Characters / Pokémon the Series: Black & White — Cast

Pokémon anime characters index
Series-wide: Ash Ketchum | Pikachu | Team Rocket Trio | Team Rocket Trio's Pokemon | Team Rocket Organization
Major Characters: Misty | Brock | May | Dawn | Paul | Iris | Serena | Goh
Original Series: Ash's Pokémon (Kanto, Orange Islands, Johto)
Supporting Cast | Gym Leaders | One-shot Characters
Advanced Generation: Ash's Pokémon (Hoenn) | Supporting Cast | Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains | Villains
Diamond and Pearl: Ash's Pokémon (Sinnoh) | Supporting Cast | Gym Leaders | Villains
Black and White: Ash's Pokémon (Unova) | Supporting Cast | Rivals | Gym Leaders | Villains
XY: Ash's Pokémon (Kalos) | Supporting Cast | Rivals | Gym Leaders | Mega Evolution Special | Villains
Sun and Moon: Ash's Pokémon (Alola) | Supporting Cast | Kahunas and Guardian Deities | Aether Foundation | Villains
Journeys: Ash's Pokémon (Journeys) | Supporting Cast | Galar | One-shot Characters
Horizons: Lead Characters | Pokémon | Antagonists | Supporting Cast
Movies: Movies 1 to 19 | I Choose You! (Ash Ketchum) | The Power of Us | Secrets of the Jungle

Main characters

Iris

See here for more about Iris and her Pokémon.

Cilan (Dent)

Voiced in Japanese by: Mamoru Miyano

Voiced in English by: Jason Griffith

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Bruno Coronel

First appeared next to Iris as a silhouette. He is a Pokémon Connoisseur. He's also one-third of the first Gym Leader trio in Unova, focusing on the Grass-Type.

