The Gym Leaders and Elite Four of Diamond and Pearl, Platinum, and their remakes.
open/close all folders
Gym Leaders
Roark (Hyouta)
Roark / Hyouta (ヒョウタ hyouta)
Oreburgh City Gym Leader—Call me Roark the Rock!
- "As the Gym Leader, I need to see your potential as a trainer. And, I'll need to see the toughness of the Pokémon that battle with you!"
A Rock-type specialist who fittingly works at the Oreburgh Mine. He is Byron's son.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: His father is present in the game as another Gym Leader, but his mother is never seen.
- Ambiguously Related: According to a woman in Sunyshore City, he and his father are related to the Underground Man, but she doesn't say what their exact relationship is. Given their ages, it seems likely that the Underground Man is Roark's grandfather or great-uncle.
- Birds of a Feather: Shares the same fascination for rare rocks as Steven Stone, as seen in Masters's "All Aboard the Victory Train" event.
- Cool Helmet: His miner's hard hat.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Of the Rock variety.
- Family Theme Naming: In multiple languages with his father.
- In the original Japanese, Hyouta is derived from hyōtan, calabash gourd, while Tougan is derived from tōgan, wax gourd.
- In English, their names are mineral-themed, with Roark coming from "rock" or "ore" and Byron coming from "iron".
- In German, his name is Veit, from "eveit", meaning "eveite", a mineral isostructural with adamite, matching his father's name, Adam.
- In Chinese, his name is Piáotài (瓢太), sharing the character "瓜" with his father's name, Dōngguā (東瓜).
- Foil: Roark specifically foils two defensively-themed characters.
- While Roark is an Expy of Brock, his offensive style is the exact reverse of the original's — Roark's Signature Mon is a Glass Cannon, while Brock's is a Stone Wall.
- To his father; calm where Byron is Hot-Blooded, prettier-looking as opposed to masculine, and his battle style is offensive instead of defensive. This even extends somewhat to their Pokémon teams with Roark's Onix paralleling Byron's Steelix and their respective main Pokémon being Sinnoh's two newly introduced fossil lines (Roark's Cranidos/Rampardos and Byron's Bastiodon).
- Heir to the Dojo: In some continuities, he has inherited leadership of the Oreburgh Gym from his father.
- In the Blood: Mining appears to be his family's profession, as shown by his father and grandfather. Byron was also the previous Oreburgh Gym Leader.
- Irony: When defeated, he feels humiliated that a trainer with no badges did so, but then talking to him right after makes him say the other 7 Gym Leaders are stronger than him, so...
- Jock Dad, Nerd Son: Subtly implied, appearance-wise. He's thin, wears glasses, and has long hair reaching his shoulders, while Byron is a muscular miner with a five o'clock shadow.
- Meaningful Name:
- In Englsh: Roark "the Rock" speaks for itself.
- Alternatively, Roark, as in "ore".
- In Japanese: Hyouta contains the first syllable of takenote
- His German name is Veit, from "eveit", meaning "eveite", a mineral isostructural with adamite which matches his father's German name: Adam.
- His Spanish name is Roco, from "roca" (rock).
- His French name is Pierrik, from "pierre" (stone).
- His Italian name is Pedro, from pietra (stone).
- His Korean name is Gangseok, from "gang" (strong) "seok" (rock) or "gwangseok" (ore).
- His beta design leaked in the Diamond and Pearl prototype
◊ lacks his signature glasses.
- In Englsh: Roark "the Rock" speaks for itself.
- My Nayme Is: His name is spelled "Roark", not "Rourke".
- Parent-Child Team: In the remakes, he can team up with his father in the Battle Tower against you for a Master Class Double Battle.
- Passed-Over Promotion: Subverted — Roark wasn't his father's first choice to lead the Oreburgh Gym, with the position initially going to Riley. However, he ended up getting the job anyway, because Riley turned it down for his sake.
- Recurring Element: Third time around the first gym is Rock-type. But expecting the typical Stone Wall when you face him? Don't count on it; his Cranidos is a Glass Cannon with higher Attack than many fully-evolved Pokémon, and if you can't outspeed it, it will demolish you.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: He sports these during his brief cameo in the GOTCHA! music video with the other Rock-type Gym Leaders.
- Signature Mon: His Cranidos. It evolves into Rampardos for future fights, of course. It even serves as another point of connection to his father as Byron's use of Bastiodon for his own Signature Mon means that the father-son duo are using both of Sinnoh's new fossil lines as their respective main Pokémon.
- Signature Move: You can thank him for the infamous Stealth Rock; it's his TM that teaches it.
- Stealth Pun: He is a Rock-type Trainer who has a troubled relationship with his father; in other words, their relationship is "rocky".
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Like Roxanne, he's one for Brock — all three are Rock-type specialists and the first Gym Leader the player character battles. Notably, Roark takes Brock's secondary Fossil Revival motif and makes it his bread and butter.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Like Brock, he can be a struggle if the player chose Chimchar and didn't evolve it to Monferno (and teach it Mach Punch) beforehand. His specialty move is the infamous Stealth Rock, which both his Onix and Geodude know. When Cranidos comes out, trainers are dealing with a Pokémon with higher Attack than many fully-evolved Pokémon. If they try to switch out, Cranidos' Pursuit will take priority over switching and its base power of 40 is doubled to 80, which is a lot at the beginning-game. In the remakes, Cranidos loses Pursuit and Chimchar will learn Power-Up Punch in time for the gym battle... but Roark's Cranidos learns Bulldoze, which makes up for the loss of Pursuit, gifts it a move to super-effectively hit Fire-types with, and slows down any Pokémon enough to allow Cranidos to deliver the Coup de Grâce.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: He sometimes talks about how he wants to beat his father in battle. Apparently, Byron believes he still has room to improve, because he asked Riley to be the Oreburgh Gym Leader first.
Gardenia (Natane)
Gardenia / Natane (ナタネ natane)
Eterna City Gym Leader—Master of Vivid Plant Pokémon!
- "When I first saw you, I was convinced you'd find your way to me. My hunch was right on the money. You have a winning aura about you. So, anyway, this will be fun. Let's have our battle."
The Grass-type Gym Leader of Eterna City.
- Badass Adorable: A peppy, positive trainer who loves Grass-type Pokémon and nature, and happens to be the Grass-type gym leader as well.
- Didn't Think This Through: In Diamond and Pearl, her first Pokémon is Cherubi, which knows Dazzling Gleam in the remakes... which Fire-types are resistant to. In addition, in Platinum and the remakes, four of her Pokémon (Turtwig in her Gym Battle and Jumpluff, Cherrim and Bellossom) know Sunny Day... which just allows your Fire-types to roast her team faster.
- Genki Girl: She's eager to battle you and wants you to give her a fun fight. In the remakes, whenever she issues a move, she is seen jumping with joy.
- Graceful Loser: Her losing animation in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is her clapping and looking very happy for you◊.
- Green Thumb: Grass-type specialist.
- Lovable Coward: She's afraid of the Old Chateau and the ghosts said to lurk within.
- Meaningful Name:
- Gardenia, a type of flower whose fragrance is popular in perfumes and candles. It also contains the word "garden", of course.
- Aside from the fact that most major characters share a plant-based Theme Naming in Japan, with Natane meaning "rapeseed", the first singular and last two syllables of her name can pulled apart to make nanote and tanenote .
- Her German name is Silvana, from "silva" which is Latin for "forest".
- Her French name is Flo, from "flore" (flora).
- Her Korean name is Yuchae meaning "rapeseed".
- Nice Girl: Bright, optimist, peppy and, in the remakes, a Graceful Loser who claps for your victory.
- The Nose Knows: In Masters, she says she can tell the feelings of Grass-types by smelling their aroma, which allows her to tell how they feel. She does mention that there are many unique ways to tell such things with other Pokémon.
- Signature Mon: Her ace is the elegant Roserade.
- Signature Move: When you defeat her, she gives out a TM containing Grass Knot.
- So Proud of You: The remakes give her a "defeat" animation by happily clapping her hands quickly at the player.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: She is totally not scared by the ghosts in the Old Chateau. She just has important Gym Leader stuff to do.
- Uncatty Resemblance: A retroactive example: Decidueye quite resembles her. Becomes quite funny because Decidueye is a Grass/Ghost type, and see below for her opinion on the type combination...
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Her Roserade has a massive Special Attack stat, so watch yourself, especially if you chose Piplup.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She's terrified of ghosts, and is unnerved by the possibility of a Grass/Ghost-typed Pokémon existing. In Masters, she finds out about the likes of Phantump and Pumpkaboo and faces a crisis trying to get herself to cuddle them. In fact, her whole reason to visit Pasio is so she grows out of her fear of Ghost-types.
