Characters / Pokémon: The Series — Supporting Cast

Pokémon: The Series characters index
Series-wide: Original Trio (Ash Ketchum, Pikachu) | Team Rocket Organization (Team Rocket Trio) | Supporting Cast
Original Series (Main Cast) | Ruby and Sapphire (Main Cast) | Diamond and Pearl (Main Cast, Paul) | Black & White (Main Cast) | XY (Main Cast) | Sun & Moon (Main Cast) | Journeys (Main Cast)
Others: Movie characters

Pallet Town (Masara Town)

The hometown of Ash Ketchum and his rival, Gary Oak. Before Ash goes out on another adventure, he always return to Pallet Town to meet up with his mother, Professor Oak, and all of his old Pokémon he left behind at Oak's Laboratory.

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Professor Samuel Oak (Dr. Yukinari Okido)

Voiced in Japanese by: Unshō Ishizuka (EP001 to SM043), Kenyū Horiuchi (SM091 to present)

Voiced in English by: Stuart Zagnit (4Kids), Carter Cathcart (current)

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Hugo Navarrete, Arturo Castañeda (as "Sam" in Movie 4)

Voiced in European Spanish by: Roberto Encinas

Voiced in European French by: Jean-Marc Delhausse, Georges Caudron (Movie Pokémon 4Ever)

Professor Oak comes from Pallet Town. He is Gary Oak's grandfather and gave Pikachu to Ash as a last resort after he woke up late to take one of the other three starters. His status as a semi-main character means that he shows up the most out of all the professors in the series.

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• Absurdly Youthful Mother: Based on his younger self from Pokémon 4Ever the professor is about fifty years old. His grandson Gary is ten. This trope, twice over even, is the only way any of this works out.
• Ascended Extra: In the games, he just gives the Player Character their started Pokémon, the Pokédex, and some Poké Balls to start catching and sends them off. That's all done in the first episode of the anime, then he keeps showing up, either to provide information to Ash or taking care of Bill's function in the games, keeping any Pokémon at his lab that Ash doesn't need at the moment and sending them to him if he gives him a call.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: He's a bit eccentric and has a child-like sense of wonder when it comes to Pokémon, but he's still a well-respected professor in his field.
• Butt-Monkey: Somewhat. He seems to always get attacked by the Pokémon he looks after. He got attacked by Ash’s (then) Aipom, his Bayleef, his Meltan, and throughout the Japanese version's segments, he is perpetually attacked by his sample Pokémon, even normally tranquil ones like a Sylveon turn vicious when he gets too close. Even Pokémon that do like Oak's affection, he wishes they didn't, particularly Muk.
  • Especially pronounced in the Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination post-episode segments, where he's often attacked by the Pokémon being shown.
• Characterization Marches On: In the first episode, he was a bit of a grumpy Deadpan Snarker and he was visibly annoyed with Ash who came too late to get his first Pokémon. Later on, he would become an eccentric Nice Guy with a warm, almost fatherly relationship with Ash.
• Cool Old Guy: He gets very excited whenever he meets new Pokémon and he is a very passionate scientist. He also has some cool Pokémon, such as Dragonite and Rotom.
• A Day in the Limelight: His younger self stars as a principal character in Pokémon 4Ever. However, it is not revealed to the audience that they're the same person until the very end of the movie.
• Depending on the Writer: In the main anime itself, he's beloved and respected by most Pokémon, who show as much succinct loyalty to him as their trainers. In his podcast segments however, not a single one will hesitate to brutally assault him as he tries to inspect them in his lectures. He must borrow a very grouchy sample roster.
• Friend to All Living Things: One way or another, he'll find a way to get on a Pokémon's good side. Except in his end-of-episode segments....
• Gentleman and a Scholar: Besides being one of the leading experts on Pokémon, he's also a world-renowned poet.
• The Hyena: His Rotom laughs at all the Amusing Injuries he suffers in later Pokémon segments.
• Iron Butt Monkey: In the Japanese version, Oak would often have a short segment at the end of an episode demonstrating a certain quality or attack that Pokémon can execute. It usually always ends up being used on him. He's been burned, electrocuted, frozen, punched, bitten, and flung across the room more times than you can count.
• Loose Canon: In the Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon special, he was shown to have a Dragonite. It is unclear, however, if said special—and hence Oak's Dragonite as well— is canon to the main anime.
• Mission Control: Most of Ash's Pokémon are just a phone call away courtesy of him. He also plays a straighter example in Pokémon 3.
• Nice Guy: Oak is friendly to Pokémon and humans, something that becomes a standard characteristic for future professors.
• No Sense of Personal Space: A recurrent gag is him getting too up close and personal inspecting a Pokemon, and getting maimed for agitating them. Even with the ones that don't mind his affection like Growlithe and Raichu, he often forgets that a Pokemon doesn't have to be harmful on purpose.
• Out of Focus: After making semi-frequent appearances in all previous series, he was mostly absent in XY, only appearing via video call in the third and very last episodes. Since Sun & Moon, he's returned to his previous recurring character status.
• The Professor: The most prominent one of the entire franchise and the most famous Pokémon professor of the entire world.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: A rare handful of his Pokemon segments end with nothing bad happening to him. In the Slowpoke segment for example, the Slowpoke doesn't retaliate due to being, well, Slowpoke, while the Squirtle segment ends with Squirtle preventing his lab setting on fire. The Clefable segment is unironically heartwarming, with the Clefable happily sharing riceballs with the professor.
• Ship Tease: With Delia. In Pokémon Live!, Ash asks Professor Oak not to bring his mother home too late. As a result, he's one of the more frequent fan guesses for the identity of Ash's father (next to Giovanni, of course).
• Signature Mon: He caught a Rotom in "To Catch a Rotom!", which his only known Pokémon he has in the present time. During the XY series, Rotom serves as Oak's assistant in the Professor Oak's Pokémon Holo Caster segments in Japan, often laughing at Oak's misfortune when he gets attacked by Pokémon.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: In his Pokemon segments. Even the rare times the Pokemon likes the attention and co-operates with his instructions, they will often still end up injuring him by accident. Pikachu, Raichu, Charmander, and Growlithe's segments for example.

Gary Oak (Shigeru Okido)

^{Click here to see Gary in Journeys}

Voiced in Japanese by: Yuko Kobayashi

Voiced in English by: Jimmy Zoppi

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Gerardo Del Valle (Original Series and Journeys), Víctor Ugarte (Chronicles), Ricardo Bautista (Advance Generation and two episodes of Diamond & Pearl), Benjamín Rivera (One episode of Diamond & Pearl), Noé Velásquez (One Episode of Diamond & Pearl)

Voiced in European Spanish by: Jesús Pinillos

Voiced in European French by: Lionel Bourguet

Ash's first rival when he started off as a Pokémon trainer, and the grandson of Professor Oak. Gary and Ash were childhood friends whose relationship soured at some point prior to them leaving home. Gary would often take any chance to insult Ash when they met up, rubbing in his face all the ways he was succeeding better than Ash. But after Ash finally defeated Gary, Gary realized that being a trainer wasn't really his calling and decided to follow in his grandpa's footsteps to become a Pokémon professor. Following Gary retiring as a trainer, he and Ash have mended their old friendship, regarding each other mostly positively whenever their paths cross.

