Pokémon Red and Blue/Characters

For the Pokémon introduced in these games, refer to this page.

Red and Leaf
The silent Player Character. An eleven-year old from Pallet Town who is eager to become a Pokemon trainer and set off on a journey across the world.


 * Badass: It comes with the territory when you take down the Pokemon universe's equivalent to the mafia/yakuza, become the local region's Pokemon champion, and (potentially) catch all 151 Pokemon currently known to man. And in Red's case, being the True Final Boss in the sequels helps a lot.
 * Badass Adorable: They're both 11 year olds.
 * Brown Eyes: In the remakes only.
 * Black Eyes: In the original, though adaptations usually color them in as brown.
 * Coming of Age Story: At the end of the main game, Oak states that Red/Leaf's journey was one, remarking that "[he/she] has come of age."
 * Continuity Nod: Leaf herself. She was a prototype female protagonist, that few remember since the only evidence of her is early official artwork and her Pokémon Special counterpart.
 * Cute Shotaro Boy: Red, especially in his original design.
 * Cutting Off the Branches: It's Red who appears in HeartGold and SoulSilver, rather than Leaf, though it may be due to them being remakes of GSC where he was the only one to appear. He was also the canon protagonist.
 * Curtains Match the Window
 * Dangerously-Short Skirt: Leaf's skirt just barely covers her knees. It's even shorter than Dawn's infamous skirt.
 * Development Gag: Leaf herself. She is a tweaked version of a first-generation female protagonist that never made it into the original games due to technological limitations (The original design was reused as Blue(JP)/Green(Eng) in the Special manga).
 * Disappeared Dad: He's mentioned once when you check out the televisions in Celadon Department Store, but he never appears.
 * Even the Girls Want Her: Due to the unchanged dialogue, this happens with Leaf.
 * Fan Nickname: Leaf, actually. She has never been given an official name, although a beta double battle partner named Leaf was found in the data.
 * Leaf also sometimes gets called "Fuguri" (from Rīfugurīn) among the Japanese fans.
 * Red's FRLG incarnation is occasionally called "Fire" in the English-speaking fandom to separate his new design from his old one. He's almost universally referred to as "Fire" or "FireRed" by Japanese-speaking fans.
 * The Hero: In Gen II and the Gen IV remakes, Red is often referred to as this.
 * Heroic Mime: When you actually speak to Red in G/S/C/HG/SS, his speech is quite seriously "..."
 * Hime Cut: Leaf in her original design.
 * Hot-Blooded: Red, according to his counterparts, at least one in-game line, (possibly, due to its vagueness) the manual, and an old comic drawn by Sugimori.
 * Taking the extended storyline of FRLG into consideration, Leaf and Red both certainly count when a rather intimidated thief makes a remark about the way he/she is glaring at them.
 * Little Black Dress: Leaf in her original design, complete with white gloves and matching shoes.
 * Mini-Dress of Power: In the remakes, though it's more of a mini-skirt.
 * Nice Hat
 * Perpetual Frowner: Red's redesign gives him a permanent, somewhat ugly scowl on his face.
 * Pink Girl, Blue Boy: The Vs. Seekers, but only in the official artwork. In the game, you still get a blue one as Leaf.
 * Plucky Girl: Leaf, as shown by her original artwork.
 * Remake Dye Job: In Generations I and II, Red has black hair, but this is made into light brown hair in Generations III and IV.
 * Schrödinger's Player Character: Pick one of them in FRLG, and the other won't appear. In the series as a whole, Red is the canonical protagonist.
 * Self Fanservice: The fandom draws Red's original design as being a slick, red eyed, Bishonen with combed hair and a poker face(Who bears a striking resemblance to Lelouch Vi Britannia). In the original games though (even post Time Skip) he is unruly looking, with his hair and bangs, with Hot-Blooded undertones. He fit Cute Shotaro Boy more than anything. His FRLG design is usually drawn much, much cuter than he actually appears, as opposed to the scowling, determined-looking boy he's seen as in almost all of his canon appearances.
 * Suddenly Voiced: Red/Leaf, unlike future heroes, actually makes the odd internal comment when examining objects (where future Player Characters merely get descriptions), such as mentioning his/her dad when you check out the televisions in the Celadon Department Store, and remarks that s/he "should get going" when you examine the TV in his/her house and notes that they "better not touch it" when examining various pieces of technology. He/She also talks to Copycat... maybe.
 * Red's Super Smash Bros. Brawl incarnation also qualifies.
 * What Could Have Been: Game Freak wanted to program the option to play as a female way back in Red and Green, but wouldn't be able to until Crystal. Leaf had a different design with a Little Black Dress, White Gloves, and - unlike every protagonist in the main series - no Nice Hat.
 * The prototypical Red from "Capsule Monsters" still has a Nice Hat and black hair but he lacks Red's coat and his hair is not as messy.
 * White Gloves: Leaf's original design.

