Ethan (game)
- Hibiki redirects here. For the character of the day in Beauty and the Breeder, see Zane.
- This article is about the male protagonist whose default name is クリス in the Japanese version of Pokémon Crystal. For the female player character in Pokémon Crystal with the same Japanese name, see Kris (game).
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This article is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this article to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Quotes (as NPC) |
| Ethan ヒビキ Hibiki | |
 Art from HeartGold and SoulSilver | |
| Gender | Male |
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| Eye color | Gray |
| Hair color | Black |
| Hometown | New Bark Town |
| Region | Johto |
| Relatives | Mom (as player) Grandparents, unnamed father (as NPC) |
| Trainer class | Pokémon Trainer, Player character |
| Generation | II, IV |
| Games | Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, SoulSilver |
| Animated counterpart | Jimmy, Ethan (M13) |
| Counterpart debut | The Legend of Thunder! |
| Manga counterpart(s) | Gold, Gold, Gold, Jō, Takashi |
Ethan (Japanese: ヒビキ Hibiki) is the main playable character in Pokémon Gold and Silver and is the male choice in Pokémon Crystal, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. In Crystal, his female counterpart is Kris, while in HeartGold and SoulSilver, his female counterpart is Lyra.
He is a caring young boy who lives with his mother in New Bark Town. In Generation II, he had no official name, and he was unofficially known by many fans as Gold (Japanese: ゴールド Gold).
Storyline in the games
When selected as the player character
Ethan's journey as a Trainer begins when Professor Elm asks him to run an errand for Mr. Pokémon, who lives north of Cherrygrove City on Route 30. Because he may encounter dangerous wild Pokémon along the way, Elm gives him a choice between three Pokémon to protect him: Cyndaquil, Totodile or Chikorita.
Ethan spots another boy his age watching Elm's Lab from outside. When Ethan tries to talk to him, the boy abruptly shoves him away. This boy, Silver, will become Ethan's rival, analogous to Blue in Generation I.
Ethan continues onward and finally meets Mr. Pokémon and completes his errand. While there he meets Professor Oak who, upon realizing Ethan's bond with his new Pokémon, gives him a Pokédex. On his way back home, Ethan again meets Silver, who has stolen one of Elm's remaining Pokémon. After defeating the boy in battle, Ethan learns his name from his dropped Trainer Card, and relays it to the police in New Bark Town. Professor Elm allows Ethan to keep the Pokémon he chose earlier, and also encourages him to compete in the Johto League.
Ethan begins on a Pokémon journey in the Johto region, facing off against its eight Gym Leaders, defeating and disbanding the revived Team Rocket, and becoming Pokémon League Champion by defeating the Elite Four and its previous Champion, Lance at Indigo Plateau. Along the way he also teaches Silver to respect Pokémon as living creatures and not just as tools for battle.
After being declared the Pokémon League Champion, Ethan then journeys by ship from Olivine City to Vermilion City in Kanto. Traveling around that region, he battles against another set of eight Gym Leaders. Upon getting permission from Professor Oak in Pallet Town, Ethan heads for Mt. Silver via Route 28. His journey comes to a close when, deep in Mt. Silver's cave, he faces the Champion from Pallet Town, Pokémon Trainer Red, who had been training there since shortly after he became Pokémon League Champion three years prior.
When not selected as the player character
In Pokémon Crystal, if Kris is selected, then the male player character will not appear in the game at all (although his sprite will be used in a link battle with another game from Generation II as well as opponents in Viridian City's Trainer House).
In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, if Lyra is selected to be the player character, Ethan meets her in New Bark Town at the start of the game. In this particular scene, he is seen with a Marill. He will always have Marill even if another starter Pokémon is selected. In addition, he doesn't appear to take the remaining starter Pokémon. His role in the storyline of HeartGold and SoulSilver is similar to that of Lucas/Dawn in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum if they are not chosen as the player character, while Lyra takes this place if he is selected as the player. He teaches the player how to catch Pokémon on Route 29 (replacing the Dude from Gold, Silver, and Crystal).
While playing as Lyra, his grandparents run the Pokémon Day Care on Route 34. He also gives the player the Fashion Case in Goldenrod Tunnel and the Vs. Recorder on Route 31. Naturally, this role is given to Lyra if he is the player character.
