N

N
Species	Human
Affiliation	Team Plasma
Hair color	Green
Eye color	Green
Base	N's Castle
Relatives	Ghetsis (adopted father)
Voiced by	Daman Mills (2020)
Debut	Pokémon: Black/White Versions

N is the rival character of Pokémon: Black and White Versions who also acted as the king of Team Plasma. He is one of the game's primary antagonists, but this turns out to be due to Ghetsis's manipulations.

Background

N was an apparent orphan who was discovered in a forest by Ghetsis, who chose to raise him as the heir of Team Plasma. He was kept in a very childish playroom within his castle that served as his entire world. He seemed to have limited contact with other humans, such as a Athena and Concordia, who provided a nurturing presence. In order to make him believe in Team Plasma's goal of liberating Pokémon from human trainers, Ghetsis often sent Pokémon to spend time with N. All of these Pokémon were used or abused in some way and had bad memories of people. N considered himself to have been raised by these Pokémon and from them gained an ability to communicate with Pokémon. He was able to get along with Pokémon much better than with people. N was said to have a pure and innocent heart, but this also helped him to be more dangerous.

Black/White

The time came when N was crowned the king of Team Plasma. As Ghetsis and the other Seven Sages decided, their goal was to have N become the hero to awaken one of the two legendary Dragon-type Pokémon of Unova - either Reshiram or Zekrom - and use it to establish control over Unova after defeating the Pokémon League. N could then use a combination of authority, and inspiration to make all of Unova's trainers give up their Pokémon, which would then be separated from people forever. He hoped to accomplish all of this without force and without hurting others. He then traveled around Unova as Team Plasma sought a way to revive the legendary Pokémon.

N first met Hilbert/Hilda at Accumula Town in the aftermath of a Team Plasma rally. He tried to talk to Black/White's Pokémon, only to be surprised and confused when the Pokémon apparently told N that they were happy to be with their trainer. After being defeated by the trainer in a battle, N tried to tell them that Pokémon could never come perfect beings in Poké Balls and left. This encounter had placed the seeds of doubt in N's mind,. They met again at Nacrene City, where N told Hilbert/Hilda about his desires to see the truth of Pokémon inside Poké Balls, the ideals of how trainers should be and a future where Pokémon have come perfect. He then fought the trainer to see if they could see the same future as him. After losing again, N saw that his friends weren't strong enough and that his equation for saving the world was incomplete, so he would need the power of the legendary Pokémon. N also met with Hilbert/Hilda at Nimbasa City's amusement park, where he had them ride the ferris wheel with him. During this ride, N confided in them that he was the king of Team Plasma and told them about the group's aspirations. He said that he saw a future that he must change, so he endeavored to defeat the Pokémon League's champion and become unbeatable.

At Chargestone Cave, N encountered Hilbert/Hilda and mused about how this would be a perfect place if it were not for people. He told them about how he had Ghetsis's Shadow Triad look into Hilbert/Hilda as well as their friends Cheren and Bianca to learn about them. They had learned that Hilbert/Hilda was a neutral presence, which meant that Ghetsis would want to see the type of trainer they really are. N remarked about how gray the world was and so swore to split things up so that black and white would be distinct, which he believed would make it possible for Pokémon to become perfect beings. He was defeated again and realized that he could not pursue his ideals through something as worthless as a battle. N would find a different way of befriending the legendary Pokémon. Before he left, Professor Juniper arrived, and N attempted to tell her off for her creation of the Pokédex, which he considered disgusting for the way it split Pokémon into categories as an attempt to understand them. Juniper tried to explain her point of view, but he refused to tolerate the existence of a world in which people treating Pokémon however they wanted led to Pokémon suffering.

N also ran into Hilbert/Hilda outside Mistralton City's Pokémon gym, where he lamented how trainers only really used Pokémon for battles, and he called the Pokémon gyms competitions that only increased the Pokémon suffering. He then analyzed Hilbert/Hilda and their relationship with their lead Pokémon. He ended up admitting that their relationship was good, and that if everyone treated Pokémon that way, he would be able to watch over the future of Pokémon without separating them from people. As it was, Ghetsis was looking into the Light and Dark Stones which contained the two legendary Dragon-type Pokémon, so that he could change the world without force. N also admitted that the idea of people like Hilbert/Hilda being separated from their Pokémon did break his heart a little. Soon afterwards, N went to Dragonscale Tower when Team Plasma discovered that one of the stones was kept there. N made his way to the top of the tower and awakened Zekrom from the Dark Stone (in Black) or Reshiram from the Light Stone (in White) when it recognized him as a hero. Hilbert/Hilda arrived at this moment, and N explained his plans to use the dragon to defeat the Pokémon League, which would make it the last Pokémon to hurt others. However, he also suggested that Hilbert/Hilda try to find the other Dragon-type, become a hero as well and use it to stop him if they believed so strongly in their Pokémon, as he foresaw a future in which Hilbert/Hilda used that Pokémon to interfere with his formula for changing the world.