Maylene (Sumomo)
Maylene / Sumomo (スモモ sumomo)
Veilstone City Gym Leader—The Barefoot, Fighting Genius!
- "I don't really know what it means to be strong, or how I got to be the Gym Leader. But I will do the best I can as the Gym Leader. I take battling very seriously. Whenever you're ready!"
A Fighting-type trainer and martial artist. Though young, she is respected by the city's residents.
- Achievements in Ignorance: How she became a Gym Leader at all is also a Noodle Incident.
- Badass Adorable: Look at that face and try to say otherwise. She's a tough martial artist and a cute young girl who isn't really sure how she got to be a Gym Leader.
- Barefoot Poverty: Subverted. It's implied that her father's gambling habits put a strain on their financial status, but she goes barefoot out of choice rather than necessity; she does it because she heard it's healthier.
- Big Eater: Although it is justified given her Training from Hell tendencies.
- She thinks loudly about how hungry she is after you defeat her and talk to her again, before realizing you're there and saying "it's nothing".
- In Platinum, she is also very appreciative of how Buck's grandfather furnishes everyone with endless food at the Battleground.
- Finally, in HeartGold and SoulSilver, you can find her in Celadon City participating in an eating contest with several bowls stacked in front of her.
- The Cameo: She can be found in Celadon City in HeartGold and SoulSilver participating in an eating conference.
- Cute Bruiser: She's adorable as well as a martial arts expert and a Fighting-type specialist.
- Disappeared Dad: Enforced. The remakes' removal of the Game Corner had the consequence of removing her father along with it.
- Freeze Sneeze: That's what you get for walking from Veilstone to Snowpoint without so much as putting on shoes!
- Genius Bruiser: Given her gym's puzzle in both versions and the remakes, it's heavily implied to be this, or at least a rough equivalent.
- Kick Chick: She is a martial artist, and her official artwork and VS Sprite in Platinum both show her kicking with her leg.
- Leotard of Power: Though she wears pants over the lower portion.
- Little Miss Badass: She's young, but she's still capable of kicking ass. Not only are the trainers in her gym her students, but in the Battleground, she actually has the highest-leveled Pokémon, with her Level 66 Lucario edging out everyone else by one level.
- Meaningful Name:
- Maylene = melee. Plus, Maylene = lean, as in the kind of shape a good fighter would be in.
- Brega in the Spanish version comes from Bregar.note
- Sumomo = sumo wrestling, though she herself apparently does not practice this particular martial art.
- Her German name is Hilda, from "hiltja" (Old High German for "battle").
- Her Spanish name is Braga, from "bregar" (to fight).
- Her French name is Mélina, from "mêlée" (melee).
- Her Italian name is Marzia, from marziale (martial).
- Micro Dieting: In Masters, she tries to copy her Meditite's training style of meditating for 15 hours and only eating a single berry a day. The player can ask her if she'll get hungry, to which she says it will be fine because she is used to sticking to a tough training regimen.
- One-Steve Limit:
- She and a Kimono Girl from Gold and Silver had the same Japanese name. The Kimono Girl's name changed to Komomo in the remakes, possibly because Maylene makes a cameo.
- Internationally, there's an example — her German name is Hilda... but Hilda's German name is Lotta.
- Parental Neglect: Mentions in Platinum that her dad is a gambling addict. You can also see him in the Game Corner. note
- Pointless Band-Aid: Maybe she simply gets hurt that much. Either way, she's always wearing some.
- Her nose bandage is absent in her beta design revealed in the leaked Diamond and Pearl prototype.◊
- Her nose bandage is absent in her beta design revealed in the leaked Diamond and Pearl prototype.
- Power Stereotype Flip: A Fighting-type expert being a martial artist is nothing new, but she's a waifish little girl instead of a big, muscular bruiser like Chuck or Marshal. She's no less strong for it, though.
- Prefers Going Barefoot: It's right there in her title quote. In Platinum, you encounter her walking all the way to Snowpoint without shoes or any appropriate clothing, as part of her training. She also makes some comments about how all Pokémon go barefoot, and that going barefoot is healthier when you see her in the Battleground.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: She's a martial artist Gym Leader and wears a sleeveless shirt to represent her tough nature.
- Signature Mon:
- Her strongest Pokémon is a Lucario.
- In Masters, because Korrina has more importance with being the face of Mega Evolution through her Lucario, Maylene has Meditite as her ace (despite the fact Meditite isn't a Gen IV Pokémon).
- Signature Move: In all the Sinnoh-based games, she gives out the TM for Drain Punch.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Zigzagged with Candice. Maylene is the dedicated martial artist to Candice's relatively typical girl, but she's also more sensitive and withdrawn compared to Candice's candid conversation.
- Training from Hell: She puts herself through intensive environment and diet training and who knows what else. In Pokémon Masters, she tries to copy her Meditite's regimen of only eating one berry a day (and nothing else), sleeping for one hour, and meditating for 15 hours. After talking to the player, she realizes that it might not be such a good idea, and resolves to do some training that's better suited to humans than Pokémon.
- Trash of the Titans: In Masters, she comments that she feels sorry for using items and so does her best not to use them, which has led to making a pile of unused items she won't use.
Crasher Wake (Maximum Mask)
Crasher Wake / Maximum Mask (マキシマム仮面 makishimamu kamen)
Pastoria City Gym Leader—The Torrential Masked Master!
- "Welcome! I don't get challenged very often! The glory you are now beholding is the Pastoria Gym Leader! That's right, I'm Crasher Wake! My Pokémon were toughened up by stormy white waters! They'll take everything you can throw at them and then pull you under! Victory will be ours! Come on, let's get it done!"
A bombastic wrestler who trains Water-types.
- Achilles' Heel:
- Crasher Wake is wise to his monsters' double weaknesses and swaps them in and out to protect them.
- This strategy has its own weak-point, however. Since his team lacks moves that can force themselves to switch out, they can be locked down by moves or abilities that prevent the enemy from leaving the battlefield. A quick Mean Look or Block will stop his constant swapping, allowing you to safely pummel his team.
- Artificial Brilliance: He is one of the very few NPCs in the series to make up for his type specialty's weaknesses by switching around his Pokémon in battles. Should a Grass-type show up in front of Quagsire, it will be swapped for Gyarados (who is part Flying-type, which neutralizes Grass attacks that could one-shot Quagsire), and should an Electric-type show up in front of Gyarados, it will be switched out for Quagsire (who is part Ground-type, which negates Electric attacks that could zap down Gyarados). Block or Mean Look stops this in its tracks.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Woe betide you if you even consider putting Pastoria or the Great Marsh in danger.
- Birds of a Feather: In Masters, Barry and the Alolan protagonists wish for him and the Masked Royal to battle on the account that they're both famous wrestlers. To their delight, they both end up battling.
- Blood Knight: Sort of. He really likes to battle and laments the fight didn't last longer, but he claims the reason he likes to battle is because he wants to have fun in the end, whether he wins or loses.
- Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's friendly towards all of the player characters he meets and cares deeply for the well-being of Pastoria, its residents, and the Great Marsh. His winnings from wrestling matches are stated to end up going towards charity.
- The Cameo: Makes several in HeartGold and SoulSilver, as well as one in Black 2 and White 2 outside of PWT.
- Cool Mask:
- Wears a spiky one with blue lines (that doesn't actually cover much of his face) as part of his luchador theme.
- His beta design revealed in the leaked Diamond and Pearl prototype◊ sports a Swampert-inspired mask instead.
- Coup de Grâce: His Signature Move, Brine, which both his Gyarados and Floatzel have. He even lampshades it:Crasher Wake: Use it to end battles decisively!
- Foil: To Brawly across generations. Brawly is a Fighting-type specialist who's into surfing. Crasher Wake is a Water-type specialist who's into wrestling.
- Insistent Terminology: Crasher Wake! / Maximum Mask!
- Jack of All Trades: This guy has a pretty weird triple career choice: luchador, tenor, and Gym Leader.
- Large Ham: While most Gym Leaders are relatively subdued individuals who try to demonstrate the versatility of their element of choice, Wake's a Hot-Blooded masked wrestler who insists on always adding "Crasher" before his name. In Platinum, if you refuse to fight him at the Top Trainer Cafe, he will sing his theme song. And on the TV from time to time, it will describe him fighting wrestling matches. He even shows up a few times in HeartGold and SoulSilver, first giving you the three Sinnoh starter masks (which he appears to force on you, commending your love of masks), and later on the bridge to the Safari Zone, where he goes off on a rant about how cool waterfalls are. He's hamming it up again in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, singing loudly on a cliff-top somewhere along Route 18.
