Summary
The Pokémon anime features many different costumed superheroes and villains who rely on their Pokémon to fight crime and save the world. Some notable Pokémon-themed superheroes include Gligarman and Gligirl, Accelguard, and Blaziken Mask. These heroes and villains add a unique touch to the Pokémon anime, combining elements of powered heroes and gadget-dependent warriors.
When people think of anime superheroes, Pokémon anime probably isn’t what comes to mind first, but over the course of its 25 years, the series has seen a lot of costumed heroes (and villains) appear. These heroes themselves usually don’t have much power, but with Pokémon by their side, they can also become superhuman.
The first costumed superhero to appear in the Pokémon anime was “Gligarman,” a parody of Batman, who was first introduced stopping Team Rocket in the episode “Superhero Secrets.” Gligarman keeps his identity (as “Mr. Parker” the toymaker) a secret while carrying out his own Gligar vigilante activities. Later in the episode, he is joined by “Gligirl,” who is actually his daughter, who found out his identity.
Entrusting the safety of the town to his daughter, Gligarman hangs up the mantle at the end of the episode. However, Gligarman and Gligirl aren’t the only superheroes with a Pokémon theme.
Masked superheroes are very common in Pokémon
An episode of Black & White, “The Mighty Accelguard to the Rescue!” sees the eponymous superhero, Accelguard, and his Pokémon Accelgor, facing off against the criminal Cryogonal Man. Accelguard is a Kamen Rider-style hero located in the Unova region’s Driftveil City, modeled after real-life New York City, home to many of the novel’s superheroes. Cryogonal Man is a typical “world-dominating” villain, with daring plots. Accelguard teams up with Ash and his gang to help defeat him, and even eventually reveals his secret identity to them.
The most important superhero in the Pokémonhowever, it is definitely Blaziken Mask. In Pokémon XY, Blaziken Mask makes his dramatic debut, saving Ash from certain death, using the power of Mega Blaziken to move fast enough to help. Blaziken Mask eventually becomes a recurring character throughout XY, and is soon revealed to be the secret identity of Clemont and Bonnie’s father, Meyer, a humble appliance store owner. Since Clemont and Bonnie were traveling with Ash, Blaziken Mask almost always passed by them anytime they were in Lumiose City, even fighting alongside them against the evil Team Flare.
The history of superheroes and villains in Pokémon goes back a long way, as demonstrated in “Spinarak Attack,” where a super thief known as Black Arachnid committed a series of legendary crimes ca. one hundred years ago. Team Rocket even gets in on the action, taking on the identity of Black Arachnid II in “A Lean Mean Team Rocket Machine,” even bringing the concept of a successor character to the fore. While the Pokémon superheroes and villains are a bit random in the main story, it’s interesting that everyone will take on a costumed identity to fight crime with no powers other than their Pokémon. Surname. It turns these heroes into a unique combination of heroes equipped with powers and those who rely on gadgets, giving Pokémon One-of-a-kind anime about superheroes.
Pokémon XY can be streamed on Hulu.
Watch Pokémon XY on Hulu
Pokemon
Summary: Spanning over 25 years, Pokemon, also known as Pocket Monsters in Japan, is a multimedia franchise co-created by Nintendo, Game Freak and Creatures. Conceptualized by Satoshi Tajiri in conjunction with Ken Sugimori and Junichi Masuda, Pokemon is set in a fictional world where humans live alongside tameable creatures called Pokemon. People who catch, raise, and battle these creatures are called Pokemon Trainers. They embark on cross-continental journeys to raise their Pokemon with the ultimate goal of competing in tournaments to become champions. Pokemon spans a massive range of properties, from a long-running animated series to a successful card game to the medium that started it all, the video game. Additionally, Pokemon started the “two games” trend, where two versions of a game would release and include different Pokemon/features between versions, encouraging players to meet others and trade so they can “catch them all.”
Created by: Satoshi Taijiri, Ken Sugimori, Junichi Masuda
First movie: Pokemon: The First Movie
Latest movie: Movie Pokémon: Secrets of the Jungle
First TV show: Pokemon
Date of first episode airing: 1997-04-01
Current line: Pokemon
TV program): Pokemon
Video games): Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, Pokemon Snap, Pokemon GO