7 Johto trainers even stronger in Pokemon Manga

Although many fans adore Generation I, another generation so many Pokémon fans consider their favorite to be Generation II. Many new things were introduced in this generation, from the beautiful Johto region and its Pokémon, to the concept of Pokémon Eggs, to brand new types. The Johto region is also full of great trainers, from the brainy ghost-type master Morty to Whitney, a happy girl with a notoriously powerful Miltank. There are also several well-known heroes in this region, including Gold, and Kris, the first female Pokémon game protagonist.

IN Pokemon adventurethe action-packed manga spin-off of the original games, many famous trainers from Generation II appear. In addition to the main heroes (and rivals), other trainers get new stories and personalities. But there are also new characters unique to the manga. In the case of the Masked Man, for example, this changes Johto and beyond forever, resulting in a series of intense battles with several powerful trainers.

Eusine is looking for the legendary Pokemon Suicune

Eusine is also an old friend of Morty's

IN Pokémon Crystalthe trainer meets Eusine, a mysterious trainer who happens to be a friend of ghost-type gym leader Morty. Having been told stories about Suicune as a child, Eusine is probably the biggest Suicune fan in the entire Pokémon world. The fact is that in Pokémon Crystal, Pokémon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilverthis mysterious trainer is looking for the legendary water type. However, in the games, it is the hero who either captures or defeats Suicune, not Eusine.

Eusine gets a whole new story Pokemon adventurewhere he is still looking for Suicune. However, he must put his plans on hold when the masked man wreaks havoc in the Johto region, and joins the battle with the other heroes to save his home. In the manga, Eusine is shown to be a competent battler, using several Pokemon such as the wily Haunter and the cheerful Jumpluff in her roster. When Misty was unable to continue fighting Suicune, Eusine hoped it would choose him as its next ally. However, Suicune chose Crystal instead, although Eusine still has hope that one day the two will be able to fight together.

Karen is one of the masked children

Karen specializes in the Dark type

In the games, Karen is a cunning yet benevolent Elite Four member who specializes in the mysterious Dark type. From the perspective of many trainers, especially back in Generation II, the Dark type was a category to be feared. A fan of the type's unique aura, Karen has become a Dark-type master and just wants to battle with her favorite Pokémon. She is known for telling the player that the idea of ​​there being “strong” or “weak” Pokémon is extremely selfish, and that one should choose to battle with whichever Pokémon they want, regardless of how they may be perceived.

Karen's story in the manga is much more complex, as she is one of the Masked Children led by the villainous Masked Man. As a child, Karen was said to have been so bored that she willingly chose to become one of the masked children, while the others were kidnapped. She was thus raised to become one of Masked Man's elite fighters, specializing in the Dark-type as her in-game counterpart. Although she has a Houndoom and several Murkrow, Karen's ace fighter in the manga is a fierce Umbreon, who also appeared as an Eevee before evolving.

Will is a master of the psychic type

Will is another member of the Masked Children

Will is a member of the Indigo Elite Four in Generation II along with Karen and is shown in the games as a trainer who takes great pride in his power. Will is a psychic type specialist and his goal is to become the strongest trainer in the world. He is very happy to have become part of the Elite Four, and with this new role, he is adamant about not losing to the player, even though he still clings to his dreams after being defeated. His go-to Pokémon throughout the games is Xatu, a bird Pokémon known for its uncanny ability to look into the future and the past at the same time.

Like Karen's counterpart in the manga, Will also joined the masked man out of sheer boredom and became one of his servants. While working for the masked man, Will gained control of the legendary Pokémon Lugia, acting as a guard to keep others away from the Ilex Forest. However, the Kanto heroes teamed up with the three legendary birds and were able to defeat Will and free Lugia. In the end, Will escaped, but was able to find a way to redeem himself at the end of the arc.

