One of the things that we know about Ahsoka Tano is that she was the only one in Star Wars history to ever train as a Padawan learner under Anakin Skywalker, who we know never had another Padawan due to the fall of the Jedi Order and his defection to the Sith. Of course, Anakin wasn’t the type of Jedi who seemed patient enough to take on an apprentice, but he did so anyway. Why?
Anakin trained Ahsoka because it was part of a Jedi Knight’s duty to take on a Padawan learner just as much as it was part of a Padawan’s duty to learn under a Jedi Knight on the field. Ahsoka trained under Anakin just after the First Battle of Geonosis until just before the end of the Clone Wars on 19 BBY.
The relationship between Anakin and Ahsoka was clearly deep in the sense that they both respected one another as allies and great friends. It was under Anakin that Ahsoka was able to develop a somewhat reckless habit as well, but she eventually toned down to become more patient, especially when she got older. So, with that said, let’s look at why and when Anakin trained Ahsoka.
Why Did Anakin Train Ahsoka?
Ahsoka Tano is an incredibly unique case among the Jedi because she was able to learn under Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker during a time when the entire galaxy was at one of the worst stages in its history. Of course, we know that Anakin was still very young during the time of the Clone Wars and was someone who seemed like he had the patience to take on an apprentice, especially because we know that the younger version of Anakin was always impatient and reckless.
Ahsoka and anakin
Nevertheless, Ahsoka was introduced in the Clone Wars movie and series as the Padawan learner of Anakin. After that, she started working under Anakin and Obi-Wan in the many missions they undertook against the Separatists. But why did Anakin take on Ahsoka as a Padawan learner and train her?
Anakin had to take on Ahsoka Tano as his Padawan learner because it was his responsibility to do so. While Jedi Masters are usually the ones that are given the task of training Padawans, Jedi Knights are also allowed to have Padawans, as was the case for Obi-Wan Kenobi when he was knighted and was able to take on Anakin as his apprentice.
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Of course, we must also consider that not all Jedi Knights are given Padawans. But Ahsoka was given to Anakin as a Padawan learner on the orders of Jedi Grand Master Yoda himself. That means that Yoda was wise enough to think that Ahsoka could learn a thing or two from Anakin and that Anakin could also become a better Jedi and learn how to be patient by taking on a Padawan learner.
This was also when the Jedi Order lost a lot of personnel during the First Battle of Geonosis, where the number of Jedi had decreased substantially. In that regard, Yoda and the other Jedi Masters in the Jedi Council decided to speed up the training of the younglings and allow Padawans to learn under Jedi Masters and Knights at a very young age. Ahsoka started her apprenticeship under Anakin at 14 as her training had to be accelerated to compensate for the massive losses the Jedi Order suffered against Count Dooku and his droids in Geonosis.
Meanwhile, it is important to note that Yoda knows about Anakin’s fears of losing the people he loves. Yoda understood that Anakin’s connections to the people he loved were holding him back and pulling him closer to the dark side of the Force. As such, by allowing him to have an apprentice, Yoda thought that this was one of the ways that Anakin would learn that he didn’t need to be too overprotective of the people he loved.
When Did Anakin Train Ahsoka?
As mentioned, the Jedi Order suffered incredible losses during the First Battle of Geonosis. That was when the number of Jedi dwindled to a point where the Separatists had the advantage over them were it not for the clones. As such, the Jedi Order accelerated the training of Padawans just shortly after the events of the First Battle of Geonosis and even elevated some Padawans to the status of Jedi Knight. Anakin was knighted just a few months after the First Battle of Geonosis, and that’s why he was already a Jedi Knight during the start of the Clone Wars series.
Just after Anakin was knighted on 22 BBY, he was tasked with training Ahsoka Tano, who became his Padawan learner. Ahsoka trained under Anakin during the entire events of the Clone Wars and was given plenty of opportunities to train in different ways, whether on the field or in different simulated scenarios.
Of course, a good part of Ahsoka’s training happened during the missions that she and Anakin undertook together, as she was able to experience firsthand what it was like to be in an actual war. She clashed blades with notable lightsaber users, including General Grievous and Asajj Ventress. However, she was also trained in simulated scenarios, as shown during Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi events, where Anakin trained Ahsoka to learn how to dodge and counter an entire squadron of clone troopers that surrounded her.
Ahsoka’s training continued until she was forced to leave the Jedi Order when she was wrongly framed for the bombing of the Jedi Temple. Even though her name was cleared after it was proven that Barriss Offee was the one that bombed the temple and framed Ahsoka, Tano opted to stay away from the Jedi Order as she realized that the Jedi Council had its flaws as well. Ahsoka was disillusioned and left the Jedi Order of her own will, meaning she never completed her training under Anakin.
She left the Jedi Order on 19 BBY and just before the Jedi Order fell during the events of Order 66. It was also the fact that she wasn’t with the Jedi at that time that allowed Ahsoka to survive the events of Order 66, as she wasn’t swarmed by the clone troopers in the Jedi Temple. Of course, her training with Anakin paid off because she could repel the clones that tried to kill her due to the effects of Order 66.
After leaving the Jedi and ending her training under Anakin, Ahsoka continued to train on her own during the reign of the Empire. She also mentored Kannan Jarrus and Ezra Bridger during the events of Star Wars: Rebels despite the fact that she was never knighted.
