Among my most frustrating moments as a Pokémon player was when I had built a team comprising high-level traded Pokémon and took them with me to battle. I was on a mission to gain a series of gym badges. Given their impressive stats, I expected an easy battle.
However, that quickly turned into a nightmare as I did not anticipate the extent of disobedience the Pokémon would subject me to.
Apparently, my starter Pokémon was the most reliable and did not disobey me at all.
Worse still, this happened several times😭. Despite the losses, here is what I learned about obedience:
Will Starter Pokémon Always Obey You?
Yes, your starter Pokémon will always obey you😏. The mechanics of obedience focus on the Pokémon’s trainer ID.
By definition, a starter Pokémon is that which you get, catch, or are gifted with upon the onset of your Pokémon journey.
When this happens, the Pokémon in question will have a trainer ID that resembles the player’s current save ID. As long as these two IDs are identical, then the Pokémon will always obey you.
Traded Pokémon tend to be disobedient 😡 because any Pokémon a player acquires through a trade or transfer comes with a trainer ID that differs from a player’s current save ID.
What Level Does Pokémon Stop Obeying You?
As mentioned earlier, the only Pokémon with disobedient tendencies are those that a player trades with another or has acquired through a transfer.
Additionally, some Pokémon offered as gifts, such as Zorua, are disobedient😒. A traded Pokémon will disobey you if you have no badges.
More specifically, with no badges, the upper limit for obedience is level 20. The more gym badges you have, the higher the likelihood of obedience.
Notably, with every two badges you hold, the extent of reliable command rises by twenty levels.
What to Do if Your Pokémon Does Not Obey You
Whenever a Pokémon starts to disobey you, this implies you need to urgently gain badges. That said, whenever your Pokémon does not obey you, you must defeat a gym leader to gain a gym badge.
However, it is good practice to avoid waiting till it is too late: do not let your Pokémon get to levels so high that you could risk them disobeying you.
Consider an instance where you slacked in acquiring badges and let your traded Pokémon progress to a high level. You can no longer control them😔, so you must attain gym badges by battling with gym leaders.
To do so, you may need the Pokémon to win the battle. Disobedience means you cannot use them, which leaves you at a significant disadvantage👎.
That said, always strive to accumulate as many badges as possible. A summary of the various badges you could gain from leagues is tabulated below:
|
League: |
Badges to Gain: |
|
Indigo League |
Boulder, Cascade, Thunder, Rainbow, Soul, Marsh, Volcano, and Earth |
|
Johto league |
Zephyr, Hive, Plain, Fog, Storm, Mineral, Glacie, and Rising |
|
Hoenn league |
Rain, Heat, Stone, Feather, Dynamo, Mind, Kunckle, and Balance |
|
Sinnoh league |
Coal, Forest, Cobble, Fen, Relic, Mine, Icicle, and Beacon |
|
Unova league |
Legend, Insect, Freeze, Trio, Quake, Bolt, Jet, and Basic |
|
Kalos League |
Psychic, Bug, Voltage, Cliff, Iceberg, Plant, Rumble, and Fairy. |
|
Galar league |
Dark, Grass, Dragon, Water, Rock, Fighting, Fairy, and Fire |
|
Paldea league |
Ice, Grass, Normal, Bug, Psychic, Ghost, Electric, and Water |
How Do You Make Your Starter Pokémon Obey You?
If your starter Pokémon’s trainer ID is identical to your current save ID, you do not have to do anything to make it obey you 😊.
That also applies to any other Pokémon you catch, regardless of their levels. As long as you caught them in your specific save file, then even a level 100 Pokémon will obey you without any badges 😎.
Only those with traded Pokémon will have to secure badges to get the Pokémon to obey them because of the dissimilar trainer ID.
As a Pokemon gaming expert, there is no Pokemon game that I have not played. The last 15 years have been quite entertaining since I have been playing this game and gaining more experience each day. My expertise has also given me the opportunity to participate in some of the greatest Pokemon tournaments. With such experience, I am enthusiastic about sharing my insights on Pokemon games with every Pokewolf reader to help you become a pro! You can read more about me on the about us page.