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• The Ace: He's really good at many things from battling, evaluating, cooking, fishing, detective work and acting.
• Adaptational Attractiveness: Inverted — the anime simplified his design and made him look a little childish and/or like Brock for the same of being easier to adjust to. Most fans think he still looks pretty good though.
• Adaptational Personality Change: In the games, Cilan is polite to the point of meekness, often stammering. Cilan in the anime, on the other hand, is MUCH less shy.
• Agent Peacock: More fabulous than feminine, but very, very fabulous.
• Agent Scully: In the museum episode.
• Always Camp: Bi, straight, gay, asexual...whatever the case may be, Cilan will always be fabulous.
• Always Someone Better: His one-sided rivalry with Burgundy. No matter how hard she tries to upstage him, she never managed to "exact revenge" on him for crushing her in a gym battle. This is best demonstrated by the fact he's an A-Class Connoisseur who's still a well-regarded gym leader that managed to place higher than her in every competition they participated in, while she was stuck as a C-Class Connoisseur that didn't get very far, and is usually considered a minor annoyance by most of the Unovan rivals.
• Arbitrary Skepticism: Keeps coming up with "scientific" explanations for the occurrences at the Nacrene Museum, without considering the possibility of a Ghost Pokémon.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: His job is to evaluate the relationship between trainers and their Pokémon. He is also an excellent strategist in battle.
• Ax-Crazy: Whenever he starts hamming it up. Which is often.
• Badass Normal: At least when it comes to fishing. He caught Stunfisk without using any Pokémon!
• Badass in a Nice Suit: With a matching green bowtie and Waistcoat of Style.
• Berserk Button: Despite being the eldest (and most logical) of the trio in Black and White, he's also the one most easily set off, to the point of completely losing emotional control - particularly in battle or when his cooking is ruined.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He has shown shades of a darker personality in a few episodes. Just ask Burgundy, who suffered a Humble Pie from him. Most of the time, it's played for laughs.
• Bishie Sparkle: Constantly seems to happen around him, especially during his "tasting time" sequences.
• The Bus Came Back: Returns for the second Post-XY special, and runs into Clemont and Bonnie in the process. He returns in JN132 and Aim To Be A Pokémon Master's third episode.
• The Cameo: in JN106, Team Rocket's radio show gets a message from someone calling themselves "Radio Connoisseur" (heavily implied to be Cilan).
• Cassandra Truth: Regarding the Purrloin in "Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky?".
• Catchphrase: "It's ______ time!"
• Chick Magnet: The Striaton Gym's customers are mostly female, and each and every one of them are huge fans of the triplets in general.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
  • It's hidden beneath the layers of campiness and Bishōnen, but this guy is a very competent battler indeed; ask Burgundy, who got destroyed by Dwebble and Pansage, with no meaningful damage done to either of them. He was downright toying with her Sawsbuck before the finishing blow. He's not a Gym Leader for nothing.
  • And to add to that, he caught Stunfisk using only his fishing rod. He's just that Badass.
  • It just keeps piling up, what with Dwebble demolishing Trip's Gurdurr.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: After he loses to Ash, almost all of Cilan's battle after that are one sided in his favor. He easily destroyed Burgundy and her team without taking any damage and demolished Trip's Gurdurr during the Don Battle tournament. He then had his record broken by Luke, due to his own fault of giving the up-and-comer too much advice and trying to troll him with a Stunfisk in a one vs. one Pokémon match instead of using his other more experienced Pokémon. He and Ash were later victims of one at the hands of the Subway Masters. It got worse when he went up against Skyla.
• Curtains Match the Window: Green hair and eyes.
• Disproportionate Retribution: On the receiving end by Burgundy, who's made it her life's mission to destroy him when he handily beat her in her first gym battle. Of course, she claims he mocked her defeat, when Cilan is only known to offer constructive criticism.
• Drama Queen: Sometimes Cilan makes the biggest ordeals out of meanial things, like his cutlery getting dirty.
• Dramatic Gun Cock: With his fishing rod.
• Elemental Hair Colors: He has green hair to go with his signature Pokémon, Pansage, who is a Grass type.
• Even the Guys Want Him: Cilan seems to get the attention of men as well.
• Evil Is Hammy: He expresses this philosophy when playing the villain in Luke's movie.
• Evil Laugh: In Burgundy's Imagine Spot in Episode 19.
• Explaining Your Power to the Enemy: He spends a lot of time during battles flamboyantly explaining his strategies (as well as simply talking about how good his Pokémon are). Sometimes this backfires on him, as quite a few of the individual battles he has lost he could have potentially won had he not spent so much time talking and allowed his opponent to come up with a counterattack. Though it's somewhat justified since this is part of a gym leader's job and consequently it's a force of habit.
• Flat-Earth Atheist: When a Yamask was haunting the Nacrene Museum, Cilan refused to believe so, coming up with scientific explanations for metal to be floating through glass. Considering his partner is a monkey that can use the power of the sun, it makes little sense he wouldn't be more open-minded.
  • He's very dismissive about N being able to talk to Pokémon, despite Meowth being a Pokémon that can talk to humans, though to be fair, Meowth actually knows human language.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Melancholic.
• Freudian Trio:
  • The Kirk: To his brothers.
  • The Spock: To Ash and Iris.
• Gratuitous English: "IT'S TASTING TIME!"
  • He'll say "good taste" when catching a Pokémon.
• Hidden Depths: Who would have thought that the camp Team Chef would be a science geek who's a big fan of UFOs trains, and fishing to boot?
• Hoist by His Own Petard: His overconfidence and hamminess contributed to all of his onscreen losses so far.
• Large Ham: Occasionally becomes this when he gets to showcase his skills. Can be extreme even for this series.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: Any time he and Burgundy compare evaluations.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: "It's tasting time!" This actually backfires on him in the Donamite battle though, where he gets a non-literal Talk to the Fist while setting up his evaluation.
• Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The Feminine Boy to Iris' Masculine Girl.
• Mr. Fanservice: Extremely handsome and fabulous.
• Nice Guy: Most of the time. When you piss him off, he becomes dangerous.
• Noodle Incident: He seems to have had a bad experience with a Purrloin in the past, but refuses to go into detail.
  • You Do Not Want To Know: His reaction when Ash and Iris (on separate occasions) asked him about it.
  • The Unreveal: Ash and Iris eventually learn of why Cilan fears Purrloin early on in the Decolore Island saga. Unfortunately, the audience doesn't.
• One Degree of Separation: After leaving the main group, he runs into Brock, another fellow Gym Leader and former traveling companion of Ash, but they don't learn about their connection to him until some point before JN132, where they and Alexis watch Ash's final match against Leon. Aim To Be A Pokémon Master features both of them as having visited Galar when Ash and Misty arrive there, but while Brock rejoins his old friends, Cilan returns to Unova so he can attend the debut of a new rail coach Ingo and Emmett are debuting.
• Only Sane Man: Out of the three, Cilan is the most level headed and mature.
• Out of Focus: He didn't start out too badly, but eventually the number of his focus episodes became extremely sparse.
• Parental Abandonment: His past was barely revealed. Even in BW140, a flashback was shown of Cilan and his brothers as children, still there are no parents present, just them playing with their Pokémon alone in a meadow.
• Rail Enthusiast: Trains are one of the many big things he's enthusiastic about. Specifically, he's a fan of the Unovan Subway system and its caretakers, Ingo and Emmett, though he does mention there's a lot of different subsections of rail fans.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: One of each to his brothers:
  • Red: To Cress' blue.
  • Blue: To Chili's red.
• Renaissance Man: He's a Pokémon connoisseur, a Supreme Chef, a Rail Enthusiast, an amateur detective, a movie buff, and has knowledge in quite a few other fields, too.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Cilan in one episode was right that a boys Cubchoo ran away from home for a reason but had the facts wrong.
• Running Gag: Whether it's Brock in Johto or with Clemont and Bonnie in Kalos, Cilan never caught on that they all share a mutual friend in Ash.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: In "Scare at the Litwick Mansion". And again multiple times in an episode involving a Purrloin.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Ash, and Stephan if the latter is present.
• Serious Business: He can get a little passionate about anything he's a Connoisseur of.
• Shirtless Scene: Already in "Minccino — Neat and Tidy!"
• Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer: Early on in the season's American advertising, no advertisements made any indication that he would be joining the group.
• Skintone Sclerae: One of only four important characters in the franchise to have this (the other two are Lenora's husband Hawes, Stephan and Lana).
• The Smart Guy: Cilan is shown to be very intelligent at times.
• Stealth Mentor: Toward Burgundy; he seems keen on actually helping her grow stronger, though she doesn't realize this.
• Supreme Chef: Much like Brock, Cilan is extremely skilled at cooking and is frequently praised for it. This isn't too surprising given that he ran a restaurant with his brothers before joining Ash.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Although having a different personality, he fills the same role as Brock. They both are former gym leaders (and family owning a gym), debut in the 5th episode of their introductory series, cook for their friends and Pokémon with high praise on the cooking, act as the mature elderly male in their teens, and eccentric at times (although for different reasons). Surprisingly, Cilan's Pokémon types are almost equal that of Brock's Pokémon during his time at Hoenn: Grass (Ludicolo + Pansage), Rock (Sudowoodo + Crustle), Bug (Forretress + Crustle), Ground (Marshtomp + Stunfisk), and Water (Ludicolo/Marshtomp + the former Basculin); the only exception type is Electric (Stunfisk), which Brock never owned.
• Team Chef: And ends up being a Supreme Chef.
• Uncatty Resemblance: To Pansage◊. They even have similar personalities.
• Unstoppable Rage: If Cilan doesn't agree with your methods as a Gym Leader, he is damn well going to let you know about it. When he finds out Skyla gives out badges without battling, he gets very angry indeed; getting right up in her face, challenging her to a full gym battle and nearly crushing one of his Poké Balls in rage. Unfortunately, this rage means he doesn't use his head like he usually does, and he ends up losing pretty badly.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Ash is horrified when he actually agrees to Burgundy's bet that if he loses against her, all of Ash's Pokémon will be replaced.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: He has to cosplay as Elesa in an episode (though it was incredibly creepy how over-the-top his acting was) and dress as a pretty girl in another. Also interesting to note that he is so far the only one of Ash's male companions to crossdress other than Ash himself.
• Worthy Opponent: One of few "twerp" companions to believe in Team Rocket's worthiness to them (though in fairness he faced them at their best). While everyone is outraged by Meowth's Fake Defector scam, Cilan admits it was genuinely clever nevertheless.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?:
  • Zigzagged. He'll try to explain supernatural activities with logic, but once this fails he's usually the first to freak out. However, he only seems to be afraid of poltergeists, and will calm down if he realises that the happenings are caused by Ghost Pokémon.
  • Played straight though with Purrloin. Even meeting the one on the cruise ship didn't cure him.
• Why Do You Keep Changing Jobs?: Cilan claims to be a connoisseur at almost everything.
• Would Hit a Girl: Observe◊.

