Joe: The Bottom of the Class Who Left School for the Gyms

He's the worst student in his class, and his school reminds him of it every day. Joe studies at Pokémon Tech, where Trainers are taught in classrooms and on simulators. A visit from Ash, Misty and Brock is enough to make him rethink his whole path, in a single episode.

Contents

• Bottom of the beginners' class
• The match against Misty, or theory put to the test
• Giselle's defeat, and the decision to leave
• A counterpart on Route 6, and a manga cameo
• Joe at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom of the beginners' class

Joe attends Pokémon Tech, a school that prepares students for life as a Trainer through theory. There, he ranks last in the beginners' class, and that ranking is more than a grade on a report card: it shapes his everyday life as a student, in an early episode of the first season.

Ash runs into him while looking for firewood, a chore Brock had given him. Joe is running on a treadmill while his classmates pelt him with questions about Pokémon, a group exercise he struggles to keep up with. Ash steps in, Misty and Brock join him, and the other students leave without giving them a second glance.

Left alone with the three travelers, Joe describes how his school works and the troubles that keep piling up for him there. His classmates' bullying and their brutal training methods are as much a part of the curriculum as the lessons: that's where his reputation as the class punching bag comes from.

The match against Misty, or theory put to the test

Joe sizes up Trainers in Badges, as if reading off a scorecard. He credits Giselle, the top student in the beginners' class, with a level equivalent to three Badges, and gives himself two Badges' worth despite his place at the bottom of the rankings. Of this classmate he knows very well, he says she's pretty but not very nice.

Annoyed by his self-assurance, Misty brings up the Starmie she trained in Cerulean City. Joe brushes the argument aside: on his school's simulators, he beats that Pokémon every single time. Stung, she challenges him to a real battle.

He sends out a Weepinbell, counting on the Grass type's advantage against a Water Pokémon. Starmie wins without breaking a sweat and leaves Joe completely stunned — proof, in one minute of battle, that his school ranking says nothing about what he's worth in the field.

🎒 Pokémon school comes with supplies: see the section Back to school.

Giselle's defeat, and the decision to leave

Giselle arrives with her gang just as he's being routed and mocks Joe's inexperience, warning him he'll end up alone and friendless if he doesn't improve. He then watches her battles, first against Misty, then against Ash.

Team Rocket's intrusion is short-lived: Joe, Giselle and the other boys drive them off without any effort. The real turning point came a little earlier, when Giselle's Cubone fell to Ash and his Pikachu.

That defeat is his wake-up call. Joe leaves the school to earn his Badges in Gyms rather than in a classroom. Before he goes, he makes up with Giselle: the two confirm their friendship, swear to meet again, and say goodbye to the trio.

A counterpart on Route 6, and a manga cameo

The character has a counterpart in only one version of the games, Pokémon Yellow. You battle him on Route 6, the one linking Cerulean City to Vermilion City, right where the anime places his school.

There, he appears as a Jr. Trainer and uses a Weepinbell, just like on screen. His Pokémon is still less trained than that of the nearby female Trainer who stands in for Giselle, and his battle lines all revolve around his crush on her — a feeling that, this time, seems to be mutual.

The manga gives him only a tiny appearance. In chapter 8 of The Electric Tale of Pikachu, he can be spotted with Giselle in the audience of a show put on by Duplica and her Ditto.

Joe at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Joe in Pokémon?
  A student at Pokémon Tech, presented as the weakest student in the beginners' class. His classmates have made him their punching bag, until the day Ash, Misty and Brock pass by the school.
• Which Pokémon does Joe use?
  A Weepinbell. He picks it against Misty's Starmie to take advantage of the Grass type against a Water Pokémon, but the battle is over quickly and Weepinbell is beaten very easily.
• Why does Joe leave Pokémon Tech?
  Because Giselle's defeat, along with her Cubone, against Ash and his Pikachu makes him think. He chooses to go and earn his Badges in Gyms instead of continuing to prepare for them in class.
• Does Joe appear in the video games?
  Yes, but only in Pokémon Yellow. He's a Jr. Trainer on Route 6, between Cerulean City and Vermilion City, with a Weepinbell that's less trained than the Pokémon of the Trainer who stands in for Giselle.
• Are Joe and Giselle friends?
  They know each other very well, and Giselle makes fun of him a lot. When Joe leaves, they make up anyway, confirm they're still friends and promise to see each other again.

In short

Joe fits into a single episode, and that's enough to make him a useful counterexample: his school taught him to rate Trainers in Badges without ever teaching him how to earn one. His Weepinbell loses to a Starmie he used to beat at will on the simulator, and that gap is all it takes for him to make up his mind. He heads back out on the road, where Badges are won for real.