Volkner

"The Shining, Shocking Star!"
Volkner
Species	Human
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Base	Sunyshore City
Relatives	Ginter (possible ancestor)
Voiced by	Chris Hackney (2020)
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl Versions

Volkner is the eighth and final gym leader of the Sinnoh region who is featured as an opponent in the fourth generation games of the Pokémon series: Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions, as well as the remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. He specializes in Electric-type Pokémon,

Background

Volkner was the gym leader of Sunyshore City. He had an affinity for electric-type Pokémon ever since he had one of his Pokémon use a Thunderbolt move to win his first gym badge. Because of that, he felt that when he used Electric-type Pokémon, he would never forget how happy that victory made him. Volker was known for being good friends with Flint of the Elite Four as well as for being Sinnoh's top gym leader. However, Volkner eventually lost his passion for Pokémon battling due to a lack of good challengers coupled with problems caused by Sunyshore's blackout. He tried to renovate his gym, but this also caused some of Sunyshore's residents to complain that he was wasting too much electricity on the gym when the city needed it.

In the fourth generation games, Flint enlisted the aid of Lucas/Dawn in re-igniting Volkner's passion for battling. Volkner would be found by the trainer at the top of the Vista Lighthouse and agreed to let them challenge him. Due to his need for thrilling battles, he declared that if this battle could not restore his passion, he would leave Sunyshore and attempt to challenge the Elite Four. Volkner ultimately lost his battle with Lucas/Dawn, and it was successful in restoring his battling spirit. He remarked never that he could not remember having as much fun in a battle and felt sure the trainer's team would keep on going to new heights. Lucas/Dawn received the Beacon Badge and TM 57: Charge Beam from him.

In Platinum, he would later appear at the Battle Zone during its grand opening, having been roped into coming by Flint. Volkner and Flint would engage Lucas/Dawn and Barry in a double battle upon their arrival in order to test them. After being defeated, Flint was left speechless, so Volkner opted to speak for him. Volkner congratulated the trainer on their progress and then left to escort Flint home. After that event, he would possibly appear in the Battleground, where he could be challenged to a rematch. He and Flint would also visit the player's villa on random days, and Volkner would comment about ideas to renovate the gym, his background as well as his relationship to Flint, simply saying that there was "no love lost" between the two. In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Volkner could be challenged to rematches at his gym instead, and he could also appear as an opponent at the Battle Tower for single and double battles. He was paired with Flint for the double battles.

Volkner reappeared in Black and White 2 as one of the competitors in the Pokémon World Tournament. He took part in the Sinnoh Leaders, World Leaders and Type Expert Tournaments, as well as the special download tournament called "Gathered! Gym Leader!".

Pokémon Roster

Volkner uses the following Pokémon for the Gym Challenge in Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl:

• Raichu
• Ambipom
• Octillery
• Luxray

In Platinum, his roster is similar, except that Ambipom and Octillery have been switched out for Jolteon and Electivire. He also uses Luxray, Jolteon and Electivire during the double battle with Flint.

In Platinum, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Volkner uses the following Pokémon for rematches:

• Jolteon
• Raichu
• Luxray
• Lanturn
• Electivire
• Pelipper (Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl)

For matches at the Battle Tower in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, the Pokémon he uses could include Luxray, Electivire,Magnezone, Wash or Heat Rotom, Gyarados, Swampert and Zapdos.

