Red Lotus Trio (Chloe Cerise) | Infinity Train (Passengers [The Apex, Grace Monroe], Cage of Flauros, The Unsub's Crew) | Pokémon World (Vermillion City [Goh Fujihachi, Parker Cerise], The Ketchum Family, Pokémon Trainers)
The world doesn't stop while the train keeps running...
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The Hales
Spencer Hale
A Pokémon Professor who studies the Unown...but of all times he decides to bring that dreaded box to the Cerise Lab...
- Mister Exposition: Explains his new findings of the Unown in relationship to his daughter to Professor Cerise.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His decision to deliver the Unown box to the Cerise Institute is the reason why Arc 2 even started.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: What gave you the bright idea to bring the Unown Box to the Cerise Lab again?
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Disappears before Parker's court case although he's probably out doing more research.
- What Were You Thinking?: Ash asks what the professor was thinking on bringing the Unown Box to the Cerise Lab of all times. Molly defends her dad in that he had no way of knowing in advance that they would react to Parker's angst. Then he gets both barrels from Delia...
Molly Hale
Spencer Hale's daughter, who's had a personal experience with the Unown.
- Dishing Out Dirt: She has a Phanpy, which is a Ground-type.
- Mythology Gag:
- She now resembles the dream form she appeared as when she battled Misty. Given the events when she appeared Ash (correctly) thought it a bad omen.
- The Pokémon she has on hand is a Phanpy, one of the mons she used to fight against Brock.
- Touched by Vorlons: Her experience with the Unown left her with some ability to sense Psychic energies, particularly those tied to strong emotions. Not that it stops Parker from blowing up...
Galar
Chairman Rose
The head of the Galar mega-corp Macro Cosmos.
- All for Nothing: Unleasing Eternatus to get his daughter back? Turns out pulling her out of that portal will break her down into molecules and will practically derail the Train and strand everyone else aboard.
- David Versus Goliath: His Copperajah being the Goliath to Lillie's Magearna as the David.
- Extra Oredinary: He uses Steel-types, his signature mon being Copperajah.
- Foil: To Lusamine and Lillie since he is aware of his daughter on the Train and is doing everything he can to get her back, while the two ladies didn't nor ever cared to notice that Gladion had gone missing (and Lillie being the reason Gladion was even on the train in the first place).
- Graceful Loser: Takes his defeat remarkably well.
- Karma Houdini: Lusamine speculates this will happen due to his wealth and reputation, but ultimately decides it's out of her hands. Rose, for his part, expects to be imprisoned for his role in the Darkest Day.
- Mundane Utility: Suggests using interdimensional technology to collect resources, with his field test effectively picking berries from another world. However, it's clear he's after something else and something else is to stop the Infinity Train because it has his daughter on it.
- Papa Wolf: He's going to derail the Infinity Train just to get his daughter back.
- Parents as People: Didn't do enough while Tiffany was still at home, and is now doing too much to make things right.
- Shout-Out: His Stargate is called "Silent Taillow" which is foreshadowing that he's trying to get his daughter, Tiffany, back to Galar.
- Would Hurt a Child: He will fight off against Lillie (who isn't a fighter like her brother is) if it means he'll get Tiffany back.
- Villain Has a Point: He is going into extermes to get his daughter back, but he points out that at least he is doing something compared to the Montblanc ladies who were either too obsessed with their work or their spite to realize where Gladion vanished off to.
Oleanna
The vice president of the Galar mega-corp Macro Cosmos and Chairman Rose' secretary.
- All for Nothing: Upon reuniting with her sister — who is now Romsca — she learns that Ariana can not leave the Train until her time is up, so now she has a bomb that's ready to detonate and strand thousands of other passengers and is going to disintegrate into nothing. Thanks to a Seeker of Crocus, she helps use the bomb to destroy Ogami's robot army and she makes peace with Roscma.
- Composite Character: Oleanna is implied to have her backstory from Pokémon: Twilight Wings while being very much her anime/game persona.
- Consummate Professional: Prides herself on being this.
- Crazy-Prepared: Brings not just a bomb, but several gadgets for containing the two conductors if need be. They come in handy against Malika.