Blue Oak (Green)
The Rival of the Player Character. He was once the best friend of Red/Leaf, but as he grew up he changed into a huge Jerkass. Though abrasive and cocky, he has the skills to back up his boasts and has set his sights on nothing less than becoming the Pokemon League Champion.


 * Adaptational Attractiveness: In the remakes. in the original art he was a downright punchable brat, but the remakes art portrays him as a pretty boy with an only somewhat punchable face.
 * Always Someone Better: He always shows up ahead of you, even up to
 * His remake artwork plays with this and portrays him holding an Ultra Ball rather than a Pokéball like the protagonists.
 * Anime Hair
 * Catch Phrase: "Smell ya later!"
 * Arguably, "Whatever!" come HGSS.
 * Character Development: More so noticeable in FRLG. In the credits, he seems to be thinking about himself and his Pokémon after being told off by his grandfather and being beaten by you. In GSC/HGSS he is fairly less of a Jerkass.
 * He is also much more mature and seems to have learned how to take care of his pokemon. This is evident when his Pigeot uses Return, a Normal attack that becomes stronger the more the Pokemon likes its user.
 * Continuity Nod: In the original games, his sprite as the Champion had him wearing a jacket, which isn't seen again in the second generation or the first generation remakes, but returns in his design for the second generation remakes.
 * Dub Name Change: To follow with the games' localized titles.
 * Foe Yay: Some of his actions toward Red/Leaf can be seen as this, but in HGSS, he will call the player at oftentimes ungodly hours to tell them about Red and awkwardly stutter about how they look like Red.
 * Informed Attribute: For his, he claims to have built a team that can take down any Pokémon type. The team he uses for that battle is practically the same team that you've been trouncing in your previous battles.
 * In the Blood: His grandfather is a Pokémon researcher, and his sister was a superb coordinator (plus she's pretty good with making tea), so there's little surprise when it comes to his personality and achievements.
 * It's All About Me: His downfall is that he thinks so much about himself that he forgets to treat his Pokémon with love and respect. For the entire game he views Pokémon as nothing more than cool powerful creatures that can do whatever he wants for him and help him become Champion.
 * Jerkass: Good lord. He constantly talks down to you, brags all the time, does nothing to help the Silph Co. employees that have been taken hostage by Team Rocket when he's mroe than capable of doing so, swipes the Eevee that was meant for you in Yellow, and just acts like an all around prick. There's a reason why so many people name him Dicks, Asshole, and other such names in these games.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Thankfully matures into this by Gold and Silver.
 * Leitmotif: A rather irritating little jingle plays whenever he swaggers onto the scene.
 * Late Arrival Spoiler: Good luck trying to beat the game without accidentally finding out from somewhere that.
 * Parental Abandonment: No mention is ever made of his parents, meaning that the Professor (and Daisy) are stuck raising him.
 * The Rival
 * Used to Be a Sweet Kid: The guidebook for Red and Blue explains that he was Red's best friend until shortly before the time of the game, where he started to become a bully. Despite this, there's still times where he talks to you like an old friend.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass
 * Weapon of Choice: Quite obviously, it's whatever starter has the type of advantage over yours.
 * He also always has a consistent triumvirate of Gyarados, Arcanine, and Exeggutor in his appearances through the series.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: An almost literal example in his Raticate. He's first seen with it as a Ratatta, and it's still on his team in its fully evolved form on the S.S. Anne, but when you fight him in Pokemon Tower and beyond, it's nowhere to be seen. Some fans like to think that you killed it, but it's more than likely that he simply boxed it due to Raticate being painfully average.
 * He also always has a consistent triumvirate of Gyarados, Arcanine, and Exeggutor in his appearances through the series.
 * What Happened to the Mouse?: An almost literal example in his Raticate. He's first seen with it as a Ratatta, and it's still on his team in its fully evolved form on the S.S. Anne, but when you fight him in Pokemon Tower and beyond, it's nowhere to be seen. Some fans like to think that you killed it, but it's more than likely that he simply boxed it due to Raticate being painfully average.

