Pokémon Special/Characters/Enemies


 * For the Dex Holders go to Characters.
 * For the supporting cast/allies go to Characters.

Giovanni
The Leader of Team Rocket and the ex-Viridian City Gym. An evil man who uses both Pokémon and people to accomplish his goals. Though he specializes in Ground types, he also has powerful Pokémon that are other types as well.


 * Affably Evil: He's no Anti-Villain, but he still has some admirable qualities and seems genuinely pleasant when he chooses to be. He's also a Worthy Opponent to Red, among other things.
 * Big Creepy-Crawlies: his signature Pokémon, interestingly enough, is Beedrill. This is allegedly due to him being a trainer of the Viridian Forest, like Yellow and Lance.
 * Badass
 * Big Bad: Of the R/B/G arc and the Fire Red/Leaf Green arc.
 * Big Damn Heroes: He of all people does this, saving Yellow from Lance in a manner that is eerily similar to how Red did so two years previous.
 * The Chessmaster: All his plans seem to go off flawlessly. At least, they would, if it weren't for those meddling kids...
 * Clock King: He shows a bit of this in his first battle with
 * Diabolical Mastermind
 * Faux Affably Evil: When we first meet him.
 * Kick the Dog
 * : He pretty much had most of the Sevii Islands destroyed in his quest to capture Deoxys
 * Magnificent Bastard: Very much one!
 * Noble Demon: He can be this when he's not perfecting Kick the Dog, and all said he's less evil than some of the other major villains out there.
 * Pet the Dog: Debatable in one case, as figured into his plans.
 * Even so, the guy is still kicking, and, despite the above, probably will be for awhile. Just because he's Giovanni...
 * Squee: The anime started the fangirl base, and the manga just made it bigger.
 * Though, with the above stuff, can you blame them?
 * Worthy Opponent: Most notably to Red, whom he regards in turn as his Worthy Opponent.
 * Though, with the above stuff, can you blame them?
 * Worthy Opponent: Most notably to Red, whom he regards in turn as his Worthy Opponent.

Triad
 * Adaptational Villainy
 * Co-Dragons:
 * The Brute - Lt. Surge
 * Evil Genius - Koga
 * Dark Chick - Sabrina
 * Evil Counterpart: Lt. Surge to Red, Koga to Green, and Sabrina to Blue. Later, they are paired up with each of them by the "Spoons of Destiny", against their Evil Counterparts from the Elite Four.
 * Enemy Mine: During the "Yellow" chapter.
 * Noble Demons
 * Undying Loyalty: The only Team Rocket leader they will ever follow is Giovanni.
 * Villain with Good Publicity: At first, during the R/B/G saga. They would still follow Giovanni again if asked, but since he told them to return to their Gyms after defeating the Elite Four, they are no longer villains.

Lt. Surge
A Gym Leader who used the SS Anne to transport stolen Pokémon. Specializes in electric-types. Now uses SS Anne for legal ventures.


 * Badass
 * BFG: That fires Voltorbs and Electrodes.
 * Blond Guys Are Evil
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty
 * Eagle Land: Type 1, even when he's a villain he's portrayed as a foe worthy of respect.
 * Heel Face Turn: After defeating the Elite 4, Surge goes back to minding his gym and helps out against the Masked Man's forces.
 * Pet the Dog: He's shown to really care about the Team Rocket grunts to the point of helping free them from the Masked Man's brainwashing. This action alone causes Raikou to see him as a worthy partner.
 * Shock and Awe

Koga
Another Gym Leader who joined Team Rocket, he specializes in poison-types. Once missing along with the rest of the Johto Elite Four, he is now officially recognized as such.


 * But for Me It Was Tuesday: In regards to his involvement in the torture of Misty's/Red's Gyarados.
 * Disappeared Dad: To his daughter Janine, though they've probably reunited now that he's back in the public eye.
 * Heel Face Turn: Becomes a member of the Johto Elite Four.
 * Ninja: He uses his Pokémon for ninja-esque techniques and modifies his Pokéballs into shuriken. The Pokémon thing is justified as real life ninjas actually did use animals.
 * Poisonous Person
 * Torture Technician: Particularly in his battle with Green in the RGB arc.

Sabrina
The Leader of the Saffron City Gym who specializes in Psychic Pokémon and is a powerful Psychic in her own right.


