Erika

The Nature-Loving Princess
Erika
Species	Human
Affiliation	Pokémon League (Kanto)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Gray
Base	Celadon City Gym
Voiced by	Xanthe Huynh (2019)
Debut	Pokémon: Red/Green Versions

Erika is one of the eight Kanto gym leaders who must be battled in the first generation games of the Pokémon series. She is the leader of Celadon City's gym and specializes in grass-type Pokémon.

Background

Erika was known for being fond of nature and used her Grass Pokémon primarily for making flower arrangements more than she did for battling. Despite her peaceful nature, she was ultimately obedient to her duties as a gym leader and battled any trainer who would challenge her.

Red battled Erika in Pokémon Red, Green, Blue and Yellow (as well as Pokémon: FireRed and LeafGreen Versions). After she was beaten, Erika gave Red the Rainbowbadge and TM 21: Mega Drain (or TM 19: Giga Drain in FireRed and LeafGreen). Afterwards, Erika claimed that Red's strength motivated her to try harder. In the Let's Go! remakes, she was instead challenged by Chase/Elaine, gave them TM 53: Mega Drain along with her badge upon her defeat, and could be challenged to rematches after beating the Elite Four.

Erika was later challenged by Ethan/Lyra several years later in Pokémon: Gold, Silver and Crystal Versions (as well as HeartGold and SoulSilver). Despite having acquired a new Pokémon, Erika lost again and gave the trainer both the Rainbowbadge and TM 19: Giga Drain.

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, she would appear by Celadon's fountain on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (between the hours of 3 and 6) where she told Jasmine that she had heard from Whitney that Jasmine was too plain and needed to look fancy. Erika encouraged her to try competing in a Contest in Sinnoh, but also tricked her into saying that Clair's costume was embarrassing, claiming she was "just taking notes". Ethan/Lyra could then talk to her and exchange Pokégear numbers with her. Calling her on Sunday mornings (between the hours of 4AM and 10AM) causes her to travel to Saffron City's Fighting Dojo for a rematch. She also appeared by the fountains on Mondays, where a picture could be taken with her.

Erika returned in Black and White 2 as one of the competitors in the Pokémon World Tournament, taking part in the Kanto Leaders, World Leaders and Type Expert Tournaments as well as the download tournament called "Challenge the Champion Lance!"

Pokémon Roster

Generation I

Erika's HeartGold/SoulSilver design.

In Pokémon Red, Blue and Green (as well as FireRed and LeafGreen), Erika uses a Victreebel, Tangela and Vileplume. The Yellow version replaced Victreebel and Vileplume with their unevolved forms, Weepinbell and Gloom, in order to match the Pokémon she had used in the anime version. In Let's Go!, it was a mix of both original rosters, as she had Tangela, Weepinbell and Vilepulme for the first battle. Rematches added Parasect and Exeggutor to her roster, as well as evolving her Weepinbell to Victreebel.

Generation II

In Gold, Silver and Crystal (as well as HeartGold and SoulSilver), Erika's Pokémon once again included Tangela and Victreebel, but her Vileplume was replaced with a Bellossom and she had also gained a Jumpluff. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, she uses the following Pokémon in rematches:

• Shiftry
• Jumpluff
• Victreebel
• Bellossom
• Tangrowth
• Roserade

Black 2/White 2

In Black 2 and White 2, Erika's roster included Vileplume, Tangrowth, Venusaur and Exeggutor, as well as Victreebel and Bellossom in the Kanto Leaders Tournament or Cradily and Abomasnow in the World Leaders and Type Experts Tournaments. In "Challenge the Champion Lance", she used Whimsicott and Lilligant alongside Vileplume.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Stadium, Erika is the fourth Gym Leader of the Gym Leader Castle. A mix of her Pokémon from the Red, Blue and Yellow versions, her roster consisted of Gloom, Victreebel, Tangela, Vileplume, Weepinbell and Exeggcute in the first round. For the second round, she had Vileplume, Clefable, Tangela, Dewgong, Victreebel and Exeggutor. Erika reappeared appeared as the fourth enemy of the Kanto Gym Leader Castle in Pokémon Stadium 2. She used Ninetales, Exeggutor, Marowak, Bellossom, Mantine and Blissey in the first round, and in the second round, she used Venusaur, Chansey, Tangela, Vaporeon, Bellossom and Jumpluff.

