Kris (game)

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This article is about the female protagonist whose default name is クリス in the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal. For the male player character in Pokémon Crystal with the same Japanese name, see Ethan (game).

Crystal (game) redirects here. For the game titled "Pokémon Crystal Version", see Pokémon Crystal Version.

Kris クリス Kris
Art from Crystal
Age	Unknown
Gender	Female
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Teal or Navy Blue
Hometown	New Bark Town
Region	Johto
Relatives	Mom
Trainer class	Pokémon Trainer, player character
Generation	II, VII, VIII, IX
Counterpart(s)	Kris (Masters)
Games	Crystal, Stadium 2, Masters EX
English voice actor	Cherami Leigh^[1] (Masters EX)
Japanese voice actor	Kana Asumi^[2] (Masters EX)
Animated series	Pokémon the Series
Debut	The Legend of Thunder!
Counterpart(s)	Marina (Johto)
English voice actor	Kelly Davis
Japanese voice actor	Kazusa Murai
Manga series	Pokémon Adventures Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys
Counterpart(s)	Crystal (Adventures), Chris (Golden Boys)
Debut	Slugging It Out with Slugma (Adventures) Escape From The Mystery Forest! (GB)

Kris (Japanese: クリス Kris) is the female playable character in Pokémon Crystal. Her male counterpart is Ethan. She does not appear in any other core series game; in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, she is replaced by Lyra.

She was the first female player character in the core series games, a feature that would be carried on in subsequent games.

Terminology

She is named "Kris" as seen at the back of the box of Pokémon Crystal

The player's story (known as "you" in English) in the manual of Pokémon Crystal

She is named "Crystal" in this game screenshot from the official guidebook

In English, she was first specifically named Kris on the back of the American and Australian box of Pokémon Crystal. This boxart includes a Pokémon battle screenshot featuring Kris and an Unown, which is described as: "New female trainer Kris faces the Unown." In the Japanese version of this boxart, this battle screenshot is not present and her name is not mentioned. In the American release of this game for Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, her name does not appear on the boxart even though the Kris vs. Unown battle screenshot is present (this time with no text description).

Upon the game's release in 2019, she became available in Pokémon Masters EX, where she is known as Kris (Japanese: クリス). This was the first time she was named in-game, 19 years after her debut in Pokémon Crystal. She has never been named in the core series games, except in the list of suggested names in a new game.

In the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal, クリス is a name equally suggested for both the male and female player characters in a new game. In English, this suggested name was adapted as Chris for the boy and Kris for the girl.

In the player's story from the Japanese manual, the name クリス simultaneously refers to either player character. However, this was adapted as "you" instead in the English version. For instance:

Japanese version of the manual:
「クリスはパートナーとなる1匹(ぴき)のポケモンを選(えら)ぶと」 (Kris/Chris chooses 1 partner Pokémon and [...])
English version of the manual:
"After you choose your Pokémon [...]"

For comparison, her male counterpart is named Chris in several game screenshots from the English manual. He was later known as Ethan.

She is named Crystal in several game screenshots from Pokémon Crystal: Official Nintendo Player's Guide.

She also was named Clis (which is another possible romanization of her Japanese name) in at least two image files from Game Freak's Japanese website: CLIS.JPG and CLIS_2.JPG. Both images used to have their modification date listed as March 2, 2001, decades before her debut in Pokémon Masters EX.^[3]

In the core series games

Kris's journey as a Pokémon Trainer begins when Professor Elm asks her to run an errand for Mr. Pokémon, who lives north of Cherrygrove City. Because she may encounter dangerous wild Pokémon along the way, Elm gives her a choice between three Pokémon to protect her: Cyndaquil, Totodile, or Chikorita.

Kris meets a boy watching Elm's Lab from outside. When she tries to talk to him, the boy abruptly shoves her away. The boy, Silver, will become Kris's rival, analogous to Blue in Generation I.

Kris continues onward and finally meets Mr. Pokémon and completes her errand. While there she meets Professor Oak who, upon realizing Kris's bond with her new Pokémon, gives her a Pokédex. On her way back home, Kris again meets Silver, who has stolen one of Elm's remaining Pokémon. After defeating the boy in battle, she learns his name and relays it to the police in New Bark Town. Professor Elm allows Kris to keep the Pokémon she chose earlier, and encourages her to compete in the Johto League.

From there Kris begins on a Pokémon journey in the Johto region, facing off against its eight Gym Leaders, defeating and disbanding the newly reformed Team Rocket, and becoming Pokémon League Champion by defeating the Elite Four and its previous Champion, Lance, at Indigo Plateau. Along the way she also teaches Silver to respect Pokémon as living creatures and not just as tools for battle. Kris also uncovered the mystery of the Tin Tower and its Legendary Pokémon, Entei, Suicune, and Raikou.

After being declared the Pokémon League Champion, Kris then takes a short trip on a ship, the S.S. Aqua, from Olivine City to Vermilion City in Kanto. Journeying across that region, she battles against its own set of eight Gym Leaders, including two new faces, Janine, who replaced her father Koga on his promotion to the Elite Four, and Blue, who was formerly Pokémon League Champion himself and replaced Giovanni after the latter fled. Upon getting permission from Professor Oak in Pallet Town, Kris heads for Mt. Silver via Route 28. Her journey comes to a close when she faces Pokémon Trainer Red deep within Silver Cave, where he has been training there since shortly after he became Pokémon League Champion three years prior.