- It's Personal: She hates the Train because it took her sister away. That and given how Ariana is dead and returned as a corpse...
- Not So Stoic: All but collapses on seeing her sister again as Romsca.
Gloria Daffodil
A girl from Galar who studies in the same academy Chloe will go to, and is the first Galar native the group meet.
- Accent Adaptation: Neither her game nor Seeker of Crocus self had an accent, but not only is it present here, but it's quite thick.
Ariana (UNMARKED SPOILERS)
Oleana's sister, who was taken by the Train prior to the story.
- Eaten Alive: Her death was from the Demon of the Depths.
- Four Is Death: She became friends with three other passengers (Horace, Mark and Grace) in the Pirate Car. All of them ended up dead and reincarnated in some way.
- Iconic Item: Her red scarf. Romsca wearing it reveals to Grace what happens when a passenger dies on the Train, and Oleana admits that when Ariana's body didn't have it on her, it spurned her to swear vengeance on the Train. Romsca herself asks Goh to give it to Oleana when he returns home.
- Posthumous Character: She's not around anymore, which greatly troubles Oleana. Turns out she is around — as Romsca.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Getting on the train, along with her death and resurrection as Romsca affected her fellow passenger allies — Mark Kessler (who would become Ogami), Horace (who would become Tomas) and Grace Monroe — and then would spur Oleana to join forces with Chairman Rose to stop the Train itself. One hopes that whatever got her on the Train was worth all of the pain and misery that followed.
- The Unreveal: Whatever got her on the Train is never revealed, with Oleana herself forgetting what it was about. Goh says that it doesn't matter anymore.
- Walking Spoiler: Stating what happened to her on her Train trip reveals a lot and changes everything for three other characters.
Other
"Twitchy" (Unmarked spoilers for Blossoming Trail)
Kris Foster, Parker's fellow resident at the Calla House.
- Blow You Away/Non-Elemental: Has a Pidgeot he nicknames "Bird Jesus", which is a Nomal/Flying type.
- Broken Ace: Was just as good as Ash as a Trainer, even getting a Zapdos...but he was suddenly broken into pieces by the voices in his head and was sent into a mental rehab facility, where his stay might be permanent.
- Catchphrase: "Praise Helix!"
- Commonality Connection: Bonds with Parker when he notices that he is being influenced by a Not-So-Imaginary Friend, like he was before, along with them associated with Unown.
- Companion Cube: Apparently cradled a plush Helix Fossil that gives him advice. In the Calla House it's now an Omanyte plushie. It's so important to him that other children are amazed that Parker is carrying it (as Twitchy gave it to him before Chloe arrived to see him).
- Composite Character: Parker sees him as a combination of Ash (skilled Trainer from Pallet Town, and apparently his mother dressed him up like Ash) and Goh (boy who had high ambitions but was shattered with a mental attack based off of Unown).
- Deconstruction: Of the character interpretation from Red of Twitch Plays Pokémon as it shows the damage that can be caused from having all those spirits talking in his head, to the point he may never have a normal life.
- Hero of Another Story: His attempt to clearing out the blackout in Celadon City that ended with him capturing a Zapdos.
- Hidden Depths: He's a really good artist as Parker remembers seeing a beautiful banner of "Bird Jesus" once. We also learn that he volunteered to investigate a blackout in Celadon City.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Is about a year or two younger than Ash (who is around 13 - 14 in the trilogy) and he befriends Parker, age 5. Their bond is so strong that Twitchy even lends him his Helix (Omanyte) plushie which other kids comment on.
- Many Spirits Inside of One: The Mob in his head is said to manifest as perpetually bickering Unowns.
- Meaningful Name: His real name, Kris, is based on the Paper Trail version of the Deltarune protagonist, who was manipulated by a force outside their control. "Foster" is the last name of a Criminal Minds Unsub who suffered from multiple hallucinations pushing him around.
- Nervous Wreck: Showed signs of this on his initial Indigo League quest and then he lost any sense of sanity after his father berated him and refused to take him home.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Before his meltdown, he managed to resolve Celadon City's blackout and catch a Zapdos.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls him 'Twitchy' at the rehab center, and Parker has to ask him for his 'old name'.
