History OneSteveLimit / Pokemon

* When you include all forms of Pokémon related media, there are at least '''6''' characters named "Lily": In the anime, there's another of Misty's sisters, a character of the day who turns Ash into a Pikachu, and a Pokémon performer who participates in a Pokémon Showcase. In the games, there's D.J. Lily who is the local D.J. of Kanto's radio station in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' and the player's mother in ''VideoGame/PokemonXD''. Finally, in the manga called ''Pokemon 7'', there's yet another Lily who is the main character's long lost twin sister. This isn't even including ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'''s [[MyNaymeIs Lillie or other variations]].

*** The Italian translation renames Brendan into Brend'''o'''n, while Frontier Head Brandon becomes Baldo.

** Another near-aversion happens in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Emerald]]'' with two major characters, though only when the player is using the female protagonist- the rival Brendan and the Frontier Brain Brandon. Once again, their Japanese names aren't similar.

* More generally, if a main character has a particular Pokémon, it can pretty much be guaranteed that none of the other main characters will have another of the same species. Only a few examples of doubling up have ever occurred; May’s Bulbasaur and Ash’s Bulbasaur during Hoenn, May's Squirtle and Ash's Squirtle during the Battle Frontier, though May’s evolved off-screen after she left the cast, and Iris' Dragonite and Ash's Dragonite, which are separated by several seasons. On the other hand, May, Serena, Lana, and Chloe each caught an Eevee during their respective seasons, although the former two evolved their's into a Glaceon and Sylveon respectively, while Lana's has a nickname[[note]]"Nagisa" in Japanese, "Sandy" in the dub[[/note]]. Goh in ''Journeys'' also has several Pokémon species caught by previous main characters, but most of his get little screentime, so there's little chance of confusion; he does catch a Kanto Farfetch'd a few episodes before Ash catches a Galar Farfetch'd, but Ash's eventually evolves into Sirfetch'd anyway.

* Koko refers to two characters: the Tapu of Melemele Island in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', and the orphaned boy raised by Zarude in ''Anime/PokemonSecretsOfTheJungle''.

* Some characters got {{Dub Name Change}}s due to their Japanese names being the same as earlier characters' English names. Earl Dervish, the teacher at Violet City's Pokémon Academy, is named Giovanni in Japanese, like the leader of Team Rocket in English. Jacq, the player's homeroom teacher in ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', is named Zinnia in Japanese, definitely not to be confused the trainer from ''Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire''.

** [[spoiler: And in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Pokémon Shield]]'', guess what the 6th Badge is?]]
* ''Pokémon [=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'' have a minor trainer named "Dawn", which is also the name of the female protagonist of [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl the Sinnoh games]]. Some fans thought it was an intentional case of {{foreshadowing}} as she travels with a Gentleman (Rowan was traveling prior to the games an [=NPC=] Dawn is his assistant when you play as Lucas), however their Japanese names don't match plus it doesn't work timeline-wise.

* There are two anime-specific characters named Silver, and both have episodes involving Ritchie, Cassidy and Butch. One's a baby Lugia that they met in Johto. The other's an older man who was seeking Moltres in a ''Chronicles'' special. And neither of them is the Silver from the games, who himself appeared in an episode of ''Generations''.
* More generally, if a main character has a particular Pokémon, it can pretty much be guaranteed that none of the other main characters will have another of the same species. Only three examples of doubling up have ever occurred (ignoring the inevitable duplication that Goh's quest in ''Journeys'' will provide); May’s Bulbasaur and Ash’s Bulbasaur during Hoenn, May's Squirtle and Ash's Squirtle during the Battle Frontier, with May’s evolved off to preserve the limit, and Iris' Dragonite and Ash's Dragonite, which are separated by several seasons.

With its [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters many, many characters]], the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series tends to have some characters with the same names across its various forms of media.

* Given that the show usually has [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters a new character every episode for]] [[OneShotCharacter only a single episode]], this trope comes into play very frequently, mostly due to writers forgetting or not caring about previous characters, since [[FleetingDemographicRule it's been years since we saw them]]. Even amongst anime-exclusive characters. The first of these was Harrison, who appeared in Episode 265, sharing a name with Harrison, who appeared in Episode 216. Others have appeared since then.

* There are three prominent characters in the franchise named Lucy: Pike Queen Lucy from ''Emerald'', the protagonist of ''VideoGame/PokemonTrozei'' Lucy Fleetfoot, and reporter Lucy Stevens from ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' introduces a character named Sawyer who serves as hired muscle for Lear. He is in no way connected to the anime character Sawyer, a Kalos trainer who becomes one of Ash's rivals after initially viewing him as a mentor.

* Typically a name used by a major character never gets reused in subsequent titles. Ace Trainer Ariana in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' was changed to Moira in ''Pokémon Platinum'' due to the name being saved for a Team Rocket Executive in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', and trainers in ''Gold, Silver'' and ''Crystal'' named Norman, Roxanne, and May were renamed Nelson, Diana, and Mimi in ''[=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]'' due to sharing their names with major characters from Hoenn. However, names ''have'' slipped through; ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' has a Firebreather Bill (sharing his name with the original Pokémon Storage creator, also in that game), and the Sinnoh games have a Parasol Lady Sabrina, and since Sabrina the Gym Leader does not appear in Sinnoh, there is no confusion.

