Pokémon, abbreviated from the Japanese title of Pocket Monsters and currently advertised in English as Pokémon the Series, is a Japanese anime television series, part of The Pokémon Company’s Pokémon media franchise, which premiered in Japan on April 1, 1997, on TV Tokyo.
The Pokémon animated series is split up into seven chronologically sequential series in Japan, split up by the version of the video game series the anime takes inspiration from: the original series (composed of The Beginning and Gold and Silver), the Ruby & Sapphire series (or the Advanced Generation series), the Diamond & Pearl series, the Black & White series (or the Best Wishes! series), the XY series, and the Sun & Moon series, with the only exception to this being the 2019 series. In the international broadcasts, these six series are split into 22 separate seasons.
These anime series are accompanied by spin-off programming, consisting of Pokémon Chronicles, a series of side stories featuring characters in the anime that are not its current cast of main characters, and the live action variety and Pokémon-related news shows of Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, Pokémon Sunday, Pokémon Smash!, and Pokémon Get TV, premiering in late 2013.
Take a look below for 10 of the best and coolest girls from the Pokemon TV series.
1. May
May is generally a very sweet and optimistic girl. She enjoys feminine and cute things as well as shopping. In fact, she and Brock occasionally went on shopping trips together throughout the Advanced Generation series. May cares about her appearance, sometimes spending so much time in front of this mirror that it caused her traveling companions to become frustrated with her, such as in The Bicker the Better. May also is interested in helping other people with their romantic problems.
Though she is generally kind, she occasionally argues with her little brother, Max. The two had arguments since Max’s debut episode, but one of their most notable was in Take This House and Shuppet. May’s harsh words to Max made him declare that he hated May and he ran away for a portion of the episode.
Even though she had been angry, May quickly felt guilty for hurting Max’s feelings and became very worried that he would be hurt on his own. In Date Expectations, May revealed that she had promised her mother to always take care of Max on their journey. So even though the siblings had many quarrels, May deeply cares for her brother and would go to great lengths to protect him.
In You Never Can Taillow, May heard Brock used to act as a cook during Ash’s journeys. As she, Max and Ash were hungry, she was the one who asked Brock if he could prepare some food for them. If a person or a Pokémon were to steal her food she would become extremely angry, which was demonstrated numerous times.
Food was one of the few things May would become angry about, so it was an important tool to show a different side to her usually cheerful character. When May returned for the Diamond & Pearl series, she expressed excitement over the chance to eat at the Seven Stars Restaurant, but having her meal stolen made her enraged. She was later shown enjoying a large cookie, once again affirming her love of food and sweets.
When May first left her home, she was only interested in the traveling aspect of a Pokémon journey. This sparked one of May’s most memorable quirks in Hoenn, “May’s Expeditions”. Starting from A Mudkip Mission, May would occasionally make a camera lens with her fingers, pretending she was the host of a traveling show.
2. Serena
Serena has proven to be a kind and polite girl but she can also be openly rebellious towards her mother, Grace. In Kalos, Where Dreams and Adventures Begin!, she refused to wake up when Grace ordered her to, and gave a sassy response to her mother’s call to watch the news. This tumultuous relationship was best demonstrated when Grace made her practice Rhyhorn riding, an activity Serena had hated doing. However, their relationship is also very loving as shown in later episodes.
Although shown to have a strong will, Serena can be sensitive and insecure at times as seen in Battling with Elegance and a Big Smile!. When she was frustrated with her Pokémon, she lashes out when at her limit and leaves to cool off in shame. She is also shown to lose her composure when pushed to a wall, becoming unsure of herself. Despite this however, Serena manages to pick herself back up by reminding herself to not give up, bringing up her confidence and also encouraging her Pokémon to do their best despite the odds. This is shown when two of her Pokémon evolve from responding to her resolve. While battling isn’t her primary focus, Serena has shown herself to be a competent battler, at least partially due to picking up Ash’s battling style after seeing him battle countless times.
Serena was uncertain what paths or career to pursue in life and expressed little ambition towards becoming a full-time Pokémon Trainer in the early stages of her journey. However, in Summer of Discovery!, she began to think that not having an established goal was a problem for her future as a Trainer. During her time in the Pokémon Summer Camp, she began seriously considering what she wanted to do with herself and her Pokémon after seeing how passionate the Trainers around her were.
