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This article is about the Champion. For the member of Team Rocket whose Japanese name is Lance, see Proton.

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Lance (Japanese: ワタル Wataru) is a Dragon-type Trainer, a member of the Indigo Elite Four in Generation I, Generation III, and Generation VII, and the Pokémon Champion of the Indigo Plateau in Generation II and Generation IV.

In the core series

In Generations I, III, and VII, Lance is the fourth and final member of the Kanto Elite Four. He must be defeated before facing BlueRBYFRLG/TracePE, the Pokémon League Champion. In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, it is revealed he has a Key Stone and Charizardite X, which he uses in rematches against the player after they become Champion. By the Generation II and IV games, he has proceeded to become Pokémon League Champion, due to Red taking a leave of absence from his position to continue his training at Mt. Silver, and leaving Lance to take Red's place as Champion. He raises Dragon-type Pokémon, which are both hard to catch and raise. He prefers the superiority of Dragon-type Pokémon, believing them to be virtually indestructible. At an unknown point in time, Lance, either as an Elite Four member or Champion, had a battle with Professor Kukui, which he apparently won.

Known as a cool and heroic Trainer, Lance has a large fan-following. Lance also seems to have a liking for capes, as he is often seen buying identical capes at the Celadon Department Store.

Lance's grandfather is the elder of a famous clan of Dragon Masters. Clair is his cousin, and his hometown is Blackthorn City.

In Generation II and their remakes, the player first encounters Lance at the Lake of Rage where he watches the player battle the Red Gyarados. Lance also appears in Mahogany Town to help the player fight Team Rocket at the Team Rocket HQ. Lance rewards the player with the Whirlpool HM for helping him put an end to Team Rocket's sinister plans.

Fame Checker

This is a list of the Fame Checker's information on Lance in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

Pokémon League - Lance

What does this person do?

"I lead the Elite Four . You can call me Lance the dragon Trainer ." Pokémon League - Lance

Favorite kind of Pokémon ?

"You know that dragons are mythical Pokémon . They're hard to catch and raise, but their powers are superior. They're virtually indestructible. There's no being clever with them." Saffron City - Woman

What is this person like?

"He stands for justice! He's cool, and yet passionate! He's the greatest, Lance !" Celadon Dept. Store - Girl

"We have a customer, Lance , who occasionally comes. He always buys capes.

I wonder... Does he have many identical capes at home?" Indigo Plateau - Pokémon Journal

Family and friends?

" Lance 's grandfather is thought to be the elder of a famous clan of dragon masters." Indigo Plateau - Kid

Family and friends?

"From what I've heard, Lance has a cousin who's a Gym Leader somewhere far away." Message from Lance

From: Lance

To: [Player]

"I'm considering going back to my hometown. I want to retrain my Dragon -type Pokémon and strengthen them. I'd like to invite you to my hometown someday."

Pokémon

This listing is for Lance's Pokémon in the video games in which he has appeared.

First battle

Lance battles alongside the player against Ariana and a Team Rocket Grunt in the Team Rocket HQ.

First battle

Lance uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles, and all six in Triple Battles. Outside of the event-exclusive tournament, he will always lead with his signature Pokémon, Dragonite.

First battle

In the side series

Lance also appears in Pokémon Stadium and Stadium 2's Gym Leader Castles. In Stadium, he is the final member of the Elite Four, and in Stadium 2, he is the final Trainer in the Johto Gym Leader Castle, and must be defeated in order to gain access to the Kanto Gym Leader Castle. Notably, Stadium is the only game to date where Lance isn't seen using his Dragonite.

Round 1

Round 2

Round 1

Round 2

Feraligatr holds a Quick Claw in the Japanese version instead of a Mystic Water.

In spin-off games

This section is incomplete.

Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

Lance appears in Pokémon Puzzle Challenge.

Lance forms a sync pair with Dragonite in Pokémon Masters EX.

Artwork

Sprites

This section is incomplete.

Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it.

Reason: Missing overworld model from LGPE; need higher quality images from LGPE.

In other games

Quotes

In the anime

In the main series

History

Lance is a Master Trainer and the Champion of the Indigo Elite Four. He is also a member of the Pokémon G-Men detective organization.

