Brendan (Japanese: ユウキ Yūki) serves as the rival in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, if the player choose to play as the female character. He is also the male choice in the Generation III games.
In the games
As player
If Brendan is selected as the player character he starts his journey moving from his home in Johto to his new home in the town of Littleroot in Hoenn. After saving Prof. Birch from a wild Pokémon, he is given one of the three starters of the Hoenn region. Brendan develops a close bond with May, and eventually Wally, who both act as his rivals. Brendan goes on to gather the eight badges of Hoenn, stop the plans of Team Aqua and Team Magma and conquer the Pokémon League all before going off to face the Battle Frontier.
Names
While the player can name this character as is the case with all player characters, there are several default names provided for him. In Ruby and Sapphire, he has four default names, including three shared between the two versions, as well as a differing one in each which reference "land" and "sea" respectively. In the English version, these names are Landon and Sean; in the Japanese version, リクヤ Rikuya and カイト Kaito (陸 riku means land and 海 kai means sea). This is also the case in other languages. Additionally, in the English version, two of the shared names, Terry and Seth, seem to be influenced by the same theme.
In Emerald, Brendan has the same default names as in Pokémon Ruby, as well as 16 additional names which don't seem to hold any significance. Consequently, there is no default name that relates to "sea" in this version. Notably, as the player character, Brendan (or its translations in other languages) is never offered as a default name in any version.
The full list of default names for Brendan as the male playable character in the games are as follows:
Language |
Ruby and Emerald |
Sapphire |
Emerald only
|
English
|
|
|
- Brett
- Casey
- Collin
- Darren
|
- Easton
- Jaxson
- Johnny
- Jude
|
|
|
|
Japanese
|
- リクヤ Rikuya
- ヒロアキ Hiroaki
- ヒトシ Hitoshi
- ケイ Kei
|
- カイト Kaito
- ヒロアキ Hiroaki
- ヒトシ Hitoshi
- ケイ Kei
|
- イツオ Itsuo
- ギョク Gyoku
- シュウサク Shūsaku
- セイゴ Seigo
- ダイサク Daisaku
- タカヒト Takahito
- タツヤ Tatsuya
- ダニエル Daniel
|
- テルキ Teruki
- トム Tom
- トモヤ Tomoya
- ユキヒコ Yukihiko
- ラルド Rald
- リチャード Richard
- リュウ Ryū
- リョウタ Ryōta
|
|
German
|
|
|
|
- Florian
- Haiko
- Johann
- Jörg
|
- Klaus
- Markus
- Martin
- Michael
|
|
|
Spanish
|
|
|
- Aitor
- Arturo
- Carlo
- Daniel
|
- Eleno
- Enrique
- Jesuso
- Juli
|
|
- Mario
- Mauri
- Roberto
- Pedro
|
|
French
|
- Thierry
- Thomas
- Daniel
- Seb
|
- Martial
- Thomas
- Daniel
- Seb
|
|
- Fabrice
- Gary
- Gibus
- Johann
|
- Johnny
- Jules
- Manuel
- Ruddy
|
- Severin
- Stan
- Stef
- Thibaud
|
|
Italian
|
|
|
|
As rival
If Brendan is not selected as the player, he is helping his dad finish the Hoenn Pokédex and becoming a Pokémon professor. He is also the player's rival and friend. Unlike other rivals (except for May when playing as Brendan), he gives up being a Trainer, making them the only rivals unavailable for battle after defeating the Elite Four. Additionally, they both are the only ones to not evolve their starter Pokémon into its final form.
In the games he appears in, Brendan battles with the following Pokémon.
Pokémon in Ruby and Sapphire
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Second battle (on Route 110)
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Pokémon in Emerald
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Second battle (Optionally in Rustboro City)
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Fourth battle (on Route 119)
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Sprites
Counterparts
In the anime
Brendan's anime appearance
Brendan's only anime appearances are small cameos in the movies, appearing in the openings of Jirachi: Wish Maker, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea and Giratina and the Sky Warrior. Brendan seems to be a competitive battler, as his cameos suggest he spends time in Battle Towers. In all of his appearances, he has appeared with his Ruby and Sapphire outfit.
Like in the games, he has the starter Pokémon that weakens May's. It is unknown if his relatives are the same as that of the games, where, as May is Norman's daughter (as the player is), Brendan would be Professor Birch's son.
Pokémon
The following are Brendan's known Pokémon in the anime:
In the manga
There are three different manga counterparts to Brendan: Ruby from the Pokémon Adventures manga, Ruby from the Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire manga, and Rald from the Pokémon Battle Frontier manga.
In the TFG
Brendan, based on a blue recolor of this character's usual clothes, appears as a common Trainer figure in Next Quest, the launch set of the Pokémon Trading Figure Game. There is also an unreleased figurine based on him from the cancelled Groundbreakers expansion, named Landon (one of the default names for him in Pokémon Ruby and Emerald), who wears the same outfit as Brendan does in Ruby and Sapphire.
Quotes
Match Call
Strategy -
Battle with knowledge!
Trainer's Pokémon -
I will use various Pokémon.
Self-Introduction -
I'll be a better Pokémon prof than my father is!
Trivia
- In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pikachu wears Brendan's Emerald headband as an alternate costume. Also, the Pokémon Trainer has an alternate costume with a similar color scheme as Brendan's Emerald outfit.
- He and May are the only set of player characters who have a chance to speak with both a mother and a father in the games.
Language |
Name |
Origin
|
Japanese
|
ユウキ Yūki
|
From 勇気 yūki, bravery.
|
English
|
Brendan
|
Could be derived from "brave."
|
French
|
Brice
|
Similar to the English name.
|
German
|
Brix
|
Similar to the English name.
|
Italian
|
Brendon
|
Similar to the English name.
|
Spanish
|
Bruno
|
Similar to the English name.
|
Chinese (Taiwan)
|
祐樹 Yòushù
|
From 祐樹 yūki.
|