Janine

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

Janine is a gym leader introduced in Pokémon: Gold and Silver Versions, the second generation games of the Pokémon series 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 Fuchsia 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 Ethan/Lyra. She then gave them 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 the challenger and Koga. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, she would later appear at the Pokémon League Reception Gate every day from 4 to 6, bringing lunch to the busy Koga, and Ethan/Lyra could exchange Pokégear numbers with her as well as take photographs with her there from 6 to 10. When Ethan/Lyra calls her on Mondays (between the hours of 10AM and 8PM), 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, arguing with Falkner about which of their fathers was a better trainer.

Janine returned in Black and White 2 as a competitor in the Pokémon World Tournament, taking part in the Kanto Leaders, World Leaders and Type Experts challenge. She continued to seek to improve herself so that she could surpass her father and her other challengers, and to consider herself to be a full-fledged trainer.

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

In Black 2/White 2, Janine's roster can include Venomoth, Weezing, Crobat and Tentracruel, as well as Ariados and Arbok (in the Gym Leaders Tournament) or Roserade and Nidoqueen (in the World Leaders and Type Experts Tournament).

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

• Her English name, Janine, is made from switching the syllables of the word 'ninja'. Her Japanese name is Anzu, which is Japanese for 'apricot'.
• She also makes a cameo appearance in FireRed and LeafGreen Versions, taking place when Koga was still leader of the gym. She is found behind the Chansey pen in Fuchsia City.
• In the American version of FireRed and LeafGreen she is erroneously referred to as Charine.
• She is the only gym leader to have not made an anime appearance, although it is believed that the character may be 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.