That we forget to appreciate the journey,
Especially the goodness of the people we meet along the way."
Ash and his friends meet a lot of people along their Pokemon journey. Here are all (well, as many as I can remember) the minor characters, most of whom were only in one episode.
Samurai - this kid is a bug catcher, he challenges Ash and gives him his first real battle. His known Pokemon are Metapod and Pinsir. He lives in Viridian Forest and seems to know his way around pretty well.
Flint - Brock's father. He left home to become a Pokemon Master, but in his absence, his wife died, leaving Brock to take care of his younger siblings. Flint was too much of a coward to return home after failing, but finally does so that Brock can pursue his own dream.
Brock's siblings - Brock has 10 younger brothers and sisters. They all have the eyes that are trademark of that family. ^_^. Brock cares about his brothers and sisters, and they him, even interrupting an official battle to tell Ash not to hurt Onix, as Brock cares about it so much. They also have quirks; Cindy sleepwalks, Susie always tears her dresses, the twins never want to take a bath, etcetera...
Seymour - a scientist who sometimes speaks in poetry, Seymour was studying Mount Moon and the mysterious Moonstone. Ash saved him from some Zubat who were attacking him in broad daylight. Team Rocket had strung lights in the Mount Moon cave, which confused all the Pokemon that depended upon the darkness. Seymour befriended the Clefairy there and encouraged them to fight back when Team Rocket stole their Moonstone. In the end, he decided to live with the Clefairy and Clefable.
Daisy, Lily, Violet - this trio of sisters run Cerulean Gym and perform in their own water shows; synchronised swimming, water ballet, diving, etcetera. Known as the Sensational Sisters, or the Water Flowers (due to their names), they also look after a lot of water Pokemon and fish. Misty is their younger sister, who left home to prove she could be a great trainer. The three girls are a bit patronising to Misty, a bit mean, but they do care about her. They also act a little ditzily, caring a lot about their appearance, fashion and things of that nature. They have Seel/Dewgong, Goldeen, Seaking, Starmie, Horsea, and some others.
Junior trainer - Ash's Pidgeotto beats his Rattata. He tells Ash he might even be able to beat AJ, so Ash goes to check him out...
AJ - he ran an unofficial Pokemon Gym, and after getting 100 consecutive wins with his Sandshrew, left to make his way to the Pokemon League. Ash, with a big ego, challenged him, but Sandshrew easily beat him, being extremely powerful and overcoming weaknesses like water and flying. AJ tamed wild Pokemon, also having Rattata, Butterfree and Beedrill. He trained them hard, using rough techniques, but he did care about his Pokemon and vice versa. He wasn't a very pleasant person, and Ash got angry at him, but they parted on okay terms, Ash promising to beat him next time...
Pokemon League students - they were training Joe nastily, and Ash challenged them, but they refused to fight. I remember reading that these guys resembled characters from another show or video game, but I forget which one.
Joe - Joe was a Pokemon Tech student who studied hard and knew a lot about Pokemon, but he was one of the weakest students in his beginner's class. His Weepinbell lost to Misty's Starmie. In the end, Joe decides to quit school and go on a training journey like Ash. The tough studying system that Joe used was invented by a girl called Giselle, who Joe thinks is very pretty, even if she's not very nice...
Giselle - Giselle is a pretty, snobby girl from Pokemon Tech, the top student in her beginner's class. She beats Misty's Starmie with her Graveler, but Ash beats her Cubone with Pikachu, proving there is more to Pokemon than statistics. Giselle thinks quite highly of herself, making fun of Ash for being a bad, newbie trainer. ALL the males (including James and Ash, who rarely show any interest in any girls) liked Giselle (before they met her) because she was so cute... in the end, she showed a nice streak after being beaten by Ash. She was kind to her Cubone, and told Joe they were friends, when earlier she had told him he was an embarrasment and a failure.
Melanie - Melanie lives away from other people, running a small village for Pokemon in the woods. She cares for sick, injured and abandoned Pokemon, and this community is protected by a strong Bulbasaur. She is a very kind person. However, she thinks the Pokemon are feeling too safe in the village, and that Bulbasaur needs to be able to grow, so she gives it to Ash.
