Badge
- This article is about the Badges in the main series Pokémon games. For the element in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, see Pokémon League (TCG).
A Badge (Japanese: バッジ Badge) is an item which denotes a Pokémon Trainer as having defeated a Gym Leader.
Trainers need to collect a certain number of Gym Badges in order to qualify for a region's Pokémon League. Young Trainers usually begin their initial Pokémon journey by traveling from city to city in order to collect them. Badges are small enough to fit easily between one's thumb and index finger and can be pinned to a shirt or kept in a Badge case.
Development
In early character artwork by Ken Sugimori, a selection of familiar and unfamiliar Badges can be seen. It appears that the original concept of Badges was more similar to an embroidered patch than the pinned badge as it is portrayed in the anime. Clockwise from top left opposite are possibly a version of the Earth Badge, an unknown Badge, another unknown Badge, possibly a version of the Rainbow Badge, possibly a Volcano Badge and two Cascade Badges.
Effects
Stat boost
In Generations I-III, some Badges boost a certain stat or stats of the player's Pokémon. This boost is applied only in internal battles, not link battles. In Generation I and II, the stat or stats are multiplied by 9/8. In Generation II, if the attack is a critical hit and the attacker's used offensive stat stage is less than or equal to the opponent's defensive stat stage, all Badge boosts are ignored. In Generation III, the stat or stats are multiplied by 1.1. This boost does not exist in Generation IV onwards.
| Badges by stat boosted | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Obedience
- Main article: Level
Badges affect a Pokémon's behavior. Outsider Pokémon over a certain level will refuse to obey the player without the appropriate Badge. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum only, obedience is determined by the number of Badges, not which specific Badges the player has.
In the anime in The Problem with Paras, Cassandra's grandmother mentioned this when Ash's Charmeleon refused to obey him.
| Badges by obedience level | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HMs
- Main article: HM
While Trainers can teach their Pokémon HM moves and use them in battle, to use them in the overworld Trainers require the appropriate Badge.
Poké Mart stock
From Generation IV onwards, the number of Badges a Trainer possesses affects which items Poké Marts sell. The more Badges, the more items that become available for purchase, with more expensive items generally appearing after more Badges are obtained.
| Generation IV | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
|||||||
| Generation V | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
| ||||||
|
|||||||
Pokémon League
In the games, in order to enter the Pokémon League and challenge the Elite Four and Champion, the player must have all eight Badges from that region (or in the case of the Indigo Plateau, either Kanto or Johto). In Unova and Generation I/III Kanto, Badges are checked individually through a series of Badge Check Gates; in Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Generation II/IV Kanto, Badges are checked all at once.
List of Badges
Indigo League
| Indigo League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badges: 8 | Region: Kanto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Orange League
These sets of Badges only appear in the anime. Trainers must receive these Badges from the Orange Crew.
| Orange League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badges: 4 | Region: Orange Archipelago | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Johto League
In Generation IV, these Badges do not affect stats.
| Johto League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badges: 8 | Region: Johto | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hoenn League
| Hoenn League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badges: 8 | Region: Hoenn | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sinnoh League
When Badges are touched in the games, they play a single note, and will make a C major scale when all eight are collected. When a player rubs the stylus across them numerous times to polish them (they gradually tarnish), they will begin to shine. This process can be continued until four sparkles are visible. The notes are also the most clearly defined and accurately tuned when there are four sparkles.
Unlike other generations, it is the number of Badges that determines which Pokémon obey the Trainer, rather than the Badges themselves (this distinction is important owing to the fact that the order of obtaining the Cobble, Fen, and Relic Badges can differ). For every second Badge the maximum level of obeying Pokémon increases (2 Badges—level 30; 4 Badges—level 50; 6 Badges—level 70; 8 Badges—level 100). The number of Badges collected also affects the items that the player can purchase in Poké Marts.
| Sinnoh League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badges: 8 | Region: Sinnoh | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unova League
Unlike previous Badges, the level at which traded Pokémon will obey the player goes up by ten per Badge, rather than the previous system of rising twenty levels after every even-numbered Badge. They can be polished like Sinnoh's Badges, although they do not make different notes when polished at the same level. Instead, the picture of the Gym Leader that the Badge was earned from gets grayer.
