Gou redirects here. For the Pokémon Conquest character, see List of Pokémon Conquest characters → Gō.
Undubbed character This article is about a character featured in the Pokémon anime who has not yet debuted in the English language dub.
As such, their information may contain romanized Japanese names, rather than dub names.
Go
ゴウ Go
File:Go SS.png
Go in the new series
Age 10
Gender Male
Eye color Blue
Hair color Black with red highlights
Hometown Vermilion City
Region Kanto
Trainer class Pokémon Trainer
Anime debut SS001
English voice actor N/A
Japanese voice actor Daiki Yamashita
Kei Shindō (age 6; SS001)

(Japanese: ゴウ Go) is a protagonist of the new series of the Pokémon anime, and one of Ash's traveling companions. His goal is to catch Mew, while his dream is to catch every Pokémon.

History

Pre-series

File:Young Go.png
Go at the age of six

As seen in SS001, when he was six, Go was invited by his childhood friend Koharu to go to Professor Oak's Pokémon Summer Camp with her. During their visit in Pallet Town, Go and Koharu encountered the Mythical Pokémon Mew. The two chased after the unknown Pokémon, but it eventually got away in the aftermath of a baby Kangaskhan rescue. Professor Oak later told them the Pokémon they saw was most likely the Mythical Pokémon Mew. Motivated, Go swore that he would become a Pokémon Trainer when he turned ten, and one day catch Mew.

New series

In SS002, Go witnessed a Lugia appear in the skies above Vermilion City. He chased Lugia down and managed to latch onto its tail, where he met another Trainer named Ash. Lugia allowed the boys to ride on its back as it soared through the skies and dived down into the ocean. Having bonded over the sights and Pokémon they saw during the ride, Go decided to accept Ash as his friend. After parting ways with Lugia, Go and Ash returned to the Sakuragi Institute, where they informed everyone about their encounter. Impressed by the information on Lugia that they brought back, Professor Sakuragi offered them a position as research fellows, which they accepted. Sakuragi later allowed Go to pick from a set of Kanto starter Pokémon for his debut as a Trainer, but Go rejected all of them, stating he wanted his first Pokémon to be Mew.

In SS003, Go and Ash received their first task as research fellows: to investigate a sudden outbreak of Ivysaur and Bulbasaur in the city. To aid their mission, Sakuragi had two Rotom enter Go and Ash's smartphones, upgrading each into a Rotom Phone. After following the Seed Pokémon to a Gym under construction, Go and Ash were attacked by Team Rocket, who planned to steal the Ivysaur and Bulbasaur. Despite the powerful Pokémon they received from the Rocket Gachat, Team Rocket was defeated by Ash's Pikachu and sent blasting off. Go and Ash then discovered that the Ivysaur had gone to the Gym to find a high place for them to absorb the sunlight needed to evolve into Venusaur. They watched as the evolution process released pollen into the air, making flowers around the city bloom.

In SS004, Go and Ash traveled to the Galar region to research the Dynamax phenomenon. While they waited for the train to the Wild Area to arrive, Go and Ash decided to eat some scones at a store in Wyndon, only to have their food stolen by a wild Scorbunny and its Nickit friends. After Ash battled and defeated Scorbunny, Go bonded with it, even choosing to lie to the store owner by saying Scorbunny belonged to him when the Nickit stole more of his food. After hearing Scorbunny's backstory from the store owner, Go gave it words of encouragement before he and Ash left. Go and Ash eventually made it to their train, completely unaware that Scorbunny had taken a liking to Go and started to follow him.

In SS005, Go and Ash made it to the Wild Area, where they encountered a large Snorlax. Mistakenly assuming its size was due to Dynamax, Go and Ash tried studying the Sleeping Pokémon, only for Scorbunny to appear and interrupt them. Scorbunny wished to join Go's team, but it was turned down as Go still wanted his first Pokémon to be Mew. Snorlax then activated Gigantamax, making its body so large that it covered a nearby train track, putting it at risk of being hit by an incoming train. By teaming up with Scorbunny, Go managed to get Snorlax to move by luring it with a Sitrus Berry. Praising its skill, Go changed his mind about Mew and instead caught Scorbunny as his first Pokémon. After returning to the Sakuragi Institute, Go introduced Scorbunny as his first-ever Pokémon to Professor Sakuragi.

In SS006, Go became inspired to fill up his Pokédex by catching lots of Pokémon as part of his quest to obtain Mew. Together with Ash, Go traveled to a nearby forest, where he caught one of each Bug-type native to Kanto. The next day, Professor Sakuragi introduced Go to the Sakuragi Park, allowing Go to store any Pokémon he caught on his journey.

