How Powerful is Every Pokemon Protagonist CANONICALLY?

[@JPRPokeTrainer98]

Use code JPRPOKETRAINER50 to get 50% OFF your first Factor box plus 20% off your next month of orders at bit.ly/4gI0QNi!

[@TheShadow1347]

Happy birthday

[@Josh-qt5zi]

The only thing confirmed from with the protagonist that reach they base main game/hit post are Red,Hilbert and Rei

[@noviranger88]

SVG is stronger than every Pokémon protagonist combined.

[@Niall_Sene]

Happy birthday JPR!

[@EmpyreanRagnarok]

Even if Akari and Rei aren't Dawn & Lucas... They still beat Cynthia...'s ancestor. Using Cynthia's team.... And Giratina... Actually Giratina twice.

[@kiwi1582]

Also since he said that them fighting Volo and catching Arceus was canon, that means they have caught every sinnoh legendary as well as the genies. Meaning they have at least 13 legendaries

[@qwirkt]

@@kiwi1582guess it was just unnecessary given they literally threw stuff at God so hard that God decided he would just do whatever they asked for a while

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

Also the true end is Arceus, meaning it's the most required lehendary catches. The entire time space trio, Heatran, Lake Guardians, Cresselia, etc. are all required to beat the game. Lol.

[@AlexleStar]

The thing is, it wasn't Akari or Rei doing any of that. It was Lucas/Dawn since the game starts with Arceus sending them back in time. Akari and Rei were the NPC who help the player out. they aren't playable.

[@kiwi1582]

@@AlexleStar The player characters in PLA are called Akari/Rei even though they're also npc's. In the same way that dawn/lucas is professor Rowan's assistant in the sinnoh games

[@baddragonite]

2:50 I feel like I HAVE to count Gold and Lyra beating Red because it triggers the final credits while losing does not. Still a fun video idea. Hope you had a happy birthday!

[@MagusAgrippa8]

Turo and Sada are definitely champion level. Not only was the Professor themselves able to obtain a Master Ball, but the AI was designed to take the professor's skill as well as multiple other past champions.

[@wikiuser92]

Precisely. I feel JPR missed out on that detail.

[@thatman666]

I believe the professors were funded Master Balls for their research.

[@qwirkt]

Plus Turo/Sada used pokemon that were unknown to the world, with unknown movesets/weaknesses. Lance became a fodder champion after word got around that Ice Beam destroys him, but no one even knows wtf a Slither Wing is

[@BJGvideos]

@@MagusAgrippa8 they made the master balls themselves. Look at the workbench in the lighthouse lab.

[@MagusAgrippa8]

@@BJGvideos they probably had to have access to one in the first place to reverse engineer it. That's what I'm referring to. They likely got one through the academy, since if you enter the academy's hall of fame you get a master ball.

[@Shinntoku]

SV protags being *super* undersold here. The AI has training data from every Paldean champion and is using a team of pokemon that threaten Paldea's entire ecosystem, they're *very* strong

[@justingerry97]

not to mention they do bring up Sw/Sh DLC as part of their power scaling but not kitakami or Blueberry Academy. Paradox pokemon are also somewhat equivalent to Psudo's in strength.

[@lightyoshiman]

what I find more impressive is that nobody even knows much of anything about the paradox pokemon their typing is almost a complete mystery yet the SV protags were figuring it out and managed to defeat the professors who's whole team is made of these unknown creatures

[@MarioGonzalez-ji2qb]

Plus, don’t forget -*everyone* they meet points out they’re an actual prodigy. Yes, becoming a Champion is more of an established process in Paldea, but La Primera herself mentions she’s allowing herself to go all out against them, unlike what she usually does

[@obits3]

@@justingerry97He really messed up excluding SV DLC. The DLC makes is what triggers the events of the main story via bootstrap paradox, so the DLC is clearly canon.

[@JustGre3d]

@@MarioGonzalez-ji2qblet’s be real all the protagonists are prodigy’s whether anyone points it out or not. It’s probably just a lot more mentioned since SV takes place in a school setting. All these kids become champion in a month at most a week at least

[@pobito_]

I think the fact the credits roll after you beat Red in GSC/HGSS pretty much confirms its canon

[@dreamgood130]

Fr he’s tripping for that

[@jakeh.5014]

Agreed, his opinion was a ridiculous take on that whole situation. Gold is the strongest character

[@arceus590]

@@jakeh.5014 Sorry but he is not. Red was on Mt Silver for training and he didn't have his strongest pokemon like mewtwo and the legendary birds. While Gold he was prepared and red he isolated himself for 3 years. How could he know someone would come and defy him in a God-forsaken place that he surely thought only he could access.

[@Max78000]

@@arceus590my brother in christ he went there to train and get stronger how is he at a disadvantage

[@himeno_momoka]

​@@arceus590 Ethan is the GOAT

[@lunatic_52]

This video feels like it's punishing the Johto protags for having fought Red while putting Red up on a pedestal.

[@blitz4779]

The main issue is thats the only major thing they have and its not a confirmed Win, hell its more of a lose due to masters

[@lenlimbo]

@@blitz4779 They've beaten Giovanni in HGSS, got Celebi, got Lugia or Ho Oh (and unlike Mewtwo and Red, you NEED to fight the bird), beat the same league, beat Blue... That sounds like the same achievements. And that's ignoring that the end game, with its own end credits, is BEATING Red himself. The only reason we don't want to confirm their victory is because Red is Red.

[@lunatic_52]

@@blitz4779 The actual main series games treat Red as a final boss, I think the clear implication is that they won.

[@zesty4073]

The only reason Red would've ever come down is if someone beat him, Red canonically went up Mt silver to wait for a trainer who could beat him because he was depressed that everything was too easy, if Red wasn't beaten why is he anywhere but at Mt silver still wasting away his skills so he can have fun again against a challenge

[@nickou970]

​@@zesty4073 That's not cannon

[@13CrystalHeart]

I thought it was said Sada and Turo were Champion-rank Trainers or something at some point, weren't they? And then the AI Professor was trained on the battle styles of other Champs? I'd feel they're villain-boss ranked, but that's just imo.

[@13CrystalHeart]

Also, if we're counting DLC for SwSh, it should count for SV too, in which we beat another Champ in a battle-orienged school, and catch at least two canon Legends.

[@BJGvideos]

The professors at least had all the badges. You can see them displayed in the lab near where the AI was sitting. And the AI would have had knowledge of that from their transferred memories. And since when the security system is talking through the AI, it's identified as the professor talking, yeah that would absolutely be a villain battle. Though "boss" may be a stretch since their only "follower" was a robot copy of themselves that kept telling them their plan was stupid.

[@wikiuser92]

You are correct. The AI states that its battling skills are an amalgamation of the recorded skills of many previous Champions.

[@Vandalieu]

I wouldn't exactly put the professors or the champions of Paldea on the same level as champions of other regions as the title simply isn't as important in Paldea as multiple people hold the title in Paldea, in fact without Terapagos I'd place them at the bottom but with Terapagos if you attribute Terastalization to just the one instead of the entire they are just above the Unova, Kalos, Johto, and Kanto MC's.

[@BJGvideos]

@@Vandalieu Their ability as trainers wouldn't be relevant to Terapagos since they never used it. It seems they were never even able to wake it.

[@KINGD353]

I'm not gonna lie ignoring optional content, but including anime sounds like an excuse to up red's rank.

