Characters / Starter Squad

The Titular Trio

In General

• Comic Trio: Charmander is the Schemer who often gets the group in trouble, Bulbasaur is The Ditz who does whatever Charmander says, and Squirtle is the Only Sane Man who struggles to get Charmander to try something different.
• Decoy Protagonist: Everyone except Squirtle as of episode 10.
• Nice Mean And In Between: Charmander is Mean, being a Combat Pragmatist who often acts like a Jerkass to both Squirtle and Bulbasaur, Bulbasaur is Nice aside from the occasional psychotic moment, and Squirtle is In-Between, being nicer than Charmander but much more willing to challenge Charmander's authority than Bulbasaur. After the Time Skip, Squirtle has become the Nice by trying to preserve "the team" despite all evidence there's hardly one at all. Chimchar is Mean by spurning all of Squirtle's attempts at bridging the gap and destroying Pokémon "societies" just because they offend him. Turtwig is the In-Between with his barbed remarks and at least following Squirtle out of respect for the latter's power and strategy.

Charmander

We don't need those filthy humans and their gibberish language! We have me, and I'm awesome!

Voiced by: Shippiddge

• Ambiguous Situation: At the end of the 2023 Halloween special, his ghost transforms into a Gastly that can only shout "Bluh!" It is unclear if this is a Death of Personality or a case of And I Must Scream. Though either way, it's rather unsettling.
• And Then John Was a Zombie: At the end of the 2023 Halloween special, he turns into a Gastly.
• Anti-Hero: Bordering on Villain Protagonist.
• Asshole Victim: Zig-Zagged Trope. Charmander's death was a real long time coming after all the terrible stuff he did throughout the series. On the other hand, his last act was to rescue Squirtle. But on the other hand, he ruthlessly murdered countless number of Caterpie while doing said act.
• Berserk Button: Do not tell him he has no idea what he's doing without a trainer's guidance.
• Breath Weapon: Refers to himself as the "living flamethrower", and rightfully so.
• Combat Pragmatist:
  • It's one of the key components of his character. He refuses to fight by the rules that humans make to control him and his fellow Pokémon and so does whatever he wants to during a fight. This includes not giving his enemy a chance to attack, using weapons, and any other underhanded tactic to defeat someone physically stronger than him. However, this causes him to come off as a cheater or a downright villain to everyone around him, including Squirtle and Bulbasaur.
  • It's further Deconstructed as his fighting style is eventually adopted by others, including those who are WORSE beings than him. Had he played by the rules, threats like MissingNo. wouldn't have manifested and he would still be alive to atone for the consequences of his actions.
• Create Your Own Villain:
  • His needless murder of the Caterpie in episode 2 brought the wrath of the Caterpie Leader, since the murdered Caterpie was his/her brother Pablo, and all the other Caterpie too. Charmander is absolutely okay with this at first though, since it means they will fight more often and he'll get more experience when he beats them and be that much closer to evolving. The consequences of it, however, get far more disastrous than he could have possibly predicted.
  • He also unintentionally brought the Missingno to their world when he defeated Hitmonchan by returning him to his pokeball, then destroyed it.
• Decoy Protagonist: Ends up being one for Squirtle, with his death signaling the Time Skip ten years later.
• Determinator: Kills hundreds of Caterpie without slowing down in his quest to rescue Squirtle.
• Deconstructed Character Archetype: Your typical Pokémon protagonist is on a quest to become more powerful and gain skills by defeating stronger opponents. Charmander is like that too, except that he's single-minded to the point that he doesn't care if his friends get hurt in his pursuits.
• Fearless Fool: His reaction to witnessing an Eldritch Abomination which assimilated a Pokémon in front of his eyes is to charge straight into it, mostly because he was operating under the belief that it was merely one of Haunter's illusions. If Mewtwo hadn't appeared at the last second to defeat it, he would have suffered the same fate.
• Freudian Excuse: His hatred for humanity originated from a single trainer not picking him as the starter.
• General Ripper: Blames humanity for all his problems and shortcomings.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Charmander repeatedly gets pissed off at Squirtle enough to injure him for even the most trivial reasons.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: His redemption arc with Squirtle reaches a tragic end in Episode 9 as he dies at the hands of the Caterpie Leader.
• Hero with an F in Good: Charmander is a nice person at heart who cares for his friends, but his bad temper and tendency to fight without thinking first causes him to accidentally make things worse.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Charmander refuses to fight by the normal rules like taking turns attacking, no matter how often he is reminded of it. This is eventually thrown back in his face when Squirtle blasts him with Water Gun continuously while mockingly asking if he wants a turn and pointing out how unfair it is.
• Hot-Blooded: He takes combat and gaining power very seriously.
• Hypocrite Has a Point: Charmander does make a valid point that Pokémon should be able to have the freedom to make their own choices rather than have the choice be made by someone else. And yet, he is a ruthless, domineering asshole who forces Pokémon to listen to him because he think he's the only one that can make the right choices. Ultimately, Squirtle comes to realize that his friend was correct after the former's servitude to the Caterpie Leader reduces him to nothing more than a puppet.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: He has issues... A LOT of issues regarding Red. It's akin to the Symbiote's relationship with Spider-Man. Charmander hates him immensely and even killed him out of pure spite, yet he secretly wishes that he was chosen the first-time round, rather than ever having to experience the horrible taste of rejection. One of Haunter's hallucinations, and the only one that affected him psychologically, was Red.
• Jerkass: Often bullies Squirtle and Bulbasaur into following orders.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: That said, he cares deeply about both of them, and will at least try to be empathetic and not resort to violence immediately.
• Killed Off for Real: Revealed to have died at the end of Episode 9, with his head being severed and worn by Caterpie.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Got stabbed with a shiv by the Caterpie leader, the same way he killed his/her brother Pablo. The next episode reveals that it was a Karmic Death, with his head being cut off like he did to Pablo.
  • He also strongly disliked the Turn-Based Combat that is universal in Pokémon, preferring to treat every battle like a real-time brawl. Geodude nearly beats him to death this way, as other than letting him get in some ineffectual attacks at the start, he pummels Charmander relentlessly without giving him ay chance to fight back. This also leads to his eventual defeat and almost immediately after as Squirtle, tired of his ruthlessness, weaponizes his fighting style against him and hosing him down with Water Guns. The Caterpie Leader then executes him after this.
• The Leader: Claims to be Squirtle and Bulbasaur's trainer, since he stole their Pokéballs from Red.
• Mean Boss: The self-appointed leader of the group, and often mistreats his fellow comrades.
• Nicknaming the Enemy: The mortal enemy of Caterpie, known among them as "The Lizard".
• Not Good with Rejection: Not being chosen by Red, is what kickstarts his whole campaign against Human trainers and breaking the rules. Eventually his blatant disregard for said rules has profound consequences not just for reality but for the near-entire cast.
• Playing with Fire: Charmander are Fire-type Pokémon.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red to Squirtle's Blue.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil:
  • One of the reasons he despises being caught is that he believes that the rules of the Pokémon world are put in place to control him and other Pokémon, and he's not wrong, at least in the case of the Flareon he battled.
    Charmander: Look at what that human's done to you! You can't even defend yourself without being told what to do! You would have fought to the death for him, wouldn't you? And at the first sign of danger, he leaves you!
  • He later tells Whiskers something similar during their fight.
    Charmander: Don't you see what's happening? You're a slave! If that worm really cared about you, it wouldn't be giving you orders. It would be fighting by your side!
• Small Name, Big Ego: He firmly believes that he is the most combat-capable Pokémon on the team. When Red doesn't choose him as a starter, he doesn't just take it as an insult, but a sign of stupidity.
• The Sociopath: Much of the show's charm is seeing what horrors Charmander will get away with.
• To Be a Master: On a quest to be the strongest, "like no one ever was". He actually serves as a deconstruction of this archetype, as his desire to become stronger inevitably brings harm to those around him.
• Took a Level in Kindness: In Episode 5, Charmander learns Empathy. It's treated as though he learned a new move. It doesn't take long for him to return to his abrasive and bossy demeanor, however. It finally sticks during Episode 9... the same episode he doesn't make it out of.
• The Unfettered: Charmander is willing to become stronger at any cost.
• Unstoppable Rage: After storming their lair, Charmander demands that Caterpie let Squirtle go. After they attack, he violently retaliates, killing all of them except the leader.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His total apathy and disregard for the rules and for life, has allowed Missingno to manifest and threaten the Pokémon World.
• What Would X Do?: When unable to match Geodude physically, he turns to Sandshrew for ideas, who asks in return what Squirtle would do. After a moment of thought and cursing at what he figured he had to do, he flees since he had remembered the water trap and led Geodude there to trick him into crashing through the boulder blocking it by dodging at the last moment.
• Would Hurt a Child: He attacks and burns ten-year-old Red to death in the third episode. He also murdered a naive Pablo, a young Caterpie who only used String Shot.
• You Kill It, You Bought It: Has claimed Red's role and stuff completely, and intends to be a better trainer than him.

