Lance

Lance in Pokémon: FireRed and LeafGreen Versions.
Lance
Species	Human
Affiliation	Elite Four (Kanto/Johto)
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Brown
Relatives	Dragon Clan Master (Grandfather) Clair (cousin)
Voiced by	Bill Millsap (2019)
Debut	Pokémon: Red/Green Versions

This article is about the Pokémon character, for the Fire Emblem character, see Lance (Fire Emblem).

Lance is a famous trainer of Dragon-type Pokémon who prominently appears as a recurring opponent in the Pokémon series, being the last member of the Elite Four to be battled in the first generation games and its champion in the second generation games. He is very passionate, and aside from using his Pokémon in competitions, he also uses them to defeat wrong-doers and dispense justice.

Background

Lance hailed from Blackthorn City in Johto and descended from a clan of dragon users, being the grandson of the clan's leader. He valued Dragon-type Pokémon for their mythical nature and considered them to be practically indestructible. He eventually became the leader of the Elite Four that was shared between Kanto and Johto. This meant that he was the fourth and final opponent faced by prospective champions, aside from any current standing champion.

Generation I

In Pokémon: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen Versions, Lance was challenged and defeated by Blue and then Red. After Red defeated him, Lance acknowledged him as a Pokémon master, but told him that he had to defeat Blue in order to become a Pokémon League champion. Red succeeded in winning the championship and could also return to take on the Elite Four in rematches (where they had some new Pokémon in their rosters in FireRed/LeafGreen). In a Fame Checker message sent to Red, he considered returning to his hometown and re-training his Pokémon to become even stronger.

Within the Let's Go! remakes, he was instead challenged by Trace and then Chase/Elaine. It was then decided that Chase/Elaine and Trace would battle each other to decide the new champion, although he briefly joked that Professor Oak was the actual standing champion they'd have to battle. Lance could also be fought in rematches in these versions.

Generation II

Over the next three years, Lance stopped being an official member of the Elite Four and instead took them on to become the new Pokémon League Champion. In Pokémon Gold, Silver Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver Versions, he initially met up with Ethan/Lyra while investigating suspicious occurrences at the Lake of Rage. Lance convinced them to help him in foiling Team Rocket's latest plot. Together, they discovered the Team Rocket base hidden beneath Mahogany Town and shut it down, with Lance also defeating the trainer's rival, Silver, in the process. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, Ethan/Lyra and Lance also worked together in a team battle against Arianna and a grunt. After the base was shut down, Lance thanked the trainer by giving them HM 06: Whirlpool.

Ethan/Lyra later made their way to the Elite Four headquarters. After defeating the Elite Four, they defeated Lance to become the new Pokémon League Champion. He realized that instead of feeling angry at his loss, he felt happy to witness the rise of a new champion. Lance commended Ethan/Lyra for their skills and registered them and their Pokémon in the Pokémon League Hall of Fame.

Afterwards in HeartGold and SoulSilver, Lance and Clair appeared in the Dragon's Den when Silver began his training there. Lance recognized Silver from the Team Rocket hideout and apologized for being in a hurry while battling him, but Silver decided to challenge him to a battle. Lance proposed a double battle for fun, suggesting that he and Ethan/Lyra go up against Silver and Clair, but Silver refused to team up with her. Instead, Ethan/Lyra and Silver took on Lance and Clair. After they were defeated, Lance congratulated them and left.

Later Appearances

Lance made a return appearance in Pokémon: Black and White Versions 2 as a competitor in the Champions Tournament of the Pokémon World Tournament held at Unova, as well as in a special download tournament called "Challenge the Champion Lance!", in which he was the final opponent.

Pokémon Roster

Generation I

Lance specializes in Dragon-type Pokémon. Since there are very few Dragon-type Pokémon, he also uses many Pokémon that resemble dragons or are related to them in some way. The following is his original line-up in the first generation games:

• Gyarados
• Dragonair (two)
• Aerodactyl
• Dragonite

In FireRed and LeafGreen, Lance altered his roster in rematches with Red by replacing the two Dragonair with a Kingdra and another Dragonite. In Let's Go!, his two Dragonair were replaced by a Seadra and a Charizard. For rematches, he also added an Alolan Exeggutor and would Mega Evolve his Charizard into Mega Charizard X.