[@TsushimaHaru]

It totally is, lol

[@lenlimbo]

Not just ignoring optional content, but ignoring CERTAIN optional content, but not all of them. Either Ethan, Kris and Lyra beat Red, or Elio and Selene didn't beat Team RR. Red and Leaf are strong, sure, and legends on their own right, but they aren't the strongest, or the second strongest. Several MCs have better feats than them. And I'm here since the first generation. Ethan, Kris and Lyra alone are already stronger than Red, with the same kind of achievements but also having beaten Red himself in Mt. Silver.

[@200littleman]

How is optional content the same as animated versions of mandatory content

[@lenlimbo]

@@200littleman Red catching Mewtwo in Generations is an animated version of *optional content* IIRC, that's also the only time Generations Red used Mega Evolution

[@kaitoukirby7287]

@@200littleman The issue is moreso that the anime was used to justify including things for Red that were otherwise optional. Most other protagonists don't get the attention Red does, so there's no Origins equivalent for the Johto protagonists for example, but the Origins anime was used to justify counting Mewtwo and the Legendary Birds for Red despite them all being completely optional in the games. It goes against the logic that was used for almost every other protagonist in the video, in a way that's explicitly tilted in Red's favor because he's the most popular and, thus, the most represented in other media.

[@Ogerponyo]

I feel like excluding every protagonist beating red just because its postgame is being contradictory as you also bring up his battles from lets go and usum. Maybe it's just so you can glaze Red and put him at the top

[@alzhanvoid]

Him being there is confirmed by... him being there, so whatever he does in the battle is a canon feat. However, whether he won, or you won, or if you two even fought at all, that can't be confirmed since it's optional. Did they actually battle in the canon timeline? All we know is that Red visited that place.

[@dreamgood130]

That’s like saying every gym might not count since all we can confirm is that the gym leaders were at the gyms but who knows if you actually beat them??

[@alzhanvoid]

@@dreamgood130 Nah, we have confirmation since they are required battles. We don't know if our protagonist went and beat every trainer on every road in existence, but given they end up becoming champion the required battles along the way happened.

[@pokemontrainerkywan8327]

Correct me if I’m wrong but don’t Ogerpon and Terapagos count as required catches since you counted DLC? Edit: I know he didn’t say he wouldn’t count it but it’s just weird how he mentioned the SwSh DLC and didn’t mention the SV DLC despite mentioning “Required Captures” in the SwSh DLC yet didn’t put Florian/Juliana in the same tier as Victor/Gloria despite Ogerpon and Terapagos being required to progress the rest of the SV DLC.

[@RealB0ssMak3r]

That's what I'm saying.

[@haxorlorien6987]

yep and not only that, SV protagonists canonically also defeat the Loyal Three in Teal Mask and the Blueberry League in Indigo Disk, and I believe catching Pecharunt is also canon, so imo they should at the very least be in the same tier as SWSH protagonists :0

[@ArceusDX]

@@kaitouluminous7114 And yet he counted the Sw/Sh DLC

[@Thedawg2604]

​@@kaitouluminous7114 playing the game isnt required wdym?

[@kaitouluminous7114]

@@ArceusDX Just rewatched that part He said "if you count" he never said he counted it. Besides I think DLC's would fall under the All or nothing sort of category so since he didn't count it for either game officially He just said if as in hypothetically then you shouldn't count either

[@Zoroark_Master]

Not including red battle at MT.silver is such an unwarranted exclusion as it is supposed to be the climax of your gen2 journey after getting all kanto badges

[@shaansahay7411]

the battle occurring is the climax. realistically they can't beat red

[@Zoroark_Master]

Being the climax in no way is indication that they loose (no idea where that flawed logic comes from)

[@grotus5549]

​@shaansahay7411 It's more likely that they were trading wins off each other in a series of matches for training rather than someone losing outright

[@Androtesh]

Yeah, Ethan would Rank so much higher, Though I wouldn't put him above Red, Only Reason being Red didn't use Mewtwo in that Fight.

[@Zoroark_Master]

No indication that Red canonically has Mewtwo (you can’t really use additional sources that contradict the main continuity, especially when the characters act vastly different)

[@spiderfanmaniac9783]

Ethan getting Celebi is canon. The Celebi event explains why Giovanni didn't show up despite Team Rocket sending the transmission for him to return and stop coping by saying Ethan didn't beat Red.

[@Mavuika_Gyaru]

Aye pull out your ds copy of Gold and Silver and see if you can do that. You cant, neither can I. It's not canon

[@BJGvideos]

@@spiderfanmaniac9783 Or Lyra

[@firelizardryko]

doesnt matter because he solo'd Ethan in Masters with Pikachu in a rematch

[@lightyoshiman]

@@firelizardryko red was also beaten by the main character of masters so are we going to put them above red?

[@firelizardryko]

@@lightyoshiman narratively Red was stated to be holding back so no we cant but we can put them above suppressed Red

[@BluePhoenix_]

This isn't a good tierlist. It feels like you looked for excuses to out Red as high as possible, while also ignoring basic logic in the story. Why do 16 badges count, but beating Red doesn't? Both are OpTiOnAl postgame content. Giovanni needs to be beaten, to make him not appear in the main story. Also by this same logic, the battle against Alder in B/W IS optional. You can't have your cake and eat it too... Elio and Selene literally stop a universal threat of a Pokémon. NO trainer comes even close to that level of power, other than MAYBE Rainbow Giovanni... Who is also beaten by Elio/Selene. And the Legends protags. While Origins red shares the remakes character design, all his battles use gen 1 mechanics, with the exception of mega evolution (firespin traps blastoise and rihorns thunderbolt beats a jolteon that can't have a hidden ability, since those didn't exist then). So those have to be different characters. Very flawed tierlist, with an obvious bias. Edit: forgot that Dawn and Lukas also beat universal threats.

[@pokegameryt8756]

Red is overrated

[@CEDL0W]

To be fair, rainbow Giovanni said he wasn’t using his full power, it wasn’t really a true win for the Gen 7 protags.

[@cogbait]

@@CEDL0Wtrue but all of the rainbow rocket team leaders come from universes where they successfully capture legendary Pokémon making them outright stronger than the previous versions

[@alastorthedemonslayer4257]

Also Nate and Rosa’s feat should be bigger. They defeated Black/white Kyurem without a cannon legendary BY THEMSELVES! Which mind you is a fusion of either Reshiram or Zekrom with Kyrum

[@jimllc]

"Them beating Red has never actually been canon" I mean you kinda have to beat him to finish the game. Plus them beating Team Rocket means nothing? Archer was the leader of TR at the time. Just cause it's Gen 2 and the levels were lower doesn't make that feat any less impressive.

[@ben10thewarrior]

clown archer was not strong as geovani and in alot of medias beating read was not specified as red reuturned home

[@Mystoraa]

both red and kanto region is post game.

[@Vincent-ev4qe]

​@@Mystoraa Just because it's post game doesn't mean it's not canon. The whole seven island and Red battling Mewtwo were all post game events and they're canon, Gold battling Red in the post game doesn't make it less canon, also the credits roll after you beat Red, further implying it's canon.

[@fuusudenbutglitched5084]

@@Vincent-ev4qe dont be dense, the only reason why mewtwo counts is as stated, you cant even catch it in gen 2 anymore and origins shows red catching it. also, youre not required to beat red, its literally just optional post game, the story ends at gold's 8 badges or 16 badges milestone, and theres no actual canonical evidence proving gold beat red from any other source, except from a very vague source that is the postgame of gen 2, in which the player character beats red and gold literally shows up nowhere else.

