Barry

Barry as seen in Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Versions
Barry
Species	Human
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Orange
Base	Twinleaf Town
Relatives	Palmer (father) Mother
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl Versions

Barry is the rival character featured in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions.

Background

Barry was a hyperactive young child who was always in a rush. His tendency to run off unexpectedly seems to have come from his father. Palmer, who was the Tower Tycoon of the Battle Zone's Battle Tower. Barry was determined to prove himself by defeating his father, which inspired him in his road to become a Pokémon trainer. He lived at Twinleaf Town with his mother, and he was best friends with his neighbor Lucas/Dawn, whom he often dragged off to participate in mischievous schemes.

Such an event occurred in the beginning of Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, when Barry decided to drag his friend off to Lake Verity in search of rare Pokémon. When they arrived at the lake, they witnessed Professor Rowan and his assistant Dawn/Lucas just as they were leaving. They noticed Rowan had left behind his briefcase, but just as they went to retrieve it, they were attacked by wild Pokémon. They each borrowed one of the three Pokémon (Turtwig, Chimchar or Piplup) to fend off the Pokémon. The professor's assistant arrived in time to witness this, but Rowan was not angry and instead invited them to his lab. Barry rushed there first, where Rowan told him he could keep the Pokémon. He then ran off before Professor Rowan could give him a Pokédex.

Barry then traveled to Jubilife City and spent some time at the Trainer's School. His friend came to him there with a parcel from his mother, which contained two town maps. Barry kept one for himself and let Lucas/Dawn keep the spare. He then confronted his friend when they were about to leave Jubilife, and challenged him to a battle to test his prowess. Barry traveled and began defeating several gym leaders, while occasionally running into his friend along the way. He challenged him again at Hearthome City and Pastoria. He also came to admire Crasher Wake after meeting him.

At Canalave City, Barry battled Lucas/Dawn again. After his friend defeated the gym leader there, Barry brought his friend up to a meeting with Professor Rowan and his assistant at the Canalave Library. With Team Galactic attacking one of the three lakes, it was decided that the trainers would split up and each travel to a different lake to investigate. Barry was sent up north to Lake Verity. There, he was defeated by the Galactic Commander Jupiter and retreated in shame, while swearing to become stronger. Barry later arrived to help Lucas/Dawn in the final Team Galactic battles atop Mt. Coronet, and they engaged Jupiter and Mars in a double battle. Afterwards, Barry healed his friend's Pokémon and left.

Barry confronted Lucas/Dawn once more outside the Pokémon League headquarters. After his friend defeated the Elite Four, Barry travelled with them on a boat to the Battle Zone. Pearl endeavored to become strong enough to challenge his father at the Battle Tower, although it was unknown if he ever reached this goal. He first got caught up in the race for the Magma Stone, and he was defeated by Buck, which gave him a loss in confidence. Afterwards, he spent all weekdays training in Stark Mountain, and every weekend he could be challenged outside the Battle Park. In Platinum, he would also visit the player's villa immediately after they bought it. He was impressed by it, asking if his friend was rich now and then leaving to tell everyone about it.

Pokémon Roster

Barry uses the following Pokémon throughout the battles:

• Turtwig/Grotle/Torterra or Chimchar/Monferno/Infernape or Piplup/Prinplup/Empoleon - Barry's starter Pokémon is whichever one has a type advantage against the player character's starter Pokémon. It evolves into its second form by the Hearthome City battle and the third form by the Mt. Coronet double battle.
• Starly/Staravia/Staraptor - Starly is first used by Barry in the Route 203 battle. It evolves into Staravia by the Canalave City battle
• Ponyta/Rapidash - Ponyta is first used by Barry in the Hearthome City battle and evolves into Rapidash by the Pokémon League battle. It is only used if Barry has Turtwig or Piplup as his starter.
• Roselia/Roserade - It is first used in the Hearthome City battle and evolves into Roserade by the Pokémon League battle. It is only used if Barry has Chimchar or Piplup as his starter.
• Buizel/Floatzel - It is first used in the Hearthome City battle and evolves into Floatzel by the Pokémon League battle. It is only used if Barry has Turtwig or Chimchar as his starter.
• Heracross - Barry first uses it in the Canalave City battle.
• Munchlax/Snorlax - Barry first uses Munchlax in the Mt. Coronet double battle. It evolves into Snorlax by the Pokémon League battle.

Other Appearances

• In the Pokémon anime, the character of Barry was introduced during the Diamond/Pearl episodes. He has the same hyperactive personality and is childhood friends with Dawn, but does not remember her. He traveled with Ash Ketchum and acted as a rival to him, as well as admiring Paul for his training strategies, although Barry still cares for his Pokémon. His starter Pokémon was a Piplup which eventually evolved into an Empoleon. He made it up to the second round of the Suzuran Conference until he lost his battle with Paul, but he remained friendly afterwards.
• In the Pokémon Adventures manga, the character of Pearl is based on him. Diamond (Lucas) and Pearl are introduced in the Diamond/Pearl arc as a pair of traveling comedians who, through a mix-up, are confused with two bodyguards who are supposed to escort Miss Platinum Berlitz (Dawn) to Mt. Coronet. They initially play along, believing it to be part of a reality tv show, but they eventually begin to realize the truth. Of the two, Pearl is better at battling.

Trivia

• In the Japanese version, "Shigeru" (the Japanese name for Gary/Blue) is given as one of the default names. However, "Gary" only appears as a default name in the German and Italian versions.
• Barry was one of the default names listed for him in both Diamond and Platinum. That name was used for his anime incarnation, and it was re-confirmed as being his canonical name within the games when he appeared in Pokémon Masters.
• Barry holds the high score at the Pal Park (which is 2,000).