Pokémon fans are laughing about the trainers in Scarlet and Violet who seem to be a little older than the typical student age.
In a TikTok video cross-posted to Twitter yesterday, content creator RogersBase made fun of older trainers that players can encounter on their journey. In the video, they speak in an exaggerated elderly voice, introducing themselves as a student of the games’ Academy and offering to battle with the viewer. RogersBase even looks the part: the video shows them decked out in a purple and orange tie, a backpack that features the three Paldean first partner Pokémon, and two pennants that bear the Academy’s logo.
Plenty of viewers laughed alongside RogersBase’s video. “Definitely a few of them that got held back a whole generation that’s for sure,” said one fan, making fun of the Pokémon franchise’s generational structure. “Is the whole island just one big school that you never actually graduate till…you just leave the island?” asked another, posing a question that players will probably never have answered in an official capacity.
Others pointed out some of the game’s actual references to older students. “There’s someone in Mesagoza who specifically says ‘oh yeah, there’s no age requirement for entering the academy,'” said one fan in the top-liked response. “Some people are just lifelong learners. Props to them for continuing their education,” said another fan.
It’s true that people of all ages attend classes around the world, though it’s admittedly a little odd in a boarding school setting like Scarlet and Violet’s.