Damien - this young man with a weird accent (I think it's supposed to be British?) and blue hair has a Charmander - among many other Pokemon - that is weak, and displeases him. However, he couldn't seem to get rid of it. Finally, he left Charmander and promised to return for it - but never did, although Charmander loyally waited and waited. He bragged to his mean friends about tricking the Charmander, and nearly got into a fight with Brock about it. He decided he wanted Charmander back after he realised how strong it was, but Charmander recognised his true character and chose to go with Ash.
Bill - the young green-haired scientist with a posh accent, he is a good friend of Professor Oak. He lives alone in a huge lighthouse on the edge of a cliff. He knows heaps about Pokemon, and understands them well. He heard the call of a lonely Dragonite from across the sea and communicated with it, hoping it would come to visit him so he could just see it, and become friends with it. The Dragonite did come, but Team Rocket scared it off. He hopes to see it again.
Rocket thugs - Giovanni's henchmen wear black costumes with red "R"s on them, and seem to basically do the grunt work of Team Rocket. Even Jessie and James were ranked above them, as the thugs took orders from them.
Magician - this nameless man owned a Raticate and beat a Starmie with it. He seemed decent at battle, and was a good winner. Ash and Butterfree challenged him, but when they were about to win, he ended the battle. Not a nice thing to do. He suckered Ash into trading his Butterfree for Raticate with stupid lines about how "trading builds Pokemon friendships all over the world", but was still nice enough to trade back when Ash wanted Butterfree again.
Magician's wife - presumably his wife, this lady just appeared with the magician briefly - giving Brock the opportunity to go starstruck and thus babblingly give Ash bad advice.
Nastina - this ugly, nasty old lady wanted to build on Tentacool territory, not caring about their environment.
' Maiden - a beautiful maiden, many years ago, stood waiting for her lover to return from war. She stood on the edge of a cliff for years - or so the legend goes - until she herself was turned to stone. A Gastly disguised itself as the ghost of the maiden in order to a) scare people, b) keep the real maiden's legend alive and c) earn itself some money. Males - James and Brock - would fall in love with this maiden and be almost hypnotised by her. The Gastly kept in contact with the real maiden's ghost, promising her it would keep looking for her lover.
Old bag - she didn't have a name. She was at Maiden's Peak, warning James and Brock that a beautiful girl (the maiden ghost) would bring them to ruin. She also sold them anti-ghost stickers to protect themselves from the maiden, but these proved useless and were just a tool for her to get money. In fact, the old bag was the same Gastly that played the maiden's ghost.
Sabrina's father - he lives in Saffron City. His own daughter, Sabrina, became obsessed with her psychic powers and pushed him away, finally bordering on being psychotic. This man helped Ash when he was going to challenge Sabrina, also saving his life. He has some psychic powers of his own.
Sabrina's mother - Sabrina turned her into a doll, but after Haunter made Sabrina laugh, and thus enabled her to have emotion, she became a human again and stayed with Sabrina and her husband.
Celadon girls - lots of pretty girls worked in Erika's perfume store and Celadon Gym. They didn't like Ash because he insulted perfume. However, Brock liked them very much. ^_^.
Hop-hop-hop Town people - I don't remember them very well. However, a mother was worried about her lost son, who Ash reminded her of. He, and the other children of Hop-hop-hop Town (boy, that's annoying to type) were hypnotised by modified waves of a Hypno. A fanclub owned Hypno, and used its waves to reduce their stress, as they had busy lives.
Susie - this pretty bluenette owned a breeding store in Scissor Street, and was very famous. She won breeding competitions, had a popular website, and knew loads about Pokemon. Her Pokemon, Vulpix, was a famous Pokemon fashion model. Susie tried to promote inner beauty, and how a Pokemon's personality led to outer beauty. Brock wanted to train under her, but she still wanted to learn more herself. She gave Brock her Vulpix, which led Brock to believe she is secretly in love with him (even if she is so much older ^_^.).
Chansey owner - this person, I can't even tell if they are male or female. >_<. I think they're female, unless they're a rather ODD male. Anyway, this weird person owns a Chansey, and goes to Susie's breeding store often, liking her service.
Anthony - this tough guy was competitive and trained his fighting Pokemon Hitmonchan very hard to win P1, a tournament for fighting types. Ash gave him his Primeape, because he knew Anthony had real skill with fighting types and could help Primeape develop well. Anthony lost P1 because Team Rocket cheated, but decided his family was more important than fierce training.
