Joey (Japanese: ゴロウGorō) is a Youngster and one of the few regular Trainers who appeared in other canons than the games themselves. In Chuang Yi's translations of the Pokémon Adventures manga, he is known as Grant; however, VIZ Media's translations, consistent with the games, refer to him as Joey.
He is first seen battling with another Youngster, Mikey, and blocking the route. After the player delivers the Mystery Egg to Professor Elm, Joey is done with battling after his apparent loss to Mikey. He is now ready to challenge the player with his Rattata. After the battle, he gives out his Pokégear number and hence can be rematched. After every rematch, Joey will give out an HP Up to the player.
In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Joey greatly emphasises the fact that he only raises one Pokémon, his Rattata (Raticate from the first rematch and onwards), claiming that it is in the "top percentage of Rattata."
"I just lost, so I'm trying to find more Pokémon. Wait! You look weak! Come on, let's battle!"
Being defeated
"Ack! I lost again! Doggone it!"
After being defeated
"Do I have to have more Pokémon in order to battle better? No! I'm sticking with this one no matter what! Listen, can I get your phone number? I'll ring you for some battles. I'm a rookie too, so I think it'd be a good motivator."
No: "Oh, all right... But I won't lose to you again!"
If talked to again
"Can I get your phone number? I don't want to lose against you! We have to battle again, OK?"
Yes: "I'll ring you whenever I get the urge to battle!"/"Huh, what? Your phone's full."
Before rematch
"I've been waiting! Let's battle now!"
Pokégear Phone
Calling the player
"Yo, <player>! How're you doing? This is Joey, got a minute?"
"Yo, <player>! How's it going? This is Joey. Got a minute?"
"How are your Pokémon doing? My Rattata's looking sharper than before! I doubt there's a Pokémon as cool as this guy in your party!"
"How are your Pokémon doing? My Rattata's raring to go, just like always. It's the only one I have. I'm going to become a great trainer with it!"
"Oh yeah, I saw a wild <Pokémon>! I thought about going for it, but I decided to work with my one-and-only right to the extreme end."
"Oh yeah, I took down a <Pokémon> in the wild the other day. It was a cakewalk. Well, I guess it can't be helped, us being so tough."
"Let's get together and battle! I promise things will be different! Route 30's where I'll be. Give me a shout when you come. All right. Later!"
"What's keeping you, <player>! Let's get down and battle already! I'm waiting on Route 30!"
"All right. Later!"
Calling him
"Hi, Joey here! Oh, <player>? You doing well? I'm checking out Rattata's moves and devising some strategies. When I come up with a good one, let's battle! All right. Later!"
He is first seen in Gold's garden, on the way to Elm's lab to deliver several Pokémon to the professor for examination. However, his backpack was stolen by a wild Murkrow, along with Gold's radio antenna, causing Gold's radio to lose broadcast. After noticing that something is wrong with radio, Gold spots Joey in the garden and mistakes him for the thief. The Youngster explains that the real thief is Murkrow. Gold then decides to retrieve the stolen objects. He soon succeeds and catches the Murkrow. The boys soon become friends.
After the incident with Murkrow, Gold and Joey travel together for a while. After a trip in New Bark Town, Gold notices Pokémon from his backpack have been stolen and they go to the laboratory to tell Professor Elm about it. Unluckily, they come to the lab just after Silver stole the Totodile. After that, Joey uses his computer to montage a picture of Silver for the police. Then, they meet Professor Oak who is interested by the fact that Silver had a Pokédex. It turns out that the Oak was the one who ordered him to deliver the Pokémon to Elm. Gold wants to get a Pokédex from Oak, but the professor refuses.
After that, Gold decides to train when a thunderstorm started to rage. Joey's Rattata falls into the river, and Gold goes to rescue it. After Joey tells this to Professor Oak, the professor decides to give Gold the Pokédex. After that, Joey decides to return to New Bark Town to pay Professor Elm a visit, while Gold decides to search for Silver. The boys go separate ways.
Joey is later seen as a cameo helping Professor Elm.
In Chuang Yi's translations of the manga, he was known as Grant. However, VIZ Media's translations properly identify him as Joey.
Joey is first seen in the very first chapter of the manga. He is battling Gold's Totodile with his Rattata. After the battle, Gold tells Joey how he got his Totodile in a flashback scene. Then, the boys spot an injured Pidgey lying amidst the grass of Route 28. After Gold helps the Pidgey recover using a Berry, Joey starts to appreciate Gold's kind heart. After that, the boys go separate ways.
Joey's Raticate was first seen as a Rattata in a flashback during the first chapter. It battled Gold's Totodile and lost despite the fact that Totodile was Gold's newly caught Pokémon. When Joey was on the summit in Ecruteak City, his Rattata was revealed to have evolved into a Raticate.
On the Pokégear, even after his Rattata has evolved into Raticate, Joey brags about his Rattata, not Raticate.
This is, however, a common trait that applies to all such Trainers (in games with the Pokégear) that can be rematched and have Pokémon that evolve between rematches.
Joey, his Rattata, and the phrase "top percentage of Rattata" have become memetic.
Many core series games feature other Trainers named Youngster Joey. However, these Trainers do not use Rattata (except for the one in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen) and have no other connection to the Youngster Joey in Johto. Only the ones in Pokémon Black and White and Pokémon X and Y have the same Japanese name as this Joey.
