Tracey Sketchit
- Tracey redirects here. For the book author, see Tracey West.
| Tracey Sketchit ケンジ Kenji | |
 Tracey Sketchit | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Eye color | Brown |
| Hair color | Black*, Olive Green* |
| Hometown | Unknown |
| Region | Unknown; currently resides in Kanto |
| Trainer class | Watcher |
| Animated debut | The Lost Lapras |
| English voice actor | Ted Lewis (EP084-AG133) Craig Blair (AG192) |
| Japanese voice actor | Tomokazu Seki |
Tracey Sketchit (Japanese: ケンジ Kenji) is a Pokémon watcher and a former traveling companion of Ash who currently works at Professor Oak's Laboratory as an assistant to Professor Oak. He made his debut appearance in The Lost Lapras.
In the anime
History
Original series
As Ash's traveling companion
Tracey first appeared in The Lost Lapras when he came upon Ash getting ready to battle three other Trainers. He was impressed by the condition of Ash's Pikachu and decided to take notes. He got to know Ash and Misty better after he helped them save an injured Lapras. After hearing that Ash and Misty knew Professor Oak, his hero, Tracey decided to start traveling with the group, thinking he would get to see Professor Oak in person by doing so.
Tracey displayed some of his Pokémon watching skills in In the Pink, where he took some time to observe a pink Rhyhorn. He was able to watch it and sketch it without it noticing him at all until Ash approached it.
In Tracey Gets Bugged, he expressed that his favorite type of Pokémon was Bug-type Pokémon, much to Misty's dislike. During their time on Murcott Island, the group came upon an elderly and injured Scyther. Tracey ended up building a strong bond with Scyther and was able to defeat Team Rocket. In the end, Tracey decided to add Scyther to his team.
Tracey's sole major role in a movie was in The Power of One, where he traveled to Shamouti Island with Ash and Misty during their journey through the Orange Islands. There, he aided Ash in his quest as the Chosen One.
While on their way to Pummelo Stadium, Tracey got to meet one of his idols, Dr. Quackenpoker, a Pokémon watcher who specialized in researching Magikarp. Tracey picked up a few pointers from the older watcher and got to count how many Magikarp evolved into Gyarados.
As Professor Oak's assistant
Tracey finally got to meet Professor Oak in person in A Tent Situation. He was incredibly nervous when he turned over his drawings to him, knowing that a watcher's dream was to have their drawings reviewed by Professor Oak. By the next episode, he decides to stay in Pallet Town and become Professor Oak's assistant. Later, he single-handedly saves Ash's Pikachu from being stolen by Team Rocket using Scyther and Marill.
In Spell of the Unown: Entei, he asked Professor Oak what the Unown were.
During the events of Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!, Tracey and Professor Oak borrowed Ash's Bulbasaur to solve a crisis at the Laboratory. As the day progressed, Tracey tried to help by sending Venonat, Marill, and Scyther to solve some problems. Later, Tracey helped Bulbasaur and the local Pokémon set up a fountain so the Pokémon could live in harmony.
In Celebi: The Voice of the Forest, Tracey first appeared in a scene that was removed from the dub, during Ash's first video conversation with Professor Oak. Later, during the end credits, he discovered Sam's old sketchbook in Oak's lab and views the drawing he made of Celebi and Pikachu.
In A Claim to Flame!, Tracey watched the opening of the Silver Conference with Professor Oak in the laboratory. During the exhibition, the Professor noted the absence of Ash who was currently being kidnapped by Team Rocket.
Tracey reappeared in Gotta Catch Ya Later!, when Ash decided to meet with Gary. Tracey and Professor Oak welcomed him to the Lab and talked about Gary's whereabouts. At night, Tracey was present when Ash told everyone about his decision to travel to Hoenn, and supported that decision and told him a little about Professor Birch and assured Ash that he would take very good care of all his Pokémon.
Pokémon Chronicles
In Showdown at the Oak Corral, Tracey helped to protect the laboratory from Butch and Cassidy.
In Oaknapped!, Tracey was assisted by Ritchie to help locate Professor Oak after he was kidnapped by Butch and Cassidy.
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
Tracey is seen watching Ash's battle against Katie at the Ever Grande Conference in Shocks and Bonds.
Prior to The Scheme Team, Tracey's Marill produced an Egg. Tracey gave the Egg to Misty, which later hatched into an Azurill. In The Right Place and The Right Mime, he tagged teamed with Misty using the parent and child Pokémon to fire a double Water Gun attack at Team Rocket.
In The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!, Professor Oak handed Ash a poster made by Tracey and Ash's Pokémon wishing him good luck in his battle with Brandon.
In Home is Where the Start Is!, Tracey greeted Ash after his victory in the Battle Frontier and soon after watched Ash and Pikachu battling Gary and his newly caught Electivire. The next day, Tracey was present at the farewell as Ash was leaving for the Sinnoh region.
