Nicholai

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Nicholai キヨ Kiyo
Nicholai and his Mudkip
Gender	Male
Eye color	Black
Hair color	Green
Hometown	Unknown
Region	Hoenn
Trainer class	Trainer
Anime debut	In the Knicker of Time!
English voice actor	Andrew Rannells
Japanese voice actor	Chie Satō

Nicholai (Japanese: キヨ Kiyo) is a recurring character of the Pokémon anime. He is a Pokémon Trainer in Hoenn who is obsessed with knickerbockers and cosplaying as Pokémon.

History

Nicholai first appeared in In the Knicker of Time!. Ash, May, Brock, and Max were traveling through the Petalburg Woods on the way to Rustboro City. They were surprised to see a gigantic Zigzagoon. It was actually Nicholai in a costume. He was trying to lure the wild Zigzagoon closer so he could battle them. Ash and his friends scared the Zigzagoon away, and Nicholai introduced himself to the group. The boy then showed off his collection of Pokémon costumes. Nicholai explained that he believed that his costumes allowed him to know what a Pokémon felt like. In addition, the costumes helped him blend in with wild Pokémon. Nicholai wanted a Zigzagoon so he could challenge Norman at the Petalburg City Gym.

After learning that May was Norman's daughter, Nicholai excitedly challenged May to a Pokémon battle. Nicholai sent out his Mudkip and May used her only Pokémon, Torchic. Mudkip easily knocked out Torchic with a couple of Water Gun attacks. Nicholai then concluded that since May lost so horribly, Norman must be a pushover in battle, too. Max, angry at Nicholai for insulting his father, followed him. Apparently he was still trying to capture a Zigzagoon. Max stole Nicholai's Pokémon bait, and ended up surrounded by a pack of the Normal-type Pokémon. Ash and the others rescued Max. Eventually, with the help of his Mudkip, Nicholai caught a Zigzagoon.

Team Rocket tried to steal Mudkip, but Nicholai used a Gligar costume to fly up and rescue the Mud Fish Pokémon. Pikachu then blasted Team Rocket off with an Electric-type attack. Nicholai used his new Zigzagoon in a battle against Ash's Taillow before parting for Petalburg City.

His second and final appearance was in ZigZag Zangoose!. When Ash and his friends were traveling to Fallarbor Town, they once again met Nicholai on Route 111. This time he was dressed up as a Zangoose and he had a new Zangoose of his own. He informed the group that he had challenged Norman, but was defeated. May and Max's mother told him where they were headed so he came to meet them. He battled Ash: Treecko versus the newly evolved Marshtomp. Treecko managed to win. When Team Rocket tried to steal Nicholai's Marshtomp, his Zangoose came to the rescue. He battled with Seviper and defeated it with a powerful Crush Claw. After Team Rocket were blasted off, Nicholai and Ash had one last battle, though the winner was not revealed.

Pokémon

This listing is of Nicholai's Pokémon in the Pokémon anime.

の	This article is missing information on this character's English voice actor and Japanese voice actor. You can help by adding this information.

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Mudkip → Marshtomp

Debut	In the Knicker of Time!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Lindsey Warner (as Mudkip) Kayzie Rogers (as Marshtomp)

Nicholai's Marshtomp first appeared as a Mudkip in In the Knicker of Time!. When Nicholai found out that May is the Petalburg City Gym Leader Norman's daughter, he was eager to battle her. He sent out Mudkip whilst May sent out her Torchic. Torchic was knocked out clean from one Water Gun. It was later used again to spray Berry trees with water to fend off wild Zigzagoon from Max. Next, it was used to battle a Zigzagoon from one of a pack. After being hit by a Tackle, Mudkip was able to battle on, eventually allowing Nicholai to capture the Zigzagoon. Suddenly, Team Rocket showed up and tried to steal Mudkip, but with the help of an Aipom and Gligar costume and a little help from the Zigzagoon (digging a hole) and Ash's Taillow and Ash's Pikachu, they were able to send Team Rocket blasting off and free Mudkip.

Mudkip appeared again with its Trainer in ZigZag Zangoose where Mudkip had evolved into a Marshtomp. It battled Ash and his Treecko but was knocked out by Treecko's Pound.

Marshtomp's known moves are Water Gun, Mud Shot and Iron Tail.

Zigzagoon

Debut	In the Knicker of Time!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Oliver Wyman

Nicholai's Zigzagoon first appeared in In the Knicker of Time! where Nicholai was chasing a bunch of Zigzagoon so he could catch one. After seeing Nicholai using one of Zigzagoon's favorite food items, Max tried to lure them in but was confronted by a large hungry pack of them. Nicholai found out what to do and sprayed all of the nearby trees with water to knock the Berries out of them. Then he asked to battle Zigzagoon, and after a tight fight, Nicholai caught it. Then Zigzagoon was used in a battle against Ash with his Taillow, but who won is unknown.

It appeared later in ZigZag Zangoose where it battled Ash and his Pikachu, but again, who won is unknown.

Zigzagoon's known moves are Tackle, Sand Attack and Dig.

Zangoose

Debut	ZigZag Zangoose

Nicholai's Zangoose first appeared in ZigZag Zangoose where it appeared alongside its Trainer on Route 111. It battled against Ash and his Treecko, but suddenly Zangoose noticed Jessie's Seviper and started to battle it. Ash and his friends and even Team Rocket did not know what was going on, but it was Zangoose and Seviper's that got the two fighting, as these Pokémon have a natural rivalry. They were suddenly knocked into a river and Seviper then used Poison Tail, knocking Zangoose unconscious. Ash's Corphish fended off Seviper with a BubbleBeam and retrieved Zangoose. Brock nursed Zangoose back to health with herbal medicine and left it to rest. Ash and Nicholai both dressed up as Pokémon and figured out a plan to defeat Seviper. May's Skitty got in the way, however, and they had to call their plan off. Suddenly, Seviper appeared again and was ready to battle and after a long and fierce battle, Zangoose finally knocked out the Fang Snake Pokémon with a Crush Claw.

Zangoose's known moves are Swords Dance* and Crush Claw.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 佐藤智恵 Chie Satō English Andrew Rannells Finnish Joonas Suominen Italian Luca Sandri Norwegian Trond Teigen Polish Mikołaj Klimek Brazilian Portuguese Alex Wendel (AG005) Yuri Chesman (AG048) European Spanish Nacho Aldeguer

Trivia

Nicholai and his Mudkip against May's Torchic

• Nicholai is based on the Youngster Trainer class. In the Japanese version, he even calls himself たんパンこぞう Shorts Boy, Youngster's Japanese name, though he also has similarities to the Poké Maniac who dresses up as a Pokémon.
• Nando, who battled May's successor, Dawn for her first official battle, also went on to become a recurring character.
• Nicholai's name may be a pun on "knickers."

This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.