The characters of Pokémon Black and White and its sequel Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.
For a list of Pokémon that debuted in the fifth generation, see Pokémon: Generation V Families.
open/close all folders
Protagonists and Rivals
Black and White
General Tropes (Black and White)
- But Now I Must Go: Offscreen one in between Black and White and the sequels where s/he leaves Unova to find N.
- The Cameo: You team up with the character you didn't pick during Tag Battles in the Battle Subway, but they don't appear in a plot-relevant capacity.
- The Chosen One: N seems to believe so, considering them a "hero of legend" much like himself, and Zekrom/Reshiram confirms it.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Unlike previous playable characters who are pre-teenagers, Hilbert and Hilda are the first playable characters who are 14-year-old teenagers.
- Cutting Off the Branches:
- Hilbert is identified as the protagonist in Pokémon Masters, having been looking for N after Black & White.
- Hilda is featured as the protagonist of Pokémon Black in Pokémon Evolutions.
- Demoted to Extra: Out of all of the protagonists in the series, these two have had the least spotlight. Their intended cameos in Black 2 and White 2 were
Dummied Out, they were the first pair of protagonists (Green notwithstanding) to not appear in even so much as a cameo in the show or movies, and as mentioned above the character you didn't pick is, unlike in almost every other main-series game, just a regular NPC you can tag up with in the Battle Subway. They do have the honor of being the only protagonist since Red to be mentioned by more than one person in a future game though, and contribute to the plot of it in some form. - Declaration of Protection: With Bianca, as her father asks Hilbert/Hilda to protect her after he's convinced to stop trying to stop her from traveling through the Unova region.
- Disappeared Dad: As the protagonist. Interestingly enough, if you check out the television in their room before choosing your starter, it mentions their father bought it. He never appears in the game, though.
- Dragon Tamer:
- Apart from any other Dragon-types Hilbert/Hilda may catch, they end up canonically awakening and catching the dragon opposing N's (Reshiram in Black, Zekrom in White) and are accepted as a fellow hero of legend by them.
- As a partner in the Battle Subway, their offensive-team includes the Dragon-type Haxorus.
- Dramatic Irony: They left the Unova region to find N, only he never really left, and has been backing up Nate/Rosa during their adventure, along with the reformed Team Plasma to fight against the Team Plasma led by Ghetis.
- Eye-Obscuring Hat: Their battle sprites appear to purposely invoke Red by having their hats obscure their eyes at first, for reasons unknown.
- Foe Romance Subtext: With N, as it's lightly implied that N has feelings for the main character.
- The Ghost: In the sequels. They are referenced here and there, but are nowhere to be found.
- The Hero: Black and White heavily emphasizes their role as the hero in the story more than normal, to the point that they are to capture the plot-relevant Legendary of the specific game version (Reshiram in Black, Zekrom in White) to oppose N's.
- I Will Find You: Hilda/Hilbert (depending on who you played in the first game) is said to be out of Unova looking for N during the events of the second games.
- Legendary in the Sequel: If Memory Link is enabled, the Player Character's name is this in the sequel games.
- Meaningful Name:
- For the players, Hilbert means "magnificent in battle" or "battle bright." Hilda means "Battle Maiden." Tōya and Tōko come from "fight" (which makes their English names fitting), "transparent" or "untainted" which establishes their role as the middle and leader of the group.
- For the rivals, Cheren and Bianca mean roughly black and white respectively.
- Nice Guy:
- Their characterization as an NPC implies this, as they're polite and supportive.
- Cut content
from Black 2 and White 2 had them be even more of this, with their character being a Humble Hero and Graceful Loser.
- Older Than They Look: In Masters Hilbert and Hilda use their designs from Black and White even though Cheren using his Gym Leader design and Rosa being a Trainer show that Black 2 and White 2 has already happened. As a result, even though Hilbert and Hilda are the same age as Cheren they look a couple years younger than him.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: N thinks they're the hero of legend and wants to fight them with the legendary Pokémon.
- Pale Females, Dark Males: Not literally, but invoked by their theme naming. Hilbert (Black), Nate (Black 2), and Cheren all go with Black. Hilda (White), Rosa (White 2), and Bianca are all associated with White. Hugh adds some color by being a pun on hue, as the odd man out with no distaff counterpart.
- Power Trio: The player is The Kirk between the calm and focused Cheren, and the kind and open-hearted Bianca. Bianca and Cheren respect Hilbert/Hilda as the best battler among them, and as the person who always seems to know what they are doing.
- Put on a Bus: In Black 2 and White 2 (instead of a Previous Player-Character Cameo). According to their mother, they left Unova to search for N.
- Signature Headgear: His is a simple baseball cap that resembles a Poke Ball when viewed at a bird's eye view.
- Ship Tease: With N in both their game and the sequel, regardless of gender. In the first game, they're instrumental in bringing about N's Character Development and he gains a strong fascination towards them due to the fact that they don't fit the mold of a Pokémon trainer as he's been raised to see it (i.e., cruel and abusive individuals who only see Pokémon as tools). Taken further in the sequel, wherein N mentions that "there's a trainer who he wants to tell how he feels" (with the context of the whole situation meaning that he could only be talking about the previous game's player character) and Hilda/Hilbert has flat out left Unova just to find him.
- Suddenly Voiced:
- When you enter Dragonspiral Tower, what appears to be internal dialogue states that "Something's... going wild at the top of the tower...?" Additionally, when Tornadus/Thundurus first appear and they're invited into the old lady's house on Route 7, they seem to mention that the soup is "delicious" and "jam-packed with vegetables."
- NPC Hilbert and Hilda also speak.
- Dialogue in the cut Black 2 and White 2 Tournament had them speaking in a Humble Hero and Graceful Loser fashion."I just lucked into winning... Isn't that how it felt?"
- Hilbert and Hilda are fully voiced with dialogue and personalities in Pokémon Masters.
- Vague Age: A rare instance in the series where this is averted. Word of God confirmed in an interview that the player and rivals are 14 years old.
Hilbert (Tōya)
Hilbert / Tōya (トウヤ touya)
The male main character of Pokémon Black and White. Hilbert is a teenager who lives in Nuvema Town, as do his Childhood Friends, Cheren and Bianca. He will receive a starter Pokémon and a Pokédex from Professor Juniper. After setting off on his Pokémon journey at the same time as Cheren and Bianca, Hilbert will at some point be asked by Fennel to do some sort of quest; in return for its completion, Hilbert will receive a C-Gear.
As well as encountering and battling his childhood friends at various points during his journey, Hilbert will also meet a man known as N, who wishes to create separate worlds for humans and Pokémon. In order to achieve his goals, he and Hilbert will battle several times during the course of the game. Hilbert also battles Team Plasma at various stages of his journey. Ultimately, Hilbert is recognized as a hero by Reshiram or Zekrom, depending on the version.
If not chosen as the player, Hilbert appears as the player's partner in the Battle Subway when choosing to ride the Multi-Train.
His version name is Black, as indicated by Adventures and his promo name Blair.
In Pokémon Masters, Hilbert is depicted as the main playable character due to his close attachment to N. As such, most of the tropes below may pertain to his depiction there.
- The All-American Boy: Middle Example. Generally because Unova is based in North America. From what can be assumed about his personality or from his NPC appearance, he's an Everyman teenager from a small town, naive but charming and always polite. It's also implied he acts like an older brother to his friends, especially for Bianca and some other NPCs in the game.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: With N, when teaming up with him in Masters.
- Big Brother Mentor: Seems to be intended to have this kind of relationship with Bianca and occasionally Cheren (despite both of them being the same age).
- Color Motif: Red, white and blue, baby! In addition, his outfit is highlighted with black.
- Death Glare: In the Game Freak art set clearfile, Hilbert gives this to Ghetsis in his introduction about Pokémon.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners:
- To Cheren, when he's the player character.
- In Masters, he becomes this with N, after they reunite and Hilbert gives him a scolding for running off without saying goodbye.
Though there is some debate over just how "heterosexual" the relationship is...
- Hot-Blooded: Not necessarily in the games (in fact, the official website and Coro Coro magazine called him "Smart", Japanese Engrish for "Sophisticated" or "Cool tempered"), but in five manga adaptations he is definitely Hot-Blooded.
- Like Father, Like Son: In Masters, the Oshawott he has with him hatched from an egg he got at the daycare and is actually the child of a Samurott he has. Hilbert states he has the second Oshawott so that he becomes a Samurott like his first one.
- Meaningful Name:
- His NPC Canon Name Hilbert is a Spear Counterpart to the female trainer's Hilda. The 'Hil' means 'battle.'
- His promotional name Blair sounds like Black, and means field or battlefield.
- Never Got To Say Good Bye: Non-lethal example. In Masters, the reason why he wants to meet up with N is because he wants to scold him for leaving so suddenly without a word without letting Hilbert say good bye after the events of Black & White. N apologizes for that and, in a Call-Back to the last scene in the games complete with a closeup of N's face, says "See you soon" instead.
- Olympus Mons: In Masters, his Sygna Suit pairs up with Mythical Pokémon Genesect.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Bianca, when he's the player character.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Downplayed and Zigzagged. Cheren's very insecure about himself and has the more feminine figure of the two, while Hilbert's (implied to be) much more confident and relaxed with his goals of life, though Cheren tends to be portrayed as a jerk and Hilbert as nice in their dynamic. In Adventures he plays this trope straight. And also him with N in same way.
- Signature Mon: In the manga adaptations he has been seen with all three of the Unova starters, but Tepig stands out the most, being his starter in three different series. That being said, in Pokémon Masters his partner Pokémon is Oshawott. Likewise, he's been depicted with both of the main Tao dragons in different media; for example, his Pokémon Adventures counterpart uses Reshiram, while he uses Zekrom in Pokémon Generations.
- Spear Counterpart: To Hilda. Their default names are gender flips of each other in both Japanese and English, and he was designed after Hilda to complement her.
- Sore Loser: Downplayed. In Pokémon Masters, he admits to the player that he's a bit of a sore loser but he doesn't let it show because he thinks it's childish. His character description also indicates that he hates losing.
- Two Guys and a Girl: With Cheren and Bianca if he's the main character. In contrast to Cheren, Hilbert will always be certain and justified in his goals, and Cheren will become slightly frustrated with his own shortcomings compared to his friend.
Hilda (Touko)
Hilda / Touko (トウコ touko)
The female main character of Pokémon Black and White. Hilda is a teenager who lives in Nuvema Town, as do her Childhood Friends, Cheren and Bianca. She will receive a starter Pokémon and a Pokédex from Professor Juniper. After setting off on her Pokémon journey at the same time as Cheren and Bianca, Hilda will at some point be asked by Fennel to do some sort of quest; in return for its completion, Hilda will receive a C-Gear.
As well as encountering and battling her childhood friends at various points during his journey, Hilda will also meet a man known as N, who wishes to create separate worlds for humans and Pokémon. In order to achieve his goals, he and Hilda will battle several times during the course of the game. Hilda also battles Team Plasma at various stages of her journey. Ultimately, Hilda is recognized as a heroine by Reshiram or Zekrom, depending on the version.
If not chosen as the player, Hilda appears as the player's partner in the Battle Subway when choosing to ride the Multi-Train.
Her version name is White, as indicated by Adventures and her promo name Whitlea.
In Pokémon Masters, despite not ever bonding with Hilbert and the others in her home region over Hilbert's main playable character status, Hilda is depicted as a close friend to Hilbert, Cheren, and Bianca anyway. As such, most of the tropes below may pertain to her depiction there.
- Birds of a Feather: She immediately hits it off with Nemona in Masters thanks to their shared passion for battling, with several characters noting them to be very similar.
- Black Comedy: Her Summer variant gives her a takoyaki vendor outfit with a Shiny Grapploct, which looks like a cooked octopus. Then again, her starter is a pig roasting on fire.
- Blood Knight: Her defining characteristic in Masters; there's nothing that excites her more than a good battle, to the point where she can become blind to other events (such as initially having no idea who N is, despite already knowing about Team Plasma). She's even able to rival Nemona in this regard, challenging her to a battle before Cheren is even done introducing the two to each other.
- Boobs-and-Butt Pose: Downplayed with her Kotobukiya figure◊ and its art◊.
- Brooklyn Rage: Has shades of this. She lives in Nuvema Town which is an Expy of parts of Brooklyn, although she's more a badass than violent. Pokémon Masters depicts her as highly competitive and impulsive, but she doesn't get hotheaded towards other people often.
- Color Motif: She's usually associated with the color pink since it's apparent in her outfit and a lot of her gear are the same color. Helps that if she's the main character, the background of the her Xtransceiver will be pink.
- Cool Big Sis: Seems to be intended to be seen as this toward Bianca and Cheren, though they're the same age as her.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Hilbert. Their names are even Gender Flips of each other.
- Epic Fail: In Masters, she practically knows nothing about N despite being aware of who Team Plasma was, leading Hilbert and Cheren to bring her up to speed.
- Exposed to the Elements: During the winter months and whenever she pays the Cold Storage a visit. Especially noteworthy in the latter case, as the Workers there are all wearing protective clothing and Cheren and Zinzolin won't stop griping about how cold it is.
- Hair Antennae: On her ponytail. Shown a bit more in this official art of a Battle Subway scene◊.
- Hartman Hips: While being pretty slim, her hips are noticeably wider than her waist and shoulders. Her appearance in Masters makes her wide hips more evident.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: To Bianca, when she's the player character.
- Hot-Blooded: Her Masters iteration has a fiery passion for Pokémon battles and competition in general.
- Informed Ability: Played for Laughs in Masters. Hilda claims that she can be intimidating with her "game face" on, and demonstrates this for the player, but even when trying to look serious she's still cute as a button.
- It Was a Gift: Her Shiny Grapploct came from an egg which Bea had given to her.
- The Lad-ette: While this was a popular fan interpretation of her personality for years based on her design, Pokémon Masters depicts her as this, as she's more headstrong, competitive and (allegedly) intimidating than many of the other female Trainers (but is still very kind), and has a stronger voice to match with slightly boyish inflection. This is reflected in her choice of partner, with the adorable Tepig evolving into the brutish, macho Emboar.
- Locked Out of the Loop: In Masters, the girl has no idea who N even was to the point that Hilbert and Cheren are forced to explain his lengthy story and his involvement with Team Plasma to her and the player. Justified due to both N having a closer relationship with Hilbert and her battle maniac attitude distracting her too much.
- The McCoy: Pokémon Masters characterizes her as enthusiastic and impulsive, preferring to act on opportunities before she loses them. She's also directly contrasted with a Spock, Roxanne, who prefers careful study. This is played up in gameplay as her kit involves having the Tepig line rush down her opponents with Flare Blitz, using the line's high HP and healing skills to keep them from succumbing to recoil damage.
- Meaningful Name:
- Her NPC Canon Name Hilda is a Distaff Counterpart to the male trainer's Hilbert. The 'Hil' means 'battle.' Fittingly, in Masters, her passion for battles is so high that she wonders if her game face scares other trainers.
- Her promotional name Whitlea sounds like White, and coincidentally also means white clearing or field.
- Ms. Fanservice: In these games the player characters were made older than previous player characters in the series. Hilda took this and ran with it, having been given a slim, tall, model-like figure, Hartman Hips and hot pants that give her plenty of Leg Focus, as well as her Pokéball throwing sprite animation falling victim to the Male Gaze. This is striking when you compare her with the designs and ages of previous female protagonists in the series, who are young children that are drawn like young children.
- Olympus Mons: Uncharacteristically paired up with Diancie for the Poké War Games event in Masters. Her Sygna Suit pairs her with Victini.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Cheren, as the player character.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Dons a Diancie-style Battle Ballgown for the Poké War Games event in Masters.
- Signature Mon:
- Snivy or Tepig. In the manga she has both (though Tepig later ditches her and she gets the Snivy line later instead). Her Kotobukiya figure is paired with a Tepig, which also serves as her partner in Masters, while a Pokémon Center merchandise line from 2016 pairs her with Snivy.note Unlike Hilbert and N, she's barely been seen with one of the Tao dragons in media outside the games,note though out of the two, she seems to favor Reshiram as it was featured on her official sprite sticker sheet while Hilbert got Zekrom.
- Masters provides her with Diancie as her costume variant, and later gives her a Summer variant with Shiny Grapploct. Her Sygna Suit has her partner with Victini.
- Strong Family Resemblance: The Player Character's mother not only has Hilda's eye and hair colors but also nearly identical ponytails and side-bangs. They even have the same pose while talking through the Xtransceiver.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: "A major female pokémon trainer who is Tank-Top Tomboy with a Tomboyish Ponytail and denim short-shorts," describes Misty of Pokémon: The Original Series as much as it does Hilda.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Tomboy to Bianca's Girly Girl, at least if her design is any indication; she wears shorts, a black vest, and hiking boots, while Bianca has more overtly feminine mannerisms and clothes.
- Tomboyish Ponytail: A part of her design that stands out, her ponytail together with her outfit gives her a more tomboyish vibe than previous and subsequent heroines.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: At least, her design seems to suggest so. She wears more outdoorsy clothes like shorts, hiking boots, a black vest and baseball cap, but many of her clothes and accessories have a bit of pink on them. In Masters, she has a headstrong and competitive personality, but has moments of typical girlishness.
- Two Girls and a Guy: With Cheren and Bianca. Hilda will serve as a sharp contrast to Bianca, being the more competent and confident of the two.
- Vocal Dissonance: Courtesy of Erica Mendez, Hilda's voice in Masters makes her sound around 17 or 18. Downplayed, as unlike most other Pokémon protagonists, she is a teenager in the first place.
