A.J.: Difference between revisions

A.J. (Japanese: アキラ Akira) is a Pokémon Trainer in his mid-teens who lives between Cerulean City and Vermilion City. Other trainers refer to him as a "Wild Pokémon Trainer", although what this is meant to imply is never made clear. His dream is to become a Pokémon Master with the help of his favorite Pokémon, Sandshrew. He had a gym, but it was an unofficial gym not sponsored by the Pokémon League and did not have a related badge.

In the anime

A.J. was the character of the day in The Path to the Pokémon League. His Japanese voice actor is Nobuyuki Hiyama and his English voice actor is Maddie Blaustein.

In this episode, Ash, Misty, and Brock were on the way to Vermilion City, when they heard about a local trainer who was undefeated. Ash, eager to challenge this trainer, went to A.J.'s gym and saw a sign above it announcing that A.J. had been undefeated through 98 matches. A.J. returned to the Gym after catching some wild Pokémon. Ash challenged him to battle the number 99.

Ash begins to say about a person with 98 victories but without a Gym Badge. A.J. says that he wasn't planning on challenging a Gym Leader until he had 100 wins in a row. Ash bragged about the two badges he had at the time just with ten victories, and A.J. insulted him and said he must've gotten them from weak Gym Leaders, which angered Brock and Misty. A.J. defeated Ash with his Sandshrew without much effort, causing Ash to complain and accuse A.J. of cheating.

As the group was about to leave, they looked inside the Gym, and they saw A.J. using a whip to send his Sandshrew diving into a pool. Ash attacked A.J., thinking that he was torturing his Pokémon. A.J. then explained that he was strengthening his Sandshrew's resistance against water. Sandshrew and all of A.J.'s other Pokémon were wearing Macho Braces to intensify their strength. He also had all of his Pokémon exercise is rigorous routines. Ash complained about A.J. treating his Pokémon too harshly, and asks Brock and Misty to back him up. However, instead Brock compliments A.J. on the specialized food he prepares for his Pokémon.

Jessie, James, and Meowth then tried to steal Pikachu, but ended up accidentally taking Sandshrew instead. Not knowing what had happened, Ash guessed that Sandshrew had ran away, and offered A.J.'s other Pokémon spots on his team. They ignored him. Sandshrew escaped from Team Rocket by using Dig, accidentally bringing Meowth along with him. After A.J.'s Sandshrew came back, he challenged Team Rocket to a battle, and his Sandshrew defeated Team Rocket, winning A.J. the final victory needed to set off and collect Gym Badges.

A.J. makes another appearance in a flashback sequence of the Orange Islands opening song Pokémon World. He and his Sandshrew appear with a group of other Trainers Ash encountered during his first trip through Kanto.

Pokémon

This listing is of A.J.'s Pokémon in the anime.

		Sandshrew
		A.J.'s Sandshrew's appearance was in The Path to the Pokémon League where Ash and his friends heard from a Trainer about a really powerful Gym in which the leader was undefeated. Ash decided to challenge A.J. after hearing this. A.J had a battle with Ash and sent out his Pidgeotto, which was easily defeated by Sandshrew. Next Ash called out his Butterfree and went for a Stun Spore. A.J. whipped Sandshrew and told it to use Dig, avoiding Butterfree's Stun Spore. It jumped out and defeated Butterfree. Ash wanted Pikachu to battle, but it refused, giving A.J. the win. It was then seen training in A.J.'s Gym wearing what A.J. called a "strength intensifier" and using the pool. It was then accidentally captured by Team Rocket but was able to make its way back using Dig. It then had a battle against Team Rocket with Koffing and Ekans. It was able to dodge Koffing and entangle Ekans, then finished them off by using Fissure. It made a cameo with A.J. in the opening Pokémon World. Its known moves are Dig and Fissure.
Debut	The Path to the Pokémon League

Voice actors

In the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

A.J. makes a cameo appearance in the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga. In the chapter Pikachu's Excellent Adventure, he, along with Samurai, Ash and Brock, make plans to find the Hidden Village, where powerful wild Pokémon supposedly live. A.J. is particularly interested in high-leveled Pokémon such as Charizard and Venusaur. He and Samurai are seperated from Ash and Brock when Pikachu goes missing.

A.J. appears to be a little older in the manga than he is when he appears in the anime.

In the games

In Pokémon Yellow, a game based on the anime, there is a Youngster on Route 9. This trainer solely uses a Level 24 Sandshrew that has the move Fissure, much like A.J.'s Sandshrew in the anime. After the player wins the battle, he says, "I'll restart my 100-win streak with Sandshrew," a reference to the fact that A.J. won 100 battles. This trainer may be A.J., or a reference to him. In Pokémon Red and Blue, games made before the anime, this trainer had a Growlithe and a Charmander, and just said "Keep walking!", after being defeated.

This article is part of Project COD, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each one-time character of the Pokémon anime.