The player's mother (Japanese: さん mother) is a prominent character in the various canons of the Pokémon franchise.

In the core series games

The player's mother, often referred to informally as mom (Japanese: ママ mom), is a character in every core series Pokémon game, except Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Although different each time, she will always be the one to see her child off on their journey with their first partner Pokémon.

When players speaks to their mother, she will heal the party, except in Johto, where the player must instead use the healing machine in Professor Elm's lab. The player's mother may also do several other things specific to the game. When the player is setting off on their journey as a Pokémon Trainer, the player's mother will typically give them the Running Shoes as a gift, either in person or via a messenger, reading the provided instructions as well.

Region Mother Children Image
Kanto Mom RedRBYGSCFRLGHGSS/LeafFRLG  
Mom ChasePE/ElainePE  
Johto Mom Ethan/KrisC/LyraHGSS  
Hoenn Mom Brendan/May
Sinnoh Johanna Lucas/Dawn  
Unova Mom Hilbert/Hilda  
Mom Nate/Rosa  
Kalos Grace Calem/Serena  
Alola Mom Elio/Selene  
Galar Mum Victor/Gloria  
Paldea Mom Florian/Juliana  

In the side series games

Pokémon XD

Main article: Lily (XD)

In Pokémon XD, Lily is the mother of Michael (the player character) and Jovi. She takes a supportive role throughout the game by working alongside Professor Krane.

In the spin-off games

Hey You, Pikachu!

 
Hey You, Pikachu!
Main article: Mom (Hey You, Pikachu!)

Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia

In Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia, the mother of Kellyn or Kate exchanges letters with their family as they attend Ranger School. The family later moves to Chicole Village to be closer to Kellyn or Kate. She also bought the books on the bookshelf. The mother doesn't do much besides look after her youngest child and take care of the player's inactive partner Pokémon. She later has the player perform a Quest where she asks the player to read a recipe off the fridge for her while she cooks.

In the anime

Main series

 
Delia Ketchum, mother of Ash Ketchum

In the Pokémon anime, each of the main characters which have a player character counterpart have had their mother introduced except for Jimmy and Marina. Unlike the mothers in the games, however, all of them lead a moderately more active lifestyle.

Delia, Ash's mother, is introduced in the very first episode and is shown to travel to some of the Pokémon League competitions that her son takes part in. She also has her own Pokémon, a Mr. Mime nicknamed Mimey, which cleans the house for her.

Lola, Brock's mother, was, for a time, running the Pewter Gym while Brock was traveling with Ash on his journey. She is an adept Trainer, however her insistence on using Water-type Pokémon—including attempting to shift Pewter City's Gym's traditional type from Rock to Water—is something she and Brock have butted heads over.

Caroline, the mother of May and Max, is a big supporter of May in her quest to become a Top Coordinator, even traveling long distancies to watch her daughter compete in the Hoenn Grand Festival. Unlike her game counterpart, however, she lives in Petalburg City.

Johanna, Dawn's mother, apparently lives life very similarly to her own game counterpart. She has a Glameow and an Umbreon, and is a former winner of the Sinnoh Grand Festival. Dawn grew up inspired by her achievements and decided to become a Coordinator like her mother.

Grace, Serena's mother, also lives life similarly to her own game counterpart. She has a pet Fletchling and Rhyhorn, and was once a Rhyhorn racer.

In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Goh's mother is called Camille. She's a programmer at Go-Go Systems, and has a more real lifestyle compared to the mothers of other main characters.

Lucca, Liko's mother, is a teacher in Paldea.

Pokémon Origins

 
Red's mother

In Pokémon Origins, Red's mother appeared in File 1: Red, telling him that the device Professor Oak was working on was now ready and that the Professor wanted to see him in his lab, which caused Red to fall down the stairs in excitement. She asked if he was okay before he rushed out the door.

In the manga

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

Ash's mother, Delia Ketchum, makes an appearance in the chapter Pikachu, I See You!.

Magical Pokémon Journey

Hazel's mother and father are mentioned, but are never shown.

Pokémon Adventures

History

Kanto

Green was separated from her parents because she was kidnapped by a bird Pokémon when she was only five years old (six years prior to the first chapter), on the orders of the Masked Man. Green's managed to come into contact with her long-lost, but they were kidnapped by a Deoxys sent by Team Rocket. Green, Red, and Blue battled Team Rocket on the Sevii Islands, and Green's parents were eventually rescued.

In Epilogue, Green's parents appeared together with many people who came to the Battle Frontier as a result of Scott making a wish on Jirachi. Green, who had been freed from the petrifaction by Jirachi's power, became fired up at the thought of her parents watching her battle against the other Pokédex holders at the Battle Dome tournament.

