You'll see us say it again and again, but there's no singular definition of a Pokemon Master. Even so, we know this is a common, decades-long, query within fandom - and for good reason, too. Becoming a "Pokemon Master" is a stated goal of Ash Ketchum's, and it's brought up 💛in the games, in the manga, in the card game... it's everywhere.

We've tried our d♕arnedest to arrive at some semblance of our own conclusion. This is going to be intensely debateable - and we invite the debate. Here's our own findings on the number of Pokemon Masters in existence. And here's hoping it satisfies.

What Is A Pokemon Master?

It feels necessary for us to attempt to define what it means to be a Pokemon Master at the start of this article. But we could just as easily have waited until the end of it. You see, there's never been a crystal-clear, definitive definition of what it means to be a Pokemon Master.

Now, thanks to the series finale of the original Pokemon anime back in March 2023, we have what is arguably a more substantial answer than ever before.𝕴 Yet it's entirely within the realm of personal interpretation whether to buy into that answer.

Gotta Catch Befriend 'Em All

At the end of his landmark 1,232-episode run as protagonist, Ash Ketchum proclaims that, to be a Pokemon Master, one must befriend every Pokemon in the world.

Now, whoa! Doesn't this kind of fly in the face of what other media has often hinted at - namely, that one must become a regional champion, or catch every Pokemon, or perform some other heroic feat? Yes and no. While Ash's words are unmistakable, there's far more to consider within the context of the series finale ("The Rainbow a🔯nd the Pokemon Master") itself.

A major plot point revolves around Ash pondering the answer to his rival-turned-friend Gary asking him how much closer he is to becoming a Pokemon Master now that he's become the World Champion.

I Choose You, Arbitrary Personal Definition

This is something that Ash must consider for himself. The answer he arrives at - befriending every Pokemon - is his own personal interpretation. Therefore, there's no exact answer, despite instances through prior decades within the games, manga, even the show itself🧸 that have either hinted, or outright stated, something more specific.

There is perhaps no greater evidence that the definition is fluid than a 2020 interview with Pokemon Journeys' general director, Daiki Tomiyasu. Tomiyasu, when asked about what it means to be a Pokemon Master, said that he had asked show supervisor Kunihiko Yuyama for an answer. Yuyama had this to say:

It's just the silly dream of a child. It's something for him to ido🉐lize.

Not exactly the 🥃most hopeful words for us if we are to attempt to add𝓀ress the number of Pokemon Masters in the franchise's fictional world, but c'est la Venonat.

How Many Pokemon Masters Are There?

All of this is to say, anyone who claims they can answer with absolute certainty is kidding themselves. The only reasonable approach, at least that we've contemplated, is to address individuals who have demonstrated keen supremacy within a specific Pokemon-related field.

To keep things remotely feasible, it would be best to center on characters with excellent performance in either a battling or research capacity. (One might argue that a Pokemon Breeder is oddly well-suited to achieving Ash's personal goal, for instance; but we rather doubt a Pokemon B🍸reeder is ever thought of as the benchmarkꦇ for mastery in this regard.)

Elementary, My Dear Wattrel

If we're thinking research, it's natural that our go-to here would be Pokemon Professors. Now, again, it's unlikely that many Pokemon Professors are wandering the world proclaiming themselves picturesque Pokemon Masters. But hey, we tಞhink it's at least ꦺa bit more probable than most professions.

In the games and anime, we meet the following professors with major ongoing roles and substantial experience in the field:

• Samuel Oak
• Samson Oak
• Gary Oak
• Elm
• Birch
• Rowan
• Aurea Juniper
• Augustine Sycamore
• Kukui
• Magnolia
• Laventon
• Sada
• Turo
• Bill
• Lusamine
• Krane
• Hastings
• Ivy
• Cerise
• Amaranthe
• Friede

If we were to widen the net on our own (subjective) interpretation of each character's degree of prowess, we'd no doubt include plenty more names. As it stands, it's rather unwieldy. After all, how many of the above characters would you say could be labeled "Pokemon Masters" within their world?

We're not entirely convinced this would apply to any of them. But the case could be made, especially for characters like Samuel Oak and Kukui. More on𓄧 why we'd single out Kukui in a second...

