Brock (Pokémon)

Characteristics

Brock is considered the most mature, wise, and level-headed of the main characters. He often acts as an older brother and caretaker to the other characters and a voice of reason in disputes. He will usually place others before him and will help and support his friends even against his better judgment or at his own expense. While he is not shown to battle often, he can understand the situations and strategies in any Pokémon battle, and often explains them to the other characters (and to the viewer), probably because he was once a Gym Leader. Brock always carries books and maps with him, and thus is usually the character who knows where the group is headed and what they can do when they get there, though in Advanced Generation, this role was mostly taken over by the Pokénav. He also carries a lot of other supplies, such as potions and cookware, as well as practical tools like a brush and pocket knife. He is a domestic, and grooms not only his Pokémon but also those of his friends with whom he travels. He handles all the cooking and cleaning for his friends.

Brock is the tallest of main characters, and the closest to looking like an adult. Next to actual adult characters, however, it is clear that he is still a teenager. Not counting temporary outfits, he has worn three different outfits over the span of the anime, all of which have had the colors orange, green, and brown, with blue shoes. His goals have played a passive role in his character's activity and development. Unlike other characters, who aspire to achieve and excel in competitive fields like Pokémon Training and Pokémon Contests, his aim to become a great Pokémon Breeder is a quiet one and thus does not get showcased frequently. His other goal is to find a girlfriend as seen when he tries to ask Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny out or any other pretty girl he sees. There is also a running gag in the anime where Brock comes on too strong to a girl he finds pretty and Misty will pull his ear, dragging Brock away and making a comment in the process. Brock's most notable feature is that his eyes naturally appear closed. He also has tan skin, notably darker than the skin of any other major character in the series.

In an 2006 interview with K-Zone Australia, voice actor Eric Stuart revealed that Brock's last name is Harrison.

Relationships

Brock often acts like a father figure to his friends that he travels with, giving them advice and keeping them out of trouble and well taken care of while they're away from their homes. In some ways, Brock may be Ash's best and favorite friend, and vice versa, as Brock has been with Ash in every season except for season two and season fourteen and beyond. He guides Ash and makes sure that he does not get into any danger. The two of them very rarely fight and get along quite well. They often team up with one another to beat Team Rocket and other opponents. Ash and Brock are very close and are rarely seen apart from each other, much like Ash and Pikachu.

In the video games

Brock is the Gym Leader of Pewter City in the fictional region of Kanto. He specializes in Rock-type Pokémon, and the player may battle him in Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, FireRed, LeafGreen, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Pokémon Stadium, and Pokémon Stadium 2. It has been confirmed that Brock, along with Misty and Blue, return in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 as tournament opponents.

In the anime

In the Pokémon anime, Brock aspires to be the greatest Pokémon Breeder, and gives up his title of Gym Leader after Ash Ketchum wins his first Kanto League Rock Gym Badge from him. He is first seen taking care of his nine siblings. After Ash loses to Brock the first time, a stranger offers to help make his Pikachu stronger. Pikachu (after being hooked up to a local hydro-power station) becomes stronger and manages to defeat Geodude, but Onix remains too strong. Onix has Pikachu in a body bind; however, Pikachu's previous electric attack ravaged the gym, which set off the sprinklers, weakening Onix. Ash declines the badge on the grounds that he unfairly beat Brock, but Brock later catches up to him and presents to him the badge, saying that he wants Ash to fulfill his dream of becoming the best. The stranger that first helped Ash reveals himself to be Brock 's father, Flint. Brock is now free to train himself, and joins Ash and Misty on their journey. In the original Japanese version of the anime, Flint's wife was described to have joined him in abandoning their children sometime before these events occurred. In the American version this was changed to Flint telling Ash that Brock's mother died. However, Brock's mother appears alive and well in later episodes.

Since then, he travels with Ash and Misty on their many adventures. In the Orange Islands series, he leaves the team to join Professor Felina Ivy and was replaced by Tracey Sketchit, but mysteriously returns to Pallet Town when Ash wins the Orange League Championship. Rejoining Ash and Misty, Brock travels to Johto, where he continues to help Ash and Misty. Upon the conclusion of the Silver Conference, the three part ways, and Brock heads back to Pewter City. There (in an episode of Pokémon Chronicles) he discovers his estranged mother Lola (Mizuho in the original), who, because she is a Water Pokémon Trainer, has ruined the reputation of the Gym he defended so dearly by turning it into a Water-type gym. By defeating his mother, he restores the Gym's reputation. He then leaves all his Pokémon (except Forretress) to his younger brother Forrest before departing for the Hoenn region, where he catches up with Ash and his two new friends, May and Max. The group travels across Hoenn and then returns to Kanto to participate in the Battle Frontier. The group then parted ways once again until Brock met up with Ash in Sinnoh in the next season.

During this time, Brock 's father, Flint (Munō in the original, who was also Brock 's predecessor as Gym Leader), ran off again, and his brother Forrest (Jirō in the original) has taken the role of Gym Leader in Pewter City, as well as the responsibility of caring for his eight younger siblings. Brock is the oldest of ten children, with five brothers and four sisters.

Brock is always well-equipped, and is often the voice of reason when the rest of the team get into an argument. He is also hardworking and is always willing to help others. Coupled with his experiences in taking care of others, Brock prepares food and does most chores for the main characters. Brock is also exceptionally good at making food for Pokémon. Brock shows the typical "clean freak" personality when he sees messiness, which has even prompted him to start cleaning immediately on at least one occasion. Brock parts ways with Ash one final time after the Sinnoh League to go forth and achieve his new goal of becoming a Pokémon Doctor.

Critical reception

The book The Japanification of Children's Popular Culture described Brock's portrayal in the anime as a mentor figure, providing an authoritative voice for Ash in the series. It additionally noted him as representing the concept of early maturity in Japanese stories, in his acceptance of a position of independence and his strong interest in women. The book Pikachu's Global Adventure: The Rise and Fall of Pokémon cited him as a heavily popular character in the United States, with boys identifying themselves with the character, expressing a desire to be "friends with characters that are known to be good or considerate friends". The book additionally noted a contrast to other characters in the series, in that Brock is drawn with "thinly drawn eyes and slightly darker skin tone".