- Your Size May Vary: In Pokémon Adventures, Hilda's counterpart White is taller than Rosa's counterpart Whitley. In Pokémon Masters however, Hilda is about the same height as Rosa.
Cheren
Cheren (チェレン cheren)
One of the two rivals in Black and White. Cheren is an intelligent and competitive trainer who is utterly focused on becoming the Pokémon League Champion. However, he only seeks to become the Champion for its own sake, and over time this motive is called into question. He eventually becomes a Gym Leader in Black 2 and White 2.For information on Cheren, check the Gym Leaders section below.
Bianca (Bel)
Bianca / Bel (ベル beru)
Black 2/White 2
Voiced by: Eileen Stevens (EN) (B2W2 Promo - EN), Ayana Taketatsu (B2W2 Promo - JP), Erika Harlacher (Pokémon Masters - EN), Kaede Yuasa (Pokémon Masters - JP)
One of the two rivals in Black and White. Bianca is a ditzy and idealistic young trainer who is more interested in just travelling with her Pokémon than competitive battling. She uses her journey as a Coming of Age Story, discovering what she wants to do with her life. In Black 2 and White 2 she decides to research Pokémon and becomes Professor Juniper's aide.
- Badass Adorable: Although she's not as interested in battling as her friends, she's still a very powerful and very cute young Trainer, especially in the sequels.
- Bespectacled Cutie: For some reason, she gained glasses between the two years. People joke that she stole them from Cheren, or at least received them from him in some manner.
- Break the Cutie: Right from the start, her father almost completely prevents her from going on her journey. She tries her best and still loses to the player, and then her Munna is stolen by Team Plasma (it's given back later), causing her to feel weak. Later, in Nimbasa, her father goes all the way there to attempt to drag the poor girl back home. Thank goodness for Elesa's interference.
- Character Development: Initially was a very excitable girl who tried to find something to do in life. A Time Skip later, she's more put together with a few traces of her reckless self coming up at times.
- Childhood Friends: With Cheren and either Hilda or Hilbert.
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass:
- In Black and White, Bianca's team by endgame can easily be more robust, well-balanced, and have a more efficient movepool than Cheren's, despite the fact that Bianca is functionally a Pokémon hobbyist (later going into the non-combat side of Pokémon husbandry) and Cheren is dead-set on becoming the next Champion and is all about the battles.
- She's in the Pokémon World Tournament, in the Gym Leader tournaments, putting her up as one of the best Trainers in the world. A random NPC that gives you info on your opponents outright says that she's a powerful trainer.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: So very much. It even shows in her battle sprites, which show her just about to trip and fall as she pulls out her Poké Ball (Black/White) or cheers (Black 2/White 2).
- Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: The point of her character development. She doesn't know what she wants out of life, but eventually decides to help out Professor Juniper.
- The Ditz: She often can't find her way around many cities.
- Dumb Blonde: She is described as a bit of an unreliable airhead, though it's more just clumsy than outright dumb.
- Dragon Tamer: In Black and White 2 she has the Dragon-type Fraxure on her team for battles at the Pokémon World Tournament.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: It's gotten longer in Black 2 and White 2, apparently to make her look older.
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father: Her father didn't want her to go on her journey, and actually shows up to try to take her home!
- Forehead of Doom: Not commented on, but her hairstyle greatly emphasizes it.
- Friend to All Living Things:
- All of her Pokémon in the Memory Link battle know Return, a move that powers up the more the user likes their trainer. In the World Tournament, only her Stoutland uses Return.
- In Black 2 and White 2, you can call her on the Xtransceiver to have her rate your Pokémon's happiness (she even refers to them as your "little darlings.")
- She decides to become a Pokémon Researcher, which she's making good on in Black 2 and White 2 as Juniper's aide.
- Genius Ditz: She ends up having a pretty good team in the end of Black and White and is one of your possible opponents in the Pokémon World Tournament
- Girlish Pigtails: They aren't really pigtails, but the swept-up parts of her hair seem to evoke this.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: At the end of Black and White, she calls upon the Gym Leaders to hold off the Sages at N's Castle.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: The goal Bianca ends up deciding on in the end of Black and White.
- Guest-Star Party Member: During the first visit at Reversal Mountain in Black 2 and White 2 till you get to the main room and leave through Undella Town.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Bianca has blonde hair and is one of the heroes.
- Hartman Hips: More prominent in her Black and White attire. Her hips are wider than her shoulders.
- Irony: Despite ultimately deciding she just isn't a good enough battler to seriously compete in Pokémon battles, her team can end up being more of a threat than Cheren's, largely due to better type distribution. She might not be on the level of Champions, but it's implied she could probably get there with enough training and hard work.
- Leitmotif: Masters gives her a unique remix of the rival battle theme from Black & White, though it gives it a cutesy theme in-between to fit her personality.
- Nice Girl: By the end of the first game, all of her Pokémon know the move Return, a move that gets stronger the more the Pokémon loves its trainer.
- Optional Boss:
- If you use the Memory Link function in Black 2 and White 2 with a copy of Black or White, she'll use her team from those games, including her starter and elemental monkey, in a battle on Route 1. Unlike other bonuses, this is a one-time battle.
- She appears in the Black 2 and White 2's World Tournament, despite not being a Gym Leader, using a team based on her role as Juniper's aide.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: She's actually a rather competent trainer in her own right as she's capable of holding on her own against Gym Leaders in the PWT. However, Hilbert/Hilda, Cheren, and N end up being much more powerful than her by the end of BW.
- Plucky Girl: Don't think anything's going to stop her from finding her own dream. Not losing in battles, not having her Pokémon stolen, not even her dad's interference. Hell, she doesn't even back down or flinch during their conversation in Nimbasa City!
- The Pollyanna: She stays optimistic and cheerful no matter how many times she is bested by the player.
- The Rival: Despite sharing this trope with Cheren, their character development in that regard is very different. Bianca starts her journey without many expectations or hopes to become anything, and discovers her abilities as her journey progresses.
- Ship Tease: Her glasses in Black 2 and White 2 look an awful lot like Cheren's, and Cheren himself is no longer wearing glasses, implying that she's either wearing his glasses or picked out a pair of glasses that matched his exactly.
- Shrinking Violet: Somewhat. While she's usually perfectly outgoing, she is also shown to be frightened pretty easily. It doesn't help that her father is constantly worrying over her journey, and his sheltering of her all her life probably caused her insecurities to start with.
- Signature Headgear: Her main headgear is a simple green beret. In the sequels, she adds a white bow to her beret.
- Signature Mon: In the first pair of Unova games, her starter choice is the one that's weak to yours. For the sequels, her ace Pokémon is Musharna instead, to avoid giving her a canon starter choice. That said, she does use all three starter lines in the Driftveil and World Leaders tournaments as a nod to her role as the one who gives you the Starter Mon. If you link your old game to the sequel game, she'll challenge you with her old team, starter and all.
- Spell My Name With An S: Is her Japanese name spelled Beru, Bel, Bell, or Belle? Because of this, her German name is Bell, Italian is Belle and Spanish is Bel.
- Stocking Filler: She wears orange tights under her dress in the first game.
- Theme Naming: Her Japanese name, Bel, is Slavic for "white"; her English name is Italian for the same. The female player character's promotional name also related to white.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Hilda's Tomboy, at least if her design is any indication; Compared to Hilda's shorts, black vest, and hiking boots, Bianca has more overtly feminine mannerisms and clothes.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: She's constantly looking on the bright side of things. Cheren is a little annoyed by this near the end, where she's still being bubbly despite the possible threat of N beating the Pokémon League ahead.
Black 2 and White 2
General Tropes (Black 2 and White 2)
- Anime Hair: Their hairstyles are much more conspicuous than previous main characters, that a Plasma Grunt even derisively compares the rival's to a Qwilfish. Despite it being traditional for protagonists to have a hat, they instead both have visors for their massive hair.
- Badass Adorable: More emphasis on the adorable part, but still as badass as the other protagonists.
- Best Friend: The chosen player shares a close, brotherly friendship with Hugh.
- Break the Haughty: The key difference between them and Hilbert and Hilda is that while latter gave Ghetsis a Villainous Breakdown, he was still functioning despite his plans being foiled. They on the other hand broke his rage so badly, Ghetsis was reduced to a catatonic state simply because they are just regular trainers, and no one special by defeating him.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Whereas Hilbert and Hilda as playable protagonists were explicitly The Chosen One set to fight against N and his ideals, Rosa and Nate are simply exceptionally skilled trainers who happened to get caught up in the drama of Hugh's personal vendetta against Team Plasma, Team Plasma's resurgence, and Ghetsis' attempts to freeze the entire region. Despite this, they still go out of their way to defeat Team Plasma, and eventually defeat Ghetsis himself.
- Cutting Off the Branches: Rosa is the designated protagonist in Masters, both with her being from Aspertia City and her mother having worked at a Pokémon Center. Meanwhile, Nate is quite blatantly portrayed as the Battle Subway partner, even going as far as to recreate his dialogue from teaming up with Rosa in his Sync Pair Story.
- Dragon Tamer: Just like Hilbert and Hilda before them, the one you don't pick is your partner on the Battle Subway, and they can have the Dragon-type Haxorus on their offense-based team.
- Expy: They bare a striking resemblance to their predecessors Hilbert and Hilda.
- Implied Love Interest: This is the situation between Rosa/Nate and Curtis/Yancy. It's obvious that Curtis/Yancy has developed a major crush on Rosa/Nate, and if you follow his/her Sidequest Sidestory to its conclusion, the two eventually have a Ferris Wheel Date Moment together.
- Meaningful Name: Their English and Japanese names both come from the word "resonate".
- Nonstandard Character Design: Their pupils are as white as their sclerae.
- Renaissance Man: More so than any other protagonist. If you do everything in the game, then besides being a master trainer, they're also a star actor/actress, manager of the Join Avenue, and champion of the World Tournament.
- Suddenly Voiced: In a manner of speaking. Unlike most protagonists, they actually do have multiple lines of dialogue when taking part in Pokéstar Studios.
- You Remind Me of X: Several characters tell the protagonist how they remind them of Hilbert or Hilda throughout the story, to the point that they'll refer them by name via Old Save Bonus. Even Hilbert/Hilda's mother mistakes them as her child that left to find N.
Nate (Kyōhei)
Nate / Kyōhei (キョウヘイ kyouhei)
Voiced by: Tom Wayland (B2W2 Promo - EN), Miyu Irino (B2W2 Promo - JP), Kyle Castellani (Pokémon Masters -EN), Miyuki Kobori (Pokémon Masters - JP)
Nate is a young boy living in Aspertia City with his childhood friend Hugh. At the start of the game, he sets off with Hugh to collect his first Pokémon. They then go their separate ways and he starts his journey across the Unova region.
If the player chooses Rosa, Nate will appear in game as an NPC, first met in Nimbasa City. He will join the player in a Tag Battle against Emmet and Ingo. Afterwards, he will give the player the Vs. Recorder.
The most prominent incarnation to Nate is Blake from Pokémon Adventures and in addition, Arata from Pocket Monsters B2 W2 ~ A New Legend ~.
In Pokémon Masters, Nate is depicted as his Battle Subway partner portrayal, defaulting Rosa as the main playable character, but is still a close friend to her and Hugh. As such, most of the tropes below may pertain to his depiction there.
- Ascended Meme: He's fairly unpopular compared to the other main characters of both sides of the Unova games; a fact that the western Pokémon Masters Twitter account humorously pointed out with this tweet to celebrate the fact even Nate can be a Neo Champion (the quote being a Call-Back to N addressing Nate ("And even Nate!") coming to help him out during the Villain Arc).
- Manly Tears: Can't help but shed a tear over N's messed-up relationship with Ghetsis during Father or Foe.
- Meaningful Appearance: In contrast to Hugh's Red Eyes, Nate's brown eyes imply he is the more agreeable, level headed of the duo.
- My Friends... and Zoidberg: N unintentionally does this to him in Pokémon Masters during the Unova Villain Arc, addressing all other main characters with surprise as they show up to save him from Ghetsis before coming up to Nate with "And even Nate!" Justified, as Nate's incarnation there is the Battle Subway version that likely didn't see much of the Neo Team Plasma story to its ending personally.
- The Casanova: As the main character. First, he is the first male protagonist to have an actual girlfriend, not just some Ship Tease like in previous games. He can also have dates with four different women at the Ferris Wheel depending of the seasons, among them you can find a trainer from Elesa's gym, and even a single mother...
- The Heart: In his Neo Champion event, N points out that Nate is so emotionally attached to his friends that he even cried for N when the latter couldn't bond with his father Ghetsis who used him in a plot to get Zekrom. The story event develops further as Nate goes around Pasio helping people out, not minding that he may be wasting time before the tournament to pick the next Neo Champion, further symbolizing how he touches the hearts of others through his empathy as a Nice Guy.
- Irony: He remarks that his Neo Champion outfit makes him feel like a main character in a Pokéstar Studio movie, unaware that his outfit heavily resembles one outfit for a movie there.
- Signature Mon: Emboar from the animated trailer, being the starter he chose. In both the mangas he chose the Oshawott line, however. In Masters, since all three Unova starters are already used by Hilbert, Hilda, and Rosa, his partner Pokémon is Braviary, referencing either: one of his possible Pokémon as a Battle Subway partner, a static encounter with Braviary in White 2, or simply a nod to Unova's Eagleland inspiration, being an American Eagle Pokémon. His Neo Champion costume is partnered with a shiny Haxorus, a possible reference to the shiny Haxorus that can be encountered in the Nature Preserve.
- Spear Counterpart: To Rosa.
- Strong Family Resemblance: Shares facial features in common with his mother.
Rosa (Mei)
Rosa / Mei (メイ mei)
Voiced by: Lisa Ortiz (B2W2 Promo - EN), Aki Toyosaki (B2W2 Promo, Pokémon Masters - JP), Kayli Mills (Pokémon Masters - EN)
Rosa is a young girl living in Aspertia City with her childhood friend Hugh. At the start of the game, she sets off with Hugh to collect her first Pokémon. They then go their separate ways and she starts her journey across the Unova region.
If the player chooses Nate, Rosa will appear in game as an NPC, first met in Nimbasa City. She will join the player in a Tag Battle against Emmet and Ingo. Afterwards, she will give the player the Vs. Recorder.
In Pokémon Masters, Rosa is portrayed as the main playable character while Nate is relegated to his Battle Subway partner role (but is still a close friend to her and Hugh). As such, most of the tropes below may pertain to her depiction there.
- Breakout Character: Rosa has had a growing fanbase since her first appearance in Pokémon Black and White 2, and while this has resulted in her getting a number of merchandise pieces, it was not until Pokémon Masters that she was truly put into the spotlight. In Masters, she is not only featured in the title screen art, but also serves as a major character in the Main Story, as well as a recurring presence in the game's story events, and was both one of the first recruitable characters and one of the first to receive an alternate outfit and partner Pokémon. All of this has served to further increase her popularity.
- Character Tics: A certain thinking pose with her cupping her chin has been adopted as a character tic of hers since trailers and screencaps of Masters have been released.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Nate.
- Dreadful Musician: In Omakes, even Meloetta can't stand her singing voice.
- Genki Girl: She's very energetic as an NPC in the Battle Subway and in Pokémon Masters. In the latter, she wonders if the fresh oxygen that Grass-type Pokémon always give off may be a factor for her abundant energy.
- Girly Girl: Her design is more traditionally feminine compared to her predecessor Hilda.
- Heroic Mime: Subverted in the Black 2 & White 2 trailer where she's fully voiced and commands her Serperior in battle, revealing a personality that is that of a rare female Stock Shōnen Hero with her Hot-Blooded temperment and love for battle. Could be a double subversion however, as the silent till the end Nate in the trailer appears to be representing the player character, while Rosa is the NPC that results from not choosing her similar to the voiced roles Dawn or May would play if you chose Lucas or Brendan who would then be the Heroic Mime and vice versa. Regardless, she does talk and have on screen dialogue when acting in movies and while it's true this dialogue only comes when she's playing characters that aren't herself, it's not a subversion as it's still clearly Rosa talking.
- Rosa is of course fully voiced in Pokemon Masters with the personality she demonstrated in the trailer of Black 2 & White 2 as with all other player trainer characters (except Red of course, whose personality was made to be The Stoic and the only one retroactively revealed to have been silent in-universe in his home game and to be doing it on purpose).
- Hot-Blooded: If the promo trailer is any indication, she's very energetic. Her sprite implies it too, and it's part of her characterization in Masters.
- Ojou Ringlets: Wears this hairstyle as a princess.
- Olympus Mons: Her Super Tour Guide Special Costume pairs up with Sky Forme Shaymin in Masters.
- Pimped-Out Dress: The princess costume she wears in the Pokéstar Studios movie "Mystery Doors of the Magical Land".
- Princesses Prefer Pink: The princess dress she wears at the Pokestar studios is pink.
- Ship Tease: A bit with the player character in Masters. Her Holiday variant in Masters has her, quite nervously, ask the player what their favorite cake flavor is and, speaking to her after she says that, has her say that she may not have a gift for them yet, but she will.
- Signature Mon: Serperior in the animated trailer, which would fit in with the games since she would have the Snivy line if as the protagonist Nate chose Tepig. She also gets the Snivy line in a Kotobukiya figure and Pokémon Masters. However, the Trainer Lodge feature in Masters gives her a Dewott, though it can't evolve, and Rosa always uses Snivy/Servine/Serperior in cutscenes.
