There have been so many characters introduced across eight generations of Pokémon games that it can be impossible to remember them all. Some have popped up a few times over the years, like Looker, Giovanni, or Red, while others have made brief appearances just to be forgotten to the archives.
Some of these brief appearances were with great characters that should definitely be tapped again in a future game or installment. A lot of them are charismatic, fun, or could serve a great purpose. Luckily, Pokémon Masters has reintroduced a lot of them to a new audience, but that doesn't mean we can't hope to see some of these characters again in a main series game.
10 Mr. Pokémon
Making a very brief appearance in Pokémon Gold, Silver & Crystal (and their remakes), Mr. Pokémon is a researcher and good friend of Professor Oak. He earned the nickname Mr. Pokémon potentially because of many great discoveries he's made during his research.
We aren't lucky enough to get to know this character too much, but it's clear that he has traveled to other regions and has a cheery and chipper attitude toward Pokémon research. He also has an air of mystery around him, and it would be cool to see that explored more.
9 Sinnoh Stat Trainers
In the Generation IV games, there are a few different areas where an NPC trainer will join the player on their adventure for a brief time. Colloquially called the "stat trainers" of the Sinnoh region, each of these trainers specializes in a certain Pokémon stat.
Cheryl specializes in HP, Riley focuses on attack, Buck specializes in defense and special defense, Mira takes special attack, and speed is the specialty of Marley. These trainers are super interesting and a fun companion for a brief moment during a playthrough. It would be cool to see them again, or at least the same mechanic with new trainers.
8 Kimono Girls
In the second generation, there was a group of women that could be battled, called the Kimono Girls. These women each used one of the Eeveelutions — Vaporeon, Flareon, Jolteon, Umbreon, and Espeon. They have also made appearances in the anime, manga, and side games, and are connected to Ho-Oh and Lugia.
Now that there have been a few more Eeveelutions added to the series, it would be great if the group expanded to include more trainers with the new evolutions.
7 Miror B.
One of the zaniest and strangest characters ever introduced in a Pokémon game is Miror B. This weird, dancing man with a split-color afro made two appearances — once in Pokémon Colosseum and then again in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness.
He served as one of the main antagonists of the series and had a role as an admin of the villainous Team Cipher. His outfits (including a gold sequined leisure suit), hair, personality, and endless dancing were all hilarious and memorable. It would be great to see Miror B. again in some capacity.
6 "Jim Gai"
This entry focuses more on a group of people (or maybe just one person — it's unclear) rather than a single person. Throughout the series, there has typically been a man standing at the front of each gym cheering on the player as they tackle the league.
Named Jim Gai (gym guy), this man is a personal hype squad for the player, but has been mysteriously absent in Sword & Shield. It's said that the referee in Galar's gyms is this man, but it's just not the same as that reliable cheerleader from games past.
5 Todd Snap
Rarely has there been a character that featured prominently in the anime, manga, and a side-game but not a main series title. This achievement does belong, however, to Todd Snap — an avid Pokémon photographer and the playable character of Pokémon Snap.
With many fans calling for a Snap remake for decades to no avail, it's not clear if we'll ever get to see Todd Snap again. But, it wouldn't be beyond reason to see Todd in a future main series installment as an NPC or helper of some kind.
4 The Winstrate Family
On Route 111 in Hoenn, there resides a family of immensely powerful Pokémon trainers. Each member has a name that is a play on the word "victory." They'll battle the player in a series of tough fights early in the game.
Later in the game, the player can encounter the eldest son, Vito, in Victory Road, as a final challenge to defeating this fierce family. It's been pointed out that this challenge is similar to the battle against an Elite 4 and Champion. This family, or something similar, should definitely be used again.
3 Dexit Cuts
This is an obvious choice and a sad one for many to think about. In Sword & Shield, a few hundred Pokémon were cut from the series. It's said that these "Dexit cuts" will appear again in the future, but that hasn't satisfied the mob at all.
Of course, there are not many people that would disagree with the idea that these cut characters should be returned to the series, preferably immediately. It doesn't seem like that's going to happen any time soon, but one can hope.
2 Wally
There has always been rivals and other trainers that accompany the player through parts of their journey. Wally was one of these characters, introduced in Generation III and reappearing with an expanded personality and role in the Gen III remakes.
This character has a great personal development arc, going from a small, scared newbie to a pretty tough challenger. Wally is a memorable character, even if the fights against him are pretty easy. It would be great to see him take his training and adventures into another region.
1 Good Rivals
Speaking of rivals — many agree that they used to be much better than they are now. Early-series rivals were difficult to defeat, and they had the type of personality that made the player look forward to training and battling against them. Their self-righteous attitude led to a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction when you defeated them.
Nowadays, many people believe rivals are too easy and too friendly. Hop from Sword & Shield, in particular, has faced a lot of criticism. Many would love to see the return of rivals like Blue and Silver.