Cilan's Pokémon

• Freudian Trio:
  • The Kirk: Pansage
  • The McCoy: Stunfisk
  • The Spock: Dwebble-Crustle
• Out of Focus: All three of Cilan's Pokémon received very little spotlight throughout the series. Also, similar to Brock's original series Pokémon, they didn't really have much characterization either — Pansage gets a slightly better deal on this end, but Crustle and Stunfisk received almost no fleshing out past their capture episodes.

Pansage (Yanappu)

Voiced in Japanese by: Chika Fujimura

Voiced in English by: Eli James

Cilan's initial Pokémon, completing the trio with Cilan's brothers' other elemental monkeys. He's Cilan's signature Pokémon, but doesn't get much development.

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• Always Camp: Every bit as flamboyant as Cilan. Occasionally even mirrors his movements.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Well-mannered and kind most of the time, but when he was sent out in the middle of his nap by Volt Switch during a battle between Iris' Emolga and Bianca's Minccino, he got so pissed off he immediately powered up Solarbeam and destroyed Minccino in one hit.
• Bullet Seed: He literally knows that move and fires it from his mouth.
• Casting a Shadow: Knows Bite.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Knows Dig and Rock Tomb.
• Fast Tunnelling: Knows Dig.
• Green Thumb: Pansage is Grass-Type, being the third member of the Striaton Gym's elemental trio. While the Grass-Type is Cilan's speciality, Pansage is his only Grass-Type Pokémon.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Chili's Pansear. Their relationship is notably compared to the one between their owners, who are brothers and two of a triplet.
• Infinity +1 Sword: Pansage's Solarbeam. Unlike in the games, Pansage seems to shoot one of the most powerful grass-type moves without charging.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Knows Solarbeam.
• Literal Ass-Kicking: Seems to be fond of hitting his opponents in the rear end, first with Ash's Oshawott, and later with Burgundy's Sawsbuck.
• Nice Guy: He has the same personality as his trainer, but you don't want to piss him off.
• Out of Focus: In early promos of Black and White he was shown as a season mascot alongside Pikachu and Axew, but he doesn't get much more (and in some cases less) focus than any of the (supposedly) supporting Pokémon and has yet to show any distinct personality besides being a Pokémon version of his trainer. Despite being Cilan's first known Pokémon, it is almost completely overshadowed by Crustle in battle.
  • He even gets overshadowed by Stunfisk in the first Japanese opening for Best Wishes Season 2.
• The Power of the Sun: Solarbeam, again.
• Signature Mon: Cilan's most recurring Pokémon on hand. Though Cilan's other Pokémon like Crustle and Stunfisk would overshadow Pansage as his primary battler, Pansage remains his consistent companion.
• Scissors Cuts Rock: Absolutely destroys Chili’s Pansear in battle despite being a grass type and Pansear’s fire typing gives it the type advantage. This is due to Chili’s focusing too much on offense and not enough on defense

Dwebble-Crustle (Ishizumai-Iwapalace)

Voiced in Japanese by: Shin-ichiro Miki

Voiced in English by: Tom Wayland

He first appeared when his house was taken by a bully. Cilan helped Dwebble to build a better house and to defeat the bully. He joins Cilan's team and would eventually become his ace.