Squirtle/Wartortle

Oh God, what fresh hell awaits me this time?!

Voiced by: Druox

• 11th-Hour Superpower: Squirtle finally evolves into Wartortle and make short work of Abomasnow.
• Broken Pedestal: He becomes this for Turtwig. He initially thinks that following Squirtle is a good idea since he knows what he is doing, and since he is level 98 they would be unbeatable as a team. But then after Squirtle accidentally calls him "Bulbasaur" and can't answer what his real name is Turtwig realizes Squirtle doesn't actually care about him or Chimchar, he is just using them as Replacement Goldfish to relive his childhood, and promptly abandons him.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Turtwig sees him as this, admitting to Chimchar that Squirtle can be a bit much to deal with, but knows what he's doing in terms of battle strategy and is already Level 98 after the Time Skip.
• Character Development: At the beginning, he was a dutiful and loyal Pokémon. But after so much experience being with Trainers, either incompetent fools or tyrannical dictators who give him orders that not only go against his own moral code but also endanger his well-being multiple times, Squirtle couldn't take it anymore and finally decides to make his own decisions. His evolution is also symbolic of him finally letting go of the past.
• Defiant Stone Throw: After constantly scrambling after and holding onto his Everstone, claiming that it's a strategic advantage to learn moves quicker (when he's already level 98), he rips the necklace holding it off and throws it at Abomasnow as a move of defiance to both him and Squirtle's own former mindset of blaming those who ordered him for his own decisions.
• Dramatically Missing the Point: Squirtle absolutely refuses to see that Chimchar and Turtwig are completely different Pokémon from Charmander and Bulbasaur in a vain effort to preserve the memory of his old team and live in the past.
  • For all his faults, Charmander only went after those that he deemed worth fighting or that had something he needed (a poison-curing berry and Squirtle, respectively). And he at least tried to learn and would occasionally listen to Squirtle's plans while giving credit where it was due in saving any one of them. Chimchar is a contrary brat who destroys any semblance of society that Pokémon try to put together just because he can and resents Squirtle for helping when he's in over his head, claiming that he didn't need saving. This wound up leading to Chimchar's death at the ice of Abomasnow.
  • Bulbasaur wasn't often much help and was oblivious to his situation more often than not, but his positive attitude often kept the group's spirits up. Squirtle tried to treat Turtwig as the same font of positivity, but the fact of the matter was that Turtwig was not so blind to the danger of any given situation. He only followed Squirtle out of respect for his power and strategy, not for any loyalty to "the team". He's clearly against going up the mountain to save Chimchar (likely because he's a Grass-type and weak to ice), but follows anyway out of loyalty at first. The last straw is when he hears Squirtle call him "Bulbasaur", and finds out his "leader" doesn't even know his name.
• Foil: To Charmander. Charmander is violent and impulsive while Squirtle is peaceful and cautious.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes continuously glow white after he evolves into Wartortle.
• Guile Hero: In sharp contrast to Charmander's violence-first approach.
• Ignored Expert: He knows a lot more about Pokémon battles than Charmander, yet his advice is frequently ignored.
• In-Series Nickname: Nicknamed "Bluey" by the Caterpie leader upon being caught.
• Iron Butt Monkey: Subjected to more physical abuse than any other character on-screen, usually from Charmander.
• Making a Splash: Squirtle are Water-type Pokémon.
• Only Sane Man: Squirtle's patient and understanding nature often conflicts with Charmander's stubbornness and hot-headedness.
• Power Limiter: After his time with the Caterpie Leader, Squirtle started wearing an Everstone necklace to keep himself from evolving. He claims that it is part of his "strategy" to learn stronger moves quicker at lower levels, but this is obviously a blatant lie since he is already Level 98, and he is simply trying to live in the past and ignore the consequences of his past actions. He constantly runs after it in a panic when someone chucks it away from him, only to eventually remove it himself with a Defiant Stone Throw when he realizes he and others must take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming it on the orders of others.
• Rage Against the Heavens: After evolving into Wartortle and defeating Abomasnow, he makes it his goal to climb to the top of the mountain and demand answers from the Pokémon "gods" living up there.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue to Charmander's Red.
• Secretly Selfish: The Caterpie Leader deduces why Squirtle follows them despite the awful treatment he endured. Because deep down, Squirtle is afraid of making his own choices as doing so meant taking responsibility for consequences of said choices and letting the Caterpie Leader be his Trainer allows him to have someone to place blame on.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: After losing Charmander, Squirtle becomes Caterpie's soldier and follows their every order without question until the war is over and Caterpie releases him. Afterwards, he spent ten years growing stronger whilst refusing to evolve and trying desperately to relive his days with Charmander and Bulbasaur.
• The Smart Guy: He spent most of his time at the lab studying strategy and moves, so he knows more about Pokémon battles than Charmander or Bulbasaur.
• Take Up My Sword: After having lived his whole life dictated by the rules of battle and submissiveness to his trainers, Squirtle (now Wartortle) decides to venture atop of Mt. Coronet to confront the gods who reside there, essentially continuing Charmander's work of opposing the system.
• Took a Level in Badass: After the Time Skip, Squirtle has gotten much stronger, with Turtwig mentioning he's level 98.
• Undying Loyalty: In contrast to the rebellious Charmander, Squirtle is absolutely obedient to his masters, doing whatever they tell him to do. However, this underwent some severe deconstruction. Squirtle will follow any orders, no matter how life-threatening it is to him nor how terrible they truly are. In short, he's basically a puppet.
• Wrong-Name Outburst: This is the breaking point for Turtwig when Squirtle is chasing after Chimchar up the mountain and says "Shut up, Bulbasaur" out of habit. He tries to cover it up, but the damage is done and Turtwig leaves after Squirtle can't answer what his name is.
• You Said You Would Let Them Go: Made a deal with Caterpie so that Charmander gets to live as long as he is caught. The leader backs out and gives Charmander the fatal blow.