Although Badges are not required to use any of the HMs outside of battle, some HMs cannot be obtained until after obtaining certain Badges. However, they are not required, as traded Pokémon that have learned an HM move in another game can still use the HM move before acquiring any Badges.
| Unova League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Badges: 8 | Region: Unova | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the anime
The anime has a few different rules for Badges than in the games. Primarily, Badges seem to do nothing beside signify the defeat of a given Gym Leader. A Pokémon may choose not to obey its Trainer even if he or she has gained all eight Badges, such as Ash's Charizard.
Gym Leaders are quite lenient about giving out Badges in the anime. Additionally, Trainers do not necessarily have to win a battle with the Gym Leader in order to earn a Badge. The Orange Crew, for example, all have entire Gym matches devoted to unconventional battling styles and Ash Ketchum was awarded several Badges because of his kind heart and determination.
The exact nature of how Gym Badges are supposed to be collected has varied: A few instances, such as Ash's travels through Kanto, had the Trainer picking out Gyms in any order, and is likewise implied in Johto. On the other hand, after Ash ends up fighting Norman for the first time, Norman stated to Ash that he was supposed to be the third Gym Leader to be faced, and points to Rustboro as the first Gym he should face, and the Sinnoh Badge case has indents for specific Badges (In Ash's case, the Badges from the Generation IV games), implying that the Trainer in question has to face the Gyms in a pre-determined order by the Pokémon League.
Participation in the Indigo Plateau Conference yields a final Pokémon League Badge at the closing ceremony. It is larger, however, and square shaped.
Pokémon Tech, a boarding school which educates Pokémon Trainers, is an expensive school for children of wealthy families. Moving up a grade in Pokémon Tech is the equivalent of winning two Gym Badges. Upon graduation, students may immediately apply for entry in the Pokémon League.
Trainers can take a three-part test that awards a single Badge which allows entry into the Pokémon League, as seen in The Ultimate Test. The test is called the Pokémon League Admissions Exam. It is convenient for people whose age, health, or work keeps them from traveling around to collect Badges.
It's also implied in the anime that a Gym Badge serves as a primary ID for a Gym Leader (and probably a secondary ID for a Trainer), as Brock used his Boulder Badge to identify himself in order to clear his name from any accusations of stealing parts from a machine shop in Cerulean City.
So far, Ash Ketchum has only obtained Badges that are available in the games, with the notable exception of those he obtained in the Orange Archipelago. Several unknown Badges can be seen at the beginning of Mystery at the Lighthouse, while many Trainers Ash has met have had Badges that differ from those that are obtainable in the games. This suggests that there are Gyms in locations which do not appear in the games and therefore more than eight Gyms in each region. Trainers with Badges not seen in the games include:
Gary
Gary Oak acquired more than the standard eight Kanto League Badges, thus leading to confusion as to whether or not there is an infinite number of Badges that can be given out in a given region. By The Battle of the Badge, he is shown to have at least ten Badges, only three of which correspond to known Kanto league Badges, suggesting there are at least fifteen Gyms in Kanto. This would, therefore, provide one Gym for each of the (at the time) fifteen types. Among these may include the Fighting Dojo, a Gym shown to be defunct by Pokémon Red and Blue.
Otoshi
In addition, before Ash competes in the Indigo League, a Trainer named Otoshi is shown in the episode Bad to the Bone; he owns eight Badges, but only shares four in common with Ash; later in the episode another Trainer is seen with eight other completely different Badges altogether. In total, Ash, Gary, Otoshi and the other Trainer display 27 different types of Badges, so there must be at least this number of Gyms in Kanto at the time, assuming they are all from the same region.
