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.
The Generation III games broke from the tradition of naming characters as their respective game colors, such as Red in Generation I and Gold in the Generation II games. As such, Brendan's counterpart is Ruby in the Pokémon Special manga. Rald, one of Brendan's default Japanese names, is used in the manga Pokémon Battle Frontier.
In the games
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 opening 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 another main protagonist of the games: Lucas. He was still wearing the same outfit as his first appearance.
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.
- As the player, Brendan or his female counterpart May are native to the Johto region.
- In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Pikachu wears a headband similar to Brendan's hat on Emerald 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.
- Brendan's appearance in the beginning of Giratina and the Sky Warrior battling Lucas may be a reference to their female counterparts May and Dawn battling in the final round of the Wallace Cup. Unlike May on her return, Brendan was still wearing his Ruby and Sapphire outfit.
- Brendan is the only player character to not wear a hat, or at least a conventional one, wearing a headband or, as depicted in the manga, a rather unique hat.
- There is a large amount of confusion 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, particularly the appearance of black side burns in the Emerald art, and black hair appearing alongside the white hair/hat in the sprites. 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.
- 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 Pearl.
- As the rival, Brendan, along with May, are the only rivals to wear any sort of headgear.