 * Bodyguard Crush: It's implied that she really has a thing for Giovanni. When trying to kill Red and Green in Silph Co., she says it's a pity to finish them off as they'd probably be as handsome as her boss if they ever got the chance to get older (many would agree). Also, after her trip from the Mt. Silver hot springs, she wonders why she was so nice to Red, and muses that it's probably because he reminds her of Giovanni (one translation said as good-looking) with a faraway, happy smile on her face. Hm...
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Heel Face Turn: Becomes a legit Gym Leader again alongside Lt. Surge.
 * No One Gets Left Behind: Even if that person is a former enemy (in Sabrina's case, Blue).
 * Doubles as a Pet the Dog moment.
 * Pettanko: And pretty sensitive about it, too.
 * Psychic Powers: Aside from her type, she actually has powers of her own, which include being able to see even if physically blinded as well as tracking and guiding things using spoons.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Calls Blue out for not bothering to tell her about her Lorelei-defeating strategy:

Ken, Al, and Harry
Known as the Team Rocket Elite Trio, these three were directly under the evil Gym Leaders.


 * Butt Monkey: Despite all three of them actually being competant trainers who used their Pokémon's abilities well, these three got their asses kicked in every scene they were in, usually in a comedic manner.
 * Elite Mook
 * Terrible Trio

Beast Trio

(Storc in Coronis' translations)
A female admin who makes her first appearance in the FRLG arc. The leader of the beast trio and is treated as second to Giovanni in FRLG. Seems loyal to Giovanni throughout the arc, and helps him find ...and then things get weird.


 * Bigger Bad: In the Emerald arc, though it's implied she's this for more than that.
 * Complete Monster: Riley describes her aura as being one of pure evil.
 * Dracula: The creature she was based off of.
 * The Dragon: To Giovanni in FRLG, and has never been defeated in battle.
 * For the Evulz:
 * She arguably didn't have a reason to petrifying the Dexholders and then leaving them like that, but you know her...
 * Improbable Hairstyle
 * Karma Houdini: After doing one of the most successful cheap shots in history.
 * New Powers as the Plot Demands: She can She also  Even in a series with psychics and ice voodoo, this stuff seems a little out there.
 * The DP arc revealed that
 * Wild Mass Guessing: She causes a lot of it. Not hard to see why.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Deoxys individual 1.
 * The DP arc revealed that
 * Wild Mass Guessing: She causes a lot of it. Not hard to see why.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Deoxys individual 1.
 * Wild Mass Guessing: She causes a lot of it. Not hard to see why.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To Deoxys individual 1.

(Jagara in Coronis' translations)
The beast Trio's mechanical and computer expert. He faces Red in battle in FRLG. The designer of the trainer tower's machines and "R". First appearing in FRLG and later appears in HGSS.


 * Blond Guys Are Evil
 * Bodyguard Betrayal: To Giovanni
 * Curb Stomp Battle: The Four Generals pulled one of these on him first thing in HGSS.
 * The Evil Genius: Though a pathetic battler.
 * Evil Laugh
 * Extra Ore Dinary: All of his Pokemon are of the Steel type.
 * The Napoleon
 * Psychopathic Manchild
 * The Starscream
 * Wolf Man: The creature he was based off of.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: To all his Forretress, not really caring if they blow themselves up as long as they destroy the airship.

(Orca in Coronis's tanslations)
The beast Trio's "muscle". The one who kidnapped Professor Oak and fights Green in battle.


 * The Brute
 * Frankenstein: The creature he was based off of.
 * Gentle Giant: His choice of Pokémon kinda give this vibe...
 * Heart Is an Awesome Power: The man fights with nothing but Shuckle and the Hoppip line, neither of which are terribly renowned for their strength. And yet, he easily holds his own in battle with Green and Silver (not at the same time), arguably two of the strongest Dex Holders.
 * Just Following Orders: For the most part, anyway.
 * Kick the Dog: He attacked Six Island on Giovanni's order and kidnapped Green's grandfather. That said, he's still less evil than either Carr or Sird.
 * Pet the Dog: He's the most loyal of the Trio to Giovanni, the only one without ulterior motives, and seems overjoyed by the thought of.
 * Zerg Rush: With his large army of Shuckle.
 * Pet the Dog: He's the most loyal of the Trio to Giovanni, the only one without ulterior motives, and seems overjoyed by the thought of.
 * Zerg Rush: With his large army of Shuckle.