- Making a Splash: Water-type specialist.
- Masked Luchador: His design theme.
- Meaningful Name:
- In English: A wake is also the set of triangular waves left by something traveling through water (a boat, etc.). Also sounds similar to "crashing wave".
- In Japanese: "Maxi" is both written and spoken in Japanese as "Makishi", which contains the last two syllables of uzumakinote .
- His German name isWellenbrecher Marinus, meaning "breakwater" and "marine" in Latin.
- His Spanish name is Mananti, from "manantial" meaning "spring".
- His French name is Lovis, from "l'eau" (the water).
- His Italian name is Omar, from "mare" (sea).
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Equal parts Fray Tormenta and Big Van Vader.
- Power Stereotype Flip: A Water-type user who is a loud and bombastic masked luchador.
- Signature Mon: Floatzel is his signature Pokémon, despite his Swampert and Gyarados-inspired costume. His Platinum rematch has his highest level Pokémon be Ludicolo.
- Signature Move: Brine.
- Stealth Pun: The Pro Wrestling Gym Leader switches his Pokémon in and out during battle—they're all on a Tag Team.
- Stout Strength: Like many luchadors in fiction, he has a belly on him.
- Uncatty Resemblance: His leggings take their Color Motif from Swampert (in the prototype, he had a Swampert mask, too) and his mask from Gyarados.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: As the Water-type master it's practically tradition.
Fantina (Melissa)
Fantina / Melissa (メリッサ merissa)
"Ohohoho. Finally, you have arrived! Since I came to this country, always I try to learn new things. They hold Contests in this city? I say to myself, enfin, I will excel. That's why I dress this way. C'est une performance! Also I study Pokémon very much. I have come to be Gym Leader. And, uh, so it shall be that you challenge me. But I shall win. That's what a Gym Leader does, non?"
An elegant Coordinator who uses Ghost-types.
- Blackout Basement: Her gym in Platinum is completely dark, save for the Duskull lanterns that form maze walls and the flashlights the player and other trainers are carrying.
- Climax Boss: She copies Norman before her in Diamond and Pearl by being the fifth Gym Leader that gets introduced before her battle, victory of which will give the player Surf. Averted in Platinum, but oddly enough, as the third Gym Leader, she is significantly harder, since her team ace remains evolved.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In the World Tournament, she wields a Giratina in its Origin Forme that holds a Ghost Gem. This is patently breaking the rules of the game; Giratina shifts into its Altered Forme outside the Distortion World and needs to hold the Griseous Orb to enter Origin Forme.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: A flamboyant woman in the prime of life, Fantina is a far-cry from the bitter, old Agatha of Pokémon Red and Blue.
- Curtains Match the Window: Purple eyes and purple hair.
- Dragon Tamer: In "The Battle Between Legendary Pokémon" event in Black and White 2 she uses the Ghost/Dragon-type Giratina.
- Early-Bird Boss: Becomes this in Platinum due to being shifted from the fifth gym leader to the third. She still has her Mismagius with its high stats, which combined with the relative lack of hard counters to Ghost-types early in the game, can make for quite the Wake-Up Call Boss.
- French Jerk; Played with in the English dub, as she herself is polite and cheery, but smug and full of herself with opposing trainers, even dismissing the ones who don't have enough badges for her taste.
- Funny Foreigner: She came to Hearthome to learn about Contests and loves competing in them and showing off her Pokémon. In all languages, her mannerisms are also quirky for her nationality.
- Graceful Ladies Like Purple: Her dress emphasizes this quite batantly.
- Gratuitous English: Japanese and French versions.
- Gratuitous French: Almost everywhere but the Japanese and French versions. With the release of Generation VI, she may be from Kalos.
- Keep It Foreign: The reason that her Gratuitous English was changed to French worldwide.
- Meaningful Name:
- In English: Fantina = Phantom. Plus, according to the PokéWiki her name is the same in both English and Spanish. In Spanish, though, Fantina comes from the more obvious word Fantasma note . The wiki also suggests the name is a reference to Fantine from Les Misérables.
- I Japanese: Melissa = Meinote
- Her German name is Lamina, from "Lamia", a Greek mythological spirit.
- Her French name is, Kiméra, from "chimera".
- Her Italian name is Fannie, from "fantasma" (phantom).
- Noblewoman's Laugh: Fantina introduces herself with "Ohohoho!"
- Olympus Mons: In one (presumably non-canon)
Japan-only downloadable World Tournament, she uses Origin Forme Giratina. - Pimped-Out Dress: Fitting a Gym Leader whose also a Coordinator, she wears a ballroom dress with a large skirt that fits her Drifblim motif.
- Power Stereotype Flip: A cheerful, vivacious woman who competes in beauty contests, when most Ghost-type users are aloof and spooky mystics.
- Recurring Element:
- At least one Gym from the first four generations will be unable to be fought when first arriving at it, and Fantina in Diamond and Pearl continues this tradition. However, since the only reason she does so is for tradition's sake, she drops this in Platinum.
- Fantina is yet another major female Ghost-type trainer, after Agatha and Phoebe, though she's the first to be a Gym Leader rather than Elite Four.
- Shout-Out: Her quote when her last Pokémon is at less than half HP is "Never give up, never surrender!"
- Signature Mon: It's a toss up. Mismagius is her signature Pokémon in battles, but she uses Drifblim in contests and her dress is designed on one, so it's heavily associated with her as well. Lastly, the highest-level Pokémon in her Platinum rematch is Gengar.
- Signature Move: Shadow Claw.
- Soul Power: She's a Ghost-type specialist.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: In Platinum, she is the third Gym Leader the player will face instead of Maylene. The problem is that she still has her Mismagius, who has high levels and stats at that point in the game. Since the player is restricted from going beyond Hearthome City this time around while the surrounding Pokémon are severely underleveled, winning against Fantina is difficult without a well-thought strategy.
- You Are Not Ready: In Diamond and Pearl, she will brush the Player Character off at first, demanding at least two more badges before she'll face them. (However, the game fails to account for its habit of putting The Rival's name on the Gym statue victory list before the player's—examining it shows that Barry defeated her already, when his team's levels are barely in the twenties.)
Byron (Tougan)
Byron / Tougan (トウガン tougan)
- "You've defeated my son. But that's no surprise. He still has much to learn. In place of my son Roark, I, Byron, will take your challenge!"
Roark's father, a miner who uses Steel-types.
- Achilles' Heel: Despite trying to come prepared Round 1 (such as his Steelix knowing Ice Fang for Ground-types), his team doesn't know enough coverage moves and as such a Fighting or Ground-type will be able to body slam his entire team along with a Fire, Ghost or Dark-type to take care of Bronzor.
- Action Dad: Notably the third Gym Leader confirmed to be a dad, after Koga and Norman. He's middle-aged and his son Roark appears to be in his late teens or early twenties. Still a tough Gym Leader more than capable of doing his job, and raising said son to be a Leader as well.
- Adaptational Jerkass: In some adaptations, Byron is harsher on his son to emphasize the Tough Love nature of their relationship. The anime has him lightly insulting Roark during their exhibition match, and Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure! shows him in flashback yelling at a younger Roark to get up while the boy is crying.
- Ambiguously Related: According to a woman in Sunyshore City, he and his son are related to the Underground Man, but she doesn't say what their exact relationship is. Given their ages, it seems likely that the Underground Man is Byron's father or uncle.
- Artificial Brilliance: His team covers each other's weaknesses; Bronzor (for Diamond and Pearl and their remakes) handles the Fighting-types, Magneton (Platinum) is there to take care of Water-types, Steelix has Ice Fang for Ground-types, and Bastiodon has Ancient Power/Stone Edge for Fire-types. No matter what you try to use against him, he's got at least an option to counter you. And that's not in his rematch, he comes prepared Round 1. It makes sense, considering that he's one of the older Gym Leaders and likely has enough experience to counter whatever strategy his challengers are packing. His Pokémon still have many exploitable weaknesses however.
- Badass Cape: He wears a dull brown-green cloak and is the sixth Gym Leader in the Sinnoh.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In the World Tournament, his Aggron has Head Smash and Dragon Rush. It shouldn't be able to have those two moves at the same time in a pre-Gen VI game, because it can only get Head Smash from the Cranidos family and Dragon Rush from the Gible family.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Though his key type is Steel, he uses a lot of Steel-types dual-typed with Rock or Ground, including his signature Bastiodon.
- Extra-ore-dinary: A Steel-type specialist.
- Family Theme Naming: In the original Japanese, Tougan is derived from tōgan, wax gourd, while Hyouta (Roark) is derived from hyōtan, calabash gourd.
- Hot-Blooded: He's always laughing and ready for a good brawl.