Rebecca - Anthony's teenage daughter, she asked Ash-tachi to beat her father in P1 so that he would realise his family was important. She wanted to spend more time with her father. After Rebecca risked her life to protect Anthony's Hitmonchan, he realised he should appreciate his family more.
Electricians - two men working in the power plant at Gringy City had some knowledge of electric Pokemon. They met up with Ash and his friends when they were trying to escape from some angry Grimer and Muk.
Dam constructor - a middle-aged man trying to build a dam, but Diglett continually disrupted his efforts. He called upon good Pokemon trainers to stop the Diglett, but they couldn't help. After he learned that Diglett were ruining dam construction because a dam would destroy their forest, he decided to cancel construction.
Aya - a slightly sharp, green-haired ninja girl, who lived and trained at Fuchsia Gym. She owns a Venonat, which is good at spying, but Ash beat it in battle. She is Koga's younger sister and respects him.
Lara Laramie - Lara, of the Laramie clan, had a Ponyta that she was an expert rider of. She was also well-liked around town, and a friendly sort of girl, who had a Southern accent and also owned a Growlithe. She took care of many groups of Pokemon, also herding off poachers. Every year was a Pokemon race, and when she couldn't enter it due to a broken arm, Ash rode for her. Her Ponyta evolved into Rapidash when Ash was riding it.
Dario - this mean boy is Lara's rival, and hired Team Rocket to help him cheat his way to victory in the race. He is a Dodrio trainer and he seems to treat it okay. But he is devious and a bit arrogant. ^_^.
Tomo - this child's real name is Tommy. As a toddler, he was dropped from a helicopter and landed in a Pokemon reserve. He grew up with the Kangaskhan, a regular Tarzan, and became a strong little kid. He had to choose between staying with the Kangaskhan, which he knew, or going with his real parents into the unknown world of humans, but he couldn't decide.
Tomo's parents - the father is a weirdo and a bit rude, but the mother is kind. Since the father dropped Tomo out of the helicopter, they have been looking for them ever since. They decide to live with Tomo and the Kangaskhan.
Tyra - this green-haired tough girl belongs to the Bridge Bike Gang, and her heroine is Jessie. She wants to be just like her. She owns a tough Cloyster. She's nice enough at heart, although she does not appreciate Brock's attentions. ^_^.
Chopper - he has spiky red hair and his hero - sort of - is James. He also goes with the Bridge Bike Gang, and has a Golem.
Duplica - a blue-pigtailed girl who runs the House of Imite, where she and her Ditto do imitations of people and Pokemon. Duplica is an experienced Ditto trainer, learning attacks of all other Pokemon so she can effectively use it in battle. She is about Ash's age and calls him "Ashy-boy", but the two got along pretty well. Her Ditto could not imitate faces properly, making her Imite acts a failure, but it learned to after Team Rocket intimidated it into success.
Mikey - he owns an Eevee which his brothers wanted him to evolve. They thought Eevee were too weak without evolution, and planned an evolution party with Eevee as the star. But Mikey liked his Pokemon as it was. He proved to his brothers that Eevee was strong as an Eevee, and they let off.
Rainer - one of Mikey's weird brothers with bad fashion sense. He has a Vaporeon.
Pyro - another of Mikey's weird brothers with bad fashion sense. He has a Flareon.
Sparky - the third of Mikey's weird brothers with bad fashion sense. ^_^. He has a Jolteon.
Hippie - this Pokeflute playing guy was responsible for waking up many Snorlax when it was time for them to eat before sleeping some more.
Yas/Kas - trainers of these gyms opposed each other in street fights, struggling to gain superiority and thus earn the right to establish their gym in Dark City. But the Pokemon League official said that neither of them deserved to, as they did not respect Pokemon. One gym leader had an Electabuzz, the other a Scyther.
Melvin - Melvin is a magician whose shows lacked charisma and... well, talent. His Pokemon was an Exeggcute but it evolved. He wanted to catch a lot of Exeggutor so he could hypnotise people into liking his shows. One successful trick of his was Raging Fire, which he used to stop stampeding Exeggutor. He is not a bad guy, but a bit cowardly and a bit underhanded. Also, he is kind of a snivelling wimp, despite being middle-aged.