The Four Generals

Archer
The Leader of the Four Generals. Not much is known about him at this time, other than what we know from the games.


 * A God Am I: Wants to control the powers of Arceus.
 * Large Ham
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Ariana
Again, not much is known about Ariana yet, but some fans believes that she might be


 * Art Shift: Several fans have pointed out that the promotional material, as well as her first appearance, showed her thin with wide hips, but that now she looks...fat.
 * Word of God says this was intentional, because they had never done a villain like that.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: She beat Crystal's team easily,
 * Evil Gloating: To Crystal.
 * Evil Redhead

Petrel
The Master of Disguise. He's actually extremely good at it, unlike the games.


 * Evil Gloating: He's no smarter than in the games...
 * Master of Disguise
 * The Starscream

Proton
One of the Four Generals of Team Rocket.


 * Satellite Character

Kanto Elite Four

 * Adaptational Villainy: Though Bruno was actually unwilling, unlike the others.
 * Five-Bad Band:
 * Big Bad - Lance
 * Evil Genius - Agatha
 * The Brute - Bruno
 * Dark Chick - Lorelei

Lorelei
The first of the Elite Four Yellow faces, and the one who imprisoned Red in ice. She joins forces with the Kanto Dex Holders years later when Team Rocket threatens her home, the Sevii Islands.


 * An Ice Person
 * Defrosting Ice Queen: Literally happens in the few years between the Yellow arc and the FRLG arc.
 * Freudian Excuse: Her own Pokémon were hurt by humans' polluting the waters, which enabled Agatha to convince her to turn on humanity as a whole for their sake.
 * Harmless Freezing: She has the power to create dolls of people with her Jynx's Ice Beam. When she draws on a limb on the doll with her lipstick, an cuff of ice will appear on the actual person. Said cuff will expand until completely encase the victim. Nonlethal, but it will cause severe frostbite. She got Red, Sabrina, and with this.
 * Heel Face Turn: Shows up as a major ally in FRLG.
 * Scary Shiny Glasses
 * Unwitting Pawn: For Blue.

Bruno
The Elite Four member who challenged Red. An otherwise honorable trainer, he is the only Elite Four who actually needs to be brainwashed in order to go along with their tactics. He is now officially a member of the League recognized Elite Four.


 * Bare-Fisted Monk: He himself is one, not just his Pokémon.
 * Brainwashed and Crazy
 * The Brute: The first of the Elite Four to battle (chronologically) and probably regarded as the weakest.
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Fighting with Chucks
 * Heel Face Turn: Well, does it really count if he was kind of brainwashed most of the time?
 * My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours
 * Walking Shirtless Scene
 * Worthy Opponent: Bruno, in the end, wanted a strong trainer to fight, and Red was the only one who could deliver.

Agatha
The oldest member of the Elite Four, she was once a friend of Prof. Oak until their differences in Pokémon research caused a break-up. She specializes in ghost-types, though she has poison-types on her main team as well.


 * Evil Old Folks
 * The Heavy: She does all the thinking. She has the army and even recruited Lorelei and Bruno. (Which lets me ask what does Lance do anyway?)
 * Karma Houdini: She escapes toward the end of the Yellow arc and has never been caught.
 * Manipulative Bastard
 * Never Mess with Granny
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: the only member of the Kanto Elite Four to never reappear after the Yellow saga.

Lance
The Leader and most powerful of the Elite Four, Lance specializes in dragon Pokémon. Like Yellow, he is one of the special few born in Viridian Forest, meaning he also can heal and read the minds of Pokémon. He can also instantly control any dragon-like Pokémon he comes across.


 * Badass Cape
 * Big Bad: Of the Yellow arc.
 * May better fit the criteria for The Dragon or Dragon-in-Chief. The Elite Four's Evil Plan was Agatha's idea, and she was the one who most actively pursued and championed their cause, though Lance was the most powerful of them, he was the leader, their plan was driven by his desire to Kill All Humans, and was foiled when he was defeated.
 * The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: While illegal movesets would be harder to portray in the manga, all the extra frickin' powers Lance has seem to make up show this quite well. Especially amusing since in the actual games he does cheat.
 * Dragon Rider
 * Evil Counterpart: To Yellow.
 * Freudian Excuse: His reasons for wanting to destroy the human race are because of the damage they have done to the enviroment of Pokémon...whose thoughts he can hear.
 * Friend to All Living Things: A Deconstruction - he shows what can happen with this kind of person gone wrong.
 * Omnicidal Maniac: Only plans genocide for humans, though.
 * Orcus on His Throne: Until the final stages of his arc.
 * Psychic Powers: Born like Yellow in Viridian forest, he has similar powers:
 * Healing Hands
 * Telepathy
 * Roboteching: With HYPER BEAMS!!!
 * Shadow Archetype: As mentioned, his origins and Psychic Powers are the same as Yellow's, but they have completely different views.
 * Smug Snake
 * Speaks Fluent Animal
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Wants to Kill All Humans because he thinks that all Humans Are the Real Monsters.

