Non-player character

A non-player character (commonly abbreviated as NPC) is a character in a whose actions cannot be controlled by the person operating the handheld or console. The direct opposite of an NPC is the player character.
==Functions of non-player characters==
Non-player characters are typically present in core series games to support the player. Their duties vary. Early in the games they tend to offer advice for new players, similar to the Trainer Tips signage. Later in the game, as the player is more experienced, this function is less prominent, however at this point there still remain characters who encourage or hint at a visit to a certain area to fulfill a given task.
NPCs also supply the player with items, or with Pokémon as in-game trades or gifts. Sometimes, these cannot be received in another manner without trading. Several NPCs hand out items on a daily basis, such as the Berry Masters of Hoenn and Sinnoh.
Another common variety of non-player characters is s who compete or with the player, including villainous teams, the player's rival(s), Gym Leaders, and the Elite Four. This interaction may occur in s or s; or battles in routes between cities, Gyms, the Pokémon League, or Battle Towers, for example.
In the core series games, many non-battling NPCs are typically characterized by their tendency to move one step in a random direction every few moments.
==Important non-player characters==
===Kanto===
* Professor Oak - Professor Oak works in his laboratory in Pallet Town, giving away first partner Pokémon to first time Trainers. He gives / and their first partner Pokémon in , as well as giving a to / and in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. He is an idol to many Trainers and researchers, including Professor Elm, and always plays an important supporting role in the many games that he appears in.
* - Blue is the grandson of Professor Oak and is the main character's rival in the Generation I games and Generation III remakes. Blue becomes the Pokémon Champion but is quickly defeated by /, the player's character. He is notable for being cocky and arrogant whenever the player's character encounters him; after losing, his typical way to bid goodbye is "Smell ya later!" In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, despite moving away from Pallet Town, he stays around to help Professor Oak, and occasionally helps / to beat Team Rocket. After Giovanni has been beaten by / or /, Blue later takes over as the Viridian Gym Leader.
* Bill - Bill is a talented and famous inventor. He invented the original Pokémon Storage System and Time Capsule. In , Bill can be found at the Sea Cottage, initially performing an experiment on Pokémon teleportation. He will also give away an S.S. Ticket so that the player can board the S.S. Anne.
* - Trace is a childhood friend and rival of the in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. He is a very cheerful person with a lot of enthusiasm, though is a bit cowardly when confronted with the s of Pokémon Tower. He is shown to have a lot of respect towards other Trainers, even when he loses.
===Johto===
* Professor Elm - Professor Elm is the resident Pokémon Professor of New Bark Town in Johto. Saying so himself, Professor Elm studies unusual Pokémon abilities. He also specializes in Pokémon breeding, and is credited with the discovery of Pokémon Eggs. Elm gives one of the three first partner Pokémon of Johto—, , and —to the player so that they will have an easier time of getting to Mr. Pokémon's house.
* - Silver's first appearance was when he was seen lurking near a window to the Elm Pokémon Laboratory; he later broke in, stealing a Pokémon. He later used this Pokémon to battle Ethan/Kris/Lyra, doing this many times as they journeyed through Johto. This is not the only Pokémon he has stolen, as he also stole a from a man in Cianwood City, and uses it in battle for the rest of the game.
* Eusine - Eusine appears in and their enhanced remakes . He is first seen researching the Burned Tower, together with Morty. Later, he battles the in Cianwood City after seeing escaping from the town, hoping that by battling the player he will earn Suicune's respect as a Trainer. After Suicune has been captured, he returns to his hometown, Celadon City, and can be found in Celadon Pokémon Center waiting for the player to catch all three legendary beasts.
* / - appears as the 's neighbor and teach the player how to catch Pokémon.
===Hoenn===
* Professor Birch - Professor Birch distributes Pokédexes and one of the three first partner Pokémon of Hoenn: , , and , to aspiring Hoenn Trainers in the Generation III and Generation VI games. In addition, after Trainers complete the Hoenn Pokédex in , he will give them one of the three first partner Pokémon of Johto: , , and . In , after various story objectives have been met, he will give the player one of the Johto, Unova and Sinnoh first partner Pokémon. He is known to be more outgoing than the other Pokémon Professors, and often his research takes him outdoors. His field of study is primarily how Pokémon behave in the wild.
* / - is the original rival in the Hoenn games. They are the son or daughter of Professor Birch, and primarily assist in his research.
