Pokemon games have been popular for a very long time. Aside from having simple gameplay that almost anyone can get into, part of the reason as to why it’s so popular as a franchise is its many (and I do mean MANY) characters.
From the Anime’s Ash Ketchum to the games’ Battle Legend Red (as of Sun and Moon), Pokemon has had loads of iconic and memorable characters over its 25 years. What better way, then, to celebrate the occasion than by counting down the 10 characters that fans love the most? Whether it’s from the main games, or spinoffs, these 10 characters are beloved for a reason.
10. Professor Oak (Pokemon R/B/G/Y, G/S/C, PL)
Who better to start off this list than the granddaddy of all Pokemon Professors and Pokemon Characters? Other than Red and Blue, Professor Oak is the first actual character many people have seen in the main games. He introduces players such as us to the then-one-region world of Pokemon known as Kanto.
In addition to giving you your first Pokemon , he’ll even pay out the fee for losing a battle against his grandson, Blue - but only during the first battle. He’ll also give you advice on how to capture more Pokemon depending on where you are, and how many Pokemon you’ve caught. His most memorable role in those first gen games is to scold his grandson after losing the champion title to Red just minutes after he got iit, and induct you into the Hall of Fame.
In Gen II, he gives access to Mt. SIlver after getting all 16 badges. In HG/SS, he gives you the Jade Orb if you have the Groudon and Kyogre from HG/SS in your party in the same game. In Platinum, during the post-game,he’ll tell of the 3 legendary birds who then roam Sinnoh.
Fun Fact: He has a (negative) dynamic with Agatha of the Elite Four. However, at one point, they were colleagues in the field of Pokemon Research. (at least in the Adventures Manga). Their meeting is expanded upon in Pokemon Masters EX.
9. Silver (Pokemon G/S/C, HG/SS)
Given Blue’s iconic status as a somewhat jerk rival who left Silph co. under Team Rocket control after losing to you there, you probably figured he’d be on here. I thought so, as well, but then I replayed Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal on the Game Boy Color. He was the first, and so far only, true “jerk” rival in the franchise, with Bede from Sword and Shield coming very close.
He can be first seen outside Prof. Elm’s lab, and if talked to, he’ll push you away. That’s “violent” by Pokemon Standards. In addition, Not only does he take the starter that’s stronger than yours, he acquires it by theft, as shown when you return to Professor Elm’s lab with a necessary key item. He harbors a-then unknown (at the time) secret. It is alluded to in the Firered and Leafgreen remakes of Gen 1 with Gen III mechanics that Giovanni has a kid, and Rocket scientist Gideon (then unnamed at the time the Gen I remakes came out) points out that his kid has Red hair.
In the Japanese script for Heartgold and SoulSiver, it’s revealed that his hatred of Team Rocket stems from his father’s failures in Gen 1. The remakes also show him in a kinder light than in Gen II. While in Gold, Silver, and Crystal he eventually battles out of his desire to prove he’s a good trainer, in Heartgold and Soulsilver, he goes as far as returning to Prof. Elms lab to try to return the (now fully evolved) starter that he stole all that time ago.
To show how far he’s come in the remakes, he gains a Crobat and his starter follows him around. All this development stems from a loss to Lance, which he can avenge in an optional multi battle alongside you against him and Clair. His heart is so pure, in an odd sense, that in Pokemon Masters EX, Ho-Oh is his Sync Partner.
Fun Fact: In the anime, specifically the DP saga, While Silver himself doesn’t appear, he gets a just-as-good anime-exclusive counterpart in Paul.
8. Dawn (Pokemon D/P/Pl, BD/SP)
No need to worry! Dawn is here on the list. She can either serve the role of Professor Rowan’s assistant throughout the game, or she can be the main protagonist of the adventure, and capture either/Dialga or Palkia. Helping against Team Galactic (No matter whether you picked her or Lucas as the main protagonist, by the way) is also very good. She, when not picked, teaches you the basics in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum.
She really shines bright and is mainly on here due to her role in the anime, from rescuing Ash’s Pikachu from Team Rocket in the beginning, to becoming better and better at Contests, eventually reaching the Grand Festival Finals as well only to just narrowly lose to her main rival Zoey.
Instead of complaining and crying like after her first few contest losses, she returns her mother’s ribbon - which results in stepping out of her mom’s shadow and taking the loss as inspiration to do better. She also forms a bond with Mesprit and helps fight off Team Galactic as well. She later returns in Pokemon Journeys Episodes 74 and 75 to deal with a sleep-deprived Rhydon and heal and rescue a Cresselia from Team Rocket and the Matori Matrix.