- Stock Shōnen Hero: A female example in Masters, despite looking like the quintessential Stock Shoujo Heroine. She's Hot-Blooded, caring, loves to train and battle, and can be slow on the uptake. She sometimes even acts as The Hero herself, partially as a stand-in for the Heroic Mime player character in cutscenes, but also as a major viewpoint for both the main story and story events. This was already hinted at in the trailer for Black 2 & White 2 where thanks to being fully voiced, she was able better demonstrate her determination in battle, perseverance and love of a challenge.
- Strong Family Resemblance: The Player Character's mother of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 wears her hair in a bun nearly identical to Rosa's rolls and both have side-bangs. They also both wear light blue and pink.
- Vocal Dissonance: In Black 2 and White 2, Curtis, who only heard her voice on his XTransceiver before meeting her in person, notes that she sounded older than she actually is, enough that he was both surprised and relieved to learn she was his age. Though the trailer and Masters don't reflect this.
Hugh (Hyu)
Hugh / Hyu (ヒュウ hyuu)
Voiced by: Sean Schemmel (B2W2 Promo - EN), Junko Minagawa (B2W2 Promo - JP), Stephen Fu (Pokémon Masters - EN), Tasuku Hatanaka (Pokémon Masters - JP)
The Rival in Black and White 2. Hugh is a Hot-Blooded young man with a serious grudge against Team Plasma, who stole his little sister's Purrlion years ago. To take revenge on them, he raised a Pokémon from an egg and became a trainer. Though he is usually cool and calm, he goes berserk when confronted by a member of Team Plasma.
- Anti-Hero Substitute: To Cheren and Bianca, though they're still around.
- Artificial Brilliance: When you're teaming up with him in a Double Battle, Hugh can sometimes be seen taking advantage of the player's Pokémon's abilities. For example, he will use a Fire-type attack on your Pokémon if it has Flash Fire to power up your moves, or a Water-type attack to heal your Pokémon if it has Water Absorb.
- Back-to-Back Badasses: Notable in that unlike all previous rivals, you spend much more time fighting alongside Hugh than against him.
- Berserk Button: He pretty much flips out the instant he sees a member of Team Plasma, both new and old. At one point when you enter Driftveil City, he just rushes onto the scene and slaps/shoves/punches/otherwise physically assaults a grunt like it's nothing. Part of his Character Development is about outgrowing this.
- Big Brother Instinct: He cares heavily about his little sister and is said to be doting towards her. He also despises Team Plasma because they kidnapped her Purrloin. In a way, he also is this to the Player Character themselves throughout the journey through assuring they are never alone taking on Team Plasma and encourages you along the way.
- Black-and-White Insanity: One of his main flaws is his refusal to acknowledge the original Team Plasma's Heel–Face Turn. He finally starts to overcome this outlook near the end of the game.
- Brains Versus Brawn: It's quite telling that Hugh is not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed compared to the smart player character, often rushing into things without thinking or not being able to figure out things as quickly as others do without his emotions taking the best of him. This only becomes more and more apparent in Pokémon Masters where he's constantly put to work together with the likes of N and Penny.
- Character Catchphrase: "I'm about to unleash my rage!" / "You're about to feel my rage!"
- Character Development: Hugh starts off as an Ideal Hero, kind and supportive of the Player Character. His only flaw is that he refuses to forgive Team Plasma for, years ago, having stolen his sister's Purrloin. He is dragged down and blinded by this hatred, but finally comes to terms with the fact that former villains can redeem themselves. Hugh finds peace, and continues to care for his sister's Purrloin-turned-Liepard, even though it was raised and influenced by Team Plasma, knowing it is still good at heart.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: Only if you're playing on Challenge Mode, but there his Pokémon's levels when he's battling against you are higher than when he's an ally, leading to one point where his Pokémon's levels actually go down within a short span of time.
- Dragon Tamer: From his sixth battle onwards, he has the Ground/Dragon Flygon on his team.
- Face of a Thug: Despite having a design that brings jerkass rivals such as Blue and Silver to mind, he is generally calm and friendly. His bad side is only shown towards Team Plasma and those he believed was in his way.
- Forgiveness: His personal struggle is learning to let go of his hatred for the former Plasma members and move on.
- Freudian Excuse: He despises Team Plasma because they stole his sister's Purrloin, which was given to her by their late grandfather.
- Friendly Rivalry: At no point in the game does he ever challenge you for the sake of beating you and proving himself superior. As your best friend, he offers to battle you in order to test your Pokémon' strength, and after losing, shows complete confidence in your abilities and encourages you to continue on your quest to become the Unova champion.
- Guest-Star Party Member: He travels around with your for short periods at several points (such as Castelia Sewers), even participating in Tag Battles with you.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take that much to get him angry. Simply the entire existence of Team Plasma will send him into a rage.
- Heroic BSoD: After finding out that his sister's Purrloin has evolved into a Liepard and will now only obey the Shadow Triad.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Nate when he's the player character.
- Hot-Blooded: He is very passionate, especially when it comes to beating the hell out of Team Plasma.
- It's Personal: Chases Team Plasma because they kidnapped his little sister's Purrloin.
- It Was a Gift: When Zinzolin of Team Plasma asks Hugh why he is so fixated on finding his sister's Purrloin, Hugh answers that it was caught for her by their late grandfather.
- Jerkass to One: He's only ever nasty to Team Plasma and those affiliated with them. Outside of that, he's generally more nicer and reasonable.
- Knight Templar Big Brother: He is willing to go to violent lengths in order to get the justice his sister deserves.
- Large Ham: Hugh will make the extra effort to let everyone know when he is about to unleash his rage.
- Meaningful Name: Hue, as in color, fits in with a number of other color based names. Particularly it forms a trio with its generation, 'black, white, and color'.
- Nice Guy: Despite his flaws, he ultimately seems to admire the protagonist and cares for his Pokémon. In fact, he actually apologizes several times for dragging the player character into his quest to take down Team Plasma. He also wants to see the protagonist become the Unova Champion.
- Odd Friendship: In Masters, he quickly forms one with Penny.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Rosa when she's the player character.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Oddly enough, his Xtransceiver is pink, which contrasts with the red and yellow ones Rosa and Nate possess, respectively.
- Roaring Rampage of Rescue: His tendency to pursue and tear through Plasma members to get his sister's Purrloin back has resulted in a number of them becoming terrified of him."H-he's terrifying! He can't be human!"
- Schrödinger's Gun: He's had his starter Pokémon for a bit before the game even starts, but what it turns out to be always has the type advantage against the one you picked.
- Signature Mon: Ingame, his ace Pokémon is the starter that has the type advantage over whichever starter you picked. In the animated trailer, since Nate's Pokémon of choice is Emboar, Hugh's is appropriately Samurott. In Pokémon Masters, his Sync Pair Pokémon is Bouffalant.
- Spiky Hair: His hairstyle is likened to a Qwilfish several times by Team Plasma grunts.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In Pokémon Masters, he ends up part of a team with Wally and Bede. Due to Bede's insistence to lead and give out orders, Hugh quickly gets wrapped up in arguments with him, and the team becomes too dysfunctional to win any battles. After getting advice from Cheren and Bianca to try to come to a middle point to be on equal footing as teammates, Hugh manages to come to a mutual understanding with Bede.
- Two Words: I Can't Count: Call him before you reach Reversal Mountain to know where he is.Hugh: One word: Reversal Mountain. Oh wait, that's two words...
- What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out Clay for blindly trusting Rood and his followers. However, he in turns gets this from Clay, who points out that you need to learn to respect other people's differing perspectives instead of blindly condemning them — especially when they're trying to redeem themselves for their past misdeeds.
Allies
Professor Juniper (Dr. Araragi)
Professor Aurea Juniper / Dr. Araragi (アララギ博士 araragi hakase)
The Pokémon Professor native to the Unova region who specializes in the study of the origins of Pokémon. She is the first female Pokémon Professor in the main series.
- All There in the Manual: According to the official English guidebook, her first name is "Aurea". This isn't mentioned in-game until Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.
- Brainy Brunette: Ditziness aside.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character:
- Before Magnolia's appearance in Pokémon Sword and Shield, Professor Juniper is the first female Pokémon Professor to be introduced in the series. She's also a young woman, in contrast to previous professors who tend to be middle-aged to elderly men.
- Likewise, Professor Juniper contrasts this to Professor Oak, the Professor of the Generation I games, being that both of them are researchers, but the differences start with their relation to their close relatives. Professor Oak is the grandfather of Blue, his game's The Rival to Red, but he embodies the Like Father, Unlike Son (or Grandson) trope, where he's a researcher while his grandson Blue is a Pokémon Trainer. On the contrary, Professor Juniper is the Like Father, Like Daughter opposite to Oak, as not only she's a Pokémon researcher and the Professor, but these traits are also heavily influenced by her father, who was once a researcher, and she directly follows her father's footsteps.
- Ditzy Genius: She's bright, but not always focused.
- '80s Hair: It thumbs its nose at gravity. When viewed from the right angle, it looks like soft-serve ice cream.
- Generation Xerox: Apparently she is very similar to her father in terms of looks, personality, and general work.
- Genki Girl: She is very energetic and acts on something she has decided immediately. This is noted by the Player Character's mother in Black 2/White 2 where she is happy that Juniper offers their child a Pokémon and Pokédex, but gets annoyed she already sent Bianca before informing your mother.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Fennel, as they used to be college buddies.
- Like Father, Like Daughter: Professor Juniper works as a Pokémon Professor, which is something that she follows directly from her father, who is formerly one.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted in the in the Japanese version, where she and her father are both referred to as "Araragi." Played straight in the English version, as her father is given a first name — Cedric.
- Signature Mon: While she's never actually seen battling, she seems to have an affinity for the Minccino line. As a Minccino shows up in the introduction to Pokémon at the beginning of Black and White (which strangely has a chance to be generated as a shiny) and it appears in her lab. It appears again as a Cinccino in Black 2 and White 2.
- The Smurfette Principle: Out of the eight main professors, she was the only woman until Magnolia was introduced.
Cedric Juniper (Dr. Araragi)
Cedric Juniper / Dr. Araragi (アララギ博士 araragi hakase)
Professor Aurea Juniper's father. He was once a Pokémon researcher.
- '80s Hair: Although not as much as his daughter.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: Not as big as Oak's, but they're still pretty large.
- Breaking Old Trends: He is the first male Pokémon Professor in the series who does not serve as the game's Professor, as he has retired as a researcher. That role instead goes to his daughter Aurea Juniper, the series' first female Pokémon Professor.
- Cool Old Guy: Or middle-aged guy, anyway.
- Early-Bird Cameo: You don't actually see him, but if you check out one of the pictures in his daughter's lab, it mentions her standing with a smiling man hinted to be him.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: He's the one who upgrades the Pokédex (not to National-level, though; that's for after finishing the game) upon first meeting him in Mistralton City.
- One-Steve Limit: In the Japanese version, both he and his daughter are referred to as "Araragi." In the English localization, he has a first name of "Cedric" to avoid having two characters being referred to by the same name.
- Lampshaded in the anime, where Ash says "Professor Juniper" and, after both respond, realizes that that's both of their names.
- Only One Name: Played straight in the original Japanese, averted in international releases. For example, the English translation gives him the full name and title of Professor Cedric Juniper.
- Parents as People: Well, his role sure isn't limited to the backstory!
- Theme Naming: Just like his daughter.
Fennel/Makomo (マコモ makomo)
A young woman from Striaton City, and close friend of Professor Juniper's. She is a scientist who specializes in studying Pokémon's dreams. She serves as a guide in the Pokémon Dream World.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: Her hair clip matches the flower patter found on Munna, which help with her studies.
- Bespectacled Cutie: She's got glasses all right!
- Curtains Match the Window: Her eyes match her hair color.
- Custom Uniform: Her design is heavily based off of the other females of the Scientist class, but she has a flower hairclip to set her apart.
- Every Proper Lady Should Curtsy: Does this in her anime introduction. With her lab coat, oddly enough.
- Forced Tutorial: Even if you choose "No" when she gives you the Game Sync tutorial, she will still explain it to you.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Well it's sorta... purple... Are they going for blue, actually?
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Juniper.
- Nice Girl: Despite her... insistence, she is otherwise a very kind woman.
- Pink Means Feminine: She shows a lot of pink; her hairclip, her sandals, her inner top, and most of all, her Pokémon Munna and Musharna.
- Signature Mon: She has a Munna as a research partner.
Amanita/Shouro (ショウロ shouro)
The Pokémon Storage System Developer who operates in the Unova region. She is Fennel's younger sister.
- Bespectacled Cutie: Fittingly for a girl as smart as she is, she wears glasses.
- Child Prodigy: Just look at her! She looks even younger than the player characters, most of whom are barely eleven, yet she's a computer prodigy.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: She's smart enough to operate an entire region's Storage System Developer, despite being even younger than the already-young protagonists!
Yancy/Nancy/Ruri (ルリ ruri)/Rukko (ルッコ rukko)
Yancy
"Nancy"
The female worker option should the player be male in Black 2 & White 2.
- Character Catchphrase: She always ends her sentences in an awkward/nervous laugh "Ahaha!".
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Not Yancy herself, but one conversation reveals that her younger brother and sister have become jealous of Nate spending so much time with their big sister.
- The Confidant: Nate becomes this to her; she talks to him about her insecurities and aspirations, and asks him advice on how to deal with family problems, competitiveness with co-workers, and how she looks in her hat. Apparently, he gives excellent advice.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Curtis. She appears if you play as a boy.
- Fangirl: To Elesa. Yancy all but squees when interviewing her, and when Elesa smiles at her, Yancy wonders if it's "okay to be this happy".
- Ferris Wheel Date Moment: With Nate, if her Sidequest Sidestory is followed.
- Guide Dang It!: Good luck actually completing the sidequest without consulting an online walkthrough, because even the official guide is horribly unclear.
- Idol Singer: She's referenced as a "Pokémon Idol" in Unova TV shows.
- Implied Love Interest: More or less her purpose. The official guide even calls your friendship with her a romance!
- She even writes a love song about her and Nate, sometimes on the Celebrity TV Channel it will say she's about to sing a song she wrote titled "Xtransceiver Love".
- Living a Double Life: Her "day job" is being a TV personality and celebrity idol named Nancy, who can be frequently seen on the "Celebrity" programming choice when watching a TV.
- Luminescent Blush: After calling her a certain number of times, she'll gain one in her talk sprite.
- Crush Blush: The obvious reason.
- Missing Mom: Yancy frequently mentions her dad and younger siblings, but says nothing about a mom.
- Nice Girl: She's quite sweet and friendly.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Pink-haired and sweet natured.
- Signature Headgear: She wears a white hat with a pink ribbon on the side, fitting her shy feminine nature.
- Ship Tease: It eventually becomes pretty obvious that she has a crush on Nate.
- Schrödinger's Player Character: If you play as a female character, Yancy still exists and can be "seen" on TV doing interviews; the player just never interacts with her.
- Sidequest Sidestory: After finding her lost Xtransceiver, you can initiate a series of calls with her and eventually trade Pokémon with her.
Curtis/Christoph/Tetsu (テツ tetsu)/Tenma (テンマ tenma)
Curtis
"Christoph"
The male worker option should the player be female in Black 2 & White 2.
- Character Catchphrase:
- Of a sort. He tends to end his interviews with a seemingly awkward/nervous laugh. "Ah ha ha!"
- As he becomes more comfortable with Rosa, he gains another:
Curtis: Um... I hope you can help me with this. - Classy Cravat: He wears one with his stage outfit.
- The Confidant: The same with Rosa as Yancy is with Nate.
- Crush Blush: During calls with Rosa, he's flustered just from talking to her.
- Curtains Match the Window: His eyes are green like his hair, and his vest.
- Ferris Wheel Date Moment: With Rosa, if his Sidequest Sidestory is followed.
- Guide Dang It!: Good luck actually completing their sidequest without consulting an online walkthrough, because even the official guide is horribly unclear.
- Implied Love Interest: More or less his purpose. The official guide even calls your friendship with him a romance!
- Living a Double Life: His "day job" is being a TV personality and celebrity idol named Christoph, who can be frequently seen on the "Celebrity" programming choice when watching a TV.
- Luminescent Blush: After calling him a certain number of times, he'll gain one in his talk sprite.
- Nice Guy: He's quite sweet and friendly. He also often talks about his family, and his dialogue makes it clear how much he loves them. He even asks Rosa for advice when he has disagreements with them, and usually resolves to sincerely apologize and avoid making the same mistake in the future.
- Ship Tease: It eventually becomes quite obvious that he has a crush on Rosa. When on the Ferris wheel with her, he even goes so far as to say that while the Unova region is certainly very pretty, it's not the only thing that's pretty around here.
- Schrödinger's Player Character: If you play as a male character, Curtis still exists and can be "seen" on TV doing interviews; the player just never interacts with him.
- Sidequest Sidestory: After finding his lost Xtransceiver, you can initiate a series of calls with him and eventually trade Pokémon with him.
- Spear Counterpart: To Yancy. He appears if you play as a girl.
Gym Leaders
Striaton Triplets
Striaton City Gym Leaders (Black and White)—Triple Trouble!
The Striaton Gym uniquely has three Gym Leaders; which one the player faces depends on the starter they chose.
- A Day in the Limelight: They debut and partake in Masters's Costume Tea Party event as the ones teaching how to make tea to Lillie and Sonia.
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: All their names begin with "C".
- Badass Adorable: They're cute, but they're still Gym Leaders.
- Breaking Old Trends: This is the first gym in the series with multiple specialty types.
- Chromatic Arrangement: Their hair and eye colors are green, red, and blue.
- Curtains Match the Window: Each of them has hair and eye colors that are the same. For bonus points they also match their bow tie color, their element of choice, and their elemental monkey.