Cassandra - a nice, slightly loud-mouthed girl who cares about Pokemon. She is smart with potions and is trying to create a special one for Pokemon. Her Paras, with Meowth's help, evolved into Parasect so that she could use its mushroom as part of an ingredient in the potion. Meowth had a crush on Cassandra because she helped him when he was sick (and Jessie and James didn't care), and wanted to stay with him, but she believed (gullibly) that Team Rocket were a superhero team, and refused to allow Meowth to part from them, taking a Persian as her mascot instead!
Neon Town civilians - obnoxious people who are strong and fight a lot. They are crabby because Neon Town is a town of lights that "never sleeps" - literally. But after Jigglypuff sings to them, giving them a good rest, they regain some good spirits and make piece with each other.
Dr. Proctor - he is a doctor for humans, but at Ash - and Misty's insistence, treats Pikachu (when there are no Pokemon Centers nearby). Then, also at Ash's insistance, gives up his off-duty time to help a lot of Pokemon who were hurt in a car accident when the Pokemon Center was full. He is a nice, suave sorta guy but a bit of a womaniser, liking Nurse Joy, Jessie, and even shooting Misty a look, despite being an adult. o.o.
James' parents - they only want what's best for them, not their son. They faked their own death to trick him into marrying his horrible fiancee, so that he could marry 'properly' and continue the family line. They are extremely rich, refined and proper, but they are not nice people. They do not care about James.
Jessiebell - James' beastly fiancee, she looks a lot like Jessie, but is even more feral - the worst part is, she doesn't even seem to realise she's a screaming psychopath, she thinks she is refined. She is constantly trying to change James, literally whipping him into shape, and wanting the proper way of doing things, from eating spaghetti to running. -_-. She has a Southern accent.
Farfetch'd owner - I think of him as Keita... he didn't have a name in the English version though. He was a nice enough kid, but good at shamming people with a polite image. He stole Misty - and Team Rocket's Pokemon. He owned a Farfetch'd, and used it to help him steal Pokemon because he thought his own was not strong enough to withstand battles. But it proved him wrong, and he decided to return the Pokemon he stole and do things the proper, legal way.
Examiner - running the admittance exam for Pokemon League, this man has a lot of strong Pokemon that he trained himself, including Charmander, Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon, Arbok, Weezing, Meowth, Ivysaur, Pikachu and Charizard. He has tough standards and won't stand for nonsense, but he's an okay person.
Fiorello Cappuchino - a movie star, with blue hair, an accent (supposed to be Italian, I think) and a name resembling that of a certain Romeo. ^_^. The winner of the Princess Festival was to meet him.
Timmy - a young boy whose favourite Pokemon were Meowth, because one day he met a wild Meowth that saved his life. None of the other kids believed him, but he eventually found that same Meowth, an extremely powerful and brave one. When he is old enough, he intends to set off on his own journey with Meowth as his Pokemon.
Other children - on Kid's Day, Ash and his friends helped out at a kindergarten by entertaining these children. They were a little unruly and disbelieved in Timmy's Meowth, but they were just normal kids. They played with all of Ash-and-company's Pokemon (except Charizard ^_^.) and had a lot of fun.
Teacher - the teacher of the children, a cute woman, was a nice lady but had a habit of, if nobody listened to her, going huge, scary and screaming her lungs out. ^_^.
Oswald - a weirdo scientist with an annoying accent. He believed in aliens and was trying to track down the Clefairies and their spaceship. He left with them.
Stella - a blue-haired girl who is ringleader of a circus. She is smart and cares about her Pokemon, but can be too harsh and overbearing, particularly in her training techniques. She has a Mr Mime, and was trying to encourage it to continue performing after it quit.
Santa Claus - he works with Jynx assistants, and a Lapras, at the North Pole. I think you all know who Santa is. Thank you. ^_^.
Jessie's mother - shown only in a flashback, she seemed to care about her daughter. However, Miyamoto (the mother of Jessie in Japanese) has more info known about her. She was the best member of Team Rocket, but died in an avalanche when trying to find Mew.