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• The Ace:
  • Gary seems to be pretty much be the best at what he does, claiming to be the top trainer out of the four who left Pallet Town in episode 1, and was always at least two steps ahead of Ash. He even had time to go on a vacation because he had obtained two more badges than necessary to enter the League tournament before Ash had reached the minimum quota. That said, it ultimately ends subverted once he and Ash finally get matched up in the Johto League, with Ash proving himself the superior trainer by winning a long, arduous battle.
  • His status returns in Journeys, however, where he dominates his Project Mew competition and collects by far the most tokens of any challenger. Similar to his situation in Kanto, he secures himself a Chaser position by collecting a whopping 12 Project Mew tokens, then collects another 3 with Goh just for the sake of it.
• Adaptational Name Change: Unlike the likes of Misty, Brock, May, Dawn, etc. who are both modelled after Pokémon game characters and share their Canon Names, Gary is based on the rival character from the first generation of Pokémon, but that character's Canon Name in media is Blue (Green in Japan), while Gary himself was given an original name. Ironically, due to Gary being nearly identical to Blue and arguably the more well-known character in comparison, contrasting with Ash who is based on the first playable character, Red, but is easily distinguishable from him, many fans refer to Blue by the name Gary, even though they are not the same character.
• Adaptation Dye-Job: Gary has green eyes while his game counterpart, Blue, has brown eyes. Also, Gary has much darker hair than Blue. As of Journeys Gary's eye and hair color have been converted to closer match his game counterpart. Gary does, however, have arrow shaped eyebrows which have always been unique only to him.
• Adaptational Wimp: His game counterpart, Green/Blue, became the Champion of Kanto after he defeated the Elite 4. Here he never quite gets close to either feat and retires from training to be a researcher after the Silver Conference.
• Affectionate Nickname: While it started out far more belittling in nature, Gary referring to Ash as "Ashy-boy" (Satoshi-kun in Japanese) seems to have taken on this status after his relationship with Ash lost its antagonism.
• Age Lift: When Gary's cheerleaders appear in "Beauty and the Beach", they are all substantially taller and curvier than they were in the first episode.
• All-Cheering All the Time: Gary is followed around by an entourage of cheerleaders approximately twice his age. All they ever do is either cheer him on or cry when he loses a Pokemon battle or something. According to Pocket Monsters: The Animation, they were hired by his great-uncle to follow him around.
• All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Gary is not only constantly surrounded by cheerleaders, in the Japanese version of "Beauty and the Beach" he boasts that all six of them are his girlfriends.
• Always Second Best: Ironically, despite all of his advantages, he is always a rank behind Ash in every official tournament or competition they've partaken together.
• Always Someone Better: He was initially this to Ash; being one step ahead of him, catching far more Pokémon, training nearly all of them into elite fighters, smarter strategies, and being more knowledgable of Pokémon in general. This ended when Ash defeated Gary at the Silver Conference; though Gary would occasionally win a friendly battle with Ash post-rivalry whenever he came back from a new region, just to remind Ash to not get too complacent.
• Anime Hair: Although far from being the most extreme example in the series, it's definitely there.
• Armor-Piercing Question: After he congratulates Ash for winning the Coronation Series and becoming the champion, he asks him how much further he is to becoming a Pokémon Master. This leaves Ash in thought and preparing for his next (offscreen) journey to meet all Pokemon.
• Art Evolution:
  • When we see him after the Battle Frontier, his design matches his game counterpart in FireRed/LeafGreen. As of Journeys he's wearing an ensemble identical to his counterpart in HeartGold/SoulSilver.
  • Gary's cheerleaders debut in the first episode as a handful of middle-school Pom Pom Girls in standard cheerleader skirts, but when they reappear alongside him in "Beauty and the Beach", there are no longer merely three but six of them, and they all have brand-new designs to show off. These new designs would remain for the rest of their appearances—the original designs would be almost forgotten if they hadn't been recorded in art from Pocket Monsters: The Animation^note While only three cheerleaders appeared in the first episode, another three have been added to reflect the total of six in later episodes. or if Pokémon Journeys hadn't featured the cheerleaders in their original designs in a flashback.
• Brainy Brunette: Even becomes a Pokémon researcher, just like his grandfather.
  • And even before that, Gary had such a high knowledge of Pokémon, he barely needed to use his Pokédex to get any info on them, in contrast to Ash who uses his every time he sees a Pokémon, even ones he's already seen.
• Brainless Beauty: His fanclub, whose sole existence revolved around fawning attention on him.
• Break the Haughty: Being utterly owned by Mewtwo in Viridian City and then not even making it past the preliminary round of the Kanto-region Pokémon league that he and Ash had spent at least a year training for. He gets better, though.
  • It was somewhat implied Gary had never lost before, which seems to shape him into a more humble person. Break the Haughty indeed.
• Brought Down to Normal: The Chasers' expedition to Faraway Island in the Project Mew finale renders all technology inoperable, including Poké Balls. Gary in particular has no companion Pokémon, and heavily struggles to accomplish much without them, needing to be saved by Quillon several times and unable to defend himself against wild Pokémon.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • After driving off with his cheerleaders following his departure from the Indigo League tournament, Gary vanished from the series for a time. He came back a changed man right as Ash was returning from his trip through the Orange Islands and would go on to be a recurring character for the Johto adventure.
  • After being absent for nearly the entirety of Advanced Generation, he returned in the season finale of Battle Frontier and was a recurring character throughout Diamond & Pearl. He was then put back on the bus after that season ended.
  • After a third absence that lasted 12 years, he finally returns again in Pokemon Journeys. He gets a Promotion to Opening Titles starting from episode 50 and shows up in episode 68, where he helps set up the Project Mew subplot for Goh. He appears again in episode 71, where he continues his Project Mew work.
• Carload of Cool Kids: Gary, his cheerleaders, and their convertible of choice during the original Kanto journey.
• Characterization Marches On: Downplayed. Despite his sequential Break the Haughty experiences at the end of his travels in Kanto, Gary was still pretty egotistical and more than willing to drive around with his posse. His return at the end of the Orange Islands arc was a pretty dramatic sidestep into his more solemn characterization with little explanation to show for it. This lasted until the Silver League Conference saw him return to his old school ways, cheerleaders and all.
• Childhood Friends: Being neighbors in Pallet Town, he was this with Ash prior to the incident with the Pokeball. See We Used To Be Friends below.
• Crossdressing Voices: In Japan, Shigeru is voiced by a woman. The English dub averts it by having him be voice by a man.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: He suffers overwhelming losses against Mewtwo in Kanto, then much later Articuno and Mew in Journeys. Despite attacking with multiple Pokémon at once in each of these cases, Gary stands absolutely no chance.
• A Day in the Limelight: Got his own episode in Pokémon Chronicles.
• Deadpan Snarker: The "deadpan" part coming in from Johto and onwards.
• Demoted to Extra:
  • Gary's been this since the original series ended — he didn't appear at all in Hoenn (only showing up at the end of Advanced Generation), shows up only four times in Diamond and Pearl (in two of which he got his ass handed to him by Team Galactic), and didn't appear in Unova, Kalos, or Alola.
  • Even during the original series, he suffered from this. Despite being Ash's main rival up till the end of Johto, he scarcely appeared after the Kanto saga ended, only having appeared in about 5 episodes between the end of the Indigo League and the start of the Johto League.
  • He contributes very little to the Project Mew finale, in large part due to the fact that he's unable to use any of his Pokémon. He gets the least amount of interaction with the other characters, has to be saved multiple times by Quillon, and the only thing he really accomplishes during the two-parter is distracting Groudon with a bottle of water.
• Dub Personality Change: In the original Japanese version, Gary is more of a mildly antagonistic rival to Ash, and is respected by Ash's companions. The dub amplifies his antagonism and obnoxiousness towards Ash and subsequently has less respect from his peers. This makes him more in-line with his game counterpart, Blue (Green).
• Dub Name Change: From Ookido Shingeru to Gary Oak.
• Early Installment Character-Design Difference:
