in the context of the show "the unbeatable lightness of seeing," harley was observed watching a practice contest battle between may and drew. subsequently, he announced his intention to participate in contests within the johto region.
he extended an invitation to jessie to join him, but she declined, stating her continued commitment to team rocket.
this refusal led to harley's displeasure, prompting him to dispatch his cacturne for a battle against jessie. as jessie sought a pokemon to deploy, harley instructed cacturne to utilize bullet seed, resulting in team rocket being propelled away, with jessie still searching for a suitable pokemon.
harley later made brief appearances alongside drew and soledad in episodes such as "staging a heroes' welcome!" and "strategy with a smile!".
in "battling as hard as stone!", harley's distinctive personality comes to the forefront. he exhibits a highly flamboyant demeanor, donning an outfit reminiscent of cacturne's appearance, and displays effeminate mannerisms, including hip-swaying while walking and speaking in a higher vocal register.
furthermore, in the original japanese version, he employs "atashi," a feminine pronoun for "i." he also incorporates english terms into his Japanese dialogue, referring to cacturne and banette as "my buddies" and greeting may with "good morning." the latin american dub adapts this by integrating local slang and references to urban culture.
for instance, during the kanto grand festival, he performs a song by the mexican entertainer juan gabriel while his octillery dances amidst flames.
another manifestation of his feminine side is showcased in the episode "may, we harley drew'd ya!".
harley shares a long-standing friendship with soledad, a fact she herself confirmed. he possesses contest passes enabling him to compete in hoenn and kanto, and presumably johto as well. in his pursuit of becoming a top coordinator, harley has resorted to unsportsmanlike conduct, including public humiliation of his rivals and the deliberate dissemination of misinformation.
may has been a frequent target of his schemes, often falling victim to his malicious actions.
despite his poor sportsmanship, harley is a highly skilled coordinator. his proficiently trained pokemon have enabled him to participate in a minimum of two grand festival tournaments. whether during performances or battles, harley characteristically highlights the more formidable aspects of his pokemon, which can sometimes be unsettling for spectators.
while his performances may not always garner universal audience approval, the judges have demonstrated appreciation for his endeavors to showcase his pokemon's unique charms and abilities.
harley is portrayed as a manipulative individual with minimal regard for anyone other than himself and his pokemon. however, on certain occasions, harley appears willing to assist others in distress, as exemplified in "the saffron con," where he utilized his ariados to prevent team rocket from absconding with stolen pokemon.
he is prone to developing personal grievances over trivial matters.
he maintains a photo album containing images of individuals against whom he holds grudges and tends to employ humiliation tactics to gain an advantage over opponents, deriving sadistic pleasure from their discomfiture. this is evident when he feigned friendship with max to elicit an embarrassing anecdote about may, intending to record and broadcast it during a pokemon contest.
ultimately, as his performances indicate, harley exhibits no hesitation in employing underhanded tactics to secure victory.
harley frequently used disparaging nicknames for may when she wasn't present. the first was "miss tent" (meno-chan in japanese) after he embarrassed her with a story involving tentacool.
the second was "kamo-chan," referencing the japanese word often appended to may's sentences, which can imply uncertainty.
harley displays immense pride in his pokemon, to the extent that he models his attire after his signature pokemon, cacturne. none of harley's pokemon share a common type; however, they all possess a shared attribute: their capacity to be quite formidable in contests, even extending to the typically endearing wigglytuff.
this section details harley's known pokemon within the series:
- cacturne: cacturne serves as harley's primary pokemon.
it made its debut in "a cacturne for the worse," accompanying harley's introduction.
- banette: banette premiered during the hoenn grand festival, participating in the appeal round. banette's entrance was designed to evoke fear in the audience.
it executed a combined attack of will-o-wisp and thunder, enabling harley to advance to the double battle round. in that round, banette, alongside cacturne, faced may's pokemon. they were ultimately defeated by bulbasaur and beautifly, eliminating harley from the competition.
banette reappeared in "new plot, odd lot!", where harley lent it to jessie for the mulberry city contest, aiming to prevent may from securing her final ribbon. it was officially utilized in the battle round against may's squirtle in the final match.
