One Steve Limit / Pokémon

With its many, many characters, the Pokémon series tends to have some characters with the same names across its various forms of media.

The games

• In the games since Pokémon Gold and Silver, the individual, nondescript Trainers you fight all have unique names. While few of them share names exactly, you'll often run into two totally different Trainers with slight spelling variations in their names, such as an Allie and an Alli, or a Sean and a Shawn. This is at its most amusing in Platinum, where there's a Zackary (a Camper) and a Zachary (a Fisherman) on the same route. There's also the infamous Youngster Joey, who is on several routes in several regions, but only the one from Johto has the top percentage Rattata.
  • Emerald has a Bernie and a Bernard, both of the Kindler trainer class.
• Of course, somewhat realistically given the completely different settings, this happens quite frequently across different games. For example, in FireRed and LeafGreen there's a Bug Catcher Colton, and in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl there's a Swimmer Colton.
• The Spanish translations of the game averted this twice: First in Pokémon Gold and Silver, where two of the trainers who gave you their phone were called Ángel (The game called them "Ángel1" and "Ángel2".), and in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Brendan was renamed "Bruno", just like the Elite Four Trainer, who kept his name in the Spanish version as in English and is even referenced in-game. At least the former was fixed on the Updated Re-release, where the second guy was simply renamed Ángelo, making one wonder why they didn't come with that the first time around.
• It was also rather close to being averted with a major character in the English version of Platinum - the Frontier Brain Caitlin differs by just one letter from a generic trainer on Route 203, Kaitlin. Their Japanese names (Cattleya and Sayuri respectively) aren't similar.
  • Another near-aversion happens in Emerald with two major characters, though only when the player is using the female protagonist- the rival Brendan and the Frontier Brain Brandon. Once again, their Japanese names aren't similar. Ruby and Sapphire had a rematchable Bug Maniac named Brandon, but his name was changed to Jeffery for Emerald.
    • The Italian translation renames Brendan into Brendon, while Frontier Brain Brandon becomes Baldo.
• Typically a name used by a major character never gets reused in subsequent titles. Ace Trainer Ariana in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl was changed to Moira in Pokémon Platinum due to the name being saved for a Team Rocket Executive in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, and Trainers in Gold, Silver and Crystal named Norman, Roxanne, and May were renamed Nelson, Diana, and Mimi in HeartGold and SoulSilver due to sharing their names with major characters from Hoenn. However, names have slipped through; Pokémon Gold and Silver has a Firebreather Bill (sharing his name with the original Pokémon Storage creator, also in that game), and the Sinnoh games have a Parasol Lady Sabrina, and since Sabrina the Gym Leader does not appear in Sinnoh, there is no confusion.
• This was also the reason why the 3rd Generation-introduced move called Comet Punch in Japanese had to be localized as 'Meteor Mash', because the English localizers had already used the name 'Comet Punch' for a 1st gen move. (Which was 'Consecutive Punch' in Japanese, but that would have broke the character limit) Unfortunately, this lost the implication that it was a punching move and thus boosted by Iron Fist. (Nothing with Iron Fist actually learns Meteor Mash, but that's beside the point.)
  • The same thing happened again in Gen 5 with Low Kick ("Kick Down" in Japanese) and Low Sweep ("Low Kick" in Japanese).
• In an example that reaches across the entire series, in Generation II, the seventh Gym Badge, called the Ice Badge in Japanese, was renamed Glacier Badge. But then the seventh badge in Generation IV was named Glacier Badge in Japanese, so it was changed to Icicle Badge. But then after that, the seventh Badge (seeing a pattern yet?) in Generation V was named Icicle Badge in Japanese, so it had to be changed to Freeze Badge! Whew...
  • And in Pokémon Shield, the sixth Badge is the Ice Badge (unchanged in translation), finally bringing it full circle. Incidentally, the game's fifth badge is the Fairy Badge, the same name as the sixth Badge in Pokémon X and Y.
• Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen have a minor trainer named "Dawn", which is also the name of the female protagonist of the Sinnoh games. Some fans thought it was an intentional case of foreshadowing as she travels with a Gentleman (Rowan was traveling prior to the games, and an NPC Dawn is his assistant when you play as Lucas), however their Japanese names don't match plus it doesn't work timeline-wise.
• Diamond & Pearl have an interesting case between the female character and a newly-introduced evolutionary stone. In the English version, she and the Dawn Stone have the same name; and in the Japanese version she and the Shiny Stone have the same Japanese name of Hikari.
• Another item-related example is the Beast Ball, a special kind of Poké Ball introduced in Pokémon Sun and Moon which is used to catch The Ultra Beasts. In Japanese this kind of ball is known as an... Ultra Ball (the same name as the upgraded Poké Ball that's been around since Red and Blue, which was itself called the Hyper Ball in Japanese).
• Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire gives us budding Trainer and rival Wally and Sootopolis Gym Leader Wallace, the former being presumably short for the latter.
• Some characters got Dub Name Changes due to their Japanese names being the same as earlier characters' English names. Earl Dervish, the teacher at Violet City's Pokémon Academy, is named Giovanni in Japanese, like the leader of Team Rocket in English. Jacq, the player's homeroom teacher in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, is named Zinnia in Japanese, definitely not to be confused with the trainer from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
• Charm. This could refer to the attack-lowering Fairy-type (formerly Normal-type) move that's been around since Pokémon Gold and Silver, the exploration team consisting of Gardevoir, Lopunny, and Medicham from Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers, or the leader of the Miss Fortune Bandits from Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Plus there's all the different items that are charms, such as the Shiny Charm and the Oval Charm. In fact, Bulbapedia has a complete listing.
• Likewise, Psychic is a Pokémon type, an attack, and a Trainer class.
• Before Team Skull was the name of the Alola villainous team in Pokémon Sun and Moon, it was an evil exploration team in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers consisting of Skuntank, Koffing and Zubat. There's no confusion in Japanese, where the exploration team is called "Skull and Crossbones".
• Early French games had two notable aversions in the game mechanics: Generation I introduced the moves Night Shade and Glare, translated as "Ténèbres" ("darkness") and "Intimidation" (exactly what it looks like) respectively; then Generation II introduced the Dark type, translated into French as "Ténèbres" as well; and finally Generation III introduced abilities, one of which, Intimidate, was translated as "Intimidation". Needless to say, the move Night Shade and the Dark type have nothing in common, and neither do Glare and Intimidate. Generation VI finally solved the issue, since the additional space given by the updated engine allowed to rename the moves Night Shade and Glare "Ombre Nocturne" (literal translation) and "Regard médusant" ("petrifying gaze") respectively.
• The Italian localisations have some major characters share a name, though always across different games and generations:
  • Both Buck (the Stat trainer encountered in Mt. Stark in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl) and Chili (Pokémon Black and White's Fire-type Gym leader) are renamed Chicco.
  • Lilia (Drasna, Pokémon X and Y's Dragon-type Elite Four member) and Lylia (Lillie, Prof. Kukui's assistant in Pokémon Sun and Moon), which are spelled differently but pronounced the same.

