In the world of Pokémon, successful trainers require a lot more skills than just the ability to catch powerful Pokémon. While many shōnen anime characters excel in combat, sometimes their personalities would stand in the way of them being successful in the Pokémon universe.
Trainers like Ash Ketchum are so successful because of their patience, strategy and deep bond with the Pokémon they have on their team. Whether it’s battle-hungry swordsmen or destructive maniacal villains, certain shōnen anime icons wouldn’t be able to make the cut when it comes to the rules and ethics involved with Pokémon training. Without these essential traits, their teams would suffer, and it would be all too easy for more competent trainers to make quick work of them.
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10
Demon Slayer’s Tengen Uzui Cares More About Flashiness Than Focus
The Powerful Hashira’s Pokémon Lineup Would Certainly Look Cool
Demon Slayer‘s Tengen Uzui was the Sound Hashira, and he was obsessed with flashiness and standing out. While his memorable personality made him a standout character with fans and a great mentor for Tanjiro, he’d probably not find similar success in the world of Pokémon.
Tengen would likely waste time making sure his Pokémon’s moves looked cool rather than ensuring they were effective — and that strategy could cost him some important battles. He’d also struggle with patience, and the pressure to perform dramatically might be too overwhelming for many Pokémon.
9
Bleach’s Shinji Would Confuse His Own Pokémon
Shinji’s Illusions Would Lead to Sheer Chaos in Battles
Bleach‘s Shinji Hirako was a powerful captain of the 5th Division in the Gotei 13, but his sarcastic personality and love of mind games would bring utter chaos to the world of Pokémon. Shinji’s disorienting mind games would likely confuse both his opponents and his own Pokémon.
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Shinji’s Sakanade’s special ability in Bleach acts as a trump card, allowing him to reverse his enemy’s senses with a powerful optical illusion using his incredible Zanpakuto. In the world of Pokémon, this would likely lead to unpredictable battles where his own team wouldn’t even know what was going on — even if he filled his roster with Illusion-based Pokémon like Zoroark.
8
Hisoka Would Be a Nightmare for Trusting Pokémon
Hunter x Hunter’s Antagonist Would Struggle to Find Loyal Pokémon
Hunter x Hunter‘s Hisoka is loved for his eccentric, self-absorbed personality that thrives on combat. His manipulative and sadistic nature makes him an incredibly memorable character — but it would also be an utter nightmare for the poor Pokémon he would potentially recruit.
While Hisoka might find success with some trickster Pokémon like Mimikyu, loyalty among his team would be a big issue. An important part of being a good Pokémon trainer is building relationships that thrive on trust and partnership, and a lone wolf like Hisoka just wouldn’t be able to provide that crucial element.
Hunter x Hunter
- Release Date
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2011 – 2013
- Directors
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Hiroshi Kôjina
- Writers
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Atsushi Maekawa, Tsutomu Kamishiro
7
One Piece’s Brook Wouldn’t Prioritize His Pokémon, As He Would Rather Blow With The Wind
The Straw Hat’s Musician is Too Carefree to be a Trainer
One Piece‘s Brook is one of the most lovable characters in Luffy’s Straw Hat Pirate crew, but his carefree nature might make him a less than optimal Pokémon trainer. Brook could get distracted telling jokes, and it’s very likely he’d spend too much time playing music to give his Pokémon the attention they require.
Brook’s lack of focus would make it easier for more serious trainers to overpower him. While there’s plenty of great Pokémon that would align with Brook’s cool ghost musician aesthetic, like Chandelure and Banette, they’d probably wander off the first time Brook forgot about keeping an eye on them.
One Piece
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Writers
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda
6
Inuyasha Lacks the Patience to Train Pokémon
His Combative Attitude Would Cause Many Problems
Inuyasha‘s protagonist is a lovable half-demon known for his fierce determination to win at all costs. As one of anime’s strongest demons, Inuyasha’s bravery in battle often works to his advantage, but his high-energy emotions often cause him to act like a belligerent child, and that would make training Pokémon an uphill battle.