Professor Oak (Dr. Okido)

 * Absent-Minded Professor: He doesn't even remember his own grandson's name and has to be reminded by the player at the beginning of the game.
 * Big Ol' Eyebrows
 * Cool Old Guy: He's very friendly to the player character, is one of the world's top Pokemon researchers, and was even a skilled trainer back in his day!
 * I Was Quite a Looker: In her own words, Agatha of the Elite Four describes him as once being tough and handsome in his younger years.
 * Mr. Exposition
 * Retired Badass: According to Agatha. While functional trainer data for him exists in Red, Blue, and Yellow (as well as data for a trainer class (but no team data) for him in FireRed and LeafGreen), it's impossible to fight him without utilization of cheating devices or glitches. Interestingly enough, his team is tied with Mewtwo in terms of level and, unlike every opponent save for Blue, has a decent array of types.
 * Badass Grandpa: If you manage to fight him, he proves himself a literal example of this. Plus his anime counterpart had a Dragonite!
 * Theme Naming: Oak kicks off the tradition of naming the regional professors after trees.
 * What Could Have Been: As mentioned above, there is leftover data in the game's coding for a trainer battle with him. Given how powerful his Pokémon were, it's more than likely he would have either been the Final Boss or a Bonus Boss.

Bill (Masaki Sonezaki)

 * Accent Adaptation: He speaks with a Kansai accent in the Japanese versions and a southern one in the English ones.
 * Baleful Polymorph: When you first meet him, he has been turned into a Pokémon (specifically Clefairy in the remakes) due to a Teleporter Accident. He gets better.
 * Does Not Like Milk: according to Celio in the Sevii Islands.
 * Kansai Regional Accent
 * Lolicon: Refers to Leaf as "beautiful" in the remakes. It's one of the few lines changed for a female player character (he refers to Red as "chief"), in contrast to the large number of flirting from the (roughly same aged) female characters in the game.
 * MacGuffin Delivery Service: in FireRed and LeafGreen, an extra quest was added after the Cinnabar Gym battle that has Bill take you to the first three islands in the Sevii Archipelago to deliver a meteorite.
 * Teleporter Accident

Daisy Oak (Nanami)

 * Cool Big Sis: Sister of Blue, and a lot nicer than him as well. She gives you a Town Map and even offers to massage your Pokemon later on!
 * Friend to All Living Things: She's very good with Pokemon, and can make them friendlier by massaging them.
 * Hidden Depths: It wasn't until the remakes, but examine the right bookshelf and you'll discover that Daisy's a former Contest champion. No wonder she's so good at grooming Pokémon.
 * Nice Girl: As noted above she's very kind, which is surprising seeing who her brother is.
 * Spot of Tea: She's very fond of drinking tea as revealed in HG/SS

Copycat

 * Costume Copycat: She does it for fun with no bad intention.
 * Girls Love Stuffed Animals: She's very fond of Pokemon dolls, especially ones of Clefairy. Giving one to her will get her to teach your Pokemon the move Mimic.
 * Only Known by Their Nickname
 * Stop Copying Me: Red/Leaf's reaction to her.
 * Wholesome Crossdresser: She will imitate the male player character, including their clothes (yet for some reason, Ken Sugimori's art shows her as keeping her hair).
 * You Gotta Have Green Hair: However, as of HGSS, she has brown hair.

