Friend

This article is about the NPC friends of player characters. For other uses, see Friend (disambiguation).

The player's friend^[1][2][3] (Japanese: 友達(ともだち) friend^[4][5][6] or 仲間(なかま) companion^[7]) is a recurring main character in a Pokémon game with whom the player character interacts throughout their journey. They are often the player's childhood friend^[8] (Japanese: 幼(おさな)なじみ childhood friend)^{[9][10][11][12]}.

These characters take a personal interest in the player and form a bond with them prior to or during the events of the story. Friends may accompany the player at certain points during the game or form a rivalry with them. They sometimes share similar goals with the player while often having their own motivations and aspirations as well. Most friends can be spoken to or interacted with in a game's post-adventure, showcasing improvement or character development.

Other notable instances of characters considering each other as friends also occur in other Pokémon media.

Terminology

The term friend is used specifically in certain music track titles in Pokémon X and Y, serving as a leitmotif for when the player meets up with their friend group. Additionally, characters in-game may refer to the player as one of their friends.

The Battle Tree in Pokémon Sun and Moon, as well as Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, refers to the music tracks "Battle! (Hau)" and "Battle at the Summit! (Hau)" as "My Friend Hau". Hau's title on the Sun and Moon website describes him as "Your Friend Hau". Hau's internal data also identifies the character as "FRIEND".

Cheren and Bianca have been described as the player's childhood friends on the Pokémon Black and White English website.

Trace has been described as a friendly rival in promotional material for Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!,^[13] with Hau also being referred to as such in a Pokémon.com article.^[14] The term is also used by fans to describe other rivals who are non-antagonistic towards the player.

In the games

Core series

In the core series, the player is usually acquainted with a character who can be considered a friend. This character archetype was first displayed in Generation I, where Blue is considered to have been friends with the player since they were young. The player's friends usually either already have a Pokémon before they are introduced, as is the case with Nemona and Hop, or start their journey at the same time as the player, picking their first partner Pokémon based on what the player has already chosen, as in the case with Blue and Shauna. Starting in Pokémon Black and White, many of these characters form friend groups and start their journey together, typically splitting up at a certain point and regrouping later. Some of the player's friends will be in the same starting location and town or city as the player. Characters in these locations may acknowledge each other as neighbors, such as Serena/Calem directly calling the player "neighbor" as a nickname and a sign of affection.

Since some of these characters already have experience with Pokémon, they may tutor the player on how to catch Pokémon, such as Lucas/Dawn teaching the player. Friendly rivalries may form between them and the player, as they often serve as the player's first opponent in a Pokémon battle, acting as tutorials in those circumstances. Over the course of the game, these friendly rivals may appear and challenge the player, growing stronger. Sometimes, the opposite occurs, with the player teaching their friends how to use or catch Pokémon, as seen with Wally being taught by them. These characters, such as Lillie, typically learn and grow at their own pace and continue to learn from the player, who encourages them throughout the story.

Some characters, such as N, are antagonistic toward the player and may be affiliated with a sinister organization, but they later become more friendly toward the player by the end of the story.

Friends who show no interest in rivaling the player in battle may interact with the player in different ways, such as Lillie, who often provides support and healing for the player's party, disliking the idea Pokémon battles and not wanting them to get hurt. Shauna, Trevor and Tierno, three friends that the player meets in Pokémon X and Y, despite battling the player and being officially considered rivals, have no interest in surpassing the character in that field either. Trevor specifically wants to rival the player in Pokédex information and completion rather than having a typical rivalry. Arven welcomes the player on his journey through Paldea, encouraging them to help find Herba Mystica.

Starting in Generation III, most friends typically have the Trainer class of Pokémon Trainer. However, this class isn't exclusive to them, and some may not use this Trainer class, using a different one instead depending on their situation in the game. Some change their Trainer class throughout the game. Not all of the player's friends have participated in battle against them, if they battle at all.

The following are the characters in the games that have been officially referred to as friends of a player character.