[@Vincent-ev4qe]

@@fuusudenbutglitched5084 Like I said, the credits roll after you defeat Red meaning it's intended to beat Red for the true ending, it's different when you defeat Red in B/W 2 PWT or S/M Battle Tree. Saying it's not canon is like saying the Delta episode or every other significant Pokemon post-game events are not.

[@FyreCh]

The blatant disrespect to Scarlet/Violet is strong. If you counted SwSh's DLC you have to count SV's

[@alzhanvoid]

He didn't count those either, just mentioned them. Still, I do agree there seems to be a lot of bias.

[@kaitoukirby7287]

Disagree heavily with the battle with Red not counting for the Johto protagonists. Beating Red gives you a credits sequence, it's part of the story and their logical progression. If you count Kanto at all, which you did by mentioning them having 16 badges, the culmination of the run through Kanto is beating Red, so it should count. You're not even required to fight the League again as part of the Kanto run, the whole point of the Kanto gyms is unlocking Mt. Silver to battle Red, and if you lose, you don't get the credit sequence. So it is canon to their game's story and they also have to win. There's no good argument in my opinion to discount it, it should count. I don't know how that would affect their ranking on their tier list, it's the only other feather in their cap and the other issues mentioned for them still exist, but they should have had that counted at the very least.

[@killcount4750]

It's not canon its in the post game just like fighting older Champs and the credits already rolled once. The point of getting kanto badges had nothing to do with red and you only learn about him literally before you're going to fight him. Also the credits roll for a second time because that was going to be the end of the series

[@kaitoukirby7287]

@@killcount4750 There were plenty of post-game things in other games that were counted for their protagonists. This is part of the logical story progression for a Johto game, that's undeniable in my opinion. You beat the game, you immediately get pushed towards Kanto, with the culmination of that story being battling Red at Mt. Silver, which then rolls the credits again. It's part of the story. Post-game for the Johto run, yes, but still part of the story, which seemed to be the bar he was using throughout the rest of the video. If Kanto is part of the story, which he considered it to be by counting those badges, then Red is too. Otherwise, if post-game stuff doesn't count, then I'd argue something like defeating Arceus in Legends for example would be even more iffy considering it requires completing the Pokedex to even attempt. The story is completed and the credits roll, and then Arceus comes well after once you've finished the dex. That's totally optional if all you care about is seeing the credits and a lot of people won't want to complete the dex, but it is part of the story, so it counted. I agree with counting that, to be clear, it is part of the story, but then you have to count post-game content in other games that is clearly part of their story, which would include Red in the Johto games. Is it a lot of story? No, but the older games didn't have a lot of connecting story. There was a lot of "oh you do this because it's the next step after doing that" and that's what Red is. You beat the Elite 4, become Champion, get led to Kanto. You defeat the Kanto gyms, you get led to Mt. Silver. You go up Mt. Silver, you find Red. You beat Red, you get credits again. It's as much a part of the story as any other post-game content he counted for other protagonists in my opinion, so it should count.

[@killcount4750]

@kaitoukirby7287 well it's not really a opinion that it's undeniable it's just a fact you can easily lose that and the credits rolling because it's the end of the story have nothing to do with that nothing the protagonist does in the post game has ever been Cannon to the next only the main story. You're making the Assumption I'm using his criteria but either way he counted the badges because it's not impressive by your logic bw2 is objectively the best. There really isn't an argument here

[@EWOODJ]

The trainer going to Kanto and battling Red is canon. It's part 2 (length doesn't matter) after becoming champion. Calling it a "postgame" doesn't change that. Plenty of games have the credits play during parts of a game when a major event is completed and a new storyline occurs.

[@Dumbo-zx7oc]

@@killcount4750he’s not really making assumption is the post game in sword and shield not canon because credit already rolled

[@novatheraven]

He’s like “lets rank ethan and lyra but im not gonna use anything they do in the games”

[@scarletrose8766]

he also gloss over the fact while Swords of Justice are weak its cannon that Nate or Rosa owns all 3 in BW2 game cause you fight them and get them before you get to the kyurem fight cause you wont get N's dragon till after.

[@Waluigiwatchwaa]

Lucas/dawn fought a god, a depressed psychopath, and Cynthia while not murdering Mindy

[@JustSomeMexicanwithaMustache]

I would say the Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon protagonist are the strongest, as not only did they beat all of Team Rainbow Rocket, they can also beat Red and Cynthia, and have access to Mega Evolution and Z-Moves.

[@findot777]

yea but most of that is not confirmed ): And you could even argue rainbow rocket is weaker then team rocket.

[@omegafinisher845]

@@findot777Uh… how? Cyrus alone puts them to universal

[@JustSomeMexicanwithaMustache]

@@findot777 Team Rainbow Rocket legit have have legendary Pokémon, how are they weaker than normal Team Rocket?!

[@bcoolidga]

​@findot777 Wasn't Rainbow Rocket made up of the evil team leaders that succeeded? Which either means that their Giovanni is stronger than Red and thus his regular counterpart, or Red didn't exist and this one at most had to beat Blue (bit fuzzy on USUM so unsure if he ever mentions fighting Red).

[@HypercomboProduction]

​@@bcoolidga he straight up says you were the only person to make him try. No one stood up to him from his world. This implies that the protagonist from each world does not exsist, except for maybe the BW 1 trainers for Ghestis. But there is nothing to confirm that either.

[@berylredburrow__8810]

I'm sorry, but no, red does not belong in top tier. 1. You cannot use masters after discrediting it on other characters. 2. You cannot use the PWD after stating it was non canon 3. Team rocket is not the most dangerous team, no idea where you got that from. Team rocket is just a bunch of thugs. Dangerous, but not even close to the world conquering threats we see other teams position themselves as. Mewtwo and the legendary birds are strong, but not the strongest in the franchise. The birds especially are very low tier legendaries. Mewtwo is canonically much stronger, but still nothing next to pokemon like Arceus, Necrozma, the creation trio, or Rayquaza. Red is a low tier protagonist.

[@asuraofwrath]

especially since red catching mewtwo isnt canon as its optional post game content (and mewtwo appears in multiple other games not captured)

[@brendancurry9808]

honestly Red personally is just mid tier people like to say he's the strongest cuz he's first or make him the character you'd play on the playground in kindergarten "actually uh my character has every counter possible and can never fail, lose, or die"

[@killcount4750]

No it's because in every fight he's holding back Mewtwo cuz canonically he would clean everyone. Is the only protagonist it's Canon they finish the Pokedex and beats the evil team leader that's the best at pokemon.