- Divergent Character Evolution: In Black 2 and White 2, they stopped being Gym Leaders so they could train and become stronger as individuals, not as a set.
- Edible Theme Naming: In Japanese, they're all named after parts of corn. The English version names them after cooking ingredients.
- Elemental Hair Colors: The Grass-type, Water-type, and Fire-type specialists respectively have green, blue, and red hair. Go figure.
- Freudian Trio: Cilan is the middle-ground Ego, Cress is the calm and reasoned Superego, and Chili is the Hot-Blooded Id.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Whichever of the two brothers you choose not to face in Black 2 and White 2 joins you as your teammate against them.
- Irony: The triplets are a set of well-dressed waiters whose Signature Mons evolve into Japanese Delinquents.
- My Greatest Failure: Not showing up in the fight against Team Plasma at N's Castle puts the siblings into this in their Memory Link.
- Optional Boss: After beating the Elite Four in Black 2 and White 2, you can challenge the brothers, teaming up with one against the other two. This can be done daily as well. They also appear standalone in the World Tournament.
- Poor, Predictable Rock: Averted. Rather than screw over the players who picked Fire (or in Falkner's case, Grass), the Leader you battle here depends solely on your choice of starter and, as such, will always have the type advantage over you.
- Route Boss: The one you get to face in Black and White is based on the starter you chose at the beginning of the game, and will be the Gym Leader whose type your starter is weak against.
- Same-Sex Triplets: They're triplet brothers, though they aren't identical due to their different hair and eye colors.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: They dress very classy.
- Signature Move: Work Up for all of them.
- Stealth Pun: Several things in their names relate to the number 3: their Japanese names are compatible with the prefix "tri-", and the English translation all start with the third letter of the alphabet.
- Theme Naming: The brothers are all named after three different plant-based ingredients in cooking.
- The Unfought: Two of them cannot be challenged by the player in Black or White (you only challenge Cilan if you picked Oshawott as an starter, Chili if you picked Snivy, and Cress if you picked Tepig). Averted in the sequels, as you can team up with any of them to battle against the other two once a day, and all three can be encountered in the Pokémon World Tournament.
- Waistcoat of Style: They each wear a black one over a white shirt, being designed on waiters.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: They are the only Gym Leaders not to show up during the Big Damn Heroes moment against the Plasma Sages at N's Castle because Bianca hadn't actually got to them by the time they were needed.
Cilan (Dent)
Cilan / Dent (デント dento)
- "So, um, if you're OK with me, I'll, um, put everything I've got into being, er, you know, your opponent."
A waiter who specializes in Grass-types alongside his brothers Chili and Cress.
For the anime version of Cilan, see Pokémon the Series: Black & White — Cast.
- Break the Cutie: According to the Memory Link, Cilan apparently lost his self-esteem when he and his brothers were beaten by the Shadow Triad, and it took time for him to rebuild his confidence as a trainer, unlike the other two.
- Green Thumb: Grass-type specialist.
- Meaningful Name:
- In English: Cilantro.
- In Japanese: Dent = Japanese homonym for "(rice) field".
- His French name is Rachid, from "racine" (root), "arachide" (peanut) and possibly "rachis".
- His German name is Benny, from "maiskolben" (corncob).
- His Italian name is Spighetto, from "spiga", "ear of corn", and "spaghetti".
- His Spanish name is Millo, from "maize" or "tomillo" (thyme).
- Non-Standard Character Design: Cilan is one of the very few characters in the franchise to have Skintone Sclerae.
- Shrinking Violet: He's the only one of the three that stutters before, during, and after battle and doesn't seem as confident in his battle skills as his brothers.
- Signature Mon: Pansage. Evolves into Simisage in the sequels.
- Skintone Sclerae: Not so obvious in the games because of his pale-white skin, but it's there.
- The Unfought: In the first pair of games, if you picked Snivy or Tepig as your starter.
Chili (Pod)
Chili / Pod (ポッド poddo)
Striaton City Gym Leaders (Black and White)—Triple Trouble!
- "Ta-da! The Fire-type scorcher Chili —that's me— will be your opponent!"
A waiter who specializes in Fire-types alongside his brothers Cilan and Cress.
- Fiery Redhead: Near literally.
- Fire Is Red: Shown by his hair and eyes.
- Hot-Blooded: Naturally, being the Fire-type Gym Leader.
- Large Ham: "Yeeeeooow! Time to play with FIRE!! I'm the strongest of us brothers!"
- Meaningful Name:
- In English: Chili pepper.
- In Japanese: "Pod" (Poddo) rhymes with "Hot" (Hotto).
- His French name is Armando, from "amande" (almond) and "ardent" (fiery).
- His German name is Maik, from "maiskolben" (corncob).
- His Italian name us Chicco, meaning "grain".
- His Spanish name is Zeo, from "Zea mays", the scientific name of maize. Also from "ζέω zeo", Greek for "to boil".
- Playing with Fire: Fire-type specialist.
- Poor, Predictable Rock: Nope! You only fight Chili if you started with Snivy, which is weak to Chili's Fire attacks.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Fire-type Gym Leader; don't get burned.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Cress's Blue, as the Id to the Superego respectively. Also literally in their color schemes.
- Signature Mon: Pansear. Evolves into Simisear in the sequels.
- The Unfought: In the first pair of games, if you picked Tepig or Oshawott.
Cress (Corn)
Cress / Corn (コーン koon)
Striaton City Gym Leaders (Black and White)—Triple Trouble!
- "What incredible luck for you — you get to battle the best among the three of us."
A waiter who specializes in Water-types alongside his brothers Cilan and Chili.
- Deadpan Snarker: He has a dry wit compared to his brothers.
- Making a Splash: One of two Water-type specialists in Unova, the other being Marlon.
- Meaningful Name:
- In English: Watercress.
- In Japanese: Corn = Kosuinote
- His French name is Noa, from "noix" (nut).
- His German name is Colin, from "maiskolben" (corncob).
- His Italian name is Maisello, from "mais" (corn).
- Poor, Predictable Rock: Averted. You only fight Cress if your starter is Tepig, which is weak to Cress's Water attacks.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Chili's Red.
- Signature Mon: Panpour. Evolves into Simipour in the sequel.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Has a tendency to boast about being impressive, and frequently addresses himself as "I, Cress". He also blames the tournament pairings for your victory over him after a successful tournament.
- The Unfought: In the first pair of games, if you picked Snivy or Oshawott.
- Water Is Blue: As always for the series; Cress further has blue hair and blue eyes.
Cheren
Cheren (チェレン cheren)
Black/White
- Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (B2W2 Promo - JP), Jason Griffith (B2W2 Promo - EN), Landon McDonald (Pokémon Masters - EN), Atsushi Abe (Pokémon Masters - JP)
Aspertia City Gym Leader (Black 2 and White 2) — A Leader Who Seeks the Right Path
- "Even if hurt, my Pokémon will fight for me with just one command. I think I'll value and trust your Pokémon more if you keep that fact close to your heart. What can I do for these Pokémon? What should I do? That's right! I battle with everything to find the ideal relationship between Pokémon and people!"
Hilbert/Hilda's rival from Black and White, who has since gone on to become a Normal-type Gym Leader.
- And Then What?: A key part of his development in the first games is Alder asking him just what he intends to do if he becomes Champion like he is so motivated to do and why he wants it so bad.
- Ascended Extra: He gets a rather major role in Masters as he tries to assist Lear in his stubborn endeavors to stop Team Break while doing it solo, because Cheren can't help seeing himself in Lear before Cheren got Character Development. He does confirm this to Lear by saying he doesn't want people to head down the same path he had taken before and does what he can to steer them in the right direction. Lear seemingly dismisses Cheren as this being an excuse to make Cheren feel better with himself, though Lear adds that he will have to do the same to Cheren to repay him, much to Cheren's relief.
- Barely-Changed Dub Name: His French name is Tcheren.
- Break the Haughty: In Black and White. He's not overbearingly arrogant, but he still has to work out some ego issues.
- Character Development: Young Cheren had a one-track mind of becoming the next Champion without actually having a plan to do after that. Years pass and he becomes a Gym Leader, albeit a somewhat nervous one. Come Masters, he has clearly grown more into his role as an adviser with all traces of nervousness gone.
- Character Tic: Adjusting his tie in the sequels.
- Childhood Friends: With Bianca and either Hilbert or Hilda.
- Colorful Theme Naming:
- "Cheren" is Slavic for "Black", which pairs him with Bianca, whose name means "White" in Italian (and whose Japanese name, Bel, is Slavic for "White").
- As a gym leader, his name meaning Black is the opposite of the first Normal gym leader, whose name meant White. Black also comes from the same root as Blank, as in plain or normal.
- Com Mons: His Gym team consists of two (or three in Challenge Mode) of them.
- Curtains Match the Window: Grey hair and grey eyes alike.
- Deadpan Snarker: Shows definite traces of this. For example, he calls Team Plasma a "Waste of oxygen."
- Dragon Tamer: In Black and White's postgame he adds the Dragon-type Haxorus to his rematch team.
- The Glasses Come Off: He apparently stopped wearing his glasses in between games.
- Guest-Star Party Member: In the first games on occasion, in the second games during the Plasma Frigate battles in the main story, and more integrated in the Pinwheel Forest exploration in the post-game.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: To Hilbert, when he's chosen as the player.
- Honest Advisor: In his home region, he wishes to become dependable to all aspiring young trainers. He makes a successful growth to this role in Pokémon Masters where he takes it upon himself to advise Pasio's future ruler Lear because the latter's ego reminded him of how Cheren used to be. He also becomes this to Paulo when the latter can't take losing well and searches for some unorthodox methods to gain more strength. Whereas Cheren succeeds at teaching Lear the right values, Paulo completely goes into deep end. Really bad.
- Informed Ability: Cheren is meant to be far superior and much more professional than Bianca as a trainer, but barring him picking the advantaged starter and making more use of items, his team actually tends to be weaker overall. For most of the game, his team is basically identical to hers with two exceptions: Liepard, and Unfezant. His Liepard's main offense is Assurance, a move that deals very poor damage unless he took damage that turn, when Liepard is a Fragile Speedster that almost always goes first (and if Unburden kicks in, it'll be even faster). His Unfezant, despite being a physically-oriented Pokémon, relies entirely on special moves for damage—initially, he seems to be going for a crit-focused build with Air Cutter and Super Luck, but after getting a Scope Lens, he unlearns Air Cutter in favor of Air Slash.
- Luminescent Blush: Due to the player being his first opponent as a Gym Leader, he's clearly a little nervous.
- Meaningful Name: Cheren comes from "черен čéren" which is Bulgarian for "black". It contrast with Bianca's name which means "white".
- Non-Elemental: As a Gym Leader, he focuses on the Normal-type, taking Lenora's place as such.
- Obstructive Code of Conduct: Cheren laments that one of the things he has to get used to as a Gym Leader is losing graciously, because he is not permitted to use his "old team" in Gym battles and must use low-leveled Pokémon in order to be a challenge, but not to the point of being so strong that gym challengers cannot defeat him. Outside Aspertia Gym, Cheren's Pokémon are considerably stronger than the Pokémon he uses in gym battles.
- Optional Boss: In addition to being in the World Tournament, he also appears if you use the Memory Link function with a copy of Black or White. He will use his team from those games, including his starter but with a different elemental monkey, in a match on Route 5. Unlike most other bonuses, this is a one-time battle.
- Platonic Life-Partners: If Hilda is chosen as the player character, he has this with her.
- The Rival: In Black and White. He shares this trope with Bianca, but their Character Development in that regard is quite different. Cheren begins his journey as determined and, arguably, overconfident. He gets better once he starts realizing his limitations and that simply becoming the Champion for the sake of it is a pointless goal.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: Cheren now wears a suit.
- Ship Tease: In the second game, he's no longer wearing his glasses and the glasses Bianca is wearing look suspiciously like his...
- Signature Mon: As a rival, his ace Pokémon is the starter that's strong against yours. If you link your old game to the sequels, he'll use his old team, starter and all. As a Gym Leader, he's associated with the Stoutland line instead, using Lillipup during his Gym Leader battle and Stoutland later in the game and during the Pokémon World Tournament. This is likely to differentiate him from Lenora, who was also a Normal type Gym Leader, but is more associated with Watchog instead.
- Signature Move: With the triplets bowing out of their position, Cheren gets Work Up and the associated TM.
- Stoic Spectacles: In Black and White.
- To Be a Master: In Black and White, he explicitly states that his goal is to become the Champion. Before mellowing out, he considered this goal his reason for existing.
- Warm-Up Boss: He's the first Gym Leader in Black 2 and White 2, and his Gym team consists solely of Patrat and Lillipup. His team is much stronger in the World Tournament, including a sneaky trick in having Castform on his team, which will transform into a Water type to break up his otherwise monotype team. However, even though he uses Com Mons in the gym battle, it isn't wise to take him lightly. Like Striaton, he utilizes Work Up before attacking. While you might be able to take Patrat out in 2-3 hits, his Lillipup is likely to put up a fight. It will likely be faster than anything on your team at this point and once it uses Work Up once or twice, it will be strong enough to sweep your team. To add on to that, if you're playing Challenge Mode, he gets a Pidove with Quick Attack, which always strikes first regardless of speed, and the Super Luck ability which increases the critical hit ratio, and can spell trouble. And while Riolu are available before taking him on, it won't have a true super-effective move until level 15, which is a bitch to get to due to the leveling system.
Lenora (Aloe)
Lenora / Aloe (アロエ aroe)
Voiced by: Taylor Billingslea (Pokémon Generations - EN), Saori Takamiya (Pokémon Generations - JP), Zakiya Young (Pokémon Masters - EN), Rie Takahashi (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"Well then, challenger, I'm going to research how you battle with the Pokémon you've so lovingly raised!"
An archaeologist and the director of the Nacrene Museum, who specializes in Normal-types.
- Adventure Archaeologist: If her English title wasn't enough to convince you, she got to one of the stones before Team Plasma even went on the hunt and hid it right in plain sight! Mock her now.
- Big Beautiful Woman: She is a rather curvy and large woman.
- Boring, but Practical: Her team. As noted below, her team is made up of common choices players can capture in Unova; players can even have Lenora's exact team by the time they battle her. In spite of that, her Pokémon are still difficult to deal with; Herdier's Intimidate makes it bulkier on the physical side, along with it having a very powerful STAB Take Down it readily abuses, while Watchog can put opponents to sleep via Hypnosis or smack them hard with a 140 BP Retaliate; both of them have Dark-type coverage, meaning they can effectively hit everything a player can catch by that point of the game (outside traded-in Pokémon such Throh and Sawk in the first game due to the fact they resist Dark-type moves or Purrloin due to Like Cannot Cut Like).
- Bowdlerize: See her official artwork up there? That's the international one — her original artwork◊ makes it clear her design was based in the Mammy stereotype, so it was naturally toned down for international releases.
- The Chessmaster: Her battle style. Easier to see in the anime and manga, but still shows up in the game. Example? No matter which of her Pokémon you face, you're in to get hit hard with her next Pokémon's Retaliate after beating her first Pokémon, which is going to be a base 140 STAB because of it.
- Coat Over the Shoulder: Her international artwork in Black and White (as pictured above) has her holding her apron over her shoulder instead of wearing it, possibly to tone down her mammy-like design to American players.
- Com Mons: Most Gym Leaders have a Pokémon, usually their ace, that is usually quite rare in relation to the area or time it is battled; it may be unobtainable altogether in that respective game. Conversely, Lenora's team is entirely made up of common Pokémon players typically encounter in Unova - they are simply the evolved forms of them. So much so, players can battle Lenora with her exact party if they chose to. Despite their ubiquitous appearance rates, her team is no less dangerous because of it.
- Curtains Match the Window: Her hair and eyes are the same shade of blue-green.
- Demoted to Extra: She stepped down as a gym leader by Black 2 and White 2, and her sole role is to give you one of the Generation V fossils during the post-game; she can only be battled in the Pokémon World Tournament.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Her eyebrows are black but the rest of her hair has a blue tint.
- Happily Married: To Hawes, the vice-curator of her museum.
- It Only Works Once: Her signature move, Retaliate. It is only dangerous the immediate turn following one of Lenora's party members fainting. Outside of that scenario, the move is a lot more manageable to deal with; Herdier's Take Down is more of a threat, for perspective.
- Mammy: By design and in her Team Mom status. Notably, the character most resembling this archetype debuted in the generation representing the United States — there's no other reason for her to even have an apron besides this trope. Part of the reason for Coat Over the Shoulder above was to downplay this in international releases.
- Meaningful Name:
- In English: Lenora = Normal.
- In Japanese: Continuing with the tradition of Normal-type leaders having names referencing both a plant and a saying, Aloe sounds similar to Haro/Hello when using Japanese pronunciation.
- Non-Elemental: She specializes in Normal-types.
- Optional Boss: Though she's no longer a challengeable Gym Leader in Black 2 and White 2, she is present in the World Tournament.
- Signature Mon: Specializes in Normal-types, with her strongest being a Watchog.
- Signature Move: The move Retaliate. It normally has average power, but it deals double damage if used the turn after a teammate has been knocked out.
- Team Mom: Sort of characterized as this, when she's not acting as a Gym Leader or archaeologist.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Continuing the trend left by Whitney and Norman, Lenora comes well-equipped despite the nature of the Normal-type. Her Pokémon's levels are a decent jump from the previous Gym Leaders and both have pretty strong attacks for how early in the game she's fought. Her Watchog also has Hypnosis to put one of your Pokémon to sleep, shutting them down for a few turns. Both of her Pokémon also possess the move Retaliate, so chances are something in your team will drop.
