Richie (Pokémon)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Richie | |
|---|---|
 Richie |
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| Japanese name | Hiroshi |
| Voice actor(s) (English) | Tara Jayne |
| Voice actor(s) (Japanese) | Minami Takayama |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Puzzle League |
| Anime episode | Ep. 75, "A friend In Deed" |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Occupation | Roving Pokémon trainer |
Richie, (sometimes spelled Ritchie) known in Japan as Hiroshi, is a fictional character in the Pokémon anime and manga series. He dresses mostly in green, with a blue hat.
His Japanese name, Hiroshi, continues the trend of naming the aspiring Pokémon Trainer main characters after people responsible for the creation of Pokémon. Hiroshi is named after Hiroshi Yamauchi, long-time president of Nintendo, just as Ash/Satoshi was named after Satoshi Tajiri, creator of Pokémon and co-founder of Game Freak, and Gary/Shigeru is named after Shigeru Miyamoto, Satoshi Tajiri's mentor in game design and noted game designer at Nintendo.
Richie, a Pokémon Trainer, befriends Ash Ketchum during the Kanto Pokémon League tournament. All of his Pokémon share the characteristic of having nicknames in the English version of the anime. For example, his Pikachu is nicknamed "Sparky" ("Chuchino" in manga).
Comparisons of Ash and Richie parallel comparisons of Red, from Pokémon Red and Blue and Yellow, the protagonist of Pokémon Yellow version. They're both very similar characters with similar outlooks, goals, and personalities, and end up taking very slightly different paths in life.They even look something like each other. Richie has also noted that he and Ash tend to catch many of the same species of Pokémon. Indeed, every Pokémon Richie has been seen to use is from the same evolutionary line as one Ash has used. This has led many fans to refer to Richie as a clone of Ash.
Richie re-appeared in the Whirl Islands, and is one of the protagonists of Pokémon Chronicles. His most recent appearance was in the Sevii Islands, where he helped to protect Moltres from Butch & Cassidy. Richie revealed during Pokémon Chronicles that he is from Frotomar City.
Richie can also be played as in Pokémon Puzzle League, although there his name is spelled Ritchie.
In the anime, he is voiced by Minami Takayama in the Japanese version, and by Tara Jayne in the English version.
In the dub, Richie says he also has an Eevee.
[edit] Pokémon
- Charmander → Charmeleon, “Zippo”
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- Nicknamed “Zippo”, Richie used his Charmander against Ash's Pikachu, but it lost to Ash's Charizard. Zippo later evolved into Charmeleon. It may be true that Zippo was Richie's starter Pokémon. The nickname "Zippo" is referenced to the famous lighter company from Bradford, Pennsylvania.
- Pikachu, “Sparky”
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- Nicknamed “Sparky”, "Leon" in Japan, "Chuchino" in the Ono manga. Richie's own Pikachu who now can be seen outside of its Poké Ball like Ash's Pikachu. Richie used Sparky against Ash's Charizard. However, Charizard didn't bother battling it and went to sleep, causing Ash to forfeit. Notably, Sparky has ruff hair on top, unlike Ash's Pikachu and similarily like the pichu brothers. Unlike Ash's Pikachu, Sparky is voiced by Satomi Kohrogi.
- Butterfree, “Happy”
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- Nicknamed “Happy”, Richie used his Butterfree against Ash's Squirtle, but it lost to Pikachu.
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- In the Pokémon League, there was an image of two Pokémon fighting: a Spearow and a Tentacool. This was one of Richie's matches, so he has one or the other.
- Pupitar, “Cruz”
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- Nicknamed "Cruz", Richie caught his Pupitar prior to meeting Ash in Johto where they saved a Lugia and its baby from Team Rocket.
- Taillow, “Rose”
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- Nicknamed “Rose”, Richie caught his Taillow prior to helping Professor Oak escape from Professor Namba and Butch and Cassidy of Team Rocket.
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- In the dub, Richie claims that he has an Eevee and wanted to ask Professor Oak which one of Eevee's evolutions he should evolve his into. However, whether he actually owns an Eevee is disputed due to a lack of visual evidence.
