Pokemon's Most Unaccomplished Gym Leader Teaches Us It's Okay To Be Average

thegamer.com:

If I asked you to start naming Pokemon Gym Leaders, how far down the list would you need to go until you remembered Kabu? The middle-aged Motostoke Gym Leader isn’t exactly an A-lister, despite his best efforts. Unlike the other senior Gym Leaders, Kabu isn’t a sagely mentor or respected veteran in the league, and he isn’t ready to wind down his career, either. Despite his age and the many setbacks he’s experienced, Kabu believes he still has time to learn and grow. He’ll never be a legend, and he knows that’s okay.

Kabu is Galar’s Fire-type Gym Leader, the third Gym badge trainers collect when they arrive at Motostoke. As a younger man, Kabu made a few attempts at the Hoenn League championship, but he was never successful. Undeterred, Kabu continued to learn and improve as a trainer until he was eventually invited to lead the Motostoke Gym. Kabu held the position for some time, but eventually lost the title - presumably after losing three battles in a row - and was demoted to the Galar minor leagues. He eventually worked his way back up and reclaimed the Motostoke Gym, which he currently presides over today.

If you run down Kabu’s accomplishments, it's easy to see him as a bit of an underachiever. His success as a Gym Leader is far outweighed by his list of failures, especially compared to other Gym Leaders. Kabu seems like a guy that tried his best and failed, was given a pity position in the League, and couldn’t even hold that job down. Kabu is an old man past his prime, but even in his prime he wasn’t much of a contender anyway.

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Except, that’s not how Kabu sees himself at all. Kabu is proud of what he has accomplished, and he’s still working hard to become