Karen
Karen カリン Karin | |
Art from HeartGold and SoulSilver | |
Age | 25* |
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Gender | Female |
Eye color | Silvery-blue |
Hair color | Silvery-blue |
Hometown | Unknown |
Region | Kanto or Johto |
Trainer class | Elite Four |
Generation | II, IV |
Games | Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Stadium 2 |
Elite Four of | Indigo Plateau |
Specializes in | Dark types |
Karen (Japanese: カリン Karin) is a Master Dark-type Trainer and member of the Johto Elite Four.
In the games
In the Generation II and IV games, Karen is the fourth and final member of the Elite Four. She must be defeated before facing Lance, the Pokémon Champion.
Karen prefers Dark-type Pokémon because she likes the bad-boy image and dark power they portray.
Pokémon
This listing is for Karen's Pokémon in the video games in which she has appeared.
Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal
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Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
First battle
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Second battle
Pokémon Stadium 2
Round 1
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Round 2
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Quotes
Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal
- Before battle
- "I am Karen of the Elite Four. You're <player>? How amusing. I love Dark-type Pokémon. I find their wild, tough image to be so appealing. And they're so strong. Think you can take them? Just try to entertain me. Let's go."
- When defeated
- "Well, aren't you good. I like that in a Trainer."
- After being defeated
- "Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. That is only the selfish perception of people. Truly skilled trainers should try to win with their favorites. I like your style. You understand what's important. Go on—the Champion is waiting."
Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
- Before battle
- "I am Karen of the Elite Four. You're <player>? How amusing. I love Dark-type Pokémon. I'm known for my overpowering tactics. Think you can take them? Just try to entertain me. Let's go."
- After sending out last Pokémon
- "This is far from being backed into a corner!"
- When last Pokémon is at critical health
- "You're no ordinary Trainer to have gotten this far."
- When defeated
- "Well, aren't you good. I like that in a Trainer."
- After being defeated
- "Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. That is only the selfish perception of people. Truly skilled Trainers should try to win with the Pokémon they love best. I like your style. You understand what's important. Go on—the Champion is waiting."
Sprites
Karen's sprite from Generation II |
Karen's sprite from Generation IV |
Karen's VS sprite from Generation IV |
Karen's overworld sprite from Generation II |
Karen's overworld sprite from Generation IV |
Karen's artwork from Pokémon Stadium 2 |
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
Karen, along with Will, Green, Silver, Sham, and Carl, is one of the children kidnapped by the Masked Man and raised to be his servants. Karen was one of the leaders of the new Team Rocket formed in Johto. Unlike Silver and Green, she and Will were willing members of the evil man's cohorts, having been inducted as one of his followers at the age of eleven, and continuously trained. They expected a surefire victory against Green, which seemed feasible with Ho-Oh and Lugia under their command. However, with the resistance of Green and her friends Red and Blue each commanding one of the legendary birds of Kanto, and the help of many other Pokémon sent from all across Johto and Kanto, Ho-Oh and Lugia were freed. Karen then fled with Will.
After the Masked Man was defeated, Karen formed an alliance with Bruno, Will, and Koga; the four of them are all ex-members of various criminal organizations. They later reappear in the HeartGold & SoulSilver arc as the new official Elite Four of Johto.
Pokémon
This listing is of Karen's Pokémon in the Pokémon Adventures manga.
Karen's Umbreon is the cornerstone of her team. It was called out to battle Green's Snubbull. During the battle, it was shown to be very tough as it was able to stop a Bite attack. It was knocked back by a Take Down along with Charm.
In a flashback of Escape, it was revealed that her Umbreon evolved from an Eevee given to her by the Masked Man. Umbreon's known moves are Faint Attack, Moonlight, and Bite. | ||
Debut | The Last Battle VII |
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Karen used these two Murkrow for mostly flight support after the battle with the Masked Man was over.
None of Murkrow's moves are known. | ||
Debut | The Last Battle VII |
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Meowth was seen in Silver's flashback when the Masked Man was telling Green why he had taken them. Karen was eleven when she had Meowth.
None of Meowth's moves are known. | ||
Debut | Rebelliant Carr |
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Karen's Houndoom first appeared when the Johto Elite Four were together before performing in the Pokéathlon.
None of Houndoom's moves are known. | ||
Debut | VS Aipom |
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In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
Red encounters Karen in A Challenge to the Elite Four! as part of the newly reformed Elite Four. Her role in this manga is similar to Lance's in the Generation II games and the remakes where she was the last one fought as Lance himself was absent.
