List of Johto Gym Leaders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Below is a list of fictional Gym Leaders from the Johto region in the Pokémon series of games, anime, and manga. They all first appeared in Pokémon Gold and Silver, and made later appearances in Pokémon Crystal, Pokémon Stadium 2, the Johto Journeys series of the Pokémon anime, and in the GSC series of the Pokémon Adventures manga.
Each of these gym leaders is in charge of a Pokémon Gym. In Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Crystal, and Pokémon Stadium 2, their main role was as one-off, more-difficult gym trainers the player had to defeat to progress through the game and face the Elite Four. They serve much the same role in the anime, each of them posing to Ash a challenge to overcome or task to complete before he earns the badges he needs to go on to the Johto Pokémon League championships.
Contents |
[edit] Official Gyms
[edit] Falkner
| Falkner | |
|---|---|
 Falkner, in the Pokémon anime. |
|
| Japanese name | Hayato |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | Episode 133. Fighting Flyer with Fire |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Flying-type Pokémon |
Falkner is in charge of the Zephyr badge, and resides in Violet City. He is an expert on Flying types. His name in English means, "One who trains falcons" and the Japanese name of the Zephyr badge is the Wing Badge. Falkner's right eye is always covered up by his hair, which seems to be typical of a lot of the anime characters.
In Pokémon Gold and Silver, Falkner's title is "The Elegant Master of Flying Pokémon". He inherited his rather simplistic gym full of bird cages from his father, who is never seen but apparently on the road. It could be said that in the games, there is a small amount of rivalry between him and his father. Falkner is always thought of as cool and handsome but his father is said to be more so. Falkner battles using his father's bird Pokémon, and aspires to be the greatest bird master, but his low-level Pidgey and Pidgeotto will likely pose little threat to the player's team.
In the anime, he meets Ash Ketchum after his Hoothoot foils an attempt by Team Rocket to steal Ash's Pikachu. (He was out hang gliding to better understand flying Pokémon.) After returning Pikachu, he and Ash battle for the Zephyr badge. Ash defeats him (despite his Charizard's wing being badly damaged), but not after being surprised by the speed and agility of Falkner's high-jumping Dodrio. During their battle, Falkners many students cheer for him and chant in unison. His gym is very tall and spiral shaped and, unsurprisingly, he battles on the very top.
In a Japanese manga series Pokémon Adventures, Hayato is actually a police officer who takes over the Violet City gym after the disappearance of his father, the former gym leader. He interrogates Gold for information after Silver steals Professor Elm's Totodile; later, Gold helps him capture a Skarmory, with which Falkner passes the Gym Leader Exam. His father, Hayate, has a friendly, if competitive, rivalry with Chuck, and fights alongside him when the two are defeated by Suicune.
In all three versions, Falkner has a Pidgeotto or a Pidgeot. In Pokémon Gold and Silver, he supplements his Pidgeotto with a lower-level Pidgey. In the anime, he rides his Pidgeot, and supplements it with a Hoothoot and a particularly high-jumping Dodrio. In the manga, while he has a Pidgeotto and a Noctowl (the evolved form of Hoothoot), but his signature Pokémon is instead his particularly large and powerful Skarmory.
In Pokémon Stadium round one, the player must defeat his Pidgeot, Fearow, Noctowl, Togetic, Farfetch'd and Delibird. In round two, the only Pokémon he retains is his Pidgeot but its now joined by a Charizard, Dodrio, Zapdos, Gligar and Skarmory. In the trading card game, his Pokémon are the same Pokémon as in Pokémon Stadium.
[edit] Bugsy
| Bugsy | |
|---|---|
 Bugsy, in the Pokémon anime. |
|
| Japanese name | ツクシ - Tsukushi |
| Voice actor(s) | Tara Jayne |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | Episode 144. Getting` The Bugs Out |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Bug-type Pokémon |
Bugsy is in charge of the Hive badge, and resides in Azalea Town. He is an expert on Bug type Pokémon.
In the anime, Bugsy is a fairly nondescript gym leader whose gym is a large greenhouse dome with a forest-like interior. His signature Pokémon is Scyther, which he has specifically trained to counter fire Pokémon. His other Pokémon are a Spinarak that specializes in String Shot, and a particularly hard and hard-hitting Metapod. When Ash challenges Bugsy's Pokémon Gym, Ash's relatively inexperienced Cyndaquil fails to defeat Spinarak. Ash's Chikorita succeeds where Cyndaquil failed, but in turn is defeated by Bugsy's Metapod. Pikachu finishes off Metapod, but then Ash had to worry about Scyther. In the end, Cyndaquil comes back to defeat Scyther and Ash finally got the Hive Badge.