N actually stalled his attack on the Pokémon League in order to give Hilbert/Hilda time to find the opposing Dragon-type. His reasoning seemed to be that he wanted to recreate the tale of the twin heroes who battled with those same dragons due to their opposing ideals years ago. His actual private reason was that Hilbert/Hilda had made him doubt his mission so much that he wanted to give the trainer a chance to defeat him and prove that his vision of the relationship between people and Pokémon was flawed. He eventually made his way to the Elite Four and defeated them all. He then challenged and defeated Alder, the champion. N knew how Alder had wandered Unova after one of his Pokémon died of an illness and admitted he kinda liked him for that, but he refused to listen to Alder's attempts to change his mind. Hilbert/Hilda arrived just as N defeated Alder, and Team Plasma caused N's Castle to rise above the Pokémon League as a symbol of their domination. N retreated into the castle's throne room to await his challenge from Hilbert/Hilda. Only after that would he issue his command as champion for the trainers to release their Pokémon.

Hilbert/Hilda soon reached N's throne room, but N was disappointed that Hilbert/Hilda had found the other dragon-type's stone but not yet awakened it. N realized he might have been wrong about Hilbert/Hilda and gave them a chance to run away. But at that moment, the trainer's stone finally reacted and awakened as the other Dragon-type Pokémon, Reshiram (in Black) or Zekrom (in White). N waited patiently while Hilbert/Hilda actually caught the Pokémon, healed his Pokémon afterwards as a sign of honor, and then they finally battled. The battle ended with N's defeat and his realization that Hilbert/Hilda's feelings truly were stronger than his. He pondered what it meant for there to be two heroes at the same time and began to realize that the true formula for changing the world laid in accepting different ideas instead of rejecting them. Ghetsis then shunned N for losing, dismissing him as unworthy of the Harmonia name and openly called him a number of insulting names, including referring to him as a "warped, defective boy". Ghetsis battled Hilbert/Hilda at this point to silence them so no one in the world would know of N being defeated, and he openly admitted to having manipulated N. Team Plasma was truly planning to keep their Pokémon for use in oppressing the masses.

N watched as Hilbert/Hilda defeated Ghetsis as well. Alder and Cheren then took Ghetsis away while N was left with Hilbert/Hilda. N confided all the changes that Hilbert/Hilda had inspired in him over the course of the games, realizing that he did not really understand his beliefs and could not measure up to them. N then departed from Unova, riding atop Zekrom/Reshiram in order to decide what he should do next. He asked Hilbert/Hilda to carry on his dream for him and make it a reality. Later on, Looker sought N and left to investigate a sighting of him with a Dragon-type Pokémon in an unspecified faraway region.

Pokémon Roster

Although they may not count as his Pokémon, the opening cutscene shows N as a child with a Zorua, a Darmanitan and a Woobat. Within the actual game, N always has a different roster of Pokémon each time the player meets him which usually consists of Pokémon from the local area, giving the implication that he is constantly catching Pokémon and releasing them soon afterwards, which matches his ideals.

• First Battle (Accumula Town): Purrloin.
• Second Battle (Nacrene City): Pidove, Timburr and Tympole.
• Third Battle (Nimbasa City): Sadile, Scraggy, Darumaka and Sigilyph.
• Fourth Battle (Chargestone Cavern): Boldore, Ferroseed, Joltik and Klink.

Only in the final battles does N have a full Pokémon roster:

• Reshiram (White) or Zekrom (Black)
• Carracosta
• Vanilluxe
• Archeops
• Zoroark
• Klinklang

At the end of the game, Reshiram or Zekrom is the only Pokémon N is known to keep; he retains it until Black 2/White 2, when he gives it away after a battle.

Black 2/White 2

As alluded to above, N's initial Pokémon when battled in this game is only his Legendary Pokémon (either Reshiram) or Zekrom. After being defeated, he would revert his Legendary Pokémon into stone form and send it back to Dragonspiral Tower, so that Nate/Rosa could catch it for themselves.

After the player has defeated/caught his Reshiram/Zekrom, N would use different Pokémon teams for rematches depending on the season:

• Spring: Politoed, Lanturn, Tentacruel, Omastar, Kabutops, Starmie
• Summer: Ninetales, Arcanine, Rapidash, Shiftry, Ninjask, Leafeon
• Autumn: Hippowdon, Gastrodon, Cradily, Armaldo, Scizor, Rhyperior
• Winter: Abomasnow, Vanilluxe, Cloyster, Mamoswine, Froslass, Glaceon

Vanilluxe is the only returning Pokémon from the original two versions in these rosters. His spring and winter rosters are also the only times that N has teams specializing in one Pokémon type (Water and Ice, respectively).