The Masked Man (AKA the Mask of Ice, )
The Big Bad of the GSC chapter, he gathered the reminents of Team Rocket for his own plans. His motive is to gain the power to control time so he can.


 * Adaptational Villainy
 * Big Bad: Of the G/S/C arc.
 * The Chessmaster
 * Complete Monster: The Masked Man's persona certainly indicates him to be this trope.
 * Cool Mask: His is made up of
 * Dramatic Unmask
 * An Ice Person: Not only is he an ice specialist, he can freeze a huge area in seconds and instantly create almost anything out of ice.
 * Healing Factor:
 * Pet the Dog: He has two...
 * Mini-Mecha:
 * Worf Had the Flu: earlier in his time, he a has lapse of weakness Exploiting this was how Blue and Silver escaped from his forces in the first place.
 * Mini-Mecha:
 * Worf Had the Flu: earlier in his time, he a has lapse of weakness Exploiting this was how Blue and Silver escaped from his forces in the first place.
 * Worf Had the Flu: earlier in his time, he a has lapse of weakness Exploiting this was how Blue and Silver escaped from his forces in the first place.
 * Worf Had the Flu: earlier in his time, he a has lapse of weakness Exploiting this was how Blue and Silver escaped from his forces in the first place.

Will
One of the Masked Kids who are directly under the Masked Man, Will is a psychic-type specialist who enjoys doing things for the thrills alone (but not the danger). After the Masked Man is defeated, he joins Koga and Bruno since he doesn't have anything else to do.


 * Adaptational Villainy
 * Dirty Coward
 * For the Evulz
 * Karma Houdini
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Monster Clown
 * Psychic Powers

Karen
Another one of the Masked Kids, Karen specializes in the dark type. Though a little sadistic and twisted, she goes off with Koga and Bruno in good graces after the final battle.


 * Adaptational Villainy
 * Bare Your Midriff: In her HeartGold & SoulSilver outfit.
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Dark Is Evil: Pre-Heel Face Turn.
 * Dark Is Not Evil: Post-Heel Face Turn.
 * Heel Face Turn
 * Karma Houdini

Maxie
The Leader of Team Magma, he hoped to use Groudon for his plans.


 * A Father to His Men: Unlike Archie, Maxie treats his subordinates with respect.
 * Big Bad Ensemble: with Archie in the R/S arc.
 * Evil Redhead
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Archie.
 * Sanity Slippage: Goes from Well-Intentioned Extremist to "let's destroy everything for the lulz" along with Archie. Granted, both of them lacked the will to control the Red and Blue Orbs, and they were driven mad by their power.
 * Sanity Slippage: Goes from Well-Intentioned Extremist to "let's destroy everything for the lulz" along with Archie. Granted, both of them lacked the will to control the Red and Blue Orbs, and they were driven mad by their power.

(Marge in the Chuang Yi version)
One of the three Three Fires, Courtney prefers to use straight forward brutal force. Develops an...interesting relationship with Ruby over time.


 * Ascended Extra: She has a very small role in the games, not appearing at all in Emerald, yet has the most development of all the Team Aqua/Magma members in the manga.
 * Enemy Mine: Against Groudon, since her desire for seeing destruction had been satisfied.
 * Green Thumb: No, it's not her speciality type, but she is very knowledgable about berries and plants to the point she can use them as tools and weapons.
 * May–December Romance: It's quite easy to see her relationship with Ruby as the subtle beginnings of this.
 * Playing with Fire: And she loves watching things burn.
 * but she
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * We Can Rule Together: Offered to Ruby at one point.
 * Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
 * We Can Rule Together: Offered to Ruby at one point.