- The Hyena: His booming laugh is rendered as "Gwahahahaha!"
- Iconic Item: His shovel, which he is seen carrying in his sprites and official art.
- Large Ham: Especially in the anime.
- Last Chance Hit Point: A lot of his team has the Sturdy ability, preventing a One-Hit KO on them in the remakes.
- Meaningful Name:
- Byron = Iron.
- Acerón in the Spanish version.note
- Tougan = kane.note It may also be a play on tou-san, father.
- His German name is Adam, from "adamin" (adamite), a mineral isostructural with eveite which matches his son's German name: Veit.
- His Spanish name is Acerón, from "acero" (steel).
- His French name is Charles, from "charbon" (coal). It doesn't really evoke steel but it refers to his miner like appearance.
- His Italian name is Ferruccio, from ferro (iron).
- No OSHA Compliance: The platforms in his Gym have no railings or barriers of any sort keeping people on them from falling off.
- Parent-Child Team: In the remakes, he can team up with his son in the Battle Tower against you for a Master Class Double Battle.
- Parents as People: In most adaptations, his relationship with his son Roark is somewhat strained for one reason or another, usually resulting from Byron's Tough Love style of parenting, though they clearly still care about each other.
- In the main games, Roark strives to live up to Byron's high expectations. Many of his lines to the player are about how he wants to get stronger so he can defeat his father in battle.
- In the anime, Roark is angry with Byron for running off to become the Canalave Gym Leader and seemingly abandoning the family. Later, Byron explains that this is because he wanted Roark to become his own person rather than living under his father's shadow, and they are able to reconcile.
- In Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Adventure!, Byron reveals to Hareta that he pushed Roark hard from a young age to become a strong Gym Leader, comparing his raising of his son to the stories of lions training their cubs by throwing them off of cliffs.
- Passing the Torch: Handed the reins of the Oreburgh Gym to Roark, although he continues to hold the torch as the Canalave Gym Leader instead.
- Perma-Stubble: Fitting his mining motif and masculine appearance, he has red stubble lining his chin.
- Power Stereotype Flip: A Steel-type Trainer might be expected to be cold, logical and stoic. Not Byron, who is loud and boisterous with a booming laugh.
- Recurring Element:
- Like Jasmine from Gold and Silver, Byron is the sixth Gym Leader in his region's line-up, specializes in Steel-types, owns a Steelix (although his is not his Signature Mon), and lives in a bustling port city.
- He also continues a trend started by Blaine in Kanto and continued by both Chuck in Johto and Brawly in Hoenn of having their gyms located in cities on islands in the southwest corner of their respective regions.
- Signature Mon: Bastiodon. When considered alongside Roark's use of Cranidos/Rampardos, it serves as another point of connection between the father-son duo with them using Sinnoh's two new fossil lines as their respective mains.
- Signature Move: After defeating him in battle, he gives you the TM for Flash Cannon.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: His lack of them only adds to the rugged appearance.
- Spiky Hair: He has Wild Hair that sticks out in all directions. His beta design◊, however, had a smoother, neater hairstyle.
- Tough Love: In all continuities, Byron holds high expectations for his son Roark and pushes him hard to become a strong Gym Leader. This usually results in some friction between the two of them.
- Weapon Across the Shoulder: Some of his sprites have him carrying his shovel this way.
Candice (Suzuna)
Candice / Suzuna (スズナ suzuna)
Snowpoint City Gym Leader—The Diamond Dust Girl!
- "You want to challenge Candice? Sure thing! I was waiting for someone tough! But I should tell you, I'm tough because I know how to focus. Pokémon, fashion, romance... It's all about focus! I'll show you just what I mean. Get ready to lose!"
A peppy young Ice-type specialist.
- Ambiguously Bi: Her friendship with Maylene becomes the focal point in "Victor's Cooking Class" in Pokémon Masters. Instead of giving her candy, Candice goes the extra mile by pretty much gathering all Fighting-type specialists in a single area (the tundra) and serves Maylene and everyone a huge pot of stew because it's the one thing Maylene loved from eating food Candice had previously given to her before. It's as cuddly as it sounds.
- An Ice Person: An Ice-type specialist.
- Artificial Brilliance: In Platinum, her Abomasnow will set up a permanent hailstorm with Snow Warning. Then when she sends out Froslass, its Snow Cloak ability will raise its evasion, which it can boost even further with Double Team, and it can hit you with Blizzard, which strikes with perfect accuracy in hail. Oh, Crap!, indeed.
- Badass Adorable: She's a cute Genki Girl who also happens to be the second-to-last Gym Leader fought in Sinnoh.
- Exposed to the Elements: She lives in Snowpoint, in the middle of constant snowstorms. Doesn't seem to mind going out dressed like it's the middle of spring.
- Genki Girl: She's very excitable and is shown jumping for joy in her Platinum sprite.
- Girlish Pigtails: She's a peppy young girl and wears a pair of pigtails to go with her energetic and childish nature.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She's the Girly Girl to Maylene's Tomboy, but she's an ironically Hot-Blooded Ice-Type Gym Leader who's also quite tomboyish herself.
- Good Counterpart: She's this with her implied ancestor Clover, who dedicated herself being a bandit and is a complete Jerkass towards the player, while Candice is a Gym Leader and is a supportive Nice Girl towards you.
- Hot-Blooded: Despite her main type. She'll acknowledge this and wonder if she should act more like an Ice-Type trainer "should" act.
- It Runs in the Family: Her Ambiguously Related thieving ancestor Clover was just as Exposed to the Elements as Candice is and hailed from the same cold area around Snowpoint. She also had Abomasnow as her Signature Mon.
- It Was a Gift: In Pokémon Masters, she gets a Galarian Darumaka egg from Melony that evolves into Galarian Darmanitan, the reason being because Melony wanted to mentor a young Ice-type Gym Leader because "a certain someone" (her son Gordie, who's in the same room) decided to use Rock-types instead.
- Mad Libs Catchphrase: She talks a lot about maintaining her focus.
- Magic Skirt: It's shorter than Dawn's. This seems like a health hazard when you consider that she lives in Snowpoint City. Subverted in the remake, as she is now also wearing very brief black shorts under her skirt, in addition to the skirt being magic.
- Meaningful Name:
- Candice.
- Inverna in the Spanish version, comes from Invierno. note
- Suzune = Suzushiinote
- Her German name is Frida, from "frieren" (to freeze).
- Her French name is Gladys, from "glace" (ice).
- Her Italian name is Bianca, meaning "white", like snow.
- Modesty Shorts: In the remake, she wears very short bike shorts under her skirt.
- Ms. Fanservice: Wears an impractically short skirt with nothing but a pair of extra-long socks to keep her legs covered, which still leaves her notably thick thighs exposed, and she's stacked on top of it.
- Power Stereotype Flip: She's a peppy, tomboyish young girl with a Hot-Blooded personality who openly wonders out loud towards the player if she should cultivate an "Ice-Type" personality, cool and distant.Candice: "Do you think I should try to act more like an Ice-type Gym Leader? Like, do you think I should be more cool and distant? That sort of thing I have trouble with."
- Pungeon Master: She throws out a lot of ice puns during her banter.Candice: "I'm going to break the ice and bring out my last-resort Pokémon!"
- Recurring Element: Like Pryce before her in Gold and Silver and Brycen after her in Black and White, she is the seventh Gym Leader in her region's lineup and specializes in Ice-type Pokémon.
- Rule of Symbolism: She gets a Galarian Darmanitan raised from an egg she got from Melony. Given the orangutan has a fiery disposition despite its Ice-typing, it fits Candice particularly well.
- Signature Mon: Abomasnow is her strongest Pokémon in Diamond and Pearl, but changed to Froslass in Platinum and Glaceon in the Platinum rematch. The Gen V World Tournament treats Froslass as her team ace, but Abomasnow and Glaceon return too.
- Signature Move: Avalanche is the move that she gives out in TMs.
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: Her gym puzzle involves you skating around it ramming into snowballs to clear a path to her.
- The Smurfette Principle: The only female Ice-type gym leader, until the introduction of Melony in Generation VIII.
- Third-Person Person: Candice is somewhat prone to this:Candice: "Candice is on fire! I'm blazing hot! Hot enough to melt Ice-type Pokémon! I need a battle to cool me down! OK! I'll show you how good Candice can be! I mean, how good my Pokémon can be! Awww! That's it! I'm going to train so I can throw a Focus Punch myself!"
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Zigzagged with Maylene. Candice is your relatively typical girl to contrast the dedicated martial artist Maylene, but her conversation is quite candid compared to Maylene's more sensitive and withdrawn self.
Volkner (Denzi)
Volkner / Denzi (デンジ denji)
Sunyshore City Gym Leader—The Shining, Shocking Star!
