i still think it's a completely fucked plot point in gen 3 that wally asks his dad for permission to go fight the petalburg city gym if he can beat you
you are the protagonist of a pokemon game. you are a generational talent. you're a prodigy. it's kind of fucked for that to be the standard to set for "allowed to start trying"
like, ok, maybe he shouldn't be taking on gyms quite yet. but like, what's the harm. get your reps in. realistically he's not making it to norman, he's whiting out to a gym trainer, but that's valuable experience. and if the argument is "don't subject his ralts to a fight he won't be able to steer to victory", why is he fighting me
let's say i agree wally shouldn't be fighting gym trainers yet. that's fine. hey, wally, my friend, would you like to train together? do you want to come into the tall grass with me and i'll help you learn? or do you just want to take me on and be made to feel inadequate
@monorail relatedly, i’ve always found the premise that you start by fighting wild pokemon and then move to gyms. like sure wild pokemon are generally weaker but the usual thinking for say, martial arts is that a you should learn everything in a very controlled environment first and then only try it in more chaotic situations later