It was in Dreaming a Performer’s Dream! that she decided that her goal was to be a Pokémon Performer and she has been diligently training both herself and her Pokémon ever since. After losing her first Pokémon Showcase, Serena strengthened her resolve to do even better, and to symbolize this she cut her hair short.
3. Misty
Misty is a girl who can be sweet and optimistic at times, but she is best known for her vocal frustrations and seething anger. Misty also tended to get very angry whenever Ash got their party lost, especially in forests. She is very extreme in most of her moods, and she abruptly switches between her emotions. However, as time went on, Misty mellowed and her hyperactive personality was reduced significantly by the end of the original series.
She is also picky, sensitive, nosy and grumpy about love. There are many episodes where she is seen getting along with the younger siblings of the family, namely Mikey, Sakura, and Max. This stems from the fact that she understands what it’s like to be the youngest because she has three older sisters.
Her goals are not as clear as those of the other main characters, but her main interest is training Water-type Pokémon in aim of becoming Water Pokémon Master. Misty aggressively defends the Water-type against critics as seen in The School of Hard Knocks and when she first met Fire enthusiast Macy. She considers all members of the Water-type to be “cute”, though her positive opinion on Tentacool in Tentacool and Tentacruel divided Ash and Brock.
Fishing is one of her hobbies, and she even has a special lure, which she designed to look like herself. In The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!, she sent one to Ash as a gift. Sometime before she left for Kanto at the end of Heart of Fire! Heart of Stone!, Misty gave Lana another one as thanks for inviting her and Brock to visit Alola.
4. Dawn
Dawn grew up inspired by her mother’s achievements and from a very young age decided that she wanted to be a Coordinator. She takes immense pride in what Johanna was able to accomplish and this is reflected in her determination to follow in her footsteps and become a respected Top Coordinator. As a kid, she would help Johanna prepare Poffins for her Pokémon, something which led Dawn to discover the perfect recipe for her own Pokémon years later.
Dawn is notable for her confidence since she almost always tries to look towards the future rather than dwell on her mistakes. In the Japanese version, Dawn’s catchphrase is “Daijōbu!”, which can be translated as “It’s fine!” or “Don’t worry!”. Although not consistently translated in the English dub at first, she began to regularly use “No need to worry!”.
In stark contrast to May’s inexperience and self-doubt at the start of the Advanced Generation series, Dawn was overly confident and assured in her own strength at the beginning of her journey. Because of this, she became emotional after she was eliminated from Pokémon Contests, and often cried after losing. After failing to pass the Performance Stage two times in a row, Dawn became depressed. In Tanks for the Memories!, Dawn remembered these failures and had to excuse herself so she could cry.
These behaviors were completely opposite those she had exhibited at the beginning of her journey, something Ash and Brock took notice of. Their encouragement was not enough to renew her psyche though, and it was not until she defeated May to win the Wallace Cup that she truly regained her confidence and focus. After this point, Dawn took on a more positive and determined personality. In addition, she became more mature. Instead of reverting to her old headstrong and confident attitude, she became more aware of her faults and how she could work to overcome them.
5. Cynthia
Cynthia makes her first appearance in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, where she meets up with the player at various points during their journey. She will first meet the player in Eterna City, where she will give them HM01 (Cut) when first met. In Platinum only, she will give the player a Togepi Egg after the player has defeated Jupiter in the Team Galactic Eterna Building.
At Valor Lakefront, she gives the player the SecretPotion to cure the Psyduck blocking Route 210. After the player cures the Psyduck, Cynthia appears again and gives the player the Old Charm to deliver to her grandmother. Later, she appears at the Pokémon League as the Champion.
In Platinum only, Cynthia also appears at the Spear Pillar once Cyrus has been dragged into the Distortion World by Giratina, and will guide the player through the said world in order to confront Giratina. During the post-game, she will appear at the Celestic Town ruins and tell the player about them.
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, Cynthia makes an appearance in the Sinjoh Ruins, doing further investigation on the origins of Arceus and the creation trio. If the player has an Arceus with a fateful encounter marker or from the Hall of Origin when they visit the Ruins of Alph, the player will be teleported to the Sinjoh Ruins. Inside a cabin at the ruins, the player will find Cynthia, who will tell the player that Arceus will let them obtain a level 1 Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina.