[@lenlimbo]

@@killcount4750 Dawn and Lucas in PLA would like to have a word with you. Even if you ignore the rest of the MCs completing their Pokédex, those two ARE required to complete it to finish the story... and face and win against the avatar of God. PLA Arceus is the strongest version of Arceus we have seen in any main game, period. Also, Giovanni the evil team leader that's the best at pokemon? Don't make me laugh. Canonically he is weaker than the Kanto Elite Four, he was trying to get Mewtwo to have a chance against them. And Kanto's Elite Four is already iffy when it comes to power, with Lance being among the weakest champions. Lorelei is already stronger than Giovanni, and she is weaker than Lance. By comparison, N beat Alder, a champion, and Ghetsis is even stronger than N. Helios was enough of a threat that Cynthia had to get involved, but they never fought, so we don't know who is the strongest of those two (it's Cynthia, but we can pretend Helios can theoretically beat her). Rose is almost champion level, seeing how he was able to fight his brother when they were younger and he is "just rusty" (his brother WAS a champion until Rose become the chairman of Galar league). Sada and Turo not only are champion level, they have the battling skills of SEVERAL past Champions of Paldea combined, and they have a team full of what in other games would be legendaries. Red is a legend... but that's it. He is a legend, a legendary fish in a giant pool. This time, though the pool is legendary, not just giant, and Red is only mid tier compared with the rest. Even Mewtwo isn't as strong as many of the legendaries the other kids get to face. Neither in raw power (nothing tops Palkia, Dialga, Giratia or Arceus in that sense) or battling power (the doggos are even stronger fighters and the same with the bikes, to use legendaries that MAY not be much stronger in raw power than Mewtwo, or even may be weaker, power wise, and even that is dubious, as the bikes are HELLA strong)

[@ThatDragonGuy]

Nah​@@killcount4750

[@RealB0ssMak3r]

The Paldean Protagonists deserve to be in the tier above because the DLC is a part of the SV games!!!

[@lenlimbo]

Make that two tiers. PAldean protagonists are among the stronger ones. Not Dawn and Lucas tier (and with that I mean Rei and Akari), but definitely above "just" legendary trainers.

[@dfcd1432]

He didn't say SwSh's DLC were part of their ranking. He just mentioned them.

[@Unison23]

The AI professor is stated to be as strong as previous Champions in Paldea. I think that - coupled with the fact that the professor would’ve threatened the whole region with their Paradox Pokémon - makes them surely stronger than someone like Giovanni and I think we should count the player’s exploits in Kitakami and Blueberry Academy since they’re all part of the overarching plot

[@BJGvideos]

You and i have a very different definition of "canon". For me it's "if it happened in the game, it's canon". No need to arbitrarily stop at the credits. The character doesn't know about those, after all. I'd argue we did have to win battles to fully get Koraidon/Miraidon because in order to heal them we had to fight the Titans. Red didn't make Giovanni see the error of his ways? In the original games and Origins he did! Everything in later gens was a retcon. Though fun fact in FRLG if you never talk to Giovanni after beating him, he remains where he is. The game acts like he left but you can go back and he's still there. Loving the Silent Hill dog ending sound effects for Arceus

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

personally nothing is canon in pokemon for me, a 10 yr doing that doesn't make much sense anyway when all adults don't even have a single lvl 100 pokemon while a 10 yr old in 2 weeks can have a pokemon at level 100

[@gameuniverse5973]

​@@theamazingspooderman2697in this type of thing I argue you have to use pokemon masters this is the only time everyone would interacted with each other,these are all their primes since there all post their games,and it ties up some things from the stories Like how red vs gold did happen with gold winning Bw1 protag meets up with his friends again with much more

[@MrLeon928]

@@theamazingspooderman2697Wow. It’s almost like this is fiction or something.🙄

[@BJGvideos]

@@MrLeon928 That user is known for having some truly terrible takes

[@ReaperBlaze76]

Ok so why does the DLC count for the Sword and Shield protagonists but not Scarlet and Violet where Ogerpon, Terapagos, and Pecharunt are required catches, and not only that you're required to beat the loyal three? Heck you straight up down played their victory against Sada/Turo by saying it doesn’t count because they're AIs.

[@AceChampElite]

If you watch the video he said ‘IF’ you count the DLC 10:46

[@creature6715]

​@@AceChampEliteAnd if *you* watched the video you'll notice he only did this for swsh

[@Jlaps941]

@@AceChampElitethen he should have considered the IF for S&V too, yet he didn’t

[@BJGvideos]

@@ReaperBlaze76 And the AIs are likely stronger than the professors ever could be in that matchup

[@obits3]

@@AceChampEliteThere is no “if” with the Scarlet and Violet DLC. The base game plot is dependent on the DLC events.

[@njivwathomassilavwe2056]

I'd bet on any Sinnoh protag. Having the gods of time, space antimatter and if counting Hisui then actual God makes you a beast

[@Seinsmelled]

dawg i forgot to put on deodorant it absolutely reeks ☠️

[@Tk421AtHisPost]

YES! I grew up on Diamond! (Og, obviously)

[@Jdudec367]

I mean...in other games you can get all of them and more with like USUM really.

[@Tk421AtHisPost]

@@Jdudec367 technically yes, but they don't belong there bc the whole alternate reality thing, and I don't think you canonically catch them.

[@Jdudec367]

@@Tk421AtHisPost I mean it could be canon...who knows

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

I would have to disagree on the AI professors' battle competency. They do say before the battle begins that they are programmed with the strategies of past Paldean champions. While there is no specification of how many Paldean champions they have stored in their database, even just having the strategies and battle competency of three or five past Paldean champions can give the AI professors a lot to work with. Plus, we have seen that the terastal energy can output quite a bit of power. As such, it is reasonable to consider that the AI professors are pretty advanced in their ability to process and store information.

[@jakuth99]

5:25 Juliana and Florian should be way higher. I’d argue the DLC is canon, so the DLC should be considered. Them becoming Blueberry Academy Champion, which is not only a title only one person can hold at a time, but also indicates you’re the best in a school dedicated specifically to battling. Not to mention they were able to stop what was essentially a zombie apocalypse in the Mochi Mayhem epilogue and defeat an evil Pokémon.

[@connorwood9211]

Also canonically catching Ogerpon, Terapagos and Pencharunt

[@MagusAgrippa8]

Definitely should be considered canon. Or at the very least, Juliana and Florian should be ranked separately based on DLC or no DLC.

[@_DewGaming]

Especially since he mentioned the DLC for SwSh, but not SV

[@MasterAdventure-qg5xz]

It should be considered canon because it’s further development on main characters from the original story (Unlike swsh’s dlc, which was entirely its own thing with only new characters). So I think they could get placed above Calem and Serena, but probably not any higher than that.

[@Privatebean9183]

Wait thats there names

[@pensandoemalgo.5722]

6:03 Literally a machine using a team full of super broken pokemons, as powerful as they are legendary. At the very least, I can say that it is a much more chaotic team than Giovanni's. Besides, he was a gym leader, and his team is definitely below the elite four.

[@Scathach_]

That explanation for Red was very weak. It was literally just him beating Team Rocket by himself, being Champion, using battle mechanics random, insignificant people have also used, and catching some legendary pokemon that are very low tier on the powerscale.

[@SilverNightx1]

Isn't Ethan/Gold beating Red considered cannon as that's how you get the end screen as well? And if you're counting the Green fight from LGPE then they hold the same weight entirely. The same for Legends Arceus since you can just capture Dialga/Palkia and not complete the dex as that's post game(meaning no Volo/Garatina/Arceus), As well as SWSH since Zamazenta/ Zacian are post game as well and isn't a requirement for you to beat Leon. Juliana and Florian deserved to be two tiers up as they Another factor is Sarada and Turo are definitely not weak as they have the experiences of several champions under their belt and are also guarding the final area of Area Zero(pre DLC) and just before that Juliana and Florian are forced to fight Koridon/Maridon who is stronger than theirs after going through a gauntlet of brutal Paradox Pokemon in Area Zero(which is locked off to only the strongest of trainers). And this is before the DLC which the story is considered cannon and them battling and beating BlueBerry academy and defeated Kieran who by that point was a masterclass battler, capturing Orgepon, Terapagos(who broke out of a masterball After capture), and Pecharunt(who caused a zombie outbreak). Also after the DLC you give the book to Turo/Sarada thus beginning the infinite cycle of events for S/V.