Pokémon
Ethan uses this party to show the player how to catch Pokémon when Lyra is selected as the player character in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
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Caught in tutorial
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Artwork
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| Official artwork from Gold and Silver |
Official artwork from Crystal |
Running | Checking his Pokégear | Approaching a Time Capsule |
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| Artwork from the Game Freak website | In front of the Ruins of Alph | Encountering a Shiny Pokémon | In the Sinjoh Ruins | Walking with Pokémon |
Sprites
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| Sprite from Gold and Silver |
Sprite from Crystal |
Sprite from Generation IV |
Intro sprite from Generation IV |
Pokéathlon sprite from Generation IV |
Backsprite from Generation II |
Backsprite from Generation IV |
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| Overworld sprite from Generation II |
Overworld sprite from Generation IV |
Overworld sprite, when disguised as a Team Rocket Grunt from Generation IV |
Overworld Pokéathlon sprite from Generation IV |
VS sprite from Generation IV |
Sprite from the opening of HeartGold and SoulSilver |
VS sprite from the opening of HeartGold and SoulSilver |
Optional names
| Game | Japanese | English | French | German | Italian | Spanish | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | ゴールド Gold ヒロキ Hiroki テツオ Tetsuo タカシ Takashi |
Gold Hiro Taylor Karl |
Gold Julien Jean Jacques |
Gold Daniel Fritz Karl |
Oro Paolo Diego Carlo |
Oro Hiro Tomás Carlos |
골드 Gold 수호 Suho 인철 Incheol 강산 Gangsan |
| Silver | シルバー Silver カモン Kamon トオル Tōru マサオ Masao |
Silver Kamon Oscar Max |
Silver Daniel Pierre Paul |
Silber Thomas Oscar Hans |
Argento Luca Paolo Max |
Plata Kamon Óscar Max |
실버 Silver 청운 Cheong'un 지겸 Jigyeom 찬호 Chanho |
| Crystal | クリス Chris ヨウスケ Yōsuke タケヒロ Takehiro タカオ Takao |
Chris Mat Allan Jon |
Chris Benji Nicolas Jean |
Chris Arnold Gert Jon |
Chris Sergio Giacomo Manuele |
Cris Antonio Álex Emilio |
Unavailable |
| HeartGold SoulSilver |
ハート Heart ソウル Soul サトシ Satoshi ケン Ken カケル Kakeru ジャック Jack ジャン Jean ジョン John カモン Kamon タカシ Takashi テツオ Tetsuo トオル Tōru ヒロキ Hiroki マサオ Masao タカオ Takao タケヒロ Takehiro トウゴ Tōgo ヒトシ Hitoshi ヨシナオ Yoshinao |
Heart Soul Ash Nic Dion Duncan Jude Ross Shea Darrell Terell Chris Brad Dwight Talon Lonny Jess Eric Chase |
Heart Soul Allane Damien Daniel Dilan Franck Gabriel Greg Gurvan Kamel Loris Marc Max Ralph Seb Thomas Tom Zack |
Heart Soul Berno Boris Daniel Gerd Hans Helge Jack Jan John Jon Karsten Rafik Silvio Thomas Tobit Ugo Uhland |
하트 Heart 소울 Soul 강산 Gangsan 다인 Dain 상우 Sang'u 상현 Sanghyeon 숙호 Sukho 윤호 Yunho 인철 Incheol 재범 Jaebeom 쟝 Jyang 지겸 Jigyeom 지우 Jiu 지훈 Jihun 찬호 Chanho 청운 Cheong'un 캔 Ken 케이 Kay 호진 Hojin |
Counterparts
In the anime
- Main article: Jimmy (Johto)
Jimmy from the special episode The Legend of Thunder seems to be based on Ethan in the most basic sense, much more than Ash was based on of his counterpart, Red. Jimmy is based on Ethan's earlier design from Pokémon Gold and Silver while Ethan's second counterpart is based on his updated design from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. However, as with the other game player characters, Ethan and Jimmy are not interchangeable.
Ethan's second counterpart has a cameo appearance at the beginning of Zoroark: Master of Illusions, in a battle against Ash. This counterpart follows Ethan's design from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. It is argued that this is Jimmy rather than a different counterpart but this counterpart is identified as "Hibiki" (Ethan's Japanese name) in the Japanese DVD of the movie.
Pokémon
This is a listing of Ethan's known Pokémon in the anime:
In the manga
Ethan, like most player characters, also has several counterparts in the various Pokémon manga series.
In Pokémon Adventures manga
- Main article: Gold (Adventures)
Gold from the Pokémon Adventures is based on Ethan.
In Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga
- Main article: Gold (Golden Boys)
The main character, Gold, in Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga is based on Ethan.
In the Pocket Monsters HeartGold & SoulSilver Go! Go! Pokéathlon manga
- Main article: Takashi
Takashi from Pocket Monsters HeartGold & SoulSilver Go! Go! Pokéathlon is based on Ethan.
In the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga
- Main article: Jō
Jō from Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure is based on Ethan.
In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
- Main article: Gold (Pocket Monsters)
Gold from the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga is based on Ethan.
Trivia
- The Gold and Silver artwork was originally presented in the Official Guidebook of Nintendo Space World '97 (Japanese: NINTENDOスペースワールド'97オフィシャルガイドブック), along with Silver, Oak, Schoolboy, Lass, Firebreather, Kimono Girl, Fisher, Ho-Oh, Slowking, Ampharos, Donphan, and the new Pokédex.
- Ethan is 4'11" (1.50 m) tall and weighs 88.2 lbs (40 kg) in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
- Kris and Lyra are both Ethan's female counterparts. This makes Ethan the only male player character to have this trait.
- The majority of his Japanese default names from HeartGold and SoulSilver are shared with Red and Lucas. The same holds true for their respective female counterparts.
- A 1997 pamphlet describing Gold and Silver mentions that the protagonist has a brother three years his senior, and seems to imply the possibility of that brother being the first-generation protagonist. However, this aspect of his character was discarded by the time of the final release, as Red's mother still lives in Pallet Town.
- On the "Area" map on the Pokédex in HeartGold and SoulSilver, Ethan's headshot sprite shows his hat from Gold and Silver. An earlier, unused version of this sprite is also found within other scrapped Pokégear graphics data, in which Kris appears instead of Lyra.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ヒビキ Hibiki | From 響き hibiki, "sound" or "echo". |
| English | Ethan | Biblically, Ethan/Eitan is believed to be the author of Psalm 89 and/or a harp or cymbal player in King David's court. |
| French | Luth | From luth, lute. |
| German | Klarin | From Klarinette, clarinet. |
| Italian | Armonio | From armonia, harmony, or armonio, harmonium. |
| Spanish | Eco | From eco, echo. |
| Korean | 심향 Simhyang | From 심 (心) sim, heart, and 향 (響) hyang, echo. |
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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. |