Karen was racing with the other members to the top of the building. However, only Karen succeeded in doing so. When Red arrived in the Pokémon League, the three were already beaten and don't have their Pokémon with them. Red continued after they told him about Karen's wrath. Red manages to get to the top and finds Karen, along with her's, Koga's, Bruno's and Will's Pokémon. They were imprisoned in a giant lid and while no one was looking, Clefairy sneaks by and flips over the lid, freeing the captured Pokémon. Karen catches Clefairy in doing so and sends out Umbreon to teach him a lesson. However, her Umbreon gets beaten and it was revealed that Karen was under a curse. With the curse gone, Karen shakes hands with Red for a job well done.
Pokémon
Vileplume was a Pokémon that was caught inside a giant lid. It was freed along with the other Pokémon when Clefairy flipped the lid over. Karen didn't mind imprisoning Vileplume while she was under the curse despite it being her own Pokémon.
None of Vileplume's moves are known. | ||
Debut | A Challenge to the Elite Four! |
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Gengar was a Pokémon that was caught inside a giant lid. It was freed along with the other Pokémon when Clefairy flipped the lid over. Karen didn't mind imprisoning Gengar while under the curse despite it being her own Pokémon.
None of Gengar's moves are known. | ||
Debut | A Challenge to the Elite Four! |
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Karen sent out Umbreon to battle Clefairy. It was the only Pokémon of her's that she didn't imprison in the giant lid. In the first part of the battle, Clefairy treated it as a dog by showing Umbreon to some chicken, in which Umbreon liked. Later, Umbreon's Sand-Attack and Mean Look put Clefairy at a disadvantage. Tyrogue pointed out to a bright sun in which Clefairy can use to win. Clefairy uses Light Screen so that the sun's ray can reflect it and turns it into SolarBeam, which defeated Umbreon.
Umbreon's known moves are Sand-Attack and Mean Look. | ||
Debut | A Challenge to the Elite Four! |
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In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Karen or her Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Karen's Pokémon 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. | |||||||
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Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
Karen's Rapidash | Tyranitar Half Deck | Pokémon VS | 087/141 | ||||
Karen's Magmar | Pokémon VS | 088/141 | |||||
Karen's Flareon | Pokémon VS | 089/141 | |||||
Karen's Tyranitar | Pokémon VS | 090/141 | |||||
Karen's Umbreon | Pokémon VS | 091/141 | |||||
Karen's Houndoom | Pokémon VS | 092/141 | |||||
Card | Type | English Expansion |
Rarity | # | Japanese Expansion |
Rarity | # |
Karen's TM 01 | T [TM] | Pokémon VS | 125/141 | ||||
Karen's TM 02 | T [TM] | Pokémon VS | 126/141 | ||||
Trivia
- In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Karen is the only member of the Elite Four who uses a different final Pokémon from the first match. In her case, she replaces Houndoom with Umbreon, though Houndoom is still present.
- In her rematch in HeartGold and SoulSilver, Karen is the only member of the Elite Four who does not use a Pokémon from a three-stage evolutionary line.
- She also is the only Johto Elite Four member who uses Pokémon which do not evolve in their rematch.
- Of the three current notable Dark-type specialists (Sidney, Grimsley and herself), she is the only one who is female.
- Karen is the only Elite Four member in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver that uses more than one Pokémon that are not of her specialty type and have no moves of her specialty type, being Gengar and Vileplume.
Names
Language | Name | Origin |
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Japanese | カリン Karin | From 花梨 karin (Burmese rosewood) or 榠樝 karin (Chinese quince) |
English, Italian | Karen | Similar to Japanese name. Also contains the last five letters of 'darken'. |
French | Marion | Contains the word noir (black) backwards. |
German | Melanie | From the ancient Greek word μέλας melas (black, dark). Also similar to Melancholie (melancholia). |
Spanish | Karen | Similar to Japanese name. |
Morgana* | From Morgan le Fay. | |
Korean | 카렌 Karen | Similar to Japanese name. |
Chinese (Taiwan) | 梨花 Líhuā | From 花梨 Karin, with the characters reversed. |
Chinese (Mainland China) | 梨林 Lílín | Possibly from 花梨 karin and 花林 karin. |
Team Rocket | |||
Team Rocket Hideout • Viridian Gym • Team Rocket HQ • Rocket Warehouse | |||
Boss | |||
Giovanni (Pocket Monsters • Masters • Rainbow Rocket) | |||
Admins | |||
Archer (Masters) |
Ariana (Masters) |
Petrel (Masters) |
Proton (Masters) |
Other members | |||
Jessie (Masters) |
Meowth | James (Masters) | |
Grunts | |||
Grunts (Rocket Siblings • Rainbow Rocket) |
Scientists (Gideon) | ||
Animation and manga | |||
Anime characters • Adventures characters Grey (Golden Boys) • Kaede (How I Became a Pokémon Card) |
Indigo League | ||||||||||||||||||
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Generations I, III, and VII | ||||||||||||||||||
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Generations II and IV | ||||||||||||||||||
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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. |
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