>>36337941He only ever calls you weak after losing once. He calls you weak plenty of times in general, sure, but it's all to serve his arc.
>"Humph. Are you happy you won?">"… Humph! Useless Pokémon! Listen, you. You only won because my Pokémon were weak.">"…Humph! This is why I hate battling wimps. There's no challenge in it." (The bad one)>"…Why… Why do I lose? I've assembled the toughest Pokémon. I didn't ease up on the gas. So why do I lose?">"…I couldn't win… I gave it everything I had… What you possess, and what I lack… I'm beginning to understand what that dragon master said to me…"Oh look character development
Every interaction after that is him learning to treat his pokemon as friends instead of battle slaves. And his arc ends in the postgame, respecting the player.
>"…… …… …… …You won, fair and square. I admit it. But this isn't the end. I'm going to be the greatest Pokémon Trainer ever. Because these guys are behind me. …Listen, <player>. One of these days I'm going to prove how good I am by beating you."You battle him 3 times before he starts to change. That is entirely reasonable. He's a stupid, stubborn kid who only believes in strength because he has daddy issues.
It's not the most intriguing character development out there, but its more than meme arrow paraphrasing makes it out to be.