Erika, as she appeared in the anime, also appeared in Pokémon Puzzle League as the fifth opponent in 1P Stadium. Her Pokémon were the same as in the anime and Yellow Version - Weepinbell, Gloom and Tangela.

Pokémon Masters EX

In Pokémon Masters EX, Erika and Vileplume appeared as a playable sync pair that could be recruited by playing Chapter 4 of the Main Story, and she also had several variants that were later made available. The Holiday 2020 variant had her in a holiday-themed outfit while pairing her with Comfey, and this version could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature during limited time periods starting in December 2020. There was also a variation of her default appearance using Tangela instead that could be unlocked with Battle Points starting at the end of May 2021, as well as a Sygna Suit variant (wearing a dress evocative of Leafeon's coloring) that was paired with Leafeon and could be recruited through the Sync Pair Scout during limited time periods starting in October 2021.

In Chapter 4 of the Main Story's PML Arc, it was shown that Erika was assigned to act as one of the Pokémon Masters League Leaders and guarded the Tranquility Badge. Her presence attracted a large number of her female fans, some of which took it upon themselves to drive away others as the Erika Defense Squad. After the player found her and defeated her in battle, she gave them the Tranquility Badge and decided to join their PML team, as she was interested in observing Scottie/Bettie's growth as a trainer. In the Main Story's Villain Arc, she appeared during the initial chapter "Kanto: Team Rocket Returns", where she and Misty helped in the efforts against Team Rocket while garbed in their Sygna Suits. She was also featured in the "Deck the Halls" Story Event in her holiday outfit, in which she and Skyla decorated a tree together, and they then proceeded to track down the decorations after they were blown away by the wind.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Erika appeared in an episode of the Pokémon anime, where she was also a maker of perfume. In the episode, she banned Ash Ketchum from coming to her gym after he made fun of her perfume, leading him to sneak in dressed as a woman. Erika forgave Ash and gave him the Rainbowbadge after he saved her Gloom from a fire started by Team Rocket. In the I Choose You! movie, which was set in a different timeline, Erika was seen as the third gym leader Ash defeated.
• Erika appeared in the Pokémon Adventures manga as one of the three (later four) good gym leaders of Kanto who worked together against Team Rocket. In her initial appearance, she sent Red to capture a special Eevee for her that had been experimented on by Team Rocket, and afterwards pretended to be a Team Rocket member wanting to kill the Eevee in order to test Red's character. Red passed the test and defeated her, earning the Rainbow Badge and being allowed to keep the Eevee. She also aided Yellow in the Yellow arc with the other good gym leaders and later worked in defending Celadon from the Elite Four's invasion. She reappeared in the Gold/Silver/Crystal arc, where she was the leader of the Kanto leaders in the competition against the Johto and battled Pryce, head of the Johto team, and lost. She also supported Misty in her advances towards Red.
• She made a brief appearance in the Pokémon Origins anime, depicting her defeat at Red's hands.

Trivia

• Her name is the same in both English and Japanese, being a reference to the Erica genus of flowering plants.
• One Pokémon Journal in FireRed and LeafGreen says that she can often be seen taking naps in the gym. In fact, when she sends Red her message after he completes the Fame Checker entry for her, she ends her message with a "Zzz...". She also always has at least one Pokémon in her roster with a sleep-inducing move.
• She claims that she only collects Pokémon that she considers to be beautiful.
• After being defeated in rematches in Let's Go!, she claims that the trainer's effort was worth 10 Rainbow Badges.