Mr. Fuji

 * The Atoner: It's suggested at a few points.
 * Cool Old Guy: He takes care of abandoned Pokemon, and even hikes all the way to the top of a haunted tower where the spirits have been going nuts so he can lay the ghost of a particularly vengeful Marowak to rest.
 * Friend to All Living Things: He takes care of abandoned and orphaned Pokemon. Just look at this picture.
 * Mad Scientist: There's a picture of him on Cinnabar Island with the description "Dr. Fuji?!?!" He was also old friends with Blaine, and.
 * Nice Guy: He's very warm and friendly to people and Pokemon alike.
 * Wasteland Elder: Of the somber, somewhat lonely Lavender Town.

The Gym Leaders

 * Punny Name: In spades.
 * Red Baron: Each Gym Leader has a title associated with them that is labelled on their Gym Signs. The only exception to this is Giovanni, for obvious reasons.

Brock (Takeshi)
Pewter Gym Leader--The Rock-Solid Pokémon Trainer!


 * Dishing Out Dirt: Exclusively trains Rock types.
 * Early Bird Boss: In Red/Green/Blue, only Pikachu, Butterfree, Beedrill (the latter two requiring Level Grinding), and Com Mons are found before Brock. Tough luck if your starter is Charmander. Fixed in every game after. Yellow adds Mankey and the Nidoran lines before him (now with an early Double Kick!) while FireRed/LeafGreen add Mankey and give Charmander Metal Claw.
 * Eyes Always Shut
 * Improbable Power Discrepancy: One Gym Leader with Pokémon at level 12 and 14. Not so in the sequels and their remakes, however, suggesting that the Gym Leaders might use Gym-specific teams.
 * Meaningful Name: Brock.
 * Personality Powers: Lampshaded in the pre-battle quote, where he compares his determination with the Rock type's defensive nature.
 * Signature Move: Bide in the originals (Which wasn't actually a Rock type move oddly enough, just a Normal-type counter attack), and Rock Tomb in the remakes.
 * Rock Based Pokemon: Both his Geodude and his Onix.
 * Warmup Boss: He's the first gym leader, and as to be expected, he isn't hard in the slightest as his Pokemon are very weak to two of the starters, and even Charmander (who they have a type advantage over) can still run circles around them thanks to his high Special Attack and their low Special Defense. In the remakes where they're more imposing thanks to actually possessing Rock moves this time around, Charmander gets Iron Claw which still makes them pretty easy to beat.
 * Weaksauce Weakness: When the player doesn't choose Charmander, he is pretty easy to defeat in RBG and their remakes.
 * Weapon of Choice: Both Onix and the Geodude line share this status.

Misty (Kasumi)
Cerulean Gym Leader--The Tomboyish Mermaid!


 * Bare Your Midriff
 * Fan Girl: To Lorelei.
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Lightning Bruiser: Trains two of them, but Starmie especially. It's very fast and hits hard with Bubblebeam/Water Pulse. It also has Recover in the remake, so if the player doesn't hit it hard enough or doesn't have a priority move, Starmie will just heal off the damage immediately in the next turn.
 * Making a Splash
 * Meaningful Name: Misty.
 * Ms. Fanservice: She's a redhead who walks around in a bikini and sandals.
 * Improbable Power Discrepancy: Her training place is Seafoam Islands. The Pokémon in Seafoam Islands are higher-leveled than hers. Given that this line is even in the original games, it's probably the first hint that Gym Leaders use Pokemon teams specific to their Gyms, given that later games allow for Gym Leader rematches with all Gym Leaders being around the same levels.
 * Shorttank
 * Thinks Like a Romance Novel: Has high hopes for finding a boyfriend or at least getting a date at the Cerulean Cape.
 * Tomboy: It's in her nickname.
 * Walking Swimsuit Scene: All official artwork and sprites show her with a swimsuit, and just that unlike in the sequel games.
 * Averted with her Yellow sprite, which is the only sprite to not feature her in a swimsuit. This is because of the game itself being a Recursive Adaptation of the anime, so both Brock and Misty look closer to their anime counterparts.
 * "Wake-Up Call" Boss: Misty's Starmie will absolutely rip you to shreds, showing that she's more than a few cuts above Brock.
 * Weapon of Choice: Starmie, to the point to where she only uses the Starmie line during her gym battle in the Kanto games.

Lt. Surge (Mathis)


Vermilion Gym Leader--The Lightning American!