Lance debuted in a cameo in Marina's fantasy in The Legend of Thunder!. He later physically debuted in Talkin' 'Bout an Evolution, where he was sent to investigate Team Rocket's scheme at the Lake of Rage. He met Ash and his friends there, saving the trio from some Team Rocket Grunts. Ash wanted to help Lance in his mission, but Lance said it was too dangerous.

Lance went on to infiltrate Team Rocket's base, and stole a Grunt uniform to remain undiscovered. He went on to learn that Team Rocket was trying to investigate the properties of a Red Gyarados so that they could force Pokémon to evolve. Ash and his friends were later captured by Professor Sebastian and Tyson after they tried to intervene in their plans. Lance remained undetected, joining Team Rocket's convoy and helping them transport the Red Gyarados away from the Lake of Rage.

In Rage of Innocence, Lance helped Ash's group escape and defeated the Team Rocket trio with his Dragonite. Lance was then able to destroy Team Rocket's machine and blow up their laboratory. Lance also battled Tyson and defeated his two Fearow. Meanwhile, Ash was able to calm the Red Gyarados at first, but it continued to go berserk. Finally, Lance used his Dragonite to paralyze Gyarados and he then caught it to keep it from destroying Mahogany Town. Before leaving, Lance promised Ash that he would take care of Gyarados.

He reappeared in a flashback in Beauty is Skin Deep. Clair informed Ash and his friends that Lance had previously trained for several months at the Blackthorn Gym in order to perfect his experience with Dragon Pokémon.

In Gaining Groudon and The Scuffle of Legends, Lance helped stop the battle between Kyogre and Groudon. Lance infiltrated Team Magma's submarine and confronted Shelly, who suspected that he wasn't really a Team Magma Grunt. Shortly after the confrontation, he freed Ash, who had been captured after Pikachu absorbed the Red Orb that controlled Groudon. Lance's Pokémon were later sent into battle to help try to calm the two feuding Legendary Pokémon.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series Lance in

In Flash of the Titans!, Lance, now wearing his Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver attire, faced the Galar League Champion Leon during the finals of the World Coronation Series at Wyndon Stadium. Using his Dynamax Band, he was able to Dynamax his Red Gyarados and pit it against Leon's Charizard, which Leon Gigantamaxed in response. After a fierce battle, Gyarados was defeated, and Lance congratulated his opponent of having just become the Monarch. He also revealed that he had trained at Galar's Dragon-type Gym, and that he had been so impressed by the uniforms he saw there that he had chosen to base his current outfit on them.

Lance reappeared in a flashback in the next episode.

In this appearance, Lance was referred to as an Elite Four member instead of a Champion, implying he lost the title at some point after his previous appearance.

Character

Lance cares deeply for his Pokémon, and he regards them as friends. He takes his role as a part of the Pokémon G-Men seriously and maintains his conviction towards keeping the world at peace. Lance often disguises himself to infiltrate evil organizations in order to gain valuable information before leaping into action.

Lance is largely independent, but still receives assistance from allies like Officer Jenny. He quickly befriended Ash and his friends in Rage of Innocence, after realizing that they were also concerned for Red Gyarados's safety. He then enlisted their assistance to deal with Team Rocket and the Lake of Rage crisis. Lance was surprised to re-encounter Ash and the others in the Hoenn region, and worked with them to disrupt Team Aqua and Team Magma's plans in Gaining Groudon and The Scuffle of Legends.

Lance is an incredibly strong Trainer. In Flash of the Titans!, he was revealed to have won the Pokémon World Tournament in Driftveil City, as well as having been strong enough to reach the finals of the World Coronation Series, in which eight of the strongest Trainers from their respective regions gather to compete for the title of Monarch. He was even able to hold his own against Leon, the undefeated Champion of Galar.

Pokémon

This is a list of Lance's known Pokémon in the anime:

Achievements

Pokémon competitions

Voice actors

In Pokémon Origins

Lance appeared briefly in File 4: Charizard. He was seen being challenged and defeated by Red, allowing Red move on to challenge Blue.

Pokémon

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 川島得愛 Tokuyoshi Kawashima English Kirk Thornton European Spanish Antonio Cremades

In Pokémon Generations

Lance first appeared in The Challenger. He was first seen talking about Blue, the first Trainer in a long time to collect eight Gym Badges, with the rest of the Kanto Elite Four, and he instructed his colleagues to prepare themselves for the upcoming challenger. Later, he was the last of the Elite Four to be challenged by Blue. After a heated battle, Blue's Blastoise defeated Lance's Dragonite off-screen, making Blue the new Pokémon League Champion.