- "...all right, challenger. It's not often, but some Trainers manage to come and challenge me. But they've all been boring battles. I didn't break a sweat beating them. ...Sigh... I'm Volkner, the Gym Leader. They say I'm the top Gym Leader in Sinnoh, but... Anyway, I guess we'd better get this done. I hope you're the Trainer who'll make me remember how fun it is to battle!
An inventor and engineer who specializes in Electric-types. He has become bored with the lack of challenge and has taken to overhauling his city's power grid.
- Artificial Brilliance:
- In Diamond and Pearl, he has an Octillery that knows Aurora Beam for Ground Types.
- In Platinum and the Pokémon World Tournament, his Luxray and Electivire know Ice Fang and Ice Punch to take care of Ground-types as well.
- In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, not only do his Octillery, Lanturn, and Luxray know Ice-type moves, but in his inital match, his Raichu now knows Surf. In addition, in his rematch, he has a Pelipper with the ability Drizzle to cause it to rain, to allow his Raichu, Lanturn, Jolteon, and Electivire to fire off 100% accurate Thunders and power up Raichu and Lanturn's Surf.
- Birds of a Feather: With Kalos's Gym Leader Clemont, as both enjoy inventing and share the same type preferences.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: His interactions with Flint at your Villa sound like this. Obviously, he's the straight man of the duo.
- Boisterous Bruiser: His Electivire is the one who cheerfully goes along with his "renovations," which gets on his Luxray's nerves, who tries to keep Volkner from doing them.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: It's stated that Volkner is skilled enough to take on the Elite Four and was even offered a position for it, but he's content with sprucing up his gym. Though Masters heavily implies that he didn't do it because "under no uncertain terms" he couldn't be allowed to renovate the Pokémon League building.
- Broken Ace: Volkner hadn't had a good match in a long time before you showed up, to the point where he was about ready to resign as Gym Leader and take on the Elite Four. On top of this, he got so fed up in his boredom that he took on an extremely outlandish project to remodel his gym and ended up blacking out all of Sunyshore City. His defeat by your hands makes him take a level in cheerfulness.
- Bungling Inventor: He's a brilliant engineer, but his passion for fixing/making/tinkering electric appliances often ends up with him getting so carried away that whatever he does has a tendency to use way more electricity than they should, becoming massive blackout-makers.
- Cerebro Electro: Volkner is from Sunyshore City, known for its solar farms. He has grown bored with constant victory, so he's decided to overhaul his Gym equipment with puzzles involving electricity-lined paths and exposed dynamos himself, causing strain on the city's power grid.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In his rematch in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, his Luxray knows Play Rough, which Luxray's line can learn with a Technical Record in Sword and Shield. However, movesets are reset upon transfer from Pokémon HOME, so there is no legitimate way for any player to have Play Rough on a Luxray of their own in those games.
- Deadpan Snarker: He acts like this to Flint, if the chat at the player's villa is any indication:Volkner: Flint's fascination with fire-types comes from his name. Someone once told him a flint was used to start a fire, and that was it.
- Elemental Hair Colors: Blond and spiky, being an Electric specialist.
- Epic Fail: He took on an impossibly big project to remodel his gym; so much so, he ended up blacking out all of Sunyshore City. Yes, the city where a good portion of the walking space is made out of solar panels.
- Foil: To Flint. They have a Lightning/Fire Juxtaposition dynamic, and use mirror teams in their team battle against you; Luxray, Jolteon, and Electivire to Houndoom, Flareon, and Magmortar. Their Personality Powers also mirror the other to match their types of choice.
- Gadgeteer Genius: That being said, he often goes overboard with his inventions.
- He apparently built all the obstacles in his gym by himself.
- In Masters, he "fixed" all of Clemont's vending machines, but ended up making them use excess electricity which causes multiple blackouts in the city.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Flint. Although the heterosexual part is up for debate given how they interact.
- Hot-Blooded: Played with. In contrast with Flint, he starts out sounding bored with everything, but becomes more fired up as a battle progresses.
- Making a Splash: He owns an Octillery in Diamond and Pearl, useful for countering any Ground-types you might be bringing to counter his Electric-types. He also has a Lanturn in his rematch in Platinum and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, and a Pelipper in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
- Meaningful Name:
- Volkner sounds like "Volt".
- Lectro in the Spanish version, from electric. Kinda obvious.
- "Denji" is a Japanese homonym for "electromagnetism".
- His French name is Tanguy, from "tension" as in an electric tension.
- His Italian name is Corrado, from corrente, meaning "current" as in electric current.
- His Korean name is Jeonjin, from "jeon" (electricity/lightning) and "jin" (thunder). Jeaonjin also means "Advance".
- Non-Elemental: He owns the Normal-type Ambipom in Diamond and Pearl.
- Only Sane Man: His Luxray note . He often has to stop him from going overboard in "fixing" broken appliances to keep him from pumping up too much power into them. To his chagrin, Electivire likes their trainer's "renovations."
- Personality Powers: He charges up like a battery, starting off bored and flippant, then as the battle continues, he grows more excited until he's laughing about what a good battle you gave him when you beat him.
- Power Stereotype Flip: He's reserved, cool-headed, stoic, and logical at first, instead of being loud and energetic like one might expect an Electric-type Trainer to be.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The quiet and reserved Blue to Flint's Hot-Blooded red.
- Shock and Awe: Electric-type specialist.
- Signature Mon: Luxray in Diamond and Pearl. In Platinum, it's changed to Electivire, which along with Flint's change to Magmortar makes their status as friends/rivals even more evident. Luxray is still the ace in the remakes, though. He uses both in Masters in his regular and New Year's 2022 outfits respectively.
- Signature Move: Charge Beam.
- Status Buff: He has an Ambipom trained for Baton Passing.
- The Stoic: He's averse to open emotion and tends to be quiet.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: In Masters, he mentions he didn't join the Sinnoh Elite Four because he was told under no "uncertain terms" that he couldn't renovate the Pokémon League building, before he quickly tries to deny that by saying being a Gym Leader gave him better chances of meeting regular folk.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: Volkner in Masters is less depressed than he was in the Sinnoh games, showing more of his emotions and love for inventing stuff. Justified, as this is him after his defeat by Dawnnote when she reignited his passion for battling. His debut event even flips the dynamic between him and Flint around by having the latter be burnt out and Volkner needing to figure out how to fire him up.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Flint.Volkner: My relationship to Flint? There's no love lost, that's for sure.
- Walking Disaster Area: Don't expect any nearby electronics to work properly if you ever see him in a good mood close by.
- Worf Had the Flu: Rematches with Volkner gives the implication that he had some ring rust during your first battle with him.
Elite Four and Champion
Aaron (Ryō)
Aaron / Ryō (リョウ ryou)
Voiced by: Kevin K. Gomez (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yoshitaka Yamaya (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"I'm a huge fan of bug Pokémon. Bug Pokémon are nasty-mean, and yet they're beautiful, too..."
A young Bug-type master.
- Achilles' Heel: Three of his five Pokémon in Diamond and Pearl have a 4x weakness. They won't last long if you have that particular Type handy. In Platinum, four of his five team members have a 4x weakness with his signature Drapion being the only one that doesn't.
- Admiring the Abomination: He dotes on his Vespiquen so much that he has to personally gather honey to satisfy her, or else she becomes unruly.
- Anime Hair: He has short green hair that comes with a high cowlick that resembles a beetle's antennae.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: He loves Bug-types, and wonders why most people don't love Bug-types too. His team also includes large insectoid Pokémon that aren't Bug-types, such as Flygon and Drapion.
- Birds of a Feather: In Pokémon Masters, he bonds with Johto's Gym Leader Bugsy over their shared interests in Bug-types. Moreso because both use bee Pokémon as their main Sync Pair options.
- Childhood Friend Romance: In a dramatic in Black 2 and White 2, he became a Gym Leader to impress a childhood friend, only for her to fall in love with another Gym Leader. When that Gym Leader turned out to be a fraud, he confessed his love for her right after he became promoted to Elite Four.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Green hair and green eyes.
- Dragon Tamer: For his rematch in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl he's added the part Dragon-type Flygon to his team.
- Extra-ore-dinary: He adds the part Steel-type Scizor to his team in Platinum.
- Friend to Bugs: He adores and is obsessed with Bug-type Pokémon.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: A rare heroic variant of this trope. He was originally just another Bug Catcher who never lost his love for Bug-type Pokémon even after growing up, but became so good with utilizing Bug-types and won so many battles with them that he eventually reached up to the Elite Four, being effective one of the Top 5 Strongest Trainers in the entire Sinnoh region. Yes, he's the weakest of the Elite Four, but that's still ludicrously impressive given the competition he faces for that.
