My Trainer Class History

Hello there!  Pokémon Trainer Classes are different groups that the games categorize trainers based on their Pokémon and their styles for battling.  A Swimmer uses water type Pokémon.  A Juggler will rotate their Pokémon in and out of the battle making it difficult to hit the one you want.

I call myself an Ace Trainer and this is the (shortened) story of how I grew from a Youngster into the Ace Trainer I am today.

Youngster Tojo
In the beginning there was a Youngster named Tojo.  I was energetic and excited to play Pokémon.  I received my first Pokémon, a Squirtle, and made it all the way to Viridian City where I encountered a man needing his morning coffee.  My squirtle and I ventured all around the area while we waited.  We couldn't catch Pokémon because I didn't have any pokéballs.  Since all we could do was train, we trained until it evolved into a Wartortle.  After two weeks, he still did not have it and I put the game down for a month or so.  Once I picked it back up, I read the instruction manual and the rest became history.

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In terms of being a Pokémon Trainer, I understood the basics and that was it.  The team I remember beating the Elite Four with in Blue with was a Blastoise, Kabutops, Kingler, Dodrio, Magmar and a Parasect.  I had no concept of strategy or how to balance a team.  Thanks to Yellow, I began to learn how to balance my team by receiving all three original starters.  That was when I began to see the advantages of having Pokémon that could cover for each other’s weaknesses.

Schoolboy Tojo
The release of Gold and Silver began my Schoolboy years and continued through Crystal into Ruby and Sapphire.  I evolved a shiny Oddish into a Bellossom with intent, besides filling out my Pokédex and began using my TMs more strategically.  I started paying attention to stats and how the changed as the Pokémon grew.  I studied as much as I could comprehend from Pokémon Stadium 2 about physical and special attacks.  I remember loving Wobbuffet because special attacks and physical attacks were based on move types back then.  I felt proud to challenge Red in Mt. Silver with my well-balanced team that did what I wanted it to.

Ruby and Sapphire had me going all out.  I catching a bunch of Pokémon and learning about every ability so I could use them to my own advantage.  I also began developing my own playing style for the games.  In one of the games I realized that I didn’t have to battle Winona to progress, so I didn't.  I still cannot use Fly outside of battle nor battle the Elite Four.  That was also the game where I decided that I would level every Pokémon I caught up to the exact same level.  That way I would always be prepared for whatever battle I got into.

Pokémon Breeder Tojo
Becoming a Pokémon Breeder began with me trying to get a Flygon that knew the move Dig. (TMs were still single use only)  I remember thinking I was so clever that since it had the ability Levitate it could never get hit underground during Dig by Earthquake.  

I realized I was a Pokémon Breeder when I played Leaf Green and was upset that I couldn’t breed until after I beat the Elite Four.  In Diamond I enjoyed the breeding and learning about egg moves and continued to be fascinated by passing on traits like natures from parents to children.  I even dabbled in breeding for stats by trying to figure out a way to chain breed a Geodude’s defense stats into a Chansey.

Ace Trainer Tojo
I can now see the spark of an Ace Trainer beginning during Platinum.  I refused to battle the Elite Four until I had completed the region Pokédex.  Following up with Soul Silver, I started to develop my own style of playing the games.  White, followed by Black 2, became about finding the perfectly rounded team early and using them to play through the game.  To make my teams unique and strong, research and breeding were involved but I was paying attention to stats, how they grew, how to make them grow, using types, abilities and items.  Everything was finally coming together.

If Black 2 didn’t cement my identity as an Ace Trainer, Y and Omega Ruby did.  My unique teams and strategies flourished with access to super training and a clear understanding of IVs and EVs.  I have three full teams designed with different battle styles in mind in Y.  While playing Omega Ruby, I took about six months to breed the perfect Rosalia to eventually ditch that team concept and go a completely different direction.  I followed it up with a month trying to catch the right Kecleon.  That team is more about a balance of stats along with a balance of types.  It has a Physical Attacker, a Special Attacker, two Pokémon with amazing HP and strong defenses, and two Pokémon who have equally strong Physical and Special attack.

As I begin to play Sun I notice that I am still playing my own unique way.  The game has been out for almost a month and I am only halfway through the second Island.  I spent one entire night SOS battling a Spearow, and another searching for a Fomantis with the ability Contrary.  I may not stay an Ace Trainer as I continue to grow as a trainer, but I look forward to sharing process and those experiences with you.
 
What type of trainer do you think you are?  Please feel free to comment below, leave a comment on Facebook or send me a tweet.