Pokémon: The Series

• Which Trainer do you suppose Ash Ketchum respects more? Aaron, the Elite Four member and bug specialist? Or Aaron, the ancient aura-wielding knight whose Lucario he befriended? And don't forget about Drake and Drake, from the Orange Islands or the Hoenn Elite Four, respectively. Or Flint, Brock's father, and Flint, a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four and rival to Volkner. Or Bianca, the girl who was frequently impersonated by Latias, and Bianca, the ditzy female rival in Unova.
• In all four cases, the reason for this is because one character is originally from the games and one is anime-exclusive. Also, in all four of the above cases, the anime character debuted a generation (or more) before the game character.
• In the French games, Brock and Steven are both called Pierre, the latter also being given the last name Rochard. Probably just to avoid confusion, when Steven/Pierre Rochard shows up as a guest star in HGSS, he doesn't give his name, and in the French dub of the anime in which he meets Brock, he was called by his English name. There are also a Pierrick (Roark) and Pieris (Grimsley).
  • Other French shenanigans include Adrienne (Flannery) and Adrien (Flint from Sinnoh).
• Given that the show usually has a new character every episode for only a single episode, this trope comes into play very frequently, mostly due to writers forgetting or not caring about previous characters, since it's been years since we saw them. Even amongst anime-exclusive characters. The first of these was Harrison, who appeared in Episode 265, sharing a name with Harrison, who appeared in Episode 216. Others have appeared since then.
• It's actually discussed about Max and Max in Episode 323, though unlike the above this was intentional, as the two look almost exactly like each other. Also, unlike most of the above, they're both named Masato in Japanese as well.^note The 5 aforementioned Game vs Anime cases are, in order: Ryo vs. Arlon, Genji vs. Yuji, Oba vs. Muno, Bel vs. Kanon, and (the same-gen example) Nanami vs Sakura Plus, like Harrison and Harrison,^note aka: Hazuki (265) and Harizo (216), they're both anime-only.
• Incidentally, Stephan^note Kenyan is not a violation as it's also a different spelling than Hoenn's Steven^note Daigo. However, the latter did have a CotD with the same name in the dub^note but, again, not in the Japanese: Saiga which, again, came in an earlier generation: specifically Johto.
• Within the movies, there are two characters named Lisa: a Trainer Ash battles in Pokémon 3 and Ash's companion in Pokémon: The Power of Us^note called "Risa" in the dub. Additionally, there is a one-time character with this name in the episode "Rough, Tough Jigglypuff".
• There were two one-time characters named Calista that both owned a Xatu.
• There's Casey the baseball fan and Casey, Phantom's Chatot in Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. Additionally, Casey is Abra's Japanese name.
• Not even main characters are safe, as there's at least one episode where a Character of the Day was named "Jessica" who had her Pokémon targeted by Team Rocket... one of whom is named "Jessie" (whose full name is "Jessica").
• Misty's sister Daisy happens to have a rare Japanese violation, though, in this case and in keeping with the pattern, she's first: she shares her Japanese name with one of the Kimono sisters^note Ironically, the one Misty herself befriends: Sakura.^note The anime kept the Japanese game names, but the English (and German) games themselves replaced the names with others for some reason; there, she's Sayo (Keiko)
• Lillie's butler, Hobbes, is named James in Japanese, but was likely changed to avoid confusion with the Team Rocket James.
• While his name is never used in the dubbed movie, other sources such as the official trading cards reveal that the island's elder from Pokémon 2000 is named Tobias. This is interesting, as this character from a movie that criticizes the act of capturing legendary Pokémon shares his name with a Sinnoh-era trainer from a decade later who is most famous for battling with equally legendary Pokémon.
• There are two anime-specific characters named Silver, and both have episodes involving Ritchie, Cassidy and Butch. One's a baby Lugia that they met in Johto. The other's an older man who was seeking Moltres in a Chronicles special. And neither of them is the Silver from the games, who himself appeared in an episode of Generations and had a brief cameo in the opening of the Legend of Thunder special.
• More generally, if a main character has a particular Pokémon, it can pretty much be guaranteed that none of the other main characters will have another of the same species. Only a few examples of doubling up have ever occurred; May’s Bulbasaur and Ash’s Bulbasaur during Hoenn, May's Squirtle and Ash's Squirtle during the Battle Frontier, though May’s evolved off-screen after she left the cast, and Iris' Dragonite and Ash's Dragonite, which are separated by several seasons. On the other hand, May, Serena, Lana, and Chloe each caught an Eevee during their respective seasons, although the former two evolved their's into a Glaceon and Sylveon respectively, while Lana's has a nickname^note "Nagisa" in Japanese, "Sandy" in the dub.
  • Goh in Journeys also has several Pokémon species caught by previous main characters, but most of his get little screentime, so there's little chance of confusion; he does catch a Kanto Farfetch'd a few episodes before Ash catches a Galar Farfetch'd, but Ash's eventually evolves into Sirfetch'd anyway. Goh also catches a Pikachu, but not only is it visually distinct from Ash's Pikachu (Goh's is female, as denoted by the heart-shaped tail, while Ash's Pikachu has the traditional male flat tail), Goh's evolves into Raichu before the end of the episode anyway. In total, Goh had 25 Pokémon owned or previously owned by Ash, other members of Ash's travelling party or Team Rocket,^{the list}Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree, Venonat, Venomoth, Scyther (before evolving), Taillow, three Dustox, Poliwag, Ekans, Goldeen, Fletchling, Pineco, Heracross, Pikachu (before evolving), Bunnelby, Krabby, Boldore, Geodude, Pidgeotto, Roggenrola, Golbat and Frogadier along with five different species he had multiple of^{the list}Dustox (three), Magikarp (two), Floette (five, with one released), Exeggutor (two, one Alolan) and Geodude (two, one Alolan) and three species of which he doubles up another party member with a differing regional form (Farfetch'd, Geodude and Stunfisk).