- Graceful Loser: If somewhat adorkable in trying to be this.
- Idiot Hair: Considering his specialty type, it might be intended as reminiscent of a rhinoceros beetle's (like Heracross) horn.
- Meaningful Name:
- Aaron is like arachnid.
- His Spanish name is Alecrán, from "alacrán", (scorpion).
- His Korean name is Chungho, from "chung", (bug).
- Mook Promotion: According to a television channel in Black 2 and White 2, a Bug Catcher in Sinnoh managed to get a position as a Gym Leader, then worked his way up to the Elite Four.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted. Not to be confused with Sir Aaron from the eighth movie of the anime.
- Signature Mon: Drapion. Despite it not being of his Bug typing, it does fit the "nasty-mean" part of his opening lines, not to mention its previous form Skorupi is a Bug-type. Interestingly, he is the only member of the Sinnoh Elite Four whose main Pokémon stays the same when their teams get revamped for Platinum. He is also associated with Vespiquen, one of his strongest Pokémon that is Bug-type and his default partner in Masters.
Bertha (Kikuno)
Bertha / Kikuno (キクノ kikuno)
Voiced by: Dorah Fine (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yorie Terauchi (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"You're quite the adorable Trainer, but you've also got a spine."
A kindly old woman who fields Ground-types in battle.
- Amazon Brigade: Every Pokémon she fields in her initial Elite Four and rematch bouts is female, with the exception of Nidoking.
- Ambiguously Related: It's strongly implied she may be a relative of Agatha of the Kanto Elite Four. They have similar names (even in Japanese), they look similar, they have identical hairstyles, similar speech patterns (though Bertha is much nicer than Agatha), and Charm from Legends: Arceus resembles both of them and uses a Gengar and Rhydon, implying a shared ancestor. Shauntal remarks on their similarities in Gen V, but there's nothing confirmed.
- Character Catchphrase: "Dear child."
- Cool Old Lady: She's a polite older woman and the second member of the Elite Four.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Ground-type master.
- Loners Are Freaks: She mentions that her Hippowdon, when it was wild, used to distance herself from her pack because she was too strong for them, giving her a superiority complex. It wasn't until Bertha decided to catch her that Bertha taught her that she needed to mingle in order to become even stronger. Cue to the present day, and now Hippowdon likes playing tag with Bertha.
- Making a Splash: Her Whiscash and Quagsire, who are part Water-type. The latter only appears on her Diamond and Pearl team.
- Meaningful Name:
- Bertha, from "earth".
- Her French name is Terry, from "terre" (earth).
- Her German name is Teresa, from "terrain" (soil).
- Her Italian name is Terrie, from "terra" (earth).
- Her Spanish name is Gaia, the name of the Greek deity personifying the earth.
- Mighty Glacier: As usual with a Ground-type master, her Pokémon are a bit slow, but very tough.
- Never Mess with Granny: A given considering she's a member of the Elite Four. Her Ground-type Pokémon will absolutely mess you up if you aren't prepared.
- Old Master: An elderly Ground-type Trainer who holds her own as a member of the Elite Four.
- Scarf of Asskicking: A brown one, as befits a Ground-type Trainer.
- Scary Scorpions: She adds a Gliscor to her team in Platinum.
- Signature Mon: Hippowdon in Diamond and Pearl and her Sync Pair Pokémon in Pokémon Masters, Rhyperior in Platinum and BDSP. Both reflect the Ground-type's typical nature of prioritizing defense over offense.
- Team Mom: During her character episode in Pokémon Masters, the protagonist notices that Bertha dotes on her Hippowdon as if she were her child. She is delighted to be compared like that.
- Theme Naming: In the English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese versions, she's named after Agatha: Bertha/Agatha, Kikuno/Kikuko, Deul Gukhwa/Gukhwa and Guk Je/Gūkjí.
Flint (Ōba)
Flint / Ōba (オーバ ooba)
"You're facing a Fire-type Pokémon user with me. Let Flint see how hot your spirit burns!"
An excitable young man who trains Fire-types. He's close with Volkner and asks the protagonist to motivate his friend.
- Afro Asskicker: His most notable trait is his red afro and he's tough enough to be a member of the Elite Four. He even suggests to Volkner in Platinum that he should have his Pokémon come out of it just to freak out his opponents. In Masters, it turns out he takes great pride out of it and goes against expectations that Elite Four members should have "clean-cuts."
- Artificial Brilliance:
- He likes to use Sunny Day to power up his Fire-type moves and weaken your Water-type moves. His Magmortar in Platinum has Sunny Day + Solar Beam (and Thunderbolt, for that matter) to deal with Water-types. His Infernape knows Thunder Punch for the same reason, and can use Mach Punch and Earthquake on your Rock-types, plus it's part Fighting-type so it's neutral against Rock-type moves. Zig-zagged in BDSP where while none of his Pokémon in any of his matches know the move, his second rematch has him lead with a Ninetales that has Drought holding a Heat Rock.
- Woe unto those who don't deal with his Drifblim in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl quickly. Give it too much time to setup 3 Minimizes and you'll find yourself fist-first with an Infernape with it's hidden ability of Iron Fist, an entire quartet of punching moves to quite literally punch a hole through each and every one of your 'Mons, and a Focus Sash to make sure that on the off chance you do actually land a solid hit on his Infernape, he'll make sure it won't happen again.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: The wise guy to Volkner's straight man.
- Didn't Think This Through: In his inital battle in BDSP, he taught his Drifblim four status moves...which means that the Blimp Pokémon is easily shut down via Taunt (your opponent's Pokémon can only use attacking moves for three turns and given Drifblim's loadout, he can only use Struggle unless switched out). In addition, in most of the main games, his Sunny Day antics can be shut down by sending out a Kingdra or Palkia who are part Dragon-type and as such aren't bothered by his Pokémon's various moves. Finally, in BDSP, he didn't teach any of his Pokémon Sunny Day in any of his matches removing a key factor that made his battles hard in the original game.
- Elemental Hair Colors: His afro is a fiery red, and the shape of it resembles a cloud of smoke. He also specializes in Fire-type Pokémon.
- Elemental Personalities: He's a Fire trainer, and is energetic and hotheaded.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Lampshaded by Volkner, who states that Flint chose to raise Fire-types because of his name.
- Fiery Redhead: Has red hair to match his fiery personality.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Volkner. Both are close friends and look out for each other when possible. In Platinum, the player and Barry even battle Flint and Volkner together.
- Hot-Blooded: In contrast with Volkner, he starts a battle like this but burns out as he comes closer to losing.
- The Hyena: In Masters his ready animation occasionally has him laughing to himself before calming himself down.
- Informed Attribute: He says that his favorite move is Overheat, but not many of his team members know it. Only his Flareon knows it in Platinum, and none of his Pokémon know it in Diamond and Pearl. However, it does match his own attitude remarkably well, bursting into an intense explosion of fire that leaves the user burned out.
- Meaningful Name:
- Invoked. Once again, see Volkner's Deadpan Snarker entry. In case you don't get it, flint is a material used for making fires.
- His Japanese name is a reference to the fire-type move Overheat (Oobaahiito).
- His German name is Ignaz, from "ignis" which is Latin for "fire".
- His Spanish name is Fausto, from Hefesto (Hephaestus), the Greek god of fire, volcano, and metallurgy.
- His French name is Adrien, from "ardent" (fiery).
- His Italian name is Vulcano, meaning "volcano".
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Goes from enthusiasm to utter devastation after losing.
- Personality Powers: Flipped from Volkner charging up as the battle continues, Flint starts off fired-up, then as you begin to beat him he blazes hotter, only to smolder down to embers on defeat and get quiet.
- Playing with Fire: He apparently chose to train them solely because of his name. This was changed from the Japanese version, where his favorite move is Overheat because it matches his name (Oobaahiito and Ooba).
- Poor, Predictable Rock: Notably averted in Diamond and Pearl due to the staggering lack of Fire-types in Sinnoh before the National Pokédex, as well as not padding out his team with lower evolutions or repeats to compensate: the end result is two Fire-types, a Ghost/Flying-type, a Steel/Ground-type, and a pure Normal-type. His team still has a couple of Fire attacks, however. Platinum remedied this by giving him Flareon, Houndoom, and Magmortar.
- Power of the Sun: He likes the move Sunny Day, which will not only power up his Fire-type moves, but will screw with your Water-type moves' power and, in Platinum, make his Magmortar's Solar Beam work instantly. Averted in BDSP where none of his Pokémon know the move in any of the matches against him save for Ninetales having Drought as its ability.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Hot-Blooded red to Volkner's reserved blue.