- Shadow Archetype: Seems to be one for Ash - a young trainer from Pallet Town who went on a Pokemon journey with his starter to high hopes. And if the rumors of Zapdos capture are true, he shares Ash's luck in stumbling onto legendaries and wild adventures. Thing is, Ash has the support and mental fortitude to handle these events, and Kris very much doesn't.
- Shout-Out: To Twitch Plays Pokémon.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Chloe and Parker tell Kris near the end of Voyage of Wisteria Act 1 that his father is now in jail and will never ever harm him again.
Carl Foster
Kris' father.
- Abusive Parents: It revealed that he's the one who caused Kris's breakdown by abandoning him and ordering him to return his Flareon. And it's all because he sees him as a failure for not getting 8 Gym badges without bothering to acknowledge that his son caught a Zapdos, which in itself is a great achievement. He didn't even bother to visit him at the Calla House.
- Berserk Button: Gets enraged when Delia suggests that his only reason for wanting to hurt Ash is envy.
- Fat Bastard: Heavyset, and a nasty piece of work.
- Hate Sink: Everything about him is designed to make him despicable barring his one Pet the Dog moment.
- I Have No Son!: While he doesn't outright say it, his actions towards Kris speak louder than words, considering he flat out abandons him after berating him for not entering the Indigo League and never even visited him at at the Calla Facility.
- Irrational Hatred: Seems to blame Ash for what happened to his son...even though Ash wasn't even in the region when Kris had his meltdown.
- Jerkass: A very unpleasant person who would abandon his son when he expresses disappointment and never even see his son at the Rehab House he's a permanent resident to.
- Lack of Empathy: He doesn't care if a bunch of kids wound up dead in a forest fire if it means ruining Ash's life. And if someone had died or gotten hurt? Too bad! It would've been Ash's fault for not saving them.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Gets sent to prison after his confession is brought out for everyone, including the other parents who were horrified of learning at the lengths he would go to get revenge on Ash, to see.
- Mythology Gag: He is described as having a resemblance to a Kabuto, and his primary Pokemon is a Flareon. Considering his son is basically a human version of Twitch Plays Pokémon, it's pretty clear who the villain of his story is.
- Never My Fault: He blames Ash for Kris's mental breakdown because he doesn't want to admit that he's the one who instigated it because of his disappointment in his only son's inability to earn 8 Gym badges.
- Not So Similar: He tries to get Chloe to side with him by claiming they're in the same boat regarding their anger and jealousy towards Ash. Chloe doesn't buy it for a second because 1) she already realized how harmful that sort of entitled mindset is for everyone and pulled herself out of it, and 2), he drove his son Kris insane by constantly projecting his envy towards Ash onto him, and then abandoned him when he didn't turn out the way he wanted.
- Pet the Dog: His only kind act is to comment on Chloe getting an "adorable Eevee" and showing off his Flareon.
- Real Men Wear Pink: He's actually surprised at Chloe getting an "adorable Eevee".
- Shadow Archetype:
- He's what Professor Cerise would be if he didn't care a single lick about Chloe's achievements and left her to rot. He outright claims that he sees Aldrich's "The Reason You Suck" Speech moments from Blossoming Trail as "inspiration", much to the Professor's discomfort.
- He's also one to Chloe herself. Both felt Irrational Hatred towards Ash to the point of using him as a scapegoat for everything wrong in their lives, and were resentful, self-pitying jerks who didn't care about who they hurt as long as they got personal catharsis from it. They were also responsible for turning people closest to them (Kris, Goh) into psychological wrecks with their cruel words and behavior. However, Carl lacks all of Chloe's redeeming qualities, such as the ability to realize her mistakes and actually change herself for the better.
- Shout-Out: Is described as resembling a Kabuto, and has a Flareon. Considering who his son is...
- Ungrateful Bastard: He doesn't even comment on the fact that Kris caught a Zapdos, a Legendary Pokémon, instead berating the boy for not getting into the Indigo League.
- Would Hurt a Child: Has no compunctions towards psychologically attacking Ash, or even endangering several children with a forest fire. And even tries to punch Chloe in front of her father.
