Pokemon Character Study: Alder 

14:24 Alder. The only champion that is not afraid to jump off cliffs.

Anime Alder is the pokemon version of Jiraya.

Don't think of Alder as this powerful opponent you must face like Blue, Red or Cynthia. His appeal comes from being a carefree mentor figure like Roshi or Jiraiya.

I think calling Alder the "lamest champ" is a bit harsh. I feel like his laidback character is more memorable than people think. He's the first champ who seemed like he enjoyed his role as champion but not as the strongest. Someone pointed it out earlier; he seems to use his role as champ to be a sort of representative for trainers and Pokemon of the region. Yeah, he was beaten by N; that's kind of expected considering that it's always the player who takes out the big boss of the evil team, but he had more character and personality than most of the champs before him. He's also the only one who we see step down as champ on-screen(albeit in Memory Link) and it's not like he suddenly became a hollow shell of his former self once he did. He goes on to teach young trainers about the importance of being with Pokemon in his hometown rather than traveling around. I dunno. Alder just felt like that cool grandpa of yours that you always wanted to have.

Alder is the best champion for a few reasons. 1: He's a humble man that helps other trainers develop their skills more so than any other character. 2: I think it's pretty amazing a bunch of people selected him out of all the possibilities. 3: Alder tags along with you for almost all of the major events in the games. 4: He cares more about the Pokèmon, themselves than how well they perform in battle.

Personally Alder is one of my favorite champions because he's different. I love the wandering mentor image he portrays

I feel bad for Alder. He barely gets noticed at ALL.

Alder is the best champion because he is the most active and responsible champion aside from maybe Lance and Steven. However Lance and Steven only get involved when the stakes are high (Team Rocket, Magma/Aqua). The thing that I loved about Alder is that he spends his time humbly to educate the youth of his region and to create a better community. That's what a real leader does.

I do not give a crap about what people say about Alder, games or anime, he asked out Cynthia! Isn't that enough!

How can people call Alder the most forgettable champion when Diantha exists?

I remember that Unova's Elite 4 Caitlin said that maybe someday she'll become Champion. I hope that'll happen; from a Frontier Brain to an Eilte 4, then maybe into a Champion.

I love Alder, I'd wanna just hang around him. He'd be really cool as a granddad.

What do you think of Alder? Also, let me know how the background music is in this video. Had an ear problem during editing the music, and because of that it was nearly impossible to get everything right ;_; Hopefully its still watchable though!

So basically Alder was N before the real N was cool? I think your character study does justice to the character in the fact Alder is portrayed as the direct opposite of Ghetsis - whereas Ghetsis wanted to separate people and pokemon, Alder wanted to unite them to the fullest. Ghetsis also wanted power, whereas Alder believed that power isn't everything. These are the ideological conflicts that both N and the Player were trapped between. While Ghetsis had more of an influence on N, Alder was more of a mentor to the player. Theoretically, this was brilliant, actually! Especially with N defeating Alder, just so the Player could beat N, and it made for a great story. But in practice, the problem was that not only did Alder's memorability was sacrificed here for having been defeated too soon for the sake of a twist and raising the stakes, but also that Alder's ideology seemed to remind people of the message they've always heard - the bond between people and pokemon - which caused a lot of people to zone out, and it didn't matter that Alder actually had a more intimate reason to hold on to it. This further actually emphasized Ghetsis' ideas of having to separate people and pokemon, because it was a concept that other villain teams seldom followed. There's a reason why the games are called "Black and White", but it seems to me that the "Black vs White" was already rigged, intentionally or not. Despite the fact that Alder is a pretty amazing character, it seems he was doomed to have the short end of the stick from the very beginning for the sake of story.

I absolutely hated how Alder in the manga just left after losing to N, not even participating in stopping N in the end. It really felt as if Alder's ideals in the manga were really flimsy if he lost heart after one stupid battle.

Also, please vote on the next Character Study! I know this one is long (I really want to make shorter ones again ;_;), but if you go to the end theres a couple options you can vote on for who the next Character Study will focus on!

Just a suggestion, but could you do a character study on Colress? He's a very interesting character who seems to often go unappreciated in these sort of videos

I adore these videos! I've started keeping notes on Pokemon lore as I play through the games and making headcanons as I go. It's so much more immersive and fun. Keep up the great work!

I mean, as soon as I heard Alder’s theme at the beginning, I knew whose theme is was and had a huge smile on my face remembering his scenes in game. He might not be my personal fave, but he’s honestly memorable to me, at least :3

ALDER IS MY NO.1 CHAMPION!!!! BUT THAT ENDING THO!!!

I vote for the 4th Hokage I mean Volkner

This Video is amazing! I've learned so much about my favorite Pokemon game and favorite champion, also the video is very well edited.