  • Downplayed with his cheerleaders, whose costume and hair designs were not actually finalized until "Beauty and the Beach".
  • His eyes were originally shown to be blue but were later changed to green.
• Easily Forgiven: When Gary becomes much nicer to Ash after the former’s loss at the Silver Conference, Ash forgives Gary easily for being such a jerk to him for many episodes.
• Floral Theme Naming: His full name is a reference to the Garry oak.
• Friendly Enemy: Has shades of it in the original Japanese version, but it was removed by the English dub until Johto. After losing in the Indigo League and spending some time reflecting on his losses, Gary soon became a full-on friendly rival to Ash, though he still has some of his original snark left to throw.
• Good Is Not Nice: Initially. He gets better over time though and becomes nicer to Ash and his friends, even teaming up with Ash, Brock, Misty, and Harrison to stop Team Rocket in one episode of the "Master Quest" series.
• Graceful Loser: When he's eliminated from the Indigo League, and Ash confronts him about his loss, Gary takes it surprisingly well, admitting that he's got some room for improvement that he hadn't realized up until that point. His fangirls, however, are much more distraught over his loss than he is.
• Guest-Star Party Member: After a near total absence during Advanced Generation series, Gary returns in several Diamond and Pearl series episodes as an unofficial companion for Ash's group. In Journeys, he becomes Goh's main partner in several Project Mew episodes, mostly because Ash himself is too busy with the World Coronation Series to aid Goh's missions.
• Handsome Lech: In Kanto, he traveled with a large group of older girls. That is one pimp pre-teen.
• Hero of Another Story: He's clearly done a lot off camera, but most of it goes unseen. Lampshaded by him when he meets up with Ash again in Journeys when he states it'd take a while to recount everything he's done since the last time they saw each other in Sinnoh.
• Insufferable Genius: While most of the time he's a Small Name, Big Ego who loses his more important battles, he's still quite a competent trainer and is more than happy to show it off. Him gaining ten badges in Kanto and flaunting them to Ash is one of the most (in)famous examples.
• Jerkass: At the beginning of the series, he is an insufferable jackass who flaunts his superiority over Ash and others. Especially Ash. As if it wasn't enough for him to leave Ash in the dust, Gary would often taunt Ash about him being behind whether it be leaving crude messages on road signs or stealing Ash's opportunity to challenge a Gym despite having more than enough badges to enter the League. He gets better from Johto onwards thanks to a humiliating defeat at the Indigo League, but this can still pop up.
• Jerkass Has a Point: In spite of his initial cold treatment of Goh, he's correctly able to pinpoint the boy's flaws, most notably during the trial mission against Articuno going sideways because of Goh's inability to work with a team. Goh ends up acknowledging that Gary is correct and the two start treating each other more respectfully as a result.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He used to be a cocky and arrogant jerk in the original series. But after his defeat at the hands of Ash in the Johto League Silver Conference, he mellow it out as he evolves into a kinder person as he is from Johto and onwards.
• Jerkass to One: Played with in Journeys where he still treats Ash as a friend and gives a warm greeting to Horace, he still treats Goh the same was he treated Ash in the original series. Something Goh doesn't take too well.
• Large Ham: During his Small Name, Big Ego Kanto days, he never introduced himself with modesty or quietness. He was loud, boastful and would always make sure that you will remember his awesomeness. And he never passed up an opportunity to increase his theatricality;
• Mind Rape: Suffers this at the hands (paws?) of Mewtwo. One wonders if his decision to quit Pokemon training wasn't at least partly influenced by this incident.
• Mythology Gag:
  • His eyes are green◊ as either a reference to his game counterparts JPN name (Green), one of the first two games in the series (Red and Green), or both.
  • His decision to become a researcher may or may not be in reference to the cut plot from the 1997 beta of Gold Version. Originally set 1 year later, Blue, having suffered a major blow to his pride, mellowed out and decided to become one of Oak's aides.
• Named After Somebody Famous: He's named after Shigeru Miyamoto in the original Japanese version, in homage to being The Mentor of Satoshi Tajiri.
• Out of Focus: Even during the original series, Gary's rivalry with Ash received surprisingly little focus overall. They only had one battle prior to the Johto League, and many of Gary's appearances were only cameos or in filler episodes that did little to develop or build him up as a rival. It only got worse after Kanto, where Gary made even fewer appearances and contributed even less to Ash's growth.
• Paid Harem: He had a gang of cheerleaders supporting him (and in one case, Ash) in Kanto; after losing at the Indigo League and learning humility, he got rid of them, although they returned for his battle with Ash in the Silver Conference.
• Pet the Dog: In Battle Of The Badge, Gary's the one who tackles Meowth to prevent him from blowing up the rigged platform Ash is standing on during his gym battle against Team Rocket.
• Pom-Pom Girl: For the entirety of the Kanto journey in Pokémon: The Original Series, Gary was attended by half a dozen personal cheerleaders who engaged in All-Cheering All the Time. According to Pocket Monsters: The Animation, his great-uncle (the mayor of Pallet) hired them for him, but since his uncle is not canon to the anime itself, the girls probably lack this justification. They vanished for almost the entire Johto journey, but returned for the long-delayed match between Ash and Gary.
• Punny Name: His English name, funnily enough.
• The Reveal: It wasn't until his second match with Ash that we learned he started with Squirtle. None of his main Pokémon were even shown until episode 63 (when he was shown using Nidoking and Arcanine at the Viridian Gym), though his Krabby made a brief appearance in episode 13, alongside the one Ash had just caught). We did hear at a few points in early episodes that he caught a lot of Pokémon. Over 200, according to Professor Oak, meaning since there were only 151 kinds in the Kanto saga, he's caught quite a few more of the same species, especially since he had only seen 60 at that point.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Ash's red of the "Original Series", being level-headed and logical while Ash is brash and impulsive.
• The Rival:
  • Ash's main rival until the end of the Johto saga. He and Ash are currently providing the page picture for this trope.
  • He becomes the main rival for Goh for Project Mew when he makes his return in Journeys, while ironically acting like best buddies with his old rival Ash.
• Rogues' Gallery Transplant: In the original series, he's Ash's primary rival. When he returns in Journeys, he's set up as Goh's rival instead as he and Ash have basically buried their old hatchet at the end of Johto.
• Same Character, But Different: Kanto's Gary was a snide braggart who was constantly lording himself and his experiences over Ash while traveling around with a personal cheerleading team in a convertible (while Ash was hoofin' it old-school). Johto's Gary was an aloof and stoic wanderer accompanied by only his Pokémon — Johto's first opening even wrapped him in a distinctive black cloak. This was explained as a result of his surprise loss in the preliminary rounds of the Indigo League, in addition to his previous curbstomp by Mewtwo, which severely wounded his pride and led to him becoming a more serious, less braggy trainer.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Really thinks highly of himself in the first season, which only increases the irony over the fact that he loses in the preliminaries of the Indigo League while Ash gets farther. Played for hilarity when, during the swimsuit contest in the originally-banned Beach Episode, he actually believes everyone is watching him.
• Took a Level in Kindness: He becomes considerably nicer to Ash during the Johto Arc, and even moreso during the Sinnoh arc.
• Tuckerization: His Japanese name, Shigeru, is taken from Shigeru Miyamoto, who served as a mentor to Satoshi Tajiri.
• The Unfought: Despite being Ash's rival, the two never battle in the first series, having their first one-on-one battle in the final episode of the Orange Island saga after Ash had returned home. Technically the two don't even a full battle until the tail-end of the Johto Saga at the Silver Conference.
• We Used to Be Friends: With Ash, before a quarrel involving a broken Pokéball of which they each kept half of. They eventually mend their friendship after the Silver Conference and remained friendly ever since.
• The Worf Effect:
  • Despite being a gifted and highly accomplished Trainer, Gary has a tendency to lose badly to Legendary Pokémon in order to show how powerful they are. He was easily defeated by Mewtwo in the Kanto saga, then proceeded to lose battles against Moltres, Articuno, and Mew in Journeys.
  • While Gary was a good trainer back in the day, once he became a Sinnoh researcher he probably didn't train as hard as he used to, leading him to get easily defeated by Saturn and Team Galactic.