On closer inspection, Otoshi's Badges each look somewhat similar to Ash's Badges and only differ in size and shape. Similarly, what can be identified as a Soul Badge, Thunder Badge, Marsh Badge, and Volcano Badge slide across the screen every time his Marowak knocks out a Pokémon in his flashback. His Badges are in this order from upper-left to bottom-right: Thunder, ? (Rainbow), Cascade, Volcano, Marsh, Soul, Boulder, and Earth. This hints that there may be different varieties of the same Badge.
Later, during Ash's Johto League challenge, he is given what is referred to in the show as the "Silver Wing Badge"; however, this is not an official Gym Badge and is not recognized in the games as a Badge at all, but rather a key item used to make Lugia appear in the Whirl Islands.
Morrison
At the Hoenn Pokémon League Championship in Saved by the Beldum!, Morrison is shown to have an eighth Badge different from Ash's, suggesting that there are at least nine Gyms in Hoenn.
Mismagius
In Ash's dream in Malice in Wonderland, Ash has many Badges that haven't been on-screen before, as well as some older Badges. Considering it was only a dream, it is possible that some of the Badges seen don't exist at all.
Barry
In Barry's Busting Out All Over!, it shows that Barry has three Badges. While the Forest Badge and the Mine Badge are no different, Barry has a third Badge that is different from the eight Sinnoh Badges. In Fighting Ire with Fire!, Barry was revealed to have obtained eight Badges already, two more of which are different. This could imply that there are at least eleven Gyms in Sinnoh. The possibility of more Sinnoh Gyms is further supported by something Tower Tycoon Palmer says to Ash in Challenging a Towering Figure!. After the Twinleaf Festival is coming to a close, and Ash and the gang prepares to depart, Palmer asks Ash about the Pokémon League. Ash says that he needs just one last Badge. Palmer then suggests (or something to that effect) that Ash choose Sunyshore to be his final Badge, as if there were other possible choices. The same unknown red Badge that Barry owns is shown at the end of An Old Family Blend!.
Nando
In Last Call, First Round! it is revealed that Nando has acquired seven Badges. Nando has two Badges that are the same as two of Barry's unknown Badges.
Trip
In Ash Versus the Champion! Trip revealed all five of the Badges he had collected, three of which are unknown and not seen in-game.
Gallery of unidentified Badges
- Gary Ten Badges.png
Gary's ten Badges
Otoshi's eight Badges
An unnamed Trainer's eight unidentified Badges
Morrison's eighth Badge
Ash's Badges in the dream
Barry's eight Badges
Trip's five Badges
In the manga
In the Pokémon Adventures manga
In Pokémon Adventures, Badges have mystical and mysterious qualities that can somehow increase the power of the Pokémon owned by the Trainer who wields the Badges, just as the Boulder Badge increases the Pokémon's Attack stat in the games. In addition, Badges that don't allow higher leveled Pokémon to obey, such as the Soul Badge, do indeed allow the wearer to control even legendary Pokémon such as Articuno.
It is not known what sort of material Badges are made of, but it has been confirmed that the Gym Leaders each own a Badge made of different material than the kind given out to normal Trainers, as that is how the Masked Man's identity was narrowed down to among the 16 known Gym Leaders when Aibo scraped off a part of his hidden Badge with its Scratch attack.
Team Rocket used seven Kanto Gym Badges to power a machine that combined Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres into a single beast. The machine also had a secret slot for the Earth Badge, which Lance manipulated to further his own goals by turning Cerise Island into a giant Badge energy amplifier to fuel the legendary Lugia with.
Badges are not required to enter the Pokémon League tournament; however, without eight Badges corresponding to their home region, a Trainer must battle their way in to qualify for the finals.
In the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Badges work in a way similar to the anime, however, there are some minor differences. All Badges have the Pokémon League logo printed on them.
In addition, Pokémon Trainers are organized by class, much like Pokémon Tech "Class D", "Class C" and so forth. Badges increase the rank of the Trainer who owns them. Ash once believed that he could increase his rank by capturing rare wild Pokémon, however this was not the case.
In Pokémon Live!