Personality-wise. In the anime at least, she starts off shy and takes losses in contests especially hard. She gets past this over time and becomes more confident, she also starts becoming more headstrong, outgoing, etc.
Fun Fact: her main rival being named Nozomi is a clever reference to how the Nozomi train is faster than the Hikari train. It’s also a clever metaphor for how Dawn/Hikari is consistently one-upped by Zoey/Nozomi at Pokemon Contests and stuff.
7. Ghetsis (Pokemon B/W. B2/W2, US/UM)
Yeah, I know. Ghetsis as the sole villain on the list? How can it be? Well, a lot of people felt Ghetsis’s conduct within the main story of Pokemon Black (game review here) and White was rather interesting. He appears almost as soon as the tutorial is done in Accumula Town and you exit the Pokemon Center. There, he gives off an Incredibly strong first impression, talking to the 30 or so townsfolk about releasing their pokemon while ominous music plays in the background.
Throughout the game, Ghetsis will rescue the other members of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma from arrest, and even warn citizens in various cities of the incoming change involving the bonds between humans and pokemon. He does this all, including a similar speech to the one made in Accumula Town - but this time in Opelucid City. He even urges the player to confront N to “discover whether you have what it takes to be a hero.” Of course, hints about his deeper plans for N and Team Plasma are sprinkled in throughout the game.
He has a powerful team clearly meant to deal with N’s team in the event N won the decisive battle against the player. This includes a Cofagrigus with the virus-like ability Mummy, a powerful underleveled Hydreigon that can defeat both Unova’s main legendary dragons and N’s final team with little trouble, and other strong Pokemon like Bouffalant, Bisharp, Seismitoad, and an Eelektross with Levitate.
In addition, he returns for vengeance in Pokemon Black 2 and White 2. He leads Neo Team Plasma to freeze Opelucid City with the Plasma Frigate, has them fight against the old Team Plasma Remnants, and - most iconically and brutally- attempts to impale you with Kyurem’s Glaciate, and uses N’s resulting appearance to create the terrifying Black Kyurem/White Kyurem to use against Nate/Rosa, and then challenge them with an additional party of 6.
He’s the only trainer in the Core Series to ever do this style of battling, with the only other trainer ever doing this (and first to do this overall) being Greevil from Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness.
Fun Fact: His right eye has a scar that is concealed by a cybernetic-like Eyepiece.
6. Clair (Pokemon G/S/C, HG/SS, B2/W2)
Considering Ghetsis ranked relatively high, how’d a mere Gym Leader outrank him? Well, for starters, Clair has a good design (well, not to the cast of the games), and down-to-earth/stubborn personality.
She - in Gold, Silver, and Crystal - picked up Cousin Champion Lance’s habit of using 3 of a type of pokemon. She uses 3 Dragonairs with only one move difference between each individual Dragonair. She also is the only one who’ll NOT give you the gym badge after defeat. Instead, she’ll send you to the Dragon’s Den to complete a trial to receive the badge. Also, she’s the relative (at the time) Pokemon League Champion, with Lance, the Champion of Johto/Kanto in Gen II, being her cousin.
As a result of her team’s repetitiveness, she gets a new addition to her team in Heartgold and Soulsilver. In those remakes, she gets a Gyrados, loses a Dragonair, and keeps a Kingdra. They all even get revised and more varied movesets. Also in the remakes, she’ll appear alongside Lance to challenge you and Silver to a post-game exclusive Multi-battle.
In Black 2 and White 2, she returns in the Pokemon World Championships’ Johto Leaders Tournament, and the Type Expert and World Leaders Tournament. She uses a wider variety of Dragon-type pokemon, such as Pseudo-Legend Dragonite, Altaria, Pseudo-Legend Salamence, Druddigon, and Pseudo-Legend Garchomp.
Fun Fact: Her design is mocked by a number of characters, including Silver.
5. Gladion (Pokemon Sun/Moon, US/UM)
Gladion is an edgier version of Silver, depending on who you ask. He initially works for Team Skull and Guzma, by extension, as a mere enforcer, and is a rival to both you and Hau. He also used to be a member of the Aether Foundation along with his sister Lillie and mother Lusamine, though these facts aren’t revealed straight for plot reasons.