[@aganbraganca4156]

no its postgame it isnt considered cannon only main game is considered cannon but its confirmed Ethan caught suicune

[@lightyoshiman]

@@aganbraganca4156 by that logic then brendon/may needs to be moved down a tier seeing as their most impressive feat on this list is a post game event same with victor and gloria

[@aganbraganca4156]

@@lightyoshiman ya

[@realsalu634]

I always thoutgh the USUM ones were the strongest, beating Red/Blue/Wally etc, all the evil teams at their strongest, and all legendaries, alongside saving the multiverse

[@gameuniverse5973]

Nah pokemon masters protagonist is the strongest in all of the series beating older prime versions of all protags,evil teams,champions,and all legendaries

[@cogbait]

@@gameuniverse5973still masters isn’t mainline nor fully canon

[@AvengedToni]

I have to diagree on Red. If you don't consider the Battle tree or the PWT as canon, you shouldn't count it as a point for Red. Also, catching Mewtwo has always been optional in the games, so Origins shouldn't count. Also, you're overhyping Giovanni. I know he's iconic, but he's nothing compared to Lysandre or Cyrus, who literally attempt genocide, or Ghetsis who's the worst. I know Red is considered a legendary trainer, but it's just because he was the first, not for any real reason.

[@tabbender1232]

Red is too high and Dawn/Lucas and the Alola protags are too low >Mentions Alola protag defeating team RR >Makes no mention of RR Cyrus having Dialga/Palkia What did he mean by this

[@AvengedToni]

@@tabbender1232 The Alola protag does have the best showing when it comes to fighting villains and legends.

[@Sur3sT]

@@AvengedTonithe only protag that is on equal standing to alola protag is sinnoh/hisui as they have the creation trio and arceus (an avatar)

[@Nerlin_]

I think the idea is that the battle did happen in cannon, but the outcome isn't cannon. Like it is a fact that Red has those pokemon, but nothing confirming he lost the battle

[@HypercomboProduction]

​@@Sur3sT since others have pointed it out, the SV protags should have been higher as well due to the context of the Paradox pokemon all being pseudo to actual legendaries, the A.I. was trained on all champions from the past, and the unavoidable catches in the DLC and post game. Especially since he counted the SW/SH DLC for some reason.

[@Father-of-Xerxes]

So on a technicality- Akari and Rei are not the player characters. They are the ancestors of Dawn and Lucas. Official media has referred to “the player character” as separate from Akari and Rei. So in any particular play through, either Akari or Rei is a person from the past but the protagonist is someone from the future (presumably Dawn or Lucas)

[@BJGvideos]

@@Father-of-Xerxes Isn't the only one that does that Masters and that game deals heavily in alternate universes?

[@Father-of-Xerxes]

@@BJGvideos no - there’s official ads that refer to “the player character” as a separate person from Akari and Rei

[@ray0064]

Usum, Bw2, and Sinnoh protag are the big 3. Although a case can be made for Swsh protag over Sinnoh protag

[@arrowblade_1238]

3:52 WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT! Lance is probably canonically one of my most powerful champions! The way that he is shown in the games shows him being quite powerful. Also, I don’t think that Ethan/Lyra/Kris are the weakest canonically.

[@patricklynch4074]

Lance really isnt. Hes consistently shown losing to other champions

[@lenlimbo]

Lance isn't exactly the strongest champion. He is shown as being quite powerful because he is a champion. That said, Ethan Lyra and Kris are at the very least stronger than Red (who should be placed quite lower than number 2, to begin with, many protags trumps his achievements and confirmed caught legendaries, included the gen 9 ones)

[@patricklynch4074]

Blue, red/(leaf), ethan/lyra, lost in the first round of the anime champions tournament

[@EdgardoJCruz-dk5kv]

Actually thanks to the Celebii Event in HGSS the Gen 2 protags DID fight a Team Leader with a in hiding Giovanni thanks to Time Travel shenanigans having occur concurrently with their past self taking care of the Team Rocket remmants in Goldenrod City Radio Tower. Thus explaining why Giovanni did not appear to help them back then.

[@elemomnialpha]

Considering they're absent from BW2 I'd also add that Hilda and Hilbert most likely canonically also captured the 3 Forces of nature considering like their versions Dragon they're missing from the region in the sequel while the Swords of Justice are still there As even if you trade the first 2 to the sequels Landorus still won't show up suggesting he's gone too Same logic you used for Red

[@WhiteRaven696]

You forgot Kris in your tier list at the end. 😭 The best girl always getting paid the most dust.

[@MGDrzyzga]

On the Sun/Moon protagonists - don't forget that Team Rainbow Rocket canonically has team leaders from *alternate universes* where those bosses win. This is because their stories' protagonists are absent rather than the team leader being stronger. But I would argue that means the team is overall stronger in their reality since their plans weren't thwarted. Counterpoint: They didn't have to grow strong in the face of adversity, but I don't see that applying to an evil team the way it could to an individual....

[@MayHugger]

Ethan/Lyra do canonically beat Red, so that automatically disqualifies him. It isn’t optional content as you are told to go where you fight them as part of the story. Like the credits even roll when you beat him. If it isn’t canon even with that, then every other protagonist doesn’t canonically become champion. And btw they DO have to fight their box art Legendary Pokémon, even if that’s not the case in the original games, it is in the remakes, which you showed footage of. You cannot make the excuse that the character wouldn’t catch their respective box art Legendary Pokémon when every game forces a Master Ball into the players’ inventory before then. Also if optional content isn’t valid, then neither is the anime. This video is incredibly biased.

[@armoredbluejay9364]

One thing i probably just didnt hear is even if Akari and Rei arent just older versions of the D&P MC's, they end up beating Volo who has what is essentially an 8 pokemon team

[@machpunches6726]

I pretty much agree with this for everything but Red as a third of the points you said with him involved Masters and post-game content that you didn't count for their respective games' protag so it kinda feels like a double standard to count them for Red. I agree he should be high, but not THAT high.

[@michaelasmitty]

I think Scarlett and Violet are underrated. If you include the DLC, they deal with several other legendaries and threats.

[@jbcatz5]

In ORAS Brendan and May save two versions of Hoenn, since the first plan for dealing with the meteorite was diverting it to an alternate Hoenn.

[@BlackKoiRecords]

The battle with Red WAS canon, hence the credits afterwards.

[@kalosianporygon]

Correction: The Gen IX tamed the cover legendary with the power of sandwiches.

[@lightyoshiman]

If you count catching a legendary as a tier up then you can move the gen 9 protagonist up as they catch 2 in dlc orgepon and terapoges and both are mandatory catch

[@JJ-xy7dx]

Ethan beating Red is canon, it literally is required to get the 2nd "The End" screen and Blue Recognizes it if you talk to him on certain days. Lance is also around the same tier as Cynthia, both are considered "The strongest", and this isn't like Iris saying "the strongest in this region", but instead the strongest overall, Blue was even the strongest in the WORLD in a Point in time where Steven existed(RBY and RSE happen around the same time) so Lance ≈ Cynthia > Blue(From back then) > Steven The AI Proffesor is stated to have the skill of all Paldea champions and have Paradox Pokemon which are not only a Challenge to Nemona but would also slam everyone in Paldea, but wether or not Paldean champions are strong is a seperate discussion, just wanted to add this The rest is Fine, good Video.