The masked man took control of Team Rocket

This enemy kidnapped children and raised them to be his servants

Although many enemies in the manga have game counterparts, Masked Man is an original concept included in the Pokemon adventure. After the defeat of Team Rocket in Kanto, the masked man becomes the leader of the villainous organization in the nearby Johto region. A cruel individual, the masked man was not averse to kidnapping or brainwashing them and forcing them to do his bidding. An example of the latter can be seen with his Gastly, which is powerful enough to hypnotize humans and Pokémon alike. Apart from Gastly, the masked man also appears with other cool Pokemon like Houndour, Delibird and Ariados.

The Masked Man's Masked Children, consisting of those he kidnapped (except Karen and Will) and raised, became his servants. However, Trainers Green and Silver were able to escape the masked man and later became well-known heroes in their respective regions and beyond. It is later revealed that the masked man's true goal was to capture the mythical Pokémon Celebi and use its time-traveling ability. As for the masked man's identity and reason for wanting to travel through time, it's a revelation that fans are strongly encouraged to find out in the intense story of the third manga arc.

Crystal is an expert at catching Pokemon

Crystal has known most of her Pokemon since she was little

IN Pokémon Crystalthe very first female protagonist in the Pokémon game, Kris, was introduced. Like his counterparts Ethan and Lyra, Kris hails from New Bark Town, forming a rivalry with the mysterious Silver and hoping to become the next champion. The manga counterpart of Kris, known as Crystal, is also a Pokémon trainer and determined to have a complete Pokédex. Crys actually became a Pokémon trainer when she was very young, after an incident on Mt. Mortar.

When a hostile and injured Arcanine caused a younger Crys to fall and break her arms, Crys was saved by a group of wild Pokémon, who also aided her as she tended to the injured Fire-type's own wounds. Today, all of these Pokémon remain on her team, and Crys is now an expert Pokémon catcher, often kicking Poké Balls instead of throwing them, as she learned to do when she was injured all those years ago. During the rise of the masked man, Suicune chooses Crys as her temporary ally, although the Pokémon later bids her farewell. During the events of HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, when Team Rocket is revived by new Team Rocket Executives, Crys returns as one of the main heroes.

Silver seeks the truth behind his past

Silver and green are like siblings

The Pokémon franchise has many rival characters that the heroes will later face in battle, each with their own personalities. Some rivals are friendly or even grew up with the hero, such as Hop and Barry. Others are much more competitive and even antagonistic, including Blue and Bede. One of the most unique rivals by far is Silver, an annoyed young trainer who first appears as a thief at Professor Elm's Pokémon Lab, and isn't afraid to voice his dislike of the player character or even push them around.

Silver is revealed to be the estranged son of Giovanni, the original leader of Team Rocket, and vows to escape this legacy. While his game counterpart is more upset by Team Rocket's failures, Silver's manga counterpart is more horrified by Giovanni's cruelty. One of the core elements of Silver's story in the manga is in the intense FireRed & LeafGreen arc, where Silver, hoping to learn more about his past, finds out who his father is. He is understandably shocked and works with the other heroes to defeat Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket once more.

Gold is a troublemaker with a compassionate spirit

Gold is good at breeding baby pokemon

Like his friend Red from Kanto, the gold of the Johto region is very rambunctious; in fact, according to Professor Oak, gold is even more ruthless than red! Gold and his mother are well-known in New Bark Town for being caretakers of several species of baby Pokemon, and as such, Gold is good at working with Pokemon and raising them. He also has a tendency to be naughty and even a cheater, using his Pokémon to unfairly win at pool or lying to appear cool. But Gold is also fiercely loyal, and when he's suddenly separated from his Pokémon family members, he runs across Johto to find them. Along the way, he ends up becoming one of the Johto region's destined heroes in the fight against the masked man.

While searching for his missing Pokémon, Gold meets Professor Oak and earns a Pokédex when Silver stole one for his own gain. Like the player character in the Generation II games and their Generation IV remakes, Gold also takes care of a mysterious egg that hatches into a Togepi, whom he nicknames Togebo. Thanks to Gold's Pokémon raising skill, Togebo becomes an unusually powerful Togepi, albeit a very mischievous one. When Gold and Togebo, still a Togepi, fight Arceus in HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, Togebo finally evolves into a Togetic and even a Togekiss, using his newfound power to quell the mythical Pokémon's rage.