Lt. Surge

Lt. Surge (マチス Machisu) serves as the Gym Leader at Vermilion City's Gym. He holds the Thunder Badge for the trainers that can defeat him, and specializes in Electric-type Pokémon.

In Anime
Lt. Surge first appeared in the anime episode Electric Shock Showdown, where Ash challenges him to a Gym Battle. The battle ended in disaster for Ash, as he was defeated by Surge's Raichu. With Surge believing that power meant everything, he commented on how Ash should evolve his Pikachu as soon as possible or he would never manage to defeat him.

Ash debated over the statement for quite a while, all the while waiting for Pikachu to recover. Deciding not to evolve Pikachu, Ash once again challenged Surge, which led to more criticism. Ash, this time, matched Lt. Surge's Raichu with Pikachu's speed instead of power, which is all that Raichu relied on. Pikachu, able to get the best of Raichu, led to Ash's victory, where Lt. Surge gave him a Thunder Badge.

In Game
Lt. Surge first appeared in the original Pokémon games, as the Vermilion City Gym Leader. He would later be in Pokémon Gold and Silver in the same position. Again, he appeared in the Red and Blue remakes, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, with an updated appearance.

Voice Actors

 * English: Maddie Blaustein
 * Japanese: Fumihiko Tachiki