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• The Ace: With no doubt, Crustle is Cilan's strongest Pokémon.
• Apologizes a Lot: Though he does it in Pokémon Speak.
• Badass Adorable: A cute rock crab who can kick ass.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He looks cute, is a Nice Guy, and Apologizes a Lot. But when he uses Shell Smash, you know shit is about to go down. He also knows Rock Wrecker, the strongest rock move in the game.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Primary type is Bug and he knows X-Scissor.
• Chekhov's Gun: The fluid he uses to make his rock home is shown briefly in his debut episode, then is used again in the Battle Subway two-parter to help break down a door and escape from Team Rocket.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Easily destroys his opponent after using Shell Smash. Opponents suffering this include Burgundy's Dewott, Trip's Gurdurr, Bianca and Juniper's Accelgor and Excavalier (after Ash's Boldore was KOed) and 2/3 of Skyla's team before he lost to her Swanna.
• Determinator: When his shell was stolen.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Secondary type (Rock).
• Elemental Baggage: Summons rocks literally out of thin air when using Rock Slide.
• Gentle Giant: As Crustle.
• Giant Enemy Crab: As Crustle.
• Heroic BSoD: While it wasn't anything to be ashamed of, he was still crushed when Skyla gave him his first loss, retreating into his shell with a miserable expression.
• Last Chance Hit Point: His ability is Sturdy.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Whenever he uses Shell Smash.
• Mighty Glacier: Before using Shell Smash, Dwebble can take a lot of attacks and hit back hard while being slow.
• Nice Guy: Friendly, sweet, and apologetic.
• Pintsized Powerhouse: A very little guy that can kick big butt.
• Signature Move: Shell Smash.

Stunfisk (Maggyo)

Voiced in Japanese by: Unshō Ishizuka

Voiced in English by: Bill Rogers

Stunfisk appeared alongside Palpitoad and both of them were captured by Cilan and Ash, respectively, at the same time. Stunfisk likes to electrocute other people and getting electrocuted himself.

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• Ascended Meme: Stunfisk is popular amongst Japanese players trolling their opponent. Cilan's Stunfisk is pretty much doing the same thing.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Primary type (Ground).
• Flying Seafood Special: No, really.
• The Friends Who Never Hang: His debut appearance showed him being an ally to the Palpitoad Ash catches. Despite this, the two are never shown interacting with each other afterwards.
• Gonk: Pretty ironic that a guy as fabulous as Cilan would catch somebody as ugly as him.
• Jerkass: Electrocutes Ash and Oshawott, forcing them to go to the surface. He then appeared above the water, gives Ash and Cilan his troll face and then goes back into the water. Ash is shouting at him shortly afterward.
  • To add to that, when Archen pecked him, Stunfisk's response was to electrocute Archen with a smile on his face.
• Making a Splash: Is an aquatic Pokémon and knows Scald.
• No-Sell: Being part-Ground-Type, it is immune to Electric-Type moves and loves getting shocked.
• Not Quite Flight: It can glide using its fins.
• Poisonous Person: Knows Sludge Bomb.

• Shock and Awe: Secondary type.
• Slasher Smile: Likes to do this to those he trolls.
• Token Evil Teammate: He isn't evil, but compared to Pansage and Dwebble, Stunfisk is pretty nasty.
• Took a Level in Kindness: A brief shot in BW062 shows him smiling as he watches the usual antics of the group, implying he's grown fond of everyone by this point.
• The Worf Effect: While not portrayed as particularly weak, he is constantly shown losing until the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup - where he defeats a second round opponent with his Sludge Bomb.

Supporting Cast

Professor Aurea Juniper (Dr. Araragi)

Voiced in Japanese by: Naomi Shindo

Voiced in English by: Khristine Hvam

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Dulce Guerrero

The researcher and professor of the Unova region. She hands out Starter Pokémon to new trainers and studies the origins of Pokémon. Professor Juniper's lab serves as a residence for Ash's unused Unova Pokémon which often rotate with each other during his journey. Later on, all of Ash's Unova Pokémon are transferred to Professor Oak's lab.
Ash's Oshawott, Trip's Serperior and Bianca's Emboar all used to be Starter Pokémon from her laboratory, and all of them would later make it to the Vertress Conference of the Unova League. Speaking of Bianca, she and Professor Juniper trade their Shelmet and Karrablast to each other to make them evolve into Escavalier and Accelgor, respectively.

