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Koga

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Koga
キョウ Kyō
"The Poisonous Ninja Master"
HeartGold SoulSilver Koga.png
Art from HeartGold and SoulSiver
Gender Male
Eye color Black
Hair color Blue
Hometown Fuchsia City
Region Kanto
Relatives Janine (daughter)
Aya (anime only, sister)
Trainer class Gym Leader, Elite Trainer, Team Rocket Commander (Adventures)
Generation I, II, III, IV
Games Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, FireRed, LeafGreen, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Stadium, Stadium 2
Leader of Fuchsia Gym
Badge Soul Badge
Elite Four of Indigo Plateau
Specializes in Template:Type2s
Anime debut The Ninja Poké-Showdown
English voice actor Stan Hart
Japanese voice actor Hōchū Ōtsuka

Koga (Japanese: キョウ Kyō) was the Leader of Fuchsia City's Gym. He is a student of ninjutsu who specializes in Template:Type2 Pokémon. He handed out the Soul Badge to Trainers who defeated him.

He was promoted to a master Template:Type2 Trainer, and became a member of the Johto Elite Four, at some time after the events of Generation I and its remakes, but before the events of Generation II and its remakes, thus leaving his daughter, Janine, in charge of the Fuchsia Gym.

In the games

Artwork of Koga from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Art of Koga from Pokémon Red and Blue
Full art of Koga from Generation I

Koga, known as the Poisonous Ninja Master, serves two roles in the Pokémon games. In Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen he is the leader of the Fuchsia Gym, but is promoted to a member of the Elite Four in Pokémon Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver. Koga is a user of the Template:Type2; he likes the despair and horror that Poison-type Pokémon can inflict on others.

Koga has studied medicine and antidotes; he makes his own potions to heal his Pokémon. He also serves as a teacher. Many students come to him to be trained in the arts of Ninjutsu and Pokémon. One of his students is his own daughter, Janine, who takes over his Gym in the Generation II/IV storyline. In addition to these roles, Koga also patrols the grounds of the Kanto Safari Zone, to ensure that the players of the Safari Game are safe from the wild Pokémon within.

In Generation I/III, Koga's Gym is typically the fifth to be challenged. He has built invisible walls in the Fuchsia City gym, constructing a confusing maze out of them. Koga awaits challengers in the center of the maze, clearly visible, but a group of Jugglers and Tamers—Koga's students— must be fought first. Defeating him will earn the successful Trainer TM06 (Toxic) and the Soul Badge.

With the future of the Gym in his daughter's hands, Koga advances to a role in the Pokémon League of Kanto and Johto before the events of Generation II/IV. In these games, he is the second member of the Elite Four to be faced. The team he uses in this role is similar to his Gym Leader's teams; the main difference is the introduction of Pokémon not native to Kanto. Koga's battle style as an Elite Four member is designed to confound and destroy his opponent in battle. Rather than using brute force, Koga attempts to confuse, put to sleep, and poison his opponent.

Fame Checker

This is a list of the Fame Checker's information on Koga in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions.

Fuchsia City - sign
  • What does this person do?
"Fuchsia City Pokémon Gym
Leader: Koga
The Poisonous Ninja Master"
Fuchsia Gym - Koga
  • Favorite kind of Pokémon?
"Despair to the creeping horror of Poison-type Pokémon!"
Fuchsia Gym - Juggler Kirk
  • What is this person like?
"Even though I've lost, I will keep training according to the teachings of Koga, my ninja master."
Fuchsia City - Charine
  • Family and friends?
"My father is the Gym Leader of this town.
I’m training to use Poison Pokémon as well as my father."
Safari Warden's Home - Pokémon Journal
  • There’s a rumor...
"Koga is said to have a thorough knowledge of medicine.
He even concocts medicine to nurse his Pokémon to health."
Safari Zone - man
  • What does this person do?
"The Safari Zone<sc>'s huge, wouldn't you say?
<sc>Fuchsia's Gym Leader, Koga, patrols the grounds every so often.
Thanks to him, we can play here knowing that we're safe."
Message from Koga
  • From: Koga
  • To: [Player]
"You and I, we must both set our sights higher and work towards meeting our challenges.
Now, I must go train my daughter."