(Mitch in the Chuang Yi version)
Another of the Three Fires, this burly man specializes in putting people to sleep with his Torkoal's smoke.


 * Even Evil Has Standards: He gets scared of Archie's Kick the Dog moments, and even saves the Aqua Elite Mook that attacked him when Archie left both of them for dead.
 * Even though he failed, you have to give the guy credit for assisting Flannery in attempting to revive Mt. Chimney after Team Aqua killed it.
 * Heel Face Turn: At the end of the arc.
 * Sanity Slippage: He goes insane since he attempted to control Groudon, even if it was for a brief moment. Thankfully, he apparently got better, as he is seen in the epilogue visiting the Lavaridge hot springs.
 * Ship Tease: With Flannery.

Mack
Third member of the Three Fires. Only appears in this manga.


 * Peek-a-Bangs
 * Canon Foreigner
 * Master of Illusion: Mack uses his fires to create hallucinations to freak his opponents out.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: His whereabouts after the whole Groudon and Kyogre debacle are never revealed.

Archie
The Leader of Team Aqua, he hoped to use Kyogre for his plans.


 * Beard of Evil
 * Big Bad Ensemble: Shared position with Maxie in the R/S arc
 * Blessed with Suck:
 * Faux Affably Evil
 * Jerkass
 * Kick The Fish: And stomp on it several times for good measure. Poor Mimi.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: With Maxie.
 * Sanity Slippage: See what happened to Maxie. Same thing, only
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness/You Have Failed Me...: He has absolutely no problem abandoning his underlings, even if they did their jobs.
 * Mook Promotion: Archie promotes three of his goons to Admin status near the beginning of the R/S arc. The above tropes both rear their ugly heads later on.
 * Sanity Slippage: See what happened to Maxie. Same thing, only
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness/You Have Failed Me...: He has absolutely no problem abandoning his underlings, even if they did their jobs.
 * Mook Promotion: Archie promotes three of his goons to Admin status near the beginning of the R/S arc. The above tropes both rear their ugly heads later on.

(Angie in the Chuang Yi version)
One of Team Aqua's Sub-leaders of Sea Scheme.


 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once her Ludicolo's Nature Power is sealed by Flannery's Vulpix, she hightails it.

(Ark in the Chuang Yi version)
One of Team Aqua's Sub-leaders of Sea Scheme.


 * Butt Monkey

Amber
One of Team Aqua's Sub-leaders of Sea Scheme.


 * Bald of Evil
 * Heel Face Turn: Implied to have done this because of Archie's treatment of him.
 * You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Archie sends him down to the bottom of the sea despite him retrieving one of the orbs that controls Kyogre.

Cyrus
The Leader of Team Galactic. He wishes to control Time and Space. The Sinnoh Trio first met him at Mt. Coronet, where he attacked them with Probopass and Magnezone.


 * Big Bad: Of the D/P arc.
 * Badass:
 * Lack of Empathy
 * Large Ham: Though he generally tends to match the stoicism of his game counterpart, when he gets going, he...really gets going.
 * Manly Tears:
 * Magnificent Bastard
 * Omnicidal Maniac
 * The Stoic: Not So Stoic when he's in Large Ham mode, though.
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous?: Most members of Team Galactic are motivated by their fear of...getting pinched. On the arm. ...to be fair, it does look like it hurts.
 * Would Hurt a Child: Perfectly willing to smack Dia across the face with the Red Chain of all things.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair
 * Would Hurt a Child: Perfectly willing to smack Dia across the face with the Red Chain of all things.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Mars
One of the three admins in Team Galactic. She first encountered the DPP trio at Valley Windworks.


 * Cloudcuckoolander: A lot more...out there than in the games. She thinks Team Galactic's evildoing is fun, and not in the usual For the Evulz sense either, she's just honestly that weird in the head and can't fathom how anyone couldn't find it fun too.
 * Heck, her official Special artwork even has her cheerfully floating on a her Purugly's cloud-like tail.
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Dark Chick
 * Evil Counterpart: To Dia.
 * Evil Redhead: Albeit oddly likable, as stated below.
 * Giggling Villain
 * Perky Female Minion: Probably the most cheerful of the three commanders. Doesn't necessarily prevent her from enjoying the prospect of blowing up Lake Verity a little too much, but considering her state of mind...
 * Pet the Dog: According to Pearl, "She watched our routine, so maybe she's not all bad!"
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist

Saturn
One of the three admins in Team Galactic.