- Signature Mon: Infernape in Diamond and Pearl, for his feisty and fiery personality. In Platinum, it's changed to Magmortar, making his status as a counterpart to Volkner even more evident, as the Electabuzz and Magmar lines have always been counterparts to each other. It's his Infernape that he shows up with in Masters, however.
- Sore Loser: Downplayed in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. He looks mildly frustrated after you beat him, but he regains his composure.
Lucian (Goyō)
Lucian / Goyō (ゴヨウ goyou)
Voiced by: Brandon McInnis (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yohei Azakami (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"They say I am the toughest of the Elite Four. I'm afraid I will have to go all out against you to live up to that reputation."
An avid reader and Psychic-type specialist.
- Always Second Best: In Pokémon Masters, Lucian notes that he's tried to beat Cynthia multiple times, but has been unable to do so, leaving him as only the second best trainer in Sinnoh compared to her.
- Badass Bookworm: He is an avid reader that you can meet in the Canalave Library and the final Elite Four member you face.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: He wears a dark red suit and is the final Elite Four member in the Sinnoh region.
- Cool Shades: He wears a distinct pair of glasses and is the last Elite Four member before Cynthia.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Pale lavender hair and eyes.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Well... it looks... sort of blue... Or is it purple?
- Meaningful Name:
- Lucian = Illusion. Lucian is also a name based off the Latin word Lux, which means 'light'.
- Alternatively, his name could have been derived from the word lucid, a word used to describe dreams.
- His French name is Lucio, from "Illusion".
- His Italian name is Luciano, from "luce" (light).
- His Spanish name is Delos, from "delusion".
- Lucian = Illusion. Lucian is also a name based off the Latin word Lux, which means 'light'.
- Poor, Predictable Rock: He's the only member of the Sinnoh Elite Four in Diamond and Pearl in which all the Pokémon in his team share a single type.
- Psychic Powers:
- At least with his Pokémon, because it isn't quite clear whether Lucian has them himself like most Psychic-type specialists (in contrast to how Sabrina expected the player to face her in Generation I, Lucian finishing a book as soon as the player walks into his room is merely stated to be good timing). At the very least, he's stated by an NPC to have a fondness for books on ESP, as well as books in general considering his frequenting the Canalave Library.
- The aforementioned good timing may be a little too good to be mere chance, both in the anime (not all that unusual, but still notable) and in the games.
- Signature Mon: Bronzong in Diamond and Pearl, Gallade in Platinum. Masters pairs him up with Girafarig.
- Theme Naming: Many of his western names (Lucian, Lucio, Luciano, etc.) all tap into the same light motif that the Player Characters' names do.
Cynthia (Shirona)
Cynthia / Shirona (シロナ shirona)
Voiced by: Aya Endo (Pokémon Generations - JP), Mie Sonozaki (Pokémon Masters - JP), Tara Sands (Pokémon Generations - EN), Allegra Clark (EN, Pokémon Masters), France Renard (FR, Pokémon Generations)
"Together, you and your Pokémon overcame all the challenges you faced, however difficult. It means that you've triumphed over any personal weaknesses, too. The power you learned... I can feel it emanating from you."
Champion of the Sinnoh league, she's an archaeologist who explores ancient ruins and investigates ancient legends. After her debut in Diamond and Pearl, she appears as a Superboss or cameos in every main series game until X and Y. Unlike some champions, she has no type of preference; she trains a diverse and balanced team.
- Adaptational Curves: Her appearances in Pokémon Masters and the Diamond and Pearl remakes give her a more defined bust.
- Adventurer Archaeologist: She's an archaeologist and also Champion of the Sinnoh region, which Lenora references in Black and White.
- Always Someone Better:
- Lucian is the second-strongest trainer in Sinnoh, but Cynthia is still much more powerful than he is, which he notes in Pokémon Masters.
- In the same game, it is then discussed by her in her Trainer's Lodge conversation that Champions are meant to be replaced by someone stronger eventually, though she still hopes that her achievements up until then will go down in history.
- Ambiguously Related: Volo and Cogita, the human Big Bad and Big Good respectively of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, bear a striking resemblance to her; the latter is closer to her in appearance, while the former has a nearly-identical team and a similar battle theme to her. It's unknown whether either or both of them are Cynthia's ancestors, or whether one is more closely related to her than the other. Both also profess to be the last inheritors of the Celestica people, meaning Cynthia is also likely of that lineage.
- Ascended Extra: Since Generation III, the series has gone way off the Non-Linear Sequel scale — characters from previous generations are assumed to be far away, and barring some stray cameos here and there, you're lucky to even hear about them. Cynthia was in every game since her introduction, including HeartGold and SoulSilver, though this trend was broken in X and Y. She returns in Sun and Moon however before disappearing as of Generation VIII outside of BDSP.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Played with. As of Generation VII, trainers have a "thinking" animation they adopt occasionally in battle to show them strategizing. During the battle with Cynthia in the remakes, she often adopts this pose twice in a row, suggesting she puts a lot more thought into her battle strategy than the other trainers.
- Badass Bookworm: A scholar and a League Champion.
- Badass Longcoat: Wears a long black coat and is Champion of the Sinnoh region.
- Big Good: In the plot of Diamond, Pearl and Platinum. She actually leaves most of the good stuff to you, but is around to guide and help you repeatedly along the way.
- Boss Banter: During battle she occasionally lets you know she's having a lot of fun.
- Breaking Old Trends:
- She is the first female NPC Champion in the series.
- In Masters, she is the first Trainer to receive more than one sygna suit.
- Breakout Character: By far the most beloved Champion, especially after Platinum gave her an even bigger role in the story. Game Freak would later on feature Cynthia in many more games, going on to be the most featured Champion and in general one of the most recurring characters in the franchise. Additionally, two of the three Pokémon which have been on every one of her teams are Lucario and Garchomp, two breakouts in their own right. Even in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which takes place before her time, two major characters in the story are directly modeled after her and are implied to be related to her, with one having a nearly identical team to her.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Her place is a jumbled mess of research papers and she'd rather leave saving the world to under-qualified preteens. She's also by far the most powerful trainer in the region, at least until the player character bests her.
- Conditioned to Accept Horror: In Pokémon Masters, during "The Haunted Museum!" story event, she and Steven merrily laugh at the prospect of touching Runegrigus' clay body to learn about the picture drawn on it even if it meant getting cursed by it.
- Continuity Nod:
- In Black and White: "You certainly bear a resemblance to that trainer who faced Giratina..."
- In Pokémon Masters, one of her Trainer Lodge preferred topics is swimsuits, referring to her bringing up trying to choose between two swimsuits in Black and White.
- Cool Big Sis: She's an older sister, and she acts like this to you. Her younger sister back in Celestic Town eagerly describes Cynthia's interests in mythology.
- Cutting Off the Branches: In Black and White she mentions a "young trainer" (ostensibly the player character the Gen IV games) who defeated Giratina, implying Platinum is the canon game of those three Gen IV games.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She is dressed in dark clothes and she uses Spiritomb, a Ghost/Dark type, but she's a really nice person. Taken further in Masters with her second Sygna Suit, which is styled after her partner Giratina, a Ghost/Dragon type.
- Depending on the Artist: Has Combat Stilettos in her Sugimori art, but her sprites in Gen IV and Gen V give her flat shoes. Her models in Gen VII, Gen VIII, and Masters give her the high heels, however.
- Dragon Tamer: Champion Cynthia's ace and strongest Pokémon is the Dragon/Ground-type Garchomp. Despite being her only Dragon-type, it hasn't stopped people from saying she's a Dragon-type master. This becomes a point of contention among fans of hers in Pokémon Masters, where she gets compared against Lance, who is world-renowned as a Dragon-type Master. In the same game, she also partners with Kommo-o and Giratina for each of her two different Sygna Suits.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: In the original Diamond and Pearl, she has a Gastrodon on her team, which is notably mismatched when compared to the other Pokémon on her team: Garchomp is a pseudo-legendary (and thus rare and very powerful), Spiritomb is extremely rare and can only be found in Odd Keystones, Lucario is also very rare and powerful, Roserade is only obtainable through using a rare evolutionary stone, and Milotic is notoriously difficult to evolve from Feebas, a Pokémon already infamous for being hard to obtain. On the other hand, Gastrodon can be obtained easily in the wild on multiple routes, not to mention its typing overlaps with Garchomp and Milotic, even though Cynthia is consistently known for her team diversity in all her other appearances in the series. Her Gastrodon was later replaced by the considerably stronger and rarer Togekiss in Platinum. Cynthia would reappear in later games with a wide variety of powerful Pokémon each time, but her Gastrodon never returned outside the Diamond and Pearl remakes.