If the player returns to the Sinjoh Ruins with another Arceus (that doesn’t have the same origin as the one they used the first time), they will be informed that Cynthia has returned to Sinnoh, and the event will run without her.
6. Skyla
Skyla debuted in Cilan Takes Flight!. Those who wished to challenge her were required to make reservations first. She would pick up to fifteen challengers at a time and have them participate in what she called an “Air Battle”—a battle that she played out in her head—instead of traditional battles. Skyla matched up her Pokémon against her opponent’s and made decisions through their strengths and weaknesses. If she felt her team would have a disadvantage, she would give the challenger the Jet Badge. However, if she felt her team had the advantage, she would deny the challenger a Badge.
This method infuriated both Ash and Cilan. Not only did they disapprove of Skyla’s methods, but her own grandfather and former Mistralton Gym Leader, Miles, disapproved as well. He then explained that she used to do traditional battles and was quite good. As a result, she received floods of challengers each day and that ultimately prevented her from having any time to pilot her plane. As a Gym Leader himself, it was simply unacceptable to Cilan and he wished to challenge her.
Skyla agreed to battle Cilan first since it would be the first time she battled another Gym Leader. She performed her “Air Battle” first and concluded that she was the winner. However, Cilan persuaded her to battle the traditional way. Like she had predicted in her head, she came out victorious in the real battle and thus did not feel she needed to change her methods at all.
In order to help make her realize the true meaning of being a Gym Leader, Ash battled Skyla himself in An Amazing Aerial Battle!. He eventually won with his Tranquill evolving into Unfezant, earning himself the Jet Badge. She then learned not to take air battles so lightly and promised to be a proper Gym Leader from then on.
She reappeared in flashbacks in Curtain Up, Unova League! and Survival of the Striaton Gym!. She also made a cameo appearance in the ending credits of Genesect and the Legend Awakened.
7. Sabrina
Ash and his friends first encountered Sabrina’s younger self as they approached Saffron City in Abra and the Psychic Showdown. Her younger version went on to save the group from Team Rocket’s seemingly inescapable trap room. Ash and his friends soon realized that the young girl was in fact Sabrina when they visited the Saffron Gym for Ash’s fourth Badge.
Ash went on to challenge Sabrina in a one-on-one match, but Pikachu was soon overwhelmed by Sabrina’s newly-evolved Kadabra and its strong Psychic powers. After Ash forfeited, Sabrina shrunk down and transported the group to her giant play town. Sabrina’s father helped them escape before they were crushed by a ball.
Afterwards, Sabrina’s father recommended that Ash catch himself a Ghost Pokémon to defeat Sabrina’s Psychic Pokémon. The group then headed to the Lavender Tower, and by the end of The Tower of Terror, Ash managed to befriend a Haunter. Sabrina was only seen during flashbacks in that episode.
Sabrina reappeared in Haunter versus Kadabra, where Ash had a rematch against her upon his return. However, Haunter abandoned him as soon as the challenge began, and Ash’s other Pokémon were too scared to face Kadabra. Misty and Brock were subsequently transformed into dolls and placed into Sabrina’s dollhouse alongside her mother, who had been stuck there for some time, while Sabrina’s father managed to rescue Ash from suffering the same fate.
Later, Sabrina’s father formally introduced himself and explained to Ash that his daughter had developed incredibly strong psychic powers that even exceeded his own. She was able to use her psychic powers to do many things, such as teleportation, telepathy, psychokinesis, and transmutation. She soon became obsessed with perfecting them and developed two separate personalities: her younger self and her adult self. At some point, Sabrina became the Saffron City Gym Leader and her notable strengths helped her establish the Gym as a training school for practicing Psychics.
Ash later reunited with Haunter and returned to the Gym once more. However, Haunter disappeared again, forcing Pikachu to battle Kadabra in its place. During the match, Haunter abruptly reappeared and started to playfully tease Sabrina. Haunter’s antics delighted Sabrina so much that she was no longer able to contain her emotions and started to laugh. her psychically-linked Pokémon joined along as well. This caused her two personalities to merge back into one, and as a result of this incapacitation, Ash won the Marsh Badge. Afterwards, Haunter chose to stay with Sabrina and her reunited family.
