Cheren

Cheren in Black and White.
Cheren
Species	Human
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Blue
Debut	Pokémon: Black Version/Pokemon: White Version

Cheren is one of the two friendly rival characters who were featured in Pokémon: Black and White Versions. He was more intellectual and cynical compared to the bubby Bianca. The two of them accompanied the player character for most of their Pokémon journey in Unova.

Background

Cheren lived with his parents at Nuvema Town and was friends with Hilbert/Hilda and Bianca since childhood. He was a very intelligent and punctual boy who extensively studied Pokémon. Cheren was also known for his honesty, but he was honest to the point where he often wound up being blunt or rude to others. He anticipated the day that he would become a Pokémon trainer, as he hoped to become the champion. Cheren felt that only then would he truly feel alive and that it would validate his existence. After their mothers talked with Professor Juniper, it was decided that it was time to give the three children their first Pokémon and send them off on their first Pokémon journey. A gift box containing the three starter Pokémon was sent to Hilbert/Hilda's house. Cheren arrived to get his Pokémon, but they had to wait for the perpetually late Bianca. Hilbert/Hilda got first choice, and Bianca then picked for both herself and Cheren. Cheren objected to this, but at the same time he realized that the one she picked for him was the one he wanted anyway. When Hilbert/Hilda and Bianca decided to have a first battle, Cheren tried to point out the logical flaw of fighting in a bedroom. They went ahead regardless and the room was wrecked by the Pokémon battle. Bianca suggested that Cheren battle Hilbert/Hilda next since he had enough control to not mess up the house anymore. He agreed to this challenge and whether he won or lost his first battle, the room was not further damaged in the process. Cheren still made sure that they apologized to Hilbert/Hilda's mother about the mess and found that she was fine with it. They then went to Professor Juniper's laboratory to receive their Pokédexes, with Cheren guessing some of her topics before she brought them up. They then went to Route 1 for a Pokémon catching lesson. Along the way, they received town maps from Hilbert/Hilda's mom, and Bianca made sure that they took the first step of their journey at the same time. After Professor Juniper demonstrated how to catch Pokémon, Cheren added on her lesson and then took part in Bianca's suggested contest of seeing who could catch the most Pokémon on Route 1.

They then went to Accumula Town, where Cheren decided to skip out on Professor Juniper's latest lesson because he already knew about Pokémon Centers. He and Hilbert/Hilda witnessed Ghetsis's rally for Team Plasma's cause. Cheren's beliefs in Pokémon were not shaken by this speech, nor by the ensuing encounter with N, whom he considered to be weird and could barely understand due to his fast talking. Cheren then moved on to Striation City so that he could begin to challenge gym leaders and become stronger. At Striation, he spent some time studying in the Pokémon Trainer's School and had another battle with Hilbert/Hilda so that he could test the usage of items. He lost and gave the trainer some berries along with instructions on how to use them. After earning the Trio Badge by beating either Cilan, Chili or Cress, he moved on to Route 3 and challenged Hilbert/Hilda to another battle after he saw that the trainer had also earned the Trio Badge. He wondered why Hilbert/Hilda kept winning, since they should be equals in strength, but they were soon alerted about Team Plasma having stolen a preschooler's Pokémon. Cheren and Hilbert/Hilda found the thieves in Wellspring Cave, and they wound up teaming up to beat two Plasma Grunts in a double battle. He had confidence in their bond, and they were able to win, after which Cheren continued to question Team Plasma's philosophy. They returned the Pokémon to the preschooler, who was being tended to by Bianca, and after telling Hilbert/Hilda about dark grass, he went ahead to Nacrene City. At Nacrene City, he showed Hilbert/Hilda to the Pokémon Center and gave him some advice about berries and the gym leader, Lenora. Cheren and Bianca both showed up by the museum (which contained Nacrene's gym) just after Team Plasma members had run off with the Dragon Skull that was on display. Lenora had Cheren and Bianca stay behind to watch over the museum. Cheren most likely challenged and defeated Lenora shortly after that ordeal was resolved.