Bulbasaur

Aw neat!

Voiced by: Stoshu

• All-Loving Hero: Although Charmander often tests his love.
• G-Rated Stoner: Bulbasaur gets addicted to poison which gets him high whenever he is injected with it.
• Green Thumb: Bulbasaur are part Grass-type Pokémon.
• Extreme Doormat: He's often cowed into obeying Charmander's orders.
• The Heart: He doesn't like to see Charmander and Squirtle fight.
• I Choose to Stay: In episode 10, Squirtle reveals that Bulbasaur survived Caterpie's war, but didn't want to leave, so he let him stay behind. According to Squirtle, Bulbasaur's the only one who was happy in the end.
• The Immune: Bulbasaur cannot be harmed by Poison status conditions. However, it seems to have some...odd effects on his behavior.
• Nice Guy: Bulbasaur almost always acts kind, cheerful, and innocent.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Sees nothing wrong with wearing a severed Caterpie head as a hat.
• Poisonous Person: Bulbasaur are part Poison-type Pokémon.
• Psychopathic Manchild: While usually nice, he isn't above wearing Caterpie heads or Butterfree wings as accessories. Then again, he isn't exactly the brightest Pokémon in Kanto.
• The Pollyanna: Bulbasaur is rarely in a situation he isn't comfortable with. Unfortunately for him, this is briefly Averted a few times in Episode 8, where he is utterly horrified by the dead body illusions that Haunter put up.
• Throw the Dog a Bone: According to Squirtle, he's the only one of the original cast to get a happy ending.

Other Pokémon

Caterpie Leader

Stop wearing my brother's severed head!

• Ambiguous Gender: Lampshaded by Squirtle in "Fight Fire With Fire".
• And This Is for...: Says "This is for Pablo" before stabbing Charmander in the chest.
• Asshole Victim: A non-fatal example. Destroys their home and loses everything in their war against Charmander and the Birds.
• Big Bad Ensemble: During the initial arcs of the series, they act as the Starter Squad's most active and recurrent foe; however, they pale in comparison to the less-actively involved Missingno.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Behind their guise of compassion and supportiveness lies an unquenchable thirst for revenge and demand of absolute obedience from their subordinates.
• The Corrupter: Best shown in Episode 10, where they mold Squirtle into a blindly obedient Super-Soldier.
• Cycle of Revenge: A Spearow with a Martial Arts Headband like theirs vows revenge for the deaths caused by Caterpie's own, just as Caterpie had against Charmander. Even this doesn't make the Bug Pokémon realize what they're doing is wrong.
• General Ripper: Despises all Charmander, particularly the one who killed his/her brother Pablo.
• He Who Fights Monsters: During the war, Caterpie commits atrocities that even Charmander wouldn't by executing Leonard for trying to leave in the face of the destruction to the forest and lives of countless Caterpie lost by then and turning Squirtle into a blindly obedient Sociopathic Soldier.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: They order Whiskers to kill a deserting Leonard, who realizes that the war is hurting more than it is helping. When Whiskers refuses to go through with the order, they command Squirtle to do it instead.
• My God, What Have I Done?: They realize that their war has destroyed all that they hold dear and that they've done nothing but tighten their leash on the people they have control over.
• No Name Given: Unlike Pablo and Leonard, the Caterpie leader isn't known by an individual name.
• Non-Action Big Bad: The Caterpie Leader never fights by itself, instead commanding other Pokémon to do the fighting. Charmander points this out to Nidorina to indicate that it's not as compassionate as it claims to be.
• Not Afraid of You Anymore: Tells Charmander that it can't believe it was ever afraid of him before, after it has Nidorina attack him.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: At first, the Caterpie were little more than a nuisance to the Starter Squad, losing in every confrontation they had. It began to rapidly change when the leader caught Squirtle, successfully persuaded him to stay on their side, killed Charmander and waged a war that laid waste to an entire forest.
• Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Twice now s/he has managed to survive being hunted by Pidgeotto, an especially impressive feat in a show where all other Caterpie are portrayed as fragile Mooks, but we never see how.
• Smug Snake: Absolutely confident in their revenge schemes, only to fail every attempt. At least until they manage to catch Squirtle.
• Uniformity Exception: Wears a Martial Arts Headband and Charmander's severed head after having killed him.