Generation II

Lance in HeartGold/SoulSilver.

In Gold/Silver/Crystal/HeartGold/SoulSilver versions, his roster was identical to that of his original match except that both Dragonair were now Dragonite (bringing him up to three Dragonite), and a Charizard was added to his team. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, he used the following roster for rematches:

• Salamence
• Gyarados
• Garchomp
• Altaria
• Charizard
• Dragonite

In the double battle against Athena, Lance simply uses his Dragonite. In the his and Clair's double battle with the player character and Silver, he uses Gyarados, Charizard and Dragonite.

Generation V

In the Pokémon World Tournament, his potential roster could include some or all of the following Pokémon:

• Dragonite
• Salamence
• Kingdra
• Hydreigon
• Haxorus
• Flygon

For "Challenge the Champion Lance!", his roster consisted of Haxorus, Hydreigon and Dragonite.

In Other Pokémon Games

Lance appeared as an opponent in the Gym Leader Castle of Pokémon Stadium, along with the other members of the Elite Four. In the first round he used Gyarados, Dragonair, Aerodactyl, Lapras, Charizard and Kangaskhan. In the second round his team consisted of Arcanine, Snorlax, Lapras, Electabuzz, Charizard and Kangaskhan. He was also in the Pokémon Stadium 2 Gym Leader Castle and was the final enemy in the Johto area, as this appearance was inspired by Gold/Silver/Crystal. In this game, Lance fought with Charizard, Gyarados, Aerodactyl, Dragonite, Steelix and Tyranitar in Round 1. He instead used Arcanine, Kangaskhan, Aerodactyl, Dragonite, Feraligatr and Tyranitar in the second round.

Lance also appeared in Pokémon Puzzle Challenge as the final boss, similar to his role in Gold/Silver/Crystal. He used a Dragonite in battle.

Pokémon Masters EX

In Pokémon Masters EX, Lance and his Dragonite appeared as a playable sync pair, and they were available to be recruited at random during limited time periods through the Sync Pair Scout feature. Lance also had several variants that were only available during limited time periods: a New Years 2021 variant of Lance wearing traditional clothing that was paired with a Gyarados and was first available in January 2021, as well as one of Lance in his default outfit that was paired with Dragonair instead, which was first made available in May 2023. Lance was also shown to have at least two Dragonair, as in the original games. When fought as an opponent, Lance could also be seen using different Pokémon such as Aerodactyl, Charizard, Feraligatr and Altaria.

He was featured in the Story Event "Two Champions", where he had just recently arrived in Pasio and sparked rumors about whether he or Cynthia would win in a battle. Lance himself was found training by the beach, where he had bested Clair in a training match. He joined Scottie/Bettie and Rosa for a battle, but he was not interested in proving who was "the greatest". Still, upon meeting Cynthia, they decided to battle as Pokémon trainers anyway. It was arranged for them to battle in a stadium, but Clair and Iris intervened, in hopes of proving themselves as well. Lance and Cynthia both teamed up with Scottie/Bettie to battle them and defeated them. Afterwards, they realized that their Pokémon were tired enough from the day's battles that they decided to put their battle off for another time, and Lance also felt that the finals of the Pokémon Masters League would be a better setting for their battle. Although he did not make a full appearance during the PML arc of the Main Story, it is known that his team made it to the semifinals before being defeated offscreen by Red's team. During the Villain Arc, he made appearances in the Kanto and Johto chapters, where he helped in battles against members of Team Rocket.

He played a supporting role in the Legendary Event "Pure Hearts and Rainbow Wings", where he encouraged Silver during his search for Ho-oh and tried to convince him that he had changed for the better. The New Years variant appeared during the "Season's Greetings" Story Event, where he worked with Lillie and used his Dragonite to deliver holiday cards to Pasio's trainers. He was also featured in the "Shining Heart of Dragons" Story Event, which revolved around a match between Iris and him during a Festival of Champions. He was featured in Part 2 of "Trainer Files: Kanto Elite Four", in which he let a kid play with one of his Dragonair and took part in a training battle in which he and Agatha battled Bruno and Lorelei. Afterwards, they were called to deal with a Team Rocket disturbance.

