Brendan (Japanese: ユウキ Yūki) serves as the rival in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, if the player choose to play as the female character. He is also the male choice in the games, but Brendan is never among the default names for the character.
In the games
Story
Brendan starts his journey moving from his home in Johto to his new home in the town of Littleroot in Hoenn. After saving Prof. Birch from a wild Pokémon, he is given one of the three starters of the Hoenn region. Brendan develops a close bond with May, and eventually Wally, who both act as his rivals. Brendan goes on to gather the eight badges of Hoenn, stop the plans of Team Aqua and Team Magma and conquer the Pokémon League all before going off to face the Battle Frontier.
He is given a much bigger task than both Red and Gold, as he has to save the world from either flooding, drying up, or both depending on the game.
Pokémon
In the games he appears in, Brendan battles with the following Pokémon. Unlike other rivals (excluding May), Brendan never evolves his starter Pokémon into its final form.
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
First battle
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Second battle (on Route 110)
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Pokémon Emerald
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Second battle (Optionally in Rustboro City)
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Fourth battle (on Route 119)
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Mudkip:
If the player chose Torchic:
If the player chose Treecko:
If the player chose Mudkip:
Other names for Brendan
The default names for Brendan as the male playable character in the games are as follows:
Language |
Ruby |
Sapphire |
Emerald
|
English
|
|
|
- Brett
- Casey
- Collin
- Darren
|
- Easton
- Jaxson
- Johnny
- Jude
|
- Kenny
- Landon
- Milton
- Quincy
|
|
|
|
Japanese
|
- リクヤ Rikuya
- ヒロアキ Hiroaki
- ヒトシ Hitoshi
- ケイ Kei
|
- カイト Kaito
- ヒロアキ Hiroaki
- ヒトシ Hitoshi
- ケイ Kei
|
- イツオ Itsuo
- ギョク Gyoku
- ケイ Kei
- シュウサク Shūsaku
- セイゴ Seigo
- ダイサク Daisaku
- タカヒト Takahito
- タツヤ Tatsuya
- ダニエル Daniel
- テルキ Teruki
|
- トム Tom
- トモヤ Tomoya
- ヒトシ Hitoshi
- ヒロアキ Hiroaki
- ユキヒコ Yukihiko
- ラルド Rald
- リクヤ Rikuya
- リチャード Richard
- リュウ Ryū
- リョウタ Ryōta
|
|
German
|
|
|
- Anselm
- Daniel
- David
- Dieter
|
|
|
- Markus
- Martin
- Michael
- Paul
|
- Roland
- Rolf
- Stefan
- Thomas
|
|
Spanish
|
|
|
|
French
|
- Thierry
- Thomas
- Daniel
- Seb
|
- Martial
- Thomas
- Daniel
- Seb
|
- Daniel
- Stan
- Thomas
- Fabrice
|
|
- Alec
- Thierry
- Johann
- Manuel
|
- Colin
- Ruddy
- Thibaud
- Johnny
|
|
|
Italian
|
|
|
|
In the anime
Brendan's only anime appearances are small cameos in the openings of Jirachi: Wish Maker, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea and Giratina and the Sky Warrior.
Like in the games, he has the starter Pokémon that weakens May's. It is unknown if his relatives are the same as that of the games, where, as May is Norman's daughter (as the player is), Brendan would be Professor Birch's son. Brendan seems to be a competitive battler, as his cameos suggest he spends time in Battle Towers.
In his third appearance he was seen battling against Lucas, Dawn's male counterpart, much as May faced off against Dawn in the Wallace Cup. Unlike May, however, Brendan was still wearing the same outfit he had been previously, based on his clothes from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, rather than from Pokémon Emerald.
Pokémon
The following are Brendan's known Pokémon in the anime:
In the TFG
Brendan appears as a common Trainer figure in the launch set, Next Quest, of the Pokémon Trading Figure Game.
Trivia
- The English default names for Brendan include Landon in Ruby (as a reference to Groudon) and Sean in Sapphire (as a reference to Kyogre). The same holds true for two of his Japanese default names, Rikuya and Kaito. Riku (陸) and kai (海) mean land and sea, respectively.
- It's to be noted that, in their respective languages' Emerald, the names relating to the "sea" aspect found in Sapphire are not in their default list of names. This also holds true for games outside the Japanese and English language versions.
- As the player, neither Brendan nor his female counterpart May are native to the Johto region.
- In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pikachu wears Brendan's Emerald headband similar to Red's hat as an alternate costume. Also the Pokémon Trainer has an alternate costume with a similar color scheme as Brendan's Emerald outfit.
- It is interesting to note that in the anime, Brendan's Shiftry was caught with a Repeat Ball. His Aggron was caught with a Luxury Ball.
- There is a large amount of confusion and debate amongst the fanbase concerning Brendan's hair. Brendan's manga counterpart, Ruby, has black hair in a similar style to Norman's and merely wears a white hat. Several pieces of official art and sprites vary in this depiction, though many claim specific images as concrete evidence that he is indeed wearing a hat, albeit a very unique one. Particularly the appearance of black side burns in the Emerald art, and distinctly black hair appearing on the backside of his head from under the colored band in his game backsprites. Outside of the manga, it is not explicitly stated whether it is a hat or hair.
- Both Brendan's and May's Emerald artwork feature them holding a Premier Ball.
- Curiously, Lucas's and Dawn's Platinum artwork feature them holding a Repeat Ball, causing this situation to happen with two player characters in the third version of two consecutive generations.
- As the player character (along with May), they are the only set of player characters that have both a mother and a father in the games. As a rival, this trait is shared with Barry.
- As the rival, Brendan, along with May, are the only rivals to wear any sort of headgear.
- They are also, along with Wally, the only rivals in the main series that the player cannot name.
Language
|
Name
|
Origin
|
Japanese
|
ユウキ Yūki
|
From 勇気 yūki, bravery.
|
English
|
Brendan
|
Could be derived from "brave."
|
French
|
Brice
|
|
German
|
Brix
|
|
Spanish
|
Bruno
|
|