In Pokémon Adventures, Bugsy is an androgynous-looking archaeologist investigating the Ruins of Alph and the Symbol Pokémon. His signature Pokémon is a Heracross, supplemented with a Metapod. He later acquires a Kakuna and Scyther. He also has a special method of catching Pokémon, one which was invented by him and Kurt, the Poké Ball master. Bugsy has an external capture net attached to his Poké Ball, so when he traps the Pokémon inside the capture net it is automatically sucked into the Poké Ball. The best part is that if the Pokémon manages to escape from the Poké Ball, it will still be trapped inside the external capture net and thus will still be unable to break free completely.
When Bugsy faces Suicune his efforts to fight the legendary Pokémon head-on fail as his Heracross's strength falls to the much-stronger Suicune. Eventually Bugsy tries to use the capture net method (mentioned above) to capture Suicune, but Suicune manages to break Bugsy's net for the first time, and escapes.
When the Gym Leaders all meet to battle, Bugsy used his Scyther's swift and accurate Fury Cutter attacks to damage Sabrina's Mr. Mime considerably. But just when Bugsy is about to use Heracross' Megahorn to knock out Mr. Mime, he finds that he is actually in an invisible room created by the Psychic Pokémon, and that Sabrina has tricked him into getting trapped in the room, causing him to lose.
In the video games, like the anime, his signature Pokémon is a Scyther, which he supplements with the largely ineffectual Kakuna and Metapod.
[edit] Whitney
| Whitney | |
|---|---|
 Whitney in the Pokémon anime. |
|
| Japanese name | Akane |
| Voice actor(s) | Megan Hollingshead |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | "A Goldenrod Opportunity", ep. 160 |
| Pokémon Adventures chapter | "Vs. Smeargle", chap. 105 |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Normal-type Pokémon |
Whitney is in charge of the Plain badge, and resides in Goldenrod City. (The Plain badge's name is a pun in English; Whitney lives on a rural Midwestern-esque farm, and is also a trainer of Normal-type Pokémon. In Japan, the Plain badge is known as the Regular Badge.) She is an expert on Normal types.
Whitney's name in English means white islands. It was problably chosen because "white" relates to being without color and therefore plain and normal. Her name in Japanese is Akane, can be taken to mean madder (a type of plant) or deep red (possibly to do with her hair colour).
In Pokémon Gold and Silver, her gym is shaped like a Clefairy. After she is defeated, she refuses to hand over the gym badge, but will give the player the badge later after she gets over her loss. She later appears in Pokémon Stadium 2 in her Goldenrod Gym. Her line-up in round one includes a Clefable, a Wigglytuff, a (somewhat uncharacteristic) Gloom, a Dodrio, and a Stantler. (Note that this is one of her few appearances without a Miltank.) Once she (and her cohorts) are defeated, the player can move on to Ecruteak Gym to face Morty. The second time you have to face her (in round 2), she has a Miltank, a Persian, a Donphan, a Tauros and a Mr. Mime.
In the Pokémon anime, Whitney is the niece of a Miltank farmer, and has the unique ability to always take the right path to wherever she needs to go, as long as she has no idea how to get to her destination. She ends up leading Ash and his friends on a wild goose chase through the Goldenrod Galleria, before they realize that she's the gym leader. They battle, but, initially, Ash's Pokémon turn out to be no match for Whitney's Miltank. After working at Whitney's uncle's farm for a bit and foiling a Team Rocket scheme, he earns a rematch with Whitney, where Pikachu outmanuevers and knocks out her Miltank.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga series, Whitney is an actress who is good friends with DJ Mary (who was the one to give her her Smeargle). She met Gold while performing at the Radio Tower in Goldenrod City, but the two clashed and ended up competing against each other in a bike race. Whitney isn't a strong Gym Leader, according to Suicune, and is the one of two Johto Gym Leaders (along with Pryce) that Suicune didn't challenge for a right to be its partner in the fight against the Mask of Ice. In the end, she was the first to realize that Pryce was the villain of the Mask of Ice.
In the Vs. Series of the trading card game, Pokémon in her set include Clefable, Wigglytuff, Persian, Lickitung, Furret, and her ever-present Miltank. She also appears on a Trainer Card.
In all three versions, Whitney's signature Pokémon is a particularly tough Miltank. In the games and anime, she also has a Clefairy, as well as a Nidorina in the anime only. In Pokémon Adventures, she has a Cleffa and Igglybuff who work together to stun and confuse enemies to set them up for Miltank's attacks. At one point she also had a particularly mischievous Smeargle, but she gives it away. She also appears in the Golden Boys manga, where she also has a Ditto and a Magby.
