Hun
バショウ Bashō
Hun.png
Hun
Gender Male*, Female*
Hometown Unknown
Region Johto
Member of Team Rocket
Rank Officer
Partner Attila
Animated debut The Legend of Thunder!
English voice actor Veronica Taylor
Japanese voice actor Toshiyuki Morikawa

Hun (Japanese: バショウ Bashō) is a member of Team Rocket. He appeared along with his partner, Attila, in The Legend of Thunder!.

Personality

Hun and Attila

Hun and Attila both seem somewhat set in their rank, and approach missions casually. They seem to keep their cool even when they lose; in these situations, they calmly retreat. Despite physical stereotypes, Hun is the dominant partner telling Attila to do things that he could do himself. Attila doesn't object or show any signs of aggravation over this role, perhaps because Hun is always polite about it. In the original Japanese, Hun states that he and Attila are from the "Profit Expansion Division."

Hun seems to be exceedingly formal, almost exclusively using the formal tense in the original Japanese, even when speaking to people he clearly considers below him (Jimmy and the others), as well as his partner, and even his Pokemon. The fact that he refers to his partner by first name only (no suffix), and is not offended by the fact that Attila never uses the formal tense when talking to him, implies that his use of the tense is not due to unfamiliarity, but simply his style of speech.

Hun is usually emotionless and calm, yet occasionally seems shocked or frustrated when complications arise. Additionally, he seems to be a more vindictive as time goes on. Initially he seems indifferent to the protagonists' interference; yet, by the final confrontation, seems to enjoy ordering Steelix to attack them.

Hun is one of the few members of Team Rocket who ever talks about the beliefs of the group, which he seems to agree with rather strongly. He frequently mentions the fact that Pokemon are only animals which exist to serve humans. (This is consistent with part of the Team Rocket manifesto that states, "All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket"). Yet, he acknowledges Raikou's intelligence, and speaks to it no differently than he does any of the human characters. It seems that he has accepted that Pokemon are sentient, intelligent creatures, yet still believes they exist only as servants to mankind. Despite this, he does not seem particularly cruel to his own Pokemon, even expressing some concern when his Steelix is knocked down by Raikou (although it is unclear whether or not this is just shock over its defeat).

Relations to Other Members

Attila has no recorded history with his partner Hun though, while the dub states that they are new partners, their body language and the familiarity of the behavior towards each other shows that they do have some history together. Additionally, their manner of speech (tenses used, lack of name suffixes etc.) in the original Japanese also implies closeness. In the Japanese, Attila also makes a statement about Hun being "as serious as usual," all but confirming the fact this is not the first time they've worked together.

In the dub, the pair take mission orders from Professor Sebastian, but it is implied in the original that they have never met him before The Legend of Thunder!. Still, in the dub, he seems to have some kind of friendship with the professor. In the original Japanese, it seems fairly clear they have not met before, as he introduces both himself and his partner. Additionally, in contrast to the dub where he is giving orders, in the original Japanese Sebastian states that they are "the ones in charge," implying that he has simply made the Crystal System for use in their mission.

It is important to note that neither Hun nor Attila ever mention their rank, although the authority that Hun seems to assume with Professor Sebastian in the original implies that they are very high ranked within their department.

Pokémon


Steelix
Hun's Steelix

Steelix is Hun's main battling Pokémon. According to him, it enjoys "coaxing others into aggression." It was used to attack Raikou, as well as Jimmy, Marina, and Vincent.

Steelix's known moves are Sandstorm, Crunch, Rock Throw, and Iron Tail.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese 森川智之 Toshiyuki Morikawa
English Veronica Taylor
European Spanish María Jesús Nieto


Trivia

  • The origin of his Japanese name is Matsuo Basho, considered one of the greatest haiku poets in history. As both he and Yosa Buson flourished during the Edo and Tokugawa periods, some have suspected that both were also ninja employed by the administration. This may be a reason why these names were chosen for Attila (whose Japanese name is Buson) and Hun.
  • Like the other Rocket duos, his and his partner's names together form the name of a famous historical villain: in this case, Attila the Hun.
  • According to concept art, Hun's design is meant to be evocative of a fox while Attila's is meant to evoke a raccoon-dog.
  • Both Attila and Hun can be seen from behind at the beginning of Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, during the narrator's introduction to the world of Pokémon. They are in the holding area with a captured Rayquaza.

Issue regarding gender

Hun is male in the original Japanese version. However, his gender was supposedly changed to female in the English dubbed version. Closer analysis shows that Hun was never referred to as a female. The only pronouns are those used collectively with Attila, such as "those men" or "those guys". So, Hun may just be a male with a feminine voice. As such, Hun will be referred to as a male for this article. In the Brazilian version, however, Hun is referred to as ela and dela. Likewise, in the European Portuguese he is named Ana, which is a name that is usually given to women.


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