In SS007, Ash told Go to come with him to the Hoenn Battle Frontier, where he entered them into the Battle Frontier Flute Cup tournament. Despite having the type advantage, Go was defeated in the first battle by Houji without managing to land a single hit on his opponent. Frustrated by his loss, Go decided that catching Pokémon was better than battling and ran off to continue filling up his Pokédex. He later returned in time to watch the final match between Ash and Houji, which ended in Ash's victory. As they returned home, Go apologized to Ash for his earlier outburst, having come to see battling in a new light through his observation of the final match.

Character

File:Go anime.png
Go looking at his smart phone

Go is a stylish city boy who prefers to stay calm and collected, in contrast to the more instinctive and adventurous Ash. His overconfidence has left him mostly isolated, with exception of his friends Koharu and Ash. According to Koharu, Go has been known to skip school to wander around town, much to her chagrin. Despite his calm personality, he can also become hot-blooded when his opinion is challenged, and he will not hesitate to defend others when he sees them being mistreated, which helped him bond with a wild Scorbunny in SS004. Go likes to throw his Poké Balls with a curve, but his aim tends to be off. Though he seems athletic, Go lacks good climbing skills despite his efforts to get better at it. He is also highly knowledgeable about Pokémon. Despite his deep knowledge of Pokémon, Go is still a rookie Trainer and lacks experience, best evidenced by his tendency to throw Poké Balls at any Pokémon he encounters, rather than weaken them through battle as is the usual practice. His lack of expertise is also evidenced in his battles, where he shows a tactical, by-the-book approach of exploiting type advantages, but is unable to properly respond against more seasoned adversaries, which leads to a crushing defeat. Go tends to yell "Go!" when sending out his Pokémon or throwing Poké Balls.

File:Go Kanto Bug Pokémon.png
Go with all his Pokémon as of SS006

Go's encounter Mew when he was six inspired him to become a Trainer, and he initially wanted Mew to be his starter Pokémon, even going as far as rejecting Professor Sakuragi's starter Pokémon in favor of the Mythical Pokémon. However, during his visit to Galar, a wild Scorbunny took a liking to Go as it followed him and Ash to the Wild Area. While Go initially politely rejected Scorbunny, he soon changed his mind after working together with Scorbunny to solve a crisis involving a Gigantamax Snorlax and decided to make the Rabbit Pokémon as his first Pokémon partner instead. Go and Scorbunny are also best friends as they both dislike losing their other friends, especially one another. Also, Go and Scorbunny would high five each other whenever something good happens.

Go shares a very close friendship with Koharu due to him knowing her since they were little. At times, Go brushes off Koharu's concerns for him but knows that she is just looking out for him. When he was little, Go only wanted Koharu as his friend and nobody else. However, after meeting and getting to know Ash, Go realized he needed to have other friends besides Koharu and accepted him as one. Go's friendship with Ash is very strong, though they sometimes get competitive and annoyed with each other and even butt heads. Ever since the events in SS003, Go seems to strongly admire Ash for his determination, passion, and compassion for Pokémon, especially the extraordinary bond he shares with his Pikachu.

Pokémon

Because one of his goals is to catch every Pokémon and complete his Pokédex, Go captures a lot of Pokémon, including multiple of the same evolutionary family. Currently, Go is known to own 22 Pokémon, with 20 unique Pokémon species registered in his Pokédex.

On hand

File:Go Scorbunny.png
Scorbunny

Traveling with

File:Go Rotom Phone.png
Rotom Phone

Kept at Sakuragi Park

The following is a listing of Pokémon Go has been known to have caught, but doesn't keep in his party permanently.

Go's Caterpie and Metapod

Go's Caterpie and Metapod
Caterpie and Metapod
Caterpie and Metapod were encountered at Vermilion Forest. Go caught Caterpie after finding it eating a leaf while Metapod was caught shortly after Go and Ash knocked it out of a tree.

None of their moves are known.

Debut SS006
Voice actors
Japanese Rikako Aikawa (Caterpie)
Go's Venomoth and Venonat

Go's Venomoth and Venonat
Venomoth and Venonat
Venomoth and Venonat were encountered at Vermilion Forest. Go caught Venomoth after spotting it flying through the air. Venonat was found sleeping in a tree, but Go's attempt to catch it failed when Venonat broke out of his Poké Ball. With Scorbunny's help, Go battled Venonat and managed to catch it.

None of Venomoth's moves are known.
Venonat's only known move is Poison Powder.