[edit] Morty
| Morty | |
|---|---|
 Morty, in the Pokémon anime. |
|
| Japanese name | Matsuba |
| Voice actor(s) | Andrew Rannells |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | Episode 183. From Ghost to Ghost |
| Pokémon Adventures chapter | Vs. Misdreavus |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Ghost-type Pokémon |
Morty is in charge of the Fog Badge (In Japan, this is the Phantom badge), and resides in Ecruteak City. He is very mysterious, owing to his nature as a trainer of ghostly Pokémon.
In the anime, Morty is one of few people who is knowledgeable on Ecruteak City history. (The only one who knows more is Eusine, the Suicune fanatic.) He knows quite a bit about the origins of Ho-Oh, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. However, he is too afraid of information slipping out that is supposed to remain secret to tell anyone except Ash and co. Morty also teaches classes about caring for and the battling techniques of Pokémon in the anime.
In Pokémon Adventures, he is an item finder, using his powers as a psychic clairvoyant to locate lost objects and Pokémon and see objects at a distance. When Team Rocket attacked Ecruteak City, he was out of town but later assisted in its reconstruction. His dream is to one day be able to see Ho-oh. The rainbow Pokémon's power is so great, it blocks Morty's abilities.
In the video games, Morty appears in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, and owns a Gastly and a brace of Haunters, supplementing his signature Gengar. His Gym is in shadow, forcing the player to feel his way through the invisible maze, battling lesser trainers along the way. Morty also appears in Pokémon Stadium, flanked by Medium Holly and Sage Ty. He has, along with his Gengar, an Ariados, a Sudowoodo, a Marowak, a Girafarig and a Noctowl.
[edit] Chuck
| Chuck | |
|---|---|
 Chuck, from a game guide for Pokémon Gold and Silver. |
|
| Japanese name | シジマ - Shijima |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | "Machoke, Machoke Man", ep. 211 |
| Pokémon Adventures chapter | "Vs. Skarmory", chap. 124 |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Fighting-type Pokémon |
Chuck is in charge of the Storm badge, and resides in Cianwood City. He is an expert on Fighting types.
In the video games, the player must get to him through a boulder puzzle. When met, he shows off his strength by throwing a boulder. Then he realises the player means a Pokémon battle, not a fighting battle, and challenges.
In the anime, Chuck is fanatically devoted to physical fitness, and is unusually positive-minded and emotional. He teases his wife (and is teased right back), and has a tendency to break out into tears. (His wife seems to share his general goodwill and positive outlook; she ends up commissioning Team Rocket to help with the chores and feeds them generously, under the impression that they're students come to study at the gym.) He chides Ash and his friends for being out of shape, after wearing them out on a long hike to his gym. In the ensuing battle, Pikachu turns out to be no match for his buff Poliwrath, but Ash's Bayleef defeats both his Poliwrath and his Machoke.
In the manga, Chuck is instead more of a meditative martial artist, and considers personal martial training to be an important part of Pokémon training. He trained Green to be a Pokémon trainer, after being introduced to Green by Professor Oak. Green would later go on to defeat Chuck at the Pokémon League Tournament, demonstrating clearly that he had learned his lessons from Chuck well. Chuck is a friendly rival of Falkner's father, and aids him in a battle against Suicune, a battle they end up losing despite working together.
Chuck's signature Poliwrath is with him in all three incarnations, and, in his game and manga incarnations, he also has a Primeape. In the anime, Chuck also has a Machoke, which he spars with to keep in shape. In the manga, he has a larger team, including the Poliwrath and Primeape, but also a Machamp, Hitmonlee, and Hitmontop.
His name may have come from the karate master Chuck Norris, or as in the verb form of the word (to chuck is to throw something).
[edit] Jasmine
| Jasmine | |
|---|---|
 Jasmine, in the Pokémon anime. |
|
| Japanese name | Mikan |
| Voice actor(s) | Lisa Ortiz |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | Episode 210. Fight For the Light |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Steel-type Pokémon |
Jasmine is in charge of the Mineral Badge (The Steel badge in Japan), and resides in Olivine City. She is an expert on Steel types, but also has an Ampharos which lights the Olivine Light House.
In the anime, her Ampharos is used to light the way over the shore but it became ill. She asked Ash to fetch her medicine from Cianwood City. Ash and his friends retrieved the medicine and sent it back with one of Jasmine's students. Several weeks later, Ash and his friends returned from the Whirl Islands and Ash challenged Jasmine to a Gym battle. Ash used Cyndaquil and was able to defeat Jasmine's Steelix with great difficulty to get his Mineral badge. She is voiced in the anime in Japan by Yumi Kakazu.
