This is the exact reason Ash (and his mom, since he was only 10 at the time) signed a contract to have a camera crew follow him around and start a reality show of his own.

No wonder Ash hasn't bought Misty a new bike yet...

This actually makes a lot of sense. In the adventure manga, even the gym leaders have another job that they do and the anime shows this as well.

With that conversion, the bike is actually priced surprisingly fittingly

When you become champion you become famous. You get brand deals, merchandising, you go on tour, and anyone that wants to become champion has to beat you to do it. You also gain a significant role as part of federal law enforcement, with almost no restrictions on how you act in the pursuit of that duty. The champion in Pokémon is the equivalent to a Specter in Mass Effect

If you chose pikachu you wouldn't have to pay electric bills

A year and 3 months pokemon journey having an initial overhead of $6,000 isn't too bad to be honest. It seems like the Pokemon Journey acts more like an internship where you gain exposure to all the avenues of the workforce in the Pokemon World, from the towns to the government, and then at the end of the journey, you specialize into your field and pursue that, using your contacts and recommendations of your peers.

funny thing is, he didnt have to do the lemonade comparison, he could have just translated the yen to pokedollars directly from the japan games

The fact that ash started his Pokémon journey on April fools day just makes things better

"Can't afford a home" "Then there's the house payment" seems right

*I swear if the next theory isn’t “what is Brock’s eye color” or “will Brock ever open his eyes”-*

I love going back to this video and finding the parts that made it into the song

YOURE TELLING ME I SOLD I GIANT PIECE OF PURE GOLD FOR TEN DOLLARS!!?!!!!

"And make them fight TO THE DEATH!" "To the faint, I mean, to the faint." Nuzlocke: *Am I a joke to you?*

me after seeing the value of a dollar on brazil: me:*looks at cat* have you ever been in a journey? cat: meooooow me: would you like to?

When he stopped the song and was like, real life sucks, I was like.... yea. I feel that. I relate more to this video than any other.

I would cut transportation costs too since you just walk everywhere

Matpat: Pokémon trainers are broke Payday: Allow me to introduce myself

0:37 ahhh It sounded great, I want a full version!

5:13 I can't imagine the joy I'll feel when I cut that Pikachu's head on half on my platter

“And we didn’t even *talk* about *taxes* !!” *”DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON TAXES !!”* - MatPat, 2018 At 13:02

You forgot to factor in the fact that medical bills in the pokemon world are TOTALLY FREE because their medical care is so insanely good. In addition to that you're only factoring in how profitable being a champion in Kanto specifically is. In Pokemon Platinum which takes place in Sinnoh you get a house for free and make enough money to totally furnish the place out. All in all, lemonade might not be the best way to convert that worlds money into cash. It's probably so much more expensive there because all the necessities are so much more affordable because their economy is in such crazy good shape. For reference you can buy a chandelier for 120000 pokedollars amounting to about 465 usd according to your calculations. That's WAY cheaper than it would be in real life to pay for the purchase and installation of a chandelier. So while it may seem like pokemon trainers are super poor, you're also forgetting that their world is in much much better shape economically than we are in real life.

I just love the fact that the first minutes of the video are just him quoting a song he made (my personal favorite)

The fact that Ash has been 11 for 25 years just makes it all worth it to me.

I want ash’s ageless age

Matpat's first words Mat: H-h-h Mum: awe his first words! Is it he- Mat: HELLO INTERNET, WELCOME TO GAME THEORY!

Me: *goes on a pokemon video from film theory or game theory* Video: I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST LIKE NOONE EVER WAS

There is also the aspect of merchandise. There are stuff like pokeberries and apricorns that you can grow and sell.

I want Ash's age

Hmm, I wonder how much it changes if you account for the fact that original Red and Green were released 20 years ago now. Does inflation change it at all?

I imagine they make most of their money by selling the Pokémon that they level up, or from tickets sold to watch their fights.

I just started the video, but wouldn't traveling through the wilderness, constantly on the move, be a bit more cost efficient than staying at home? With a house, you have food, water, electric, car, and house payments, and presumably less Pokémon to catch and people to fight in order to gain money. On the road, you don't have to pay a lot of those expenses, and meet more Pokémon and people to fight. Sure, hotels can be pretty expensive, but they probably spend a good chunk of the time on the road anyways.

4:47 line line line, line line swoop, swoop line swoop, naruto run, one legged balance, and stupid L... OMG I’M DYING

“Real life sucks” But that’s just a fact, a depressing sad fact.

The missed opportunity of mat saying "teach them to understand the power that's in gold"

This is why if I was in the Pokemon world I would become a Professor or Pokemon researcher so I can spend my days enjoying the company of & understanding Pokemon

"Real life sucks." MatPat-2018 words of wisdom

Matpat: I should calculate ash’s age Me from the future: no you shouldn’t it gets very messed up

me: watching youtube in my pajamas eating chips MatPat: calculating the net worth of a character from a fictional universe about catching small monsters

1:27 GameTheory used Throw! It's super effective!