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• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Karrablast. It is then traded for Bianca's Shelmet, who then evolves into Accelgor.
• Brainy Brunette: She has brown hair and is an intelligent professor.
• Character Tics: Seems to be fond of that weird salute that her game counterpart is also prone to doing.
• Energy Weapon: Accelgor's Hyper Beam.
• Green Thumb: Accelgor's Energy Ball.
• Healing Factor: Accelgor's Recover.
• Straight Man: To Fennel.
• Verbal Tic: In the Japanese version, she often says "Arara" and "Ararara", which can be translated as "My, my, my". It's a pun to her name Araragi.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Not to an extreme, but she's definitely a lot less odd than her father, and seems exasperated by some of his behavior.

Don George

Voiced in Japanese by: Hisao Egawa

Voiced in English by: Marc Thompson

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Leonardo García

The owner(s) of the Pokémon Battle Clubs located around the Unova region.

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• Distaff Counterpart: To Jenny and Joy. To the degree that he has dozens of identical brothers.

• Manly Tears: Makes you wonder if he's a Gentle Giant if pressed enough...
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: In the dub, he sounds like Randy Savage!
• Small Name, Big Ego: Each one is certainly a nice guy, but they're also often egotistical - entire tournaments with "Don" in the name and giant statues of Don George at the stadium(s), anyone? Downplayed in the dub with the "Club" tournaments.

Luke

Voiced in Japanese by: Minami Takayama

Voiced in English by: Billy Bob Thompson

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: René Pinochet (season 14), Fernando Calderón (season 15)

A trainer that is aiming to be a film director. Joins Ash and the group during the the Nimbasa tournament arc to learn about filming battles better.

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• All Webbed Up: Larvesta's String Shot.
• Berserk Button: Not really "berserk" for say but he gets irritated when a good battle isn't filmed or when he's told that he can't be a good film director. Bianca pushes both of these buttons.
  • In the dub however, it's more of a berserk button due to his tone of voice and how he calls her out on the first one.
  • Interestingly, for the latter Bianca deliberately pushed it, and for the purpose of helping him (essentially, convincing him to come closer so he can get a clearer shot of the battle taking place). It works...surprisingly well, despite the inherent risk from being inside the battle zone.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He doesn't look it, but he is actually very effective in battle.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Leavanny and Larvesta.

• The Bus Came Back: In the later PokéStar Studios episode, Luke returns to shoot another movie with the gang as a nod to the PokéStar Studios in Black 2 and White 2.
• Camera Fiend: He is obsessed with filming battles and it gets to the point that he gets mad at Bianca who filmed his Zorua instead of his battle with Iris.
• Casting a Shadow: Zorua.
• Combat Pragmatist: His Zorua.
• Doppelgänger Spin: Golett's Double Team.
• Dishing Out Dirt: Golett.
• Elemental Punch: Golett's Shadow Punch.
• Extra-ore-dinary: Golett's Gyro Ball.
• Green Thumb: Leavanny.
• Guest-Star Party Member: During the Club Battle Tournament arc.
• Master of Disguise: Zorua, but since it's a girl, it prefers doing female roles.
• Meaningful Name: See Shout-Out below.

• Playing with Fire: Larvesta.
• The Prankster: Zorua really has no motive for her tricks other than to have fun at anyone's expense (sometimes even Luke's!).
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Savvy Guy to Bianca's Energetic Girl.
• Shapeshifting Trickster: His Zorua, who often turns into Georgia or someone else altogether to have Bianca continue to search for her tirelessly.
• Shout-Out: To George Lucas — he's a bespectacled, brown-haired film director with a fondness for the Cliché Storm elements of classic storytelling, and manages to make them work in a way which appeals to filmgoers and critics.

• Soul Power: Golett, Zorua's Shadow Ball.
• Well, Excuse Me, Princess!: In the dub, Luke almost says this word per word to Bianca when she says that he only told him to film but not who to film.

Freddy O'Martian a.k.a. "The Scoop" (Takemitsu)

Voiced in Japanese by: Mitsuaki Madono

Voiced in English by: Tom Wayland

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Roberto Mendiola

An announcer from Unova who features as a major host for various tournaments from Unova. He has been, so far: the co-announcer for the Club Battle and Clubsplosion Tournaments with each local Don George; the co-host of the Pokémon World Tournament Junior Cup alongside Alder; and the host of the Unova League itself. At the Decolore Archipelago, he hosted the Scalchop King Playoffs at Scalchop Island, in BW126.

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• Dynamic Entry: In the Unova League opening ceremony, where he made his appearance by parachuting from a helicopter into the stadium.
• Large Ham: At times, such as his exclamation of shock when it was discovered Cameron had unwittingly handicapped himself. It kind of comes with the job, mind you.
• Recurring Character: He always shows up to be the announcer during tournaments.
• Satellite Character: Not much to him in terms of personality, or outside tourneys for that matter.

Cedric Juniper (Dr. Araragi)

Voiced in Japanese by: Kenyū Horiuchi

Voiced in English by: Stuart Zagnit

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Ernesto Lezama

Professor Aurea Juniper's father, whose footsteps she followed in becoming a researcher. In his case, he studies the origins of legendary Pokémon. When Ash, his friends and his daughter first ran into him, he'd collapsed from exhaustion in Chargestone Cave. After recovering, he agreed to lead the youngsters on a trip through the Black Hero's Ruins, after which they parted ways.

