Joey (Japanese: ゴロウGorō) is a Youngster and one of the few regular Trainers who appeared in other canons than the games themselves. In Chuang Yi's translations of the Pokémon Adventures manga, he is known as Grant; however, VIZ Media's translations, consistent with the games, refer to him as Joey.
He is first seen battling with another Youngster, Mikey, and blocking the route. After the player delivers the Mystery Egg to Professor Elm, Joey is done with battling after his apparent loss to Mikey. He is now ready to challenge the player with his Rattata. After the battle, he gives out his Pokégear number and hence can be rematched. After every rematch, Joey will give out an HP Up to the player.
In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Joey greatly emphasises the fact that he only raises one Pokémon, his Rattata (Raticate from the third rematch and onwards), claiming that it is in the "top percentage of Rattata."
He is first seen in Gold's garden, on the way to Elm's lab to deliver several Pokémon to the professor for examination. However, his backpack was stolen by a wild Murkrow, along with Gold's radio antenna, causing Gold's radio to lose broadcast. After noticing that something is wrong with radio, Gold spots Joey in the garden and mistakes him for the thief. The Youngster explains that the real thief is Murkrow. Gold then decides to retrieve the stolen objects. He soon succeeds and catches the Murkrow. The boys soon become friends.
After the incident with Murkrow, Gold and Joey travel together for a while. After a trip in New Bark Town, Gold notices Pokémon from his backpack have been stolen and they go to the laboratory to tell Professor Elm about it. Unluckily, they come to the lab just after Silver stole the Totodile. After that, Joey uses his computer to montage a picture of Silver for the police. Then, they meet Professor Oak who is interested by the fact that Silver had a Pokédex. It turns out that the Oak was the one who ordered him to deliver the Pokémon to Elm. Gold wants to get a Pokédex from Oak, but the professor refuses.
After that, Gold decides to train when a thunderstorm started to rage. Joey's Rattata falls into the river, and Gold goes to rescue it. After Joey tells this to Professor Oak, the professor decides to give Gold the Pokédex. After that, Joey decides to return to New Bark Town to pay Professor Elm a visit, while Gold decides to search for Silver. The boys go separate ways.
Joey is later seen as a cameo helping Professor Elm.
In Chuang Yi's translations of the manga, he was known as Grant. However, VIZ Media's translations properly identify him as Joey.
Joey is first seen in the very first chapter of the manga. He is battling Gold's Totodile with his Rattata. After the battle, Gold tells Joey how he got his Totodile in a flashback scene. Then, the boys spot an injured Pidgey lying amidst the grass of Route 28. After Gold helps the Pidgey recover using a Berry, Joey starts to appreciate Gold's kind heart. After that, the boys go separate ways.
Joey's Raticate was first seen as a Rattata in a flashback during the first chapter. It battled Gold's Totodile and lost despite the fact that Totodile was Gold's newly caught Pokémon. When Joey was on the summit in Ecruteak City, his Rattata evolved into a Raticate.
On the Pokégear, even after his Rattata has evolved into Raticate, Joey brags about his Rattata, not Raticate.
This is, however, a common trait that applies to all such Trainers (in games with Pokégear) that can be rematched and have Pokémon that evolve between rematches.
Joey, his Rattata, and the phrase "top percentage of Rattata" have achieved memetic status.
In Pokémon Black and White, there is a Trainer similarly named Youngster Joey (Japanese: ゴロウ Gorō) at the Dreamyard. However, this Trainer does not use Rattata; instead, he uses two Patrat and a Lillipup.
There are also Trainers named Youngster Joey on Route 25 and Route 116 in Generation III. However, both are named タケオ Takeo in Japanese version. The Joey on Route 25 does have a Rattata, as well as a Spearow though.
Joey has had a voluntary player challenge named after him. The "Joey Challenge" requires the player to defeat all Gyms and the Elite Four, as well as any other Trainers or wild Pokémon, using only a single Rattata (additional Pokémon may be present in the party to enable the use of HM moves such as Surf and Fly).