In the video games, Jasmine's title is The Steel-Clad Defense Girl. The player is unable to fight her immediately, as she's busy taking care of her sick Ampharos. First, they must get the special medicine from the pharmacy in Cianwood City and give it to her. She is the Steel master but a villager says that she used to train rock types like Onix. The Olivine City Gym is probably the most simply designed Pokémon Gym in Johto. It consists of just one straight, fairly short walkway, outlined with boulders, leading up to a small set of steps onto a raised stone platform. For this reason, and possibly due somewhat to Jasmine's shy nature, she appears to be the only member of her gym, accompanied only by her two Magnemites and her Steelix. That and the fact that Steel-types were limited to half breeds at the time. She also made a cameo appearance in the new games Pokémon Diamond and Pearl version. She gives the player HM07 after they defeat the 8th Gym Leader, Denji
She is a very shy girl, and has trouble speaking. She's compassionate, and when Amphy, the Ampharos in the lighthouse tower, falls ill, Jasmine is so worried she cannot even smile. Amphy and Jasmine appear to be close, because when the medicine is brought from Cianwood City, Amphy will only take it from her.
In Pokémon Stadium, the player must battle her twice. First time round, she has a Magneton, Forretress, Steelix, Skarmory and unusually, a Mantine and Corsola. In round two, other than Steelix, she has a totally new line-up of Blastoise, Rapidash, Slowbro, Scizor and Stantler. Neither time does she have her Ampharos.
In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Jasmine was caught in an earthquake caused by Team Rocket while traveling through Ecruteak City. She had climbed the Tin Tower to get away from the shaking and got caught in some rubble. Using Ampharos to send off a distress flare, she caught the attention of both Gold and Silver. The two boys actually fought over who would get to rescue her, and she only barely managed to escape, leaving the young rivals trapped in the tower.
Jasmine later recovered. At the Pokémon League Tournament, she fought against Brock. She covered her Steelix in rubble to make it look like an Onix, thinking that the newly-discovered Steel Pokémon would be too horrifying for people to see. Jasmine once specialized in Rock-type Pokémon before Crystal and Professor Oak discovered Steel-type Pokémon. Her two Togetics are the parents of Gold's Togepi.
In the Pokémon Trading Card Game, she appears on a trainer card and the Pokémon under her name are Raichu, Magneton, Electabuzz, Jolteon, and her beloved Ampharos.
[edit] Pryce
| Pryce | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Japanese name | ヤナギ Yanagi |
| Voice actor(s) | Jimmy Zoppi |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | Episode 238. Rage of Innocence |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Ice-type Pokémon |
Pryce is in charge of the Glacier Badge, and resides in Mahogany Town. He is an expert on Ice types.
In the video games, his gym, the floor of which is slippery, sliding ice, can only be accessed after the player has helped Lance beat Team Rocket. Once you have navigated through his gym, you will find he has a Piloswine at level 31, Dewgong at level 29, and Seel at level 27. The reward for beating him is (other than the Badge), TM16 (Icy Wind).
[edit] As Mask of Ice (manga)
In the manga, it is revealed that Pryce is actually the leader of Neo Team Rocket under the guise of the Mask of Ice with the intent of controlling time. Half of the Mask of Ice's body was composed of ice, while the other half was Pryce sitting in a wheelchair, explaining why he retains no damage when his lower half were attacked. He is able to shoot ice because of the Swinub sitting in his lap. He was the only Johto Gym Leader other than Whitney who was not challenged, due to his connections with Team Rocket, which the legendary Pokémon knew about. He owns a particularly powerful Delibird to supplement his Swinub. He also has various other types, but he is known mostly as an ice user. He also owns a special Lapras, whose parents were killed in an icy wasteland years ago. The sadness of the Lapras prompted Pryce to research methods of controlling and reversing time so he could go back to save his Lapras' parents. He was also rumored to have had connections with Team Rocket much earlier. But thanks to Celebi, who played a song his childhood friends had written for him, Pryce became happy again, and fell into the clouds of time to save Gold and his Pichu. To this day, Pryce's spirit wanders throughout the lands of Johto and Kanto, making life better for Pokémon and humans alike.
[edit] Animé
The animé portrays him differently. Pryce is a cold and abrasive man who believes that Pokémon are for battling and nothing more as a result of an incident from his youth.