- Exposed to the Elements: Inverted. She keeps her all-black outfit (complete with Badass Longcoat) in the tropical region of Alola in Sun and Moon.
- Fighting Your Friend: Cynthia actually becomes quite friendly with the player over the course of Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, making it all the more interesting when you finally face off.
- Final-Exam Boss: Comes with the usual territory of being Champion and having a balanced team as opposed to one type specialization, but what makes her especially notable is that two of her Pokémon, Roserade and Lucario, were first used by Sinnoh Gym Leaders. In BDSP, her team is even stronger by equipping items that counter the usual exploits. You can't just one-shot Garchomp with an Ice-type attack anymore thanks to its Yache Berry, and even if you think about fielding a Fairy-type against her, it's got Poison Jab to cover that weakness as well.
- Foreshadowing: In Black and White, she says, "Once every few years, the Champions of each region gather and compete to see who is the strongest! An interesting idea, don't you agree?" In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, we get the Pokémon World Tournament, which is exactly that.
- Genius Slob:
- In optional dialog at the Villa in Pokémon Platinum Cynthia confesses her home is a mess with research papers strewn everywhere.
- During summer in Pokémon Black and White, Cynthia will lament that she can't live in Undella Town because a mountain of research will pile up.
- In the "A Day with Cynthia" story from Pokémon Masters, Cynthia admits to turning her room into a mess of scattered research papers when she was staying at Caitlin's villa.
- Graceful Loser: Up to the battle, she does the usual "I see the strength in your heart and accept the challenge" bit that nearly all powerful trainers in the series seem obligated to recite by contract. But as the battle progresses, she gradually stops bothering, and her response when you beat her is basically a "Yay for you!".
- Guest-Star Party Member: You can team up with her for the Multi Battle mode in the Battle Tree in Pokémon Sun and Moon and Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.
- Hair Flip: Flips one of her bangs before throwing a Poké Ball in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Really long blonde hair, and par for the course for a Champion, a really nice person.
- Helping Would Be Kill Stealing: Only the player character has the strength to thwart Cyrus and Team Galactic, even after she enters the Distortion World with them, despite her being the strongest Trainer in the region.
- Hero of Another Story: Various comments from her and Professor Rowan indicate that when she was younger she was given a Pokédex and went on a journey that culiminated in her becoming Champion, just like the player would do years later.
- Hidden Depths: Her friendship story in Masters reveals outside of her research, she's also a big fan of classical music.
- Iconic Sequel Character: One of the most iconic champions in the franchise, she was introduced in the fourth generation.
- Impossibly-Low Neckline: Cynthia's concept art reveals that the shirt she wears underneath her jacket has a neckline so low that it partially shows her cleavage both above and below.
- Ironic Name: Her Japanese name Shirona means white, but her Champion room and outfit is the opposite of it.
- Lady of War: She's composed, elegant, polite and the Champion.
- Leitmotif: Two of them; one during the dialog before battle and the other during battles. She keeps both across generations, promoting them from normal Final Boss themes to this. Her introductory theme can be heard any time in Platinum if one's villa has a piano. In Pokémon Masters, she even tells the player that her favorite instrument is the piano and likes listening to piano concerts.
- Master of All: Her Platinum team has no overlapping types and she has a damaging move for every one in the series up to that point except for Steel.
- Min-Maxing: Going through the data of the Sinnoh games shows that her Pokémon have the highest possible Individual Values. This makes her team notably bulkier and stronger than the rest of the Elite Four.
- A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: During her days as a traveling trainer, her Riolu often made her uncomfortable because it was able to sense her thoughts and insecurities. However, she later turned this weakness into a strength by learning from her shortcomings.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's tall, her outfit exposes some cleavage, and she likes to tease. Of all the Pokémon Champions, Cynthia's up there as one of the most attractive. Her concept art goes even further with this, revealing the shirt she wears under her jacket actually has an impossibly low necklne that shows some slight underboob and sideboob, and more recent games show she's actually quite well-endowed now that she's rendered with a 3D model. One female Swimmer trainer asks the player if they came to the beach just to see Cynthia in a swimsuit.
- Nerf: In the Generation VII games, her Garchomp can be easily taken down via Fairy-types given it has no counters against them. Averted in BDSP wherein her Garchomp knows Poison Jab.
- Nice Girl: She's probably the nicest character in the series, with Steven Stone behind her. Especially seen in Platinum, she trusts the player an Egg to take care of, is thankful after saving the world from inside the Distortion World, and is genuinely happy when she gets to see your coronation as the Champion.
- Non-Elemental: She has no type specialty, like Blue and preceding Diantha, Kukui and Leon.
- Olympus Mons: Her second Sygna Suit in Masters pairs her up with Giratina.
- Signature Mon:
- She is primarily associated with Garchomp, as it's her highest-leveled Pokémon in nearly every encounter, and always leads with it during the Pokémon World Tournament. It's also her Pokémon partner in Masters, where many trainers (and fans) consider her the strongest Dragon-type master just because of her Garchomp.
- Other Pokémon commonly associated with her are Lucario, Spiritomb, and Togekiss, as they're also on all of her teams (with Togekiss joining Platinum and onward). Her hair accessories mimic the ones found on Lucario, and she gifts the player a Togepi egg.
- Socialite: Being one is one of her reasons for being in Unova.
- Spirited Competitor: Enjoys battling worthy challengers, and in BDSP her expression before throwing her Poké Ball is a very eager grin.
- Statuesque Stunner: She towers over other characters and several characters in other games comment on her looks.
- Super Mode: In the Battle Tree, her Lucario and Garchomp can Mega Evolve, so can her Garchomp in Masters.
- Superboss: She appears as a hidden superboss in the post-game of both Gen V games, in a villa in Undella Town.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: As a beautiful woman who is simultaneously a researcher, an expert at raising pokémon, and a Genius Slob, Cynthia fills a very similar niche to Professor Philena Ivy of Pokémon: The Original Series.
- The Tease: In Black 2 / White 2:Cynthia: "Hmm. This is difficult. I was greedy and bought a lot of swimsuits, but now I can't pick which one to wear."
"Here's my problem. I have a white swimsuit and a black swimsuit... Which one would look better on me?" - Trash of the Titans: Any room has the misfortune of being littered with research papers that she won't pick up. At Pasio, she's elated to know the hotel where she stays at has staff that will clean up her own mess.
- Two Girls to a Team: Gender inverted. She's never had more than two male Pokémon on her team. In Diamond and Pearl, her only male Pokémon is Lucario. In Platinum and the rematches in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, her female Gastrodon is dropped for Togekiss, who is also male. In Black and White, Togekiss is dropped for Braviary, a male-only species, and in Black 2 and White 2, Togekiss is re-added. Black 2 and White 2 also play with this with her team for the Pokémon World Tournament, where the gender of each Pokémon owned by NPCs is selected at random, thus it is possible for Cynthia to use three male Pokémon when you face her there.
- Uncatty Resemblance: Downplayed; her hairpieces resemble the black appendages that hang down from a Lucario's head.
- Useless Useful Spell:
- For the first few generations of her appearances her Garchomp always had the Sand Veil ability, which boosts its evasion in a sandstorm. Too bad she has no Pokémon that can cause it, regardless of game. Subverted in the Battle Tree, as her Garchomp (the moveset with the Garchompite) has Sandstorm, but it'll be used more for Sand Force instead. The Diamond and Pearl remakes avoid the issue entirely by giving her Garchomp its overall more useful Hidden Ability Rough Skin. In addition, in the Generation VII games, her Garchomp has no answer to Fairy-types who easily shut down the Mach Pokémon. BDSP gives her Garchomp Poison Jab to fix this.
- Togekiss in Platinum has it even worse. Its ability, Hustle, boosts its physical Attack at the cost of accuracy on its physical moves. But since it doesn't have any physical move, its Ability is practically useless. This was fixed in Black 2/White 2, where its ability was changed to Serene Grace (although in the Pokémon World Tournament, it's randomized every time you fight her).
- World's Best Warrior: Cynthia is the highest-leveled female NPC trainer across all Pokémon games. In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, her final rematch team's overall level is actually the highest of all NPC trainers in the series — while her highest leveled Pokémon is a tie with Red in HeartGold and SoulSilver (Garchomp and Pikachu, at level 88), the rest of her team is a few levels ahead of Red's. Cynthia's combination of balanced team composition, level, and Min-Maxing makes her one of the strongest trainer encounters in the entire franchise as far as actual gameplay goes. Though, it is worth noting that in his adulthood, Red still ends up being the only NPC trainer to combine Mega Evolution and Z-Moves in the same team, whereas Cynthia at most has only been shown using one at a time.