Gary’s Pokémon

In General

• Flat Character: By enlarge, Gary's Pokémon don't really have any standout personality traits beyond their loyalty to him. Even the ones that appear more often, like Blastoise, Umbreon, and Electivire, have never received much fleshing out.
• One-Shot Character: The majority of Gary's Pokémon only show up once to battle.
• Quantity vs. Quality: Defied. Gary regularly rotated his team in the Silver Conference which Ash knew was going to happen. Even though Gary has a lot of reserves, each of them are powerful in their own right and prove to be an even match against Ash's Pokémon.
• Signature Mon: Despite having many more Pokémon than Ash, Gary rarely has a definitive Pokémon partner since he often changes his partner depending on the seasons in the original series. The three most consistent are Arcanine, Umbreon, and Blastoise, and of the three, Umbreon serves as the cute companion while Blastoise serves as the signature powerhouse.

Squirtle-Wartortle-Blastoise (Zenigame-Kameil-Kamex)

Voiced in Japanese by: Unshō Ishizuka, Tsugo Mogami (Journeys)

Voiced in English by: Eric Stuart (Original series-Diamond and Pearl), Tom Wayland (Black & White), Billy Bob Thompson (Journeys)

Gary's very first Pokémon, notable for being the Squirtle Ash originally wanted before realizing he was too late to choose. Its identity remained a secret until Gary's Johto League battle with Ash, after which it became his true Signature Mon.

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• Curb Stomp Cushion: His Blastoise gets some good hits in against Moltres in JN068, and overall performs better than Ash's Infernape, but ultimately still loses pretty easily.
• Early-Bird Cameo: It makes a cameo as a Squirtle in "Challenge of the Samurai" when the Samurai is recalling the three other trainers from Pallet Town that battled him, but it isn't specified which starter was Gary's until much later.
• Making a Splash: It is a pure Water-type Pokémon that knows Water Gun, Hydro Cannon, Water Pulse, and Hydro Pump.
• Man Bites Man: Or rather Mon Bites Mon. It knows the Dark-type move Bite, and uses it when Charizard lifts it off the ground.
• Mythology Gag: Gary's Blastoise is meant to reflect the rival choosing the type advantage over the player's, Blastoise having the advantage over Ash's Charizard who was his ace Pokémon in their match in the Silver Conference.
• Scissors Cuts Rock: Notably on the receiving end to showcase how much Ash’s Charizard has taken a level in badass, and the second to showcase how strong Moltres is. Both were Fire-types, which are normally weak to Blastoise. It is on the delivering end, however, when it defeats Ash’s Grass-type Bayleef.
• Signature Mon: After Blastoise is revealed in the Silver Conference, it became Gary's signature powerhouse Pokémon, used to dish heavy fire if Umbreon is not used. Notably, when Gary decides to start off fresh as a Pokémon researcher after the Silver Conference, he left all his Pokémon except Blastoise, which prompts Ash to do the same as well with Pikachu.
• Spin to Deflect Stuff: Gary's Blastoise was an expert in using Rapid Spin to deflect Ash's attacks, like Muk's Sludge Bomb and Bayleef's Razor Leaf.
• Starter Mon: Was Gary’s first Pokémon. Ironically, his choice happens to be Ash's first choice as well.
• Use Your Head: It knows Skull Bash.

Krabby (Crab)

Voiced by: Rikako Aikawa

A Pokémon Gary caught at some point early in his journey. Not much is known about it other than that it was much larger than Ash's own Krabby.

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• Always Someone Better: Significantly larger than Ash's Krabby, and thus implied to be much stronger.
• Informed Ability: Its size suggests it's stronger than Ash's Krabby, but it was never actually shown battling, so there's no proof of this.
• Satellite Character: It only exists to rub in how small and weak Ash's Krabby was in comparison. It has no character otherwise.

Nidoking

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi

Gary used Nidoking twice in the Kanto season, once to battle Giovanni and another as his last Pokémon standing before losing the Indigo League. It has not been seen since.

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• Curb-Stomp Battle: Gary tries using both Nidoking and Arcanine against Mewtwo. They both lose because Mewtwo is a Legendary Pokémon.
• Horn Attack: He uses this attack often in the original series.

Arcanine (Windie)

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi

One of Gary's favorite Pokémon, and one of the few to be used in more than just battles. It was first revealed in "The Battle of the Badge" and has made occasional appearances since, most notably the Extreme Pokémon Race and the Johto League.

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• The Bus Came Back: Arcanine, who was considered Gary's Signature Mon for years until his starter was revealed, makes a return in Journeys.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Gary tries using both Arcanine and Nidoking against Mewtwo. They both lose because Mewtwo is a Legendary Pokémon.
• Playing with Fire: Is Fire-Type, and knows moves like Fire Spin, Fire Blast, Flame Wheel, and Flamethrower.
• Signature Mon: Before Umbreon (as an Eevee) appeared, Gary's Arcanine was considered this in numerous anime-related merchandise and games. This is because his Arcanine was one of Gary's first Pokémon shown to be used for battle.
• Super-Speed: Arcanine is one of his fastest Pokémon on his team and thus it's Gary's chosen racer in the Extreme Pokémon Race. Despite its tremendous speed, it narrowly lost to Ash's Bayleef who came in first place.

Doduo-Dodrio (Dodo-Dodorio)

One of the many Pokémon Gary was shown to keep at Professor Oak's Lab. It returned in Chronicles as a Dodrio to stop Butch and Cassidy.