Battle Frontier

We've arrived at what will, more than likely, be the candidacy qualifier that many of our readers will more seriously consider, namely the battle prowess of top-tier trainers. The following ch𓆏aracters have shown incredible capabiꦬlity in this key regard.

Between the games and anime, there are two instances of Kanto's most capable trainers: Red/Ash (games/anime, respectively) and Blue/Gary (again, respectively).

Within the anime, neither Ash nor Gary appear to consider themselves qualified to be Pokemon Masters, but this is where an important distinction should be made: the games seem to have a more battle-oriented vague definition of Pokemon Master. As such, we'll count Red and Blue. We won't count Gary, but as for Ash, stay tuned until further down the article.

We need to emphasize again, this is all somewhat arbitrary ruling. We're by no means experts. If anyone is, it's the f🅺ranchise's creators, but their own vague responses means the fandom has to fill in the blanks (or, perhaps more wisely, never atte🎃mpt to answer the question in the first place!).

Who else? Well, there's Lance, the ranking member of Kanto's Elite Four, and eventually the Kanto Champion as well once Red departs from the role. His power in the games is significant; his power in the anime is equally so; and especially within the manga, he's nigh-unstoppable (and surprisingly... evil). We'd say he's a Pokemon Master if ever there were one.

Ditto Cynthia, the Sinnoh Champion, whose own prowess is consistently excellent. Hoenn Champion Steven seems poised to be a "probably", while Wallace, the champion in Pokemon Emerald, is a not-so-much. Then there's Alder and eventually, Iris in Unova, Diantha in Kalos, Leon in Galar, and multiple "champion-ranked" trainers in Paldea, Geeta chief among them.

Where do all these land? It's all so frustratingly murky. But we'll answer this to the best of our ability soon - with some heavy lifting from the anime.

Kukui's a fascinating case study. He's the Alola region's foremost Pokemon Professor, he's the creator of its Pokemon League, and he's even the famously mysterious Masked Wrestler. In the show, in the games, Kukui's nonstop capable. If we're counting any of these folks, we'll count Kukui as well for Pokemon Master status.

Anime-Adjacent

We'd be leaving a heck of a blind spot in this analysis if we left out the regional conference winners as seen in the anime. These are essentially the anime's versions of League Champions; they're the ultimate victors in the tournament-style League battles at the conclusion of each region's yearly competitions.

The following table charts the conference results within the year that Ash Ketchum attended.

Galar lacks a conference shown in the anime since Pokemon Journeys focuses on a multiregional World Coronation conference which comes down to a top eight of Ash (who wins), Leon (who is champion prior to Ash's victory), Alain, Iris, Cynthia, Diantha, Steven, and Lance.

Now, that's an interesting list. Each of the above are considered Master-class trainers - there's that big word. It doesn't mean t💙hey🤪're officially Pokemon Masters, of course; if it were that easy, this would all be so much easier to define.

What it does mean is that per the World Coronation's own reckoning, these eight trainers are the cream of the crop across every major region introduced in the show. That's as close to "definitive" as we can possibly get, and so we'll include all eight of them as Pokemon Masters even despite Ash's undoubtedly upset protestations.

Putting It All Together

Phew. Let's combine our findings to arrive at our pꦅersonal list of qualifying Pokemon Masters.

• Red
• Blue
• Ash Ketchum
• Lance
• Steven Stone
• Cynthia
• Iris
• Diantha
• Alain
• Leon
• Kukui

As you can see, our findings are heavily influenced by the anime. We can certainly appreciate an argument that this is unfairly slanted. It's also frustratingly linked to the major branch of Pokemon media that is the least forthright about what it means to be a Pokemon Master - Ash's own belief depicted in the series finale is completely of his own makingꦓ.

That leaves us with two main answers: there are either 11 so-called Pokemon Masters... or anywhere between zero and a nigh-infinite number, if we want to stick with the idea that it's up to the character to decide for themselves. Needless to say, 11 is probably a more satisfying answer.

It's our best effort to answer an ultimately unanswerable question, and we invite you to reach your own conclusion. We tried, and with any luck, at least a few of you will nod your heads along with this. If you think we're way off the mark, let us know, and we'll reassess.