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- ariados: ariados first appeared in "the saffron con," where it attempted to prevent team rocket from escaping with the pokemon captured in their mecha.
in the subsequent episode, ariados participated in the battle round of a contest, facing jessie's wobbuffet. despite wobbuffet's counter and mirror coat potentially being effective against ariados, harley was hesitant to have ariados attack first, and wobbuffet's moves were primarily defensive.
as neither pokemon made a move, both received a yellow card, halving their points. before another card could be issued, ariados initiated a string shot attack, incapacitating wobbuffet. ariados then defeated wobbuffet by manipulating its movements like a puppet. it proceeded to defeat other opponents, including a walrein.
in the final match, it competed against may's squirtle, and despite being squirtle's first contest, ariados was ultimately defeated. ariados reappeared in "harley rides again," performing in the appeal round of the wisteria town contest. harley entrusted ariados to james and team rocket in "new plot, odd lot!" as part of a strategy to disrupt may's performance at the mulberry city contest.
it released an invisible web from above, targeting both may and her combusken during their appeal. however, this failed when combusken's fire spin penetrated the web, scorching ariados.
- octillery: octillery made its first appearance in "harley rides again," where harley utilized it to battle may's munchlax in the final match of the wisteria town contest.
octillery secured victory by employing a combination of rest to recover its strength and octazooka to incapacitate munchlax. it reappeared in "thinning the hoard!". octillery's known moves include constrict, octazooka, sludge bomb, rest, and fire blast.
- wigglytuff: wigglytuff's initial appearance was in "thinning the hoard!".
it battled alongside harley's cacturne against may's eevee and munchlax. although cacturne was defeated, wigglytuff proved a formidable opponent for eevee and munchlax due to its ability to expand its rubber-like body. their attacks were rendered ineffective against wigglytuff.
upon learning from lilian that wigglytuff was the balloon pokemon, may devised a strategy to exploit this characteristic. she instructed eevee to unleash a shadow ball and ordered munchlax to intercept the attack, causing an explosion that unbalanced wigglytuff.
wigglytuff was eventually defeated by may's munchlax using focus punch, with assistance from eevee. wigglytuff reappeared in "a full course tag battle!". she mentions her inability to defeat either of them yet. harley's wigglytuff exhibits notable differences from other pokemon of its species.
it possesses a purplish glare across its face, likely an attempt to align wigglytuff with the perceived 'villainous' stereotype of harley's pokemon. wigglytuff's known moves are body slam and double slap.
as harley's pokemon, banette was instructed to repeatedly use frustration. this persistent attack led to jessie's loss, thwarting the plan to prevent may from obtaining her fifth ribbon.
banette's known moves include will-o-wisp, thunder, screech, torment, and frustration.
the following is a list of the ribbons harley has acquired in the hoenn region:
[List of Hoenn Ribbons]
the following is a list of the ribbons harley has acquired in the kanto region:
[List of Kanto Ribbons]
harley has participated in the following grand festival tournaments:
[List of Grand Festival Participations]
harley has competed in the following pokemon contests:
[List of Pokemon Contest Participations]
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as the primary protagonist, it was only a matter of time before ash ketchum was assigned a "non-canon" identity.
speculation regarding ash's sexuality suggests he may be bisexual. however, romantic pursuits could potentially impede his ambition to become a pokemon master, thus relegating sexual self-discovery to a secondary concern. ash has consistently shown a strong admiration for misty.
throughout the series, several instances suggest that james might be gay.
a particularly telling moment occurs in the episode "the fortune hunters," where james dons a form-fitting moltres costume and declares, "i am a flaming moltres!" there is also an episode that was not aired in english-speaking countries, in which james wears false breasts and expresses a fondness for cross-dressing.
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harley makes his initial appearance in the episode "a cacturne for the worse," dressed in a costume resembling his signature pokemon, cacturne. harley and may share a contentious history, which ultimately positions them as rivals. harley exhibits highly effeminate mannerisms, including hip-swaying while walking and speaking in a high-pitched voice.
additionally, there has been some discussion surrounding a potential enemies-to-lovers narrative for harley and may, with a segment of the fanbase supporting the theory that harley is attracted to men.
another associate of team rocket, jessie, is a part-time pokemon contest competitor and a close friend to james and meowth.
she essentially acts as james's counterpart; where james displays feminine traits, jessie adopts masculine ones. more often than not, their elaborate disguises involve a reversal of traditional gender roles. jessie typically wears suits and ties, while james dons dresses and skirts.
although jessie expresses admiration for men, she also shows a notable fondness for characters like dawn and other successful women. in the non-canon manga series, jessie and james marry. however, within the context of the anime series, there is a distinct possibility that jessie could be canonically lesbian.
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introduced in pokemon journeys: the series, goh forms a friendship with ash ketchum and becomes one of his traveling companions.