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• Beak Attack: Knows Drill Peck.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Makes a cameo as a Doduo in episode 65 before it shows up as a Dodrio in Chronicles.

Nidoqueen

Voiced by: Katsuyuki Konishi

Gary first used Nidoqueen to battle Team Rocket after Ash came home from the Orange Islands. It returned as Gary's first Pokémon in their Johto League battle, taking down Tauros but later falling to Snorlax.

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• Bare-Fisted Monk: Knows the Fighting-type moves Rock Smash and Double Kick.
• Energy Weapon: It knows Hyper Beam, a powerful blast of energy.
• Megaton Punch: It knows Mega Punch, which is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.
• Super-Strength: It knows Strength, and has enough raw might to stop Tauros's Horn Attack with its bare hands.

Eevee-Umbreon (Elevui-Blacky)

Voiced in Japanese by: Mika Kanai (Original series), Satomi Koorogi (Chronicles-present)

Voiced in English by: Kayzie Rogers

Debuting as an Eevee, Umbreon was the only one of Gary's Pokémon to battle Ash prior to the Johto League, which it won without much difficulty. Since then it has become one of his most notable Pokémon, appearing in almost every series where Gary is present.

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• Doppelgänger Spin: It knew Double Team as an Eevee.
• Morality Pet: To Gary, seeing as he started to train it at the same time his change of attitude started. (Given the fact that it is an Umbreon might be a factor, seeing as Eevee evolve into Umbreon when treated well by a trainer.)
• Mythology Gag:
  • Gary's Umbreon debuting as an Eevee references how the rival takes the Eevee meant for the player in Pokémon Yellow who instead gets a Pikachu as a starter, just like Ash did. Justified as Pokémon Yellow is supposed to be a homage to the Pokémon anime.
  • His Umbreon is actually an indirect reference to Red's Espeon in Gold and Silver. As Ash is the anime incarnation of Red, his hypothetical Eevee would have evolved into an Espeon. Thus it stands to reason that his rival would have the opposing Eeveelution (Umbreon) of Gen II.
• Non-Elemental: Was a Normal-type as Eevee, and defeated Ash’s Pikachu using only Normal-type attacks.
• Psychic Powers: Umbreon knowns the move Psychic in its attack set, a wave of powerful telekinesis.
• Signature Mon: Umbreon (as an Eevee) was Gary's most notable Pokémon early on, being the first one Gary used against Ash and making semi-frequent appearances after. Also, expect Gary's game counterpart Blue to have an Eevee as his partner as well due to the anime, even though Blue only had an Eevee in Pokémon Yellow.
• Soul Power: Umbreon uses the Ghost-Type Shadow Ball, a blob of shadowy energy.
• The Worf Effect: Despite being an Eevee, it's well trained and easily defeats Ash's Pikachu despite the latter recently coming off of his win of defeating the undefeatable Dragonite.

Magmar (Boober)

Voiced in English by: Eric Stuart

A Fire-type Gary used in his Johto League battle against Ash. It battled against his Heracross and ultimately lost.

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• Playing with Fire: A Fire-type that knows Flamethrower and Fire Blast.
• The Worf Effect: Despite having the type advantage, it's defeated by Ash's Heracross to show off how strong it is.

Scizor (Hassam)

Voiced in Japanese by: Katsuyuki Konishi

Voiced in English by: Eric Stuart

A Bug/Steel-type Gary used in his Johto League battle with Ash. It proved to be powerful, defeating Ash's Snorlax and Muk back to back, but was defeated in turn by Charizard.

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• Big Creepy-Crawlies: His Scizor is a large metallic red mantis.
• Extra-ore-dinary: It's a Steel-type that knows Metal Claw and Steel Wing.
• Super-Speed: It knows Quick Attack.

Golem (Golonya)

Voiced in English by: Eric Stuart

A Rock/Ground-type Gary used to battle against Ash's Charizard in the Johto League, but was defeated.

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• Dishing Out Dirt: A Rock- and Ground-type that knows nows Rollout and Magnitude.
• No-Sell: His Golem is too heavy for Charizard to lift, so no Seismic Toss for Golem.
• The Worf Effect: Despite having a huge advantage against Charizard, it's quickly defeated to show off Charizard's power.

Electivire (Elekible)

Voiced in Japanese by: Unshō Ishizuka (Ruby and Sapphire-Diamond and Pearl), Kenta Miyake (Journeys)

Voiced in English by: Bill Rogers

One of Gary's more prominent Pokémon that debuted in the final episode of Ruby and Sapphire. It defeated Pikachu in a friendly battle and served as Ash's main motivation to travel to Sinnoh before making sporadic returns in Gary's later appearances.

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• Barrier Warrior: Electivire knows Protect, which it used to fend off Pikachu's powerful Volt Tackle.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Debuted in the last episode of Battle Frontier arc just before Diamond and Pearl began.
• Elemental Punch: It knows Thunder Punch.
• Extra-ore-dinary: It knows Iron Tail.
• Good Counterpart: Gary's Electivire is a friendly Gentle Giant, unlike Paul's who's a Blood Knight Psycho Electro.
• Shock and Awe: Electivire is Gary's main Electric-Type Pokémon and fittingly, an upgraded rival to Pikachu as well as a foreshadowment to Paul's Elekid (who would also evolve into Electivire).
• Small Role, Big Impact: Its debut informed Ash of the Sinnoh region.

Tyranitar (Bangiras)

Gary's used Tyranitar as his first Pokémon in a Raid Battle against Articuno. It was taken out before it could even move.

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• Curb-Stomp Battle: Even calling it a "battle" would be generous, as it gets one-shotted by Articuno within seconds of being sent out.
• Mythology Gag: Its existence is a nod to the Tyranitar that Blue uses on his rematch teams from FireRed/LeafGreen and HeartGold/SoulSilver.
• Red Shirt: It only exists to be quickly defeated in order to establish the insane power of Articuno.

Hatterene (Brimuon)

Voiced in English by: Jenny Yokobori

A Pokémon Gary used against Regidrago and Regieleki for his final Project Mew mission. It partnered up with Goh's Flygon but lost to the Legendary duo.

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• Light 'em Up: It's a Fairy-type that knows Dazzling Gleam, a burst of magical light.
• Psychic Powers: A Psychic-type that knows Psycho Cut, a blade of psychic energy.
• The Worf Effect: Downplayed. While Hatterene loses to the Regi duo despite its type advantage over Regidrago, this is partially because they were working together to mix up their opponents.

Regidrago (Regidorago)

As part of Project Mew's final mission, Gary was tasked to capture one of the additional Legendary Titans, Regieleki or Regidrago. Gary chose to go after Regidrago, who he was able to capture with the help of Goh.

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• Aborted Arc: Gary capturing Regidrago was clearly meant to lead into some kind of encounter with Dynamax Regigigas, as indicated by the intro and the ending of JN113, but this event is never followed up on, presumably due to time constraints with the series.
• Olympus Mons: Regidrago is a Legendary Pokémon.
• Our Dragons Are Different: A Dragon-type golem beast that knows Dragon Energy and Twister.

