"...All right, challenger. It's not often, but some Trainers manage to come and challenge me. But they've all been boring battles. I didn't break a sweat beating them. ...Sigh... I'm Volkner, the Gym Leader. They say I'm the top Gym Leader in Sinnoh, but... Anyway, I guess we'd better get this done. I hope you're the Trainer who'll make me remember how fun it is to battle!- Volkner, Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum.
Volkner serves as the Gym Leader for the Sunyshore City Gym. Volkner specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, and holds the Beacon Badge for the trainers that defeat him. He is the final and most powerful gym leader in Sinnoh.
Personality
Volkner is not an easily amused trainer, a small challenge is beneath him making him seem anti-social and out-casting towards others. Though when he finally finds a worthy battle, his demeanour becomes determined and encouraged.
Biography
Games
Volkner first appeared in Generation IV's Diamond and Pearl games as the Sunyshore City Gym Leader, specializing in Electric Pokémon. His Gym consists of three rooms filled with gigantic gears, electrical equipment, and rotating walkways. The player would need to rotate the walkways, using buttons located in various areas, and construct a path leading to the next room, and later, to Volkner himself. In the game, just like in the anime he is bored but after battling he will be back to the way he was.
Upon defeating him, Volkner will reward the player with the Beacon Badge and TM57 (Charge Beam).
Manga
- Main article: Volkner (Adventures)
Anime
- Main article: Volkner (anime)
Young Volkner was a lot like Ash in personality. Also, like Ash, he probably got a Pikachu instead of the three usual starters for his first Pokémon and had a rival that later became his friend, Flint. These things are shown in flashbacks.
Volkner was first referred to by Tower Tycoon Palmer in Challenging a Towering Figure!, saying that, after seeing his battling skills, Ash would be able to give Volkner "a shock." Volkner first appeared in person in Flint Sparks the Fire!. It was revealed in the episode that he had met up with Flint when they were younger and had become rivals and eventually good friends.
After Volkner became a Gym Leader, he designed the walkways of Sunyshore City and other technological advancements for the city.
He also designed the Sunyshore Tower which supplies electricity to the city. However, he soon became bored with battling and resorted to giving free badges to Trainers. After witnessing Ash's battle with Flint, he became interested in battling again and decided to accept Ash's challenge for a Gym battle.
Volkner appeared again in The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore!, where he and Ash began their Gym battle. However, it was quickly interrupted as Team Rocket stole the Sunyshore Tower, causing a citywide blackout. After Ash defeated Team Rocket with the help of his newly evolved Torterra, Volkner returned the tower back to its original place. However, as both the tower and Gym were badly damaged, Volkner told Ash that he had to repair them before they could have a rematch.
Ash agreed to the terms, saying that he'll spend that time for more training. Ash challenged him once again in The Eighth Wonder of the Sinnoh World! During the last battle between Infernape and Luxray, Infernape's Blaze activated once again, but now, Infernape was able to take control of its ability, and by using the powers it gained, it won the match. This earned Ash the Beacon Badge, thus allowing him to enter the Sinnoh League.
Sprites
| Gen. IV | Platinum | Challenge Sprite | Gen. V |
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
Pokémon
Games
Diamond and Pearl
 Raichu 
|  Ambipom 
|  Octillery 
|  Luxray
| ||||||||
| Lv. 46 | ♂ | Lv. 47 | ♂ | Lv. 47 | ♂ | Lv. 49 | ♂ | ||||
| Ability: Static | Ability: Technician | Ability: Sniper | Ability: Rivalry | ||||||||
| Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: Sitrus Berry | ||||||||
| Charge Beam | Shock Wave | Bullet Seed | Crunch | ||||||||
| Brick Break | Nasty Plot | Aurora Beam | Thunder Fang | ||||||||
| Light Screen | Agility | Charge Beam | Thunder Wave | ||||||||
| Thunder Wave | Baton Pass | Octazooka | Charge Beam | ||||||||
Platinum
 Jolteon
|  Raichu
|  Luxray
|  Lanturn
|  Electivire
| |||||||
| Lv. 61 | ♂ | Lv. 61 | ♂ | Lv. 62 | ♂ | Lv. 63 | ♂ | Lv. 65 | ♂ | ||
| Ability: Volt Absorb | Ability: Static | Ability: Rivalry | Ability: Volt Absorb | Ability: Motor Drive | |||||||
| Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: Sitrus Berry | |||||||
| Charge Beam | Thunder Wave | Thunder Fang | Surf | Giga Impact | |||||||
| Double Kick | Light Screen | Fire Fang | Discharge | Brick Break | |||||||
| Pin Missile | Brick Break | Ice Fang | Ice Beam | Fire Punch | |||||||
| Quick Attack | Charge Beam | Crunch | Signal Beam | ThunderPunch | |||||||
Black 2 and White 2
Trivia
- Strangely, in the tag battle with Flint and Volkner vs. the player and Barry, their Pokémon were the electric/fire counterparts
- At one point in Black and White, Shauntal references battling Volkner in the past.
- Volkner's name is a play on the word Volt since he is an Electric-type trainer.
- Volkner bears a very slight resemblance to Minato Namikaze from the series Naruto.
- As well as Volkner using Electric-type Pokémon, while Minato Namikaze is known as "The Yellow Flash".
- In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, he has an Octillery, which is an unusual Pokémon for him to have, since Octillery is a water-type and he uses Electric types.