Roxie (Homika)
Roxie / Homika (ホミカ homika)
Virbank City Gym Leader (Black 2 and White 2) — A Little Poison in Your Days, a Little Poison on the Stage
- "Get ready! I'm gonna knock some sense outta ya!"
A musician who specializes in Poison-types.
- Added Alliterative Appeal: When she snaps at her pops.Roxie: "You dim-witted...dense...dumb...daft...dippy...dorky...doltish...DOOFUS!"
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Her father wishes to become an actor while still being the city's only ship navigator, saying he can also take on two jobs like his daughter. Roxie is completely against his reasoning due to how he was neglecting his job as captain and causing people trouble. Ironically, she snaps at you once you interrupt her band's performance at the Gym.
- Badass Adorable: Possibly the same or younger age than Nate/Rosa.
- Barely-Changed Dub Name: Barely Changed from her Japanese name Homika, her Korean name is Vomica.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Her Whirlipede/Scolipede.
- Brutal Honesty: A lot of sources in the game note she has a "toxic mouth" and such, which attributes to her upfront nature. All of her pre-battle dialogue in the Gym and World Tournament is basically amounting to being in a world of hurt. It also helps she is blunt about what shops she wants to exactly visit in Join Avenue in contrast to the rather vague and borderline cryptic hints used by everybody else.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In the gym battle, her Whirlipede is level 18 (19 in Challenge Mode), yet Venipede doesn't evolve until level 22.
- Dishing Out Dirt: She's got a Grimer that knows Mud-Slap in Challenge Mode and it can catch you off guard, particulary if you have Magnemite.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Roxie made her debut in the anime in Japan about a week before Black 2 and White 2 were released, presumably for advertising purposes.
- Genki Girl: She is very enthusiastic about whatever she is doing, from playing music to Pokémon battles.
- Hot-Blooded: She doesn't even introduce herself prior to your battle, merely shouts that she'll knock sense into you (as loud as possible, mind you) and proceeds to do battle.
- Irony: Because her profession lets her work two jobs essentially, she has no problem working both at the same time (unless you interrupt her rehearsals while seeking a battle). Her father, though, thinks he can juggle being a sailor and an actor.
- It Was a Gift: Her Low Key Form Toxtricity in Masters came from an egg that Piers gave her.
- Little Miss Badass: She's young, but she'll kick your butt if you underestimate her.
- Make My Monster Grow: In Masters, she and Piers get Toxtricity but only hers has the ability to Gigantamax.
- Meaningful Name:
- In addition to fitting with her rocker theme, Roxie = toxic.
- Homika = Poison (in Japanese, "Po" uses the same character as "Ho", but with a special mark).
- In French, Strykna refers to the Strychnos nux-vomica tree, whose seeds are highly poisonous.
- Her German name is Mica, it's origin is the same as her French name above.
- Her Korean name is Vomica, it's origin is the same as her French and German names above.
- Her Spanish name is Hiedra, from "hiedra venenosa" (poison ivy).
- Her Italian name is Velia, from "veleno" (venom).
- Plus on a meta level, Poison (her type) was the name of a famous metal band.
- Nobody Loves the Bassist: Inverted — the bassist is the Gym Leader! She's also apparently the lead singer too.
- Poisonous Person: The first Poison-type specialist since Janine from Gen II.
- Poor, Predictable Rock: If you know she's a Poison-type Gym Leader (which is told to you before you enter the gym), you can just go south of the town and catch a Magnemite and simply No-Sell all her strongest moves. This is even encouraged by the NPC standing in front of the gym. You can get the same effect by catching a Riolu from Floccesy Ranch and evolving it into Lucario. Downplayed in Challenge Mode however, where she's got a Grimer that knows Mud-Slap, allowing her to slow down the accuracy of Steel-type Pokémon.
- Pokémon Motifs: Her bass somewhat resembles the Scolipede line.
- The Rock Star: Loud, plays electric bass, and is ready to rock you in more ways than one.
- Signature Mon:
- Despite her band's name, the Scolipede line is what she's heavily associated with. In fact, Koffing and its evolution don't even show up in future battles at the PWT.
- Her Sygna Suit in Pokémon Masters pairs her with Amped Form Toxtricity, which is quite fitting.
- Signature Move: Venoshock.
- Technicolor Toxin: Her Color Motif is a sickly combination of pink and blue. The two combined creates purple, the standard color for the Poison-Type.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: Not overly difficult to defeat, but her Poison-type moves can be quite nasty if you take her too lightly. In addition, in Challenge Mode, she has a Grimer that knows Mud-Slap, so despite the scratch damage at best, your Magnemite or Lucario still won't be as effective against her team as in the main mode.
- Youthful Freckles: She has them across her nose.
Burgh (Arty)
Burgh / Arty (アーティ aati)
- "Thanks again for your help. My Bug-type Pokémon are scurrying with excitement about getting to battle you. Let's get straight to it!"
An artist who specializes in Bug-types.
- Artificial Brilliance: Not to Elesa's extent, but one of Burgh's Pokémon is Dwebble, a Bug/Rock-type, and it happens to know Smack Down. As such, relying on Fire or Flying-types against it will be a little more challenging.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: His love for Bug-type Pokémon is so big that he'll often distract himself with looking at other people's Bug-types to appreciate them, though he claims he will always love his Leavanny the most.
- Barely-Changed Dub Name: Barely changed from his Japanese name, Arty, his French and German name is Artie.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: A Bug-Type specialist.
- The Coats Are Off: In Black 2 and White 2, he's inside of a web coat and rips it off in his battle animation.
- Engrish: His Japanese title — "Most Insect Artist" — is so grammatically incorrect it's not even funny.
- Hurricane of Puns: He seems quite fond of insect-based puns in his dialogue in the gym.
- Large Ham: Being a performance artist, this kind of comes with the territory.
- Meaningful Name:
- In English: Burgh = Bug.
- "Burgh" also has the word "burg" in it, which means "city." Where is Burgh's Gym? Castelia City, the most big-city-like city in the series!
- "Arti", in addition to referencing his occupation, sounds similar to both "Ari" (meaning "Ant") and "Honey", referencing both honeybees and the fact that his Gym (in Black and White, anyway) is absolutely slathered in the sticky stuff.
- His Italian name is Artemisio, from "artemisia" (a plant) and "arte" (art).
- His Spanish name is Camus, from "Camus de Bretagne", an artichoke.
- In English: Burgh = Bug.
- Our Fairies Are Different: In the Easter Event in Masters, he pairs up with Togepi, which is a Fairy-type.
- Pungeon Master: Doesn't show till his in-battle quotes. Made all the more painful by Pokémon's otherwise subtle puns.
- Scarf Of Ass Kicking: Wears a red scarf around his neck.
- Shout-Out: In Black 2 and White 2, a rumor in the National Gymquirer claims that Burgh can shoot cocoon silk from his hands. Now who does that sound like?
- Signature Mon: Leavanny.
- Signature Move: Struggle Bug.
Elesa (Kamitsure)
Elesa / Kamitsure (カミツレ kamitsure)
Black 2/White 2
Nimbasa City Gym Leader—The Shining Beauty
- Voiced by: Miyuki Sawashiro (B2W2 Promo - JP), China Kitahara (Pokémon Generations - JP), Sarah Natochenny (B2W2 Promo - EN), Mela Lee (Pokémon Generations - EN), Deborah Gatton (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yōko Hikasa (Pokémon Masters - JP)"My beloved Pokémon are going to make your head spin!"
A fashion model who specializes in Electric-types.
- Ambiguously Bi: It's implied that she likes other women, and is close to Skyla, but the game puts little focus into it other than a Memory Link. Some of her quotes in Masters once again imply she finds Skyla cute, although it's ambiguous if it's meant to be romantic, and she's a bit suggestive to the player regardless of gender.
- Artificial Brilliance: She just, won't, stop, spamming Volt Switch. This means relying on Ground- or Grass-types to beat her will result in her utilizing her two Emolga, which are dual-typed with Flying; on the inverse, if you want to get tricky with any Electric- or Ice-types, she can switch into Zebstrika, which absorbs Electric attacks with its ability and has Flame Charge for Ice-types and Grass-types.
- Because Destiny Says So: Averted. When talking about fated meetings, she believes they don't exist and finds them silly to begin with. She rather likes to think that any meeting has as much value as a "fated" one because special things can happen anytime.
- Breaking Old Trends: The first Electric-type specialist who is neither male nor a Gadgeteer Genius.
- The Coats Are Off: For Black 2 and White 2, she does it in her battle against the protagonist in the trailer and in her sprite animation.
- Combat Stilettos: She wears a pair of tall yellow heels in Black and White, befitting her status as a model. In Black 2 and White 2, she switches to a pair of flat slippers instead.
- Cool Big Sis: Certainly gives off this vibe when she reasons with Bianca's dad in her introduction, and promptly earns Bianca's respect.
- Cool Horse: Zebstrika.
- Cool Shades: Her headphones in Black 2 and White 2 have a red visor built into them.
- Elemental Hair Colors: It's a short, bright blond in Black and White, befitting her Electric-type specialty. Doesn't apply in the sequels, where it's now long and dark.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: In her Black 2 & White 2 outfit, her shoes and nail polish are blue on her left and red on her right, matching her headphones.
- Fragile Speedster: The Pokémon she uses in her Gym battles have high Speed, but the rest of their stats aren't very good.
- Glass Cannon: Downplayed in Masters, where her Zebstrika has one of the highest HP stats of any sync pair but terrible defensive stats, meaning it will lose large chunks of that HP any time it's hit. And unless you pick the right upgrades in its sync grid, its strongest attack Wild Charge will deal horrendous amounts of recoil damage to itself every time it's used, making the problem worse.
- Hair Color Dissonance: Her dark hair in Black 2 and White 2 seems to be a shade of purple.
- Iconic Item: Her headphones. When her outfit got completely overhauled for the sequels, she still wears headphones, just of a different design (they even inherit her old pair's color motif).
- Informed Ability: She, for no reason at all, says she's a model in her first appearance, but unlike the other Unova leaders' careers, this doesn't pop up in any way aside from her sprite being dangerously thin (the waiter triplets have a restaurant for a gym, the archeologist has a museum and reference library for a gym, the painter has a gallery in the city, and she has... a roller coaster) and the comments of a few random NPCs. She does mention that she has a TV gig after she calls Clay to lower the bridge to Driftveil City, so she probably does model work for television. And it does explain her outfit (all gym leaders in Unova have outfits tied into their day jobs). Averted in the sequels, where her gym is now a catwalk and stage.
- Meaningful Appearance: In both sets of games, her hairstyle reflects her specialty of Electric-type Pokémon.
- In Black and White, her hair is in long, thin braids with metal ends that make them resemble electrical cords.
- In Black 2 and White 2, her braids are shaped like stylized lightning bolts.
- Meaningful Name:
- Elesa = Electricity.
- Kamitsure = Kaminari (Lightning)
- Ms. Fanservice: She's a model; it comes naturally. She's got long legs, a slim figure, and wears clothing to emphasize her body. Notably the only Gym Leader to be redesigned between games, and her new outfit shows off more skin than ever.
- Navel Window: Inverted by her second outfit, which bares her entire midriff except for a strip over her belly button.
- No-Sell: You can imagine the frustration players had in the first game with her two Emolgas, prepared to sweep her Pokémon with Ground-type attacks, only to find that two of the three are dual Electric/Flying.
- No Social Skills: Her apparent Fatal Flaw, which she tries to improve. In Masters, she mentions that she admires young Lisia because she is extremely sociable with her fans, whereas Elesa's job as a model doesn't give her enough chances to socialize because, as she points out, her job is just to make clothes look good.
- Not So Stoic: When you beat her, despite being very calm up until that point, she is overwhelmed with excitement and immediately becomes embarrassed over it. In Black 2 & White 2, her Memory Link with Skyla proves the point further.
- Power Stereotype Flip: Instead of a boisterous, excitable personality to match her Electric specialty, her appearance and personality evoke an Emotionless Girl.
- Pretty in Mink: Her Black 2/White 2 outfit includes a nice fur coat.
- Pungeon Master:
- Skyla's Memory Link shows that she tries to be this to come off as more sociable. All of her puns suck, and Skyla calls her on it. Honestly, all she has to do is go a bit south to Castelia City and take a few lessons from Burgh. She also gives a Shout-Out by saying, "And don't call me Shirley!"
- This aspect of her gets a lot more focus in Pokémon Masters, where a number of interactions with her involve her rattling off bad Pokémon puns.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: In Black 2 and White 2, where her hair is dyed.
- Ship Tease:
- With the player character in Black and White; she even blows a kiss to them at the end.
- Her interactions with the Masters protagonist in the game trainer lodge episodes has her express that she feels calm and comfortable in their presence, that she can be more honest around them, which she says is something she can't always do in her model work, and finally says that they are "her special.....", though she can't finish her sentence because of embarrassment.
- Shock and Awe: Electric-type specialist.
- Showgirl Skirt: Her Sygna suit incorporates one, attached to a strapless biketard, that continues the fanservice-y theme of her outfits.
- Signature Mon:
- Zebstrika is her team ace. In the original Black/White, she is also infamous for her (two) Emolga as well due to their spam of Volt Switch to keep switching out and avoid racking up damage.
- In Masters, her Signa Suit variant has a Rotom.
- Signature Move: Volt Switch.
- Statuesque Stunner: In Masters, she is really tall to the point she's almost twice as tall as most of the trainers.
- Straight Girl and Wise Woman: In Memory Link, she's the Wise Woman to Skyla's Straight Girl, to the surprise of many.
- The Stoic: She speaks quite directly, and if official art and her sprites are to go by, she doesn't show much emotion.
- Super Mode: Her Emolga in Masters has the ability to Dynamax.
- Switch-Out Move: Every one of her mons knows Volt Switch, and she is very fond of using it.
- Wake-Up Call Boss: If Lenora wasn't this for you (since she can still be taken out with Fighting-types), Elesa will gladly fulfill this role unless you're prepared, since her mons are fast, hard to hit and hit hard, and frequently switch out of their bad matchups with Volt Switch.
Clay (Yakon)
Clay / Yakon (ヤーコン yaakon)
Voiced by: Kirk Thornton (Pokémon Masters - EN), Naomi Kusumi (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"How much stronger ya get comes from how much you want to win! Always be loyal to that desire, ya hear?"
The president of a mining company who specializes in Ground-types.
- Actually Pretty Funny: As recounted by Nemona in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, she once challenged him to a battle in the midst of a fancy party. Clay was genuinely amused and according to Lacey, an offer for such a battle is currently on the table.
- Ambiguously Related: He looks like an older Lian, with both of them having the same cowboy hat and curly brown hair as well as sharing an interest in ores and rocks, but there's no official confirmation that the two are related.
- Americans Are Cowboys: Played with — he's a Cowboy-looking character in an American-based region, but since he's Ambiguously Related to Warden Lian of ancient Sinnoh, its implied that either he or his ancestors are immigrants to Unova.
- Anime Hair: Enough to be mistaken for a second hat, according to another character.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: While it's not stated whether he actually takes action or if it's just because of his reputation, a boy trying to ask his daughter Lacey out on a date immediately runs away when she mentions Clay is her dad.
- Curtains Match the Window: Brown hair and brown eyes.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Specializes in Ground-types, fitting for the president of a mining company.
- The Dreaded: Played for laughs in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's Indigo Disk DLC — Lacey mentions that the boys who crush on her usually run for the hills when they learn that Clay is her dad (something she is more than happy to take advantage of).
- Eagleland: Type I — he's hardworking and, while blunt, is geniunely good-hearted and becomes a reliable ally to the player when facing Team Plasma.
- Elemental Hair Colors: Short, curly, and brown, as he's a Ground-type user.
- Everything is Big in Texas: As you may've noticed, he's larger than his fellow other Gym Leaders, partner.
- Funetik Aksent: Seemingly has a Texas accent.
- Gold Makes Everything Shiny: His watch and the band of his hat, which shines during his BW2 battle animation.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He comes off as pushy and lazy at first when he sends you and Cheren to stop Team Plasma in his town without offering to help himself, but he turns out to be a good guy. He even leads the gym leader charge at N's Castle.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Played with; Clay is a big cowboy-like oil tycoon who specializes in Ground-types, while Lacey is a small, dainty girl who specializes in Fairy-types and has a fixation on "cute" things. However, her signature Pokemon is an Excadrill, just like her father, and she all but outright states that she finds it just as cute as all her other Pokemon.
- Matryoshka Object: Subverted; someone who saw Clay take his hat off thought he was wearing a second hat underneath his first hat, but it's pointed out it was likely just his hair.
- Meaningful Name:
- Clay is, well... clay.
- Yacon = "Kon" is the Japanese reading of the character "Kun", which is the trigram in I Ching which represents earth.
- Non-Idle Rich: He is one of the richest people in the history of the Pokémon games so far, and still runs a gym.
- Self-Made Man: He even waits for trainers at the bottom of his Gym/mine as a symbolic reminder of how he started out with nothing.
- Signature Headgear: He wears a white cowboy hat with a golden brim, just like Lian's of Arceus.
- Signature Mon: Excadrill, fitting his occupation. Masters pairs him with Palpitoad for reasons unknown.
- Signature Move: Bulldoze, the move he gives out via TMs. It helps to cover the weakness some Ground-types tend to have in their low Speed, as he himself puts it.
Skyla (Huuro)
Skyla / Huuro (フウロ fuuro)
Voiced by: Noriko Shibasaki (Pokémon Generations - JP), Laura Stahl (Pokémon Masters - EN), Rina Sato (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"Hee-hee! I've been waiting for you. You're a tough Trainer who can face the wind and not get blown off your feet! I'm kinda excited about this battle! Why don't you and I have some fun?"