[@craigyeah1052]

But Blue beat Lance... I don't see how he's weaker.

[@JJ-xy7dx]

@@craigyeah1052 I'm talking about Champion lance from Gen 2 vs Blue from Gen 1, that's why I specified him being above blue from BACK THEN as in, the Lance in 1999(the time Gold and Silver take Place) vs Blue from 1996(the time Red, Blue, and Green Take Place)

[@lenlimbo]

Paldea is stronger than people give credit. Many slam on Paldea because Geeta in her first fight is... well a mess. The problem is, the second time you face her, she stops holding back, and she is MUCH stronger. And Nemona is basically Blue level, at the very least.

[@JJ-xy7dx]

@@lenlimbo the trainers in Paldea don't really have any scaling to other regions, although with the idea that trainers get stronger with time, she could be stronger, who knows.

[@BJGvideos]

@@JJ-xy7dx They technically scale to Unova don't they?

[@GumCow]

I think counting optional gameplay stuff as non canon isn't right. If Red is in number 1 then I'm gonna assume this video is biased Edit: Of course he is... How do you count the PWT as a feat for Red, when you don't count it for the b2w2 protagonists? If you count that, then you should count that Red loses to them.

[@GiuseppeGaetanoSabatelli]

Bizarre that he counts Sword and Shield postgame and DLC, but doesn't count Rosa/Nate battling Cynthia, the highest level trainer in the series other than Red's Pikachu in GSC.

[@EdgardoJCruz-dk5kv]

Wow. Way to downplay Gen 9 Protags. Like seriously you include the stuff that the Galar duo do in their post game & DLC, but not for Florian & Julianna? How is that fair?

[@BabanDlh]

Legends Arceus Protagonist are just fighting Pokémons by themeselves, I fully agree on their tier

[@candyneige6609]

To be fair, they're Pokémon themselves, which explains why their on the same tier as the protagonists from Rescue Team, Explorers, Gates to Infinity, and Super.

[@waltertalked6689]

Happy birthday, I've been craving for a Video like this so thank you.

[@MegaMachiOnline]

The rejection of pkmn masters but using constant portrayals of trainers across media somewhat ignores the internal logic/scaling of trainers across the pkmn world, since someone like N & Silver lose to Norman & Brendan while acknowledging the use of legendary pkmn and someone like Raihan canonically being on the level of/relative to every other champion than Leon we’ve seen before as even Kabu was close to being Hoenn Champion in his younger days and someone like Drake takes his position of Elite Four very seriously. Apart from the existence of Neo Champions, Kanto, Galar, Sinnoh & Kalos are consistently played up as having powerful trainers/champions overall whereas the portrayal of trainers from Johto, Unova, Hoenn, Paldea & Alola are viewed as respectable and concretely strong but Iris & Steven hardly compare to the other champions on a regular basis. It would probably take a lot more combing through statements made in the core series games, but Cynthia for example makes it clear that champions battle each other every few years at the PWT, and in a Latias/Latios Event even Ethan can instill fear into Steven without going all out during travels in Kanto. Red still proves to be extremely powerful, but in regards to the weakest protagonist, I’d say it’s more likely Chase is due to the narrative surrounding Trace regarding his treatment of pkmn potentially followed by Juliana (for Paldea having little to no ways to back scale) or Elio since Kukui was defeated by Lance and used his experience of the league challenge when making his own.

[@Powder-Point]

Was Kabu close to becoming Champion in Hoenn or Galar? He is currently the 3rd best gym leader though in Galar because the gyms are ranked by gym leader strength. Also he lost first round in the Championship Cup to Piers. He is also the only gym leader to drop to the minor division, the only thing he technically achieved was returning as the Motostoke gym leader. I would say in comparison with the Galar Gym Leaders, Kabu is currently canonically rather weak. His feats when he was younger is no longer present with his current character.

[@Gabriel-rj9gn]

SV canonically has a box art even without the dlc. The only other protag I can think of that DEFINITELY has a box art is ORAS with Rayquaza? In every other instance catching the legendary is optional I believe. If you include dlc, then SV HAS to catch Ogerpon and Terapagos and have a possible Pecharunt catch. They’re stacked

[@callumgreen1534]

This is... not a good list at all im sorry and i dont feel its fair to count gimmicks either, red has been in the most games so therefore has the most gimmicks used, can hardly say that hes better than the gen 4 or even 5 protags because theyve to date just never had access to the same gummicks, counting post game accomplishments seems a bit inconsistent too in my opinion, cant count optional post game encounters with red to be canonical enough to give him access to a mega stone but not canonical enough to have him be beat so with that said id have to say for the purposes of my own list it would have to be: Top tier would be gen 4 and 7, tied up one is contending with literal dieties and the other is stopping multiversal threats, no, the alola league wasnt a real league however you become a real champion and defend your championship against multiple contenders yes you dont HAVE to catch the legendaries in gen 4 but whos to say if its easier to capture or defeat them? In a canonical sense of course not only that but they venture into what would literally directly translate over in real life as pokemon hell and essentially knock out the devil so theyve earned their spot up here id say Narrowly missing out and instead making tier 2 is hoenn like you said, averted multiple global crisis on their own and stopped an evil team, id put gen 8 in with these too, possibly slightly above but not enough to warrant a seperate tier, for many of the reasons you stated regarding the gen 8 protagonists Below them in tier 3 is bw1 protags, they captured a legendary dragon and halted an overthrowing of the pokemon league, with help, but team plasma are probably one of the most organised evil teams out there, would also have to put red in here because his accomplishments are very similar and gen 6 squeeks in here too, team flare posed perhaps the most threat and xerneas and yveltal are definitely some of the best legendaries out there but the league in gen 6 was just not all that which in my opinion knocks them down a peg or 2 into this tier Then were left with gen 2, bw2 and gen 9 who all pretty much just coasted through their respective stories rounding out the bottom tier, yes gen 2 and 5 stopped evil teams but they were their watered down versions without any real leadership, no forced legendary captures throughout any of them, the closest was miraidon and koraidon just accompanying you in gen 9, yes they beat titan pokemon but thats just the equivalent of a joltik beating a wailord if you ask me, size isnt everything, no evil team in sight and no proper unified championship either gen 9 has to be the most underwhelming protagonists yet taking the shame as the worst of the worst As for lets go and legends? Are they even REALLY main story games? Im opting not to count them because weve no evidence of legends being sny more than a fever dream, especially as everything done in these games has no lasting impact in any of the chronologically later games and lets go? Had no abilites, totally different evs, moves like baddy bad and yeah, its just watered down rby as far as the sole protagonist achievements go

[@gameuniverse5973]

This is not a good list you dint use at all pokemon masters which does somewhat rank the protags against each other Tier one pokemon master protagonist Tier two red,Rosa,gold Should be the bare minimum

[@azurestaroforion1204]

Yes LGPE and PLA are mainline games as stated by Gamefreak.

[@lenlimbo]

You are not giving Gen 9 protags the respect they deserve. Geeta is much stronger than she shows in the first fight, as shown in the DLCs. The paradox mons were a serious threat to the ecosystem of the region (not quite Necrozma or Giratina levels of threat... but much closer to Eternatus that it may appears at first) and the bikes are the alpha of them for a reason. And then there is Terapagos, who, like Eternatus, is the responsible for the region gimmick. Or Ogerpon, who was able to fight three other legendaries on her own in the past, and you have to beat and catch her. They are tier 3 at the very least. Tier 2, if you ask me, the bikes and terapagos are stronger than many give them credit. As I said, Eternatus level of threat. Also, yeah, PLA and LGPE are mainline games. PLA is basically the continuation of DPL, and LGPE is a mess when it comes to this kind of tier, because yeah, Elaine and Chaise beat Red, Blue and Green... but they aren't the same Red and Blue we know from the rest of the games, as Elaine and Chase are living Red and Blue's story while those two are already legends.

