A.J.

A.J. (Japanese: アキラ Akira) is a Trainer who lives between Cerulean City and Vermilion City. His dream is to become a Pokémon Master with the help of his favorite Pokémon, Sandshrew. He ran an unofficial Gym which was not sponsored by the Pokémon League and therefore did not give out any Badges.

In the anime

A.J. in the anime

A.J. was the character of the day in The Path to the Pokémon League.

In this episode, Ash, Misty, and Brock were on their 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 then challenged him to battle number 99.

Ash began to say how he thought low about a person with 98 victories but without a Gym Badge. A.J. responded by saying 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 have gotten them from weak Gym Leaders, which angered both 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 "strength intensifiers." He also had all of his Pokémon exercise in rigorous routines. Ash complained about A.J. treating his Pokémon too harshly and asked Brock and Misty to back him up. However, Brock instead complimented A.J. on the specialized food he prepares for his Pokémon.

Jessie, James, and Meowth then tried to steal Ash's Pikachu, but ended up accidentally taking Sandshrew instead. Not knowing what had happened, Ash guessed that Sandshrew had run away, and offered A.J.'s other Pokémon spots on his team, but 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.

After A.J. and Sandshrew had been happily reunited, Ash realized that A.J. cared deeply for his Pokémon, despite being tough on them during training.

A.J. made another appearance in a flashback sequence of the original series' second Japanese opening theme, The Rivals, and its English dub equivalent, Pokémon World. He and his Sandshrew appear with a group of other Trainers Ash encountered during his first trip through Kanto.

Pokémon

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

Sandshrew

Debut	The Path to the Pokémon League

Sandshrew first appeared in The Path to the Pokémon League, during Ash's battle with A.J. During the battle, his Pidgeotto 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, allowing it to avoid the Stun Spore. It then 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 it was able to make its way back using Dig. It then had a battle against James's Koffing and Jessie's Ekans. It was able to dodge Koffing and entangle Ekans, then finished them off by using Fissure.

Sandshrew made a cameo with A.J. in the original series' second Japanese opening theme, The Rivals, and its English dub equivalent, Pokémon World.

Sandshrew's known moves are Dig, Defense Curl*, and Fissure.

Butterfree

Debut	The Path to the Pokémon League
Voice actors
Japanese	Rikako Aikawa
English	Rikako Aikawa

Butterfree appeared in The Path to the Pokémon League, where it was first seen carrying A.J.'s bag into the Gym. It was then seen in A.J.'s Gym training with his Beedrill.

None of Butterfree's moves are known.

Beedrill

Debut	The Path to the Pokémon League

Beedrill appeared in The Path to the Pokémon League, where it was first seen in A.J.'s Gym, training with his Butterfree.

None of Beedrill's moves are known.

Rattata (×3)

Debut	The Path to the Pokémon League
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Michael Haigney

These three Rattata appeared in The Path to the Pokémon League, where they were seen in A.J.'s Gym training with his Sandshrew.

None of Rattata's moves are known.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 檜山修之 Nobuyuki Hiyama English Adam Blaustein Czech Radovan Vaculík Finnish Arto Nieminen Hebrew לירון לב Liron Lev Italian Patrizio Prata (Mediaset dub) Davide Albano (K2 dub) Norwegian Erik Skøld Polish Mikołaj Klimek Brazilian Portuguese Vágner Fagundes Spanish Latin America Benjamin Rivera Spain Juan Logar Jr.

In the manga

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

A.J. in The Electric Tale of Pikachu

A.J. makes a cameo appearance in 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 separated from Ash and Brock when Pikachu goes missing.

A.J. appears to be a little older in the manga compared to his anime appearance.

In the games

A.J. in Pokémon Yellow

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, this Trainer is originally a Jr. Trainer♂, has a Growlithe and a Charmander, and says, "Keep walking!" after being defeated.

Pokémon

Youngster Route 9 Yellow Reward: $360
Type: Ground Unknown Sandshrew Lv.24 Scratch Normal   --       Sand-Attack Normal   --       Slash Normal   --       Fissure Ground   --

Quotes

• Before battle

"I aim to be the ultimate trainer!"

• Being defeated

"My Sandshrew lost?"

• After being defeated

"I'll restart my 100-win streak with Sandshrew."

Trivia

• A.J.'s Sandshrew used Defense Curl, despite that Sandshrew couldn't learn it until the next generation in the games.
• A.J.'s character could be based on a comedy by William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew.

The Electric Tale of Pikachu characters Main characters Ash Ketchum • Pikachu • Gary Oak • Ritchie • May Oak • Professor Oak • Delia Ketchum • Jessie • James • Meowth Gym Leaders Brock • Misty • Koga • Sabrina • Giovanni • Rudy • Drake Other A.J. • Aya • Bill • Damian • Dario • Duplica • Eevee brothers • Giselle • Jeanette Fisher • Officer Jenny • Joe • Nurse Joy Lara Laramie • Mahri • Melanie • Mikey • Mimi • Professor Orville • Potter • Florinda Showers • Ruby • Samurai • Tommy

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