Lance reappeared in The Lake of Rage. He and Ethan were seen infiltrating the Team Rocket HQ in Mahogany Town, destroying the radio wave generator and ruining Team Rocket's plans to force Pokémon to evolve.

Pokémon

Dragonite Main article: Lance's Dragonite Dragonite is Lance's only known Pokémon. It was used to battle Blue's Blastoise, eventually being defeated off-screen. It was later used to battle the Red Gyarados and attack Team Rocket HQ. Debut The Challenger

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 細谷佳正 Yoshimasa Hosoya English Ben Diskin Brazilian Portuguese Raphael Rossatto European Spanish Paco Gázquez

In the Pokémon Masters Animated Trailer

Lance appeared in the Pokémon Masters Animated Trailer, where he teamed up with Cynthia and Steven Stone to battle Korrina, Cheren, and Misty at a stadium in Pasio.

Pokémon

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

History

Lance debuts in Vermilion City before the start of the Vermilion City Surfing Competition. He took control of the Dragonair that was to be offered as a prize to the winner. He then attacked Vermilion City and destroyed it, saying he was looking for something. When Yellow came after him he tried to capture Pika to please Agatha and Lorelei but once Pikachu learned Surf he too failed. Before the battle could continue, he mysteriously disappeared.

He next appeared on Cerise Island battling Blaine and Yellow. When Blaine released Mewtwo, Blaine and Yellow were able to gain the upper hand against Lance's Aerodactyl and his two Dragonair. However, due to Blaine's link with Mewtwo they could only battle together for about three minutes and with time running out Blaine decided to target Lance's Poké Balls so he couldn't call out any other Pokémon and would have to battle with his weakened Pokémon that were already out. He succeeded in destroying the balls only for Blaine to be knocked unconscious due to Mewtwo's time out being too long. Lance then chuckled to himself, revealing that he had called his Pokémon out of their balls before the battle even began.

Lance during the ninth chapter

During Lance's battle with Yellow both of them were equally matched, Lance luring the battle out onto the top of Cerise Island, a volcano. Lance then once again gained the upper hand by having his Gyarados and Dragonair make green, red, and blue bubbles so they could not be detected in sunlight. Just when it seemed when Yellow was about to lose, Giovanni arrived and helped subdue Lance, using his Rhyhorn to create a sandstorm to make the bubbles visible. But this capturing only proved to be part of his plan, as he needed Giovanni's Badge since it was the last Badge he needed for the Badge Energy Amplifier to summon Lugia, so he lured Giovanni to the middle of the island so the Earth Badge would be automatically ripped from him and the Amplifier would automatically activate, summoning Lugia. Lance wanted Lugia to help accomplish his goals, but Yellow's Pokémon were able to drive Lugia away once they evolved and Yellow was able to channel their power into Pika's Megavolt. This interested Lance, as he wanted to find out who Lugia's real owner was. It wasn't often that he lost control of dragon-like Pokémon.

Lance disappeared for a while, investigating Lugia and working behind the scenes. He gave Silver advice on how to defeat Team Rocket in Johto, as well as a Pupitar (which Silver promptly returned, now evolved as a Tyranitar, after awakening from his comatose state following the incident at the Lake of Rage). Working through Silver, Lance tried to help defeat the Masked Man. After this was fulfilled, Lance is briefly seen flying on his Aerodactyl watching the horizon during part of Professor Oak's speech on the radio.

Lance calls Professor Oak to tell him about the newly revived Team Rocket's plan to obtain the Mythical Pokémon, Arceus. He requests that a Pokédex holder be sent to meet him at the Pokéathlon Dome, so Professor Oak sends Gold, as he was out of available people. Although he arrives there, Lance never shows up, but his Dragonite attacks the area in an injured frenzy. Gold manages to defeat Dragonite and sets off to find out what happened to its Trainer.

After chasing Arceus to the Ruins of Alph, Gold encounters an injured Lance there. Lance reveals that he was ambushed by someone earlier and wasn't able to meet with him. When Gold tries to calm the rampaging Alpha Pokémon, Lance tells him that Arceus is angry at humanity and will only be stopped by someone who can open their heart to it. Because of this, Lance states that Gold will not be able to connect with Arceus until he is able to connect with his own Pokémon. Annoyed, Gold sets off to face Arceus anyway and has Bugsy take care of Lance in the meantime. Before Togebo leaves, Lance hands it a Shiny Stone, just in case. He also reveals that Gold hadn't connected with his Togebo.

