User:Hikaru Wazana/Traveling Companion

Ash and his traveling companions during Pokémon Journeys: The Series,Goh and Chloe

Traveling companion is the name given to the characters who help the protagonist (most often in the anime) on his journey. They usually accompany the protagonist or player character for long periods of time on their journey or on specific goals.

In the games

Several RPG game franchises such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy adopt moments where the protagonist shares moments with other characters and that generally their stories become an essential part of the plot. In the core series, the concept of a traveling companion is rarely used however in some specific moments in the plot, the player character participates in moments when traveling with a trainer with similar goals.

Wes and Rui

Generation III

Main article: Pokémon Colosseum

Pokémon Colosseum is the first (and so far only game) in the franchise in which the player character shares the plot entirely with a traveling companion, a girl named Rui. Although Rui's presence is important to the game's progress, her impact on the plot is small and she is not seen using Pokémon she owns at any point in the game with her role serving only to identify and help Wes to capture the Shadow Pokémon seen throughout the game.

Generation IV

Main article: Stat Trainers

Lucas with Marley in a Multi Battle

List of traveling companions in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum

Trainer	Location	Objective
Cheryl	Eterna Forest	Cheryl asks the player to join her because she's afraid she might run into Team Galactic.
Riley	Iron Island	Riley helps the player to get through the deep mines on the Iron Island, and assists in the defeat of some Team Galactic grunts
Mira	Wayward Cave	Mira got lost inside Wayward Cave looking for Pokémon and needs to be escorted out.
Marley	Victory Road	Marley appears in a part of Victory Road only accessible after entering the Hall of Fame and wants to inspect the stone tablet at the end of Route 224 in hopes of meeting Shaymin.
Buck	Stark Mountain	Buck appears at Stark Mountain and is part of the event required to catch Heatran. In Pokémon Platinum, Buck joins the player character to defeat the remaining members of Team Galactic.

Generation V

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

In Black 2 and White 2, the player character has the opportunity to travel with the following characters during the main story of the game. As in previous games, they help you in Pokémon battles and after that recovering your party after each battle. Except for the journey with Bianca, all other missions involve the characters clash against Team Plasma.

In addition to this, N joins the player character for a small part of the game to explore his old castle. However, there are no encounters with wild Pokémon or Trainers at this point in the story.

List of traveling companions in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

Trainer	Location	Objective
Hugh	Castelia Sewers Plasma Frigate (Route 21) Lacunosa Town Plasma Frigate (Giant Chasm)	During his quest for revenge against Team Plasma, Hugh teams up at various points in the game's main story with the player character with the aim of finding his sister's lost Purrloin.
Bianca	Reversal Mountain	Bianca will accompany the player as a tag partner on the player's first visit to Reversal Mountain while she investigates the Pokémon Heatran.
Cheren	Pinwheel Forest	After the player enters the Hall of Fame, Cheren can be found at Pinwheel Forest, investigating the activities of Team Plasma. Cheren will accompany the player as a Multi Battle partner. After encountering Gorm, Cheren will thank the player with an Up-Grade and then return to the Aspertia Gym.
N	N's Castle	After the player enters the Hall of Fame, N joins the player character in the ruins of N's Castle, to guide to his ancient throne and challenges him to a Pokémon battle against Zekrom^B2/Reshiram^W2.

Generation VIII

Hop with Victor in a Multi Battle

Spin-offs

Pokémon Masters EX

Main article: Sync pair

A battle in Pokémon Masters EX

In the anime

Main series

First timeline

Ash Ketchum

Ash's traveling companions in the original series

Main article: Ash's friends

Serena

Serena and Lisia

Other characters

During the course of the anime, Ash and his friends encounter several trainers who follow parallel journeys or cross paths with him:

The most notable and recurring example in the anime is the Team Rocket Trio, formed by Jessie, James and Meowth. They first appeared in Pokémon Emergency! and have since appeared frequently traveling to other regions, whether antagonizing Ash or participating in anime events and competitions.
In Gotta Catch Ya Later!, Ash, Misty and Brock encounter a group of trainers called the Invincible Pokémon Brothers. They appear again in Cerulean Blues, seeking revenge on Misty.