Pokémon

This is a listing of Koga's Pokémon in the games in which he has appeared.

Pokémon Red and Blue and Pokémon Red and Green



Pokémon Yellow



Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal



Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen



Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

First Battle



Second Battle



Pokémon Stadium

Round 1



Round 2



Pokémon Stadium 2

Round 1



Round 2



Quotes

File:KogaBlue.PNG File:Y Koga.png File:Koga 02.png
Koga's sprite from
Generation I 		Koga's sprite from
Pokémon Yellow 		Koga's sprite from
Generation II
File:SpriteKoga.png File:KogaHGSS.gif VSKoga.png
Koga's sprite from
Generation III 		Koga's sprite from
Generation IV 		Koga's VS sprite from
Generation IV

Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow

  • Before battle
"Fwahahaha! A mere child like you dares to challenge me? Very well, I shall show you true terror as a ninja master! You shall feel the despair of poison and sleep techniques!"
  • When defeated
"Humph! You have proven your worth! Here! take the Soul Badge!"
  • After being defeated
"Now that you have the Soul Badge, the defense of your Pokémon increases! It also lets you Surf outside of battle! Ah! Take this too!"
"TM06 contains Toxic! It is a secret technique over 400 years old!"
"When afflicted by Toxic, Pokémon suffer more and more as battle progresses! It will surely terrorize foes!"

Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal

  • Before battle
"Fwahahahaha! I am Koga of the Elite Four. I live in shadows, a ninja! My intricate style will confound and destroy you! Confusion, sleep, poison... Prepare to be the victim of my sinister technique! Fwahahahaha! Pokémon is not merely about brute force--you shall see soon enough!"
  • When defeated
"Ah! You have proven your worth!"
  • After being defeated
"I subjected you to everything I could muster. But my efforts failed. I must hone my skills. Go on to the next room, and put your abilities to test!"

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

  • Before battle
"Fwahahaha! A mere child like you dares to challenge me? The very idea makes me shiver with mirth! Very well, I shall show you true terror as a ninja master! Poison brings steady doom. Sleep renders foes helpless. Despair to the creeping horror of Poison-type Pokémon!"
  • When defeated
"Humph! You have proven your worth! Here! Take the Soul Badge!"
  • After being defeated
"Now that you have the Soul Badge, the defense of your Pokémon rises. It also lets you Surf outside of battle. Ah! Take this, too!"
"Sealed within that TM lies Toxic! It is a secret technique dating back some four hundred years."
"When afflicted by Toxic, a Pokémon suffers more and more. It suffers worsening damage as the battle wears on! It will surely terrorize foes!"

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

  • Before battle
"Fwahahahaha! I am Koga of the Elite Four. I live in shadows--a ninja! My intricate style will confound and destroy you! Confusion, sleep, poison... Prepare to be the victim of my sinister techniques! Fwahahahaha! Pokémon are not merely about brute force--you shall see soon enough!"
  • After sending out last Pokémon
"One Pokémon left? Ha ha ha! I've been counting on this one from the very beginning!"
  • During battle
"Ooooof..."
  • When defeated
"Ah! You've proven your worth!"
  • After being defeated
"I subjected you to everything I could muster. But my efforts failed. I must hone my skills. Go on to the next room, and put your abilities to the test!"

In the anime

File:Koga.png
Koga in the anime.

Koga's only anime appearance was in the episode The Ninja Poké-Showdown.

Koga is a ninja who trains in an old mansion, the Fuchsia City Gym, in the woods outside Fuchsia City. The Gym is filled with traps such as fake mirrors, invisible walls, pits, and many Voltorb. Aya, Koga's younger sister, is one of his students.

Ash, Misty, and Brock managed to overcome the traps in the Gym and Ash was finally able to challenge Koga. Although Ash's Pidgeotto initially lost to Koga's newly-evolved Venomoth, prompting Ash to call out Charmander, their match was interrupted when Team Rocket tried to steal Koga's large supply of Voltorb, although they had raided the Gym with the intent of getting Template:Type2 Pokémon. Team Rocket was stopped by Psyduck, allowing Ash and Koga to have a rematch. Pitting Charmander against Koga's Golbat, Ash triumphed and won the Soul Badge.

