Every Pokémon Protagonist’s Official Name

Theseries has long allowed for customizable trainer names, but each protagonist has an official, canonical name as well. The option to name the main characters of any game is a tradition that dates back to the original games, Japan's . As time went on, and characters from the mainline games were given roles in different titles, they also received canon names that have stuck with them since.

The official names of the game protagonists have been confirmed in a number of different ways. Many received canon names by appearing in as trainers the player is able to recruit in-game. Though some players believe that the default names given in each game are the canon choice, this isn’t always the case.

The Indigo Disk DLC for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet is an enjoyable addition, but it's bogged down by the same problems as the base games.

All the official names of the Pokémon protagonists are in the table below, separated by release. The first generation of games simply used the name of one of the versions as the protagonist's name. This was originally true for the second generation too, but Gold was later renamed Ethan in the and remakes. Some earlier games –,,,, and didn't have the option to play as a female protagonist, meaning there is only one name for those games.

Pokémon Game(s)

Male Protagonist Name

Female Protagonist Name

Red

N/A

Leaf

Ethan

N/A

Kris

Lyra

Brendan

May

Lucas

Dawn

Hilbert

Hilda

Nate

Rosa

Calem

Serena

Elio

Selene

Chase

Elaine

Victor

Gloria

Rei

Akari

Florian

Juliana

Following the early games, protagonists were given more natural sounding names, which is a little ironic, seeing as Emerald and Pearl are more common names than Red or Blue. Some protagonist names are still references to the names of their respective versions, likeSelene, whose name means moon. This trend can be seen in many of the newer games as well.

Sometimes a protagonist didn't get their official name right away. For instance, in, there were a handful of