Debut SS006
Go's Paras and Parasect
Paras and Parasect
Paras and Parasect were encountered at Vermilion Forest. They were found trying to climb a pair of trees and were easily caught by Go at the same time.

None of their moves are known.

Debut SS006
Voice actors
Japanese Shinichiro Miki (Parasect)
Go's Butterfree
Butterfree
Butterfree was encountered at Vermilion Forest. He was found resting on a large tree, which Go climbed with Ash's help. When Go accidentally dropped his Poké Ball, Butterfree attempted to flee, but was caught when Scorbunny kicked the Poké Ball at it.

None of Butterfree's moves are known.

Debut SS006
Voice actors
Japanese Rikako Aikawa
Go's Pinsir
Pinsir
Pinsir was encountered at Vermilion Forest. It attacked Ash and Pikachu, trapping them in a ring of large stones. It then went after Go, who threw random objects in an attempt to defend himself, eventually accidentally throwing a Poké Ball and catching it.

Pinsir's only known move is Rock Tomb.

Debut SS006
Go's Weedle and Kakuna

Go's Weedle and Kakuna
Weedle and Kakuna
Weedle and Kakuna were encountered at Vermilion Forest. Weedle was found sitting on a tree while Kakuna was found dangling from a tree along with other members of its species.

None of their moves are known.

Debut SS006
Go's Beedrill
Beedrill
Beedrill was encountered at Vermilion Forest. It was part of a swarm of Beedrill that attacked Go when he caught Kakuna. When the others were trapped by Pikachu's Electroweb, Go caught the lone Beedrill that wasn't hit, assuming it was the strongest.

None of Beedrill's moves are known.

Debut SS006
Go's Scyther
Scyther
Scyther was encountered at Vermilion Forest. It easily repelled Go's Poké Ball and sent him and Scorbunny flying. Go later encountered Scyther again, this time using Scorbunny to battle it first. Together, Go and Scorbunny weakened Scyther enough for Go to successfully capture it.

In SS007, Go chose to use Scyther during the Battle Frontier Flute Cup, but it was quickly defeated by Houji's Mightyena due to Go's battling inexperience.

Scyther's known moves are Air Slash, Slash, and Swords Dance.

Debut SS006
Voice actors
Japanese Shinichiro Miki
Go's Taillow
Taillow
Taillow was caught during Go's visit to the Hoenn Battle Frontier. As its species preyed on Wurmple, Go used Taillow to find wild Wurmple for him to catch.

None of Taillow's moves are known.

Debut SS007
Voice actors
Japanese Rika Adachi
Go's Wurmple (×3)
Wurmple (×3)
These three Wurmple were caught at the Hoenn Battle Frontier with Taillow's help. Go caught multiples hoping that the other two would evolve into a Silcoon and Cascoon.

None of the Wurmple's moves are known.

Debut SS007
Go's Tentacool
Tentacool
Tentacool was caught at Vermilion Harbor. When a group of Tentacool appeared at the harbor, Go attempted to catch one of them, but it dodged the Poké Ball, causing this one to get caught instead.

None of Tentacool's moves are known.

Debut SS008
Go's Mantyke
Mantyke
Mantyke was caught during Go's visit to Snowpoint City. He later entered Mantyke in the Pokémon Drift Ice Race, where it helped Pikachu by having him ride on its back. It also assisted in dealing with Team Rocket when they interrupted the race.

Mantyke's only known move is Agility.

Debut SS008
Voice actors
Japanese Kei Shindō
Go's Sentret
Sentret
Sentret was encountered during Go's visit to Ecruteak City. As Go and Ash searched for Ho-Oh, Sentret leapt out of a bush and was caught by Go immediately afterward.

None of Sentret's moves are known.

Debut SS009
Voice actors
Japanese Kei Shindō
Go's Misdreavus
Misdreavus
Misdreavus was encountered during Go's visit to Ecruteak City. It and a Stantler attacked Go, Ash, Kurio, and Jiei at the Bell Tower, trapping them in a series of illusions. After Jiei's Hoothoot dispelled the illusions with Foresight, Go proceeded to catch Misdreavus.

None of Misdreavus's moves are known.

Debut SS009
Voice actors
Japanese Risa Shimizu
Go's Stantler
Stantler
Stantler was encountered during Go's visit to Ecruteak City. It and a Misdreavus attacked Go, Ash, Kurio, and Jiei at the Bell Tower, trapping them in a series of illusions. After Jiei's Hoothoot dispelled the illusions with Foresight, Go proceeded to catch Stantler.

None of Stantler's moves are known.