As Sabrina’s psychic powers increased, she grew more obsessed with developing them. She also became less emotional, using her abilities for destructive purposes. This caused a deep psychological rift, and the emotions she tried to shut off developed into a separate personality: a young girl who manifested as a puppet around Sabrina. Sabrina’s mind was then divided into the cold, callous woman with a thirst for power; and the little girl who just wanted to have fun.
Prior to befriending Haunter, Sabrina was a menacing and strong Gym Leader. She was shown to be able to telepathically command her Kadabra. However, her lighthearted nature was seen briefly at the end of Haunter versus Kadabra.
8. Flannery
Flannery assumed the role of Lavaridge Town Gym Leader three days prior to Poetry Commotion!, after her grandfather, Mr. Moore, decided to retire and pursue a career as a poet.
Upon arriving at Lavaridge Town and meeting Flannery, Ash and his friends were surprised by her inexperience as a Gym Leader, and were also taken aback by the Gym’s untidy battlefield. As a result, they decided to help her with the cleanup duties in order to save the wait time for Ash’s next Gym battle. Mr. Moore’s new venture wasn’t going well either, so he returned in disguise and helped Flannery locate the Heat Badges she lost. He later appointed himself as a referee because Flannery had forgotten to hire one.
While they were cleaning, the group was assisted by Jessie and James, who were disguised as construction workers with the intent of stealing Flannery’s Torkoal. When Team Rocket put their plan into action, Mr. Moore intervened, and during the resulting battle, one of Flannery’s two Slugma, nicknamed Mag, evolved into a Magcargo. The group then succeeded in recovering Torkoal.
In Going, Going, Yawn, Ash had his Gym battle with Flannery. Ash was confident that his Corphish would defeat Flannery’s Fire-types, and this confidence appeared to be justified by Mag’s quick defeat. However, Flannery’s other Slugma, Meg, proved tougher than he expected, forcing him to recall Treecko while Corphish fell asleep because of a Yawn attack.
Pikachu overcame Meg’s defenses and managed to paralyze it before defeating it. Then, Torkoal’s Iron Defense and powerful attacks led to Pikachu and Treecko’s defeats. Eventually, Corphish woke up and Ash had it hit Torkoal from the side to send it spinning. The strategy led Torkoal to feel dizzy and emerge from its shell, allowing Corphish to land several blows and earn Ash the victory.
She reappeared in flashbacks in All Torkoal, No Play and Whiscash and Ash.
Flannery is enthusiastic about her new role as Gym Leader, but she was still getting used to the responsibilities and was overwhelmed. While Flannery already has the hallmarks of a Gym Leader, including her confidence and dedication, her grandfather Mr. Moore returned to the Gym to help support her training.
She attempts to keep herself calm in the heat of battle, but her stressed temperament is still a weakness. Flannery’s battle strategy is still experimental, but she showed off impressive defensive strategies that helped her Pokémon inflict a lot of damage on Ash’s. Flannery also uses Sandstorm and Smog to distract her opponent’s Pokémon before hitting them with a Fire-type attack. She resorts to using status conditions in order to overcome strong opponents who have the type advantage, like Ash’s Corphish.
9. Professor Ivy
Professor Ivy was first mentioned in Pallet Party Panic by Professor Oak, where Professor Oak asks Ash to retrieve a mysterious Poké Ball Professor Ivy had found but could not be transported directly to the lab or cracked open with her finest equipment.
In Poké Ball Peril, Ash and his friends find Professor Ivy and obtain the GS Ball. In this episode, Professor Ivy and a Raticate also got sent to the Pokémon Center because they got in the way of Vileplume scattering pollen. During these events, Brock fell in love with her and decided to stay with the professor.
Brock continued to stay with her during Ash’s Orange League adventure until A Tent Situation, where Ash and Misty met Brock at Ash’s home. Not only did they part on mysterious terms, but Brock’s time spent at her lab had never been fully explained. Whatever happened, speaking her name around Brock caused him to curl up into a ball and simply state, “Don’t mention that name!” The events that caused Brock to be traumatized had been the subject of fan speculation.