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
Tracey made a brief cameo in Following A Maiden's Voyage!. Tracey was present at Professor Oak's side while Ash called to let him know he had arrived in Sinnoh.
Pokémon the Series: Black & White
Tracey was mentioned by Professor Oak in Crisis from the Underground Up! when Ash called the lab from Nimbasa City. During the call, Professor Oak said that Tracey had a suggestion for Ash during his next Gym challenge. However, the connection is cut before Ash can speak to him.
He had a longer cameo in The Fires of a Red-Hot Reunion!, where he appeared with Professor Oak in a video presentation showing the Kanto's Starter Pokémon during the Kanto Fair.
Tracey was mentioned by Professor Oak and Ash, and he also appeared in a fantasy, in The Dream Continues!. Professor Oak revealed that Tracey was at the Cerulean Gym with Misty at that time.
Pokémon Journeys: The Series
In Advice to Goh!, Professor Oak mentioned that Tracey had helped him look for Ash's Infernape, which had been missing for some time.
From Battling as Hard as Stone! onwards, Tracey watched Ash's Masters Eight Tournament matches against Steven, Cynthia, and Leon alongside Professor Oak, Delia, and Ash's Pokémon.
In JN147, Tracey greeted Ash during his visit back to Pallet Town.
I Choose You!
Tracey made a cameo appearance in the ending credits of I Choose You!.
Character
In general, Tracey is a gentle person, and has a hard time saying no to anyone, especially to girls. In A Date With Delcatty, he took care of Misty's chores and helped Daisy with various tasks around the Cerulean Gym. Tracey does various chores around the lab, such as feeding the Pokémon and cleaning. He has befriended many of the Pokémon that reside at the lab, in particular Ash's Bulbasaur. He helps take care of the Pokémon that Ash leaves at the lab and sometimes has them help him with chores.
Tracey is a lot like Brock in many aspects. He has a broad knowledge about Pokémon and this has helped him and his friends in their journey many times along the way. Also, similarly to Brock, he seems to have a soft spot for pretty girls, but to a much less extreme degree. He seems to have some standards as he tends to be more drawn towards women who exhibit strength and courage rather than just any pretty girl he sees. Also, he is more self-conscious and doesn't go overboard about them as Brock does, expressing his interest by simply drawing them.
There have been rare incidents where Tracey was seen losing his temper. In The Lost Lapras, Misty comments that she doesn't know how famous Professor Oak is and Tracey barks back at her, saying that Professor Oak is the most respected researcher on the entire planet. Another time this happened was in Journey to the Starting Line!, when a boy named Gilbert said that he wouldn't want to have the annoyance of raising a Pokémon himself. Angered, Tracey yelled at him saying that training Pokémon was the most important part of being a Pokémon Trainer. He also lost his temper in A Tent Situation, desperate to go see Professor Oak, where he yelled at Ash, Misty, and Brock for babbling, and again in Showdown at the Oak Corral, when the Magikarp salesman tried to sell him a Magikarp.
Tracey's Pokémon watching usually involves him observing a Pokémon and sketching it. He uses special binoculars that allow him to take measurements of a Pokémon that is far away. Tracey also has unnaturally good eyesight, as seen in The Joy of Pokémon, where he was able to tell that the person paddling past them at a high speed was Nurse Joy. He was also able to tell that her arms were wider than other Nurse Joys after seeing her for only a split second.
Tracey has some tricks of the trade when it comes to Pokémon watching. To avoid being detected by the Pokémon he is observing, he always makes sure that he approaches it from downwind to avoid his scent being picked up by his subject. He also changes his breathing rhythm to match the Pokémon's so that he will not be heard.
He also has the unique ability to know what move a Pokémon is going to use just by the way it moves about. This was seen when he knew James's Victreebel was going to use Razor Leaf while battling with his Scyther in Tracey Gets Bugged.
Like Tracey admires Professor Oak, Max seems to have an admiration for him. He complimented Tracey on his artwork and told him how lucky he was to be working with Professor Oak, and even wished that he could draw Pokémon one day.
Pokémon
Tracey does not appear to train his Pokémon for competitions, however, they are still important in his fieldwork. At times when he has trouble in finding a certain Pokémon, he calls on the help of his own Pokémon. His Venomoth has radar-like eyes that can track a Pokémon from the farthest of distances and even locate hidden Pokémon. In times where a Pokémon can't be seen, he uses his Marill who has excellent hearing and is able to detect faint sounds. His Scyther is his only Pokémon used solely for battling.
On hand
 Venonat → Venomoth |
 Marill |
 Scyther |
Given away
 Egg |
Status unknown
| Debut | The Lost Lapras |
|---|
Tracey was seen riding a Dodrio in a flashback while Pokémon watching. However, it is unknown whether Dodrio belonged to him or if it was simply borrowed.
