Kanto characters, rivals and major trainers
Meet the important people in this adventure and understand their gameplay roles.
Story and late-game spoilers.
Game Boy Advance remakes; not the original Red/Blue or Let’s Go games.
6 characters · one picture per entry · open a picture for full size.
Character directory
Red / Leaf
Your chosen character explores Kanto with a starter from Oak. This guide covers the GBA remakes, including systems absent from the original Game Boy releases.
Professor Oak
Oak begins the collection assignment. Some upgrades depend on caught species rather than merely seeing opponents in trainer battles.
Blue
His team changes with your starter choice. Prepare for multiple roles and types rather than planning the entire League around his starter alone.
Bill
His Cerulean-area event grants the S.S. Ticket. Later, his involvement connects the Kanto adventure to the Sevii Islands.
Giovanni
Rocket operations and the final Gym intersect through him. Clearing the relevant Rocket story events is necessary to resolve several progression barriers.
Celio
His later gemstone assignment belongs to the expanded postgame. National Pokédex and story requirements matter; simply visiting One Island does not complete the network quest.
Quick notes
- Oak’s research and the rival are separate goals. Oak provides the Pokédex framework, while the rival repeatedly tests the party and eventually becomes the first Champion opponent.