Kris's in-game assets differ drastically from her artwork as a result of palette restrictions. Her yellow hat and shorts are shown as white, and all of the red color seen on her design is shown as black. No sprite depicts her with the Pokégear around her neck. Additionally, Kris's hair is also a different shade than in her artwork, going from a teal a cool blue, a difference further exacerbated when Pokémon Crystal is played on screens that depict uncorrected colors.

System model differences
Corrected	Uncorrected

In the side series games

Pokémon Stadium 2

Kris makes a cameo appearance during the end credits of Pokémon Stadium 2, battling Silver and his Ho-Oh with her Suicune.

Pokémon

Suicune

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Masters EX

Main article: Kris (Masters)

Kris forms a sync pair with Totodile and its evolved forms Croconaw and Feraligatr, along with Suicune, and Jolteon in Pokémon Masters EX. Kris became a playable sync pair since the game's release.

In this game, Kris mentions that she encountered a Suicune in Johto, a reference to the one the player encounters in Pokémon Crystal. However, the Suicune she has in this game isn't the same one she encountered in Johto. Kris has also made notable appearances in the game's Main Stories, Legendary Adventures and the Villain Arc. Unlike in the core series, both Kris and Lyra coexist in the same game.

Dex		NDex		Type	Weakness	Base potential	Availability
#010	Kris	#0160	Totodile → Croconaw → Feraligatr♀	Water	Grass	★★★★★☆EX	Sync Pair Scout
#010	Sygna Suit Kris	#0245	Suicune	Water	Grass	★★★★★☆EX	Master Fair Sync Pair Scout
#010	Kris	#0135	Jolteon♀	Electric	Ground	★★★★★☆EX	Variety Sync Pair Scout

Gallery

Artwork

File:Cryskris.png
From Crystal by Ken Sugimori	From the GAME FREAK website by Ken Sugimori

From the Pokémon Masters EX Villain Arc Johto (Part 2) by Megumi Mizutani^[4]

Sprites and models


Sprite from Crystal	Overworld sprite from Crystal	Back sprite from Crystal	Unused PokéGear icon from HeartGold and SoulSilver

Credits icon from Stadium 2

Quotes

Main article: Kris (game)/Quotes

Optional names

Japanese	English	French	German	Italian	Spanish
クリス Kris チホ Chiho キヨミ Kiyomi サトコ Satoko	KRIS AMANDA JUANA JODI	CHRISTY SOPHIE NICOLE JEANNE	KRISTA SINA MANDY TABITHA	KRISTY GAIA CINZIA LUISA	CRISTI MARÍA SUSANA YOLANDA

Counterparts

Marina, Kris's anime counterpart

In the anime

Main article: Marina (Johto)

Marina, one of the main characters in The Legend of Thunder!, is the anime counterpart of Kris. In her debut, Marina is presented as a girl who dreams of becoming famous with the help of her Pokémon. In her latest appearances, she was shown to be a talented Pokémon Coordinator, having won the Grand Festival to become a Top Coordinator. She is friends with Jimmy and Vincent.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Main article: Crystal (Adventures)

Crystal from Pokémon Adventures is based on Kris's design. She is unique among all Pokédex holders in the sense that her primary goal is to fill the Pokédex. She is an expert in catching Pokémon and prefers to kick the Poké Balls she uses instead of throwing them.

Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys

Main article: Chris (Golden Boys)

Chris from Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys is based on Kris. She joins Gold as a traveling partner during his journey through Johto.

Trivia

Screenshots of an earlier design for a female protagonist

Kris is the first playable female character in Pokémon games, a feature included in all core series Pokémon games since. Despite this, the female choice in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver is Lyra, who was designed from scratch by Takao Unno.
- However, an unused PokéGear icon in HeartGold and SoulSilver, resembling Kris rather than Lyra, suggests that this was decided at a later point of development.
Several pre-release screenshots for Pokémon Crystal show an earlier design for a female protagonist.
Kris's alternate Japanese names would later be shared with Leaf, Dawn, and Lyra.
When playing as Kris in Pokémon Crystal, entering the cable club changes the player's appearance into Ethan and leaving changes the player's appearance back into Kris. While the reasoning could be to maintain visual consistency between players of different versions when in the cable club, as Kris's sprite assets do not exist in Pokémon Gold and Silver, this still occurs when two players using Pokémon Crystal link together.

Names

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	クリス Kurisu	From Pokémon Crystal
English	Kris	Same as her Japanese name
German	Krista	Similar to her Japanese name
Spanish	Cristi	Similar to her Japanese name
French	Christy	Similar to her Japanese name
Italian	Kristy	Similar to her Japanese name
Korean	크리스 Keuriseu	Transcription of her Japanese name
Chinese (Mandarin)	克麗絲 / 克丽丝 Kèlìsī	Transcription of her Japanese name
Chinese (Cantonese)	克麗絲 Hāaklaihsī	Mandarin-based transcription of her Japanese name

References

Player characters

Core series	Red • Leaf • Ethan • Kris • Lyra • Brendan • May • Lucas • Dawn Hilbert • Hilda • Nate • Rosa • Calem • Serena • Elio • Selene Chase • Elaine • Victor • Gloria • Rei • Akari • Florian • Juliana
Side series	Wes • Michael • Nate • Cyndy
Spin-off games	Mark • Mint • Todd Snap • Lucy Fleetfoot Lunick • Solana • Kellyn • Kate • Ben • Summer Hero • Heroine • Tim Goodman • Scottie • Bettie

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.

[Cherami_Leigh-1] Confirmed via RT by Cherami Leigh on Twitter

[2] Nintendo DREAM (vol. 329)

[3] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20010303100537/http://www.gamefreak.co.jp/pokemon/GALLERY/

[4] Tweet about illustrating the second Johto Villain Arc title screen

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