In The Power Of One, Professor Ivy was seen with Brock at the lab while contacting Professor Oak about Pokémon disturbances on Valencia Island. After that, she was seen later in a helicopter along with Professor Oak and Delia, explaining to a news crew about the Pokémon disturbances. The helicopter eventually crash landed on Shamouti Island with all people inside safe.
Professor Ivy’s field of research is in regional differences in Pokémon physiology. Her report on “Pokémon adaptive variation as a function of regional distribution” has been published in the Pokémon Researchers Monthly magazine.
She is considered to be very attractive, but it is noted that her looks do not negate her achievements as a Pokémon researcher. She and Professor Oak are good friends.
10. Mallow
Mallow debuted in Going Ashore and Neighboring Akala Island. She, Lana, and Kiawe traveled to Heahea City to meet Sun, a boy approved to take part in the island challenge. Curious about whether or not Sun was worthy enough to do the island challenge, Kiawe challenged him to a short battle. Though the match ended without a winner, Kiawe bonded with Sun and accepted him as a trialgoer. Lana was still reluctant and told the others to follow her to Brooklet Hill.
In True Identity and the Totem Pokémon of Brooklet Hill, Sun went to have his trial with Lana while Moon went with Mallow to Lush Jungle so she could harvest special Berries. After arriving, they found Tapu Lele under attack by a Xurkitree emerging from an Ultra Wormhole. Moon tried and failed to capture Xurkitree, allowing it to retreat back into the wormhole and escape. After Tapu Lele angrily flew off, Moon decided to get information about what happened by asking the guardian deity directly.
With help from the local wild Pokémon, Moon successfully obtained a Mirage Berry. Mallow received a call from Kiawe, who was attacked by Gladion, who was looking for the Ruins of Life. Mallow, Moon, Sun, and Lana went to Memorial Hill, where they found an injured Kiawe. When a group of Team Skull Grunts appeared, Mallow and Lana stayed behind to battle them while the others went to protect Tapu Lele from Gladion. After the Grunts were defeated, Mallow and Lana reunited with the others after they successfully helped Tapu Lele.
In Flash and Cosmog’s Secret, Mallow summoned a Totem Lurantis so Moon could fight it to train and get stronger. After Lurantis was defeated, everyone met at Mallow’s family restaurant, where they talked to Professor Kukui’s wife, Professor Burnet, over a video phone. After suspecting Team Skull may be related to the wormholes appearing around Alola, Lana suggested infiltrating Team Skull’s base in Po Town to get answers. Mallow and Kiawe reluctantly agreed, but the former suggested asking Ilima and Acerola to help them.
In PASM17, Mallow, Kiawe, Lana, Acerola, Ilima, and Hau arrived at Po Town. Their presence alerted Team Skull’s boss, Guzma, who demanded to know why his base was being invaded. When the Captains revealed they only wanted to talk, Guzma agreed on the condition they made it to him first. He then summoned a Pheromosa, Celesteela, and Guzzlord and had them attack the Captains and Hau. Despite their best efforts, Mallow and the others were completely outmatched by the rampaging beasts.
In PASM18, Sun arrived at Po Town, only to get caught up in the commotion. Annoyed the Captains were still fighting, Guzma revealed a Cosmog and had it open more wormholes. Gladion appeared, demanding to know where Guzma got the Cosmog and Ultra Beasts from. Revealing his true aim is to destroy Ultra Beasts, Gladion battled the beasts Guzma summoned with his Type: Null. To everyone’s shock, Gladion also revealed the Aether Foundation’s president, Lusamine, was the one who gave Guzma Cosmog as part of her plan to create a paradise filled with nothing but Ultra Beasts and herself. Eventually, the beasts broke out of Po Town’s barrier, allowing them to wreak havoc on all of Ula’ula Island. Mallow and the other Captains headed off to various locations to evacuate any innocent civilians caught in the beasts’ attacks.
In PASM26, the Trial Captains and Island Kahunas were revealed to have spent six months on Exeggutor Island training to prepare for another clash with the Ultra Beasts. After their training was finished, Sophocles and Molayne took everyone to Mount Lanakila, where a wormhole had opened up earlier. Shortly after they arrived, their ship was attacked by a group of Aether Foundation Employees and their Ultra Beasts. With the Z-Moves they had acquired, Mallow and the others managed to defeat the Ultra Beasts.