As Gold continues to battle Arceus, Lance sets off to find someone else who can help with the battle. Later, he returns with Giovanni and Pryce to combat the Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina which Arceus had created on the Mystri Stage. There, Lance faces Palkia while Giovanni battles Giratina, and Pryce battles Dialga. With his Dragonite's ability to redirect its Hyper Beam, Palkia's ability to manipulate space with Spacial Rend is rendered useless as all redirected attacks are sent back to its original target.

It is later revealed that when Lance went to go find help, he arrived at the Ilex Forest, where he heard the voice of Pryce, who was trapped in the crack in time. Upon arriving, he found Giovanni, who was attacking Pryce in a fit of rage. He asks the two men to put aside their differences and help him stop the destruction of Johto. After the battle had ended, Gold asks how Lance was defeated by a coward like Petrel. Lance reveals that Petrel defeated him by disguising himself as Yellow, the person with the same powers and birthplace as him. At the end of the chapter, Giovanni entrusts the training of Silver to Lance and Pryce, his two former teachers, so that he can one day face his son.

Character

Lance is primarily a villain. As the leader of the Elite Four, he wishes to exterminate the human race, save for a few people who he deems to be kind enough to Pokémon. Apparently also from Viridian Forest, Lance was blessed with the powers of the Viridian Forest, just like Yellow was. Lance has the power to telepathically communicate with Pokémon, as well as heal their wounds. Lance also has the ability to control or brainwash any Dragon-type Pokémon, as well as most Pokémon similar to Dragons (such as Aerodactyl or Tyranitar).

Pokémon

This listing is for Lance's Pokémon in the Pokémon Adventures manga:

On hand

Dratini → Dragonair → Dragonite Main article: Lance's Dragonite Dragonite was raised as a Dragonair that evolved from a Dratini, which he owned since childhood. It is considered to be Lance's strongest Pokémon, and boasts a hide so thick that it can withstand continued exposure to the heat of lava (and regular attacks are all ineffective). Debut Extricated from Exeggutor

Dragonair (×2) ♂ These Dragonair are Lance's mainly-used ones in his Dragonair army. One of them first appeared in a Surfing Contest as a prize. During the contest, Lance brainwashes the Dragonair and it starts launching Whirlpools at the surfers, bringing them down to the sea. Yellow finds out that Lance was responsible for this and battles his Dragonair and loses. Lance used these Dragonair to shield himself from the lava on Cerise Island by using bubbles. Yellow is once again in his clutches as they, along with Gyarados were responsible for the shaking of the mountain. The two Dragonair have four unique abilities: the first is to cross the seas and skies, the second is changing the direction of energy blasts, the third is controlling the weather (which is used in Lance's first fight against Yellow), and the fourth is combining their attacks. Lance usually uses only the first two when fighting opponents, the third against stronger ones, and all four only a few times. Dragonair's known moves are Hyper Beam, Wrap, Dragon Rage, Agility, Bubble Beam, and Slam. Debut Breath of the Dragonair Part 1





Pupitar → Tyranitar ♂ Lance gave his Tyranitar to Silver when he was a Pupitar. Tyranitar made his first official appearance when he was battling Gold and easily defeating Gold's entire team until he got subdued by Togebo's Double-Edge. After battling Lugia at the Whirl Islands, Tyranitar was returned to Lance as Silver was not able to fully control him. Tyranitar's only known move is Sandstorm, his Ability is Sand Stream, and he has a Quirky nature. Debut Tyranitar War

Dragonair (multiple) These Dragonair are Lance's Dragon army that are used to attack the mainlands of Kanto. They are first seen attacking Cinnabar Gym while Miles and Evan are inside. None of Dragonair's moves are known. Debut Playing Horsea

Dragonite This Dragonite was in charge of commanding Lance's Dragon army that are used to attack the mainlands of Kanto. They are first seen attacking Cinnabar Gym while Miles and Evan are inside. None of Dragonite's moves are known. Debut Playing Horsea