Pokémon

This listing is of Koga's known Pokémon in the anime:

Venomoth
Debut The Ninja Poké-Showdown
Voice actors
Japanese
English Eric Stuart

When Ash challenged Koga, Koga sent out his Venonat, which Ash originally underestimated since he had previously defeated his sister's Venonat quite easily but then it instantly evolved into a Venomoth, and proceeded to get the upper hand in its gym battle with Pidgeotto. The battle was interrupted by Team Rocket, and afterward, Koga offered to trade Venomoth to Misty for her Psyduck, but she declined.

Venomoth's known moves are Stun Spore and Sleep Powder.

Golbat
Debut The Ninja Poké-Showdown
Voice actors
Japanese Shin'ichirō Miki
English Eric Stuart

During Koga's and Ash's rematch, Koga used his Golbat against Ash's Charmander. Golbat eventually lost to Charmander's strong Template:Type2 moves, winning Ash the Soul Badge.

Golbat's known moves are Wing Attack and Screech.


At Fuchsia Gym

Voltorb
Debut The Ninja Poké-Showdown
Voice actors
Japanese
English Eric Stuart

Koga keeps these multiple Voltorb as traps in his Gym. They can be either hidden under the floor or be dropped from the ceiling. Ash, Misty and Brock first came across one when Ash fell into a trap, stepped on one and it shocked him. Team Rocket attempted to steal the Voltorb from the Gym, and Meowth used these Pokémon as exploding bowling balls and threw them at the heroes.

Voltorb's known moves are ThunderShock and Selfdestruct, which they usually use when a trap is set off.


Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese 大塚 芳忠 Hōchū Ōtsuka
English Stan Hart
Polish Radosław Popłonikowski
Spanish Latin America Gerardo Vázquez
Spain Juan Fernández


In the manga

In the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga

File:Koga EToP.jpg
Koga and Aya in The Electric Tale of Pikachu

Koga makes a cameo appearance in the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga in the chapter Pikachu's Excellent Adventure.

In the manga, Jessie, James and Meowth get trapped in Koga's Gym while searching for the Hidden Village with Ash's Pikachu, a Charmander, a Squirtle, a Kangaskhan and Tommy. Their battle is only shown briefly in a montage sequence and it is unknown whether Team Rocket was victorious or not. It is also never shown if Ash himself battles Koga.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

File:Koga.PNG
Koga in the Pokémon Adventures manga

Koga is one of the three villainous heads of Team Rocket, and serves under Giovanni.

Koga debuts in the Red, Green & Blue arc chapter in Raging Rhydon searching the Moon Stone in Mt. Moon, here Koga fights with Red and Misty and forces his Rhyhorn to evolve with a mysterious injection, revealing what happened to Misty's Gyarados when it was kidnapped, however the mission fails. Koga later tries to bump off Red in Lavender Town's Pokémon Tower, where he uses a Gastly to reanimate the corpses of dead Pokémon buried there. He also attacks Red with his Arbok. However, Blue has his Charmeleon slice Arbok in half. Under his boss's orders, he captures Articuno and brings it to Saffron City. He is once again defeated by Blue at Silph Co., albeit that he almost killed both of them by not allowing them to reach their Poké Balls by using his Muk, then almost freezing them to death with his Articuno. After he is defeated and knocked out Red gets Koga's Soul Badge and Blue uses his special Golbat to find out where Team Rocket is holding his grandfather.

Later, Koga helps the Pallet Town Trainers in the fight against the Elite Four during the Cerise Island battle. Koga is paired with Blue and battles Agatha, but Blue first returns his Golbat to him. When the two of them finally meet Agatha, she separates them, making Blue and Koga's Golbat that he got paired up with again face Agatha's Golbat while Koga's Arbok had to face Agatha's Arbok which could change its patterns allowing it to gain the upper hand over Koga. When Blue was paralyzed from a Haunter's Lick he started throwing his shuriken balls which Agatha thought was a desperate tactic but in reality the were Pokémon holding Paralyze Heals hoping just one of them would get to him, which it did. Blue then joins him and with it he commanded it to use Leech Life on himself using his blood and put it on Arbok's torso to prevent its ability to change its pattern. Without Arbok's ability, Agatha was defeated.