Hitmonchan

Oh, come on, Gaven! Prevolves? T-t-this is not cool! I'm almost level 35!

• And I Must Scream: Assimilated by Missingno.
• Bare-Fisted Monk: Fighting-type, and primarily uses his fists to fight.
• Blood Knight: Enthusiastic about fighting.
• Hollywood Homely: Charmander considers him exceptionally hideous.
• Not Worth Killing: Initially objects to fighting the Starter Squad, considering them too weak for his abilities. Changes his mind after Charmander insults him.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: Subjects Charmander to this.

Weedle

"Very well, I accept your proposal."

• Large Ham
• Poisonous Person: Part Poison-type, and uses his stinger to poison his opponents.
• Professional Killer: Hired by Caterpie to take down Charmander. Played for Laughs, as his only payment for the job is getting freed from a string.

Weepinbell

"Challenge failed!"

• Asshole Victim: See Hate Sink and Very Punchable Man below.
• Fake Aristocrat: Claims to be "The Forest King", but doesn't actually rule anything.
• Green Thumb: Grass-type.
• Hate Sink: He deliberately wastes Charmander and Squirtle's time with a series of ImpossibleTasks, ignoring the fact that a Pokémon could (possibly) be dying. It makes it so satisfying when Charmander beats him up and kills him.
• Impossible Task: Puts Charmander and Squirtle through a series of challenges made deliberately to fail them, and each failure results in two more challenges.
• Killed Off for Real: Charmander stabs him to death with his own stem.
• Very Punchable Man: Manages to rile up Squirtle with his antics.

Pidgeotto

Ha, I'm hilarious!

• Deadpan Snarker
• Feathered Fiend: He's not really evil, but he is a petty mischief maker.
• The Gadfly
• Giant Flyer: In comparison to the rest of the cast, anyway.
• Hated by All: According to Sandshrew, no one likes him and his his mischief.
• Noble Bird of Prey: Subverted. He's a bird of prey, but he's anything but noble.

Flareon

You're both dead! When we catch you, I'll make sure you rot in a back of a PC!

• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Reduced to a shivering, begging mess as soon as his trainer leaves him. Charmander immediately berates him for it.
• Death Glare: Gives one to Charmander before leaving.
• Playing with Fire: Fire-type.
• Smug Snake: Arrogant and snarky while under Gaven's command.
• Undying Loyalty: Deconstructed, as he is left afraid unsure what to do as soon as Gaven runs away.

Nidoran♀️/Nidorina

Don't give up, Leonard! I BELIEVE in you!

• Freedom from Choice: Assures Squirtle that he will like being under Caterpie's command, since "the boss tells you exactly what to do, so you don't have to stress out about constant decision-making".
• In-Series Nickname: Nicknamed "Whiskers" by the Caterpie leader.
• Killed Offscreen: Nidorina died at some point, following a gruesome battle.
• Nervous Wreck: Scared to death by Charmander upon first seeing him. Has to be reassured by Caterpie to be able to fight.
• Nice Girl: Extremely cheerful and nice towards Squirtle and Caterpie.
• Poisonous Person: Poison-type.
• Took a Level in Badass: Becomes a lot more courageous after evolving and holds her own pretty well in a fight against Charmander.
• Taking the Bullet: She gets defeated by Charmander when he aims continually his attacks on the Caterpie leader

Leonard

• Chekhov's Gunman: Appears in Episode 7, then returns in Episode 10 through a flashback.
• Killed Off for Real: Is killed by Squirtle in a flashback for deserting.

Sandshrew/Sandslash

Technically, umm, the berries, are, mine. But everyone sorta just, umm, takes them.

• Dishing Out Dirt: Ground-type.
• Extreme Doormat: To an even greater extent than Bulbasaur. After evolving into a Sandslash he becomes much less of a doormat and leaves rather abruptly.
• In-Series Nickname: Called "Andrew" by the Caterpie, and "Dirtle" by Bulbasaur and Charmander.
• Kidnapped by the Call: Taken by Mewtwo in order to have him dig a hole for Charmander and Bulbasaur to reach Squirtle.
  Mewtwo: YOU! DIG! NOW!!!
• Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Charmander treating him like crap really backfired once he evolved, since it came with a spine that gave him the courage to bail.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Right after evolving, Sandslash decides he wants nothing to do with the mission and leaves.
• Shrinking Violet

Gastly

"Bleh!"

• Anti-Climax: Usually ruin Haunter's attempts at building up tension with cheap and predictable Jump Scares.
• Jump Scare: The Gastly in Pokémon Tower always appear in this manner. It's the only scare tactic they know, much to Haunter's exasperation.
• Our Ghosts Are Different: According to Haunter, everyone - or at least every Pokémon - turns into a Gastly when they die, and that fact alone should cause an existential crisis. Charmander horrifically finds out the truth of that claim in the Halloween 2023 special.
• Silly Spook: They seem relatively mindless beyond trying to Jump Scare everybody passing through the Pokémon Tower. It's hard to take them seriously.

Haunter

You can't just climb the Tower, you have to experience the Tower.