RGBYFRLG	PE	GSCHGSS	HGSS		RSEORAS			DPPtBDSP
Blue[15]	Trace[16]	Silver[17]	Ethan[18]	Lyra[18]	Brendan[19]	May[20]	Wally[21]	Barry[22]	Lucas[23]	Dawn[24]

BW

B2W2

XY

SMUSUM

SwSh

Cheren[25]

Bianca[26]

N[27]

Hugh[28]

Calem[29]

Serena[29]

Shauna[29]

Tierno[29]

Trevor[29]

Lillie[30]

Hau[30][31]

Hop[32]

Marnie[33]

Bede[34]

LA				SV			SVTMID		ZA
Rei[35]	Akari[35]	Adaman[36]	Irida[36]	Nemona[37]	Arven[38]	Penny[39]	Carmine[40]	Kieran[41]	Urbain[42]	Taunie[42]

Side series

Pokémon Colosseum

Colosseum

Rui[43]

Spin-offs

Pokémon Ranger

Ranger		Ranger: Shadows of Almia		Ranger: Guardian Signs
Lunick[44]	Solana[44]	Keith[45]	Rhythmi[46]	Ben[47]	Summer[47]

Pokémon Masters EX

Pokémon Masters EX
Paulo	Tina

In animation

Pokémon the Series

Main article: Ash's friends

Ash has traveled within a group of friends throughout the course of Pokémon the Series. While Ash typically travels with the same group of friends though a series, some characters, such as Korrina, will drop in and out of the group for a number of episodes. In Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, Ash has five classmates that he also becomes close to while attending the Pokémon School.

Pokémon Origins

Blue appears in Pokémon Origins, being in a similar role as he had in the video games. Unlike in the games, rather than just being Red's rival, he helps assist Red in some situations involving Team Rocket.

Pokémon Generations

Pokémon Generations has two episodes that focus on friends of the player:

• Blue appears in The Challenger, battling the Elite Four and becoming the Pokémon League Champion, before Red attempts to take his title.
• Silver appears as the main character of The Legacy. He is not shown interacting with the protagonist.

Pokémon: Twilight Wings

The episode Buddy focuses on Hop and his Wooloo. Hop also makes cameo appearances in Letter and Training. Marnie makes a minor appearance in Early-Evening Waves.

GOTCHA!

GOTCHA! notably features the friend characters up to and including Pokémon Sword and Shield's base game, with the characters from the first 7 generations (with exception of Trace due to the absence of any character's from the Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! games) being shown simultaneously. The scene in particular displays the characters either in battle or interacting with each other, with some sections being seen from a friend's perspective.

Pokémon Evolutions

A majority of the player's friends have appeared in Pokémon Evolutions:

• In The Champion, Hop helped Victor put an end to Darkest Day. At the end of the episode, Marnie appeared in a cameo.
• The Eclipse primarily focuses on Lillie, who, by receiving help from Selene, journeys to the Altar of the Moone in order to evolve Nebby, and save her mother. Hau also appears in a flashback, in which he, Lillie, Selene, Gladion, and Guzma all witness Lusamine use Nebby's power to open an Ultra Wormhole at Aether Paradise.
• In The Visionary, Shauna and Serena were seen helping Calem put an end to Team Flare's plans, with Serena being depicted with her NPC appearance. Neither character has a speaking role.
• In The Plan, the history of N during and before the events of Pokémon Black and White is recalled. Cheren also appears in a flashback.
• The Rival focuses on Barry and goes through the events of Pokémon Diamond in a series of flashbacks from his perspective.
• The Wish has May as the player character climbing Sky Pillar following the events of the Delta Episode.
• The Show features Ethan, presumably as his player character counterpart.
• In The Discovery, Trace entered Cerulean Cave to find Mewtwo, competing against Green. Both characters lost to Elaine, who had already caught the Pokémon by the time they arrived.

In the TCG

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Many notable cards related to the ones listed above, Friends in Paldea

In the TCG, a number of characters appear both in groups and singular cards based on the player's friends and rivals. Starting in the Sun & Moon era, cards based on a group of friends from the video games have been displayed. Multiple characters have also had their own separated cards.

List of 'Friends in...' cards Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format. Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card	Type	English Expansion	Rarity	#	Japanese Expansion	Rarity	#
Friends in Alola	Su				SM-P Promotional cards		401/SM-P
Friends in Galar	Su	Brilliant Stars		140/172	VMAX Climax		149/184
		Silver Tempest		TG23/TG30	VMAX Climax		258/184
Friends in Hisui	Su	Crown Zenith		130/159	VSTAR Universe		160/172
		Crown Zenith		149/159	VSTAR Universe		247/172
Friends in Sinnoh	Su	Crown Zenith		131/159	VSTAR Universe		154/172
		Crown Zenith		148/159	VSTAR Universe		249/172
Friends in Paldea	Su	Prismatic Evolutions		109/131	Terastal Fest ex		174/187
		Prismatic Evolutions		137/131	Terastal Fest ex		195/187

Trivia

• Ethan and Lyra are currently the only friend characters from the core series to not participate in battle either against or partnering with the player character.
  • However, they do serve as the catch tutorial in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, demonstrating their capability of battling.
  • Before Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, Lillie was the only friend character from the core series to not appear in any sort of battle at all.

In other languages

References

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.