List of Pokémon anime characters
"Pokémon", known in Japan as , is a Japanese anime television series based on the "Pokémon" video game series published by Nintendo. It began broadcasting on TV Tokyo on April 1, 1997, in association with MediaNet (formerly TV Tokyo MediaNet and Softx) and Shopro, stands for Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions Co., Ltd. (formerly Shogakukan Productions Co., Ltd.). The show's central protagonist is Ash Ketchum, a ten-year-old aspiring "Pokémon master", who participates in competitions involving battles with creatures called Pokémon in the fictional regions of Kanto, the Orange Islands, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola  and recently Galar. Ash is usually joined by his electric mouse partner Pikachu and a regularly changing line-up of human friends. These friends are usually Pokémon trainers, such as Misty, Brock, Tracey Sketchit, May, Dawn, Iris, Cilan, Serena, Clemont, Lillie, Kiawe, Mallow, Lana, Sophocles, Goh and Chloe Cerise though some of the friends Ash has adventures with, such as Max and Bonnie, were too young to raise and train Pokémon of their own, but they promised that they will be Pokémon trainers later in the future. Recurring antagonists of Ash and his friends throughout the show are the frequently  comedic, greedy thieves from Team Rocket, made up of the humans Jessie and James, a talking Meowth and later, a Wobbuffet. Ash also competes with a number of recurring rival Pokémon trainers in his journeys, including Gary Oak, Ritchie, Harrison, Morrison, Tyson, Paul, Nando, Conway, Barry, Tobias, Trip, Bianca, Stephan, Cameron, Virgil, Tierno, Trevor, Sawyer, Alain, Gladion, Hau and Bea. Gym Leaders. Kanto Gym Leaders. All eight Gym Leaders from the Kanto region. During Ash's Indigo League quest, Ash only earned four badges legitimately (Three of them were from Lt. Surge, Koga and Blaine. In the Viridian City Gym , Ash face the Team Rocket trio who were substituting for Giovanni. Because Ash did defeat the Team Rocket Trio in battle, it is a legit win). For more information on Misty and Brock, see the protagonists section. For more information on Giovanni, see the Antagonists section. Orange Island Gym Leaders. Upon learning about a League there, Ash decided to participate. Unlike in the other regions where there was eight Gym Leaders, Ash faces off against four. None of the Gym Leaders specialize in a certain type, but more on how to do tasks and win challenges to earn a badge , while interacting with their Pokémon. Once the challenger acquires all four Gym Badges, they earn the right to face off against the Supreme Gym Leader. Should the challenger succeeds, then they got into the Hall of Fame and are Champions (but not official region Champions). The format is similar to the player facing the Elite Four and the Champions just like in the games. Johto Gym Leaders. The eight Gym Leaders from Johto and members of the Johto League. Hoenn Gym Leaders. The eight Gym Leaders for the Hoenn League. During Ash's Hoenn League quest and Sinnoh League quest , Wallace was Hoenn champion at the time, hence why Ash never fought him and he is not listed here. As of the XY anime, Wallace is no longer Hoenn Champion as he went back to his job as Gym Leader in Sootopolis City. For information on Norman, see the Associates section. Sinnoh Gym Leaders. The eight Sinnoh Gym Leaders and members of the Sinnoh League. Unova Gym Leaders. The Unova region has a total of 11 gyms shown from both the Black and White games and Black 2 and White 2 games. With the exception of Drayden, Marlon and Cheren , Ash was able to defeat and earn eight Unova Gym badges out of the eleven gyms shown. For information on Cilan, see the main protagonists section. Iris is not listed here as she is not a Gym Leader, but a travelling companion and Unova Champion in the anime. Kalos Gym Leaders. The eight Kalos Gym Leaders are official members of the Kalos League. Unlike the previous series, all eight Gym Leaders banded together to help Ash and friends defeat Team Flare. For information on Clemont, see his information under main protagonists. Galar Gym Leaders. The Gym Leaders of Galar. Unlike  the previous series and because of his status of being the Alolan Champion, Ash is not competing in the Galar Region League as it would have not only be seen as a permanent regression in his skills as a trainer, but also a repetitive and tiresome storyline. Instead, Ash is competing in the World Coronation Series to face against Leon. Island Kahunas. The four Island Kahunas of Alola. In the Sun and Moon anime, Ash battles them