A pilot who specializes in Flying-types.
- Ace Pilot: She's a master pilot, and one NPC mentions her grandfather was one, too.
- Added Alliterative Appeal: Her team in B2W2 consists of Swoobat, Skarmory, and Swanna. In Challenge Mode, she also has Sigilyph. Bonus points for her name. It's worth noting that this is only in the English version and thus a coincidence, as the Japanese version has no such connection.
- Ambiguously Brown: Downplayed; not to the level of Iris, but official art and portraits, as well as Pokémon Masters, makes it clear Skyla has darker skin than some other characters, but her ethnicity isn't made clear.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: She's a pilot who specializes in flying Pokémon so, fittingly, her hair resembles an airplane propeller.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She's bubbly and friendly, but like most other Gym Leaders, she successfully intercepts N's castle in the nick of time to give the player a chance.
- Blow You Away: A Flying-type specialist, fitting for an Ace Pilot.
- Boobs-and-Butt Pose: She strikes this pose at the beginning of her battles. She even raises an eyebrow at the player before striking the pose.
- Breakout Character: Has enjoyed extreme popularity from the fans since her debut in Black and White, resulting in her getting prominent appearances in other Pokémon media.
- She has one of the most-reprinted cards in the Trading Card Game, and is even featured more prominently than the other Gym Leaders in the Pokémon Adventures manga.
- In Masters, she is one of the Pokémon Masters League Leaders in the main story, joining the player's team for free, and she gets an alternate custome in Holiday 2020. With the release of her 2.5 Year Anniversary attire, she also ends up being the first Gym Leader in the game to get an alternative custome that forms a sync pair with a Legendary Pokémon, while the other Pokémon trainers to get this distinction before her are main characters or Champions, namely May (with Latias), Dawn (with Cresselia), N (with Reshiram), Lillie (with Lunala), Steven (with Shiny Rayquaza), Cynthia (with Giratina) and Leon (with Eternatus and Ice Rider Calyrex).
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Her hair clip and band around her right leg.
- Genki Girl: Her bubbly and confident personality shows up on her official art, especially in Pokemon Masters.
- Meaningful Name:
- Skyla.
- Fuuro = Fuu (Compound word for "wind")
- Ms. Fanservice: A busty redhead who wears skintight pilot gear that shows her curves, midriff, and bare legs, while using the pilot suspenders to highlight them even more, and starts the battle in Boobs-and-Butt Pose — Skyla may just be the most sexually gratuitous Gym Leader of them all. Even art of her on TCG cards tends to show off her curves, which heavily subverts the Pokémon Company's tendency to downplay sex appeal in other media outside the games.
- Nice Girl: A very noticeable characteristic of hers. Skyla is energetic, friendly and kind, with her Establishing Character Moment in Black and White being taking care of a Flying Pokémon she saw was hurt in Celestial Tower. She's also instantly fond of the player, promising them to give them a big welcome once they reach her. Driving it home is how she has a Swoobat, which evolves through happiness.
- Non-Indicative Name: In Spanish, her name is Gerania, from geranium. Since Spanish translation averts the Floral Theme Naming of the original Japanese, any Spanish speaker would be led to believe she's a Grass-type trainer.
- No OSHA Compliance: Both versions of Skyla's gym put the safety of challengers at risk by blowing them away with strong winds or shooting them out of cannons or, one of which shoots the player straight into a wall. Thank Arceus for Artistic License – Physics (and/or the general great durability of humans in the Pokémon world), lest gym challengers be seriously injured at best. Skyla herself lampshades this in Masters, commenting that her challengers get worn out by the time they reach her.
- Olympus Mons: The 2.5 Year Anniversary of Masters pairs her up with Therian Forme Tornadus.
- The Pollyanna: She views everything with a positive outlook no matter what. After the player and her lose to Lear in Pokémon Masters, all she can do is praise her Swanna for having so much fun and you and your Pikachu for having such a steadfast attitude for trying to take on Lear.
- Signature Headgear: Her flower clip, which can also be seen as propellers. It goes with her plane theme.
- Signature Mon: Swanna is her trademark team ace.
- Signature Move: Acrobatics.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: In Masters, Elesa says that Skyla could also easily become a supermodel with her looks and fashion sense if she actually wanted to. Skyla also ends up wearing a stylish purple qipao when appearing as a sync pair with Tornadus (Therian Form) for the 2.5 year anniversary.
- Straight Man and Wise Guy: A gender-flipped version, being the Straight Girl to Elesa's Wise Woman.
- Stripperiffic: Downplayed; she wears a shirt that exposes her midriff, as well as short shorts all wrapped up in a parachute harness. Not the most revealing outfit, but still not as necessary for her duties as Gym Leader or pilot.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Skyla is not the first female pilot who specializes in Flying-type Pokémon; that would be Winona of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (although Winona being a pilot is only implied from her outfit).
- Uncatty Resemblance: Skyla was compared to Sylveon right after its announcement. Because of this, said Pokémon was often speculated as a Flying-type Eeveelution before the new Fairy-type was revealed.
- Wind from Beneath My Wings: Uses a lot of bird-based Pokémon, and her Unfezant and Swanna know Air Slash while her Skarmory anmd Sigilyph know Air Cutter (in Black and White 2).
Brycen (Hachiku)
Brycen / Hachiku (ハチク hachiku)
Voiced by: Christopher Bevins (Pokémon Masters - EN), Hiromichi Kogami (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"You appear ready to face a battle. Bring it!"
A former movie star who specializes in Ice-types.
- Bears Are Bad News: Beartic.
- Break the Haughty: Implied with in his past as a movie star. In the Memory Link, he mentions how he used to think he could perform any action scene and felt like nothing could stop him prior to getting injured.
- Character Development: Offscreen, technically, but in Pokémon Masters he's since become a Large Ham (see The Stoic below for details).
- Cool Mask: No pun intended. Wears a domino mask over his eyes.
- Elemental Hair Colors: His hairstyle is a smooth, pale blue, befitting his type specialty.
- Elemental Personalities: Aloof and stoic, befitting his Ice specialty.
- Fanboy: Unclear if so, but he looks up to Diantha since she's a star actress and inspired him to become an actor.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: He's wearing what looks like half a robe.
- An Ice Person: Ice-type specialist.
- Mean Character, Nice Actor: In the Brycenman movies, the title character is Affably Evil and uses Dark-types. Brycen himself may be The Stoic, but he's also a Gym Leader, which in the video games at least are almost all considered good people. He even tried to enforce this trope by attempting to become more sociable.
- Meaningful Name:
- Brycen.
- Hachiku rhymes with kachi, which when doubled up (kachikachi) serves as an onomatopoeia for something freezing solid.
- Mythology Gag: In Pokémon Adventures' third arc, the main villain was Pryce, the Johto Ice Gym Leader, using the alternate identity of the "Mask of Ice." Brycenman's (English) trainer title is "The Masked Man", which was the name The Mask of Ice went by in one of the manga's (also English) translations. His English name is also very similar to Pryce's.
- Noodle Incident: The events surrounding about the injury that made him retire from acting the first time around.
- Optional Boss: Though he has retired from being a Gym Leader in Black 2 and White 2, he is present in the World Tournament.
- Psychic Radar: He senses the presence of the Shadow Triad before they even appear.
- Recurring Element: He is the third seventh Gym Leader who specializes in Ice-type Pokémon, before returning to his acting career in the sequels.
- Retired Badass: Inverted; he's a retired movie star who became a Gym Leader, so he only became truly badass after retirement. Played straight in the sequel, when he gives up the Gym Leader position to return to film, but remains a powerful trainer.
- Signature Mon:
- Signature Move: Frost Breath.
- Slasher Smile: He plays a villain in a Pokéstar Studios movie, sporting one of these.
- The Stoic: Word of God says he's like this because he used to be a movie star, and went into depression after his career ended. He then went to an icy cave alone to train and become more knowledgeable, and feels he must keep his identity a secret. In Pokémon Masters, he admits that he used to be known as the "strong, silent type", but wanted people to know how he really felt about things, and trained himself to be more outgoing.
- Super-Senses: In the first game, after the player defeats him, he notices that something's up, and asks "Who are you?" while Bianca is introducing herself. He's actually talking to the Shadow Triad while acknowledging her existence, and the Triad are impressed that he knew they were there.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Partial example — his outfit bares the entire right half of his chest.
- Warrior Monk: He retired from acting when he was injured, and found a new path in training Pokémon and receiving comfort and purpose from them.
Iris
Iris (アイリス airisu)
Opelucid City Gym Leader (White)—The Girl Who Knows the Hearts of DragonsFor information on Iris, check her information in the Champions section below.
Drayden (Shaga)
Drayden / Shaga (シャガ shaga)
Voiced by: Masami Iwasaki (Pokémon Generations - JP), Michael McConnohie (Pokémon Generations - EN)
"As the mayor, I've given everything to developing the city. As a Trainer, I've simply been pursuing greater strength. But what I'm searching for now is a young Trainer who can show me a bright future. Perhaps you can show me that future, the way Iris has?"
The mayor of Opelucid City, who specializes in Dragon-types.
- Action Politician: He's the Mayor of Opelucid City, as well as the city's Gym Leader (in Black, Black 2, and White 2), the strongest (second strongest in the sequels) at that, and an Old Master that trains with his Dragon-type Pokémon by wrestling with them.
- Dragon Tamer: Specializes in Dragon-types, and studied abroad to learn more about them.
- Gentleman and a Scholar: He studied abroad to learn more about Dragon-types, but is still quite the gentleman.
- Like Father, Unlike Son: Grandson, specifically. Drayden is a dedicated and serious mayor, but his grandson Drayton is a lazy bum who has repeated a school year several times despite being a skilled battler.
- Magically Inept Fighter: His team in Black is completely oriented towards physical attackers, with the only special attack being Dragon Rage. Downplayed in Black 2 and White 2 regarding his Gym teams, where his Fraxure is replaced with a Flygon that knows Earth Power, but also knows three physical attacks, and in Challenge Mode he has an Altaria whose only attacking moves are special. His Expert team in the Pokémon World Tournament inverts this by having more special attackers than physical attackers.
- Manly Facial Hair: Sports a magnificent white beard resembling a dragon's jaw, and he didn't earn the title "The Spartan Mayor" for nothing as he's a tough Dragon-type master who's in good enough physical condition to wrestle dragons.
- Meaningful Name: Drayden resembles dragon.
- Old Master: Iris outright refers to him as her "Grandpa" in Black 2 and White 2. So badass in fact, Bianca mentions that he wrestles with his own Pokémon. To toughen them up. And his Pokémon are fully evolved and fully fledged dragons.
- Purely Aesthetic Gender: The only real difference between him and Iris in battle is that his Pokémon are male; they're the same species and have the same moves. Their Druddigon's abilities are different, too; his has Rough Skin, which could be a nasty surprise.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: He is the mayor of Opelucid City, and the eighth Gym Leader in Black. Even though he is the seventh in the sequels, he still poses a hefty challenge.
- Red Baron: His title is "Spartan Mayor".
- Retired Badass: In White, he's stepped down as Gym Leader. It doesn't stick, however, as when Iris becomes the Champion, Drayden takes the Gym Leader title back.
- Signature Mon: Haxorus.
- Signature Move: Dragon Tail.
- Silver Fox: He's pretty well-built and handsome for a man his age.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In the first Black version, his Haxorus is underleveled. This can also apply in Black 2 or White 2 under Easy Mode.
- Theme Naming: In the Japanese version, his name is Japanese for "iris," complementing... Well, Iris.
- Ultimate Authority Mayor: He's the effective ruler of Opelucid.
- The Unfought: In White, where Iris is the 8th Gym Leader.
Marlon (Shizui)
Marlon / Shizui (シズイ shizui)
- "You look strong! Shoots! Let's start!"
A swimmer specializing in Water-type Pokémon.
- Anime Hair: It sticks up out of the water while he's swimming.
- Animal Motifs: His hair resembles a shark fin when it does this, fitting him being a Water Gym Leader.
- Barbie Doll Anatomy: He has no visible nipples.
- Big Brother Mentor: He's described to be like this to the protagonist.
- Brick Joke: An NPC gossips that Marlon can swim without a break for seven days and seven nights. He apparently does exactly that to get to the gangplank of the Plasma Frigate.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: An interesting example. Much like Cynthia, he leaves the fighting of the evil team to you despite likely being more than capable of taking them down. In Marlon's case, though, it's subverted by him explaining it isn't his style to decide they're evil "without thinkin' bout it", and he does still go out of his way to break onto their ship and allow the player and Hugh access so they can defeat them. It's less that he's lazy and more that he doesn't think it's his place to fight people he's only got hearsay to go off of.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a ridiculously chill and laid-back guy whose Gym has trainers float around on lillipads to reach him and a theme that sounds like elevator music, but he's still the final leader fought even after the previously last-fought Drayden, and he has every bit of the strength to match. In addition, he's hired Ace Trainers to staff his gym.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: According to the Nation Gymquirer, the guy can swim so fast he can shoot out from under the surface and into the air. An NPC also claims he can swim nonstop for seven days and seven nights.
- Cloudcuckoolander:
- He is incredibly laid-back to the point he comes off as very detached from reality — he runs off for a swim immediately after losing to you, claims that "the ocean accepts all rivers" as the reason why he doesn't see fighting Team Plasma as a big deal, and despite Team Plasma flying their airship around Unova using their ice cannon to freeze over cities, he still says he isn't gonna immediately accept that they're evil without thinking about it.
- In Masters, he swam from Unova to Pasio without stopping. When Hoopa's ring - leading to Pasio - appeared before them, he thought nothing of it and swam through it.
- Elemental Hair Colors: Dark blue and shaped like a fin. He uses Water-types.
- Elemental Eye Colors: His blue eyes are fitting for a Water-type expert.
- Exposed to the Elements: Taken to a huge extreme in the "A Pure & Touching Heart" story event in Pokémon Masters, where Nate just so happens to bump into Marlon in Pasio's tundra area, swimming in the cold waters like nothing.
- Iconic Outfit: Subverted; those are Tan Lines.
- Jump Scare: Unintentionally does one by blasting himself out of the Humilau sea to introduce himself to the players.
- Lethal Negligence: Had he not stuck to refusing to judge Team Plasma over their actions despite the fact they're obviously evil, things probably would've gone differently.
- Making a Splash: One of two Water-type Gym Leaders in Unova, the other being Cress.
- Meaningful Name:
- Mare is Latin for sea, used as a root in words like marine and maritime. His name, Marlon, also resembles marlin, a type of fish.
- Shizui = Sui (compound word for water)
- Mellow Fellow: An incredibly relaxed and easy-going guy who spends most of his time swimming and actively chooses not to get too involved with Team Plasma's affairs because of his philosophy that "the ocean accepts all rivers".
- Mr. Fanservice: Walks around with no shirt and is very fit and trim.
- Nice Guy: Deconstructed. He's this to the point he doesn't prejudge people no matter what stories he's heard... despite the fact Team Plasma is commiting crimes in plain sight.
- Prehistoric Monster: The first Pokémon he sends out is the prehistoric Carracosta.
- Sea Monster: In any battle, his team is composed of sea-dwelling Water-type monsters.
- Signature Mon: Jellicent. In Masters, he partners with Carracosta instead.
- Signature Move: Scald.
- Spanner in the Works: When Hugh and the player are looking for a way into the Plasma Frigate after the 8th gym, Marlon almost instantly swims to the boat and pushes down the drawbridge because he thinks the player needs help, and walks away like nothing happened. He makes an active decision not to interfere any further or fight Plasma directly due to his beliefs, but this action plays a huge part in their defeat.
- Stone Wall: In both normal and challenge modes, Marlon's team is generally defense-oriented. He uses Scald often to inflict a burn to further reduce the damage you do to his Pokémon as well. His Carracosta subverts this, though, having the move Shell Smash, which lowers its Defenses but effectively doubles its Speed and offenses.
- Surfer Dude: His localized dialogue is full of this, man. Especially in Pokémon Masters.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: The "dark" part is somewhat subverted by his prominent tan lines and very pale feet.
- Tan Lines: While he looks Ambiguously Brown at first glance, there's a tan line right above his hips and his feet are pale, suggesting his dark skin is the result of spending so much time swimming.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Another Water-type Gym Leader averse to covering up.
- Walking Swimsuit Scene: His pants are part of a wet suit.
- Verbal Tic: Says either "'K?" or "Eh" in about half of his lines.
Elite Four
Shauntal (Shikimi)
Shauntal /Shikimi (シキミ shikimi)
Voiced by: Kira Buckland (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yuka Nukui (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"I absolutely love writing about the close bonds between the Trainers who come here and the Pokémon they train. Could I use you and your Pokémon as a subject?"
- Animal Motifs: Her neck accessories are supposed to form a black cat's face, according to Word of God.
- Apologetic Attacker: When you beat her, she apologizes for hurting your Pokémon.
- Badass Bookworm: She's an author, her room is at the top of a huge mound of books, and she's an Elite Four member.
- Bespectacled Cutie: She has big, round glasses (which emphasize her equally big eyes) and is super adorable. Also doubles as a Cute Bookworm.
- Call-Back: Some of her dialogue references characters from previous games, such as Volkner, Agatha, and Bertha. In the case of the latter two, she muses on their conspicuously similar appearances.
- Curtains Match the Window: Purple hair and purple eyes.
- Cute Bookworm: A textbook example in that she has big, round glasses emphasizing her equally big eyes and is an author/writer.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She uses Ghost-types, but is a Perky Goth and far from a bad person.