Lance was also featured as an opponent in the game's Champion Stadium mode, for both the Kanto and Johto Challenges. In those challenges, which emulated the Elite Four battles from each region, he appeared in his capacity as a member of the Elite Four and as a champion, respectively.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• He has appeared in the Pokémon anime, in which he is part of a secret organization called the Pokémon G-Men that investigates and arrests those who mistreat Pokémon. He first appeared in several episodes of the Johto series based on the Mahogany Town battles with Team Rocket in Gold and Silver, in which Lance ended up catching the Red Gyarados from the Lake of Rage. Lance made another appearance in the Hoenn series, where he helped to quell the situation when Groudon and Kyogre were awakened. After a lengthy absence, he reappeared in the 2020 Pokémon Journeys series, where he battled Leon of the Galar region in the final match of the World Coronation Series at Wyndon Stadium. Lance used his Gyarados and was able to Dynamax it, but he ultimately lost to Leon's Gigantamax Charizard. Lance also revealed that he trained at Galar's Dragon-type Gym (at Hammerlocke) in the past and that it was the inspiration for his outfit.
• Lance was featured in the Pokémon Adventures manga as the main villain of the Yellow arc, with the rest of the Elite Four as his partners. He is revealed to have been born in Viridian Forest with the forest's powers (due to his father going against tradition and marrying a Viridian woman instead of someone from the clan) which include telepathic contact with Pokémon and the ability to heal Pokémon. He is motivated by his zealous desire for Pokémon to inhabit the earth that started when he saw a Dratini dying from pollution as a child and sets his plans into motion to summon Lugia with an island-sized amplifier of the eight gym badges' powers, with which he planned to destroy nearly all of mankind. He is ultimately challenged by Yellow and Blaine, and is briefly defeated by Giovanni until he retreats once Lugia is summoned. After Lugia disappears, Lance does as well. He briefly resurfaces in the Gold/Silver/Crystal arc, where he is shown to have mentored Silver in his battles against Team Rocket, and despite Silver's distrust of him, Lance teaches the boy important lessons about caring for his Pokémon. Lance later appeared in the HeartGold/SoulSilver chapter, where he sought to stop the new Team Rocket's plan to revive Arceus. He manages to enlist the aid of Giovanni and Pryce, with the three of them taking on the three legendary Pokémon serving under Arceus. Lance took on Palkia during the battle. Following the crisis's resolution, Giovanni approves of Lance and Pryce both acting as mentors to Silver.
• In the Pokémon Origins anime, Lance made a brief appearance in one episode depicting his defeat at Red's hands during Red's fight with the Elite Four.
• He also appeared in several episodes of the Pokémon Generations anime. One was based on Blue defeating the Elite Four from the first generation games and depicted Blue's battle with Lance. The other episode was based on the Lake of Rage scenario from the second generation games, in which Ethan and Lance worked together to stop Team Rocket's radio wave generator.

Trivia

• Lance is named after the weapon, which has commonly been associated with a weapon to fight dragons in fairy tales. His Japanese name is "Wataru", which seems to reference the Japanese words for "cotton" and "crossing".
• Lance apparently has a large wardrobe of capes, and buys them from the department store in Celadon City.
• In FireRed and LeafGreen, it is mentioned that Lance's grandfather is the elder of the dragon clan. A common misconception is that this describes Drake - the Dragon-type Pokémon trainer who is the leader of Hoenn's Elite Four in Pokémon: Ruby and Sapphire Versions. It was instead shown in Pokémon: Crystal Version that his grandfather is the unnamed master of the elders living within the Dragon's Den.
• According to one of the Dragon's Den elders, the dragon master looked much like Lance in his youth.
• In Black 2/White 2, Lance is the only Elite Four member (current or former) to compete in the Pokémon World Tournament.
• Lance is alluded to in Sun and Moon, when Professor Kukui recalls when he challenged Kanto's Pokémon League and implies that he lost to the "Dragon user in the cape".
• In Red/Green/Blue/Yellow, his room at the Pokémon League resembled a hallway filled with Pokémon statues on each side. In FireRed/LeafGreen, the room was made smaller and similar to the other rooms, featuring a fighting ring in the center and three statues of fang-like objects on each side of the room. There are still Pokémon statues in the hall leading to his room. Additionally, in most of the games where he is champion (Crystal, HeartGold and SoulSilver), the champion's room is decorated with Dratini statues.