Tobias (Pokémon)

Tobias (Japanese: タクト Takuto) is a recurring character who appeared in the Pokémon anime. He is a Pokémon Trainer who competed in the Lily of the Valley Conference. He made his debut appearance in League Unleashed!.

Why He Sucks

 * 1) Even among the trainers who eliminate Ash from official tournaments, he really stands out in how hated he is. Meaning, he's one of the show's worst characters period.
 * 2) He has extremely little buildup before his battle with Ash, only appearing in a few cameos. Some foreshadowing would have been helpful.
 * 3) When he officially battled, he wins 6-2 over Ash, using only Darkrai and Latios, a Mythical and a Legendary Pokémon, respectively. How the heck was he able to obtain both Pokémon, and why were they allowed into the league? There isn't even any explanation as to how he obtained those Pokémon or if he used any normal Pokémon in order to do so, or how he was able to find them before entering the league.
 * 4) Only Elite Trainers have been seen with those Pokémon, so basically, he shouldn't even be allowed to use either of those Pokémon in the battle.
 * 5) He doesn't even have a personality. His main, and possibly only purpose seems to be eliminating Ash, and nothing else. Tobias was most likely only used in the Sinnoh League to defeat Ash.
 * 6) His battle with Ash is a primary example of the Diabolus ex Machina trope. Since Ash was storming through the league, even having the ability to take out the seemingly invincible Darkrai and the random Latios, he possibly would have won the league. But since he was never usually supposed to win an official league, Tobias was unexpectedly written into the league as a Juggernaut with a broken Pokémon team just so that Ash wouldn't win and the anime could dump Dawn and Brock and get to the Black & White season faster, which is very lazy and relatively unfair writing.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) He has a polite demeanor, commending Ash on defeating Darkrai and showing good sportsmanship throughout and at the end of the battle.
 * 2) His battle with Ash helped to show the true power and potential of Ash's Pokémon, especially Gible, Sceptile and Pikachu.

Trivia

 * His name in the original Japanese version of the anime, Takuto, is a possible reference to Takuto Itagaki, who was the TCG Champion in the Senior Division of the 2009 Pokémon World Championships.