- Dramatic Thunder: In the room you fight her in, lightning occasionally flashes in the window.
- Empathic Environment: In Black 2 and White 2, the books in her area jump when you surprise her upon arrival.
- Excuse Me While I Multitask: Her intro animation◊ has her still penning a novel even as she starts to battle you.
- Foreshadowing: The first time you challenge her in Black and White, she reads a passage from a book she's writing based on a previous challenger. The description fits N perfectly.
- I Should Write a Book About This: When the player challenges her in Black 2 and White 2, the novel she's working on is about the events of the previous game; her brainstorming describes N and the Legendary Pokémon he uses in the game you're playing.
- Jack of All Stats: Her team is this collectively. Each of them has a different stat that is their best and always extremely high.
- Meaningful Name:
- Shauntal. In addition, it's a French name meaning "a circle of stones", or more specifically, a tomb, as befitting for a ghost-type user.
- Shikimi contains Shi (death)
- My Nayme Is: Her English name is far more commonly written as "Chantal" or "Chantel"; the game's creative spelling was probably done to make the pun more obvious.
- Not a Morning Person: She claims this in Pokémon Masters if she greets you in the morning, giving an exhausted sigh.
- Perky Goth: She's a creepy Ghost-type master, but is very energetic.
- Proper Tights with a Skirt: Good thing, considering how short that skirt is.
- Purple Is Powerful: Her dress and hair are purple, and she's an elite trainer who specializes in Ghosts.
- Recurring Element: The third in a line of female Elite Four members introduced in odd-numbered generations that specialize in the Ghost type.
- Signature Mon: Chandelure; a chandelier is a good choice for a writer who writes in shadowed rooms.
- Soul Power: She is a Ghost-type master.
- Stealth Pun: She is an author who uses Ghost Pokémon. In other words, she is a "ghostwriter".
Marshal (Renbu)
Marshal / Renbu (レンブ renbu)
Voiced by: Phillip Reich (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yoshikazu Nagano (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"In myself, I seek to develop the strength of a fighter. And shatter any weakness in myself!"
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: That somehow merge with his hair.
- Blood Knight: Prior to meeting Alder, Marshal wandered around Unova in order to battle strong trainers. It's still applicable to his character, but he probably had it worse before.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: In Black 2 and White 2's Challenge Mode, his Conkeldurr has a Flame Orb, which is used for triggering his Guts ability and negating the Attack reduction. In the initial battle it has that, but in the rematch it has Sheer Force, which means his own item reduces the damage he does to you.
- Kiai: Just before the battle begins, he will shout "Kiai!" He seems to have picked up the habit from Alder.
- Last Chance Hit Point: His Sawk has Sturdy.
- Meaningful Name:
- "Marshal" sounds just like martial, as in martial arts.
- Renbu contains the word "enbu", referring to a type of public demonstration of martial arts.
- "Not So Different" Remark: Alder mentions that Marshal used to be solely driven by strength like Cheren.
- Signature Mon: Mienshao in the first battle, but Conkeldurr usurps the throne in rematches and in the sequels, Black 2 and White 2, as well as in Masters. Both reflect his martial-arts focus and distaste for weakness.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: Wears what appears to be a sleeveless combination of a sweatshirt and a karate gi.
- Walking the Earth: What he used to do in search of strong trainers before he was offered a place on the Unova Elite Four.
Grimsley (Giima)
Grimsley / Giima (ギーマ giima)
Click here to see him in Pokémon Sun/Moon
Voiced by: Greg Chun (Pokémon Masters - EN), Daisuke Ono (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"It's more important to master the cards you're holding than to complain about the ones your opponents were dealt."
- Always Second Best: He usually holds the second-best record in the different Mantine Surfing spots.
- Amazon Brigade: Almost all of his Pokémon are female.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: He's a gambler, and the colors of his Generation V clothes match common colors for roulettes.
- Badass in a Nice Suit: Without a tie, but it still fits. In Sun and Moon, he wears a kimono instead.
- The Cameo: Shows up briefly in Pokémon Sun and Moon to give the player access to Sharpedo for their Ride Pager. He later appears at the Battle Tree.
- Combat Pragmatist: Uses Dark-types. What sets him apart from Karen and Sidney is that he discusses this aspect to them heavily, suggesting his preference for Dark-types was for completely different reasons than them.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In the originals, he has a level 50 Bisharp in the initial match, even though it evolves from Pawniard at level 52. Considering what Dark-types are known for, it actually does make sense in a way.
- Continuity Nod: Uses every mon he's used throughout the Gen 5 games in the Battle Tree with the exception of Krookodile, which is absent from the entire tree roster. This even includes his Absol from the Challenge Mode of Grimsley's initial fight in the sequels.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Both Sidney and Grimsley are Dark-type Elite Four users, but they have established differences to one another.
- Grimsley is a gambling addict while Sidney isn't.
- And unlike Sidney whose remains the member of his region's Elite Four, Grimsley, as shown in Sun and Moon, has stepped down from his post and has since moved on to Alola.
- Grimsley's also more pragmatic than Sidney (whose strategy relies on "Offense over Defense") when it comes to Pokémon battles, being non-hesitant to fight dirty, even down to advising the player to use any means necessary.
- Unlike Sidney whose Pokémon are all entirely male, Grimsley's Pokémon are all entirely female (played even straighter in Black 2 and White 2).
- Dark and Troubled Past: As a child, he was the son of a wealthy family that lost their fortune and fell into poverty. This led to him betting on Pokémon battles in an attempt to regain his family's wealth, and developing his liking for Dark-types, as they did whatever it took to win. By the time he reached adulthood, he was a Dark-type master and full-blown gambling addict.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Uses Dark-types, but he's an affable and pleasant guy.
- '80s Hair: Looks like somebody on the design team is a fan of A Flock of Seagulls. That, or Ace Attorney, considering Caitlin's design as well. His appearance in general is also strongly influenced by both traditional goth and New Romantic fashion.
- Exhausted Eye Bags: By the time of Pokémon Sun and Moon, likely a result of money-related stress.
- The Gambler: What he turned to after his family had been ruined.
- Graceful Loser: While this is true of all Elite Four members, he actually discusses this, saying there are bad ways to win and good ways to lose, and that it's not always clear which is which. Ironic, since he specializes in Dark-types. Should you win against him at the Battle Tree, he tries covering his twitching face, so he's trying hard to be a graceful loser.
- Heads or Tails?:
- One of his animations shows him flipping a coin, as does his Gen. VII artwork. In Sun and Moon, he also flips a coin and has the player character guess which side it lands on.
- In Chapter 25 of Masters, he flips a coin to decide whether or not to join Karen and Will's team. It comes up heads, and he joins them.
- Impoverished Patrician: Grimsley is the son of a fallen wealthy family.
- I Was Quite a Looker: Played with. While his face looks relatively the same in Sun and Moon, his hair has white streaks despite his youth, and he has dark bags under his eyes. Seems that the stress of his financial troubles has had an effect on his health.
- Meaningful Name:
- Grimsley.
- Giima could be referencing ma (demon or demonic) or the Japanese pronunciation of the English word "Boogeyman" (Buugiiman)
- New Romantic: His aesthetic is somewhere between this and a traditional goth in Black and White, while his kimono-clad Sun and Moon self is firmly in this territory.
- Nightmare Face: At the Battle Tree, winning against him has him suppress a rather unnerving twitching look on his face as he's trying really hard to come across as a Graceful Loser.
- Pointy Ears: He has pointy ears to add to his Vampire motif.
- Scarf of Asskicking: He sports a scarf in both outfits (clearly Alola's heat doesn't bother him) and is a very competent Trainer.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He wears a fashionable suit in the Generation V games, and it's part of his vampire motif.
- Signature Mon: Bisharp, suitable for someone who relies on the Combat Pragmatist approach of Dark-types. In Sun & Moon, his Battle Tree top choice is, fittingly for the Ride Pager option he gives you, Mega Sharpedo. Though when fought in other times, Bisharp will replace Mega Sharpedo and come in first. In Masters, he uses Liepard instead, though he also uses Sharpedo while wearing his Synga Suit and Bisharp when wearing his Alola kimono.
- Super Mode: Like Cynthia and other returning cameo characters, Grimsley has the means of using Mega Evolution in Sun and Moon. The mons out of that pool are Tyranitar, Absol, Sharpedo, and Houndoom.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Not noticeably taller than most, but he's got dark hair and sharp features, reinforced by his outfits tending to be rather classy.
- The Unfettered: Grimsley has absolutely no problem fighting dirty and actually advises the trainer to use any means necessary to win a fight.
- Whole Costume Reference: His Generation V costume is one towards Dracula.
- Younger Than They Look: In the Generation VII games, he looks significantly older than he did two generations before, despite the small time gap between both games.
Caitlin (Cattleya)
Caitlin / Cattleya (カトレア katorea)
Voiced by: Sarah Miller-Crews (Pokémon Masters - EN), Satomi Sato (Pokémon Masters - JP)
"You appear to possess a combination of strength and kindness. Very well. Make your best effort not to bore me with a yawn-inducing battle."
Caitlin originally served as the overseer of the Battle Frontier's Battle Castle, even if she wasn't the Frontier Brain of the place. She eventually travelled to Unova to develop her skills and control her emotions, eventually becoming one of the members of Elite Four.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: She was a darker blonde in in her last appearances, but her hair is noticeably brighter in Generation V.
- Anti-Gravity Clothing: She has hair, bows, and a transparent cape that floats, most likely via her telekinesis.
- Ascended Extra: Castle Valet Darach from Gen IV's Battle Frontier took great care to tend to Lady Caitlin. Caitlin, however, never said or did much... Until now, that is.
- Be Yourself: In Masters, she further explains that she considers Cynthia a good friend for advicing her to let her emotions loose lest she'd want to be bored too much.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: If her sleeping before battle is any indication.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She's cold and hostile towards the player at first, but gradually warms up as they battle and is impressed when defeated.
- Gone Horribly Right: In Masters, she explains that she had issues trying to control her emotions during battles, which is why she trained to bottle them up to avoid losing control of her psychic powers. This worked...a little too well, because this had the indirect effect of making her a Heavy Sleeper, ironically unable to find much interest in battles.
- Graceful Loser: She wasn't at first, which was when Darach battled in her stead, but as of Gen V, she's quite gracious if you manage to defeat her.
- Heavy Sleeper: Sleeps before she battles.
- Lady of War: She's a powerful trainer, and in Pokémon Masters she explains that she focuses on "elegance and grace" in battle. Justified, as she was anything but graceful when she was younger.
- Meaningful Name: Averted in regard to her type preference, due to having been named before becoming a Psychic expert. Outside of her typing, it sounds like castle, which is where she was until becoming an Elite Four member.
- Mighty Glacier: Most of her Pokémon are slow but have high defensive stats, which is rare for Psychic-types.
- The Ojou: In Platinum, she's the princess of a battle tower.
- Power Incontinence: When she was younger, Caitlin was a sore loser and would lose control of her Psychic Powers whenever she lost a battle, causing a great deal of damage. This is why her butler, Darach, fought in her stead when she first appeared in Generation IV.
- Princesses Prefer Pink: Or royal ladies in general, anyway.
- Psychic Powers: She has them herself in addition to them being her specialty type — if you look at her battle sprite◊, she has pink, glowing bits of energy floating around her. She didn't have complete control of them when she was younger, though.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Her relationship to Darach in Gen IV has her come off as quite royal (Battle Castle?) — Or very rich, at the least.
- Signature Mon: Gothitelle in the first battle, Metagross on Challenge Mode (sequel only) and in the rematches (both). Both are symbolic of her passive but powerful character. In Pokémon Masters, her partner is Reuniclus instead. Diverging from her type specialisation, her Halloween 2021 variant uses Sableye.
- Sore Loser: Young Caitlin did not respond well to losing a battle and would erupt into highly destructive psychic tantrums. Darach battling in her stead was a measure to prevent this.
- Something about a Rose: Her new entrance in Black 2 and White 2, from a giant blossoming white rose. (Although she's named for an orchid...)
- The Unfought: Was this back when she was in the Battle Frontier in the fourth generation.
- Took a Level in Badass: From lazy Battle Frontier resident to Elite Four member.
Champions
Alder (Adeku)
Alder / Adeku (アデク adeku)
- "I've really been looking forward to deciding who's the strongest Pokémon Trainer in the Unova region! Kiai!"
Champion of the Unova league, Alder once trained only to be powerful. The illness and death of his starter Pokémon changed Alder's outlook on life, and he adopted a more reserved temperament. He's stepped down from his position in Black 2 and White 2. His teams lean towards Bug-types, but have a balance of other types as well.
- Actually, I Am Him: In the previous games, the story keeps the identity of the Champion a secret until you actually fight them, and that that champion is always there to give you aid at appropriate times. Alder is the first in line to actually introduce himself as Champion before the mandatory Elite Four Challenge. Of course, given what happens at the end of the game, this was probably intentional.
- All Your Powers Combined: In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 his team in the Champions tournament is his signature Volcarona, a mon that represents each of the Elite Four (Krookodile, Chandelure, Reuniclus, Conkeldurr), and Braviary, embodying the region as a whole.
- Anime Hair: Hair styles in the series are usually restrained. Alder's is a giant spiky mane/ponytail combo that resembles the wings of a Volcarona.
- Antiquated Linguistics: In the Japanese version he has an archaic speaking style.
- Armor-Piercing Question: He does this to Cheren by asking him what would he do after becoming Champion.
- Badass Teacher: In Black 2 and White 2 he now teaches two school kids the basics of Pokémon battling. He can still kick ass if need be as seen in the optional post-game battle.
- Bait-and-Switch Boss: You don't get the traditional battle against the Champion in Pokémon Black and White. Rather, when you enter his chamber, N has curbstomped his entire team, and raises a huge castle up, making the actual final bosses the version mascot, N, and Ghetsis. You do get to fight him during rematches, though.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: His Black and White team contains three large and powerful Bug-types, Accelgor, Escavalier, and his ace Volcarona.
- Big Good: Of Unova, being its Champion, and tries to stop N by beating him at the League, even though he fails.
- Big Ol' Eyebrows: He sports these.
- Breaking Old Trends:
- He's the first Champion to introduce himself as the Champion right when you first meet him; the real plot twist is that you don't get to fight him until the postgame due to Team Plasma's interference.
- He's also the first Pokémon Champion who is explicitly middle-aged, as evidenced by his grandson Benga, in contrast to previous Champions who were mostly teenagers (Blue and Red) to young adults (Lance, Steven, and Cynthia).
- Cool Old Guy: He's old enough to have a grandson and uses Antiquated Linguistics in the Japanese language.
- Dead Sidekick: It's mentioned several times throughout Black and White that Alder spends a lot of time wandering when he's not taking challengers due to the death of one of his Pokémon. In the post-game he mentions it was his starter which is a Larvesta.
- Dragon Tamer: Has the pure Dragon-type Druddigon on his team in Black and White.
- Dramatic Wind: Blows both before you battle him, and in his sprite animation. Even though you're inside.
- Fiery Redhead: An energetic old man with red and orange tinted hair that resembles a Volcarona.
- Frontline General: He is the only Champion so far to actually try and directly fight the Big Bad (while it is still implied to be N, anyway)! Lance helps fight Team Rocket, but is nowhere to be found during the Radio Tower takeover. Steven and Wallace merely sit on the sidelines (though Steven does battle Maxie and Tabitha alongside the player in Emerald), and Cynthia follows you in Platinum into the Distortion World but makes you fight Cyrus by yourself.
- Kiai: In Black 2 and White 2, he'll shout "Kiai" before a battle with him. Training with him is probably where Marshal picked up the habit.
- Leitmotif: Alder's theme is a calm flute solo, reflecting his age and wisdom.
- Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: He basically decides to deal with N and Team Plasma by making him beat the Elite Four and fight the Champion instead of directly confronting him beforehand; it doesn't work.
- Meaningful Name: His English name refers to the Alder species of moths, as well as the Alder plant—a diet of many species of moths and butterflies. Both these reference his Volcarona. In addition, an "alderman" is a person who is recognized as the eldest and most influential member of a council, reflecting his position as Unova's champion.
- Mentor Archetype: To the Player Character and Cheren. In the sequels, he shows up and does a little of this to the new Player Character towards the beginning of the game.
- Non-Elemental: Like Cynthia, he has no type specialty. Half of his team is Bug-type, though this seems more due to chance than deliberate design choice.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: According to Iris in the Memory Link, she really had to earn the title of Champion by fighting him.
- Old Master: Alder's the oldest Champion with a grandson who's the same age as the player character and is the most powerful trainer in the region.
- Perma-Stubble: Emphasizing his wise nature guru look.
- Retired Badass:
- Deconstructed in Black and White. Alder gets called out of semi-retirement to stop N's ascent to power, but he's badly out of practice and gets curbstomped offscreen by N and Reshiram/Zekrom. Reconstructed post-game when Alder starts training again and becomes the game's True Final Boss.
- Played straight in Black 2 and White 2, where he's officially retired.
- Signature Mon: His most powerful Pokémon is Volcarona. One of the cases where it is far more strongly tied to his character, as not only is his hair done to resemble its wings, but it's stated that his now-deceased starter was Larvesta.
- Superboss: In Black 2 and White 2. Aside from appearing in the World Tournament, he can battled once after beating the Elite Four.
- Supporting Leader: He aids out the player multiple times throughout the game.
- Technologically Blind Elders: According to a Nintendo Dream interview in 2010, Alder never learned how to use the Pokémon Storage System; this is why he carries more than six Poké Balls with him unlike most other trainers.