Cheren's next stop was Castelia City, where he defeated Burgh before Hilbert/Hilda. He waited at Route 4 and engaged the trainer in another battle, which he lost. Cheren realized that Hilbert/Hilda's strength came from their bond with their Pokémon and saw that he could still get more out of his own Pokémon. Professor Juniper then contacted them over the Xtransceiver and called them to the gate to Nimbasa City, where she gave them some Ultra Balls and told them about Nimbasa's gym leader, Elesa. Cheren felt grateful to Professor Juniper and decided to express this by returning to Route 4 in search of Pokémon that he had not yet caught. Cheren next encountered Hilbert/Hilda at Route 5 after both of them had earned a Bolt Badge from Elesa, and they battled again while waiting for Elesa to take them to the Driftveil Drawbridge. Cheren was frustrated when he lost again, but Elesa soon arrived to guide them. They were interrupted by Alder, who tried to sidetrack them into a festival, and Cheren was shocked to learn that he was the current champion due to the way he was "goofing off" at a festival. Alder noted his judgmental remark and began to ask Cheren about his goals. Cheren told him that he was motivated only by trying to become the strongest trainer, and Alder politely questioned his philosophy by bringing up the importance of loving Pokémon. He attempted to prove his point by having Hilbert/Hilda and Cheren fight a pair of Preschoolers. They won with ease, but the losing children were still content. Alder used this example to enforce the validity of just having fun being with Pokémon as opposed to being intent on the pursuit of strength. Cheren adamantly stuck to his belief that the champion was the strongest to the strong. Elesa brought them to Driftveil Drawbridge and had it lowered so that they could cross over into Driftveil City. Entering Driftveil, their path was blocked by the gym leader, Clay. Some captured Team Plasma members had escaped in the confusion while Clay was lowering the drawbridge, so he held the two young trainers responsible and ordered them to find the escaped members. Cheren was irritated by this at first, but he went along with it because he saw that they would have gone after Team Plasma regardless, even though Cheren thought he could get stronger without fighting them. They found Team Plasma hiding in Cold Storage and fought through the grunts, with each of them taking down half. Clay's men then arrived to round them up, and Cheren once more criticized Team Plasma's philosophy. Outside Driftveil Gym, they witnessed Ghetsis convincing Clay to release the Team Plasma members into his custody. Cheren was just relieved that they did not have to fight in the middle of the city, and he then set off to do training in preparation for his battle with Clay, which he hoped to make a flawless victory.

He eventually defeated both Clay and Skyla, and he next ran into Hilbert/Hilda outside Twist Mountain. Cheren was defeated again and was met by Alder, who described their battle as a fine one. Cheren was bothered by this description because he considered himself to have lost due to his weakness. Alder continued to probe Cheren's motives for becoming champion and noted his resemblance to Marshal. He told Cheren that knowing what one wanted to become was important, but that what one does with the newfound power from becoming champion would be just as important. Alder distributed an HM03: Surf to each of them and left. Cheren was uncertain of the answers to Alder's questions and merely resolved to continue questing for strength for the time being. Cheren then explored Twist Mountain with Hilbert/Hilda after Clay freely invited them to train within the mountain while also warning them of Team Plasma's movements being unknown. Cheren naturally confronted a Team Plasma grunt near the mountain's exit and seemed to dispatch the enemy just as Hilbert/Hilda arrived. He was concerned about the grunt's mentioning of a new power that the team was acquiring, but he decided to stay at Twist Mountain for a while and think over Alder's worlds regarding what he wants to do with his power when he gets it and why he wants to be strong to begin with.

Cheren later had a talk with Bianca in which he pondered several questions about whether or not something about him has changed and if he had really become stronger or if it was just his Pokémon. They met with Hilbert/Hilda outside Icirrus Gym following the trainer's defeat of Brycen, and Bianca tried cheering Cheren up by pointing out that the three of them were reunited. They were then confused by Brycen's sudden shouting until they saw that he was referring to the Shadow Triad who wear hiding nearby. The Shadow Triad delivered a message from N saying that he was waiting for Hilbert/Hilda at Dragonspiral Tower. Cheren immediately set off for the tower with Brycen to see what was going on there, and they wound up holding off a wave of Team Plasma grunts so that Hilbert/Hilda could proceed upwards unhindered. They arrived at the top of the tower where they witnessed Cheren flying off on the legendary dragon Pokémon (Zekrom in Black or Reshiram in White). He was flabbergasted by the idea that N could be a legendary hero and by N's challenge for Hilbert/Hilda to find the other legendary dragon. Brycen calmed Cheren down and pointed out that figuring out their next move was more important than analyzing what just happened. The three of them convened with Bianca and Cedric Juniper back by Icirrus City, and they were soon joined by Alder, who warned them about the destructive power of the legendary Pokémon. Cheren started to realize that being able to do something for people or Pokémon in such a time of trouble is strength, which comes from Pokémon, and he then decided to accompany Alder to the Relic Castle in search of the second dragon's stone.

Despite leaving first, Cheren arrived at the Relic Castle late and commended Hilbert/Hilda for their speedy arrival. He was then able to navigate the Relic Castle and caught up to Hilbert/Hilda just as they had arrived in the room where Alder was confronted Ghetsis. Once the stand-off with Ghetsis ended, the three of them took the conversation outside, where Cheren voiced his anger towards Team Plasma. While Hilbert/Hilda and Alder then went to Nacrene City to check out Professor Juniper's last finding, Cheren chose to stay at the Desert Resort and seemed to continue looking for the lost stone. He presumably stopped after receiving word that Hilbert/Hilda had acquired the stone (the Light Stone in Black and Dark Stone in White) from Nacrene Museum. Cheren showed up again with Bianca at Route 10 after hearing from Drayden and Professor Juniper that Hilbert/Hilda was en route to the Pokémon League (presumably after winning his eighth gym badge from Drayden or Iris), where N would be making his move. Cheren decided to battle the Hilbert/Hilda once more just to make sure that the trainer was truly ready. After being defeated, Cheren complimented Hilbert/Hilda and made sure they knew he was sincere. He offered to help Hilbert/Hilda in any way that he could. Bianca chastised Cheren for his frequent seriousness and tried to point out how much they had all changed over their journey. Cheren acknowledged this and said that he had come to think that people and Pokémon are there to help each other out. He then left to keep training and becoming stronger so that he could help Hilbert/Hilda and Alder.

