Today we’re going old-school with someone who’s been around in gen 1 and 2.

Koga and Crobat

In-game description: This modern-day ninja and member of the Elite Four wears down his opponents with his versatility and has also trained his daughter, Janine, in the ways of the ninja.

Like most other characters who appeared in multiple games, Koga is based on his later generation design: specifically, when he was an Elite Four member of the Indigo League in the Gold/Silver/Crystal. Back when he was a gym leader in gen 1, Koga’s ace had been his Wheezing (or Venomoth, in Yellow version), but as an Elite Four member, Koga’s new ace was Crobat. Koga’s character design and outfit in Pokemon Masters is specifically based on his redesign in Heart Gold Soul Silver, where he has purple sleeves and the red scarf.

One look at Crobat’s kit in this game, and I instantly recognized what it was based on: the classic Toxic Double Team combo. Koga happens to be the #1 practitioner of this nasty combo in the games. He has multiple Pokemon with this combo on his team as an Elite Four member, including his Crobat. And in Pokemon Stadium 2, EVERY SINGLE POKEMON he uses in both round 1 and round 2 possesses Toxic Double Team!

Poison Fang

• This attack inflicts the Badly Poisoned status effect, which increases the amount of poison damage dealt with each tic of its effect. This type of poison is traditionally associated with the move Toxic, which was first given out as a TM by none other than Koga back when he was a gym leader.
• Koga’s Crobat originally did have Toxic in the Gold/Silver/Crystal games. When these were remade as Heart Gold and Soul Silver, Koga’s Crobat also ended up switching out Toxic for Poison Fang.

X Speed

• While Koga’s Crobat has never used speed boosting moves in the past, it did originally have Quick Attack for whatever reason. This is a little surprising as Crobat doesn’t even learn Quick Attack naturally, and only gets it as an egg move.
• Crobat does have the distinction of being one of the fastest Pokemon in existence, especially when it was first introduced.

Venoshock

• None of Koga’s Pokemon have ever had Venoshock as an attack. However, Venoshock is given out as a TM by fellow poison type gym leader Roxie.
• Crobat does learn Venoshock naturally by level-up starting in gen 6.

Move Like a Shadow!

• This move is straight up Double Team combined with a Dire Hit effect. Koga absolutely loves using Double Team in conjunction with poison, with a full 3 Pokemon on his original Elite Four team knowing either Double Team or Minimize. His Crobat of course had Double Team.
• The increased critical hit rate may be a reference to Cross Poison, another poison move with increased critical hit rate. Koga’s Crobat did possess Cross Poison for his rematch in HGSS.
• The name of this move may be a reference to how before his Elite Four battle, Koga talks about living in the shadows as a ninja.
• Probably unrelated, but this move’s name does remind me of Koga’s battle with Agatha in the manga, where Gengar had been stalking Koga by hiding in his shadow. He was literally being followed by the Shadow Pokemon moving like his shadow!

Passive: Haste

• Not particularly noteworthy, except to once again emphasize the fact that Crobat is one of the fastest Pokemon in the series.

Sync Move: Modern Ninja Sludge Bomb

• Many of Koga’s Pokemon have had the move Sludge Bomb, but curiously enough, his Crobat never did. In fact, in both his original and rematch battles in Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee, every Pokemon Koga uses has Sludge Bomb EXCEPT for his Golbat. Crobat does learn Sludge Bomb via TM though.
• Historically, the Koga clan is one of the most famous groups of real-life ninja. The last known member of the Koga clan to have practiced ninjitsu passed away in 1966. The name Koga is thus synonymous with modern ninja.

A Day with Koga

• In his sync pair story, Koga mentions that his ninja dojo has been around for 400 years. In the original RBY games and the remake, Koga claims that the Toxic technique has been practiced by ninjas for 400 years when he gives the player the TM.
• Koga’s Crobat shows off its Double Team ability during the sync pair story. Dude really loves his Double Team!

Story Mode Chapter: Ninja Kin

• Koga states that he and Janine are “modern ninja, living in the shadows.” Not only did he name drop the name of his sync move, but this quote is also extremely similar to what he says when he first introduces himself as an Elite Four member in gen 2.
• In the cutscene before his fight, Koga’s last line is that battles are not overcome with strength alone. He says pretty much the same thing just before battle as an Elite Four member: “Pokemon is not merely about brute force - you shall see soon enough!”
• This episode places great emphasis on Koga’s relationship with his daughter Janine, who greatly looks up to him. Janine was introduced in gen 2 as the gym leader who took Koga’s place when he ascended to Elite Four status. The FRLG remake of gen 1 also added Janine as an NPC in Fuchsia city, who talks about training with her father.
• As a boss in story mode, Koga’s Crobat knows Cross Poison. Cross Poison is also used by Koga’s Crobat during his rematch in HGSS.
• In story mode, Koga’s Crobat also has Air Cutter. Koga’s Crobat has never known Air Cutter in the games, but Crobat does get it as a level up move. Both it and Cross Poison have high crit chance, and Koga uses both Dire Hit and Move Like a Shadow, so he achieves 100% crit rate on both moves if the fight goes long enough. This is what usually wrecks players in co-op.

That about does it for now. I’m thinking of going more recent for the next one. Maybe someone from gen 5 or 6?

(Previous sync pair: Winona and Pelipper )