Inuyasha’s impatience and brash attitude would make him frustrated at the slightest setback when it came to training his team. These frequent misunderstandings would likely discourage his Pokémon, making it difficult for him to succeed despite his love of combat until he experiences some emotional growth and maturity.
Inuyasha
- Release Date
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October 16, 2000
- Network
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ANIMAX, Nippon TV, YTV
Stream
5
Eren Yeager’s Strong Will Would Endanger His Pokémon
The Attack on Titan Character Would Be Too Aggressive
Attack on Titan‘s volatile world is incredibly different from the more peaceful land that Pokémon inhabit, and Eren Yeager would likely be too aggressive and single-minded as a result of his upbringing. His impulsive and reckless nature would endanger his own Pokémon, even when the stakes are nowhere near as high as he’s used to.
Eren would also be unlikely to understand the needs of his Pokémon, and his obsession with revenge and tunnel vision would be exhausting for his Pokémon, who would find it difficult to form a meaningful bond with him in the first place.
The Death Note Villain Would Manipulate His Poor Team
Death Note‘s Light Yagami changed the world forever when he took it upon himself to inflict justice on the world’s criminals, but his heavy-handed nature would likely spell disaster in the world of Pokémon. Light is incredibly manipulative and controlling, and he’d see his Pokémon as nothing more than tools rather than companions.
Even Ghost-type Pokémon like Gengar would crave some form of connection with their trainer at the end of the day. Light’s sinister motives would make it hard for him to form lasting connections, and it’s likely that the more empathetic Pokémon would see through his lies and manipulations.
3
Sasuke Would Struggle to Bond with Pokémon
The Naruto Character is Too Focused on Revenge
Naruto‘s Sasuke Uchiha suffered significant tragedy early in his life when his clan was slaughtered, and he made it his mission to avenge his fallen family ever since. Sasuke’s solitary nature and obsession with revenge would make it difficult for him to form any meaningful bonds with his Pokémon.
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Sasuke’s quest for vengeance made him demanding and irrational, which would also make it difficult for any Pokémon to stay by his side. Even Dark-type Pokémon like Absol wouldn’t be able to perform well for Sasuke without being able to trust him.
2
Bakugo’s Fiery Temper Would Work Against Him
The My Hero Academia Character Would Struggle With Disobedient Pokémon
My Hero Academia‘s Bakugo was known to be an extremely arrogant and condescending shōnen anime character, and his short temper would make it hard for him to handle the more sensitive Pokémon he’d come across. Furthermore, his aggressive personality would make him struggle with any Pokémon that didn’t obey his every whim.
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There are plenty of perfect Pokémon for Bakugo’s team — like the equally explosive and fiery Charizard — but these Pokémon would likely clash with the My Hero Academia character. In the end, Bakugo’s Pokémon wouldn’t listen to him, and his pride would be wounded as a result.
1
Vegeta Would See Pokémon Battles as Personal Challenges
The Dragon Ball Character Would Be Handicapped by His Pride
Draon Ball‘s Vegeta is an egotistical and proud warrior who wants nothing more than to surpass Goku in power. This would make him an absolute nightmare as a Pokémon trainer, especially considering the fact he despises weakness and would not be willing to help his Pokémon get stronger more gradually — which is key to training.
Vegeta would also be likely to berate his Pokémon when suffering any losses, and his refusal to accept teamwork would also hurt his success in the Pokémon world. For Vegeta, each battle would be a personal challenge, and his rivalry-obsessed personality would see him neglect fundamental aspects of training (like caring for Pokémon properly) in order to try and prove himself as quickly as possible.
Dragon Ball
- Release Date
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1986 – 1989
- Directors
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Minoru Okazaki, Daisuke Nishio
- Writers
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Akira Toriyama