 * Ace Pilot: Apparently was one. He used his electric Pokemon to power his planes.
 * Drill Sergeant Nasty
 * Eagle Land: Type 1.
 * Expy: Intentionally or not, he serves as one to Guile from Street Fighter: He's a proud American with spiky blond hair, a (former) military man, and some of his Pokemon can use the move Sonicboom. The remakes ramp this up by giving him shades and dressing him in a green tank top like Guile.
 * A Father to His Men: As one of the Gym Trainers tells the player, Lt. Surge saved his life back during the war. He has since pledged Undying Loyalty to him.
 * Fragile Speedster: His Pokemon are faster than most, but they still can't quite take a hit.
 * Gadgeteer Genius: Designed the gate puzzle in his Gym.
 * Glass Cannon: Comes with training Electric-type Pokemon.
 * Gratuitous English: Lt. Surge, who is stated to be American, uses several English words in the Japanese versions of games featuring him.
 * Large Ham: In Yellow.
 * Meaningful Name: Surge, as in electric surge.
 * Patriotic Fervor
 * Rodents of Unusual Size: His signature Raichu.
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: Why he makes you solve a puzzle to unlock a gate to get to him.
 * Shock and Awe

Erika


Celadon Gym Leader--The Nature-Loving Princess!


 * Acceptable Feminine Goals: Practices flower arranging and is the embodiment of a true Yamato Nadeshiko, but also runs a Pokemon Gym and uses it in order to teach this practice to other women.
 * Ambiguously Gay: Her Gym is all-female, and she doesn't seem to like having men in it - but makes an "exception" for the protagonist. Her Gym badge just happens to be rainbow themed too.
 * Lipstick Lesbian: If the above trope is true.
 * Ship Tease: With Janine.
 * Dub Name Change: Notably the only Gym leader in the franchise to AVOID this, until Iris in Pokémon Black and White.
 * Green Thumb
 * Hair Decorations: Always sports a headband.
 * Heavy Sleeper: Apparently has some mild form of narcolepsy. She almost dozes off before her battle with the player.
 * Mighty Glacier: All of her Pokemon.
 * The Ojou: Explicitly called such in the Japanese version, and this trope is a part of her official title.
 * Raven Hair, Ivory Skin
 * Yamato Nadeshiko

Koga (Kyou)


Fuchsia Gym Leader--The Poisonous Ninja Master!


 * Big Creepy-Crawlies: Venemoth.
 * Combat Medic: As a master of poison techniques, he also has a large amount of knowledge over medicine and apparently heals his Pokemon with concoctions of his own.
 * Evil Laugh: "Fwahahahahahaha!"
 * Jerkass: Or he at least has some kind of sadistic streak. Prefers poisons types specifically because he enjoys wrecking havoc on the player with status effects because he loves to put people in despair.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Patrols the Safari Zone regularly to ensure that the game is safe for all of the entrants to play.
 * Large Ham
 * The Maze: Uses an invisible maze in his Gym to force the player into Pokemon battles while walking around. The maze itself isn't 100% invisible but can mess with players who don't look too closely.
 * Meaningful Name: Named after the Koga-ryu school of ninjutsu.
 * Mighty Glacier: His multiple Koffing and signature Weezing in RBG and their remakes. Yellow replaces them with the more squishy Venonat and Venomoth, respectively.
 * Ninja
 * Of the highly visible variety.
 * Poisonous Person
 * Taking You with Me: He uses a Weezing, sometimes as his last pokémon. The AI is not averse to using Explosion if this is the case. This results in the player losing.
 * Though you could get some laughs out of the AI using Explosion against your Gastly. (Explosion: Normal type; Gastly: Ghost/Poison; Result: no damage at all)

Sabrina (Natsume)


Saffron Gym Leader--The Master of Psychic Pokémon!


