Denjirō

The subject of this article has no official English name. The name currently in use is a fan romanization of the Japanese name.

Denjirō with the Pidgey

(Japanese: デンジロウ Denjirō) is a character of the day who appeared in Carrying On!. In the English script, he was referred to as Malachi's grandfather.^[1]

He and his grandson, Malachi, have multiple Pidgey that act as carrier pigeons. He is the one who started the Pidgey Express business, as a business that uses the abilities of the Pidgey in order to send packages and newspapers to the nearby islands without ferry service. For more than fifty years, he has dedicated his life to training and taking care of the Pidgey. In order to train the Pidgey, Denjirō would fly on a mini-blimp over and over again to show them the routes they had to take. He would wait up on stormy nights until every Pidgey returned and wait with them until they fell asleep if they were lonely. Because of this dedication, he was not able to attend his son's wedding or his grandson's birth. That is why Denjirō planned on retiring the business once he retired, so that Malachi wouldn't miss the important things in life like he had.

During Carrying On!, the Pidgey were the target of a Team Rocket heist, literally being plucked from the sky. Malachi went and saved the Pidgey for his grandfather. This impressed Denjirō so much that he changed his mind about retiring the business, and helped his grandson become a professional Pidgey Express Man.

Pokémon

Works with

		Pidgey (multiple)
		Denjirō has many carrier Pidgey that he and his grandson Malachi own. They are used in the Pidgey Express business to send packages and newspapers around the nearby islands. In Carrying On, the Pidgey were seen flying around and delivering messages. They were seen in Denjirō's house, and many were later captured by Team Rocket. But with the help of Malachi's favorite Pidgey, Ken, and Ash's Noctowl, the Pidgey were freed and Team Rocket was sent blasting off. In the dub, nicknames of the Pidgey in the picture are Wingy, Flingy, Dingy and Norman. Pidgey's only known move is Peck*.
Debut	Carrying On!

		Ken
		Ken (Japanese: ケン Ken) is one of the many carrier Pidgey that Malachi and his grandfather own. They are used in the Pidgey Express business to send packages and newspapers around the Whirl Islands. Ken is distinct from the Express's other Pidgey because of the tiny hat it wears. It was first seen when a wild Fearow was pecking it and injuring it. Ash's Noctowl stepped in and scared off the Fearow. Ken plummeted to the ground, but eventually became friends with Noctowl. Brock bandaged the tiny Pidgey's wings and along with Ash and Misty found Malachi. He took them to Malachi's grandfather's house where Ken was then fully healed. Ken's known moves are Whirlwind and Peck*.
Debut	Carrying On!

Voice actors

Trivia

• Denjirō might be based on the famous Japanese actor, Ken Takakura, who starred in a movie, Railroad Man, with the Japanese name of "Poppoya", which is very close to Pidgey's Japanese name.
  • The Pidgey named Ken, could also be from actor Ken Takakura.
  • After Ash and co. are impressed by the fact that Denjirō flies all over the city, telling the Pidgey where to go, he says "It's because I'm a clumsy man.". This is a reference to Ken Takakura, who once said in a commercial for Nippon Life, "It's because I'm clumsy".

References

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.