Professor Westwood - Westwood comes from a long line of Pokemon researchers, all of whom shared his name and looked just like him. He has a laboratory on Sea Foam Island, and it was he who wrote most of the Pokedex. He also owned a Slowpoke, which evolved into Slowbro. He was trying to study how Slowpoke evolves.
Jan - this famous surfer was the first to ride the tidal wave Humungadunga, inspiring other people. He gave his surfboard to young Victor, a keen surfer.
Victor - a young boy had a dream of surfing, and conquering Humungadunga. However, he failed in his attempt, and was ready to give up, until he met Pooka. Pooka is a Pikachu that can surf and is strangely sensitive to waves, being able to feel them coming. The two are a good team, and finally Victor, an adult, conquers the wave he couldn't as as child.
Florinda - she works/owns the Xanadu plant nursery, and has an extensive knowledge of plants. She owns a Gloom with some healing ability, which is also very strong due to the care she has given it. However, Florinda had a bit of a confidence problem, not believing herself capable of battling or running the nursery. Brock helped her to overcome this somewhat, but she didn't love him...
Potter - an assistant at Xanadu, he and Florinda get together, loving each other. ^_^.
Katrina - this greenette owns a strong Raichu, which was an extra in the movie Pokemon in Love. She was around with Ash-tachi when Spielbunk was making his movie, helping out. She is aiming to be a Pokemon Master.
Cleavon Spielbunk - a man who considers himself a talented director of movies, but his movies are all unpopular flops. He made Pokemon in Love, casting Misty's Psyduck as the leading male role.
Bruno - one of the elite trainers, Bruno is a strong, hardened man who is Brock's hero. He catches a powerful legendary Onix. His secret in training is to understand Pokemon and what they are feeling.
Eve - a cute young genius girl with an accent (I got the impression it was meant to be French), she was doing archeology and trying to discover the secret of Pokemopolis.
Atoshi - a young man with a Marowak, the two worked together to get into Pokemon League. He is grateful to Ash who helped him get his badges back from Team Rocket. He and Marowak have a good friendship, and he wouldn't ask Marowak to do something he wouldn't do himself. He also has a Doduo, but it's not nearly as strong as the 'wak.
Pokemon League wannabe - he had blue hair and eight badges. He was a little gullible. Jessie tried to steal his badges, but her teammates interrupted, and he, being afraid of Team Rocket, ran off.
President - he is in charge of the Pokemon League Torch, the flame of Moltres. It is very dear to him, and he oversees the torch's progress each year. He is also a nice guy, encouraging Ash and being pleased at the boy's spirit, which is what the Pokemon League is all about.
Mandy the Astounding - an arrogant guy who looks kinda like a girl. ^^;;; He is a Pokemon League favourite and crowd pleaser, but all THREE of his Pokemon lost to Ash's Kingler. He was rude to Jessie and James, and wouldn't even shake hands with Ash, being a poor sport. His Pokemon were Exeggutor, Seadra and Golbat.
Pokemon League employees - most of them were pretty girls, and basically explained to League competitors what they were doing, and determined what match they had next.
Referee - a man who, well, refereed matches at Pokemon League. He was rather unsympathetic to trainer losses. ^_^;
Junior trainer - he fought against Ash in Pokemon League, and they were down to their last Pokemon. He used a Nidorino, but it was beaten by Squirtle.
Pete Pebbleman - a Pokemon League competitor who lost to Ash in his third round. He had an Arcanine and a good strategy, but Pikachu was too strong.
Melissa - a slightly harsh, but strategic girl who was Gary's fourth-round opponent. Her Golem beat his Nidoking.
Janette - Ash's fourth round opponent, she had her own cheerleading squad (and Brock) cheering for her. She was pretty, refined and composed, although she changed a little as she got into the battle. She owned a Scyther and Beedrill, but her master Pokemon was a Bellsprout who she had taught special fighting techniques. She was strong, but a good loser.
Asunta - Richie's sixth round opponent. She had an Ivysaur she was very proud of, and it won the League battle for her. She also had a Venomoth, among others.
Professor Ivy - a female professor on Valencia Island, who took upon herself the duty of caring for and keeping tabs on ALL Pokemon on the island. She is an extremely good trainer, cares a lot for Pokemon, and, er, has impressive cleavage. Brock stayed with her to learn more about Pokemon and help her out (well, supposedly ^_^.).