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters, N and Zekrom appeared together as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the game's Sync Pair Scout feature during limited time periods, starting in December 2020. There was also an Anniversary 2021 variant of N that wore a white suit and was paired with Reshiram instead, which also had limited availability starting at the end of August 2021. He has also been featured in several of the game's events. In the Story Event "The Ideal Formula", N arrived on Pasio and was reunited with several figures from Unova. This ultimately resulted in him being reunited with Hilbert (who was treated as the Black/White protagonist) while they fended off a trap set by Team Break, who made a failed attempt to make N join them.

He was later featured in the Legendary Event "Father or Foe", where Ghetsis and Kyurem came to Pasio. Ghetsis attempted to convince N that he has turned over a new leaf and wanted to truly be a family. N consulted others for advice, including Nate, Silver and Alder. Ultimately, he decided that the two of them would battle to determine if Ghetsis's heart truly had changed. Ghetsis immediately showed his true colors once Zekrom was released, immobilizing it with help from Giovanni's Mewtwo and seeking to fuse it with Kyurem. Giovanni sabotaged this plan in order to take both of the Pokémon for himself, and Alder then intervened to save Zekrom. While the others urged N to retreat, he ultimately decided to help Ghetsis fend off Giovanni, for the sake of protecting Kyurem. Nate also fought by their side for the battle. Afterwards, N decided to let Ghetsis go and hoped that he could truly change someday, but he also stood prepared to take Ghetsis down if he ever set a plan into motion against the people of Pasio. He also commended Nate for his level of empathy, even going as far as to cry in N's place.

N's anniversary variant was featured in the Solo Event "Hearts United". At the Unity Gala, Lear showed support for N's ideology about Pokémon and had him make a small speech about the importance of bonds with Pokémon before his battle. N initially attempted to challenge Scottie/Bettie to a battle, only to be interrupted by Hilbert and Hilda, who both wanted to challenge N instead. N ultimately decided to make it into a double battle, with him and Scottie/Bettie against Hilbert and Hilda.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon anime, N initially appeared late in the Black/White-based series. In this series, he was recruited to Team Plasma and used by Ghetsis to summon Reshiram in the past, but Reshiram had gone into a rampage and destroyed Team Plasma's based. Anthea and Concordia helped him to escape, and they acted as his allies while he wandered on his own instead of acting as a Team Plasma member. He acted as an ally to Ash during his appearances and helped to defy Team Plasma. Ultimately, he was able to talk Reshiram down from a rampage after Ghetsis angered it again. N was shown to be opposed to Pokémon battling in general, but he still built up a respect for Ash Ketchum.
• In Pokémon Adventures, N was featured in the Black/White and Black 2/White 2 arcs. His role and story is similar to that in the game, but with some expansion and new details. N was shown to be disgusted by even the concept of the Pokédex, and at the end of the first arc, his released Zorua returned to him, which helped to aid in his change of heart. The second arc also included a darker moment where N saved Ghetsis's life, only for Ghetsis to reject N's affections and beat him unconscious. At the end of the arc, N was shown to have been arrested by the International Police. While released on bail, he helped to return the Pokémon stolen by Team Plasma to their original owners.
• In Pokémon Generations, N was featured in one episode which was based on the Giant Chasm scenario from Black 2/White 2. he was shown battling Ghetsis's Kyurem with Reshiram, only for Ghetsis to ultimately use the DNA Splicers to fuse them together. The episode ended with N's relief as Hilbert arrived with Zekrom.
• N was featured in the fourth episode of Pokémon Evolutions. This episode depicted a number of scenes based on the games. It showed N as a child when Ghetsis first met him, his crowning, one of the speeches he gave for Team Plasma, his discovery of the Dark Stone and his defeat of Alder. It ended just as his battle with Hilda was about to begin.

Trivia

• Junichi Masuda has stated that N is named after the "natural number", a mathematical term used to describe primarily positive integers.
• Junichi Masuda has revealed various tidbits about N through his Twitter account, some of which include his full name and possible parentage. He has additionally mentioned that N is a genius with a high average IQ above average people and could be considered a math wizard, but he is prone to "mood swings" which seems to be reflected in his occasionally erratic in-game behavior. Masuda has mentioned that N also has the ability to see the past and future of people.
• The object on N's belt seems to be a Menger spone or a Void Cube, the former being a geometric figure while the latter is a puzzle similar to the Rubicks Cube. Both of these supplant N's connection to mathematics.
• Interestingly, he was able to fight though the Elite Four and the champion without having earned any known badges, although he most likely forced his way in with Zekrom/Reshiram.