It is discreetly shown that Gladion joined the Battle Royale Dome to see if the Player protagonist, or anyone for that matter, can stop his mother Lusamine, though this is also well hidden and hard to notice or spot. On Route 13, he tells the player character about how Team Skull is after Cosmog. While Yungoos is used as a distraction to lure the protagonist to Po Town, Gladion fails to arrive in time to prevent Hau from losing to Team Skull and prevent Lillie’s abduction. He, the player character, and Hau form an unlikely trio to stop Lusamine, Team Skull, and the rest of the Aether Foundation’s plans to unleash Ultra Beasts on Alola. The process of this would kill Cosmog most likely, and it is here, after his loss to Guzma and your last battle with Guzma that the family dynamic and Lillie’s running away with Cosmog from the opening is revealed and explained upon.
This all makes him endearing enough as is, including his over-the-top arm movements, but at Mt. Lanakila, his team mainly includes Pokemon that evolve through friendship, such as Crobat, Lucario, and Silvally. He also has a Weavile. In the post-game, he becomes the foundation’s president, and gives you a Type: Null with all the Memory Drives. He may also appear as a title defense challenger.
In Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, he fights to stop Lusamine from going after Necrozma and is revealed to have left the Aether Paradise due toM ohn’s disappearance. After you become Champion, he travels to Kanto and Johto to become stronger and after one month passes, he can be rematched as a title defense challenger with a Kanto Starter evolution on his team as well as the Zoroark seen in the Multi-Battle.
Fun Fact: He is the first of two Main Rival Trainers to own a legendary Pokemon - that being Silvally. The other is Hop and his Zacian/Zamazenta. Coincidentally, he’s a parallel to Silver in that they’re both the children of Main Antagonists. It’s debatable if N was the first (with Zekrom/Reshiram), apparently.
4. Cipher Nascour (Pokemon Colosseum)
Nascour is first encountered at Phenac City, leaving Mayor Es Cade's house, leaving with a cryptic warning of meeting Wes again.
Throughout the rest of the first Shadow Pokémon incident in Orre, Nascour is seen giving orders to the Cipher Admins. He is seen in a cutscene speaking to Miror B., Ferma, and Reath via video conference at the Pyrite Building, and later in a similar discussion with Venus and Ein at Venus's TV studio in The Under.
At the Realgam Tower, Nascour welcomes player and Rui to the tower. He then has the player battle a gauntlet of four Trainers at the Tower Colosseum at the top of the tower, before taking on the player himself. Even with a mighty Shadow Metagross on his side, Nascour is no match for the player. Upon being defeated, he is devastated by his loss and tries to demand a rematch. However, he's interrupted by the arrival of Mayor Es Cade, who reveals himself to be Evice, the true villainous mastermind leading Cipher. After the player defeats Evice, Nascour is arrested along with him by Chief Sherles.
What makes him so endearing his is design, consisting of white Serpentine-like hair, and dark-colored clothes. He also is the only trainer in the entire franchise - main series or otherwise - to have NO battle theme. He does have an intimidating theme that plays prior to the battle against him, which is why fans love him.
Interestingly, the battle against him having no music makes him even more endearing, as some people such as Youtube user The Gaming Mole: Brad_Ry inserted the song Battle Night Blazer from Wild ArmsVth: The Vanguard into his battle with Nascour for a popular Youtube video that is STILL up 14 years later. He specializes in X items, and healing items as well.
Fun Fact: Even though there’s no music, you can hear the crowd cheer in the background during the battle.
3. Gold/Ethan (Pokemon G/S/C, HG/SS)
Gold/Ethan is the Male Protagonist of Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal and their remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver. He is most well known for helping in reforming Silver, defeating Team Rocket for good, becoming the Champion of Johto/Kanto, defeating the 8Kanto Gym Leaders, and eventually defeating Pokemon Trainer Red on the top of Mt. Silver.
What gets him this high up, aside from his accomplishments in-game, is what he does when NOT selected. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, if Lyra is selected, then Ethan meets her in New Bark Town at the start of the game. In this particular moment, he is seen with a Marill. He will always have this Marill even if another starter Pokémon is selected. In addition, he doesn't appear to take the remaining starter Pokémon. His role in the storyline of HeartGold and SoulSilver is similar to that of Lucas/Dawn in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum if they are not chosen as the player character, while Lyra takes this place if he is selected as the player.
He teaches the player how to catch Pokémon on Route 29 (replacing the Dude from Gold, Silver, and Crystal). While playing as Lyra, his grandparents run the Pokémon Day Care on Route 34. He also gives the player the Fashion Case in Goldenrod Tunnel and the Vs. Recorder on Route 31. Naturally, this role is given to Lyra if he is the player character.