[@Smeeble_]

Bro wrote an essay about pokemon protagonists

[@callumgreen1534]

@@Smeeble_ bros capable of choosing any username in the world and said yep, 'smeeble' that's me

[@conansglasses2645]

Immediately stopped taking this seriously when he put Red as high as N°2 Super funny how far below Elio and Selene are compared to him especially considering that they literally BEAT him as part of S&Ms post game ? As in you have to beat him/Blue to actually get inside the battle tree ? " pokemon masters and the b2w2 PWT are not canon they don't count, except for Red where I personally chose that they're both canon now for some reason " Also " Giovanni is the strongest evil team leader " lmao ??? So the two terrorists that almost drowned/burned the entire world or the maniac that started the ultimate weapon are weaker than .... a local mob boss ... ? In fact now that I think about it, Giovanni is straight up the only evil team leader whose actions dont destabilize the home region ( Archie/Maxie almost cause the apocalypse, Cyrus causes a rift in space time taht spreads throughout Sinnoh, Ghetsis takes over the pokemon league + enacts what is essentially a terrorist attack on Opelucid in B2W2 and Lysander almost destroys the kalos region with everyone in it, Lusamine floods Alola with Ultra Beasts and Rose almost destroys his home region with Eternatus) meanwhile Giovanni only really has the Saffron takeover ( which funnily enough outside of Silph Co no one in Saffron seems to even notice it happening) but outside that it seems he is largely unknown in Kanto?

[@returnofskurk1633]

Yes the 2 clowns that went panic mode after they got warned of what will happen after they proceeded to do their deeds are indeed low tier villains. Maxie and Archie are objectively incompetent villains and low tier at that.

[@killcount4750]

Red literally holds back his strongest pokemon in all his fights. Beats the best battling evil team leader and is the only protagonist who is Canon finishing the Pokedex

[@Sur3sT]

Unless rr giovanni is considered yea no giovanni is probably the weakest if not 2nd last to gen 7s evil team leader

[@killcount4750]

@@Sur3sT hes by far the best at battling

[@Sur3sT]

⁠@@killcount4750which is? He didnt include manga in his listing and even if you include him catching mewtwo he still loses to at the very best the top 2 regions being gen 4 and gen 7 and badly at that

[@Shadow-Joop-157]

I think the gen 9 protagonist should be higher. It is confirmed that they are from Galar and not Paldea so that makes their skills as a trainer a lot higher. and Unlike sword and shield, the events of the DLC are definitely canon so not only do they have Ogerpon but also Terapagos which is a reality warper, so that makes them a lot more powerful

[@BJGvideos]

@@Shadow-Joop-157 is that confirmed? The only thing we got is that mom says "cuppa" near the beginning

[@Shadow-Joop-157]

@@BJGvideos The protagonist has two galar pokemon stickers in his room. When you spin the protagonist tries the leon pose only the pose fails and Alcremie only came in the indigo disk DLC so there was no gameplay reason. The protagonist's mother has Skwovet

[@kaitoukirby7287]

Also good to add, you can't count the DLC for Sword & Shield without also counting the DLC for Scarlet & Violet, which bumps the SV protagonists up a tier at a minimum since they are required by the DLC story to catch two legendaries (Ogerpon and Terapagos). I can understand ignoring Miraidon/Koraidon, but if you consider DLCs, the SV protagonist has caught legendaries. Also strongly disagree with not counting Sada/Turo as defeating a powerful evil trainer. It's clear the AI Professor is a strong trainer, and uses a team full of Paradox Pokemon, who are all pretty strong. That alone wouldn't change their ranking I don't think, but adding the two legendaries from the DLC absolutely would, so if DLC counts, SV protags are a tier up minimum.

[@K-Rock_0]

I kinda think that the Scarlet and Violet are being undersold since the DLC isn't being included in which they canonically defeat 3 legendary pokemon (with help), defeat and catch Ogerpon (another legendary), then defeat and catch Terapagos (another legendary). (as much as I want to count Pecharunt as well, that kinda falls into the event pokemon category like celebi) Then considering the Turo/Sada fight. The ai is stated to be more advanced than what is currently possible making them the most advanced ai on the planet and they use a team of lower legendary tier pokemon (in terms of stat strength). They also become Champion ranked in two different regions Paldea and Blueberry academy So the SV champ should be legendary trainer (having 3 legendary pokémon) at minimum or legendary + Major Feat

[@ShinDangaioh]

You missed two. Wes from Pokemon Collosseum and Michael from XD Gale of Darkness. The final boss battle in XD Gale of Darkness is one of the toughest fights in Pokemon.

[@Jlaps941]

11:53 you actually aren’t forced to catch Solgaleo/Lunala or even Necrozma in the Ultra games. Nothing forces you to go to Mahalo Trail to encounter Nebby, and you can just run away and leave the route even if you do battle it. With Necrozma you can just walk right past it on Mount Lanakila and keep going to the Pokemon League

[@soupahmario5869]

Other people have brought up reasons for Juliana and Florian being stronger than you said but like. Blueberry Academy is like, the most elite of the elite of upcoming trainers. This is a school where people from across the world come to learn how to battle, children of gym leaders who surpass their own parents, come on. It's like a hyper prestigious college but exclusively for battling. They might not have a God Legendary but beating Kieran alone at his worst is one of the greatest feats of skill in the franchise.

[@galaxy-eyesgarchomp9478]

To be fair to Hilda/Hilbert, the gym leaders only really assist in making sure the six other sages don't get in Hilda/Hilbert's way. On top of that, Alder and Cheren were not able to do much when Hilda/Hilbert confront N and Ghetsis. Heck, Cheren and Alder literally just stand there while Hilda/Hilbert are taking on Ghetsis' early evolved Hydreigon. On top of that, Hilda/Hilbert had to fight off quite a few Plasma Grunts solo at multiple points in the game. They likely have one of the highest grunt takedown scores of the protagonists.

[@ReNooN23]

10:47 Okay if you're going to count the DLC for the Galar protagonists you should count Terapagos and Ogerpon for the ones in gen 9

[@AceChampElite]

He said “IF”

[@sorepluto4329]

Haven’t started, just gonna guess it’s the ones that win a fist fight against god

[@hoennfanboy]

Lol i was extremely disappointed

[@Darth_Endersans]

This guy completely glossed over the dlc for scarlet and violet. In the dlc, you have to both defeat and catch ogerpon and terapagos, not to mention defeating Kiran, who isn't exactly a pushover.

[@ThatDragonGuy]

This video only exists to hype up Red and punch down on the other protags. This video needs a serious redo.

[@crazy-guy098]

4:38, Leon keeps getting lost, happens to find these pokemon and lucky catches them

[@endergeo116]

Lotta Genwunner Energy i see

[@Lunapink93]

Red Should be in last place. Greatest achievement was defeating Giovani. That’s it. Ethan defeated A stronger Blue and Lance. Optional battles should count regardless.