* Typically a name used by a major character never gets reused in subsequent titles. Ace Trainer Ariana in ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' was changed to Moira in ''Pokémon Platinum'' due to the name being saved for a Team Rocket Executive in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver]]'', and Skier Roxanne in Mahogany Gym was renamed Diana in ''[=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]'' due to the Hoenn Gym Leader Roxanne. However, names ''have'' slipped through; ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' has a Firebreather Bill (sharing his name with the original Pokémon Storage creator, also in that game), and the Sinnoh games have a Parasol Lady Sabrina, and since Sabrina the Gym Leader does not appear in Sinnoh, there is no confusion.

* In the French games, Brock and Steven are both called Pierre, the latter also being given the last name Rochard. Probably just to avoid confusion, when Steven/Pierre Rochard shows up as a guest star in HGSS, he doesn't give his name, and in the French dub of the anime in which he meets Brock, he was called by his English name. There are also a Pierrick (Roark) and Pieris (Grismley).

** Emerald has a Bernie and a Bernard, both of the Kindler trainer class.

* '''Charm'''. This could refer to the attack-lowering Fairy-type (formerly Normal-type) move that's been around since ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', the exploration team consisting of Gardevoir, Lopunny, and Medicham from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', or the leader of the Miss Fortune Bandits from ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''. Plus there's all the different items that are charms, such as the Shiny Charm and the Oval Charm. In fact, [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Charm Bulbapedia has a complete listing]].

* '''Charm'''. This could refer to the attack-lowering Fairy-type (formerly Normal-type) move that's been around since ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', the exploration team consisting of Gardevoir, Lopunny, and Medicham from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', or the leader of the Miss Fortune Sisters from ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''. Plus there's all the different items that are charms, such as the Shiny Charm and the Oval Charm. In fact, [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Charm Bulbapedia has a complete listing]].

* '''Charm'''. This could refer to the attack-lowering Fairy-type (formerly Normal-type) attack that's been around since ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', the exploration team consisting of Gardevoir, Lopunny, and Medicham from ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', or the leader of the Miss Fortune Sisters from ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''. Plus there's all the different items that are charms, such as the Shiny Charm and the Oval Charm. In fact, [[https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Charm Bulbapedia has a complete listing]].

* There are also a couple other cross-language doubles, such as Pierce, whose Japanese name is ''also'' Flint, or Proton, whose name is Lance in Japanese and a lot of other languages.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonMasters'' introduces a character named Sawyer who serves as hired muscle for Lear. He is in no way connected to the anime character Sawyer, a Kalos trainer who becomes one of Ash's rivals after initially viewing him as a mentor.

* Typically a name used by a major character never gets reused in subsequent titles (to the point that Ace Trainer Ariana in ''Videogame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' was already changed to Moira in ''Pokémon Platinum'' due to the name being saved for a Rocket admin in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon [=HeartGold=] & [=SoulSilver=] ]]''), but names ''have'' slipped through; ''Videogame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' has a Firebreather Bill (named after the original Pokemon Storage creator), and the Sinnoh games have a Parasol Lady Sabrina, and since Sabrina the Gym Leader does not appear in Sinnoh, there is no confusion.

* Which Trainer do you suppose Ash Ketchum respects more? Aaron, the Elite Four member and bug specialist? Or Aaron, the ancient aura-wielding knight whose Lucario he befriended? And don't forget about Drake and Drake, from the Orange Islands or the Hoenn League, respectively. Or Flint, Brock's father, and Flint, a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four and rival to Volkner. Or Bianca, the girl who was frequently impersonated by Latias, and Bianca, the ditzy female rival in Unova.

* Incidentally, [[ItsPronouncedTropay Stephan]][[note]]Kenyan[[/note]] is ''not'' a violation as it's also a different spelling than Hoenn's Steven[[note]]Daigo[[/note]]. However, the latter ''did'' have a [=CotD=] with the same name in the dub[[note]]but, again, not in the Japanese: Saiga[[/note]] which, again, came in an earlier generation: specifically Johto.

* Typically a name used by a major character never gets reused in subsequent titles (to the point that Ace Trainer Ariana in ''Videogame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'' was already changed to Moira in ''Pokémon Platinum'' due to the name being saved for a Rocket admin in ''Videogame/PokemonHeartGoldAndSoulSilver''), but names ''have'' slipped through; ''Videogame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' has a Firebreather Bill (named after the original Pokemon Storage creator), and the Sinnoh games have a Parasol Lady Sabrina, and since Sabrina the Gym Leader does not appear in Sinnoh, there is no confusion.

** [[spoiler: And in [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Pokémon Shield]], guess what the 6th badge is?]]

!'''[[Anime/{{Pokemon}} The anime]]'''