None of Dodrio's moves are known.
Voice actors
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Artwork
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| Official artwork from I Choose You! | Artwork from "After the story" [1] |
In the games
Side games
Pokémon Puzzle League
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Missing quotes |
In Pokémon Puzzle League, Tracey appears as the host of the Mimic Mansion, and one of the characters available in the 2P Stadium mode.
Pokémon
 Marill |
 Venonat |
 Scyther |
In the manga
Movie adaptations
Tracey appears in Mirage Pokémon Lugia's Explosive Birth, where he fulfilled the same role as he did in the movie of the same name.
Trivia
- A Pokémon Trainer with a striking resemblance appeared in Tricks of the Trade.
- Also, a Pokémon breeder with a striking resemblance appeared in Beauty and the Breeder.
- Tracey has spent the least amount of episodes traveling with Ash out of all his traveling companions, accompanying him for only 33 episodes, which comprised the entire Orange Islands arc (EP084-EP116).
- Despite this, Tracey has appeared in more Japanese opening sequences after his retirement from the main cast than any of Ash's other friends with a total of 11. He is featured in 12 overall, which places him just behind Brock, who is featured in 14.
- Tracey is Ash's only friend with an officially revealed last name.
- Tracey is the first protagonist to be completely original to the anime series and not be based on any character from the games.
- Tracey is the only main character:
- Whose Pokémon has produced an Egg.
- With multiple Pokémon to have none of their genders confirmed.
- With no known hometown or region of origin.
- In the original Japanese version, Tracey's sketchbook has a Poké Ball symbol on the bottom right-hand corner and some writing in the top left-hand corner. This is painted out in the dub for unclear reasons.
- Tracey is the only male main character who has no known relatives.
- In the Swedish dub, Tracey speaks in a Stockholm accent and adds "seru" at the end of a lot of sentences in his first few episodes. This fades out over time.
- In the Dutch dub, Tracey is given the last name West, likely after the book author, rather than Sketchit.
- Tracey is the only main character from the original series to not own a Pokémon introduced after Generation II.
- Additionally, he is the only main character from the original series to not hold a full party of six Pokémon at any point in time.
- Tracey is the only protagonist from the original series who has not been shown using Mega Evolution.
- Counting only the episodes of the main anime series, Tracey has the fewest onscreen battles (however long or brief) of any main character, battling a total of only four times (once in Stage Fight!, twice in Tracey Gets Bugged, and once in The Rivalry Revival).
- Additionally, all of his Trainer battles in both the main series and side story episodes have been against members of Team Rocket.
- Although he was once challenged to a battle by someone outside of Team Rocket, Ash ended up being challenged instead for trying to defend him.
- Additionally, all of his Trainer battles in both the main series and side story episodes have been against members of Team Rocket.
- Tracey has had the longest physical appearance absence of any main character in the main series, with 736 episodes between Following A Maiden's Voyage! and Battling as Hard as Stone!.
- Tracey is the only one of Ash's friends who was shown watching all of his Masters Eight Tournament battles.
- Tracey is the only protagonist whose Pokémon have appeared physically in Pokémon Journeys.
Interview with Hidaka about Tracey's creation
There had been some debate between members of the fanbase in regards to why Tracey was created, as well as why he replaced Brock, and vice versa. In an interview with former Pokémon anime director and storyboard artist Masamitsu Hidaka, he stated his own reason why Tracey was created and why he replaced Brock. He (or rather, his translator) revealed that the true reason they replaced Brock is because, once they realized Pokémon was going to go global, there was a chance that Americans, if not anyone else outside of Japan, would view Brock as a racist stereotype because of his eyes (even though there wasn't an actual complaint yet). So they created a "tall, white, Anglo-looking character to replace him, just to be on the safe side". They later replaced him with Brock again once they realized that no one really cared as to what Brock looks like, and actually enjoyed his character. This also may explain why Tracey was never included in The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga.
However, this was only stated by Hidaka and not by any other staff member.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ケンジ Kenji | Can be taken from ケン ken, to see. May also be derived from Ken Sugimori. Kenji can also mean "prosecutor". |
| English, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Italian, Spanish, Swedish |
Tracey Sketchit | From trace. Sketchit derives from "sketch it". |
| French | Jacky Léon | |
| Korean | 관철 Gwancheol | Derived from 관찰 (觀察) gwanchal, watcher. |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 小建 Xiǎo Jiàn | May be derived from 杉森建, Ken Sugimori. In addition, 建 (to build/establish) is a homophone to 見 jiàn, to see. |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 小建 Síu Gin | Same as Mandarin name. |
| Russian | Трейси Скечит Treysi Skechit | Transcription of English name |
| Thai | เคนจิ Kenji | Same as his Japanese name. |
Related articles
References
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This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |