Hi! I'm Whitney! Everyone was into Pokémon, so I got into it too! Pokémon are super-cute! You want to battle? I'm warning you－I'm good!
Whitney, Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal.
Whitney (アカネ, Akane?) is the Gym Leader at Goldenrod City's Gym. She specializes in using Normal-type Pokémon. She is the the third Gym Leader of Johto.
Quick Answers
What is Whitney's signature Pokémon in her Gym battles?
Why is Whitney considered a challenging Gym Leader in Johto?
How does Whitney's appearance reflect her cheerful personality?
How does Whitney's personality reflect in her battle style?
What strategies are effective against Whitney's Normal-type Pokémon?
Appearance[]
Whitney is an athletic and lithe young lady. She has fair skin, pink hair that is usually pulled into pigtails with two small yellow barrettes, and pink eyes that match her hair color and overall cheerful personality.
Gold and Silver[]
Whitney wears a white shirt with pink stripes on the sleeves, ends, and down the middle, along with two yellow triangles to the left of her chest. (She also wears a dark blue sports bra underneath her shirt, according to some art of her that was made by Game Freak.) To complete her outfit, Whitney wears small white shorts, black socks that reach her shins, and sporty sneakers that match her shirt, albeit with a blue strap and triangle on the sides.
Crystal[]
Whitney's appearance remains the same as it is in Gold and Silver.
HeartGold and SoulSilver[]
Whitney wears a white shirt with gold buttons and red stripes over the ends of the sleeves and down the middle, along with denim shorts and long black and blue striped socks that nearly cover her entire shins. Her right arm also has a red wristband, and her shoes have the same red and white pattern as her shirt.
Personality[]
Whitney has a multilayered personality: she is loud, energetic, cheerful, silly and scatterbrained. She is also seen to be gluttonous and an overeater, though she denies it. Whitney is social and friendly, and respects people that defeat her in Gym battles (though she usually throws a crying fit first before she gives winning Trainers the Plain Badge). She is known to have an affinity for Pokémon and anything she deems "cute". Although kind and outgoing on the outside, Whitney tends to throw crying tantrums if she is defeated in battle.
In Pokémon the Series, Whitney remains a cheerful person, but is much more calm when it comes to losing battles, as she is shown to be rather gracious when Ash Ketchum defeats her in a rematch in "A Diary Tale Ending".
Etymology[]
The name Whitney comes from "white" (the color associated with the Normal type), and possibly "whiny" (referencing her behavior after the player wins against her).
Her Japanese name, Akane, originates from 赤ちゃん (akachan, baby, either referencing her love of "cute" Pokémon, or the crying fit she has once defeated) or 赤べこ (Akabeko, a legendary cow in Japanese mythology, as she has a Miltank (and later a Tauros) on her team. Following the plant-based naming of most Gym Leaders, it may also involve 茜 (akane, the Japanese name of the madder plant).
Biography[]
Games[]
Whitney started training Pokémon at a young age, and was talented enough to gain the position of Gym Leader by the Pokémon League, despite her rookie-like experience as a Trainer and slight immaturity (such as leaving the Gym to go to the Radio station to win a Radio Card, and throwing crying fits after she loses). When defeated, Whitney will start crying and will not give the Gym Badge. If the player walks away, one of her Gym Trainers will tell you to talk to her. After Whitney stops crying, she will give the Plain Badge and TM45 (Attract). Once talked to yet again, she will remark that her sadness upon defeat was a good cry, and is eager to see the player once more.
Other appearances[]
Sprites[]
Pokémon[]
Gold, Silver and Crystal[]
 Clefairy 
|
 Miltank
| ||
| Lv. 18 | ♀ | Lv. 20 | ♀
|
| Encore | Stomp | ||
| Mimic | Attract | ||
| DoubleSlap | Milk Drink | ||
| Metronome | Rollout | ||
HeartGold and SoulSilver[]
 Clefairy
|
 Miltank
| ||
| Lv. 17 | ♀ | Lv. 19 | ♀
|
| Ability: Cute Charm | Ability: Scrappy
| ||
| Item: None | Item: Lum Berry
| ||
| Mimic | Attract | ||
| Encore | Milk Drink | ||
| DoubleSlap | Stomp | ||
| Metronome | Rollout | ||
Black 2 and White 2[]
Stadium 2[]
Trivia[]
- All of Whitney's Pokémon in the main series are female.
- There is a Whitney look-alike in the Generation III Pokémon Contest audiences. Alongside this character are also Jasmine and Pryce look-alikes.
- She is the first Gym Leader to primarily use Normal-type Pokémon.
- In the Japanese version, Whitney speaks in the Kansai dialect, with the Kansai region being the inspiration for Johto.
- In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Version, during the first battle, her Clefairy's ability is Cute Charm, however, during the rematch, her Clefable's ability is Magic Guard, but it should still be Cute Charm.
- In Pokémon Masters EX, Whitney reveals that she first met her Miltank at the Moomoo Farm.
- Whitney is the only Gym Leader whose team's movesets do not change between Generations II and IV, although their levels do.
- She is the first Johto Gym Leader that uses a Generation II Pokémon in battle, something only half of Johto's Gym Leaders do.
- In Pokémon Black Version 2 and Pokémon White Version 2, Whitney does not use any dual-type Pokémon in the Pokémon World Tournament, as all of her Pokémon are pure Normal-type. She shares this trait with Cheren, who is also a Normal-type Gym Leader.
| Locations · Pokédex | |
| Gym Leaders | |
| Frontier BrainsHGSS | |
| Others | |
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| Characters | |
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| Johto | |||||||
| Hoenn | |||||||
| Sinnoh | |||||||
| Unova |
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| Kalos | |||||||
| Galar | |||||||
| Paldea | |||||||
| Orange Islands | |||||||
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