Mew
A Legendary Pokémon with the ability to transform into any Pokémon it wishes whose sudden arrival several years ago in Pallet Town plays a big part in the story. More specifically, Goh's obsession with catching him drives a lot of conflict.
- Badass Adorable: It's an adorable pink kitten with a long tail. And it's capable of transforming into every Pokémon in the world, knows every move and is a Legendary Pokémon.
- Cats Are Mean: In Chloe's Revenge via Storytelling tale based on Mew, it's depicted as a sadistic Jackass Genie. In reality, not so much.
- The Ghost: Never appears in person in the main story, but are mentioned a few times and they play a big role regardless. They make a full appearance in Arc 3, critically injured by Ms. Turner.
- Innocently Insensitive: It's not their fault that Goh was so obsessed with it, yet its presence is what caused Goh to decide to focus on it than pretty much everyone else in his life.
- Irony:
- Goh is searching far and wide for it; Episode 20 of Journeys reveals that Goh rode on it when it was shapeshifted as Lugia.
- Goh has been obsessed with finding it since he was 6; he has no idea that Ash has actually met a Mew three times already (First Movie, Lucario and the Mystery Mew and Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon). He doesn't take it well when he finds out, though it might be more due to the person telling him about it.
- Goh was trying to get away from Mew after his epiphany. But with Ms. Roycewood having Mew right in front of his face, he has no choice but to confront the childhood dream that made him lose everything.
- Goh's search for Mew is the reason for Chloe and Goh's falling friendship and Chloe getting on the Infinity Train. Goh having Mew after he felt like he didn't deserve it is what got him to enter the Train.
- Mind over Matter: It's a Psychic-type.
- Olympus Mons: The original Legendary Pokémon, even.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Only mentioned in passing and are practically absent in the main story, but Goh's obsession with capturing them sets off the chain reaction that would eventually destroy his and Chloe's friendship. It also plays a significant role in Blossoming Trail's Arc 3 for the Pokémon side and ultimately becomes the main reason Goh gets sent into the Infinity Train.
The Adults of Pallet Town
The adults that live in Pallet Town. All of them hate Ash, believing that he is the reason their children have taken different paths in life rather than become Trainers.
- All for Nothing: After constantly blaming Ash for overshadowing their children, claiming that he "forced" their kids to pursue other paths in life, the adults of Pallet Town get a much needed wake-up call, learning that their ringleader Carl had been blaming Ash for his own failures as a parent. Their children were fully content with what they'd chosen for themselves, and there was absolutely no reason for them to seek Revenge on Ash... much less go along with a scheme that would have put innocent children at risk of being killed in a forest fire. What's more, their kids learn what they did and that their parents never actually supported their dreams, creating a lot of rifts in a lot of families. All because the adults were pettily jealous of Ash's successes.
- Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: During the course of the story, it is revealed that the parents of Ash's hometown, Pallet Town, all resent him because he is such a legendary Pokémon trainer that they feel that their children can't compete with him, with their children eventually giving up being Pokémon trainers and choosing to pursue other careers. Eventually, in "Voyage of Wisteria," they join Carl's scheme to ruin Ash's reputation. To their credit, they had no idea Carl would go so far as to attempt to murder children, but that doesn't change the fact that they were all on board with his scheme to frame Ash. And then it turns out none of their children are resentful of Ash at all and are happy with their new chosen paths in life, with their parents lying that they are supporting them. Once Carl's crimes are exposed and their children learn what they tried to do, their families, who were not part of the plan call them out for being so petty and deceitful. They point out that their children are happy, implying that they are just using Ash as an excuse because they're disappointed their children did not Pokémon trainers like they wanted them to.
- Everyone Has Standards: They had no issue going along with Carl's scheme to ruin Ash's reputation, but when it's revealed that said scheme involved potentially killing a dozen children in a forest fire, and that Carl abandoned his own son Kris for not being able to enter the Indigo League, they are all horrified and turn against him.
- Karma Houdini: Played With. Sure, they weren't arrested for going along with Carl's plan, but their relationships with their children and spouses are most likely going to be severely strained now that they know what they were up to and how they really felt about their chosen careers.
