Riley
| |
| Riley in Diamond and Pearl | |
| Riley | |
| Species | Human |
| Hair color | Dark Blue |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Relatives | Rye (possible ancestor) |
| Debut | Pokémon: Diamond/Pearl Versions |
Riley is a Pokémon trainer who appears as a temporary double trainer Pokémon and extra opponent in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions, as well as the remakes Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Background[edit]
Riley was a powerful Pokémon trainer. At one point, Byron apparently asked him to a gym leader position, but Riley declined because be believed that Byron's son Roark should be considered first (it is uncertain if this refers to the Oreburgh gym, in which case this offer happened before Roark became its leader, or the Canalave gym, in which case it refers to Byron's future successor). In the fourth generation games, he was initially found training at Iron Island; at one point he referred to it as his mine, but it is uncertain if he meant that he literally owned the island's mine.
When Lucas/Dawn met him, Riley noted that it was odd for him to be training in the mine, but he offered to team up in traveling through the mine and heal their Pokémon after each battle due to the wild Pokémon being unusually restless. They soon found the cause of the Pokémon's behavior when they met and battled a pair of Team Galactic grunts. After they defeated Team Galactic, Riley gave the player a Riolu egg (as well as HM 04: Strength in Platinum) and left to test his skills in other places.
Afterwards, he appeared in the Battle Zone, where Lucas/Dawn could choose him as a partner when taking on the Battle Tower. This was omitted in Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, in which he could only appear in the Battle Tower as an opponent for double battles while teamed up with Marley. In Platinum, he would also appear in the Battleground cafe on random days following completion of the Stark Mountain sidequest, where he could be battled. He was also present as a Battle Tower partner at Johto's Battle Frontier in HeartGold and SoulSilver.
Pokémon Roster[edit]
In the Iron Island double battles, Riley uses only a Lucario.
During the Battle Tower challenges, Riley's two Pokémon will be selected from a random pool of Pokémon including (in addition to Lucario) Poliwhirl, Machamp, Rhydon, Gyarados, Dragonite, Heracross, Ursaring, Tyranitar, Blaziken, Breloom, Slaking, Hariyama, Medicham, Absol, Salamence, Metagross, Infernape, Rampardos, Garchomp, Toxicroak, Rhyperior, Mamoswine, Gallade and Regigigas. In Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, the Pokémon he could use for his double battle include Lucario, Salamence, Metagross and Garchomp.
At the Battleground in Platinum, Riley uses the following roster:
- Absol
- Salamence
- Metagross
- Ursaring
- Lucario
Other Appearances[edit]
Other Media[edit]
- Riley has appeared in two subsequent episodes of the Pokémon anime set on Iron Island, where he specialized in Steel types and studied the Steel Pokémon on Iron Island. He was revealed to be an Aura Guardian who could use Aura effectively, and after they helped Ash and his friends in foiling Team Galactic's plans for the island, Riley decided to help Professor Carolina study the island. The character Sir Aaron from the eighth Pokémon movie (released prior to the fourth generation games) also bares striking resemblance to Riley, but it is unclear which character was created first and which may have been based on the other.
- He appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga, first making a cameo appearance at the end of the Emerald arc on a boat to Sinnoh. In the Diamond/Pearl arc, he helped to train Diamond on Iron Island at Byron's request. He later made a brief appearance at the arc's end at Mt. Coronet, where he cornered Sird, but she managed to escape. He reappeared in the Platinum arc, where he helped Palmer to track Team Galactic's members to the Distortion World.
Trivia[edit]
- His English name is derived from "rye" and may also be intended to be evocative of Riolu's name. His Japanese name is Gen, named after a type of brown rice.
- His Platinum animation implies that he can use Aura in the game continuity as well. This would make him the only known human Aura user within the game continuity.
- Each of the five double battle partners throughout the fourth generation games specialize in a different stat; Riley's Pokémon excel in Attack.
- In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a character named Rye appears who physically resembles Riley and only uses a Lucario in battle. His English and Japanese names are also similar to Riley's respective names. This implies that Rye is an ancestor of Riley. After completing Rye's request, brimmed hats similar to Riley's will go on sale at the clothier's.