What do you find yourself justifying to people, even when no justification is needed?

When was the last time you tried to please someone who made you angry?

What do people often tell you need to focus more on?

What do people often tell you need to focus less on?

What is the one thing that could make you happy, but you refuse to do it because you’re afraid of what others would think?