"Saturn: "I am clearly the most important member on the team!""
 * Brilliant but Lazy: Prefers using his machines to do the work for him.
 * Evil Counterpart: To Pearl.
 * Gadgeteer Genius
 * Hoist by His Own Petard: Defeated when
 * Large Ham: Alot more "fanatical" than his game counterpart.
 * Psycho Supporter: He seems to admire Cyrus the most.
 * Small Name, Big Ego: Very full of himself. When Cyrus chooses the lake he's at to be the one to blow up:
 * Small Name, Big Ego: Very full of himself. When Cyrus chooses the lake he's at to be the one to blow up:


 * Well-Intentioned Extremist
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair

Jupiter
One of the three admins in Team Galactic. One of her leg appears injured.


 * Badass: She defeats by herself without much difficulty. And even when she's overcome by the latter two later, she still goes down fighting.
 * The Brute: Probably the most individually powerful of the three admins, at least in terms of brute force.
 * Dark Action Girl
 * Determinator: The last commander to go down in the final battle; she stayed in the game long after Mars and Saturn had been knocked unconscious.
 * Evil Counterpart: To Platinum.
 * Hot Amazon: Unlike most continuities, she seems really buff here. And then there's her ass.
 * Karmic Defeat: By, the same ones she defeated and gloated over earlier.
 * The Stoic: For the most part, but can occasionally slip into Not So Stoic in battle.
 * The Stoic: For the most part, but can occasionally slip into Not So Stoic in battle.

Galactic Grunt
This refers to the unnamed grunt who has had more encounters with the DPPt trio than the other grunts, whom Cyrus seems to be give as much responsibilties to as the four commanders. He shows great interest in the Pokédexes.


 * Anti-Villain: Type I. He arrives to release Mr. Berlitz and Professor Rowan early, stating that he sees no point in making them suffer unnecessarily. He also mentions that he prefers to avoid a fight with Platinum. The worst things he does he only does because
 * Helpful Mook: and he also tells her about TG's plans to detonate the Galactic bomb in a week's time. Later, he also tells Diamond where the three lake guardians are being held.
 * Genre Savvy: After over 400 chapters rounds, someone finally notices that all dex holders tend to get involved in battles that could decide the fate of their regions/world.
 * Mook With An Agenda:
 * No Name Given: Despite having as much personality and screen time as the commanders.
 * Nonuniform Uniform: He can be differentiated from the rest of the grunts by the cloak that he wears over his Galactic uniform.
 * Personal Mook: To Cyrus
 * Personal Mook: To Cyrus

Charon
The chief scientist of Team Galactic. Appears briefly in the Diamond/Pearl arc and goes on to become the main antagonist of the Platinum arc.


 * Big Bad: Of the Platinum arc.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: Appears unnamed before the finale of the D/P arc as the head of the Red Chain project. In the final chapter of the arc, he reveals his name and importance, going on to be the next arc's Big Bad.
 * Dirty Coward
 * Dragon Ascendant
 * Jerkass
 * Karma Houdini: In the D/P arc.
 * Mad Scientist
 * The Sociopath

N

 * Awesome Moment of Crowning: As seen in his battle against Black.
 * Bishonen
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady
 * Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: His default expression when he's not crying.
 * Expy: Manga N seems alot more like L in design than his game counterpart does.
 * Jerkass Has a Point: To White on the ferris wheel when bringing up how
 * Kick the Dog: Because even an Anti-Villain can be a Jerkass when he feels like it. Particularly when
 * Pet the Dog: For some reason, he sends his Servine to her side.
 * Manipulative Bastard: He can be this, like he was  A strange example as he does it honestly for the Pokémon's own good rather than for his own.
 * No Sense of Personal Space: The author seems to be playing up N's Memetic Molester status by having him whispering in Black's ear and grabbing him up close to say something in his face.
 * Not helping is when N gets uncomfortably close to White.
 * Not Good with People: Type 2, arguably more than even his game counterpart. In the games, he seems pretty neutral and sometimes even a little admiring later on of the protagonist, but here he antagonizes Black quite a bit.
 * Sparkling Stream of Tears: When he is first introduced. He also cries during his battle with Black.
 * Speaks Fluent Animal
 * The Stoic: Aside from his brief cameo at the beginning of the BW chapter, he has had the same dead expression in his entire appearance.
 * Not So Stoic: He cries a lot.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist

Ghetsis

 * Abusive Parents: To N, whom he's raised in solitary confinement and literally brainwashed against humanity, even to the point of using Hypnosis to disorient his mind. And then when he's failed to serve the purpose Ghetsis intended for him,
 * A Sinister Clue: His left eye and left arm are the only ones he keeps visible.
 * Ax Crazy: Though you wouldn't be able to tell at first, torture and murder appear to be his automatic response to any opposition he faces.
 * Big Bad: Of the Unova arc.
 * Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He's very polite and usually always smiling with good cheer, but it's all part of the mask he wears - in reality, he's a complete and utterly sadistic psychopath.
 * The Chessmaster: His master plan has been years in the making
 * Complete Monster: His true nature, once revealed, certainly paints him as this.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: Best shown in
 * Diabolical Mastermind: What he truly is beneath all the pretenses of majesty and righteousness.
 * Faux Affably Evil: Even moreso than his game counterpart, which makes his underlining depravity that much more horrifying.
 * Karma Houdini: At the end of the BW Chapter.
 * Kick the Dog: Where to begin? The dude is pretty much a habitual dog kicker! The biggest example comes at the end of the Black/White arc: as Reshiram is being absorbed into the Light Stone (due to Zekrom's resealing), Ghetsis, in a final act of spite at his enemy, uses Colress' Beheeyem to force Black into the pull so that he too is absorbed into the Stone (after using its psychic powers to defend himself). After which he escapes and plans to regroup.
 * Kill It with Fire: At the BW arc's climax, he tries to have Black and all his Pokemon burned alive in order to erase the "inconvenient facts" of N and Zekrom's defeat by Black and Reshiram.
 * Kill It with Ice: In the B2W2 arc, Ghetsis goes around freezing many populated cities in Unova and plans on unleashing Kyurem's full power upon Unova so that the entire continent would be engulfed by ice, putting a fatal chill over all the inhabitants until they surrender all control of Unova to him in fear for their lives and to end the suffering they'd be made to endure.
 * Knight Templar: Even if he doesn't believe in the cause of Pokemon liberation, he does sincerely view himself and the world order he envisions as being perfect and necessary enough to justify the cruel, villainous deeds he takes in the name of this goal.
 * Knight of Cerebus: Given how vile he is, things take a turn for the grim and serious whenever he shows up.
 * Lack of Empathy: Holds no one who isn't himself in high regard, seeing all people and Pokemon as merely tools for him to use and ultimately throw away as he pleases.
 * Manipulative Bastard: One of the series' shining examples of this trope.
 * Man Behind the Man: To N in the Black/White arc and to Colress in the Black 2/White 2 arc.
 * Rousing Speech: His successfully convinces some people into releasing their Pokémon.
 * Sinister Minister: Really gives off this vibe. He holds public sermons where he preaches about the cause behind Team Plasma's crusades, the liberation of Pokemon, to crowds of people he hopes to convert into followers, and appears very kindly and charming...even as he's doing horrible, horrible things.
 * The Sociopath: This is man who puts his own ambitions and desires ahead of the lives, feelings, and well-being of others, treats his Pokemon and even his own son as tools for his uses, looks at his followers as being extensions of his own will, and who would destroy anything and use or throw away anyone in order to get what he wants, all while grinning serenely, carrying a casual air about him and giving no thought to people he harms, even flat out enjoying their suffering.
 * Soft Spoken Sadist: He always looks kind and acts polite, even when doing truly horrific things that he clearly enjoys doing.
 * Torture Technician: Seems very fond of violent torture using his Pokemon team, as well as some emotional and mental torture of others.
 * Well-Intentioned Extremist: Poses as one, but this is purely a facade, as he actually wants to enslave all Pokemon for himself and his Team Plasma.
 * You Gotta Have Green Hair

Shadow Triad

 * Ascended Extra: Are much more prominent in this manga than in the games.
 * Character Tics: Each of the Shadow Triad tends to place their arms in a certain location. One places his behind his back, another puts his on his hips, and the last one crosses them in front of his chest.
 * Ninjas
 * Spies in a Van
 * Terrible Trio
 * The Unfought: Averted. Unlike the games, where they are never fought at all, they are actually seen battling with Pokémon in this canon.