Delia Ketchum (Hanako)

Voiced in Japanese by: Masami Toyoshima

Voiced in English by: Veronica Taylor (4Kids), Sarah Natochenny (current)

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Ana Patricia Anides (Original Series and current), Rebeca Manríquez (Chronicles), Elena Ramírez (Advance Generation and the start of Diamond & Pearl)

Voiced in European Spanish by: Cecilia Santiago (first two episodes), Marisa Marco (Seasons 1-16), Ana Richart (XY Series onwards), Ana Jiménez (Movie Pokemon 2000), Marta García (Movie Pokemon 3)

Voiced in European French by: Catherine Conet (Season 1-12, Movies 2-3), Julie Basecqz (Season 14-16), Fabienne Loriaux (Season 19-current)

Ash's always-loving mother. Not much more needs to be said about her. Just let the tropes do the talking.

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• Action Mom: Ash's skill is apparently genetic, given that she's more than able to scrap when she needs to.
• Adaptational Modesty: Delia wore a pencil-skirt to just above the knees until her stint as a Guest-Star Party Member in Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, when her design was updated to give her a longer, fluffier skirt.
• Alternate Self: She has one regarding the "I Choose You!" Ash of the Alternate Continuity movie trilogy.
• Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: A Running Gag in the 4Kids Entertainment Dub. Delia frequently and loudly reminds Ash to change his you-know-whats. Sometimes his friends are around. Sometimes there's a small crowd. Sometimes it's being filmed on live TV.
• And the Rest: Delia has been known to do this to her own son. This trope is much less common in later series.
  Delia: "Oh, Pikachu! It's so good to see you again, oh you're so cute, I could just hug you all day — oh, hi Ash."
• Beware the Nice Ones: In some Chronicles episodes, she actually displayed some skill as a trainer. This returns when she makes an appearance in Sun and Moon and rather fluently uses Ash's Litten to fend off Team Skull (to everyone, even Litten's surprise).
• Characterization Marches On: Early on she was pretty clueless about Pokémon, but the third film reveals that she was one of Oak's top students.
• Cuteness Proximity:
  • Makes recurring appearances in Sun & Moon, where she has taken a special fondness for Ash's Litten.
  • She also developed a brief Running Gag that whenever Ash would come home she'd make a beeline for Pikachu and belatedly notice Ash was there, too.
• The Ditz: Downplayed, but, early on at least,
  • Delia sometimes comes off as slightly dense in terms of Pokémon-related concepts. May lean into Genius Ditz however, since she can actually battle formidably in spite of it.
  • At the start of the Gold & Silver series, when Brock first returns and the story of how he came to be at Ash's home is told, Delia relates that she found him on a walk home from the market with Mimey—as she was walking, she heard a noise, and wandered back in the direction she'd first come to look for it, heard the noise a second time in the other direction, and turned back only to hear the noise again. She and Mimey wound up walking in a circle, hearing the noise over and over again, and only belatedly realized that the noises were coming from below—because they'd trodden on Brock, who was lying in the dirt, no less than half a dozen times each.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Was an occasional Ms. Fanservice in the first season (though nowhere near as much as Misty, Jessie, the Joys and the Jennies).
• Happily Married: Depending on the medium. In the main series anime she only mentions Ash's father, once, in EP 002, and while her wording and tone about him is positive, little else is shown of their relationship. In side material in its own continuity or Broad Strokes to the anime it is implied she is either no longer in a relationship with him, such as Pokémon Live!, or that while she is still married to him she no longer loves him, as is the case in Pocket Monsters The Animation. In the Alternate Continuity movie trilogy and the Post-Journeys special episode, it's much more explicit that the two are together and still seeing each other since Ash fondly mentions his father's role in shaping his personality and Delia happy meets up with him to see Ash when he's not busy.
• Hidden Depths: She was one of Professor Oak's top students when she was in school. Suddenly having to raise a son all on her own suddenly left no time for schoolwork. Odd episodes she's called into battle display her fluency with Pokémon.
• Idiot Hair: More fitting in the original series when Delia was more frequently The Ditz, before she got Characterization Marches On (i.e. being retconned from fairly ignorant of all things Pokemon into a former student of Professor Oak's and a modestly talented battler). When she isn't displaying her ditz traits, the hair is something of The Artifact.
• Loose Canon: What Delia does when Ash isn't around isn't clear in the anime, though side material like movies and light novels have implied that she studied Pokemon under Professor Oak and runs a restaurant and hotel formerly operated by her mother, Ash's grandmother.
• Motherhood Is Superior: The franchise has spent decades exploring Delia's bond with her son and how much she loves and adores him, especially in later series where the series drops the jokes of Delia focusing on Pikachu before Ash in reunions, while in the main series, Ash's father is left to fleeting references that leave it ambiguous what sort of relationship father and son have.
• The Nicknamer: In Sun & Moon; she nicknames Ash's Rowlet, Rockruff, and Litten "Rowlie", "Rocky" and "Littie".
• "Not So Different" Remark: It's shown in SM024 that Ash and his mother are actually quite similar. In addition to their dorky moments, Ash's classmates point out that they're both kind-hearted people who do everything they can to help others.
• Significant Double Casting: Majority of dubs have her share Ash's voice actress.
• Team Mom: Treats Ash's friends like her own children. When Ash and Misty returned to Kanto after the Orange Islands saga, they found that Delia had found a Heroic BSOD-inflicted Brock and was letting him stay at the Ketchum house while she nursed him back to health.

Mr. Mime/"Mimey" (Barrierd/"Barri-chan")

Mr. Mime/"Mimey" (Barrierd/"Barri-chan")

Voiced in Japanese by: Yuji Ueda

Voiced in English by: Kayzie Rogers (Original series to Sun and Moon, episode 1), Michele Knotz (present)

A wild Mr. Mime that has more or less come into Delia's possession since arriving at her doorstep.

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• All There in the Manual: Japanese supplementary materials actually list Mimey as one of Ash's Pokémon for years, but this was never properly shown until Journeys, where it was used by Ash in a proper Pokémon battle in JN007. For the longest time, it seems to be Delia's Pokémon as it spends most of the time with her helping with the chores.
• Ascended Extra: Has a bigger role in the Pokémon Journeys series, as Delia assigns it to watch over Ash and Goh at the lab.
• Battle Butler: Well, what else can we call Mimey? A powerful Psychic-type that just randomly appeared at her door, and now it's part of the family, helping keep the house. In JN007, it even battles for Ash and manages to defeat a Hariyama.
• Beware the Silly Ones: Acts generally how you’d expect a mime to act, but is shown to be a powerhouse when put into battle.
• Bring It: He does this to Goh's Grookey in its debut episode once it's regained its energy and tries to beat his head like a drum. Being said, he manages to defeat and wear out Grookey.
• Cowardly Lion: Normally, it tends to shy away from Pokemon battles. Though in JN007, Ash does use it in a battle tournament where it defeats a Hariyama. Granted, it does refuse to battle the Mightyena, but it does show Mimey is capable of battles.
• Flanderization: The Journeys series exaggerates his mime-like traits by having do things like mime food and a vacuum cleaner (that actually works, no less).
• Furry Reminder: At least one episode has him sitting on the floor and eating Pokémon food out of a bowl.
• Guest-Star Party Member: Joins Ash’s team in JN007 for a tournament. He has also fought under Delia on occasion.
• Mistaken Identity: Joined the family because Delia mistook him for Ash (who was wearing a Mr. Mime costume at the time). Mimey ended up adoring her so much he helped her stop Team Rocket and has been a part of the family ever since.
• Neat Freak: He once vacuumed Ash's face because he apparently hadn't taken a bath for so long.
• Psychic Powers: Being a Mr. Mime, he battles with Psychic-type attacks.
• Retcon: Fairy-types weren't introduced until Generation VI. In the Sun & Moon anime, Mimey's typing has been officially confirmed to be Psychic/Fairy, specifically in episode SM024.
• Signature Mon: Though technically owned by Ash, it's more associated with Delia to the point that fans for the longest time thought that Delia was Mimey's official trainer until Ash calls out Mimey for one battle in Journeys.
• Small Role, Big Impact: Mimey only makes the odd recurring appearance, but starts off Ash's journey to Alola by winning a free vacation for the family there at the start of the Sun and Moon series.
• Your Mime Makes It Real: Becomes a thing in the Journeys anime; in JN003, it mimes vacuuming in Ash and Goh's dorm room while they're sleeping, and really sucks the sheets off their beds.

