Red (Pokémon)
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Japanese: レッド (Red) English, French, Brazilian Portuguese: Red Thai: เรด (Ret) Korean: 레드 (Red) Chinese (Mandarin): 赤紅 / 赤红 (Chìhóng) (more on Bulbapedia) |
| Occupation: | Pokémon Trainer Pokémon Champion |
| Relationships: | Mom (mother) |
| Fandom: | Pokémon |
| Other: | Leaf (female counterpart) Ash Ketchum (anime counterpart) Red (Pokémon Special) (manga counterpart) Chase (Pokémon) (spiritual successor) |
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This article or section needs expansion. |
Red is a Pokémon Trainer and a playable character from Pokémon Red and Blue. He is incredibly popular with fans, being one of the most universally liked in the entire series, and many fanworks focus on him. He was the series' first protagonist and left a splash in the fandom by being a hidden final boss in Pokémon Gold and Silver. He also makes appearances in Pokémon Masters, Pokémon Origins and Pokéspe.
The Pokémon Red is most associated with are Pikachu, Charizard and Snorlax.
Canon Overview
Red is a non-talking video game protagonist. Similar to Link from The Legend of Zelda, he is widely believed to not speak at all or otherwise be mute. He is usually portrayed as a serious and determined character. After the events of Red and Blue, the 10-12 year old is found at the top of Mt. Silver, one of the most challenging locations in the entire game, leading to a lot of fan speculation regarding why he's up there and not the Champion of the Indigo League, a position instead filled by Lance. Some theories are that he did it out of pride, that Team Rocket intimidated him, or that he wanted to be completely alone from the Pokémon world at large.
Red's official design has changed somewhat over the years. His first design (1996-2003) was given black hair, black eyes, jeans and a red vest with a red baseball cap. Though because the eye color was not visible in official art of this time, many fans have given him brown, gray, and especially red eyes, termed his 'Pixiv Design' by Japanese fans. This was changed for Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green (2004-2016), where he was instead given light brown hair and eyes, a closed vest and a more generic looking cap with a Pokéball design on the front. It is presumed that these changes were made to distinguish him from his anime counterpart, Ash Ketchum.
This design change sparked some debate in the community over whether or not "Fire" (the in-game name of the protagonist) would be considered a separate character from Red. This theory was supported by his name in the Super Smash Bros series, where this design of him is called 'Pokémon Trainer' and not 'Red'. However, the release of Pokémon Heart Gold and Soul Silver proved that his name is still 'Red' within the main series games, and that it is not 'Pokémon Trainer'. And with his design further changing further in future games, the idea that 'Fire' is his own character has practically vanished from PKMN fandom as of the 2020s.
Relationships
- Red is most commonly coupled up with Green Oak, forming NamelessShipping[1], which is M/M, aka Boys' Love. In Japanese, this is most often called グリレ, meaning Blue attacks and Red receives in the coupling. The opposite is also commonly shipped and is written as レグリ. It had its own section on Bulbapedia, seen here, Archived version.
- This is by far his most popular pairing and it may be considered a juggernaut ship for Generation I's fandom overall.
- Red is also shipped with Leaf, forming BurningLeafShipping, which is F/M, aka NL. In Japanese, this is called 赤葉, meaning Red attacks and Leaf receives in the coupling. It had its own section on Bulbapedia, seen here, Archived version.
- Many interpretations also have Red be her brother or childhood friend, both non-canonical. This gen (combi in Japanese) relationship may be called Leaf & Red in English and [x] in Japanese.
- Red is also shipped with Sabrina, forming SaffronShipping, which is F/M, aka NL. In Japanese, this is called レナツ, meaning Red attacks and Sabrina receives in the coupling
- Red is also shipped with Erika, forming RedRoseShipping, which is F/M, aka NL. In Japanese, this is called レエリ, meaning Red attacks and Erika receives in the coupling.
- Red is also shipped with Lance, forming WinningShipping, aka ChampionShipping, which is M/M, aka Boys' Love. In Japanese, this is most often called ワタレ, meaning Lance attacks and Red receives in the coupling. The opposite is also commonly shipped and is written as レワタ.
- Red is also shipped with Giovanni, forming ReformShipping, which is M/M, aka Boys' Love. In Japanese, this is most often called サカレ, meaning Giovanni attacks and Red receives in the coupling. The opposite is also commonly shipped and is written as レサカ.
- Together, him, Green/Blue Oak and Blue/Green form the Kanto Trio.
Less Popular Relationships
- AdroushanShipping - Red & Charmeleon
- AdultGameShipping - Red & Beauty (Trainer class)
- AffinityShipping - Red & Pikachu
- AllusiveShipping - Blue Oak, Red & Steven Stone
- AlmostShipping - Red & Yellow
- AlpenglowShipping - Pryce & Red
- AmericaShipping - Gameverse!Blue, Red & Hilda
- AnalogousShipping - Gary Oak, Red & Leaf
- AntebellumShipping - Red & Bianca
- AodhfinShipping - Red & Charmander
- ApexShipping - Red & Giratina
- AquaBoyShipping - Red & Blastoise
- ArrayShipping - Nate & Red
- AcrossThreeWorldsShipping - Red, Origins!Red & Pokéspe!Red
...And these are just the A's! More can be found on Neverending Romance, a community-created relationship name list.
Popular Tropes & Fanon
TBA
Glitchy Influences
Glitches have also shaped the identity of Gameverse!Red. In 2007, a Youtuber named Newopkmn released a video called The "ZZAZZ" Glitch showing off a glitch he dubbed the "ZZAZZ" glitch. By encountering certain glitch trainers, several of which appear as exact copies of the player character, most of the game's saved data is replaced by values of 153. The glitch also replaces your name with an impossibly long name filled with Z's and other symbols. Because of this, ZZAZZ is usually portrayed as a destructive force and sometimes a clone of Red that can steal other people's identities and forms, espeically when the bug was first being spread around the fandom in the 2000s and 2010s. More information on ZZAZZ can be found on the Glitch City Wiki.
These glitchy influences are further explored in the Twitch Plays Pokémon series.
In the Helix Bible, Red is a blind 11-year-old who was one day possessed by several thousand spirits (the Hivemind) and forced to do their bidding. After being freed from the whole nonsense, he only maintains fragments of his memories, and is forced to introduce himself to his new friends and Pokémon for the very first time.
Since Pokemon Red and Blue are famous for the intricacies of their glitches, bugs and exploits, Red in turn is also somewhat defined by them to fans.
Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta
[discourse, trivia, popular memes, character analysis, fan reactions, really anything]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Shipping
Some ships popular during the late 2000s came from his inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The most popular were with Pit from Kid Icarus and Ike from Fire Emblem.
[Name of Subject #]
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Example/Notable Fanac
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fan Communities/Fan Events
- PokemonTrainerFC, Pokemon Trainer Red, a club on DeviantArt
- CanonRedfanclub, a club on DeviantArt
- PitxRed-Club, a club on DeviantArt for his pairing with Pit from Kid Icarus
Gifset
Cosplay
Fan Art
- PKMN - Red by FerioWind, Red with his Pikachu
- Frostbitten by justnoki69, fanart for how he appears in Friday Night Funkin' Lullaby, a popular mod for Friday Night Funkin'
- Red and mew honestly this was fun to draw 😭 by 8hitz3n, Red with Mew