Korrina

"The Evolution fighter!"
Korrina
Species	Human
Affiliation	Pokémon League (Kalos)
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Gray
Base	Shalour Gym
Relatives	Gurkinn (grandfather)
Voiced by	Ryan Bartley (2019)
Debut	Pokémon X/Y

Korrina is a Gym Leader of the Kalos region who acts as a recurring opponent in Pokémon X and Y. The third Gym Leader to be faced in the game, she specializes in Fighting-type Pokémon and is also the successor to a family that passes down knowledge of Mega Evolution.

Background

Korrina and her grandfather Gurkinn were believed to have been descended from the first known trainer to have Mega Evolved a Pokémon, which was specifically a Lucario. Korrina ended up raising two of that same Pokémon and was able to Mega Evolve one of them. As the successor to the family, Korrina helped her grandfather with his research and also helped to test prospective trainers at the Tower of Mastery, in order to determine if they were worthy of Mega Evolution. Despite that responsibility, she kept a light-hearted attitude and sometimes pretended to be more serious as a joke, such as referring to herself as Lady Korrina. She was always seen in roller skating gear and sometimes traveled around Kalos to train. She also acted as Gym Leader of Shalour City's gym, where she held the Rumble Badge. Her gym was designed to resemble a giant roller rink.

During the events of X/Y, Calem/Serena ran into Korrina several times, while she was out and about to train with her Lucario. They first met at Route 5, and then again at Geosenge Town. It became clear that Korrina's second Lucario had taken a liking to Calem/Serena's aura and wanted to test their strength through the battle. The young trainer was able to beat both of Korrina's Lucario in a battle, and Korrina understood that Lucario's interest in them. Afterwards, they met again at the Tower of Mastery, where she helped her grandfather to explain some things about Mega Evolution. At the time, Gurkinn had only one Mega Ring to give out to a potential Mega Evolution trainer, and so Korrina was set to test if Calem/Serena was worthy. First, Calem/Serena challenged and defeated Korrina at the Shalour Gym, at which point she gave them the Rumble Badge and TM 98: Power-Up Punch.

Following the gym battle,, they had one more battle at the Tower of Mastery. For that battle, Calem/Serena was allowed to try the Mega Ring. Korrina also saw that her second Lucario wanted to fight for that trainer, so she made the battle into one between both Lucario, in which both could Mega Evolve. Calem/Serena managed to defeat her, and Korrina allowed them to keep the Mega Ring as well as the Lucario. She felt confident that Calem/Serena could forge the bonds that helped Mega Evolution and could help fill the world with smiles.

Korrina could also appear at the Battle Chateau for rematches after the player had obtained the rank of Marquis/Marchioness. There, she held the same rank of Marchioness.

Pokémon Roster

• Lucario - Korrina initially has two Lucario, with both of them having Lucarionite and thus both being able to Mega Evolve. She does not Mega Evolve either for the Geosenge Town battle, however, and neither of them are used in the gym battle. For the Tower of Mastery battle, as stated above, she gives her second Lucario (and its Lucarionite) to the player while she keeps and Mega Evolves her Lucario for the one-on-one battle. After the player has beaten the Elite Four, she starts using her Lucario (with Lucarionite) for Battle Chateau rematches.
• Mienfoo - She only uses this Pokémon for the gym battle.
• Machoke/Machamp - She uses Machoke for the gym battle. As Machamp, she uses it for Battle Chateau rematches prior to the player defeating the Elite Four. After that point, she swaps it out for Lucario.
• Hawlucha - She uses this Pokémon for the gym battle and Battle Chateau rematches.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Korrina and her Lucario appeared as a playable sync pair that could be recruited through Chapter 6 of the Main Story's PML Arc, with her Lucario being capable of Mega Evolving when using a sync move. She also had a Sygna Suit variant that was paired with Marshadow which could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout during limited time periods, starting in July 2022. For her appearance in Chapter 6 of the PML Arc, Scottie/Bettie's team sought out Korrina in order to train in preparation for the Pokémon Masters League. Korrina agreed to treat them to a training session with help from Brendan (who was referred to as her friend), and the session ended with a battle against Korrina herself. Korrina then decided to join the player's team, because she felt that they were having a fun time and saw this as a way to battle Scottie/Bettie at any time. She also made minor appearances in several Story Events, such as using her Pokémon to help break a rock in "Pasio Eggsplorers", her acrobatic performance losing against Fantina's dancing during a talent competition in the "Town Square Street Fair" Solo Event and working as part of Hilda and Diantha's team during the "Poké War Games" Costume Event. In the "Strongest Fighters" Solo Event, Korrina (in her Sygna Suit) trained alongside Gloria and Bea for an upcoming tournament for Fighting-type sync pairs. They then met Bruno and Chuck, who provided them with advice and Rage Candy Bars.

Korrina also appeared in Pokémon Unite as one of the trainers who appeared as opponents during the Legacy Trainer Showdown event that initially ran in September 2022. She used Lucario in battle.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Korrina has made recurring appearances in the Pokémon anime. She has been notable for appearing more than any other Gym Leaders in the series, aside from Giovanni and the Gym Leaders who have acted as Ash's training companions. In the X/Y-based series, she accompanied Ash's group for a number of episodes while learning more about Mega Evolution and was later defeated by Ash in a gym battle. She also made other appearances later in the series, including helping in the effort to destroy the Giant Rock in the series' climactic arc. She reappeared in the Pokémon Journeys series, where she was shown to be taking part in the World Coronation Series. She lost battles to Ash and Bea, and she ended up befriending the latter and supporting both in their battles. She also gave Ash a Mega Glove and helped him out when he was trying to Mega Evolve his Lucario.
• Korrina appeared in the Pokémon Adventures manga as a supporting character during the X/Y arc. She helped in various battles against Team Flare throughout the arc, but she also became mad at her grandfather for giving a Mega Ring to X without a proper ceremony. She also ended up having to destroy the Tower of Mastery in order to protect the secrets of Mega Evolution.

Trivia

• Her Japanese name is Corni, which is derived from the French word from gherkin, which matches her grandfather's namesake. Her English name of Korrina seems to be based on the same word, while also being evocative of the words "KO" and "arena", which reflect her role as a Fighting-type trainer.
• When fought at the Tower of Mastery, she has the unique title of Successor.
• Aside from Giovanni, Korrina is the only Gym Leader who the player battles prior to the official gym battle.
• She is the only Gym Leader in X/Y who uses Mega Evolution.
• Korrina's Key Stone is kept in her Mega Glove, which is the glove that she wears on her left hand.
• There are several other factoids claimed about her in the Gym Freaks program: she dresses up in costumes and has also spent years preparing a PR Video that was scheduled for release at the end of the next year. It was also claimed that she was capable of shattering a rock with an axe-kick.