Volkner

"The Shining, Shocking Star!"
Volkner
Species	Human
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Blue
Base	Sunyshore City
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Versions

Volkner is the eighth and final gym leader of the Sinnoh region who must be battled in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions. 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 Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, 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. However, 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.

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 and Platinum:

• Raichu
• Ambipom (Diamond/Pearl only)/Jolteon (Platinum only)
• Octillery (Diamond/Pearl only)/Electivire (Platinum only)
• Luxray

Out of those Pokémon, Volkner uses Luxray, Jolteon and Electivire during the double battle with Flint in Platinum. In Platinum, Volkner uses the following Pokémon in Battleground rematches:

• Jolteon
• Raichu
• Luxray
• Lanturn
• Electivire

For tournament fights in Black 2 and White 2, his roster could include Electivire, Luxray, Raichu, [[[Rotom]], Jolteon and Electrode. In "Gathered! Gym Leader!", he uses Electivire, Eelektross, Galvantula and Zebstrika.

In Other Pokémon Games

In Pokémon Masters, 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. He was also featured in the "The Eccentric Electrician" Story Event, 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.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Volkner was introduced in two subsequent episodes of the Pokémon anime. The first episode showed his past, and that he had been rivals with Flint since childhood and that they had grown into 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 battle 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.
• 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 Platina, 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 Platina 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 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 word for "electromagnetic".
• In Pokémon: Black and White Versions, Volkner is mentioned by Shauntal of the Unova Elite Four as a past challenger. This seems to imply that Volkner challenged Unova's Elite Four at some point.
• In Platinum, he claims that he did not join the Elite Four, because they chastised them for not renovating the Pokémon League building. He also claims that he prefers the gym leader experience due to being able to meet ordinary people.