>>47303993Competing in the Pokemon League would be much more difficult in real life. The reason why Pokemon battles & getting badges SEEM so easy is because:
A. You are playing from the perspective of a child prodigy. The games are tailored for you to easily win & progress through the story.
B. Almost everyone else in the game is a moron who can't into type advantages, team balancing, proper training, etc.
In real life, being a professional trainer would require serious dedication, just like going pro in any other sport. I imagine that moving up in the Pokemon League would be a lengthy, long time endeavor that would take months, if not years, of intense training & battling. Only the most serious kids who dream of being the next Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan get on varsity or college teams, you have to be want to be the next Red, Lance or Cynthia to get more than five badges. This is also why so many NPCs are impressed when you have any number of them.
This is my personal headcanon chart of the difficulty & athletic skill required to have badges, compared to moving up in IRL sports.
No Badge = Playing with dad or friends in the backyard.
First Badge = Pee Wee Team, first game win
Second Badge = Pee Wee State Tournament
Third Badge = Pee Wee Champ (this is when most children would give up on their Pokemon Journey due to homesickness, discouragement from hard work or just plain boredom, just like how most kids give up on sports after pee wee)
Third Badge = High School Team
Fourth Badge = Varsity High School Team
Fifth Badge = College Team draftee
Sixth Badge = Minor League Player
Seventh Badge = Major League Player
Eigth Badge & Victory Road = Nationals/Olympic Games
Champion = Super Bowl Champ/Olympic Gold Medalist