Ivy's assistants - three annoying girls who are all alike and work for Professor Ivy. They are quite unattractive, so they pose no threat to Ivy's chest. ^_^.
Cissy - the Mikan Gym leader, she trains water types. She has a Seadra which is good at precision water gunning, and a fast-swimming Blastoise. She is a bit arrogant and sharp, but very cute.
Cissy's brother - her younger brother is a bit of a brat, but he cheers for his sister when it comes down to it.
Doomsayer - he didn't have a name, but this old man used scare tactics to try to get Ash-tachi off the Kabuto island, believing a prophesy that the island would sink into the ocean. Nobody believed him, but the prophesy was true.
Kay - travelling on a showboat that specialised in Pokemon plays, she had a Raichu that was scared of her, because she was scared of it. But they ended up getting along after she lost her fear, because she cared about Raichu so much.
Other showboaters - they have friendship with their Pokemon and voice-act for them in the Pokemon plays.
Marina - a bubbly brunette who loves water types, and gets along with Misty instantly. The two babble about how cool water types are, before having a friendly competition. She has a Starmie, Tentacruel and a Psyduck (a TRAINED one, that can fight). Marina loses, by a hair, but the two girls want to meet each other again some day.
Danny - the Navel Gym leader, a nice guy who has a way with ladies, although Jessie doesn't think so. He is good at a lot of things, and tries to protect the island from troublemakers. Ash beats him in a sledding race. Also, Misty got a crush on him.
Ruby - a greenette who cares for and grows a LOT of grapefruit trees on seven different islands. She runs the project, and cares for the grapefruits like her children. Ash-tachi help save the grapefruits from a hungry Snorlax.
Ruby's assistants - these grapefruit pickers and cultivators oversee the seven grapefruit islands, and follow Ruby's orders.
Ship captain - a long time ago, there was an Orange League champion, a man who trained a Gastly and Haunter. These two Pokemon, being immortal, protected his ship and League trophy for hundreds of years.
Islanders - on an island that reveres Meowth, a legendary one of which is meant to bring them wealth and fortune, all the inhabitants are real weirdos. They wear cat-like appendages and nearly worship cat Pokemon, particularly Team Rocket's Meowth, who they mistake for the real Meowth of Bounty. They want Meowth to stay on the island with them, offering him all the good things in life, but Meowth prefers to go with Jessie and James, his real friends.
Prima - called Lorelei in the Pokemon game. This trainer is one of the Elite, and goes to Mandarin Island to give a lecture on training and battling. Ash challenges her, being a brat, until she finally caves in, to show him how he needs to be able to battle - she wins. She trains water and ice types. She has red hair, an air-headed expression and a large chest which is constantly on screen. -_-. She also talks a lot about philosophy, and how you must be one with the elements, blah blah blah, as well as being friends with your Pokemon.
Ethan - a man who chases thunderstorms on one of the large Orange Islands. He has a herd of Magnemite that are kept in order by a Jolteon. The Magnemite - and one Magneton - absorb the electricity from lightning to sell to towns who need power. He also drives a wagon drawn by Tauros, in old Oregon style. ^_^. He asked Ash to join him, but Ash refused.
Mayor - I'm not sure what city he was mayor of, but all he cared about was getting re-elected. However, after a story of him abusing a Pokemon got out, his popularity plumetted. (As a child, he dumped a young Bulbasaur in the sewer because it couldn't evolve.)
Mauri - a little girl who lives on Trovita Island. She is the younger sister of Rudy, and the only girl in the gym. She wants a big sister just like Misty. Misty saved her and her Seel from drowning.
Rudy - a young man who was smitten with Misty. He is the gym leader of Trovita Island, and has some other guys under him in his gym, as well as his little sister, who he cares about. He is suave with the ladies, good looking and a romantic, as well as supposedly being a good dancer. He gives his Pokemon dancing lessons as well as training them to fight. He has a Starmie, Exeggutor and Electabuzz, among others.
Tad - a young guy who heard of Ash's reputation and challenged him. He has his own boat. His Poliwrath was the strongest Pokemon in his hometown, and it won a championship gold belt. It was extremely powerful and beat Ash's Pikachu and Charizard. But after Ash got Charizard to obey him, they beat the tadpole Pokemon powerhouse.