• Admiring the Abomination: When he first sees MissingNo., Haunter calls it "beautiful."
• And I Must Scream: Assimilated by Missingno.
• Art Attacker: Regards disturbing imagery, slowly building tension, terrifying others, and giving you an existential nightmare, as art forms.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Boasts to be the embodiment of fear itself, only to meet something far more frightening and dangerous than he is.
• Never My Fault: He grows tired of Charmander and Bulbasaur not reacting the way he wants for them to for his illusions, or not even bothering to interact with one at all, and insults them, saying they are the worst people he has had the dissatisfaction of working with. Charmander points out all he wanted to do was climb the tower, but Haunter was the one who was constantly insisting on trying to scare them.
• Nightmare Fetishist: He makes it clear that scaring others is a form of art to him, a beautiful thing that must be pristinely chiseled into its most terrific form. Also, he adores MissingNo..
• Nothing Is Scarier: He's a big fan of this tactic, and to his credit, he does a reasonably good job of pulling it off. Even Charmander gets legitimately scared by him when Haunter exploits Charmander's fear of being captured by a human, but unfortunately, a lot of his attempts come across either as not-so-scary or are interrupted by a Jump Scare by one of the Tower's Gastly, much to his intense frustration.
• Perfect Disguise, Terrible Acting: Although he possesses amazing Shapeshifting abilities, Charmander manages to see right through them.
  • Despite looking exactly like Bulbasaur, he blows his cover due to his own Large Ham tendencies in addition to explaining his own illusions before vomiting a river of black sludge.
    Charmander: Yeah, you're not Bulbasaur.
  • His attempt to disguise himself as Squirtle is even worse with him basically using a Paper-Thin Disguise, looking like a bad drawing and nothing like the real thing. More than likely, he had never seen a Squirtle before and went off his own imagination and Bulbasaur's vague description of blue with a shell and a bad impression of Squirtle's voice.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: He gives one to Charmander and Bulbasaur for not playing along with his attempts to scare them, believing they aren't reacting the way they are supposed to. Charmander then gives Haunter one himself, saying he is only pretending to be scary instead of actually being scary.
  Haunter: You are by FAR the most tasteless and unpleasant individuals that I have EVER had the dissatisfaction of dealing with!
  Charmander: Excuse me!? All I wanted to do was climb the tower! You're the one insisting on doing this spooky dooky haunted house crap! I have real enemies that are trying to KILL me! All you're doing is pretending! And none of it is scary, because none of it is REAL!
• Shapeshifting: He demonstrates he has the ability to change his appearance, such as turning into a demonic version of himself or appear as a completely different Pokémon.
• Surreal Horror: Haunter attempts this trope in some of his illusions.

Mewtwo

TELEPORTATION IS AN EXTREMELY RISKY- I don't have time for this...

Voiced by: David J. Dixon

• Adaptational Heroism: In the original games, Mewtwo was an uncontrollable abomination that hated all other beings and thought of nothing but defeating its foes. Here, he's the Only Sane Man Big Good who's in direct opposition of a much worse creature.
• Big Damn Heroes: Shows up just in time to save Charmander from being assimilated by Missingno.
• Big Good: Implied. Whatever evil Missingno is causing, he's directly opposing. He's not happy about it at all, though.
• Deus ex Machina: Saves Charmander from being absorbed by Missingno.
• Deus Exit Machina: The most powerful Pokémon in Generation 1 (bar Mew), and he's tired of trying to clean up Charmander's mess, so forces the Starter Squad to take responsibility for their actions. Subverted since a Freeze-Frame Bonus reveals Mewtwo still fighting Missingno. during Caterpie's war against the Spearow and Fearow. Presumably he still has to the present day, for TEN YEARS since the plan to reunite the Starter Squad failed.
• Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: He screams the warning at Charmander when he first appears to save him and push Missingno. back, and then repeats it before leaving for Cerulean Cave.
  "And if you see ANYTHING that doesn't look 'real,' DO NOT TOUCH IT!"
• Dynamic Entry: Crosses into Large Ham, but when he comes in to save Charmander, he's pretty, well...
  Mewtwo: DO NOT TOUCH THAT!!!
• Good Is Not Nice: He may be the Big Good, but he's not gonna be nice to the Starter Squad. Not that he isn't justified in that, mind you...
• The Insomniac: He implies this is the case for him, having apparently been so busy trying to deal with Missingno that he hasn't slept since it was released. He screams this to Charmander as he is ranting about all he has gone through because of him.
  Mewtwo: Do you enjoy sleeping? I KNOW I USED TO!
• Large Ham: He shows shades of it when he's attacking Missingno.
  "Back, beast! BACK! Crawl back into the nothingness from whence you came!"
• Only Sane Man: To the entire cast.
• Power Echoes: An incredibly powerful Pokémon, and his voice has a reverb effect. Justified as he's implied to be using telepathy to talk.
• Psychic Powers: Psychic-type.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: What he screams at poor Sandshrew after kidnapping him and throwing him in front of the Starter Squad.
  YOU! DIG!! NOW!!!
• Simple Solution Won't Work: After he teleports Charmander and Bulbasaur to Squirtle's approximate position and tells them to dig downwards until they find him, Charmander asks why he didn't just teleport them underground in the first place. Mewtwo initally starts to rant about how teleportation is extremely risky, only to immediately get annoyed and say he doesn't have time for this.
• Spam Attack: Fends off Missingno with a flurry of purple projectiles.
• Suddenly Shouting: Granted he's doing it telepathically but Mewtwo can flip between talking calmly and yelling angrily at the drop of a hat. Given that he's doing all he can to keep MissingNo. under control, it's understandable why he's so stressed.
• To the Pain: He would certainly like to inflict it on Charmander for giving Missingno. a way into the physical plane. He says as much while choking him with telekinesis.
  "You... Do you have any idea what you've done? Your actions have DOOMED US ALL! Ohh, you're incredibly lucky that I don't have the time. If I did, I would make you SUFFER! I'd let you feel all the pain and turmoil you've loaded onto me! Do you enjoy sleeping? I KNOW I USED TO!"

Butterfree and her Pokémon note Shellder, Golbat, Beedrill, Geodude and Golem

Well, they're wrong! Especially that so-called leader. But when I catch the Lizard, they'll be answering to me!