* Wally - Wally is a sick young boy who asks Norman, the Petalburg Gym Leader, to help him catch a Pokémon before he moves to Verdanturf Town to live with his aunt and uncle. Norman instructed his child, the , to assist Wally, and loaned Wally a . Using this, Wally was able to capture a . Wally eventually runs away from home and challenges the player at the end of in Ever Grande City, seemingly totally recovered from his illness. He remains there, and it is possible to fight him several times per day. In he battles the player once they have achieved a 50 battle streak at the Battle Maison, and can be battled there every day successively.
* Scott - Scott appears throughout in various locations in Hoenn, where he can be talked to by the player. He appears in Petalburg City after Wally catches his first Pokémon, Pokémon Trainers' School, before beating Roxanne, Slateport City near the Battle Tent, and several other locations. When the player first arrives at the , Scott will award them with 1BP for each time they spoke.
* Mr. Briney - Mr. Briney is first seen near the Rusturf Tunnel, asking the to recover his , Peeko, from a Team Aqua or Team Magma Grunt. Once Peeko is rescued and returned to Mr. Briney, he will offer to give the protagonist rides in his boat to Dewford Town and Slateport City until they gain the Badge from their father. He later becomes the captain of the S.S. Tidal. His house is located on .
* Mr. Stone - Mr. Stone is the president of the Devon Corporation, and is the father of Steven Stone. After recovering the Devon Goods/Parts from either a member of Team Aqua or Team Magma, he gives the main character a PokéNav/ and asks them to deliver a letter to in Dewford Town. Once the letter is delivered, he will give the player an Exp. Share. He assists the player and Steven during the Delta Episode post-game storyline.
===Sinnoh===
* Professor Rowan - Professor Rowan works in Sandgem Town with / and their family. This makes him the only Professor from the handheld games who does not live in the player's hometown. He left to go to Kanto to study Pokémon with Professor Oak for four years, until coming back reaching a conclusion: that Sinnoh holds greater secrets. He has a stern personality that makes him seem intimidating and mean, but he is actually very kind and patient. He also has lots of energy as shown when he was attacked by Team Galactic; he tried to fight back and was hard to handle.
* - Barry is always in a hurry and extremely impatient, and because of this, often crashes into other people or misses important details. He is incredibly determined and it is very difficult to discourage him; the only thing that has done this so far was his crushing loss to the Team Galactic , Jupiter at Lake Acuity. Barry is also one to take risks and quickly jump into action; it was this behavior that caused the player and himself to be attacked by wild , setting off the chain reaction that would result in the player receiving their first Pokémon.
* Looker - Looker is the codename for a character introduced in . In , Looker is an important character, encountering the multiple times over their journey across Sinnoh. He speaks with odd grammatical constructs, implying that he is not entirely fluent with the regional language. He first meets the player in Jubilife City, giving them the Vs. Recorder, and appears often when Team Galactic is near. His motives are clear: his mission is to stop Team Galactic from causing havoc in the Sinnoh region.
* / - serves as Professor Rowan's assistant. They will teach the player how to catch Pokémon and help in some parts of the game, such as teaming up with the player against Team Galactic for Double Battles.
===Unova===
* Professor Juniper - Professor Juniper debuted in Generation V, where, like the other professors, she will give the a Pokédex in her lab; however, in she leaves a present containing the first partner Pokémon at the player's house for the player, Bianca, and Cheren. She also demonstrates how to catch a Pokémon to the player. She specializes in the origins of Pokémon. She is the first core series Pokémon Professor who is female.
* Bianca - Bianca is a childhood friend and rival of the in . Though she is somewhat unreliable and a bit of an airhead, she also has a strong side, as shown when she embarks on a Pokémon journey despite her father's strong opposition. In , she presents the player with their first partner Pokémon.
* Cheren - Cheren is a childhood friend of / who, like the player, lives in the starting town of Nuvema Town. He is an intelligent boy knowledgeable in Pokémon, and will as such offer the player advice during the course of their journey. His goal is to become the . He is also a rival.
* N - N is the leader of Team Plasma who appears in . Throughout the game, he seems to be a strange, mysterious man who constantly battles the player, until he asks the player to ride Nimbasa City's Ferris wheel with him. At this point, he reveals he is the leader of Team Plasma. He is encountered twice more before interrupting the player's battle with Alder. He summons his castle from the earth and challenges the player to battle him. The player chases him through the castle, where the final battle occurs with N having caught either or . After his defeat, his guardian Ghetsis is disappointed once again and battles the player. N then disappears, not to be seen again until .
