Top 5 jerks in Pokémon

Welcome, people of the internet! It's Friday, and with April Fool's day having been on a Monday, I was planning on doing something about the numerous jerks in the Pokémon series, one of which not even being a person! But, then I thought “I don't really care about April Fool's day. Having made that statement. I wanted to show people (all of them) my list of the biggest possible jerks in the Pokémon series

Now, before I begin, I'd like to point out that I'm only listing characters from the games. There are plenty of jerks in the anime, but There's so many different characters in general, minor and major, That It wouldn't be a top 5 list. It'd be more like a top 20-something too many! That, and it's much easier to single out all of the minor characters in the games because, because they're usually nice to you. Even a decent portion of the major characters aren't mean to you. Pokémon can be a friendly game if not for the fact that you're forcing animals out of their natural habitat, stuffing them into tiny balls, and making them fight each other until they pass out. Also, I'm mostly sticking to the early game boy games. That's where the REAL jerks lie. But, getting back to the subject, Here's my top 5 Pokémon jerks (Poke-jerks, if you will.)

I know, this isn't actually a person, rather a game design concept, but I want to ask you guys something. How often does this happen to you? You've spent hours grinding and leveling your Pokémon, hunting for the ideal training spots, deliberately walking into the point of view of every trainer you haven't already defeated. You're ready for that next gym battle, and you know it. You've never been so certain this entire game. But, just as you start crossing that dark cave to get to your next challenge, BAM! You're interrupted every three steps by a useless little zubat! And you'd swear that every single time you find the exact same zubat! Only it's not, because the game's programmed that way, so you exhaust your powerful party to get out of the massive horde of seemingly the same zubat! Then you go to the Pokémon center. All better! Or is it...

Goldenrod city is a really fun place to explore. There's the Radio Tower, the Bike Shop, even a super sized Poke-mart with LOADS of awesome things for your party! There's even a neat gym where you can catch the shape of a Clefairy in the environment! Where could there be a jerk in this place? It's right in that gym! Whitney and her giant, overweight, overpowered Miltank! You REALLY need to try to find good, female Pokémon for this one. One of her favorite moves to use on you (which should not be underestimated) is Attract. If the target Pokémon is the opposite gender of the attacker, this move makes it so they can hardly do anything at all, let alone attack. Think of frozen status, but much more annoying. And Then it uses two attacks, stomp and roll-out, to destroy your party, especially if they're male. And then, when you're finally lucky enough to beat her by the skin of your...skin, she cries, throws a fit, and won't give you the badge until she's done crying like a spoiled little brat! You face countless defeats, an agonizing grind and catch session for the right Pokémon, all so she can cry because you won! That SPOILED LITTLE...I'm sorry, I should calm down. At number four, everyone...Whitney.

t's not that hard to see why this guy is in the list of top 5 jerks in the Pokémon series. He always picks the Pokémon that counters yours, then immediately makes you battle, which you can't refuse. Why? We'll catch that one later. But not only that, He comes toward you from almost nowhere at different points of the adventure, heckles you about your Pokémon compared to his, or your skill as a trainer (probably some other things too) and then he just challenges you. He challenges you in some of the weirdest places. Middle of the road, challenge! Laboratory, challenge! Luxury cruise ship, challenge! He really doesn't let up when it comes to fighting you, even in the most indirect possible form. He insults people so much it just seems like normal conversation. In fact, I bet plenty of people just skip the dialogue in those versions because the process was always the same: Gary finds you, pops up out of nowhere, insults you, then challenges you, and you accept.

Why is this guy ahead of Gary freaking' Oak, you ask? Well, at least Gary has half a heart to treat his Pokémon with respect. Sure, he doesn't treat anyone else that way, but at least he shows some concern for his Pokémon. This guy, who I'm going to aptly name “Richard” for possibly obvious reasons, is a complete jerk, even to his Pokémon! First he doesn't even try to ask for a Pokémon, just breaks in after you leave, and steals it! Much like Gary, he will always pick the one that counters the Pokémon you pick. Also, like Gary, he walks up from random places, and challenges you in strange spots, like the middle of the road! Unlike Gary, however, He shows absolutely NO concern for his Pokémon. Throughout your adventure, he only wants power, and powerful Pokémon. He also holds on to very few Pokémon in his party, that party always having a few new, or different ones in it, and missing some from time to time. Sometimes, I think he's just crazy for power, and he thinks the only way to do it is to find strong Pokémon! Of course, I also have a tendency to think he's actually a she, but it'd be easy to prove me wrong there.

Didn't see that coming, did you? This one is actually hidden within the smaller, less obvious details of the games. First, map girl, Gary's sister. He doesn't want her to give you a town map, but she does anyway. What did he do to her to make her want to side with you? Maybe she just has a crush on you, or something. I don't know. Second is Professor Oak. He sides with you through most of the game, asks you to take care of most tasks, and the only time we see him talk with his grandson is when he makes him shut up so he can explain himself giving away two Pokémon to you and Gary in that order. Third, when you fight him on the S.S. Anne, his Raticate sustains serious damage. He tries to get him to some help, but he can't get past the crowd. After this, he no longer has a Raticate in his party. It's often assumed that you killed his Raticate. So, to recap: You stole the admiration of his sister, and his grandfather, as well as his grandfather's trust, then you essentially kill his Raticate. After all this, you meet him at the end of the Pokémon League. He's worked long and hard, taken multiple defeats by you, battled vigorously, and made it to the top. All of this, only to have his dreams ripped from him as you take his place so shortly after he acquired it. Even when you meet yourself from Red and Blue in Gold and Silver, he(you) doesn't say a single word. You truly are the biggest jerk in the Pokémon series.

That's all we've got for today. Pokémon is a fun, usually lighthearted game. It does, however, show a dark, sometimes scary past every now and then. I could talk about some other interesting Pokémon things, but we need to get out of the scope of Nintendo for a bit. I feel like I'm in a rut. Monday, we're going to do something different, as far as we can tell. Until then, see you guys soon!