At the start of the Episode N arc in BW109, he reappeared - calling his daughter, Cedric revealed that he'd made interesting discoveries about the White Ruins, located not far from Icirrus City. Ash and friends decide to travel there and visit him.

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• Anime Hair: Has what looks like a massive cowlick just above his forehead.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Just watch some of his bizarre antics in BW064. The man's a borderline Troll with how much he screws with the party on purpose. It's worse for his co-workers since he does it every second he gets.

• Cue Card Pause: He has a habit of leaving his sentences hanging midway, which leads to mis-communication whenever someone thinks he's done speaking. Even if the subject in question is about trying to convince N not to steal the Light Stone.

• Wacky Parent, Serious Child: Not to an extreme, but he's considerably odder than his daughter, who seems exasperated by some of his behavior.

Meloetta

Voiced in Japanese by: Megumi Nakajima

Voiced in English by: Megumi Nakajima (speaking voice), Erica Schroeder (singing voice)

A legendary Pokémon whose singing voice is said to have a mysterious power, making its debut in the Rival Destinies season. It is currently being chased and tracked by Team Rocket, who plan to use the power of its voice for some nefarious purpose. It joined Ash's group temporarily as a traveling companion.

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• Ambiguous Gender: Although it's meant to be genderless in the games, it has always had a very feminine appearance; plus it appears to have a crush on Ash, and the very male Oshawott and Piplup have both developed crushes on it, so it's likely meant to be female in the anime.
• Badass in Distress: As powerful as it is, it winds up getting captured as part of Team Rocket's plan to capture the true forms of the Kami Trio.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Knows Close Combat, which it uses in Pirouette Forme.
• Casting Gag: This isn't the first time Megumi Nakajima has lent her voice to a a green-haired singer.

• Curtains Match the Window: In Pirouette Forme, its hair and eyes are both red.
• Florence Nightingale Effect: Inverted variant of it — Ash was the one who took care of Meloetta, and as a result it appears to have developed a crush on him, though in the end it's implied this is also because he reminded it of Ridley.
• Genki Girl: After opening up more.
• Guest-Star Party Member: After its first episode, it follows Ash and friends around until someone from its village comes by to guide it home again.
• Innocent Blue Eyes: In Aria Forme.
• Invisibility: It possesses this unique superpower to hide itself from anybody it doesn't trust. It's handy around Ash and co., but Team Rocket specifically has a device to let them find it.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: Usually shy and meek, it becomes an effective battler when it takes on its Pirouette Forme.
• MacGuffin Super-Person: Its song is required by Team Rocket to fulfill their latest scheme — "Operation Tempest".
• Magic Music: Its song and voice has the power to soothe the souls and minds of Pokémon listening in. It is also the key to unlocking the Abyssal Ruins and the Reveal Glass, which can be used to control the Kami Trio.
• Make Some Noise: Knows Hyper Voice.
• Shrinking Violet: Starts off this way before opening up.
• Transformation Sequence: From its Aria Forme into Pirouette Forme, whenever it uses Relic Song.
• Villainous Crush: Even Meowth swoons over Meloetta in the Pikachu shorts (though this is not referenced at all in the main anime, where he considers it just another Pokémon to steal).

N

Voiced in Japanese by: Yūichi Nakamura

Voiced in English by: Nicholas DiMichele

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Carlos Hernández

The Leader of Team Plasma in the Pokémon Black and White games. He debuts in the first episode of the Episode N arc, featured as a major character. First meeting Ash and his friends in BW110, N joins them on their journey later on. In BW118, he reveals to his new friends his past as a former Team Plasma member, including his encounter with Reshiram.

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• Adaptational Heroism: He's never completely evil (no, not even in Pokémon Adventures), but the anime's version of N is nonetheless the nicest and most moral version of the character seen in any canonical media.
• Adaptational Wimp: Because he never gets crowned King of Team Plasma, he never becomes a trainer and never claims a Legendary Pokémon for himself. As a result, the poor guy gets beat up pretty often.
• Age Lift: To a degree—in the games, N was somewhere in his late teens to early twenties, but in this version, his proportions are closer to a teenager, implying that he's younger here.
• Anti-Hero: This version of N is, when we first meet him, a former Team Plasma member and disillusioned by their actions. However, at this time he's still strongly-spoken about his opposition to Pokémon trainers and battles. He also opted to snatch the Light Stone from Cedric Juniper in order to try and keep it out of Team Plasma's hands.
• Badass Pacifist: He never enters battle, yet proves his Badass credentials early on.
• Defector from Decadence: Left Team Plasma two years prior after Reshiram flipped out and destroyed the castle from where it was first summoned.

