There don't appear to be any traditional schools in Pokémon BDSP's Sinnoh, which brings into question how educated the game's trainers really are.

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl seem to suggest that many Pokémon trainers haven't received a proper education, abandoning school to complete Pokédexes and earn Gym Badges instead. Many trainers, particularly the player characters in BDSP and other Pokémon games, appear to be of school age, yet there are many indications that there are very little school systems across the regions. Sinnoh especially indicates that there's a lack of standardized education, bringing into question how much schooling the youths who wander the countryside have received.

For starters, Pokémon BDSP begins in the nostalgia-inducing Twinleaf Town, which only contains four buildings. None of those happen to be a school. The three main characters, canonically named Lucas, Dawn, and Barry, all appear to be teenagers, but don't seem to be enrolled in school. Instead, they're recruited by Professor Rowan to complete the Sinnoh Pokédex as trainers, a common profession which appears to take precedent over traditional education.

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There is a category of trainer that can be encountered on Pokémon's various routes known as School Kid, which seems to imply that schools exist in some form, though their title as School Kid doesn't provide much specificity. Especially in BDSP, this could simply mean that they're students at the Trainer School in Pokémon's Jubilife City. This school, however, is dedicated to developing the skills of Pokémon training specifically, leaving the level of education across the Pokémon universe in question.

Professors appear to be some of the most highly respected individuals in Pokémon society. They recruit young trainers en masse to participate in the completion of regional Pokédexes, a task which takes the potentially un-educated trainers away from their families and sends them on a dangerous adventure. This system robs young minds of the opportunity to be molded, but may just be a perpetuation of a system that Pokémon's many professors have themselves been victims of. The apparent obsession with Pokémon training and research through generations has resulted in a society that may be woefully uneducated in all of its levels.

There is no indication that Pokémon professors need any sort of formal schooling in order to reach their position. BDSP's Rowan is hailed as a genius when it comes to evolution research, but Sword & Shield's Sonia shows that the process to becoming a professor doesn't involve acquiring any sort of degree. Sonia spends much of SwSh researching the Galar region's ancient history, and becomes a full-fledged professor after publishing a book on her findings. These accomplishments shouldn't be belittled, but the singular fascination with Pokémon in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, among other games, implies trainers may be a part of a society which lacks a formalized school system.

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A passion for video games was instilled at a young age when Kyle Gratton and his older brother were gifted a Nintendo 64 with Ocarina of Time and Mario Kart. Graduating from the University of Kansas as an English and History major, with a minor in Film, Kyle enjoys discussing literature, movies, television, and especially video games. He currently writes features and reviews for Screen Rant's games section, and dabbles in short fiction occasionally. He can be found on Twitter @KyleGratton.