Cheren managed to defeat the Elite Four in order to reach the champion's room shortly after Hilbert/Hilda arrived, and N had already beaten Alder. Cheren tended to Alder while N's Castle emerged nearby. Cheren and Alder entered the castle and found Hilbert/Hilda as the trainer was fighting Ghetsis. After Ghetsis was beaten, Cheren considered Ghetsis's ramblings to be a waste of time, and while Ghetsis tried to convince them that he had molded N into a heartless freak, Cheren was only convinced that Ghetsis was the heartless one. Cheren and Alder then escorted Ghetsis away, but he was swept away by the Shadow Triad before Cheren and Alder could bring him anywhere. Cheren and Bianca met with Hilbert/Hilda again at Nuvema Town after Looker had talked to the trainer. Bianca apologized for what she perceived as her big failure during the whole crisis, but Cheren rebutted by blaming Ghetsis's escape on his own shortcoming. Cheren was more concerned about Bianca's next move, and after she departed, he decided to restart his journey at Route 1. He looked forward to new discoveries and the possibility of finding the missing Seven Sages.

Hilbert/Hilda could meet Cheren again at Route 5, where he reflected on his definition of strength had changed over the course of the journey. For this, he thanked the trainer as well as Bianca, Alder and N, and he hoped that N could see this as well someday. Cheren then went to Victory Road to enter a heavily self-reflective training. Once Hilbert/Hilda met Cheren there, he mentioned how difficult it was to confront the unflattering parts of one's self. A confrontation with Marshal followed in which he he assured Cheren that even if he lost a battle, it would not matter as long as he continued to surpass himself. Cheren asked if he was using Alder's words, and Marshal admitted that he was borrowing them. Regardless, Marshal encouraged Cheren to become stronger and challenge him, as he wanted more confident challengers. After losing again, Cheren thanked Hilbert/Hilda and said that he saw what was missing in himself. He decided to continue battling many trainers and Pokémon like this until he learned what kind of person he was, so that he could open up his own path that he was sure would lead him to become the person he was meant to be. Cheren then reflected on the role that Pokémon played as their important friends. He could be challenged to occasional rematches afterwards.

Pokémon Roster

• Snivy/Servine/Serperior, Tepig/Pignite/Emboar or Oshawott/Dewott/Samurott - In traditional rival fashion, Cheren's starter Pokémon will be the Pokémon with a type advantage over the starter that the player had already chosen. His Pokémon undergoes its first evolution prior to the Route 4 battle and its final evolution by the Route 10 battle.
• Purrloin/Liepard - Purrloin is first used during the Striaton City battle. It is evolved by the Route 4 battle.
• Pidove/Tranquill/Unfezant - Cheren first uses Pidove during the Route 4 battle. It evolves into Tranquill by the Route 5 battle and into Unfezant by the Twist Mountain battle. He has the male version.
• Pansage/Simisage, Pansear/Simisear or Panpour/Simipour - Out of the three elemental monkeys, Cheren will receive one of a type that is weak against his starter and is the same type as the monkey that the player Pokémon can receive. Cheren's monkey is first used during the Route 4 battle and evolves by the Twist Mountain battle.
• Gigalith - Cheren uses this Pokémon only during the final battle and rematches at Victory Road.
• Haxorus - Cheren uses this Pokémon only during the final battle and rematches at Victory Road, rounding out his six-Pokémon team.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Cheren has been featured as a supporting character for the Black/White arc. Cheren and Bianca were shown in flashback to be childhood friends of Black who were driven to become Pokémon trainers by Black and his overwhelming ambition, and the two of them also had to vouch for Black so that Professor Juniper would appoint him the third Pokédex holder. Although Cheren and Bianca both received their own Pokédexes, they both stopped working after Black accidentally dropped them in water. His starter Pokémon in this version is Snivy (a departure from the games in that it has a disadvantage against Black's Pokémon) since Bianca said it resembled him. The three traveled together until Striation City and went down separate paths after White gave them their own Xtransceivers.

Trivia

• HIs name is taken from the Bulgarian word for "black". This is complemented by Bianca's name, which means "white" in reference to the version colors.
• His catchphrase is "What a bother."
• Cheren notably makes sure to heal the player's Pokémon before most battles.