- True Final Boss: In Black and White. He may share Cynthia's levels, but you merely battle her in a villa while to get to Alder, you have to re-fight the entire League. Beating him brings minor plot and character arcs to a close, registers you in the Hall of Fame, and causes the credits to roll once again.
- Uncatty Resemblance: To his signature Pokémon, Volcarona. Most notably, his hair color and style resemble Volcarona's wings.
- The Unfought: In the main story, at least. It's ultimately subverted; you can fight him in the game, but you don't get the big endgame showdown against him previous generations would have conditioned you to expect.
- Walking the Earth: He spends most of his time in Black and White doing this because of the aforementioned Dead Sidekick above. It can also be inferred he also did this to teach passerby trainers that he encounters, like Cheren.
- Worf Had the Flu: He loses to N because his heart hadn't healed from the loss of his Larvesta, giving Team Plasma's king an easy battle with no evident damage.
N
N (Ｎ enu) / Natural Harmonia Gropius (ナチュラル・ハルモニア・グロピウス nachuraru harumonia guropiusu)
The figurehead of Team Plasma. He defeats Alder and becomes the unofficial Champion of Unova shortly before the player reaches Alder's room in Black and White.
More information about N can be found here.
Iris
Iris (アイリス airisu)
Black/White
Voiced by: Rina Hidaka (Pokémon Generations - JP), Ayana Taketatsu (Pokémon Masters - JP), Cherami Leigh (Pokémon Generations - EN), Cassandra Lee Morris (Pokémon Masters - EN)
"The Trainers who come here are Trainers who desire victory with every fiber of their being! And they are battling alongside Pokémon that have been through countless difficult battles! If I battle with people like that, not only will I get stronger, my Pokémon will, too! And we'll get to know each other even better!"
Iris is a Dragon-type trainer, and the Opelucid Gym Leader in White. Between the first games and their sequels, she grew older, stronger, and challenged and defeated Alder to become the new Champion in Black 2 and White 2.
For her anime counterpart, see Pokémon: The Series — Iris.
- Achilles' Heel: As Champion, about half her team is weak to Ice and Dragon type moves.
- Affirmative-Action Legacy: Being an Ambiguously Brown girl, she was this to Drayden as a Gym Leader in White and was aiming to become one in Black. In Black 2 and White 2, now that she's the Champion, she became this to Alder, with Drayden resuming his place as Gym Leader.
- Airplane Arms: Seems to be her default pose.
- Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: Her room initially is borderline, the back wall featuring a large starfield with emblems representing the Champion and Elite Four circling it like planets. Then the battle begins and that serves as the basis for the field.
- Ambiguously Brown: She is visibly brown-skinned, though her ethnicity is unclear.
- Anime Hair: She has a similar hairstyle to her old one◊ from Black and White. It now resembles the wings of a Hydreigon, the first Pokémon she sends out.
- Badass Adorable: Youngest known Champion (aside from the players and possibly Blue), who does a pretend roar when you fight her. Then sends out a Hydreigon, and that's just her first Pokémon.
- Be Yourself: In her story event in Masters, Iris deals with the fact she isn't as prolific as the other older Champions and is criticized that she doesn't reach the same level of importance as her peers, which causes her to get more serious and makes her be unable to calm down her Hydreigon after Team Break brings out its inner violent behavior through a machine. It's only after she mulls over and gets advice from Diantha that she comes to her senses and gains the admiration of people.
- Birds of a Feather: In her Pokémon Masters Halloween event, she convinces Lusamine that she'll look after the lost Poipole because it's only scared of its new surroundings in a different world but can learn to adapt to it, which makes Iris remind herself that it's just like how she had to move from the Village of Dragons to the bustling cities, where she had trouble adapting until she learned to appreciate her new home.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: She retains her perky personality even as a Champion, as shown by her pre-battle animation with her attempting to imitate a dragon's roar.
- Call-Back: In Challenge Mode or her rematches, her Hydreigon has the exact same moveset as Ghetsis's in the original Black and White.
- Cool Crown: It certainly fits her as a Champion.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard:
- Her Haxorus in White version was under-leveled, just like Drayden's.
- She also has an under-leveled Hydreigon in Black 2 and White 2 in the main adventure, whether Challenge Mode is on or not.
- Dinosaurs Are Dragons: Her Champion team is based off of dinosaur mons, which consists of mostly Dragons.
- Dragon Tamer: Specializes in Dragon-types as a Gym Leader (Though she branches out in Black and White 2 when she becomes Champion), and her Gym Leader Red Baron is "The Girl Who Knows the Hearts of Dragons".
- Fangirl: She greatly admires Cynthia.
- Final Boss: In Black 2 and White 2, taking Alder's place as the Champion.
- Fossil Revival: She uses an Archeops on her Champion teams.
- Genki Girl: If emulating a roar in her animated sprite in her Champion battle is any indication.
- Girlish Pigtails: Sports those in Black and White.
- Heir to the Dojo: She was Drayden's apprentice and adoptive granddaughter, training to take over the gym when he retires.
- Infinity -1 Sword: She has a psuedo-legendary on her team similarly to other Champions such as Lance, Steven and Cynthia, with hers being a Hydreigon. Her Challenge Mode team in the post-game gives her another one with her Salamence replacing her Druddigon. This makes her one of few NPC trainers to have multiple psuedo-legendaries that are all unique, alongside Lance (in Stadium 2, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black 2 and White 2), Clair (in Black 2 and White 2), Evice, Battlus and Cynthia (in Masters).
- Last Chance Hit Point: Her Haxorus is always holding a Focus Sash, allowing it to get off at least one Dragon Dance.
- Little Miss Badass: She's both the youngest and the eighth Gym Leader in White, and then Unova's Champion in Black 2 and White 2.
- Magical Girl Warrior: While not actually a Magical Girl Warrior, as a Champion her battle theme and outfit, as well as room are all very evocative of the genre.
- Mundane Utility: Discussed. In Masters, she really doesn't see the fact she can completely understand Dragon-types as such a big deal to everyone who learns about her, because she always sees that skill as simple common sense that naturally comes to her as easy as breathing air.
- Mythology Gag:
- The eighth Gym Leader has become the Champion in the next game? Gee, where have we heard a story like that before? Also, once she becomes the Champion her teacher and the former Gym Leader takes the gym position over again, much like with Juan taking over after Wallace.
- Also, a (generally speaking) Dragon-type expert becoming a Champion in the direct sequel sounds a lot like Lance, the final Elite Four member in Pokémon Red and Blue, becoming the Champion in Pokémon Gold and Silver. In another similarity to Lance, while not all of her Pokémon are Dragon-type, they all at least resemble dragons and are saurian in design. Specific parallels exist even, with her Archeops, Lapras and Aggron corresponding to Lance's Aerodactyl, Gyarados and Tyranitar.
- Nice Girl: Helpful and sweet. In Masters, N is utterly confused as to why she doesn't think of him as a bad person for all he did while working under Team Plasma and defeating Alder. She says that he only defeated Alder because, as Alder put it, his dream of helping Pokémon was simply stronger than his dream that helped N beat Alder, meaning that he didn't have any bad intentions but truly won with a good heart.
- Olympus Mons: For the Halloween 2022 event, she partners up with the Ultra Beast Naganadel.
- Painting the Medium: If you select Kanji View in the Japanese version, she'll still speak only in kana.
- Pimped-Out Dress: Wears one as a Champion. A flashback in the Memory Link shows that Drayden picked it out for her. Shows that Pink Means Feminine, and she does a Girly Skirt Twirl when she first puts it on.
- Purely Aesthetic Gender: The only real difference between her and Drayden as Gym Leaders is that her Pokémon are female and her Druddigon has Sheer Force instead of Rough Skin.
- Purple Is Powerful: She commands Dragon-type Pokémon (the type itself is commonly depicted with a purple hue) as a skilled Gym Leader/Champion, with her blazing purple hair exemplifying the trope even further.
- Raised by Wolves: Word of God says that she was raised in a forest full of Dragon-types.
- Signature Mon: Has Haxorus as her strongest Pokémon whether she's a Gym Leader or a Champion. She does, however, partner with Hydreigon in her Champion attire in Masters. She also gets Naganadel for her Halloween alt.
- Stock Ness Monster: Has a Lapras in her Champion team.
- Superboss: In Black 2 and White 2, she can be rematched in the post-game and is the fourth strongest trainer in the game behind Benga/Jariel/Janna, who only have three Pokémon compared to Iris's full team of six, and on Challenge Mode her rematch team was the highest levelled Champion team in the entire series before surpassed by Cynthia in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
- The Unfought: In Black, where Drayden is the eighth Gym Leader.
Team Plasma
WARNING: Major spoilers for Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 follow. Read at your own risk.
Information about Team Plasma can be found here.
Unova Battle Facilities
Subway Bosses Ingo and Emmet (Subway Master Nobori and Kudari)
Subway Boss Ingo / Subway Master Nobori (サブウェイマスター ノボリ sabuweimasutā nobori)
Subway Boss Emmet / Subway Master Kudari (サブウェイマスター クダリ sabuweimasutā kudari)
L-R: Emmet, Ingo
Ingo voiced by: Jordan Reynolds (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Pokémon Masters - JP)
Emmet voiced by: J. Michael Tatum (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yūma Uchida (Pokémon Masters - JP)
Emmet voiced by: J. Michael Tatum (Pokémon Masters - EN), Yūma Uchida (Pokémon Masters - JP)
The twin brothers who run the Battle Subway. Ingo is the Subway Boss of the Single and Super Single Trains, while Emmet is the Subway Boss of the Double and Super Double Trains. The two team up for a Multi Battle on the Multi and Super Multi Trains.
Ingo also appears in Legends: Arceus; for tropes relating to his appearance in that game, see Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Tropes that apply to both twins:
- The Ace: In their Pokémon Masters's story event "All Aboard the Victory Train," they singlehandedly trounce the entire Battle Villa despite only being two trainers competing in matches built for three, so much that they impress Lear and allow them to make a Battle Subway-like area at the mines.
- Bilingual Bonus: Their German names Hin and Her can be translated to literally mean back and forth. Hin specifically can be translated to "going to somewhere" and while Her does not have a direct translation, it is only ever used in conjunction with someone talking and/or asking about a place.
- Busman's Vocabulary: Prone to using train-related metaphors in their speech. They tend to say "All aboard!" before they begin battling.
- Costume Exaggeration: Despite hailing from the Pokemon equivalent of New York City, their outfits are based on Japanese conductor uniforms. Of course, said uniforms aren't usually stylised Badass Longcoats with railroad stripes like theirs are.
- Coordinated Clothes: Their uniforms are identical, save for the color schemes.
- Curtains Match the Window: They both have silver hair and eyes.
- Dragon Tamers: In Super Singles and Multis, they use the Dragon-type Haxorus.
- Dual Boss:
- They fight the player together on the Multi and Super Multi Lines.
- Masters has them as this in their boss battles, being just as durable opponents than fighting in a 3-man team.
- Extra-ore-dinary: They seem to have a fondness for Steel-types, with Klinklang and Durant being in the roster for the initial battles and Excadrill in the Super train line teams.
- Crustle, a part Rock type, is also present in their regular line teams as well.
- Expository Pronoun: The twins have contrasting ways of referring to themselves in Japanese. Ingo uses the extremely formal watakushi befitting of his polite personality, while Emmet uses the more casual and younger-sounding boku.
- The Face: Ingo is usually the one doing the talking for the both of them due to being more expressive in his voice.
- Graceful Loser: After losing, they congratulate the player for putting up a great fight and encourage them to battle them again soon.
- Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: They pose this way in both their official artwork and sprites. It's a reference to the real-life practice of pointing and calling, which are used on railways to reduce accidents and error.
- Hot Blooded Sideburns: They have some spectacularly angular sideburns that frame their faces almost like helmets, and they're very powerful trainers to boot.
- Leitmotif: Averted in their debut games where they shared a battle theme with Alder instead of having their own. Come Masters though, and they finally get their own distinct snazzy battle theme that blends together the theme that builds up as you fight through their facility, the theme of the gear station they operate itself, and even the original champion music they once shared with Alder.
- Nice Guy: Both twins are sweet and polite towards the player, giving enthusiastic praise to them when upon losing, and encouraging them to aim for greater heights towards their goals. Even if Ingo and Emmet come out on top, they'll still praise the player for their efforts and express an enthusiastic desire to battle them again.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Their wide mouths have led many fans to affectionately refer to them as muppets, and their sideburns resemble knives or arrows.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Seems to be the intention — Ingo is frowning in his official art, whereas Emmet is smiling. Ingo dresses in black, and Emmet wears lots of white.
- Signature Headgear: Their default outfits have sleek conductor's caps, fitting their occupation. They switch them out for classy top hats in their Masters special costume.
- Signature Mon:
- Certain merchandise and their appearances in the anime associate Emmet with Eelektross and Ingo with Chandelure, their canon aces.
- In Pokémon Masters, Emmet uses Archeops and Ingo has Excadrill. For their special costumes, they use Escavalier and Accelgor respectively.
- Strange-Syntax Speaker: In the games, Emmet speaks almost entirely in active voice and short sentences, whereas Ingo's manner of speaking is formal and polite, if a bit longwinded.Ingo: Thank you for riding the Battle Subway today. I am the Subway Boss Ingo. I will choose the next destination based on your talent. Do you understand Pokémon well? Can you hold on to your principle? Will you go on to victory or defeat? All aboard!Emmet: I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss. I like Double Battles. I like combinations of two Pokémon. And I like winning more than anything else. So let's start a great battle in which every Pokémon uses various moves.
- Tag Team Twins:
- They team up to fight you on the Multi and Super Multi Lines. They also seem to share Pokémon, as the ones used by Ingo on the Single/Super Single Line also appear on Emmet's team in the Double/Super Double Line.
- They are designed to work as a pair in Masters, with Ingo being a Support and Emmet being a Striker, and their sets complement each other. This also applies to their special costume sets.
- Theme Twin Naming: Their names are usually based around directions. In Japanese, Nobori comes from "nobori-sen" (in-bound line) and Kudari comes from "kudari-sen" (out-bound line). In the English localization, Ingo comes from "in-going line" and Emmet comes from "emit" (again, out-bound). Both of these tie into their train motif. Additionally, their German names (Hin for Ingo and Her for Emmet) are the local equivalent of back and forth as if talking about a vehicle.
- We Meet Again: They say this to the player before fighting them for a second time on the Super Single, Double or Multi Trains.
Tropes that apply only to Ingo
- Character Catchphrase: He often says "Bravo!" and "Super Bravo!" in excitement.
- No Indoor Voice: Ingo's Japanese lines in Masters are delivered in an extremely loud and enthusiastic voice, to the point of peaking the microphone at times. It's downplayed for his English lines, although he's still rather loud.
- Perpetual Frowner: Ingo constantly has a frown on his face regardless of his true emotion. One random conversation in Masters reveals that he isn't aware of this and is shocked when told that the player has never seen him smile, causing him to worry that it makes him seem stiff. He does make a slight smile a few times in Legends Arceus however, and the manga depicts him with a subdued cat smile twice.
Tropes that apply only to Emmet
- Big Brother Worship: Despite being a Subway Boss himself, he looks up to Ingo and admires him for his battle prowess.
- Spirited Competitor: While both brothers really enjoy Pokémon battling, Emmet stands out for his passion for Double Battles, stating that he prefers "combinations of different Pokemon" and that he "enjoys winning more than anything". He doesn't believe a battle is fun unless both sides give it their all, and doesn't care much about winning or losing.
- Perpetual Smiler: Emmet usually has a wide smile on his face, contrasting with his often clipped and blunt dialogue. Compare to Ingo, who is eloquent in speech but struggles to express himself facially.
- Verbal Tic: Often announces "I am Emmet" while speaking, and pronounces "very" as "verrry".
Benga (Banjirou)
Benga / Banjirou (バンジロウ banjirou)
The grandson of Champion Alder whom the player may only fight if they manage to reach the top/bottom of Black Tower/White Treehollow.
- Anime Hair: Just like his dear ol' grandpa.
- Badass Adorable: A wild looking boy with Cute Little Fangs. He's also tied for the highest leveled trainer in the game, along with fellow Boss Trainers Jariel and Janna.
- Birds of a Feather: He and Iris never meet, but they are surprisingly identical in most aspects. Both have grandpas of sorts who have/had important jobs with the Unova League, both like to use pseudo-Legendaries that are close to dragons in some ways, and both are wild children who can understand the feelings of Pokémon.
- Bragging Rights Reward: Defeating him for the first time at the Bonus Dungeon makes him give you a Shiny Gible or Dratini with a free Exp. Share.
- Dragon Tamer: Depending on the version he uses the Dragon-types Latios and Garchomp in Black 2, or Latias and Dragonite in White 2.
- The Empath: Implied to be this.
- Generation Xerox: Like Alder (and his hair), Benga owns a Volcarona.
- Hot-Blooded: Boy, is he ever. His first appearance is rushing in to tell Alder about becoming the head of the version facility.
- It Was a Gift: After defeating him for the first time, he will award you with a shiny Gible or shiny Dratini in Flocessy Town.
- Olympus Mons: Has a Latios (Black City) or Latias (White Forest).
- Signature Mon: His ace is a Volcarona, just like grandpa.
- Superboss: He, alongside fellow Boss Trainers Jariel and Janna, is one of the strongest trainers in the Unova region, with all of their Pokémon being Level 80 in Normal Mode. In Challenge Mode, their Pokémon levels are only below Cynthia's 2nd rematch team in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Red in HeartGold and SoulSilver with all of their Pokémon being Level 85.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Looks like a rebel, but he's just like a boy version of Iris who comprehends the values of Pokémon. Fitting, as he himself owns Dragon-types mostly.