• The Ace: Geodude is Butterfree's only Pokémon that actually fights Charmander, and has the upper hand for nearly the whole battle.
• Ax-Crazy: Golem is definitely off his meds.
• Bait-and-Switch: Golem approaches Charmander, violently screams in his face… then stomps all over his own trainer, as Charmander walks away.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Beedrill jokingly says "kill me" after he stops laughing... Then Charmander sets him on fire and mutilates him.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Geodude completely steamrolls Charmander and would have won hadn't his opponent utilized the water trap.
• Genuine Human Hide: Or rather, Genuine Metapod Hide. Butterfree still has most of her Metapod shell intact, implying she only recently evolved. It is also where she keeps her Pokéballs.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: Butterfree pleads for Geodude not to try and kill Charmander... only for him to spend his whole screentime singing about how he will kill Charmander for his crimes. She follows up with explicitly telling Golem to kill Charmander, who then proceeds to start stomping his trainer while ignoring Charmander beyond his introductory scream.
• Incoming Ham: How does Geodude make his entrance? By screaming a heavy metal song.
• Intelligible Unintelligible: Despite Shellder only making raspberry-blowing noises with its tongue, Butterfree understands it perfectly.
• Ironic Echo: Geodude repeatedly shouts "Die!" while chasing Charmander, and when he has him cornered, he sings "One final strike, now you will…" and punches his way to the water trap, sinking to the bottom. Charmander finishes "…die.".
• I Want Them Alive!: Unlike the rest of the Caterpie Army, Butterfree thinks that "the lizard" would be more useful alive. This sentiment doesn't last after Geodude's death.
• The Juggernaut: Geodude utterly thrashes Charmander, completely ignores his attacks and punches through any rock he tries to hide behind. If Charmander didn't trick him into falling into water, he would have been impossible to defeat.
• Knight of Cerebus: While the other Pokémon on the team were mostly used for comedy, Geodude was full on about to murder Charmander and came quite close.
• List of Transgressions: Present throughout, but particularly prevalent during the third stanza of ROCK SMASHER:
  Hundreds of innocents slaughtered
  Most in their physical prime
  You killed as you ravaged their homelands
  Now you will pay for your crimes!
• Metal Scream: Both Geodude and Golem do this at the beginning of their songs: the former does Type 4, the latter does Type 1.
• Minion with an F in Evil: Golbat, Beedrill and Golem make no effort to actually fight Charmander.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Geodude gives a rather brutal one to Charmander for most of his screen time.
• Only Sane Man: The Shellder was probably the most competent member of the team and actually listens to Butterfree.
• The Power of Rock: Pun aside, Geodude fights while singing a heavy metal tune called "ROCK SMASHER". Golem's song is even more intense, though he ends up not being a threat.
• Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: After an intial combo, Geodude let's Charmander land some hits to zero effect before nearly beating him to death with no chance to fight back for the rest of "ROCK SMASHER."
• Pungeon Master: Beedrill finishes his Motor Mouth monologue by saying "it's great to bee here". Butterfree is not amused.
• Screaming Warrior: Golbat doesn't speak, just constantly yells. Golem also announces his presence with an intense Metal Scream.
• The Starscream: Butterfree apparently plans to usurp the Caterpie by catching Charmander and threatening them with him.
• Unstoppable Rage: Geodude is very clearly furious with Charmander for his rampant slaughter and devotes his entire battle to beating him to death no matter what Butterfree wants.
• Use Your Head: Geodude does this a few times to Charmander during his beatdown, though considering Geodude's body is pretty much just his face and arms it is more like Use Your Body instead.
• Villain Has a Point: While he is a crazy blood knight, Geodude is completely right when he chews out Charmander for all the atrocities he's committed and how he's a selfish jerkass.
• "The Villain Sucks" Song: Charmander is a Villain Protagonist, and when Geodude isn't singing about how he's going to kill him, "ROCK SMASHER" is about what a horrible person Charmander is and giving a List of Transgressions.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Geodude is defeated after Charmander tricks him into diving into a pool of water.

Missingno.

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ ▄▄▄ █ ▄█▀▀▄ █ ▄▄▄ █ █ ███ █ ▀▄▀▀ █ ███ █ █▄▄▄▄▄█ ▄ ▄▀█ █▄▄▄▄▄█ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄██▄█▀▄▄ ▄ ▄█▀▀▀█▄▄███▀▀▀▀▀ █▀█▀ ▄██▀ ▄▀▄▀▄ █▄█▄▄ █▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ ▀▀▀█ ▄ ▀ █ ▄▄▄ █ █ ███▀█▀▀▄▀▀▀ █ ███ █ ▄ ▀▄▄▄▀▀▄█▄▀▄ █▄▄▄▄▄█ █ ▄ ▀▄ ██▀▀█

• The Assimilator: It does this to Hitmonchan and later Haunter.
• Big Bad: Implied to be this in episode 8, with Mewtwo claiming that it's causing something bad to happen and our heroes must stop it.
• Big Bad Ensemble: With the Caterpie leader, the Starter Squad's more direct nemesis. The two Big Bads are both active threats, but are working separately and don't appear to be aware of each other.
• Eldritch Abomination: A horrifying creature from a different plane of existence that assimilates anything it touches.
• Game-Breaking Bug: Nothing good will come from its arrival in the Pokémon World.
• Great Offscreen War: Heavily implied Mewtwo is locked (unwillingly) in one with it, to prevent the abomination destroying reality.
• Knight of Cerebus: Whenever it shows up, you know things are going to take a turn for the worst.
• Ominous Visual Glitch: Justified, since it is a glitch.

Chimchar and Turtwig

Squirtle's new companions after Charmander and Bulbasaur.