In Pokémon Live!, Giovanni offers the Diamond Badge to Trainers who defeat his MechaMew2. He gives Ash the Diamond Badge prior to the battle, believing that Ash will never win. However, Ash defeats Giovanni with Mewtwo's assistance, proceeding to give the Diamond Badge to Misty as a belated birthday gift. Pokémon Live! is not in continuity with the anime, and the Diamond Badge is not mentioned elsewhere in the series; however, it is the inspiration for DiamondShipping's name.
Trivia
- In the Pokémon Project Studio Red and Blue computer programs, the Soul and Marsh Badges' names are reversed, with the pink heart-shaped Badge being the Marsh Badge and the yellow circular Badge being the Soul Badge. Several anime and game handbooks also make this same switch. This appears to be because of an initial error in naming the Badges in Red and Blue. A soul would be more attuned to psychic abilities and one finds poisonous gases in a marsh.
- The Orange League is the only known Pokémon League with fewer than 8 Badges.
- With the exception of the Earth Badge, obtaining a region's eighth Badge enables the use of HM07 (Waterfall) outside of battle. In Kanto, the Volcano Badge, its seventh Badge, enables the use of Waterfall, while the Earth Badge would technically enable the use of HM08 (Dive), if it could be used outside of battle in FireRed and LeafGreen.
- It is possible to obtain certain Badges in a non-linear order. The most notable example of this are the Kanto Badges in Generation II and IV, which can be obtained in virtually any order, although the Earth Badge must be obtained last in Generation IV.
- In Generation III, the only Gym that can be skipped entirely is the Fortree City Gym. The player can get to the point in the game where the guards at the Pokémon League check to see if the player has received all eight Badges. This is not the case with the Dewford Gym as it must be defeated in order for the player to fight Norman, though it can be put off until after Flannery has been defeated.
- In FireRed and LeafGreen the Earth Badge is the only Badge that doesn't allow the use of a HM outside of battle, while in HeartGold and SoulSilver it is the only Kanto Badge that does.
- The Rainbow Badge's colors correspond with the colors of all the other Kanto Badges, explaining the odd colors in its design.
- In the code of the Generation I games, items named for each Badge can be found. The items named BoulderBadge and CascadeBadge allow players to throw rocks and bait, respectively, at Pokémon outside of the Safari Zone when used in battle. The other Badges have no known purpose.
Name origin
- With the exception of the Rainbow and Rising Badges, all Badges in Kanto and Johto were renamed for audiences outside of Japan. All eight Hoenn League Badges keep their Japanese names, as do Sinnoh League Badges, with the exception of the Icicle Badge, due to its name originally being the Glacier Badge in Japanese. In English, the Glacier Badge is the Mahogany Gym's Badge, which was originally called the Ice Badge in Japanese. This naming conflict continued in Generation V, with the Icirrus Gym's Badge being the Icicle Badge in Japanese, where it was renamed the Freeze Badge in English.
- The Japanese names of the Kanto Badges are all colors, following the color pattern for the town and city names.
- The Trio and Insect Badges are the first Badges since the Glacier Badge in Generation II to get renamed in the English version of the games, without there being a localization conflict between the Japanese and English versions.
- The Storm Badge's English name may derive from the lucha libre wrestler Fray Tormenta—also the inspiration for Crasher Wake—whose name translates as "Friar Storm".
In other languages
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Pokémon League | 
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Participation Trainer • Battle • Gym Leaders Gyms • Badges • Referee Championship matches Elite Four • Orange League Champion League Pokémon League Conferences Indigo • Silver • Ever Grande • Lily of the Valley Vertress • Lumiose • Manalo |
Regional Pokémon Leagues Indigo • Orange* • Johto • Hoenn • Sinnoh Unova (BB) • Kalos • Alola • Galar • Paldea Areas of jurisdiction Pokémon League Reception Gate • Hall of Fame Palace of Victory • Cerulean Cave • Area Zero Others Admissions Exam • Pokémon Association PIA • World Coronation Series (Masters Eight Tournament) | ||