Fun Fact: He’s one of the only game protagonists to have two anime counterparts, with the first counterpart based on his Gen II design and called “jimmy”. The second design - Called Ethan - is based on his Gen IV Design.
2. Red (Pokemon R/B/Y/G, G/S/C, FR/LG, HG/SS, B2/W2, S/M, US/UM)
Yeah, yeah. Call me predictable for putting the face of the Pokemon games this high up on here. Guess what? Many people love Pokemon and grew up starting with Gen I. I did as well. I remember it so vividly, too. I had snuck in a battle against Lorelei or so of the Elite Four, and somehow won, while my brother had something to do. When I won, I felt like the most amazing and powerful trainer at the time, and my love for Pokemon only grew from there. Now, aside from that story, what gets him soo close to the top spot? It’s his roles in the core games. In Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow/Green, he becomes a Pokemon trainer, defeats his childhood friend/rival Blue, and stops Team Rocket (in Kanto, anyway).
In Firered and Leafgreen, he stops an offshoot of Team Rocket in the Sevii Islands. In Gold, Silver, Heartgold, Soulsilver and Crystal, he trains his pokemon to unbelievably high levels over the course of 3 years, becoming withdrawn from his friends, rivals, and family in the process. Sometime after being defeated by Ethan/Lyra/Kris, he leaves, and in Black 2 and White 2, he returns to public life, competing in the Champions Tournament of the Pokemon World Championships.
In Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon, he - being visibly older (20) - and Blue run the Alolan Battle Tree. Lastly, in Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, he can be battled after beating six Master Trainers. His teams are usually based on event pokemon from Pokemon Yellow and Red/Blue, with the notable exception of Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee. In those 2 games, he uses a Machamp and Arcanine, alongside his standard Lapras, Pikachu, Venasaur, and Snorlax - all at level 85.
Fun Fact: Pokemon Stadium 2 is the ONLY game he appears in where his Pikachu does NOT appear.
1. N (Pokemon B/W, B2/W2)
Ohh, where do I even begin with N? By going over the intro cutscene. While most intros just lead to the title screen and showcase stuff that generally don’t happen until late-game/post-game, in Pokemon Black and White, these 2 games start off by detailing N’s past, and his coronation as the (Puppet) king of Team Plasma, though none know this at the time. In N’s Castle near the end of the game, it’s revealed that When N was young, he was orphaned and left in the woods; there, he was raised by Pokémon. One day, Ghetsis came, claiming to be his father, and raised him to be king of Team Plasma. According to Concordia, "N's heart is pure and innocent".
As a child, he was raised together with Pokémon and was isolated from humans. Ghetsis would only let N see Pokémon that had been hurt by humans. Based on the contents of his room in his castle, as a child he appeared to be interested in skateboarding, transportation (such as planes and trains), basketball, and darts. He also had many brand new toys.
Pokémon would play with his toys, as his skateboard is covered in claw marks and scratches. The Seven Sages educated him in many different subjects such as Chemical reactions and formulas. In the opening of Black and White, N is clothed in special garb and is crowned by Ghetsis in the throne room of N's Castle. During the ceremony, as the other sages watch, N remembers his childhood spent with his Pokémon friends.
In Black and White, N serves as an anti-villain, being the secondary antagonist, yet a good-natured person who sees Pokémon as his friends and is generally rather amicable toward the player as well. Not only does he get the Legendary Dragon of Truth/Ideals onto his final team, but he’s also the only antagonist/rival other than Blue to defeat a Champion in battle, with him defeating Alder, becoming “de-facto” champion in the process, and the only one to do so in view of the player character (Hilber/Hilda).
After being bested in the decisive battle, he changes his ways and returns to Unova to save Nate/Rosa from Ghetsis, and later on giving them HM05 Waterfall. In the post-game, he can be rebattled with just his Zekrom/Reshiram. After he reverts it and you catch it at the Dragonspiral Tower, he can be seen at the Rondez-view Ferris Wheel and then can be rematched with a team that varies based on the Season. He also gets a theme similar to MOTHER 3’slove theme.
Fun Fact: N is the only person who is known to have turned down the chance to become a Champion.
And that’s my list of the Top 10 characters that Pokemon fans love. What did you think? Did you like it? Were there any characters (Human) that I may have missed from the Core Series and/or Spinoffs? Let me know via the comments down below. Thanks for reading this lengthy list.