Earl Dervish

Earl Dervish (Japanese: ジョバンニ Giovanni) is the teacher of the Pokémon Academy in Violet City or White City, depending on if a player is playing Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, or playing Pokémon Stadium 2.

Earl is notable for changing the order of the words in his sentences, somewhat like Yoda from Star Wars, although his grammar is generally incorrect. For example, when asking a potential student if they want to learn from him, he will ask, "What you want to know? Want to be a winner is you?" This may be a reference to Engrish. He does not talk like this in Pokémon Stadium 2.

In the anime

In A Bout with Sprout, the characters visited Earl's Pokémon Academy, where he made several brief appearences as comic relief, wearing a tutu and constantly twiling around. He is voiced by Eric Stuart in English and 小西克幸 Katsuyuki Konishi in Japanese.

Trivia

• An interesting point is that Earl's Japanese name is Giovanni, which is also the English name of the Team Rocket boss in the Generation I and III games, and Giovanni was absent for the Generation II games.

• Earl's last name is "Dervish", a word in the English language, which can mean (among other things) "One that posesses abundant and often frenzied energy". This obviously serves to reinforce the idea of his eccentric personality. It could also be a nod to the phrase "whirling dervish," as while leading the player to his school during Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, he twirls around at every turn along the way.