During a storm, his beloved Piloswine disappeared and Pryce believed it abandoned him. During an encounter with Ash, the two of them are trapped underground and come across a frozen Piloswine, which turns out to be Pryce's Piloswine. Realizing that it had tried to find healing herbs (the two had previously been badly burned by a Magmar), Pryce reconciles with his reunited Pokémon and turns over a new leaf, once again seeing Pokémon as friends.
[edit] Clair
| Clair | |
|---|---|
 Claire, in the Pokémon anime. |
|
| Japanese name | イブキ - Ibuki |
| Voice actor(s) | Megan Hollingshead |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Gold and Silver |
| Anime episode | Episode 251. Beauty Is Skin Deep |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Preferred Pokémon type | Dragon-type Pokémon |
Clair resides in Blackthorn City. She is an expert on Dragon types. Lance, the head of the Kanto Elite Four, is her cousin, and she once trained with him for the Elite Four. In Pokémon Crystal, she also has a grandfather who lives inside the Dragon's Den. Her English name means "clear".
In the video games, Clair's title is "The Blessed User of Dragon Pokémon". Decending from a long line of Dragon-type trainers, Clair is very arrogant, speaking of herself as "the world's best dragon master." She claims she can hold her own even against the Elite Four. Her only known loss had been to her cousin, Lance. She owns three Dragonairs, but her most powerful Pokémon is Kingdra. Upon her defeat, Clair refuses to accept the player is better than her unless they pass the "Dragon User Challenge".
In Pokémon Gold and Silver, Clair gives out her badge only when the player goes into the Dragon's Den and finds a Dragon Fang. Once the Dragon Fang is found, Claire appears behind the player and gives him the Rising Badge. In Pokémon Crystal, earning the badge instead involves navigating the Dragon's Den and finding the shrine at the center. After that challenge is resolved, Clair hands over the badge, after her grandfather threatens to tell Lance about her reluctance.
In the first battle with her in Pokémon Stadium, Clair sends out an Arcanine, a Rhydon, a Lapras, her signature Dragonair, an Ampharos and a Kingdra. For the second battle, she discards her Lapras and Arcanine, instead opting for a Charizard and a Nidoking.
In the anime, after Ash Ketchum and his friends arrive at Blackthorn City, they discover a Dratini and a Gyarados in a river. Afterwards, they meet Clair and follow the Dratini for some time, and even end up freeing it from Team Rocket. Later, Dratini evolves into a Dragonair, much to Jessie's dismay. Claire performs the Dragon Fang ritual and then finally prepares to face Ash as Gym Leader. Their battle is dogged by Team Rocket, and the battle is interrupted when Team Rocket steals the Dragon Fang. Ash, Clair, and Team Rocket all end up in the Dragon Holy Land, where Team Rocket tricks a Dragonite into helping them. Luckily, Liza and Ash's Charizard arrived to help save the day. Ash's Charizard helps him earn him his eighth and final Johto badge, allowing him to face the Elite Four.
Clair is one of the first to meet Suicune in the Pokémon Adventures manga, and she is outclassed quite quickly by its use of Mist to create a reflection of himself. Later, she faces Blaine at the Gym Leaders Challenge. She challenged him in the hope that Blaine would know what became of Lance, her cousin, after Blaine and Lance's battle at Cerise Island the year before. Despite a Team Rocket attack which trapped all the Gym Leaders on a bullet train, she forced Blaine into fighting their duel. Blaine quickly won, relying on his Entei's powerful attacks. This victory was the tiebreaker in the Gym Leaders' Challenge, giving the win to the Kanto Gym Leaders with four wins, three loses and one draw.
[edit] Unofficial Gyms
[edit] Dorian
Dorian is the gym leader of the unofficial Coastline Gym. He is used to battling underwater with his water Pokémon.
| Pokémon Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains | |
|---|---|
| Kanto Gym Leaders | Brock | Brock's family | Misty | Daisy, Lily, and Violet | Lt. Surge | Erika | Koga | Janine | Sabrina | Blaine | Giovanni | Blue | Agatha |
| Orange Island Gym Leaders | Cissy | Danny | Rudy | Luana | Jeremy | Drake |
| Johto Gym Leaders | Falkner | Bugsy | Whitney | Morty | Chuck | Jasmine | Pryce | Clair |
| Hoenn Gym Leaders | Roxanne | Brawly | Wattson | Flannery | Norman | Winona | Tate & Liza | Wallace | Juan |
| Sinnoh Gym Leaders | Hyouta | Natane | Sumomo | Maxi | Melissa | Tougan | Suzuna | Denji |
| Leaders of Unofficial Gyms | Kiyo | A.J. | Yas & Kas Gym | Dorian |
| Frontier Brains | Anabel | Brandon | Spenser | Greta | Noland | Tucker | Lucy |
