Anabel (Pokémon)
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Japanese: リラ (Lila) English: Anabel Spanish: Destra Korean: 리라 (Lila) Chinese (Mandarin): 莉拉 (Lìlā) (more on Bulbapedia) |
| Occupation: | Pokémon Tower Tycoon, later a member of INTERPOL |
| Relationships: | Looker (coworker) Nanu (coworker) |
| Fandom: | Pokémon |
| Other: | n/a |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
This article or section needs expansion. |
Anabel is a Pokémon Tower Tycoon from Pokémon Emerald. Although she was at first a well-liked, if forgettable character from the RSE games, manga and anime, she is most known since 2016 for her surprise appearance in Pokémon Sun and Moon.
Anabel is well-liked with fans, though not too many fanworks exist which primarily focus on her. She also makes appearances in Pokémon Masters, PokéAni and Pokéspe.
The Pokémon Anabel is most associated with are Alakazam, Weavile and Raikou.
Canon Overview
Gameverse
Anabel was the Salon Maiden of the Battle Tower, a title later changed to Tower Tycoon in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. She appears after the player wins their 35th and 70th battle, with this last battle being on the Tower's final floor. This was in 2004's Pokémon Emerald.
In 2016, with the release of SUMO, it's revealed Looker and Nanu found her ten years prior on a beach with complete amnesia, having no idea who she really was. It's revealed that she fell through time and space, coming from an alternate dimension where Gen 6's Mega Evolution mechanic was impossible to achieve, (explained in ORAS's Delta Episode.) Later, a similar plot-line was used for Ingo, discussed further in this article.
PokéAni
[characterization, story role, further important appearances]
TBA
Pokéspe
[characterization, story role, further important appearances]
TBA
Relationships
- Anabel's most popular relationship the character trio (combi in Japanese) of her, Looker and Nanu. This is dubbed Interpol Trio by English-speaking fans and is called [x] in Japanese.
- Within the trio, there are three possible ships with Anabel:
- Anabel x Looker is FallerShipping[1], aka ChiefShipping, which is F/M, aka NL. In Japanese, this is called [x], meaning Looker attacks and Anabel receives in the coupling.
- Anabel x Nanu is DutyOfCareShipping, which is F/M, aka NL. In Japanese, this is called [x], meaning Nanu attacks and Anabel receives in the coupling.
- Anabel x Looker x Nanu is [x], which is Poly.
- Within the trio, there are three possible ships with Anabel:
- Anabel is also shipped with Ash Ketchum, forming AbilityShipping, which is F/M, aka NL. In Japanese, this is called サトリラ, meaning Ash attacks and Anabel receives in the coupling. It had its own page on Bulbapedia, seen here, Archived version.
Less Popular Relationships
- BackInBlackShipping - Anabel & Cynthia
- BarongShipping - Anabel & Entei
- BassShipping - Pokéspe!Gold & Anabel
- BeastHuntShipping - Anabel & Wicke
- BeautifulReflectionShipping - Anabel & Serena (Mirror)
- BestBrainIRUShipping - Brandon & Anabel
- BondShipping - Anabel & Phoebe
- BrainyBrawnyShipping - Anabel & Greta
- ByakkoShipping - Anabel & Raikou
...And these are just the B's! More can be found on Neverending Romance, a community-created relationship name list.
Popular Tropes & Fanon
TBA
Subjects of Fannish Interest & Meta
What's the Deal with Ingo?
After the release of Pokémon Legends: Arceus in 2022, Ingo gained a resurgence of popularity from the Pokémon fandom at large. This resurgence wasn't seen when Anabel had very similar experience happen to her character just a few years prior. This is due to several reasons: Ingo's previous closeness to Emmet created far more angst regarding his disappearance, Ingo's situation was more dire, and Ingo's mannerisms leaned way more woobie than Anabel, who was more in control of her situation. And as a player, her feelings regarding the situation of her memory loss is never expressed clearly, making it somewhat of a shot in the dark for fans who wish to explore her feelings.
Some fans blame a combination of Misogyny in Fandom and already existing Misogyny in Pokémon's Female characters, (how their personalities are presented, their purpose, their designs, etc, by Game Freak and Nintendo,) for the disparity of fannish attention to these two similar characters.
Boku?
When Emerald first released, Japanese fans were unsure of what her gender was. Her name in Japanese is Lila, which is not an inherently Female name. She referred to herself as Boku in-game, a usually Male 'me' pronoun, and her appearance was androgynous. With Bugsy creating the same confusion in Pokémon Gold and Silver a few years prior, some expected she would be an effeminate boy like he was. It was only with the release of the Advanced Anime episode Talking a Good Game! one year later that she was confirmed to be Female.
Example/Notable Fanac
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanart
- Ramen of joy and sorrow by ramblingrhubarb, Interpol Trio.
- found family or homeland? by powerin, fanart for Pokémon Sun and Moon's post-game as a whole which feature's Anabel front and center.
- Anabel’s entire Pokemon team. Her family. by fallershipping, fanart of the Pokémon Anabel is known to use.
Blogs
- FallerShipping, an Anabel x Looker blog with fanart, fan discussion and fancomics for both characters and the coupling.