Manga

• Pocket Monsters is full of this. There's "Blue", a geeky male ghost otaku but then there's also "Blue", who is based off of Leaf from the remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue. There's a kid named "Red" who is an Evil Counterpart to Isamu, based on Red's updated design in the games. Isamu himself is only ever called "Red".

Cross-media

• The in-game granddaughter of Professor Oak and an anime-only elder sister of Misty are both named Daisy. This time, they're Same-Gen, though the former wasn't originally named in the original games.
  • In the anime-based manga The Electric Tale of Pikachu, has her name inexplicably changed to May, which happens to be the name of the female protagonist in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire... and the corresponding anime seasons... and the sequel manga based on those seasons.
• When you include all forms of Pokémon related media, there are at least 6 characters named "Lily": In the anime, there's another of Misty's sisters, a character of the day who turns Ash into a Pikachu, and a Pokémon performer who participates in a Pokémon Showcase. In the games, there's D.J. Lily who is the local D.J. of Kanto's radio station in Pokémon Gold and Silver and the player's mother in Pokémon XD. Finally, in the manga called Pokemon 7, there's yet another Lily who is the main character's long lost twin sister. This isn't even including Pokémon Sun and Moon's Lillie or other variations.
• There are also a couple other cross-language doubles, such as Pierce, whose Japanese name is also Flint, or Team Rocket Executive Proton, whose name is Lance in Japanese and a lot of other languages.
• Pokémon Masters introduces a character named Sawyer who serves as hired muscle for Lear. He is in no way connected to the anime character Sawyer, a Kalos Trainer who becomes one of Ash's rivals after initially viewing him as a mentor.
• Aria in the anime is a major supporting character in Kalos, who likes to travel incognito under the name Arianna. She has no relation to Ariana, one of the Team Rocket Executives in HeartGold and SoulSilver who never appeared in the anime.
• There are three prominent characters in the franchise named Lucy: Pike Queen Lucy from Emerald, the protagonist of Pokémon Trozei! Lucy Fleetfoot, and reporter Lucy Stevens from Pokémon Detective Pikachu.
• Koko refers to two characters: the Tapu of Melemele Island in Pokémon Sun and Moon, and the orphaned boy raised by Zarude in Pokémon: Secrets of the Jungle.
• One more of Misty's sisters in the anime is named Violet. She isn't found in Pokémon Violet.