- Knight Templar Parent: Subverted. They claim that they're justified in what they're doing to Ash for him supposedly ruining their kids' dreams. In reality though, they are just upset that their children have taken different paths in life rather then becoming Pokémon Trainers like their parents wanted them to.
- Mirroring Factions: They are basically what Class 5-E would've grown up to be if they hadn't gone through their Character Development back in Blossoming Trail: Bitter, spiteful and willing to go to extreme lengths to hurt someone just to validate their envy. Patricia even states that the adults were acting just as bad as they did back then when she and her classmates see the footage of them trying to blame Ash for everything and admitting to being in on the plan to start a forest fire to frame him.
- Open-Minded Parent: Subverted: They claimed to be supportive of their kids and the careers they have chosen for themselves, but what they really wanted was for them to become world-famous Pokémon Trainers.
- Psychological Projection: Like Hilary in BT, they all believe that their kids hate Ash for overshadowing them, even though it's vividly clear that it's only the parents who feel this way while their children have no issues with Ash whatsoever.
- Skewed Priorities: When Annie tries to pin the blame on Ash causing the fire (via planting evidence with his gloves), Chloe points out that the woman cares more about getting Ash in trouble than the forest fire ending with a dozen children dead and that it would give her daughter's funerary flower business some exposure.
- Stage Mom: All of them are guilty of this, as they wanted their children to take the 'glorious' path of becoming Pokemon Trainers and hate Ash for supposedly 'ruining their dreams'.
- Would Hurt a Child: All of them were in on Carl’s plan to ruin Ash's life, which happened to include endangering several children with a forest fire in an attempt to frame him.
The Children of Pallet Town
The children living in Pallet Town who are mostly unaware of their parents' hatred of Ash.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When all of them confront their parents for not being as supportive as they claimed, Salem pretty much sums up what they really thought of their paths with this.Salem: You really think we're that pathetic?
- Calling the Old Man Out: All of them do this when they learn what their parents were up to, angrily telling them that they don't approve of what they did and asking if they saw them as pathetic for not becoming as good as Ash.
- Can't Catch Up: Played With. Their parents believe this is why they chose to take different paths in life, thinking that they will never catch up to Ash. In reality though, they were perfectly happy with their chosen paths in life.
- Pyrrhic Victory: Leaf managed to win a league, but in such an undignified way that it didn't feel like a victory to her father.
- Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: How Leaf was able to win a Pokémon League: She brings a Leftovers-equipped Wobbuffet to the final match, only for her opponent to do the exact same thing. The only reason she won is that the referee called it in her favor when her opponent had to leave to go to the bathroom.
Team Rocket Trio
A pair of Team Rocket grunts and their Meowth who Ash has a history with.
- Friendly Enemy: Jessie and James actually gave Ash a disguise kit for his last birthday.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: They seem well aware of their status as a 'rite of passage' for Ash's companions, as well as their habits of blasting off.
"Argo and Toby" (SPOILERS!)
Zacian and Zamazenta, the two legendary Pokemon at the core of the original Darkest Day.
- Accidental Misnaming: Because 'Zamazenta' is too messy a name for Trey and Troy to remember, the dog is referred to as 'Toby' by pretty much everyone. Zacian is named, but Ash still slips and calls him 'Argo' on occasion.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Neither of them are too proud of their de facto monikers.
- He's Back!: When they're reunited with their respective weapons and become their full selves against Eternatus.
- Silent Snarker: They're frequently letting out doggy sighs and rolling their eyes at their new names.
Santa Claus
A jolly old man that Ash met years ago who is a bit more than just an old man in a red suit.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Santa's powers are at their peak during the holiday season. Team Rocket can overpower him if they run into him in September.
- Humanoid Abomination: Santa is very clearly not human, can teleport into people's homes, alter the memories of those around them, can speak to spirits, and can show those glimpses of the nature of the universe in a manner compared to the Gen 4 Arceus event. He's friendly though.
Jinny
A friend of Parker.
- Morality Pet: Pretty much the only person besides Chloe that Parker acts nice to, both before and after the events of Act 2 of Blossoming Trail.