I don't usually speak up, but there are actual restaurants in the pokemon games that you could've accounted for in the prices of food, also, most of the dishes, which the *people* are eating are made with the berries that you can find and grow in the game, basically, you can make your own food and supplementive liquids out of things you find on your journey, like Brock, if you are using the anime. Ingredients such as milk and eggs can also be found in the game (From miltanks and breeding) and I bet that there is a pokemon version of wheat, since cake and bread exist, so making your own food using survivalist type farming (which on a wandering journey you would probably read up on beforehand). Not to mention that in the anime, Ash travels with 2 Gym leaders, who both probably have paychecks from the pokemon league as you said, and Brock is shown making/providing the food for the biggest part of the show. So you could most likely cut the costs of food from the journey (or at least Ash's) to lessen the cost of it. Also, since you didn't cut transportation, which in the average I assume you are using (the one that includes gas prices for owned motor vehicles, which are not used regularly by the characters in the show) you could have at least cut out gas prices because the most we see is the occasional train/boat ride since most of the transportation is done on foot. There are also the rare treasures like the gold nuggets that you get and sell for the real big bucks, increasing your profits by a large amount, plus if you get a lucky amulet (which you do in the majority of games) it would double your battle income. Some games also tackle the low income of pkmn trainers by offering jobs in hotels, serving at those aforementioned restaurants, and even becoming a farmhand. So the overall losses of the journey would be much less than you calculated :/ That being said I don't mean this as harmful in any way, just as some points that could have been added for more accuracy, because I love your videos *thumbs up*

“They start their journey on April 1st after their 10th birthday” I feel bad for that one kid that was born on the 2nd of April

I want to see this with the Amulet Coin numbers and the items you find around the game-world. It might be just enough to get you into some sort of green space.

“Or Brock, if you’re into having no eyes.” Tom from Eddsworld: Am I a joke to you?

In Sun and Moon, you can literally make more that a million pokedollars if you do side quests and part time jobs 😂

"line line line" "Naruto run" "stupid L" how I remembered the characters when taking Japanese in college XD

8:25 little did Mat know what he started

Nurse Joy: Here's your bill for Healing Pikachue!" Ash: IM NOT PAYING FOR DAT!

I respect your work Mattpat, but there are ways to get around this. You haven't included the amulet coin which doubles prize money, or O-powers which can triple you prize earnings and stacks with the amulet. There is also the move Happy hour. This move doesn't stack with the amulet but DOES stack with O- Powers. End result being *over 6x* what you came up with. Lastly, you can take away the costs of transportation since most trainers end up using Fly to travel most places.

Ash is probably so old that he's body would have turn into ash if he wouldn't be stuck in Peter Pan aging spell.

That intro is practically a reality check for mat pat

after hearing the song, when I hear him say the lyrics in the not song form, I still think of the song.

The guy who’s birthday is April 2nd: T_T

We all want Ash's age; do you accept the challenge of figuring it out?

You should put that song on spotify

As someone who can read Japanese writing, I didn’t know how to feel when you were giving names to the Kanji and Katakana symbols 😂 it was great

"Random Stranger wants to Battle!" Give me your money, you lost.

I want Ash's age !!!!1!!1!

I love how a buff ad is the exact same just diffrent backround

I think the one aspect of the financial situation is grown up support. The parents pay for the expense that you don't see in the games. That is probably why Misty stayed with Ash the longest, she doesn't have a grown up to support her.

I want ash's age

Amulet Coins, I don't care they weren't in Red/Blue, they were literally in every single game after. Pokecenters are free hotels for trainers, sleeping and eating is free. And in Sun/Moon you get paid a million if you get all the Ultra Beasts.

Intro song is just….CHEFS KISS!! This should be the new Pokémon intro song!

You could cut out a little of the food cost cause some Pokémon are used as food such as one episode you try to stop people from farming slowpoke tails for food

How could you say “Naruto run” but not say “smiley face?”

Lmao I’m wearing headphones and at 0:20 when you had the soft voice singing along I go rely scared because I could have sworn someone was singing in my room 😂

It would've been an absolute troll to put a midroll right after the "at least its wasn't a midroll" part

Only in Stadium(Non canon game) make that reference and that is a separated universe from the principal saga. Celebrations are in different order.

I want ashes age please he’s probably 47

Well, the main problem is that the two worlds are VASTLY different, even without pokemon. Aside from looker in gen 4, we never see evidence of a cohesive government. Healthcare appears to be free (which may be covered by the corporations that profit from battling), and housing is scarce (seriously, you never really find any unoccupied homes). Needless to say, comparing our world to the world of pokemon is like comparing apples to imaginary oranges. Maybe lemonade is far more expensive in the pokeworld because of a shortage of fruit trees (think about it, how many have you ever actually seen). Perhaps on these tiny islands with small economies, that money is worth far more. In fact, I think there is good evidence that there is good money to be made, because everyone and their dog in pokemon tries it, and the corporations who make money off of those people are clearly well-off. Just a thought.