* Hugh - Hugh is a childhood friend and rival of the in . He is described as feeling passionately for Pokémon battles and Pokémon strength. He is also a doting older brother to his sister; he hates Team Plasma because it stole a he had caught for his sister. He battles with and against the player many times throughout the game.
* / - appears in Nimbasa City. They will team up with the player to fight against the es Ingo and Emmet. After defeating them, Nate/Rosa will give the player a Vs. Recorder, and will reappear as the player's tag partner for the Battle Subway's Multi and Super Multi battles.
===Kalos===
* Professor Sycamore - Professor Sycamore is the resident Pokémon Professor of Kalos. He does not directly give the player and his friends their Kalos region first partner Pokémon, he will give the player a choice of one of the original Kanto first partner Pokémon upon meeting him in person.
* / - is one of the player's four friends and serves as their friendly rival.
* Shauna - Shauna is one of the player's four friends. She is very energetic and curious to see how her friends will progress on their journeys.
* Tierno - Tierno is one of the player's four friends. He is an aspiring dancer who wants to form a Pokémon dance team.
* Trevor - Trevor is one of the player's four friends. He is the one who brings the Kalos first partner Pokémon and the Kalos Pokédex. He wants to be the first among his friends to complete his Pokédex.
* Sina - Professor Sycamore's assistant. She tends to cut off Dexio when she's excited. Throughout the journey she and Dexio encounter the player multiple times to grant them Pokédex updates, check up on their progress, hand them items, or give friendly advice.
* Dexio - Professor Sycamore's assistant. He always travels with Sina to take care of Professor Sycamore's tasks.
* Emma - A girl that lived in the alleyways until she was taken in by Looker. She's a key character in the post game quest chain involving Looker.
===Alola===
* Professor Kukui - Professor Kukui is a passionate man who studies Pokémon moves. He introduces the player, who has just moved, to the Alola region.
* Lillie - A mysterious girl who loves reading, but dislikes Pokémon battles. She is working as an assistant of Professor Kukui for unknown, personal reasons, and is looking into the origins of the mysterious , "Nebby".
* Hau - One of the player's rivals. A friendly boy who quickly befriends the player after they move in, and the grandson of the kahuna of Melemele Island, Hala. He starts his career as a Pokémon Trainer at the same time as the player.
* Gladion - The player's other rival. An initially unfriendly young man that works as an unofficial member of Team Skull. He is tyring to become stronger to harness the hidden potential locked within his partner, .
* Samson Oak - Professor Oak's cousin. He studies the regional forms of the Pokémon of Alola.
===Galar===
* Professor Magnolia - Professor Magnolia discovered the causes and conditions of the Dynamax phenoneom in Galar.
* Sonia - Professor Magnolia's granddaughter and a childhood friend of Galar's , Leon, and Gym Leader Nessa. She follows the player while researching the history of Galar's legends.
* Hop - The player's primary rival. He's the younger brother of Leon, and wishes to succeed him.
* Bede - One of the player's rivals. A haughty boy personally sponsored by his guardian and Chairman of the Galar Pokémon League, Rose. He is looking for Wishing Stars for an unknown purpose.
* Marnie - Another one of the player's rivals. A stoic but well-mannered young girl who wants to become Champion to support her hometown of Spikemuth. She is followed everywhere by her personal fan club, Team Yell.
===Paldea===
* Nemona - A wealthy girl who lives in Cabo Poco, she is the president of the Naranja/Uva Academy's student council and one of Paldea's champion ranked trainers. She quickly befriends the player when they move to Cabo Poco and serves as the main rival character in Scarlet and Violet.
* Clavel - The director of the Naranja/Uva Academy. He arrives at the player's house near the beginning of their journey to give them their first partner Pokémon.
* Professor Sada/Turo - Professor Sada/Turo are Pokémon professors who dedicated their lives on researching the phenomenons of Area Zero and the occurrence of Paradox Pokémon.
* Arven - The son of Sada/Turo. He has some kind of connection to the Koraidon/Miraidon that is found lying ashore on a beach by the player near the beginning of their journey. He is also the main partner for the Path of Legends storyline, where the player helps him seek out numerous Herba Mystica scattered thorough Paldea.
==Related articles==
===Complete list of named non-player characters===
Click Expand to view.
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