• Armor-Piercing Question: After Squirtle's Wrong-Name Outburst, Turtwig bluntly asks him "Squirtle, what's my name? What's my actual name? Huh? Which Pokémon am I?" and Squirtle is unable to answer. This proves to Turtwig that Squirtle doesn't actually care about him or Chimchar and only keeps them around to live in the past.
• Asshole Victim: Chimchar is a violent Pokémon who regularly destroys communities because he can, was ungrateful for Squirtle constantly saving his life from losing battles he picked, ran away from Squirtle and Turtwig specifically because he hates them, and tried to get past Ambomasnow to both get away from Squirtle and to pick a fight with Arceus. He was frozen to death for his trouble, but you can't argue that he didn't deserve it by this point.
• Audience Surrogate: Turtwig's reaction to The Reveal that Charmander is dead might as well be the audience's reaction.
  Turtwig (to Squirtle): Wait, hold on... So Charmander ACTUALLY died? Like, died died? You didn't jump in and save him?
• Bomb-Throwing Anarchists: Chimchar will attack and burn down any society Pokémon have made. His victims being a group of Bidoof and another group calling themselves the "Owl Society". This differentiates him from Charmander, who fought against the metaphorical turn-based system by attacking at any opportunity, while Chimchar destroys actual systems built by wild Pokémon, even shouting "Anarchy!" at one point.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: After delivering one to the Owl Society (burning it down on his way up Mt. Coronet), Chimchar received a fatal one from Abomasnow.
• Curb-Stomp Cushion: While Chimchar was kicking around a group of Bidoofs at the start of the episode, once the Bidoofs start using Water-Gun, they easily overwhelm him, and would have killed him right then and there if not for Squirtle.
• Deadpan Snarker: Turtwig is far more acidic in his commentary than Bulbasaur, not that Squirtle noticed that difference.
• Dying Declaration of Hate: Chimchar's last words on-screen were how much he hates Squirtle and Turtwig. He's dead by the time Squirtle finally catches up to him.
• Fame Through Infamy: While attacking the Bidoof, Chimchar tells them "My actions will be immortalized in your history books, and my descendants will burn those books!"
• Foil: Chimchar to Charmander, with the former being a straight villain and the latter being an anti-villain. While Charmander is brutal to enemies, he shows genuine care for Squirtle and Bulbasaur, and usually only attacks when provoked. Chimchar, meanwhile, attacks a group of Bidoof unprovoked, claims their society is fake, states he wishes for Squirtle's death every night, and his last words to Turtwig are about how much he hates him.
• Hate Sink: Chimchar, mainly. Unlike Charmander, who actually learned to care about Bulbasaur and Squirtle before he died trying to rescue the latter, Chimchar is a straight-up Jerkass who hates both of his teammates and wants to destroy the idea of Pokémon having societies just because he can, and makes a suicidal charge up Mt. Coronet to get away from Squirtle. Turtwig, meanwhile, was clearly using Squirtle as a crutch and mutually disdained Chimchar, apathetic if the latter died, and eventually left both Squirtle and Chimchar for dead.
• Hypocrite: Chimchar calls Squirtle a "Psycho", but he himself goes around trying to destroy any society that Pokémon try to create for no apparent reason other than he can and to get stronger.
• Jerkass: As lampshaded by Turtwig, Chimchar is a horrid Pokémon who takes Blood Knight to an extreme, in attacking groups with no chance of victory simply because he hates the idea of social communities.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • While Chimchar spends his entire screen-time attacking and insulting everybody he sees, he makes one good point: as long as Squirtle is saving him, Chimchar can't get experience to level up.
  • Turtwig is also right to not want to go on the rescue mission since he and Chimchar outright hate each other and wouldn't mind if the other died, and straight-up abandons it when he realizes Squirtle is using him and Chimchar as an attempt to relieve his Starter Squad days in Kanto and never bothered to LEARN his name.
• Killed Offscreen: Abomasnow had froze Chimchar to death before Squirtle finally got to Snow Way.
• Leeroy Jenkins: Chimchar kept picking fights against groups or foes that he can't win against because he didn't like the idea of societies. He finally gets killed by Abomasnow for not listening to the guardian of the gods.
• Not Quite Dead: Possibly Chimchar, given that Wartortle decides to take his corpse with him up the mountain.
• Replacement Goldfish: It's clear Squirtle only made them his companions due to their similarities to Charmander and Bulbasaur. Chimchar being a fire Pokémon who rages against the system and Turtwig being a grass type reptile Pokémon. Squirtle even refers to Chimchar as "Char" since he shares that part of his name with Charmander. It's Deconstructed, as once Turtwig realizes that he and Chimchar are this, he immediately bails on Squirtle, not wanting to be around somebody who can't even be bothered to see him as his own Pokémon.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Turtwig abandons Squirtle when he couldn't answer what the name of the Pokémon species Turtwig is.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Chimchar's biggest flaw after his Leeroy Jenkins personality. He hates being helped and rescued from near-death situations that he got himself into, mainly because it prevents him from leveling up.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: Subverted; Squirtle tries to insist they have this relationship, saying that despite the arguments they have they would risk their lives for each other, but that's just not the case. Chimchar hates Turtwig for following Squirtle and using him as a crutch, just wanting them both to leave him alone, and Turtwig outright says he doesn't like Chimchar and is willing to let him die on his reckless suicide mission. The reason Squirtle insists otherwise is because he is trying desperately to make them Replacement Goldfish for Charmander and Bulbasaur so he can relive his childhood and pretend everything is the same.
• We ARE Struggling Together: Squirtle is trying to get the two to work with him, but they hate and are willing to leave each other to die. Chimchar is at least open with his dislike of Squirtle, and Turtwig continues trying to press Squirtle to stop pursuing Chimchar up Mt. Coronet, and eventually abandons Squirtle for not only refusing to listen to him, but not knowing his actual name.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Chimchar dies and Turtwig abandons Squirtle in the episode they debut in.

The Bidoof and Big Bibby

• Big Fun: As his name implies, Big Bibby is a big guy and he's really nice.
• Extreme Doormat: The Bidoof are too spineless to get Big Bibby to fight alongside them, and one of them admits that he enjoys being kicked.
• Making a Splash: Their "water reserves". Once they tapped them, they reversed the Curb-Stomp Battle Chimchar was inflicting on them, and would have killed him themselves if Squirtle didn't go Big Damn Heroes on them.
• Nice Guy: Big Bibby is a Mellow Fellow who thinks self-love and honesty are really important.

The Snover

• Cloudcuckoolanders: They're all very...interesting, in their thought processes.
  Snover: You have a lot to learn about friendship, stubby man! A true friend doesn't care if he's actually your friend! Some of my closest friends in the world have been my greatest enemies! And I've never even talked to them!
  Turtwig: ...What?
• The Dividual: Every Snover on the mountain is indistinguishable from the others, right down to the point that one stops following during the middle of a conversation, only for another Snover to walk up and continue it.
• Nice Guy: They're all very friendly, if a little blindly obedient.
• Yes-Man: End up agreeing with everything both Squirtle and Turtwig say, even when they directly contradict each other.

