Kabu

Kabu
Species	Human
Affiliation	Pokémon League (Galar)
Hair color	Gray (formerly Black)
Eye color	Black
Base	Motostoke
Debut	Pokémon: Sword/Shield

Kabu is the one of the gym leaders of the Galar region's major division who appears as an opponent in Pokémon Sword and Shield. He acts as the game's third Gym Leader and specializes in Fire-type Pokémon.

Background

Kabu originally hailed from the Hoenn region. He faced many setbacks in his career as a Pokémon trainer, yet he was always determined to strive to become the best trainer that he could be. His motto was to keep training and learning as long as he was alive. He considered his style as a trainer to be straightforward and direct, and he also liked to experiment with every possibility when it comes to training Pokémon, such as their moves and items. Kabu was also known to train his Pokémon by fighting against Water-type Pokémon, which have an elemental advantage over his Fire-type Pokémon.

His skill caused him to be invited to compete in the Galar region. He moved there and began taking part in the local championship competitions. Kabu was said to have come close to the championship several times, but he always fell short. He became Motostoke's gym leader and was part of the major division of Galar's gyms. He adapted a no-holds-barred approach to his battles for a while, but when that did not yield the results he wanted, he dropped down to the minor division for some time. This changed after he had a battle with the champion, Leon, which inspired him to rejoin the major league. All of the gym leaders battled each other to determine the order in which challengers would have to face them. Kabu ended up as the third gym leader and was known as the first major roadblock of the gym challenge. Many challengers did not make it past him. Because of this, Kabu commended any trainers who defeated him by personally seeing them off when they left the city. This included a "sporty chant", and he usually had the previous two gym leaders (Milo and Nessa) join him.

In Sword and Shield, Kabu was first seen with most of the other gym leaders at the opening ceremony of the gym challenge, which was held at Motostoke Stadium. When the time came for Victor/Gloria and Hop to challenge the third gym, Kabu was busy training against Water-type Pokémon at Galar Mine No. 2. The purpose of the training session was to prepare himself to battle the gym challengers. When they found him, Kabu had just defeated several members of Team Yell who had been bothering a wild Carkol. He found it inexcusable that they got in the way of the Pokémon's hard work. Kabu explained himself to the gym challengers and, as it was getting late, advised them to stay at the local inn for the night. while he escorted the Carkol to its home. The next day, Kabu was faced and defeated by Hop and then Victor/Gloria. He conceded his defeat with dignity and gave each of them a Fire Badge. He also called Milo and Nessa over to join him in seeing them off. At some point, he was also challenged and beaten by Bede and Marnie.

Later on, Kabu and most of the gym leaders competed in the tournament that made up the Finals of the Championship Cup. Kabu's first match was against Piers, and he lost. Afterwards, he returned to Motostoke and started training his team all over again. An incident soon arose in which various stadiums were attacked by wild Pokémon that had been forcibly Dynamaxed. Kabu had evacuated his stadium, and he received back-up from Victor/Gloria, Hop and Piers. Together, the four of them took down the Pokémon that had been attacking his stadium, a Torkoal. Kabu proceeded to take care of the Pokémon and thanked Victor/Gloria by giving them the rare version of his League Card. As the champion, Victor/Gloria could also hold tournaments at Wyndon Stadium, at which Kabu could appear as a competitor (either through invitation or at random). Kabu could also be seen visiting the Isle of Armor and was among the trainers who could take part in Galarian Star Tournaments. In the Star Tournament, he could potentially partner up with Milo, Nessa or Peony, and he became available as a potential partner for Victor/Gloria after winning three iterations of the tournament.

Pokémon Roster

Kabu is shown with the following Pokémon:

• Ninetales
• Arcanine
• Torkoal (tournament only)
• Salazzle (tournament only)
• Centiskorch (Gigantamax)

Centiskorch is also the Pokémon he uses during the team raid battle. During the Galarian Star Tournament, he uses Arcanine, Torkoal and Centiscorch.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Kabu made several small appearances in the Pokémon: Twilight Wings series of anime shorts. He was first seen jogging in the background in one episode. During the final episode, he was seen working out while contributing to a video montage of testimonies about Leon. He was also seen jogging with his Centiskorch and arriving at the Galarian Star Tournament in the series' bonus episode.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Kabu appeared during the Sword/Shield arc with a similar role as in the game.
• Kabu appeared in several episodes of the Pokémon Horizons anime. Roy and Liko trained with him for a while, and Kabu scolded Liko for holding back during a battle, which he saw as disrespectful to the opponent. He was also depicted with an apprentice.

Trivia

• His name, which is the same in both Japanese and English, could refer to any of several Japanese words: "ka" (fire), "kabu" (turnip) and/or "kabuto" (helmet, the word also having inspired the names of the Pokémon Kabuto and Kabutops).
• Kabu's League Number is 187, the Japanese pronunciation of which refers to a word meaning "spark".
• His rare League Card shows him when he was younger, and its description consists of an excerpt of an interview from his younger days that he gave while recovering from a losing streak.
• His Pokémon are kept in Ultra Balls.