Or so it seemed. In reality, Agatha just pretended to be defeated and had her Gengar masquerade as Koga and Blue's shadow to slowly suck the life out of them hidden due to Koga's quick loss of blood. After traveling through the maze for a while, they found themselves back where they started with Agatha nowhere to be found. They then figured out her plan and defeated the Gengar, but not before Koga is nearly swept in the collapsing terrain of the destroyed battleground and narrowly escapes using his Muk to defend him in his wounded state.

Unlike the other two Rocket Admins, who were instructed to return and manage their gyms, Koga was not even reached by Giovanni. He then disappears for a time, leaving Janine in charge of the Gym. Janine is worried for her father, but opposes his criminal ties. At the end of the Johto adventures, Koga decides to ally himself with three other Trainers who had been abandoned by evil organizations: Bruno, Will, and Karen, the former of which he was training with after Bruno saved him from death in the ruins of Cerise Island.

Years later, in HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, he reappears alongside his teammates.

Two of Koga's Pokémon have unusual powers: his Arbok can regenerate itself as long as its head remains intact (see above); and his unusually small Golbat's mouth can be used almost like a magic mirror for scrying to see things from a distance, even if walls or land are in the way. Blue takes this Golbat and keeps it for quite some time before returning it to Koga at Cerise Island.

Koga also uses custom-made Poké Balls which can be thrown as shuriken—perhaps an inspiration for Falkner’s later boomerang Poké Balls.

Pokémon

This is a listing of Koga's Pokémon in the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Rhydon

Koga's Rhydon was introduced as a Rhyhorn, where it fought against Red and Pika. When it was loosing, Koga injected in with a mysterious needle, forcing it to evolve. In its evolved form, it was too much for both Red and Misty to handle, and they had to escape the battle by squishing Rhydon with an electrically charged boulder. It hasn't been seen yet.

Its known moves are Rock Throw and Horn Drill.

Gastly

Gastly appeared in the Pokémon Tower, possessing the bodies of the dead Pokémon that were buried there, along with Blue and his Charmeleon. Red's Bulbasaur managed to defeat it by sucking up Gastly's gas form, and expelling it in a SolarBeam.

Arbok

Arbok is one of Koga's most powerful Pokémon. It can regenerate itself if cut in half, just as long as its head remains in tact. It was used against both Blue and Agatha.

Its known moves include Acid and Glare.

Golbat

Koga's Golbat is much smaller than the average Golbat. Its Supersonic can be used to create a magic mirror for scrying to see things from a distance, even if walls or land are in the way. After Blue defeated Koga at Silph Co., he borrowed Golbat but later returned it to its rightful owner on Cerise Island.

Aside from Supersonic, Golbat knows Razor Wind, Haze and Leech Life.

Grimer

Koga wears a Grimer on his shoulder in the form of a ninja outfit in Pokémon Adventures. He used it extensively to smother Blue, preventing him from breathing and restrict his movement so that he would be unable to call on his Pokémon.

Ekans

Koga has a Ekans on his arm. It was used during the battle of Cerise Island to get a Paralyz Heal to Blue.

Muk

Koga's Muk was used on Cerise Island to battle the Elite Four.

Its only known move is Poison Gas.

Weezing
Koga's Weezing

Koga's Weezing was used on Cerise Island to battle Agatha, mostly to bide time until Arbok regenerated.

Its only known move is Smog.

Tentacruel

Koga used Tentacruel to fight Red and Blue as the two Pokédex Holders were digging to the Ilex Forest.

Released
144.png
Articuno

In the TCG

There is a Theme Deck named for Koga in the Gym Challenge expansion. For that Theme Deck, see Koga.

Artwork

  • Koga and the Soul Badge.

    Koga and the Soul Badge.

  • Koga's updated VS art.

    Koga's updated VS art.

