Lance

Lance in Pokémon: FireRed and LeafGreen Versions.
Lance
Species	Human
Affiliation	Elite Four
Hair color	Red
Eye color	Black
Relatives	Clair (cousin), Drake (possible grandfather)
Debut	Pokémon: Red Version/Pokemon: Green Version

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 hails from a clain of dragon users. He is known for his involvement of the Elite Four. He is very passionate, and aside from using his Pokémon in competitions, he also uses them to defeat wrong-doers and dispense justice.

Background

Originally, Lance was the leader of Kanto and Johto's Elite Four. In Pokémon: Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen Versions, Lance was the last member of the Elite Four battled by Red. Afterwards, Lance considering returning to hometown to train his Pokémon.

It is presumed that he followed that course, as Lance was no longer a member of the Elite Four in Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal Versions. Lance challenged the Elite Four and successfully defeated them to become the Pokémon League Champion instead. He later met up with Gold while investigating suspicious occurrences at the Lake of Rage. Lance convinced Gold to help him in foiling Team Rocket's latest plot. Together, Gold and Lance discovered the Team Rocket base hidden beneath Mahogany Town and shut it down (and Lance also defeated Gold's rival, Silver, for him). Lance thanked Gold by giving him HM 06: Whirlpool.

Gold later made his way to the Elite Four headquarters. After defeating the Elite Four, Gold defeated Lance to become the new Pokémon League Champion. Lance then commended Gold for his skills and registered him and his Pokémon in the Pokémon League Hall of Fame.

Pokémon Roster

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 Gold/Silver/Crystal versions, his roster was identical except that both Dragonair were now Dragonite (bringing him up to three Dragonite), and a Charizard was added to his team.

Other 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 and 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 League as the final boss, similar to his role in Gold/Silver/Crystal. He used a Dragonite in battle.

Trivia

• 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. This may be referring to one of the old men who gives the dragon user challenge in the Dragon's Den in Pokémon: Crystal Version. However, it may also be referring to Drake - the Dragon-type Pokémon trainer who is the leader of Hoenn's Elite Four in Pokémon: Ruby and Sapphire Versions.
• Lance has made two appearances in the Pokémon anime, although none involved him as a member of the Elite Four. He is shown as a secret agent who infiltrates organizations like Team Rocket to foil their plots. He first appears in several episodes of the Johto series based on the Mahogany Town battles with Team Rocket in Gold and Silver, and Lance also catches the Red Gyarados from the Lake of Rage. Lance made another appearance in the Hoenn episodes.