• Foil: To Ash, by all indicators. He's even hinted, in their first appearance, to be the Hero of Truth in parallel to Ash being the Hero of Ideals.
• Friend-or-Idol Decision: Twice, involving the same friend (Ash) and the same idol (the Light Stone). In BW120, when the floor of the White Ruins has collapsed below them, N has a grip on the ledge with his right hand but the Light Stone in the other, while Ash and Pikachu are about to fall; he only hesitates a moment before dropping the container to grab Ash's hand (they both fall afterwards though, and the Light Stone is nearby when they come to). Then in BW121, Pikachu falls under the control of Colress' controlling-machine again and this time Ash's attempt to get through to him fails, the machine being too powerful now for willpower alone; N surrenders the Light Stone to Team Plasma in exchange for Colress freeing Pikachu from the machine.

• Guest-Star Party Member: He travels with the group from BW114-BW118.
• Made of Iron:
  • Not so much anymore as of BW114, where he recieves several injuries over the course of the episode while trying to rescue a Pokémon from Team Plasma. However, he never seems to notice them until somebody points it out.
  • Completely subverted when he's hit by Dragonite's Flamethrower and Haxorus' Hyper Beam in BW117, while trying to talk them both down from their Brainwashed and Crazy states. This would've gotten him killed had Anthea and Concordia not appeared and taken him to get healed.
• Motor Mouth: When N gets worked up about something important to him, he starts to monologue at a breathless pace. Still, it's not as frequent (or his voice as incomprehensibly fast-paced) as in the games.
• Nice Guy: While he obviously likes Pokémon best, this incarnation of N is reasonably good with people and remains polite and friendly towards Ash and co. at all times. Even in spite of his discomfort at learning Ash's dream to be a Pokémon Master, he states he doesn't hate Ash for the worlds they seek being different.
• Pals with Jesus: By the end of the Plasma arc.
• Sixth Ranger: Literally for Episode N, if you count Pikachu and Axew as well as the human protagonists.
• Speaks Fluent Animal: He communicates with them in their unique language, and even considers it superior to the human language. He's actually baffled by Team Rocket's Meowth for this very reason.
• Taking the Bullet: In BW110, he takes a Shadow Ball meant for Axew and Snivy directly In the Back. It doesn't seem to do much damage, but it's the thought that counts.
• The Unreveal: We are never told of what was Reshiram's response to N's words at the end of the Team Plasma arc, mainly because Ash would rather learn from Reshiram the next time they meet.

Anthea (Verbena) and Concordia (Helena)

Concordia (left) and Anthea (right)

Voiced in Japanese by: Saki Fujita (Anthea) & Miho Arakawa (Concordia)

Voiced in English by: Lianne Marie Dobbs (Anthea) & Haven Paschall (Concordia)

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Andrea Orozco (Anthea) & Christine Byrd (Concordia)

N's foster sisters, these young women are also his closest human companions and were similarly associated with Team Plasma, having been taken it by Ghetsis as children. They first appeared in the Episode N opening and ending animations, debuting proper in BW117.

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• Adaptation Name Change/Named by the Adaptation: It's been revealed that, instead of being called "Goddess of Love" and "Goddess of Peace" (as in the games), the Japanese version of the anime is giving them actual names. Besides avoiding the obvious silliness of addressing them by their long-winded "titles", this was likely done also so that lip-flaps wouldn't cause problems in various dubs.
• A Wizard Did It: Actually subverted by their teleportation ability, but it's All There in the Manual - specifically, the mist is created by Gothitelle's illusory powers, while Gardevoir's ability to warp between space is used to enable them to travel long distances (and into other spatial dimensions, as seen in BW118). In tandem, this enables them a degree of strategy (such as getting Team Rocket lost in the woods when they try to follow), but it doesn't defend the girls' Pokémon from Colress' machine one he's pinpointed them.
• Big Damn Heroes: Show up in time to take the grieviously injured N to safety and heal his injuries.
  • They try to do something similar in BW122 when Reshiram is summoned, but their Pokémon are quickly controlled by Colress' machine.
• Composite Character: They keep their core personality traits from the games (what they have, anyway), but have inherited some of N's inherent distrust of humanity.
• Cool Big Sis: To N, bigtime.
• Curtains Match the Window: Both of them.
• The Empath: Like their foster brother, they have the ability to hear the voices of Pokémon.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Concordia has demonstrated this trait.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Both Gardevoir and Gothitelle know Protect.
• Master of Illusion: Both their Gardevoir and Gothitelle do this to protect themselves and the Pokémon they aid.
• Meaningful Name: Along with their dub names, their new Japanese names are quite apt:
  • Anthea's name in the Japanese version, "Verbena", comes from the flower genus of the same name; in the language of flowers, it symbolizes "tender love". In the games, Anthea's name is "Goddess of Love".
  • Condordia's name in the Japanese version, "Helena", refers to a species of olive; in the language of flowers, it symbolizes "peace and wisdom". In the games, Concordia's name is "Goddess of Peace".
• The Medic: Both are skilled in treating Pokémon, albeit without any powers - they simply tend to them and help their recovery. They even have a secret refuge in the woods where they protect injured Pokémon.
• Psychic Powers: Anthea owns a Gothitelle, and Concordia owns a Gardevoir.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Expressed somewhat in the way they speak. Anthea speaks much more formally and calmly than Concordia, who is much more direct.

Porter (Parker)

Voiced in Japanese by: Masayuki Kato

Voiced in English by: Francis Kelly

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Ricardo Méndez

A group of men who work on the cruise line throughout the Decolore Archipelago.