Aerodactyl (multiple) These Aerodactyl are Lance's Dragon army that are used to attack the mainlands of Kanto. They are first seen attacking Cinnabar Gym while Miles and Evan are inside. None of Aerodactyl's moves are known. Debut Playing Horsea

Released

Status unknown

Horsea Horsea was seen in a flashback of Lance's and Clair's childhood. None of Horsea's moves are known. Debut The Last Battle II

In the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga

Lance in Jō's Big Adventure

Lance meets Jō when he witnesses the Red Gyarados go on a rampage in the Lake of Rage. He assists Jō in fighting the Red Gyarados. After finding out that Ariana and Petrel were responsible for the incident in the Lake of Rage, Lance has a Tag Battle with them with Jō as his partner. Lance and Jō manage to defeat them with Dragonite's Twister. Lance is revealed to become the Champion of the Pokémon League and battles Jō. Jō single-handedly defeats him with Totodile.

Pokémon

Dragonite Main article: Lance's Dragonite Dragonite first appeared while Jō was at the Lake of Rage. Later, it was the second Pokémon used in the Pokémon League. Debut Jō VS Team Rocket

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga

Lance in Pokémon Pocket Monsters

Lance appears in Space Havoc!! as a regular Elite Four member. Red meets him while on his trip in outer space. Lance gives Red three tests for him to handle. While Red did well on the first two, Lance managed to get on the space shuttle while Red and the gang was on. After the shuttle got destroyed, Lance flew away on his Dragonite while Clefairy had to deal with an upset Professor Oak.

Lance reappeared in The Final Battle!! where he destroyed a village. The villagers ask Red and his Pokémon to defeat Lance. During the match, Clefairy was still no match for his Dragonite, even the weapons that he threw at it. However, when Lance was about to get beaten, Dragonite reveals its story about how he met Lance. However, the story is later found out to be a lie, and Lance ran off with his Dragonite, with Red and his Pokémon chasing him from behind.

Pokémon

Gyarados Main article: Lance's Gyarados Gyarados was the first test that Red and the gang had to handle. It popped out of a pool of water when Lance commanded it to do so. Debut Space Havoc!!

Aerodactyl Aerodactyl was the second test that Red and the gang had to handle. It appeared when Red went inside a museum. It slapped Clefairy using its wing which sent him bouncing around. Aerodactyl was very fast as it evaded an attack coming from Clefairy. Clefairy decided to trick Aerodactyl by luring it into a buffet. After Aerodactyl got full, it was unable to fly. One punch coming from Clefairy sent it packing afterwards. None of Aerodactyl's moves are known. Debut Space Havoc!!

In the Pokémon Zensho manga

Lance in Pokémon Zensho

Lance appeared in PZ10 as the final Elite Four member whom Satoshi battled. Lance used his Dragonite, which was eventually defeated by Satoshi's Charizard, allowing Satoshi to face his rival, Shigeru, in one final battle.

Pokémon





In the Pocket Monsters manga

Lance in the Pocket Monsters manga

Lance appeared in JNM04, where he faced Leon in the World Coronation Series finals.

Pokémon

Gyarados ↔ Dynamax Gyarados Main article: Red Gyarados Gyarados is Lance's only known Pokémon. Debut JNM04





In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Lance or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Trivia

Lance disguised as a Team Magma Grunt

Names

Language Name Origin Japanese ワタル Wataru From 綿 wata (cotton) and 渡る wataru (crossing) English, Italian, Spanish,

Brazilian Portuguese Lance From lance, a weapon used by knights who fought dragons in legends and fairy tales French Peter Possibly from petard, a medieval weapon German Siegfried From Siegfried, a legendary hero who slayed a dragon named Fafnir Korean 목호 Mokho From 목화 (木花) mokhwa, cotton Chinese ( Mandarin ) 阿渡 Ā Dù * From the Japanese name 渡 Wataru 渡 Dù * 小渡 Xiǎo Dù * 彌 Mí * From the Japanese name 彌 Wataru 華達爾 Huádá'ěr * Transliteration of his Japanese name. Contains 華 huá, magnificent Chinese ( Cantonese ) 阿渡 A Douh * From the Japanese name 渡 Wataru Thai วาตารุ Wataru Transliteration of his Japanese name. Vietnamese Wataru Transliteration of his Japanese name. Russian Ленс Lens Transliteration of his English name.

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