Jenny (Junsar) and Joy Families

The recurring local authorities of the anime series. Go to any town or city in the world, and you will always find an Officer Jenny patrolling the area and a Nurse Joy managing the Pokémon Center. Don't be confused, they are not the same Jenny and Joy you've encountered in the last city. They're just part of two very large extended families, and just so happen to look almost identical and share the same name.

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In General

• Inexplicably Identical Individuals: The former Trope Namer. Every Jenny and Joy in the world are virtually identical to the point it's a Running Gag for newbie Pokémon trainers to mistake the next Jenny or Joy they encountered as the first one. Some, like Brock, can tell the tiniest of differences, such as the length of a certain Jenny's skirt, but for most audience viewers, the best way to distinguish an Officer Jenny or a Nurse Joy is to look at their insignia on their hat (which is always different). Occasionally, a Jenny or Joy would have an obvious distinct look reflecting a unique kind of profession, such as a tanned and muscular Nurse Joy who works outdoors in the ocean.
• Gender Equals Breed: Don't expect the fathers in the Jenny and Joy families to pass any of his traits to his daughters. They will always look like their mothers, sisters, and all their female relatives.
• Last-Name Basis: It's revealed in Diamond and Pearl that Jenny and Joy are actually family surnames, explaining why every one of them appears to have the same name. If a younger Jenny or Joy appears, they are often referred by their first name since they haven't officially entered the workforce yet. Marble Jenny, Marnie Joy, and Paige Joy are among the most notable examples.
• Phrase Catcher: A Running Gag with new main characters (and Ash in Unova) is that they would always mistake the second Jenny or Joy they meet on their journey with the first one. When Serena does it with the Kalos Jenny, Ash remarks, in deadpan, "I knew it..."
• Uncanny Family Resemblance: They all refer their identical counterparts as relatives. Often as sisters, cousins, sisters-in-law, second cousins, etc. It's even more explicit when an episode features Nurse Joy's daughters... and they look exactly like their mother with no traits from their father.

Officer Jenny (Junsar)

Voiced in Japanese by: Chinami Nishimura

Voiced in English by: Lee Quick (Original series to Advanced Generation, episode 65), Jamie Davyous Owens (Advanced Generation, episodes 119-142), Kayzie Rogers (The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon), Maya Rosewood (Advanced Generation, episode 155), Emily Williams (Advanced Generation, episode 188 to Diamond and Pearl, episode 166) and Emily Jenness (Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution; Journeys)

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Mayra Arellano (Seasons 1-6, 13-16), Erica Edwards (Season 7 and Chronicles), Cristina Hernández (seasons 8-11), Betzabe Jara (Season 12), Claudia Contreras (season 17-current), Ana María Grey (Season 1, only in three episodes)

Voiced in European Spanish by: Valle Acebrón (Seasons 1-5^note until episode 236), Isacha Mengíbar (Seasons 5^note starting from episode 267-13, Pokemon: The Arceus Chronicles), Beatriz Berciano (BW Series), Silvia Sarmentera (XY Series), Unknown voice actress (S&M Series), Beatriz Llaneza Mielgo (Journeys Series)

If there's a town with any semblance of law enforcement, then Officer Jenny will be there. They tend to use Pokémon that help in police work, such as Growlithe, Herdier or other police dog stand-ins.

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The numerous Jennys out there exhibit the following tropes:

• Art Evolution: Officer Jenny got a complete makeover in the Unova region. She went from having shoulder-length hair and a blue uniform to grass-green short cropped hair with a beige uniform in Unova◊. Kalosian Jennys have wavy hair tied in a low ponytail, though the uniforms are back to blue.◊
• Between My Legs: The shot used when a Jenny first appears in Best Wishes episode 38.
• The Bus Came Back: It's hard to tell given that all Jennys look identical, but occasionally a Jenny from a previous episode does return as a recurring character. These include Viridian Officer Jenny, the Squirtle Squad Officer Jenny, and Madame X (an Officer Jenny who was brainwashed by an evil Malamar).
• Busman's Holiday: Viridian Officer Jenny pops up in Eterna City on her day off, right around the same time that a major heist has occurred.
• Canine Companion: The most common Pokemon used by them are the regional dog of whatever region they're in, especially Growlithe, who acts like a police dog. The ones in Kalos use Electrike, and the ones in Unova use Herdier, since Growlithe aren't found in those places.
• Canon Immigrant: Officer Jenny appears in Pokémon Yellow in Vermilion City looking for a tough trainer to raise a rowdy Squirtle.
• Combat Pragmatist: The Jenny in "A Poached Ego", where she instantly beats the poacher Rico by quickly stealing the Poké Ball containing his ace, Tyranitar. In fairness, what he had it do to Team Rocket (both Pokémon and trainers) was more than enough to warrant this resort.
• Cowboy Cop: One particular Jenny enjoys taking down criminals with her bowling skills.
• Dub Name Change: Named Mara in the European Spanish dub.
• Early-Installment Weirdness: Not only did the Jenny attire change throughout later regions, but their default personalities tend to be rather serious and humorless, compared to early episodes where they tended to be more energetic and hammy.
• Fair Cop: All of them. There's a reason why Brock likes them so much. She certainly is attractive.
• Improbable Weapon User: "Stealing the Conversation", where one Jenny stopped criminals with a bowling ball.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: Prior to the Unova seasons, Officer Jennys wore heels. Not exactly practical (or even comfortable) footwear to have in law enforcement, but they still manage. It's completely averted come XY, where Jennys were re-designed with more practical police attire.
• Poor, Predictable Rock: Most Jennys use the same Pokémon in a given region, though there are exceptions like Luxray and Gastly.
• Police Are Useless: Played with, as while the Jennys do try to help Ash and friends, it's usually the latter who play the key part in saving the day.
  • Played completely straight, however, by the Eterna City Jenny from "A Secret Sphere of Influence", who arrests Nando for supposedly stealing the Adamant Orb and flatly refuses to believe that anyone else could have done it. When presented with a photograph of a Sunflora (actually Meowth disgused as one) stealing the Orb, she declares that it's all the proof she needs. Despite everyone else in the room pointing out that Nando probably isn't the only person in the museum who has a Sunflora, she remains convinced that she's right and spends the entire episode interrogating him instead of searching for the stolen Orb and/or other suspects, forcing the main characters to hunt Team Rocket down and get it back.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Most of them, but especially the Jennys in "Pokémon Emergency!" and "Spinarak Attack". In the case of the former, she shows Ash how to use his Pokédex as an ID and gives him a free ride to the Pokémon Center when she sees that Pikachu is badly injured and urgently needs medical care.
• Signature Mon: All Officer Jennys have a Pokémon companion by their side, usually a Canine Companion:
  • In Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, Officer Jennys have Growlith.
  • In Unova, Officer Jennys either have a Herdier or Swanna, though it's not clear which one is more preferred.
  • In Kalos, Officer Jennys have Electrike.
  • In Alola, Officer Jennys have Gumshoos.
• Smelly Skunk: There was one in Sinnoh who used a Stunky.
• The Worf Effect: Prone to being overpowered by the current threat to make Ash's team relevant. They sometimes get to pull a Big Damn Heroes to maintain their competence however.
• Zerg Rush: The Eterna City Jenny uses this technique with a crapload of other officers to corner Nando in "A Secret Sphere of Influence".