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• Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Like all Jennies, Joys, and Don Georges. The changes are noted on their color of their collars and lining of their shoes.
• Mr. Exposition: They are usually nearby to give information on the island that the gang is visiting that episode. Justified in that it is likely part of their job in the first place.

Unova League

Alder (Adeku)

Voiced in Japanese by: Unshō Ishizuka

Voiced in English by: Scottie Ray

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Andrés García

Alder is the Champion of the Unova League during Best Wishes. As of Journeys, this title is now held by Iris.

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• The Ace: Given the fact that he was the Champion of Unova, this is a given. Don't let the relaxed and easy-going personality fool you. When he gets serious he will thoroughly kick your ass like it's his day job.
• Adaptational Comic Relief: Alder in the games is relatively serious and has a tragic backstory involving his deceased original partner, while Alder in the anime is much more lighthearted. No hint toward his backstory is ever made in his various appearances, and he's notably absent from the more serious arcs of Best Wishes.
• And Then What?: He tells Ash and his friends that once they fulfill all their dreams, they must then find meaning in life beyond them, too.
• Anime Hair: Spiked upwards with a large wolf's tail.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: In his older age, he's less focused — he falls asleep during his battle with Ash! Then comes the Junior World Cup where he shows why he is still the Champion by curbstomping Trip's Serperior with his Bouffalant.
• Broken Pedestal: In Trip's opinion, but then Trip changes his opinion back to his original one once he battles him.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: This guy was the Unova Champion in spite of his absentmindedness, lechery, and aimless wandering the region.
• The Cameo: He briefly appears in JN118, watching Iris's match against Cynthia.
• Charles Atlas Superpower: Stops a rampaging Gigalith with his bare hands.
• Chivalrous Pervert: He's like Brock when it comes to the ladies (or at least with the Jennys, Joys and Cynthia).
• Cool Old Guy: A bit old, yes. But don't underestimate him when he can kick your ass in a battle if he focuses.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Iris is the champion of Unvoa come Journeys, with Alder not even getting so much as a mention.
• Expy: Of Jiraiya from Naruto. He's a wandering sage, and a bit of a lech, but truly fearsome in battle.
• Friend to All Living Things: He has a deep understanding of Pokémon — he helped the aforementioned Gigalith by removing the nail in its foot which had caused it pain, and then fed it minerals. This is also a Call-Back to when Bruno of the Kanto Elite Four calmed a rampaging Onix by pulling out a Sandslash firmly lodged between its joints - Pokémon champions require the in-depth foresight, compassion and understanding of life (and living) that must be largely self-taught only with experience.
• The Hedonist: Alder's philosophy is that a person should enjoy life with their friends rather than focusing so much on accomplishments.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: He seems pretty bumbling and clueless, but he becomes extremely competent in a crisis. He not only restrains a Gigalith (a Pokemon that typically weighs 260 kilograms, or 573 pounds) with his bare hands, he pulls out the nail that was stuck in its foot. In his battle with Trip, he perfectly gauges the power of Trip's Serperior, realizes it can't take down his Bouffalant and ends the fight with one Head Smash.
• The Mentor: Tries with Trip, is more successful with Ash's group. He does manage to talk some sense into Trip the next time he gets to talk to him.
• No-Sell: Bouffalant's Sap Sipper ability, much to Trip's surprise.
• Running Gag: Not remembering either Ash or Trip's names — he calls the former "Ashton" (Santaro) and the latter "Tristan" (Shootaro).
• Signature Mon: In the anime, it's Bouffalant, but only because it's the only Pokémon of his we get to see.
• Vague Age: Even though he's a grandfather in the games, he's shown flirting with young women at many points in the anime, implying he's most likely much younger himself. His official age in the anime is never made clear, though.

Caitlin (Catteleya)

Voiced in Japanese by: Miyu Matsuki

Voiced in English by: Miriam Pultro

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Hiromi Hayakawa

A member of the Unova League's Elite Four. She specializes in Psychic-types.

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• Badass Adorable: Despite being insecure about her skills, she still manages to hold up against Cynthia until the timer runs out. Keep in mind she was fighting Cynthia's Garchomp for ten whole minutes while most other trainers' mons outside of the Elite Four could barely handle the same dragon for more than ten seconds.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Gothitelle's Brick Break.
• Casting a Shadow: Gothitelle's Flatter.
• Flower Motifs: She makes her entrance onto the battlefield by emerging from the inside of a giant frickin' blooming flower.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: In constrast to her counterparts from other media, anime-Caitlin is a gracious, collected individual with a sweetly pleasant demeanour. Complete with Flower Motifs.
• Lady of War: Her battle style is focused on elegance.
• Older and Wiser: According to Cynthia, she's mellowed out and become more mature than when she was younger.
• Proper Lady: She conducts herself with grace and poise and her sportmanship is superb.
• Shock and Awe: Gothitelle's Thunderbolt.
• Took a Level in Badass: If Cynthia's reaction to her fighting ability is any indication, she's gotten stronger with time.
• Worthy Opponent: To Cynthia, despite being only an Elite Four facing a Champion.

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