Pokémon

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Koga or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Name Type Level Rarity Set Set no.
Koga's Beedrill Grass 34 Rare HolographicH Gym Challenge 9/132
Koga's Ditto Colorless 12 Rare HolographicH Gym Challenge 10/132
Koga - - Rare HolographicH Gym Challenge 19/132
Rare 106/132
Koga's Arbok Grass 44 Rare Gym Challenge 25/132
Koga's Muk Grass 38 Rare Gym Challenge 26/132
Koga's Pidgeotto Colorless 34 Rare Gym Challenge 27/132
Koga's Golbat Grass 27 Uncommon Gym Challenge 46/132
Koga's Kakuna Grass 21 Uncommon Gym Challenge 47/132
Koga's Koffing Grass 15 Uncommon Gym Challenge 48/132
Koga's Pidgey Colorless 9 Uncommon Gym Challenge 49/132
Koga's Weezing Grass 31 Uncommon Gym Challenge 50/132
Koga's Ekans Grass 17 Common Gym Challenge 77/132
Koga's Grimer Grass 19 Common Gym Challenge 78/132
Koga's Koffing Grass 10 Common Gym Challenge 79/132
Koga's Pidgey Colorless 15 Common Gym Challenge 80/132
Koga's Tangela Grass 16 Common Gym Challenge 81/132
Koga's Weedle Grass 13 Common Gym Challenge 82/132
Koga's Zubat Grass 14 Common Gym Challenge 83/132
Fuchsia City Gym - - Uncommon Gym Challenge 114/132
Koga's Ninja Trick - - Uncommon Gym Challenge 115/132
Koga's Crobat Grass - Common Pokémon VS (no English release) 79/141
Koga's Forretress Grass - Common Pokémon VS (no English release) 80/141
Koga's Ninja Gym - - - Unnumbered Promotional cards (no English release) -

Trivia

  • In the manga Magical Pokémon Journey, the ninja-in-training Walnut is an admirer of Koga.
  • Koga makes a short cameo appearance in a chapter of the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga.
  • Out of the original Generation I Gym Leaders, Koga has the fewest Trainer cards in the Gym Leader sets of the TCG. Incidentally, his only Trainer card besides the basic Koga card had to be edited because it featured a manji, which could have caused controversy between cultures; the infamous Nazi swastika is a reversed manji.
  • Because he became a member of the Elite Four in Generation II, he is technically the first member of the Elite Four seen in the anime, though he was not a member at the time he was shown. He is also the only one Ash defeated in battle (again, however, it was as a Gym Leader).
  • In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the Ninja Boy on Route 217 mentions different kinds of ninja in the world. He says, "There are several kinds of ninjas. Are you an Iga or a Kouga ninja?" This is a reference to the two main schools of ninjutsu, Iga-ryu and Kōga-ryu, the latter of which Koga himself is named after.
  • Koga's Pokémon Yellow team is of a higher level than his Elite Four team in Gold, Silver, and Crystal and HeartGold and SoulSilver during the first match with him.
  • Koga, Bruno, and Lance are the only members of the Elite Four who have appeared in all four generations.
  • Koga's updated Sugimori artwork for Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver has him in a pose identical to that of his daughter Janine's in her VS artwork, only reversed.
  • Koga is the second Trainer whose in-game animated sprite has an irregular entrance, coming from the right side of the screen. The first one to have an in-game sprite with an irregular entrance was Aaron in Pokémon Platinum, coming from the top of the screen.
  • Koga is the only Gym Leader that is known to have a daughter.

Names

Language Name Reference to
Japanese キョウ Kyō The on-yomi of the kanji for "apricot" (杏). This kanji's kun-yomi is anzu. A common Japanese given name.
English, French, German, Italian, Spanish Koga From 甲賀流 Kōga-ryū, a school of ninjutsu.
Korean 독수 Doksu Means poison fang which refers to his specialty in the Poison-type. Alternatively, 독수 can mean a vicious clutch.
Chinese (Taiwan and Mainland) 阿桔 Ā Jié May be derived from 桔梗 Jié​gěng (Chinese bellflower).
Chinese (Hong Kong) 阿梗 Ā Gěng 梗 has the on-yomi kyō in Japanese.

External links

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