 * Curb Stomp Battle: Delivered one to the Fighting Dojo next to her Gym.
 * Glass Cannon: Her team of Psychic Pokemon.
 * Hime Cut: Quiet, serious, and dislikes fighting.
 * Psychic Powers: Not only do her Pokémon have these, but she possesses them as well. She also claims that everyone has psychic powers, but that tragically few people even realize it.
 * The Quiet One
 * Rapunzel Hair: Not as extreme as some future characters, but it's there.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: She isn't villainous (in this continuity anyway), but she is a very difficult opponent to face, especially in the first Generation with Psychic being as broken as it was.
 * Reluctant Warrior: She constantly goes on about how she doesn't like to fight but she will if she must. It makes you curious why she's a Gym leader, then (most likely so she can train people to be psychic and being a Gym leader is the easiest, or only, way).
 * Whip It Good: Only in the original games.

Blaine (Katsura)


Cinnabar Gym Leader--The Hotheaded Quiz Master!


 * Badass Grandpa
 * Badass Labcoat
 * Badass Mustache: Badass enough to make Dr. Robotnik envious, I'm sure.
 * Bald of Awesome
 * Cool Old Guy
 * Cool Shades
 * Fragile Speedster: His Ponyta and Rapidash.
 * Hot-Blooded: Surprisingly so for an old guy, as mentioned in his title. The TCG even had a Trainer Card called "Fervor" dedicated to his hot-bloodedness. Both of these explicitly use the phrase "hot-blooded" in Japanese.
 * Lightning Bruiser: His two canine Pokemon, but mostly this applies to Arcanine. It's fairly sturdy, hits hard with both of its high attack stats, and is very speedy to top it off.
 * Personality Powers: Read Hot-Blooded above.
 * Playing with Fire
 * Pop Quiz
 * The Atoner: Implied to have been involved in Mewtwo's creation. More present in adaptations, though.

Giovanni (Sakaki)


Boss of Team Rocket and the Viridian Gym Leader (no subtitle)


 * Big Bad: He's the one behind all of Team Rocket's shenanigans.
 * Diabolical Mastermind: Pretty much his sole defining feature until you battle him at the Viridian Gym.
 * Disappeared Dad: To Silver.
 * Dishing Out Dirt
 * The Don: Complete with fedora and corsage (and matching Honchkrow!) in HGSS.
 * Which makes him "Don Giovanni".
 * Fragile Speedster: His Dugtrio.
 * Late Arrival Spoiler: The eighth and final Gym Leader is also the leader of Team Rocket. Wow, Kanto, good job; your Pokemon League sure has great background checks.
 * Meaningful Name: His name is pronounced GEO-vanni. The name indicates both his occupations: a Mafia Boss and a Gym Leader of Ground-type pokemon.
 * Mighty Glacier: His Rhyhorn and Rhydon.
 * Worthy Opponent: After you defeat him for the third time, he seems satisfied with the battle and promises to better himself so he can meet you again.
 * My Greatest Failure: To the point that he abandoned his own son to train to beat Red..
 * Though if his presence in the World Tournament in Black and White 2 is anything to go by, the theory may not be true.

Lorelei (Kanna)



 * Adaptation Dye Job: In the original games and the Pokémon anime, her hair is red; it's sandy blonde in Pokémon Stadium and purple in Pokémon Special.
 * An Ice Person
 * Even the Girls Want Her: Misty is said to admire her.
 * Everything's Better with Plushies/Girls Love Stuffed Animals: And her Four Island home is full of them.
 * She adds 1 plushie to the collection for every 25 times you enter the Hall of Fame. She stops after your 200th Hall of Fame induction because then it's just getting stupid.
 * Hot Librarian
 * Megane

Bruno (Shiba)



 * Bruce Lee Clone
 * Charles Atlas Superpower
 * Kiai: HOO-HA!
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Rage Candy Bars.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene
 * Wrestler in All of Us

Agatha (Kikuko)



 * Never Mess with Granny, or she'll sic her frickin' Arbok on you.
 * Poisonous Person: Her official main type is Ghost, but due to the rarity of that type, a Golbat and Arbok were added to her team.
 * Due to the poison subtype of the Gengar family, her entire team is of the poison type. But not all of the ghost type, ironically enough.
 * The Rival: To Prof. Oak in their young times.
 * Soul Power

Lance (Wataru)



 * Badass Cape
 * The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: In Red and Blue, his Dragonite has Barrier - which has never been available to that family of Pokémon. Even worse in the sequel.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons
 * Large Ham: The way he announces the name of the Champion comes across as this.