Janine

The Poisonous Ninja Master
Janine
Species	Human
Hair color	Black
Base	Fuschia City Gym
Relatives	Koga (father)
Debut	Pokémon: Gold Version/Pokemon: Silver Version

Janine is a gym leader introduced in Pokémon: Gold Version and Silver Versions as a new Kanto gym leader.

Background

Janine was the daughter of Koga, the ninja Pokémon trainer. To follow in her father's footsteps, Janine studied ninjutsu and began training poison-type Pokémon. Her training eventually paid off, as when Koga was promoted to the Elite Four, Janine became the new gym leader of the Fuschia City gym. To confuse incoming trainers, the other trainers in Janine's gym used illusions to look like Janine.

Eventually in Gold, Silver and Crystal (as well as the HeartGold and SoulSilver remakes), she was challenged and defeated by Gold. She then gave him the Soulbadge as well as TM06: Toxic (or TM 84: Toxic Jab in HeartGold and SoulSilver). She vowed to improve her skills to become better than both Gold and Koga. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, she would later appear at the Pokémon League Reception Gate on Friday nights, where Gold could exchange Pokégear numbers with her. When Gold causes her on Wednesday mornings, she will travel to Saffron's Fighting Dojo for a rematch. Additionally, she is seen at Saffron's department store on Mondays during the day, talking with Falkner.

Pokémon Roster

Janine has the following Pokémon in Gold, Silver and Crystal (as well as the first battle in HeartGold/SoulSilver):

• Crobat
• Weezing (2 in Gold/Silver/Crystal, 1 in HeartGold/SoulSilver)
• Ariados (2 in HeartGold/SoulSilver)
• Venomoth

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, she uses the following Pokémon roster for rematches:

• Crobat
• Weezing
• Toxicroak
• Ariados
• Venomoth
• Drapion

Other Games

Janine appears in Pokémon Stadium 2 as the fifth opponent in the Kanto Gym Leader's Castle. She uses Tentacruel, Weezing, Ariados, Crobat, Gligar and Stantler in the R1 match, and then Muk, Vaporeon, Meganium, Crobat, Girafarig and Forretress in the R2 battle.

Other Appearances

• Janine appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga, where she succeeds her father as gym leader after his disappearance in the Gold/Silver/Crystal arc. However, she is shown to be uncertain of her purpose due to lacking a master and sought her father for guidance. She was first seen in a chapter battling Suicune and relating to it about needing a master. During the competition between the gym leaders of Kanto and Johto, she battled Falkner, who similarly had issues with a missing father, but she forfeited the match when she abandoned the arena after seeing what she thought was Koga in the audience, but he was gone by the she reached the audience.

Trivia

• She also appears in Pokémon: FireRed and LeafGreen Versions, taking place when Koga was still leader of the gym. She is found behind the Chansey pen in Fuschia City.
• In the American version of FireRed and LeafGreen she is instead called Charine for unknown reasons.
• She is the only gym leader to have not made an anime appearance, although it is believed that the character is based off of Aya, Koga's younger sister and student in the anime continuity. Oddly enough Aya reappears in one of the Johto episodes where Janine could easily have been used instead.