Thread: Can ten-year-olds really be trusted?

That's what always got me about Pokemon. You can become a trainer when you turn 10, but doesn't that sound a little young? It would be like (in the real world, not the Pokemon world) sending a fourth grader out into the wilderness with six wild animals away from their native habitats (lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!) and expecting him or her to not only feed, support, and care for SIX of them, but also to try not to get attacked. And Pokemon, obviously, are much more dangerous than regular animals because of their elemental powers. At ten years old, parents probably still give their kids a hard time about making thier bed, so how can they be trusted to go forth into the world, support themselves plus six other living things (assuming the kid has a full team), and not get killed or kill thier Pokemon?

Not that I would be questioning this if Pokemon were real. I would prob piss myself out of pure excitement.

Well, i don't know about can they be trusted or not, but in the pokemon world they seemed fine with their kids running around around in the wilderness. And not to mention the fact that when they become pokemon trainers, they have to learn about the pokemons around them and in my opinion, we kinda just have to trust them.

Well... who knows really (has anyone ever given a 10 year old that much responsibility?). Can teenagers really be trusted to drive at 16? 10 is really young... (and the only reason they did it in the first place was to make it appeal more to the original target audience)

It's actually kind of hilarious... most of the Kids Drawn in Pokemon look at least like preteens. 10 year old ash included, and the ones that really look 10 are treated like they are too young in the first place. (Max comes to mind) It's rather funny actually.

Haha yeah. I never thought of Ash as being 10 because he didn't really act it. Well he didn't act older than 10, but...

Originally Posted by Bell02二世

(and the only reason they did it in the first place was to make it appeal more to the original target audience)

The original target audience was teenagers. It wasn't until the games release that it was changed the little children and preteens. the whole '10 year old saves the world' concept was common in japan at the time (ie dragonball) so the move would have felt pretty natural, or at least until they shipped to Europe and the USA.

Originally Posted by Gohansan

The original target audience was teenagers. It wasn't until the games release that it was changed the little children and preteens. the whole '10 year old saves the world' concept was common in japan at the time (ie dragonball) so the move would have felt pretty natural, or at least until they shipped to Europe and the USA.

In Japan, the games came before the anime.

Originally Posted by Coontank!

At ten years old, parents probably still give their kids a hard time about making thier bed, so how can they be trusted to go forth into the world, support themselves plus six other living things (assuming the kid has a full team), and not get killed or kill thier Pokemon?

...Right.
All boys leave home someday.
It said so on TV.

~FR/LG Mom

...Right.
All girls dream of travelling.
It said so on TV

~FR/LG Mom

They also listen to what a man who can't even tell if a person with breasts and long hair is a girl or a boy, and cvan't remember his own grandson's name and expects you to know as if he were the expert on everything.

Yeah, I think we can say all adults in the Pokemon World are stupid.

I mean come on, taking out the stairs in your house and replacing them with Elevators in Hearthome? Yeah, because the small Pokemon will have a much easier time figuring out an elevator.

Originally Posted by Bibarr-"L"

They also listen to what a man who can't even tell if a person with breasts and long hair is a girl or a boy, and cvan't remember his own grandson's name and expects you to know as if he were the expert on everything.

Yeah, I think we can say all adults in the Pokemon World are stupid.

[/LEFT]

Haha true!

So maybe 10 year olds do have the upper hand...

Many anime kids act unnaturally mature for their age, so I guess in this fantasy world it's perfectly fine :P I couldn't go wandering in the woods alone for days on end as I am now, forget 10.

What I've always wondered about, though, is schooling. Do they do all that from 5 to maybe 9 and then it's all done unless they opt to go to college later? Or do they simply delay the schooling process and go when they're done and ready? Would they have to take some kind of exam in order to qualify to skip out for awhile, or do it later when they're ready to go back (or both)? Are they expected to stop wandering to get badges and train at a certain age and go to school (like 16 or so)? I think too much.

I think they should be 14 yrs in order to go off on thier own, but that's just me.

Yeah, it's not real, just kind of a fantasy world. and there are many adults along the way to assist them so it makes sense to me! The real world though, I would send a bunch of ten year olds out on their own... o.o

10 year olds travel the world unsupervised, with the full support of their obviously negligent parents. they raise sentient monsters with supernatural powers and grotesque features, as the unpaid employees of biologists, in order to fight one another for glory and to keep them as pets. all the while obtaining technology to keep the beings tranquilized and obedient to their 'masters'. you raise the dead; face down organized crime rings; enslave mythical beings(including the disputed god of pokemon); abandon all but six of your 'pets' at any given time; give them drugs to enhance their natural abilities; prove your team's strength by having them fight five of the strongest trainers without breaks or do-overs; live in either a cave, a bush or a tree because your mother apparantly doesn't want you in the house; break into people's homes at will without them even caring; and breed your pokemon so you can hang on to their genetically superior children instead of them. when you think about it that much, the pokemon world is actually pretty disturbing.

which is the way i like it.

Not to mention that theres adults hiding in the wilderness waiting for trainers to come along they so they can beat up the ten year old's pets.

...and steal their money if they lose.

and ask for their phone numbers.