I really enjoyed this video! It is longer than the others but I think the lenght makes up for the fact that no one talks about Alder. Keep up the good work :)

I like Alder alot he is my favorite Champion out there, even if he is pretty forgettable. I'm glad someone actually made a video about Alder because I never have seen anyone else really talk about Alder. As for who I would like to see next I will like either Cyrus or Ghetis.

I thought the length of the video was perfect. You spent enough time going into each aspect of Alder to the point were I felt like I knew him. And I vote for Volkner for the next character study

I can't be the only who had trouble with Alder the first time I fought him.

I actually had a tough time with Alder the first time I fought him. That made a big impact on me and made him one of my favorite champions.

This series is best! Thank you for doing that!

Woah, I heard Opelucid City looks different in Black, but I didn't realize it was the complete opposite! In White it's all rustic and old, while in Black it's all modern and techno.

Awesome man! I like this serie a lot. You are great :)

I'd love to see a Cyrus "analysis"

This is some clean AF editing! Good job, hope you get more subs

Adler is very interesting as a champion, and keep up the great work Buddy!

Actually, Malva would be a pretty interesting character to talk about. She might not have had much screen time, but she comes out to be pretty interesting, being a team Flare member AND an elite four member. It makes you wonder if her relevance to the Kalos pokemon league had anything to do with the league being so lenient, and down right indifferent to what team Flare was doing. The only authority figure who ever even cared about what team Flare was up to was Looker.

Best series! Thank you for your hard work!

“The past is the past, what’s important is the present” is a line he says while hosting the tournament in the anime… I definitely think that and his changing philosophy and insistence on trust being more important than winning or losing, and enjoying life while it lasts, it all does seem to hint at the game backstory and ties into Best Wishes! story about growing up and helps Trip stop rejecting friendship and actually… spending time with his Pokemon and not being in such a hurry to grow up.

Great video Buddy!! Really like it. Hope see the next one soon! ^^

Untill recently Alder was my favorite champ, and he still is one of my Favorite's, he even helped me get my point of view on life hehe

This is an old video but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm unsure if Alder is my favourite champion for sure, but he's absolutely the one that resembles me the most. Though it took watching your video to see that... thanks.

Really wanna see that Skyla character study all about her big, round, plump... personality.

you do such good work! you should have waaay more subs

I'd just like to note that the BW2 manga is now completed in english and it's been revealed that he threw the fight with N because, deep in him, he believed in team plasma's ideals of free pokemon. Of course he was still opposed to national terrorists plasma but he was very friendly and supportive of N

How about a character study on Malva from the Kalos Elite Four? She might suck in her battles, but besides that she's pretty interesting for being the first evil team member in the Elite Four. Her Manga, Anime, and Game appearances differ enough for a good character study in my opinion. By the way, if I had to vote from the 3 Gym Leaders you showed, I'd go with Blaine for his implied backstory with Mr./Dr. Fuji.

Awesome video, man. Do a character study on Cyrus, the Team Galactic boss.

Alder is the only person that has asked Cynthia out in the anime.

Alder is my favorite champion and i think he really is underrated, even by the games (he doesn't have his own battle theme).

I dont think people dont talk about alter because they hate it. It’s more of the presence he has in game and not about N beating him. see Steven Stone and Cynthia are not only popular because of their designs and character but because of their appearances in the story. You run into both of them alot and they’re portrayed as smart, powerful and badass so kids would talk alot about them and possibly hold them in high esteem. You go with Cynthia in the distortion world and Steven helps you in a boss fight, so you get a sense of the lengths they’ll go. As for Alter it’s more of a fault of the presentation in game. In black and White he barely appears and the appearances he does make are brief, and he doesn’t really appear in post game like Cyn does so of course people wouldn’t talk about him much not cause they hate him but in both games combined he doesn’t get to appeal much as a character or a trainer. The same can be said for Diantha who also doesn’t appear as much as Cyn and Steven do nor does she have a strong sense of characterization when she does. I mean look at Alter and her; they both talk about caring about pokemon, but they aren’t telling us something we don't even from almost every NPC; whereas Steven and Cynthia both challenge the respective teams ideals and how foolish they can be and confront them. Alter is shown more as a champion in the background, he doesn't appear as much so you dont get to fully gage the character, he doesn’t go over any interest beyond standard traveling which all champs do, then disappears and doesn’t reappear in post at all. So it’s less people think he’s weak cause of N I feel that’s kinda silly, but he doesn’t get much time to shine cause of the choices in story. I mean heck you mention you have to have a specific memory to learn that he talked to two of his fellow league masters and it’s not just in the game! You could have easily stated that it was a memory or dream left behind by a musharna or some other ghost/psychic pokemon. It's not the audience, it's the writing.

Alder may not be the toughest Champion, but there's no doubt that he's a very well characterised one. It goes well with his outlook on strength.

He's certainly my favorite champion! He's a likeable guy, and I think his character has a fair bit more depth than any other champ in the series. Plus, his battle theme is just so dang catchy and upbeat!

