Nicholai

Nicholai (Japanese: キヨ Kiyo) is a recurring character of . He is a Pokémon Trainer in Hoenn who is obsessed with and ing as .
==History==
Nicholai first appeared in In the Knicker of Time!. , , , and Max were traveling through the Petalburg Woods on the way to Rustboro City. They were surprised to see a gigantic , but it was actually Nicholai in a costume. He was trying to lure the wild Zigzagoon closer so he could battle them. Ash and his friends scared the Zigzagoon away, and an irritated Nicholai introduced himself to the group. The boy then showed off his collection of Pokémon costumes. Nicholai explained that he believed that his costumes allowed him to know what a Pokémon felt like. In addition, the costumes helped him blend in with wild Pokémon. Nicholai wanted a Zigzagoon so he could challenge Norman at the Petalburg City Gym.
After learning that May was Norman's daughter, Nicholai excitedly challenged May to a Pokémon battle. Nicholai sent out his and May used her only Pokémon, . Mudkip easily knocked out Torchic with a couple of attacks. Nicholai then concluded that since May lost so horribly, Norman must be a pushover in battle too. Max, angry at Nicholai for insulting his father, followed him as he continued his endeavor to capture a Zigzagoon. Max stole Nicholai's Pokémon bait, but ended up being surrounded by a pack of the Pokémon. Ash and the others rescued Max. Eventually, with the help of his Mudkip, Nicholai caught a Zigzagoon.
 tried to steal Mudkip, but Nicholai used a costume to fly up and rescue the Mud Fish Pokémon. then blasted Team Rocket off with an attack. Nicholai used his new Zigzagoon in a battle against Ash's Taillow before parting for Petalburg City.
His second and final appearance was in ZigZag Zangoose!. When Ash and his friends were traveling to Fallarbor Town, they once again met Nicholai on . This time, he was dressed up as a and he had one of his own. He informed the group that he had challenged Norman, but was defeated. May and Max's mother told him where they were headed, so he came to meet them. He battled Ash, using his newly evolved against . Treecko managed to win. Later, when the trio tried to steal Nicholai's Marshtomp, his Zangoose came to the rescue. Nicholai and his Zangoose battled with and defeated it with a powerful . After Team Rocket was blasted off, Nicholai and Ash had one last battle, though the winner was not revealed.
==Character==
Nicholai tends to be overexcited, adventurous, and blunt, to a point where it irritates others. He considers himself a and has an in-depth knowledge of Pokémon behavior. He uses his Pokémon cosplays to interact with species and become closer with his own Pokémon during .
In battle, Nicholai's observation skills help him to overcome a difficult opponent. In ZigZag Zangoose!, he went on to defeat Jessie's Seviper after observing May's Skitty chase in a costume. Nicholai uses evasion techniques to keep some distance between his Pokémon and his opponent's, before unleashing powerful attacks to deal the finishing blow.
==Known cosplays==
File:Nicholai Tentacruel Cosplay.png| cosplay
File:Nicholai Bellossom Cosplay.png| cosplay
File:Nicholai Aipom Cosplay.png| cosplay
File:Nicholai Gligar Cosplay.png| cosplay
File:Nicholai Mudkip Cosplay.png| cosplay
File:Nicholai Marshtomp Cosplay.png| cosplay
File:Nicholai Zigzagoon Cosplay.png| cosplay
File:Nicholai Zangoose Cosplay.png| cosplay
==Pokémon==
This listing is of Nicholai's Pokémon in .
==Voice actors==
==Trivia==
* Nicholai is based on the Trainer class. In the Japanese version, he even calls himself たんパンこぞう Shorts Boy, Youngster's Japanese name, though he also has similarities to the who dresses up as a Pokémon.
* The two episodes that Nicholai appears in both end with him using his in the midst of a against .
* Nando, who battled 's successor, for her first official battle, also went on to become a recurring character.
* Nicholai's name may be a pun on "knickers."
** Alternatively, it may be a tribute to Nicholas Knickerbocker, the wooden doll belonging to Anne Carol Moore. Anne Carol Moore is generally credited with opening libraries to children in the United States.
* The pokemon.com blurb of Nicholai's second appearance spells his name as Nicolai.
==In other languages==
Language	Name 	Origin
Russian 	Николай Nikolay	From English name
Category:Animation characters
de:Nicholai
es:Nicolai
fr:Nicolas (Hoenn)
it:Nicholai
zh:阿奇（丰缘）