Please do a lore video on the Pokemon adventures Manga

Actually, later games *DO* show that gym leaders are willing to perform rematches with challengers that already beat them

Since Ash walks everywhere, I feel like you wouldn’t need to include transportation, and the Pokémon universe seems to have free healthcare so I don’t think you’d need to include those expenses either. That would probably cut about a third of the remaining price off.

actually transportation and food should also be cut out since they only eat berries and cook stuff they find in the wild and they only travel by walking. Healthcare is also not an issue since they have hospitals free of charge, the only thing you should count is the extra part.

9:54 Ah yes, can't forget the gun incase of misbehavior..

Actually, there are 5 things you forgot to mention in the video: the move Pay Day, the Amulet Coin, and the ability to rematch trainers, the Pokecoins from Pokémon Go, and the things you can sell (Stardust, Nuggets, Berrys, ETC…). Calculating the actual amount is pretty hard considering these.

OH NO!!! Game Theory has had a good drumroll for the first time. What is happening to Game Theory?!

Why would you use old generations for these costs? You earn a lot more money in newer generations. Defeating Rainbow Rocket can get you 2 million $P in Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon. You get 57,000 $p from battling the elite four, which can double if you have an amulet coin equipped. You can also rematch the elite four and take on new challengers for the Champion title for an additional 2,000 $p per battle. With an amulet coin, that's an extra 20,000 $p. "But what about the mediocre trainers you encounter in-game?" you might ask. You have to consider what their title is before battling* them, for example Artist . Pokemon battling is a hobby to these people, and not a main source of income. Notice how actual trainers are either young, veterans, or Aces. The youngsters are just starting out, they won't realize how strong you actually have to be in order to be a professional. Aces and Veterans on the other hands give more money upon defeat. Why? Because pokemon battling is their profession. In the end, pokemon battling is like being an entertainer, whether that entertainer is an artist, actor, or musician, you either make it and profit, or you don't and you find yourself doing something else. Like being a Bug Maniac Edits marked with * - Changed encountering to battling

Man, no wonder I was always broke and desperate for money in my Ruby playthrough.

Fun Fact: In Pokemon Sword and Shield, the Champion actually does interviews and has sponsors. There is also a jobs system in the PC

I want ashes age!!!11!1!!

That’s why old trainers usually have a career like “Old Fisherman Dale want’s to fight” but young trainers are just referred to as “Lass” or “Youngster”. They grow up and get a job but they still hold on to their pokemon and keep battling, though now it’s just a hobby.

Okay, but if you're using the show's timespan and the game's approximate week journey, then more opretunities would most likely come up just as consistently in the remaining year.

If you consider the week-long playtime, 1k ain't too shabby when put that way at least in comparison

I want Ash's age

Honestly, I was expecting the calculation to be based on the single, constantly proffitable item in the game that exists in real life, the nugget. A solid chunk of gold, would have DRAMATICALLY changed the calculations.

if you know he mostly walks so he doesn't have to spend too much on transportation and he's in the woods so he can gather food in the trees and have you seen him go to a hospital for himself he heals himself and takes care of himself (i don't know if that is true because i only watched pokemon xyz and pokemon black and white) so reduce it a bit

"I bet I could calculate Ash's age." I wonder if he'll come to regret that 😂

I WANT ASH'S AGE NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone else wish that MatPat would do a sort of post-Show livestream after theories where he would address questions or criticism for a particular theory? Because sometimes he gets a lot a flak or confusion from his fans and it’d be nice to have some clarification or follow up. I remember really early game theory where he actually had an episode dedicated to responding to comments and it was really fun. I know that there’s probably a chunk of people who won’t watch it but idk I think it’d be a fun way to connect with some of the more dedicated fans of the show

Taken from episode 74 of the Indigo League anime. "The contestants are competing to see which of them will rise to the rank of Pokemon Master." The anime directly states that winning the league is what makes you a master. Also from episode 13, Ash had the line "I want to become a Pokemon Master so my only goal is to make it to the league." So you don't even have to become champion or beat the Elite Four to be a master. You only have to win the league tournament.

5:19 Lassi I hear you say that is like Staple of my diet

The next thing you should do is how much damage running at full speed with the Tauros poke ride would do in Pokemon ultra sun and moon

I think you forgot that food healthcare, and shelter are provided FOR FREE in the pokemon center

I never considered this when I watched the video the first time, but what about items that you find and can sell?

8:30 wow that really sealed matt’s fate (i’m aware of how late i am)

You can just use a pikachu for electricity. You can just use squirtle for water. You can just use snorlax as a bed. BOOM I FIXED THE PROBLEMS

No but yeah I actually really wanna see Ash’s age now

I’m typing this before rewatching, but is a Coin Amulet (or necklace [that increases money earned per battle depending on if the holder is switched in]) factored into the equation?

MatPats Vibrato is insane! It's almost like the man was in theater or something