in order to earn Z-Crystals to learn new Z-moves. Each of them first appeared in their own island arcs before becoming  promoted to recurring characters. They also serve as referees for the Alola League. Elite Four and Champions. Hoenn Elite Four and Champion. The strongest trainers of the Hoenn region. As of Journeys, the three other members of the Hoenn Elite Four, Glacia, Phoebe and Sydney, have yet to appear in the anime. Sinnoh Elite Four and Champion. The strongest trainers of the Sinnoh region and the League. All Elite Four members made their debut in the Diamond and Pearl series. Unova Elite Four and Champion. The strongest trainers of the Unova region. So far, the other three Unova Elite Four  members, Marshal, Grimsley and Chauntal have yet to appear in the show. As of the Journeys series, Iris defeated Alder off screen and is crowned the new Unova Champion. For information on Iris, see the main protagonist section. Kalos Elite Four and Champion. The representatives and strongest trainers of the Kalos League. Alola Elite Four. These characters do appear in the show, however, they are not Elite Fours as there was no establishment of them in the series. Battle facility leaders. Frontier Brains. Kanto Frontier Brains. After Ash came back home from his Hoenn Journey, he meets Scott, the head  of the Kanto Battle Frontier, who provides Ash the Battle Frontier Quest. There are a total of seven Frontier Brains, heads of their battle facilities across the Kanto region. The first six listed below are available to the challenger as they progress through the quest and earn a Frontier Symbol after winning, but the seventh Frontier area is not available until they defeat the first six Battle Frontiers. The Battle Frontier is heavily based on the ones the player faces in Hoenn in Pokémon Emerald. Unlike in the games, Ash only earns the Gold Symbols. In Journeys, Ash's Frontier  plaque makes a cameo appearance and the Hoenn Battle Frontier area appears when Ash went to win the Battle Frontier Flute Cup Tournament. Sinnoh Frontier Brains. In Diamond and Pearl, there was a Sinnoh Battle Frontier that was established and serves as a reference to Pokémon Platinum. However, Ash has not yet challenged the Sinnoh Frontier, as chances to do so was disregarded in favor of the Sinnoh League arc. This meant that Dahlia, Argenta, Thorton and Darach have yet to appear in the show. Caitlin, who is the co-owner of the Battle Castle, appears as a Unova Elite  Four member, without any mention of her past as a Frontier Brain. Antagonists. Team Rocket. is the criminal organization in the Kanto, Johto and Sevii Islands regions. Their goal is to catch all the Pokémons including Legendary Pokémon in the world so that their leader, Giovanni, can make an army of Pokémon and rule over the world. The most frequently appearing members of this organisation are the "Team Rocket trio" of Jessie, James and Meowth. They have been described "as vital to the anime as Ash himself." Team Aqua and Team Magma. are the two criminal organizations in the Hoenn  Region. Team Aqua. are the rivals of Team Magma. They specialize in Water and Dark type Pokémon. Their goal is to catch and control the Legendary Pokémon Kyogre so that their leader, Archie, can raise the level of all the world's oceans. Team Magma. are the rivals of Team Aqua. They are a group of experts in the fields of geology and plate tectonics. Like Team Rocket, some rebels are Pokémon thieves, but Team Magma specializes in the field of Fire and Ground type Pokémon. Their goal is to catch and control the Legendary Pokémon Groudon so that their  leader, Maxie, can raise the level of all the world's landmasses. Team Galactic. , is the criminal organization of the Sinnoh region. Their goal is to catch and control the Legendary Pokémons that created the universe: Dialga of time and Palkia of space, so that their leader, Cyrus, can destroy the universe and create a new universe that will only be his own as an absolute god. Team Plasma. is the criminal organization of Unova region. Their goal is to catch and control the Legendary Pokémon Reshiram so that their leader, Ghetsis, can rule all over the world. Team Flare . , is the criminal organization in the Kalos region. Their goal is to catch and control the Legendary Pokémon Zygarde so that their leader, Lysandre, can destroy the world and recreate it with peace and beauty. Team Skull. is the criminal organization in the Alola region. Their goal is to steal Pokémon for the Aether Foundation (they are not affiliated with the Aether Foundation in the anime). They travel on Harley-Davidson bikes.