Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


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

Main Characters

Brendan (Yuuki)/May (Haruka)

The hero. Whichever one you don't choose becomes your rival. Also, note that, unless examples for both are given, what applies for May does not apply for Brendan, and vice versa.

As the protagonist

  • Badass Adorable: The protagonist has no problem standing face-to-face with a beast that can shift continents, raise the sea, or Hyper Beam them to death, depending on the version. Or all three of them in Emerald.
    • Took a Level In Badass: The protagonist saves the world from utter annihilation of the awakened pissed-off Legendary (depending on version of course) by either defeating or capturing them.
      • Averted in Emerald, as technically Rayquaza is the one to solve the crisis. You just go to awake him.
  • Free-Range Children: As with all of the games, no one seems to care that you're traveling around the country and fighting villains even though you're only 11.
  • Disappeared Dad: So far, the only aversion in the main series--the protagonist's father is Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader.

As the rival

  • Break the Haughty: You do this to Brendan if you play as May.
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: NPC May gives off this vibe.
  • Gotta Catch Em All: NPC May, somewhat; after you fight her in Lilycove City, she seems to be more interested in filling her Pokédex than continuing training.
  • Plucky Girl: NPC May is clumsy and shy but never lets any losses get her down.
  • The Rival: Quite obviously, though to a lesser extent than the previous rivals.
  • Ship Tease: In Emerald, the rival states "I just saw a huge green Pokémon flying across the sky!....I wish you were there, <player's name>." Take of that what you will, but the way NPC Brendan acts toward you..
  • Tsundere: Brendan plays a Type B version of this as a NPC.
  • Totally Radical: In Emerald, their Poké Nav nickname is "Rad Neighbor."

As both

  • Blue Eyes: May.
  • Brown Eyes: Brendan.
  • Meaningful Name: Their Japanese names. Haruka means "Spring flower" but also means "far away", which goes with Norman's name Senri which can also refer to "1000 li" (2440 miles, but also an idiomatic way to say far away). Yuki, also known as Brendan, just means "bravery".
    • Two of Brendan's default names are Landon and Sean; referring to the 2 legendary Pokémon.
    • Two of May's default names are Terra and Marina; also referring to Groudon and Kyogre.
    • In Emerald, one of Brendan's default names is "Rald."
  • Nice Hat: As is tradition, both protagonists have stylin’ hats - a ski cap/head band for Brendan and a bandanna for May.
  • One Steve Limit: Very nearly broken in Emerald, as Brendan's name is similar to Pyramid King Brandon.
  • Skirt Over Slacks: May.
  • Sleeves Are for Wimps: In Emerald.
  • To Be a Master: May as the protagonist, and Brendan as either role. (NPC Brendan states that he wants to take over a gym, while NPC May goes help Birch with the research)

Wally (Mitsuru)

A sickly boy that starts his journey when you help him catch his first Pokémon.

Professor Birch (Odamaki-Hakase)

The Hoenn region's professor, an expert on Pokémon habitats. Also the father of your rival.

  • Fan Nickname: Some people call him "Professor Bitch" for being chased around by a level 2 Poochyena/Zigzagoon[1] at the beginning of the game.
  • Happily Married: With a kid (two in Emerald).
  • Nice Guy
  • Professor Who Actually Does Something: He's the first Regional Professor to actually go out into the field himself to study Pokémon in the wild, instead of just sending a kid to do it and leaving it at that. He kinda sucks at it, though.
  • Theme Naming: Once again, a regional professor named after a tree.

The Gym Leaders

Roxanne (Tsutsuji)

Rustboro Gym Leader--The Rock-Loving Honor Student!

Brawly (Touki)

Dewford Gym Leader--A Big Wave in Fighting!

Wattson (Tessen)

Mauville Gym Leader--The Cheerfully Electrifying Man!

Flannery (Asuna)

Lavaridge Gym Leader--One With a Fiery Passion that Burns!

Norman (Senri)

Petalburg Gym Leader--A Man in Pursuit of Power!

Winona (Nagi)

Fortree Gym Leader--The Bird User Taking Flight into the World!

Tate and Liza (Fuu and Ran)

Mossdeep Gym Leaders--The Mystic Combination!

Wallace (Mikuri)

Sootopolis Gym Leader (Ruby and Sapphire)--Artist, and Lover of Water!; Champion (Emerald)

Juan (Adan)

Sootopolis Gym Leader (Emerald)--The Gym Leader with the Beauty of Pure Water!

Team Aqua

Archie (Aogiri)

Team Aqua's leader, he aspires to awaken Kyogre and expand the seas. Unlike Giovanni before him, his motives are very much selfless, but it doesn't change the fact that his activities are criminal in nature, and his underlings are all dicks. Therefore, you must stop him. Even though you're eleven.

Matt (Ushio)

Shelly (Izumi)

Team Magma

Maxie (Matsubusa)

Team Magma's leader, he aspires to awaken Groudon and expand the landmass. Unlike Giovanni before him, his motives are very much selfless, but it doesn't change the fact that his activities are criminal in nature, and his underlings are all dicks. Therefore, you must stop him. Even though you're eleven.