[@animejerk05]

Nope sun and moon confirm red>>everyone else because he a battle legend

[@gameuniverse5973]

Pokemon masters has that red glazing actually he would top three he gets a run back on gold beating him and he beats up lear who can match us who beats every champion

[@theguywhoasked2597]

Red canonically caught them all (well all pokemon in kanto) including the legendary birds and mewtwo

[@lenlimbo]

@@theguywhoasked2597 That could be said about every other protagonist. It is ONE of the objetives of the games to complete the pokédex. And the rest of the games have a lot more than 150 entries in their dex. Not to mention that there is just ONE Mewtwo, as it was an experiment on Mew's baby, at least in the games. But you can find it in several other games, so it is dubious if Red really caught it. You can argue that many of the other legendaries are just really strong and powerful species (even the "deities", as it could be argued that they aren't really deities, just really powerful pokémon that people thought they were deities, even if the games heavily imply with some of them that they are truly deities) that are very rare, but with Mewtwo we HAVE the confirmation that it is one of a kind.

[@theguywhoasked2597]

@@lenlimbo yeah but he is the only one that multiple sources confirm he has caught them all and post game legendaries aren't canon except when it's story related like Rayquaza

[@GaioSamurai]

As soon as you mentioned adaptation anime and post game content, I knew Red was in the Top tier. Hes done literally everything except terastalize or dynamax, and even Leon (in Masters EX) talks up Red. He really is "That Guy."

[@Vannilion]

The red glazing in this is so unearned He's easily middle of the pack at best

[@tamizhanop9383]

2:43 how the hell he know 😰

[@vizqueljordan6700]

Not bringing up the Gen 9 trainers owning terrapgos Orgepon and pecharunt

[@jermainespeid4934]

Lyra and Kris are two different people because I thought they were the same people but they different ones is in Pokémon Crystal and the other one is in heart gold and soul silver

[@lightyoshiman]

in the games/anime their different girls in the manga their one and the same kris in the manga has Lyra's ovrealls and hair style but she's still kris just like how green and leaf despite being two different girls in the games are the same in the manga

[@SJrad]

think the dlcs should be counted as there are whole stories in them. so gloria or victor got the box zacian or zamazenta, one ofthe urshifu forms, and all the legendaries from the 3 legendary clues; calyrex, glastier or spectrier, regirock, registeel, regice, regieleki or regidrago, galarian articuno, galarian zapdos, and galarian articuno. and juliana or florian has miraidon/koraidon, ogrepon, and terapagos. also red got carried by origins because otherwise he wouldn't have mewtwo.

[@iantavares5640]

I know u said Masters isn’t cannon, but if u counted Red’s Gmax Snorlax and Pikachu from that, Red is the only character other than Ash to use all 3 of mega evolution, z-moves and dynamax

[@FMJUploads]

This might be your worst video yet. Usually i agree with your opinions but this seems like a video to hype up red and downplay johto protags

[@davidgibson2284]

Starting worth gen 2 was wrong.

[@sandysantos7182]

Ah yes, ignore the people that beat red in their post game content because "post game isn't cannon" while saying everyone else's post game content is cannon is top tier copium 😂

[@sarahharuka2811]

Red simp spotted

[@ansonprydejr.1432]

It's not that they didn't do it. Why it's not being counted is that fight is not considered canon, and the outcome of that fight is unknown, if it canonically happened at all.

[@sandysantos7182]

@@ansonprydejr.1432 my counter argument is that the cannon for the series, manga, and games are all different. Manga red starts with Poliwhirl while series red starts with Charmander. Series red gets help from blue in silph and loses to Giovanni there, while game red does it on his own and defeats Giovanni there. Gold and Ethan are based off the same design but gold and Ethan are two different iterations of the character. If it happens in game, it's cannon in game imo. So ranking the game protagonists but not considering their accolades cannon if it doesn't have a series or manga version to pull reference from is kinda skewing the results. Game wise, red was defeated by the protag in gsc, BW, SM, and it's he's really the only one protected by not considering all the game events as cannon in a game protag ranking

[@RhRereYuh]

Especially when a lot of the feats he talked about red for r of other trainer’s post games like him canonically having 4 different mega stones and Z moves

[@EWOODJ]

​@@sarahharuka2811No, it's called common sense.

[@pikagammerpluspizza7478]

Feel like Florian and Juliana could go up a bit up thanks to them catching Ogerpon & becoming the champion in two different schools... but there's little on them in terms of outside game material so maybe its best they stay where they are.

[@Silver_Anchor]

The PLA duo also has to canonically finish the pokedex and catch all the legendaries BEFORE the Arceus fight

[@blaze0750]

The regional champions when the evil team is taking over the world : "eh imma do my own thing"

[@JudeBlatant]

Thanks for these videos, been watching since 50k. Have a wonderful birthday 🎉

[@justinkillgore9016]

Happy birthday dude sorry I missed it out on nine days ago but I am glad to know

[@jean-pierrebenzenique]

I personally would separate Sun & Moon protagonists and their Ultra counterparts, since they have different alterations (maybe slightly, but still) Elio & Selene if Sun/Moon and Ultra games are separated, would be on the same tier as Calme & Serena, their big accomplishment is their second battle against Lusamine, but they’ve got help from Lillie and Nebby to get in there, also Guzma, so it’s pretty much different than Ray & Alley (their Ultra counterpart)

[@NasTwice]

You compare Red to Brendan and May, yet they accomplish much more. They saved the world twice, if using Pokémon generations, they own 3 legendaries (Latios/Latias, Mega Ray and Deoxys), May has two starters that mega evolve. You literally preface Red with "Before you say he's overrated" and proceed to list mild accomplishments, boost Giovanni at the top of evil leaders for some reason, and ignore how Sun and Moon defeat a better version of him.

[@Ty2000.]

Funny how there’s never been a single main game Pokémon game protagonist that’s 10.

[@RedMysticForceRanger]

1:04 Is it really your birthday?

[@JPRPokeTrainer98]

on the day I recorded lol

[@sincroslash87]

​@JPRPokeTrainer98 Well, happy late birthday then

[@RedMysticForceRanger]

Happy belated birthday​@@JPRPokeTrainer98

[@PhillipHernandez-c6v]

Happy birthday catch them on​@@JPRPokeTrainer98

[@marcelinovazquez5128]

Happy belated birthday

[@adamwade6243]

Happy Birthday, JPR!

[@BasedPost]

Honestly the Legend duo should have a tier to themselves labeled as “Built Different”

[@ktvx.94]

This is probably harder to truly define since pokemon by now has well established alternate timelines, so the Red that owns Charizardite X isn't necessarily the one that owns the other stones. Same with catching Mewtwo and stuff. Maybe if you add up all the REDS but then how many alternate timelines haven't we seen where all sorts of wild stuff happen?

[@tktyga77]

The ellipses filled dialog really do belie the immense amount of power & the duo of Akari & Rei may end up having good reason to do the same for dialog

[@BirdKeeperToby]

Hey dude happy birthday ^_^

[@dannybz7421]

Leon’s lineup was insane. 4 starters, a pseudo and mr ryme

[@dannybz7421]

Now that I see u mean protagonist like game mains, this reply doesn’t make sense💀

[@aganbraganca4156]

he is weak champion but pokemon company overrate him

[@DarkMewtwo1994]

Happy birthday JPR! Hope you had a great one man :) also great video, very informative and fun to watch

[@thomassprouse5051]

Happy birthday man!!!!! I hope it was a good one. 🎉

[@StriderBlade7711]

I would personally but the Scarlet and Violet protagonists higher since in the DLC Ogrepon and Terapagos were mandatory captures.