Johto

Gold's mother (based on the mother from Johto games) made an appearance in the beginning of this chapter. She was seen nagging him about his messy hairstyle, calling it "explosive".

In the Gold, Silver & Crystal arc, Crystal's mother Mirei was introduced. When Crystal was unable to catch Pokémon anymore, Mirei slapped her and told her that she must stop crying and complete the Pokédex as requested by Professor Oak. In the HeartGold & SoulSilver arc, Mirei picked new clothes for her (the clothes are based on Lyra's outfit from Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver), much to Crystal's dismay.

Hoenn

Ruby's mother moved from Johto to Hoenn with her husband and son. In the Ruby & Sapphire arc, she was seen driving the truck, and was later seen worrying about her son and her husband.

Emerald's parents were stated to be deceased, making him an orphan. The responsibility over Emerald's care was passed between various relatives until he ran away.

Sinnoh

Diamond's mother Johanna (based on the same character from the Sinnoh games) used to be a Coordinator. She debuted in Diamond & Pearl arc and gave Diamond his winter clothing. Johanna became a Super Contest Coordinator once more by the end of the Platinum arc.

Platinum's mother Professor Yanase Berlitz, a Pokémon researcher, debutted in a flashback at the Ruby & Sapphire arc, although her daughter debutted later in the Diamond & Pearl arc. Yanase Berlitz was one of the scientists involved with the attempt to create an artificial Green Orb to control Rayquaza. When a Salamence broke into the lab and started rampaging, Rayquaza was freed from its cage, and the laboratory was destroyed. Yanase and the other injured scientists were found by Norman.

Unova

Blake's parents have been stated to be deceased, making him an orphan. Blake was raised in the International Police.

Whitley's mother (based on the mother from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2) used to be a member of Team Plasma. She was seen accompanying her to her first day at Aspertia City's Trainers' School. She decided to switch Whitley's school in order to cut off all connections with her past as a Team Plasma member.

Kalos

Y's mother is Grace (based on the same character from the Kalos games), a famous and very successful Rhyhorn racer. Her relationship with her daughter is not very good, since Y wishes to become a Sky Trainer against her mother's wishes. Grace also voluntarily takes care of X, since his parents are in a faraway region due to their work.

Pokémon

Gold's mother
On hand

These Pokémon are raised by Gold's mother. Due to the large amount of Pokémon she raises, their home is known as "the Poké-house". These Pokémon were either given by Trainers, caught by Gold's mother, or had settled there as wild Pokémon.

 
Lickitung
 
Sandshrew
 
Oddish
 
Krabby
 
Chansey
 
Weedle
 
Exeggcute
 
Kakuna
 
Drowzee


Given away
 
Aibo
 
Polibo


Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All

In Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All, Shu's father is an inventor who created the Income, a device which Shu uses to communicate with his Pikachu. Shu's father has spent the last five years of his life attempting to capture Mew.

Shu's mother has appeared in the manga as well.

Pokémon Zensho

Shigeru's mom appeared in a flashback in PZ01.

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring a mother or her Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Mother
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Mom's Kindness Su Majestic Dawn   83/100 Torterra/Infernape/Empoleon Half Deck    
      Giratina/Dialga Half Deck   013/014
      Piplup/Pikachu Half Deck   015/015
      Arceus LV.X Deck: Grass & Fire   017/017
      Arceus LV.X Deck: Lightning & Psychic   017/017
 


Trivia

  • Generation V is the only generation that introduced two different mother characters for each set of players. However, Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 are not the first games in which two mother characters are present, as Red's mother can be visited in Pallet Town in the Generation II games and in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
  • Although Red's mother has blue hair in the core series games, his mother has brown hair in Pokémon Origins.
  • In Pokémon Gold and Silver, there is leftover code that allows the player to name their mother. A control character displays the mother's name but it is never used.
    • During the Dude's catching tutorial, the player's name is temporarily stored in the memory address for the mother's name, so that the player's name can be temporarily overwritten with "DUDE" during the tutorial, then restored afterwards. A similar technique is used to store the player's name in Generation I during the old man's catching tutorial.[1]
  • Johanna and Grace are currently the only mothers in the core series to have official names.

In other languages

Mother

Language Title
Chinese Cantonese 媽媽 Màhmā
Mandarin 媽媽 / 妈妈 Māma
  French Mère
  German Mutter
  Italian Madre
  Korean 어머니 Eomeoni
  Spanish Madre
  Vietnamese Mẹ

Mom/Mum

Language Title
Chinese Cantonese 媽媽 Màhmā
Mandarin 媽媽 / 妈妈 Māma
  French Maman
  German MamaPESwSh
Mutter
  Italian Mamma
  Korean 엄마 Eomma
  Brazilian Portuguese Mamãe
  Spanish Mamá
  Vietnamese Mẹ

References


  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.