Nurse Joy

Voiced in Japanese by: Ayako Shiraishi, Kikuko Inoue, Yuriko Yamaguchi and Kei Shindō

Voiced in English by: Megan Hollingshead (Original series to Advanced Generation, episode 42; returned in Journeys), Erica Schroeder (Advanced Generation, episodes 49 to 144, plus cameo appearance in Black and White, episode 127), Michele Knotz (Advanced Generation, episode 151 to Diamond and Pearl, episode 190) and Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld (Mewtwo Strikes Back—Evolution)

Voiced in Latin American Spanish by: Mildred Barrera

Voiced in European Spanish by: Isacha Mengíbar (Episodes 002-014), Pilar Martín (OG Series^note From episode 020 onwards-DP Series, Movies 1-13, Movie 20, Movie 22, Pokémon Chronicles, The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon), Sara Heras (BW Series, Movies 15-16), Desirée Álvarez (XY Series^note Until episode 049), Sara Polo (XY Series^note From episode 051 onwards), Yolanda Portillo (S&M Series^note Until episode 102), Elena Palacios (S&M Series EP 068), Laura Barriga (S&M Series EP 103 onwards)

Much like Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy is found anywhere that has a Pokémon Center. Their partner Pokémon tend to be ones with healing abilities, like Chansey, Audino and others.

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The numerous Joys found around the world exhibit the following tropes:

• Adaptational Badass: In the novelization, she's a fully licensed nurse.
• Ambiguously Brown: One Joy in the Orange Islands who's known to travel by rowboat to tend to Pokémon in need has a much darker skin tone than the other Joys. It's not clear if her darker skin is genetic or just a tan from her spending so much time outdoors in a tropical archipelago.
• Art Evolution: Along with Jenny above, Nurse Joy also underwent a makeover for the Unova region. The bangs of her hair were parted, giving her an overall much younger appearance.◊ She also no longer wears a white apron. In Kalos, the pigtails are slightly raised.◊ Alolan Joys have a single, large pigtail, and their uniforms are pink and white with a stripe down the center.◊
• Berserk Button: All Nurse Joys don't like it when Trainers use their Pokémon to fight for anything other than official battles or in capturing Pokémon, especially petty fights.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Joys can be quite stern and strict when it comes to the health of both Pokémon and their Trainers, one in Maiden's Peak was quite concerned about Ash and Misty not missing curfew, as children need their sleep, and can give quite a talking to towards trainers she believes are mistreating their Pokémon.
• Brainwashed: One Joy was turned into Mewtwo's servant in Mewtwo Strikes Back, later freed from his control when she was no longer useful.
• Breakout Character:
  • The Pokémon Center ladies once had a variety of designs with different hairstyles, hair color, and even uniforms to suggest they're just local nurses and are unrelated to each other. But Nurse Joy became such a popular character that she becomes the default design for the Pokémon Center ladies starting in Pokémon Yellow, namely pink hair and a nurse hat with either a First-aid cross or a Poké Ball symbol. Expect fans to call them Nurse Joy even when they know they're not technically called Nurse Joy in the games.
  • Nurse Joy is also one of the few characters to explicitly reappear in Pokémon Horizons: The Series, with hints that Mollie is actually a member of the Joy family. In contrast, Officer Jenny has yet to reappear in that same series.
• Canon Immigrant:
  • Nurse Joy appears in every Pokémon Center in Pokémon Yellow with a Chansey by her side. In fact, her design had such a dramatic effect on Pokémon Center nurses for generations to come, it would not be inaccurate to say she appears in later games, too.
  • While not referenced by name, the Pokémon Center nurse in Pokémon X and Y is Nurse Joy, sporting her Kalos design. Since the games have only been sprites up until now, adding 3D model characters into the game allows the games to start adapting the anime characters, if for nothing more than their character designs.
• The Colored Cross: Many a Nurse Joy and their occasional Chansey assistants will have a variety of colored crosses or Pokeball symbols in their caps, although in earlier episodes, they would have the standard red crosses.
• Deadly Doctor: One particular Joy near the end of the Battle Frontier arc kicked Ash's ass in a battle with Chansey, then routinely rushed his Corphish to be healed.
• Friend to All Living Things: Well, she is a nurse, so it's her job to take care of them.
• Heroic BSoD: The grief-stricken Joy in "One Big Happiny Family!" is suffering from one because nobody visits the Pokémon Center she works at anymore.
• Hospital Hottie: Makes one go Brock over them.
• Improbable Age: The Takeshi Shudō-authored novelization states her to be less than twenty.
  • In Alola, the uniforms are color-coded to the islands. The uniforms that Ash and the gang wear have a yellow clasp (yellow being Melemele's color), but the Nurse Joy who came to their aid had a pink one and is revealed at the end to be the local Nurse Joy's sister who works on Akala Island.
• The Medic: She is more a doctor than a nurse.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: One of the dark-skinned Joys mentioned above also has super-strength. You wouldn't know it by looking at her. She is, however, commented on as being more muscular than the other Joys.
• Pink Means Feminine: Almost all of them wear pink dresses as part of their uniforms.
• Rose-Haired Sweetie: Most Joys have pink hair and most Joys have a kind disposition.
• Signature Mon: All Nurse Joys have a companion Pokémon serving a nurse assistant. The companion Pokémon's species differs depending on the region:
  • In Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh, Nurse Joys have Chansey and, on rare occasions, Blissey.
  • In Unova, Nurse Joys have Audino.
  • In Kalos, Nurse Joys have Wigglytuff.
  • In Alola, Nurse Joys have Comfey and Blissey.
  • In Galar, Nurse Joys have Indeedee.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly Girl to Officer Jenny's Tomboy.
• Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: There’s one Joy during the Johto arc with a fear of Water-type Pokémon.
• Yamato Nadeshiko: Joys have the 'gentle inner iron' thing going for them and then there's the voice...

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