Abomasnow

• Above Good and Evil: Claims to serve the gods and that his only duty is to protect the sacred ground of the summit, along with the claim that if it was his choice, all trespassers would be spared if they only heeded his warning to leave. Squirtle realizes that it's the same mindset as he had and claims that it's just an excuse to have Freedom from Choice.
• Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Played with—he doesn't kill the Snover, but it's implied that he would if they ever tried to persist in crossing through his path.
• Badass Preacher: The "emissary of the gods" who battles anyone who tries to pass through to the mountain.
• Botanical Abomination: The average Abomasnow is 7'03" tall; still large compared to Squirtle's 1'08", but not near the massive height of this particular Frost Tree Pokémon. Whether it's advanced age, empowerment by his "gods" or another reason, Abomasnow is far more giant and terrifying than typical for his species.
• Curse Cut Short: His last words are "WHAT THE F-!?"
• The Dreaded: The Snover are remarkably calm about it, but it's clear from the way they describe "Snow Way" that they refuse to try and pass through it due to Abomasnow's fearsome reputation. Once he's vanquished, they rejoice that they can pass through whenever they want now, though they agree that neither of them really feel like doing it at the moment.
• Elemental Embodiment: In addition to being a massive tree Pokémon, Abomasnow also has crystalline ice protrusions that make up part of his face and claws for his arms, among other things. He can also breathe a blizzard with ice chunks laced in it.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Squirtle, having learned from his experiences with the Caterpie leader, calls Abomasnow out on how he shifts blame onto his "gods" for his actions, noting how being indoctrinated into these beliefs does not justify him killing countless innocent Pokémon and he shouldn't try to act as if he had no choice in the matter.
• Large Ham: He speaks of the gods on the mountain and his subservience to them with a great deal of drama.
• Literally Shattered Lives: Wartortle does this to him in the end.
• Never My Fault: Crossing over with Obliviously Evil, Abomasnow insists that his gods are truly to blame for the murders he commits, as it is their will that he kill those who defy them. Squirtle buys it at first, but quickly changes his tune.
• Obliviously Evil: Abomasnow is a classic Knight Templar variant of this trope, seeing himself as an emissary to his gods, believing it is his "burden" to freeze any soul who tries to pass through the mountain to death and insisting that he "weeps" for all lives he must snuff out for the gods' sake. While Squirtle initially agrees, due to his past situation with the Caterpie leader, him remembering said leader (who also had an infallible sense of their own morality) finally owning up to their mistakes and setting Squirtle free is what makes him realize that this isn't a good enough excuse and that whether Abomasnow believes this or not, the fact is that he's still refusing to own up to his actions, instead shifting the blame to a higher power that may not even exist. Tellingly, Abomasnow's reaction is to immediately try and kill him.
• Tom the Dark Lord: The Snover that also live on the mountain call him "Snow", which makes for a misunderstanding that "Snow Way's" impassability is from the small pile of snow in the way. Turns out the snow was hiding "Snow" underneath it.
• Scissors Cuts Rock: He is an Ice/Grass type, so normally a Fire type like Chimchar would have a double advantage against him. Except he is gigantic and a final evolution, whereas Chimchar is in his first stage and barley has any experience. So he kills Chimchar easily off-screen.
• Sinister Minister: A Pokémon variant, he's a Knight Templar emissary of the Pokémon Gods and preaches their power and greatness even as he's attacking anyone who comes near him.
• Would Hurt a Child: If Chimchar is supposed to be seen as a child, anyway, Abomasnow gladly froze him nearly to death for trying to pass.
• You Shall Not Pass!: He will not allow ANYONE from reaching Spear Pillar. Anyone who persists after he initially smacks them down dies.
• You Will Be Spared: He only kills those who refuse to leave after he demands it and/or swats them aside. As such, the Snover are never hurt and know they aren't supposed to pass through, and Abomasnow was going to spare Squirtle on the condition that he "spreads the word of [his] gods' mercy and power", so that nobody else will approach the peak he guards.

Gengar

• Eldritch Abomination: Does NOT appear to be an ordinary Gengar, with his body seemingly fused in place to the wall, an ominous glow surrounding him and his mouth never moving when he speaks.
• Faux Affably Evil: Speaks coolly and politely to Charmander even while double-crossing him.
• I Lied: While not said outright, his casual, almost mocking tone at the end of "Charmander's Lament" while claiming that maybe Charmander didn’t sing well enough implies he never had any intention of sparing the Fire-type from being turned into a Gastly. It's implied he's done it before too.
• Satanic Archetype: Charmander implicitly made a deal with him to keep his ghost from turning into a Gastly. Turns out Gengar never had any intention of honoring the deal.

Humans

Red

...

• Adaptational Dumbass: Considering the fact that he can't even enter a Pokémon Center door, this incarnation of Red makes Ash Ketchum from the Pokemon Anime look like a genius by comparison.
• Adaptational Wimp: By contrast with his canon portrayal, he's completely incompetent here, as he's seemingly controlled by a clueless player.
• Death by Adaptation: Red is the main character of the original Kanto saga, so his death derails what would normally be a story about his adventure.
• Decoy Protagonist: If you're following the games, Red is the main protagonist. Here, he doesn't live past three episodes.
• Killed Off for Real: Charmander murders him for rejecting him in the beginning.
• To Be a Master: His goal. Although finding the Pokémon Center's front door is challenge enough for him.
• Plot-Triggering Death: Charmander's murder of him derails the regular Kanto saga, and fully brings the Starter Squad together.
• Small Role, Big Impact: His decision to not choose Charmander is what kickstarts the entire saga of the titular Starter Squad.
• Too Incompetent to Operate a Blanket: A non-ad related example. As Pokémon trainers go, he's the worst. He can't even enter a Pokémon Center, let alone pick his battles.
• The Voiceless: Never says a word, and for the Pokémon's ears, this is a good thing.

Gaven

Human!

• Dirty Coward: Quick to run away screaming when threatened by the protagonists.
• Gotta Catch Them All: He's quite the completist, and really wants to capture the Starter Squad.
• Hate Sink: Despite actually trying with his Pokémon, Gavin exists to just prove Charmander's point that Humans Are Bastards, since he's a Dirty Coward who will abandon his Pokémon at the first sign of trouble. Say what you will about Red, he at least returned his Pokémon before they could be killed or maimed beyond repair.
• Pokémon Speak: Like any other human in the series, he can only say the word "human".
• The Reliable One: Much more competent as a trainer than Red ever was, in that he'll care for, and teach his Pokémon actual attack moves.
• Shown Their Work: There really is a trainer named Gaven that can be battled late into the Kanto region, and he even has a Flareon like this one does.

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