Debut SS009
Go's Dewgong
Dewgong
Dewgong was caught by Go as he and Ash traveled to find the island of Dragonite. Dewgong was used by them to travel to the island, but along the way, it encountered another Dewgong and fell in love with it. This resulted in a chase that led the group towards a storm. After diverting itself away from the storm, Dewgong arrived at the island and met up with Ash and Go after failing to find the other Dewgong.

None of Dewgong's moves are known.

Debut SS010

Achievements

Go has competed in the following competitions:

Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese 山下大輝 Daiki Yamashita
真堂圭 Kei Shindō (age 6; SS001)


Artwork

File:Go concept art.png File:Pocket Monsters new series poster.png File:Pocket Monsters new series key visual.png
Concept art by Ken Sugimori Official artwork from the
New series
Key visual from the
New series
File:SS005 illustration.png File:SS006 illustration.png File:SS009 illustration.png
Official artwork from
SS005
Official artwork from
SS006
Official artwork from
SS009

Trivia

Names

Language Name Origin
Japanese ゴウ Go From Pokémon GO and/or Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!



Anime characters
Protagonists Ash Ketchum (Pikachu) • Misty (Togetic) • BrockTracey SketchitMayMaxDawn (Piplup) • Iris (Haxorus) • CilanSerenaClemontBonnie (Dedenne) • LanaKiaweLillieSophoclesMallowRotom PokédexGoh (Grookey)
Rivals GaryRitchieHarrisonDrewHarleyMorrisonTysonSolidadPaulNandoZoeyKennyConwayBarryUrsulaTripBiancaBurgundyStephanGeorgiaCameronAriaAlainMietteTiernoShaunaTrevorNiniSawyerGladionHoracioHauLeonRaihanHoraceBeaLeague Conference participantsCoordinatorsPerformersWorld Coronation Series participants
Antagonists Jessie (Wobbuffet) • JamesMeowthGiovanniButchCassidyDr. NambaMatoriPierceDr. ZagerGozuTabithaMaxieShellyArchieHunter JSaturnCyrusMarsJupiterCharonColressAldithGhetsisBarretMalamarLysandreMableCelosiaAlianaXerosicBryonyTuppZippRappPlumeriaGuzmaVirenRoseOleana
Professors Professor OakProfessor IvyProfessor ElmProfessor BirchProfessor RowanProfessor CarolinaProfessor JuniperDr. FennelCedric JuniperProfessor SycamoreProfessor KukuiProfessor BurnetProfessor CeriseProfessor MagnoliaSoniaProfessor Amaranth
Relatives Delia KetchumDaisyVioletLilyJames's parentsFlintLolaForrestBrock's siblingsNormanCarolineJohannaChiliCressGraceMeyerLana's fatherLana's motherHarper and SarahRangoSimaMimoKiawe's grandfatherMohnLusamineGladionSophocles's parentsMolayneAbeMallow's motherUluWalkerCamilleHalta
Supporting Officer JennyNurse JoyMagikarp salesmanTodd SnapCharles GoodshowCaseyLizaSakuraLanceClairRaoul ContestaMr. SukizoSteven StoneVivian MeridianRobertScottLilian MeridianSolanaBrandonMarianYuzoRhondaCynthiaReggieAngieLookerIzzy and CaraLyraKhouryTobiasDon GeorgeElderAlderLukeFreddy O'MartianIngoEmmetJervisVirgilNAnthea and ConcordiaPorterAlexaSophieCosetteClembotSanpeiMairinAstridDianthaKorrinaGurkinnMonsieur PierrePalermoKeananMalvaSamson OakAnelaHobbesNinaAnnaLakiDanaYansuWickeFabaIlimaAcerolaDiaChloeChrysaRenParkerTaliaLeiDanikaQuillonHopGym LeadersElite FourFrontier BrainsIsland kahunasMany temporary characters
Supporting Pokémon FearowHo-OhSquirtle SquadPink ButterfreeHaunterJigglypuffMewtwoMimeyLapras herdGranbullPichu BrothersLugiaSilverDelibirdWynautLarvitarKyogre and GroudonArticunoDeoxysLake guardiansForces of NatureMeloettaReshiramSuper-ancient PokémonWooperFlorgesSquishyZ2Guardian deitiesBewearToucannon's flockStoutlandOranguruNebbyStuffulUltra BeastsGrandpa ForestNecrozmaLunalaShayminMewRotom PhonesPelipperThievul trioEternatusDrone RotomLegendary heroesLatiasRecurring wild Pokémon
See also: Pokémon Horizons characters


  This article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.