For tournament fights in Black 2 and White 2, his roster could include Electivire, Luxray, Raichu, Rotom (specifically Fan Rotom in Type Expert and World Leaders), Jolteon and Electrode. In "Gathered! Gym Leader!", he uses Electivire, Eelektross, Galvantula and Zebstrika.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters EX, Volkner and his Luxray appeared as a playable sync pair that could be recruited at random through the Sync Pair Scout feature starting at the end of September 2020. There was also a New Years 2022 variant where he wore a festive outfit and was paired with Electivire, which was available during limited time periods starting in January 2022. When battled as an opponent, he would sometimes sync up with other Pokémon such as Jolteon, Octillery and Rotom. He was featured in the Story Event "The Eccentric Electrician", in which he challenged Scottie/Bettie and Clemont to battles in an attempt to raise Flint's spirits after he had been burned out, while also contending with several blackouts. Volkner did this as repayment for Flint helping him when his spirits were down in Sinnoh. After Flint was revitalized, the two of them were able to easily fend off members of Team Break together. It also turned out that Volkner had done some of his eccentric renovations to nearby machines, which may have contributed to the blackouts. In his New Years variant, he was featured in the "New Year and New Friends" Story Event, in which he and Sabrina teamed up to take part in a New Year's Battle Tournament and to cause some electrical problems that were being caused by Electric-type Pokémon. It ultimately turned out that Volkner's Electivire was the root of an issue, and he proceeded to pester Lear for permission to modify Pasio's generators. He later caused a blackout while trying to help Jasmine prepare for a party in the "Shine a Gentle Light Story Event", which also revealed that Jasmine had met Volkner during her visit to Sunyshore City. Volkner was also shown collaborating with Clemont, Sophocles and Molayne on several matters relating to machinery. They deactivated Lysandre's weapon in the "Give and Take" Story Event, and Rose courted them to make inventions based on sync stone energy to promote his campaign to take control of Pasio in the Galar chapter of the Villain Arc, but they ultimately parted ways due to restrictions that Rose had put in place about what they could do.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Volkner was introduced in two subsequent episodes of the Pokémon anime. The first episode showed his past, and depicted that he had been childhood rivals with Flint who grew into close friends. He was shown to be responsible for most of Sunyshore's technological advances, but eventually became bored with battling and began giving out Beacon Badges for free until Ash convinced him to accept his challenge by battling Flint. The next episode centered on Ash's battle with Volkner until it was interrupted when Team Rocket stole Sunyshore Tower. Ash was able to defeat them, but he and Volkner than agreed that they would wait until the gym and tower were repaired to have a rematch. A later episode showed the rematch, which Ash was able to win. Volkner reappeared during the Pokémon Journeys series as a competitor in the World Coronation Series who was ranked in 27th place. Ash fought and defeated him once again, and Volkner foresaw Ash making it high in the rankings. He was later seen watching a feed of Cynthia and Iris's battle in the Masters Eight Tournament with Flint.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Volkner appeared during the Diamond/Pearl arc, and he was shown as the most distant of the gym leaders. His gym renovations had caused the Sunyshore blackout and delayed him from receiving Byron's call to train Platinum, Maylene and Candice to fight Team Galactic, a job he accepted out of boredom. Volkner nearly walked out due to being unimpressed by his fights with them, but Platinum was able to fight him with enough intensity that he was inspired and agreed to train them. After Platina beat him in battle, he relinquished the Beacon Badge. Volkner was the only gym leader who did not participate in the final battle at Mt. Coronet, although the end of the arc showed he was going to investigate the Distortion Zone portal at Sendoff Spring, and he invited Flint to come along. This was followed up in the Platinum arc, where they helped in the battle against Giratina and ended up delivering the final blow to it.

Trivia

• His English name is likely a play on the word "volt" and also sounds similar to "Volker", a German name that means "defender". His Japanese name is "Denji", which is similar to the Japanese words for the European waterclover and "electromagnetic".
• In Pokémon: Black and White Versions, Volkner is mentioned by Shauntal of the Unova Elite Four as a past challenger. This implies that Volkner challenged Unova's Elite Four at some point in the past.
• In Platinum, he claims that he did not join the Elite Four because they chastised them not to renovate the Pokémon League building. He also claims that he prefers the gym leader experience due to being able to meet ordinary people.
• In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the merchant character Ginter has an appearance based on Volkner's. His face and hair look very similar, and he is depicted sitting in a position to Volkner's from the official artwork for Diamond/Pearl. This implies that he may be an ancestor of Volkner's.