  • Anti-Villain: Like Archie, he thinks he is doing justice to the world, since draining the sea would allow humans to travel more easily and would make more room to live. He also pulls a quicker Heel Face Turn than Archie in Emerald.
  • Badass Longcoat
  • Badass Long Hair
  • Big Bad: In Ruby.
  • Big Badass Wolf: His Mightyena.
  • Bishounen: To a lesser extent than some, but still....
  • Dual Boss: In Emerald, you have to battle him three times. The third time, he faces you in a double-battle alongside Tabitha. You get to fight them both alongside Steven, and each person is allowed no more than three Pokémon to balance the odds.
  • Evil Redhead
  • Gender Blender Name: Sort of, at least in English...
    • It's not as bad as Tabitha, though.
  • Gone Horribly Right: He succeeds in awakening Groudon, and it promptly proceeds to cause a lot more drought than he had hoped for.
  • Heel Face Turn: After releasing Groudon and having his What Have I Done moment. He later returns the Red Orb to Mt. Pyre.
    • In Emerald, he makes one even sooner once he realizes the potential destruction in releasing Groudon and Kyogre.
  • Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds
  • Morality Pet: His Crobat, almost certainly- it even gets a decent amount of focus in fanart.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Possibly, to a greater extent than Archie.
  • Playing With Fire
  • Recurring Boss: In Emerald, he's fought three times in total (once in a Dual Boss situation on both sides). This sharply contrasts Archie, who is only fought once (after all three battles with Maxie).
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Archie's red.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Gives the impression of being the Sensitive Guy to Archie's Manly Man.
  • Sharp-Dressed Man: In a manner of speaking.
  • Sympathetic Criminal: While he is leading what is essentially an eco-terrorist group, his cause to make the rather rare Fire-type more common and dry up the sea is considered to be rather sane compared to Archie's plot to make Water-types even more common when the Water-type is already is the most common Pokémon type in the whole series.
    • Especially given how Fire types are among the rarer and and less diverse elements - in fact, Gen. V is the first time since Gen. I that any new Pokémon which evolve via Fire Stone were introduced. Not to mention that Hoenn does have one of the smallest number of Fire type species introduced to the overall list (6, not including Castform).
  • Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants to make more land so that land based Pokémon have more places to live, and like Archie, he has a Crobat to prove that he is not really an evil person.
    • Obliviously Evil: Like Archie, he doesn't seem to realize the bad parts of his plans until it is too late.
  • What Have I Done: After awakening Groudon and finding out that it will dry away all the water in the world, leaving humanity and Pokémon to die of thirst.
  • You Fail Geology Forever: Waitwaitwait - You want to expand the landmass by using a meteor to (somehow) trigger a volcanic eruption in THE MIDDLE OF THE CONTINENT? (Ruby and Emerald) And when that works, you want to JETTISON A LOAD OF ROCKET FUEL INTO SAID VOLCANO? (Emerald) To MAKE IT ERUPT?! How many science classes did you sleep through, Maxie?
    • There's some implication that in Emerald at least, the plan was actually to empty out the volcano's contents in order to search for Groudon inside it (hence why their base is later built at the Jagged Pass near Mt Chimney, and why Team Magma is absent for a while). The "jettison a load of rocket fuel" was likely the start of a Villainous Breakdown since Maxie's plans were failing, and he was clutching at straws before finally realising he was wrong.

Courtney (Kagari)

  • Ascended Extra: In Pokémon Special, she receives a surprisingly strong level of characterisation and a larger role.
  • Dark Chick
  • The Dragon: To Maxie, but only in Ruby. In Emerald, she surrenders this role to Tabitha.
  • Demoted to Extra: Worse than Matt (from Team Aqua) in this regard. While both only cameo in the game opposite their team's role (in her case, Sapphire), she doesn't have any importance in Emerald and only appears at the Seafloor Cavern.
    • And given how the admins and grunts have the same overworld sprites in these games... It's relatively easy to miss the fact that it's supposed to be her in the Seafloor Cavern.
  • Nice Hat
  • Satellite Character: She's just there to provide a battle (in Ruby).
  • Theme Naming: Her Japanese name means "bonfire".

Tabitha (Homura)

Elite Four

Sidney (Kagetsu)

Phoebe (Fuyou)

  • Ambiguously Brown: Arguably the first in the game series; although some might think she's Hawaiian because of her rather stereotypical dress.
  • Bare Your Midriff
  • Does Not Like Shoes
  • Flower in Her Hair: And for bonus points, they're her (Japanese) namesake.
  • I See Dead People: Gained the ability to communicate with ghosts while training on Mt. Pyre.
  • Mana Burn: Her first Pokémon in Emerald, Dusclops, has Protect, which, coupled with its Pressure ability, was specifically designed to wear down the Power Points (PP) of your Pokémon. The second one, Banette, is no slouch either, with Spite in its arsenal (in Emerald, Spite is replaced with Grudge).
  • Soul Power
  • Stone Wall: Her Badass Boast before your battle, openly challenges you to try and damage her team.

Glacia (Prim)

  • An Ice Person
  • Luck-Based Mission: Her Walrein knows Sheer Cold. Unless you outlevel her (meaning you have effectively already won), you have at least a 30% chance of losing.
  • One Steve Limit: Glaceon's Japanese name is also Glacia.

Drake (Genji)

Steven Stone (Daigo Tsuwabuki)

Frontier Brains

Noland (Datsura)

Greta (Kogomi)

Tucker (Heath)

Lucy (Azami)

Spenser (Ukon)

Brandon (Jindai)

Anabel (Lila)

  1. ↑ Poochyena in Ruby and Sapphire, Zigzagoon in Emerald
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