So happy to see my fav champ be remembered :)

I find Alder pretty interesting as he considers the position of champion more of a representative of Unova than simply being the strongest of the region. That said as long as Wallace and Diantha exist (Wallace) I think he's safe from being the worst.

He is really underrated aswell as the rest of gen 5

Your next character study should be about Blaine because he's really awesome especially in the manga!! :)

Skyla! Loved this video and how about doing a character study on Giovanni! (I know you've already done one on Silver I'd just love to see it!)

Love these character studies, they just keep getting better. Keep it going. Also, I vote Skyla or Blaine. Id be happy with either one.

The BW2 arc is finally starting again in adventures!!! Hopefully Alder does make an appearance

You should do a series that would tell the plot of each Pokemon game. Like about the towns the gym leaders their teams the Pokemon on each route the landmarks you visit ect. I think it would b really cool even though it would take a long time to make, it would help a lot of people so we don't have to watch 70 episodes of gameplay.

This series are quite awesome! :D Please you gotta do Iris, Koga and/or Agatha :D

Nobody: Champions that People Talk About: 😊 Alder: 😭 Alder when he is finally being talked about: 🤗

Nice video Mr Buddy!

Can we take a moment to appreciate how Alder casually jumps off of cliffs without snapping his legs?

First off, he's pretty cool as a Champion, being the first one to have a team themed around a type that is often overlooked (unlike Dragon which has always been op, Steel being the best defensive element, and fairy being a new addition at the time and acting as a counter to the previously mentioned op type). And, really, his bug-type team really is somewhat symbolic of him and his philosophy. He may not always be the most showy and impressive of champions, but he is still very competent without having to be overpowering and intense all the time. Part of me also wants to see a scene or two about that time when the Unova region unanimously decided to elect a hippie hobo as champion though...

I really like Alder as a character, he enjoys life and loves to hang out with kids

have you done N yet? I'd love to see one of him if not

Diantha has to be the worst/lamest champion but Alder is cool

GREAT VIDEO! about the vote... on one hand, a skyla episode will be half an hour of fanservice, but in the other hand, i really like volkner and i'd like to know more about him... after some thinking, my decision is volkner!

I like Alder, and for being forced to use only gen 5 Pokémon his team is actually kind of tough plus it’s kind of high level

i learned soooooo much, thx chu! ^-^

I'd love to see Volkner. He was hella rad

Another great video

I would like you to do a character study for Pearl since I think he was one of the more interesting and stand out characters from the game and the manga. But thats for a future study but for the next study I would love to see Skyla since I had no experience whatsoever with Black/white but I really want to know about the characters in them. Thank you if you do both of these in the future.

I want to see a character study of N!

Love these videos I don't mind them long I actually enjoy the indep studies Anime games and manga specially manga because very few people have them in mind

I love when you make videos

@Mr Buddy how about a character study of norman? i just finished the ruby and sapphire manga arcs and he looks like an extremely interesting character

Can't wait for my favorite Pokemon character, N Harmonia!

Excellent, I'd say.

Blaine for sure. He has a very interesting background in the manga.

this video is great i mean the dialogue was great and it isn't too long it isn't too short it is perfect but the audio i think it was a bit down

Alder is underrated

Alder is such a fantastic character in the anime, they handled him so well, it's crazy how much of an impact his character has on Ash and the series' themes and direction as a whole. BW anime goated as usual

I don't know about any one else but I'd like to see a pokemon character study about Janine, the poison type gym leader from second gen, and to a lesser extent I'd like to see one for Whitney seeing as she has a reputation for dominating players with her miltank.

Also, could you do a study on Volkner? he's one of my favorite gym leaders and just a bad ass

Please do a character study on N!!

Alder = Age (In Norwegian) Age -> Experience His name could be a reference to his wisdom? (Could also be a reference to his lax nature as well.)

Please do one of these for Steven. He has a surprising amount of things to talk about.

hey there it is, great video! for the next one I'd vote for Blaine :)

I think there is a question we all want to ask about Alder. What is that cliff he's standing on doing in the middle of the road?

This man is a champion of not battling prowess, per say, but of raw moral character and ethics. It’s clear he has seen and witnessed more than anyone except AZ has

How to make a Pokemon champion memorable for me: 1. Put some awesome music in his/her battle.

Alder is literally the enjoyer meme in the form of a pokemon character.

I vote for Skyla! Also, I would really love to see one on Iris.

You might not have known this,but Alder was voiced by Scottie Ray in the anime.

Does anyone know the song name at about 5:05 I've heard it before but I don't remember it by name. It's not a remix before anyone directs me to the links in the description.

You should do an analysis of Looker!

Hey I suggest a character study on Looker !!!

For the next character study I'm thinking you should do dat boi.

You should do a Pokémon theory about Pokémon!

i love alders theme music

I'm surprised there's no reference or mention of Dakim from Pokémon Coliseum