A.J.

A.J. (Japanese: アキラ Akira) is a who lives between Cerulean City and Vermilion City. His dream is to become a Pokémon Master with the help of his favorite , . He ran an unofficial Gym which was not sponsored by the Pokémon League and therefore did not give out any Badges.
==In animation==
===History===
A.J. was the character of the day in the episode The Path to the Pokémon League.
In this episode, , , and were on their way to Vermilion City, when they heard about a local Trainer who was undefeated. Ash, eager to challenge this Trainer, went to A.J.'s Gym and saw a sign above it announcing that A.J. had been undefeated through 98 matches. A.J. returned to the Gym after catching some wild Pokémon. Ash challenged him to battle number 99.
Ash began to say how he thought low about a person with 98 victories but without a Gym Badge. A.J. responded by saying that he wasn't planning on challenging a Gym Leader until he had 100 wins in a row. Ash bragged about the two Badges he had at the time just with ten victories, and A.J. insulted him and said he must have gotten them from weak Gym Leaders, which angered both Brock and Misty. A.J. defeated Ash with his without much effort, causing Ash to complain and accuse A.J. of cheating.
As the group was about to leave, they looked inside the Gym, and they saw A.J. using a whip to send his Sandshrew diving into a pool. Ash attacked A.J., thinking that he was abusing his Pokémon. A.J. explained that he was strengthening his Sandshrew's resistance against water. Sandshrew and all of A.J.'s other Pokémon were wearing "strength intensifiers". He also had all of his Pokémon exercise in rigorous routines. Ash complained about A.J. treating his Pokémon too harshly and asked Brock and Misty to back him up. However, Brock instead complimented A.J. on the specialized he prepares for his Pokémon.
Jessie, James, and tried to steal Ash's Pikachu, but ended up accidentally taking Sandshrew instead. Not knowing what had happened, Ash guessed that Sandshrew had run away, and offered A.J.'s other Pokémon spots on his team, but they ignored him. Sandshrew escaped from by using , accidentally bringing Meowth along with him. After A.J.'s Sandshrew came back, he challenged Team Rocket to a battle, and his Sandshrew defeated Team Rocket, winning A.J. the final victory needed to set off and collect Gym Badges. 
After A.J. and Sandshrew had been happily reunited, Ash realized that A.J. cared deeply for his Pokémon, despite being tough on them during training.
He made a cameo appearance with his Sandshrew in the original series' second Japanese opening theme, The Rivals, and its English dub equivalent, . He and his Sandshrew appear with a group of other s Ash encountered during his first trip through Kanto.
===Pokémon===
This listing is of A.J.'s Pokémon in .
===Voice actors===
==In the manga==
===The Electric Tale of Pikachu===
A.J. made a cameo appearance in Pikachu's Excellent Adventure. He, along with Samurai, , and , was making plans to find the Hidden Village, where powerful wild Pokémon supposedly live. A.J. is particularly interested in high-leveled Pokémon such as and . He and Samurai were separated from Ash and Brock when went missing.
A.J. appears to be a little older in the manga compared to his appearance.
==In the games==
In , a game based on , there is a on . This Trainer solely uses a level 24 that has the move , much like A.J.'s Sandshrew in the . After the player wins the battle, he says, "I'll restart my 100-win streak with Sandshrew," a reference to the fact that A.J. won 100 battles. This Trainer may be A.J., or a reference to him. In , this Trainer is originally a , has a and a , and says, "Keep walking!" after being defeated.
===Pokémon===
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===Quotes===
* Before battle
:"I aim to be the ultimate trainer!"
* Being defeated
:"My <sc>Sandshrew</sc> lost?"
* After being defeated
:"I'll restart my 100-win streak with <sc>Sandshrew</sc>."
==Trivia==
* A.J.'s Sandshrew used Defense Curl, despite the fact that Sandshrew couldn't learn it until the next generation in the games.
* A.J.'s character could be based on a comedy by William Shakespeare, .
==Notes==
==References==
==Related articles==
Category:Kanto characters of the day
Category:Animation characters
Category:Red, Blue and Yellow characters
Category:Electric Tale of Pikachu characters
Category:Male characters
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es:A.J.
fr:Albert (épisode 8)
it:A.J.
ja:アキラ
zh:小明（关都）