Harley ハーリーHarley
Harley
Gender	Male
Eye color	Blue
Hair color	Purple
Hometown	Slateport City
Region	Hoenn
Trainer class	Coordinator
Animated debut	A Cacturne for the Worse
English voice actor	Andrew Rannells (AG103-AG144) Billy Regan (AG160-AG187)
Japanese voice actor	Jun'ichi Kanemaru

Harley (Japanese:ハーリーHarley) is a recurring character inPokémon the Series. He is aPokémon Coordinator fromSlateport City and one ofMay'srivals. He first appeared inA Cacturne for the Worse.

History

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

Harley debuted inA Cacturne for the Worse as one of theCoordinators entering theIzabe IslandPokémon Contest. When he first metMay, he was annoyed at her for several petty reasons: she was not familiar with hisCacturne, she called it "scary", and she said the cookies he offered her were "not half bad". Later, the two competed in the Izabe Contest. In theAppeals Round, Harley said that he didn't want anyone to talk during the performance of his Cacturne. After that round, in an attempt to publicly humiliate May, he played a recording ofMax recalling a time when May was younger and became stuck in water with a swarm ofTentacool. May was embarrassed, but managed to defeat Harley and Cacturne with the help of herBulbasaur.

Harley and May met up again inSlateport City for theHoenn Grand Festival duringHi Ho Silver Wind!,Deceit and Assist, andRhapsody in Drew. Harley pretended that he was friends with May, and she initially believed him. He gave her bad advice on purpose hoping she would fail to pass the first round of the Grand Festival, such as recommending that she stick with Beautifly'sSilver Wind or Skitty'sAssist in the early rounds rather than a greater variety of moves. Meanwhile,Drew watched Harley, noticing how he tricked May. Later, May realized Harley's ploy, and soon the two were to battle once again. This time, it was Harley's Cacturne andBanette versus May's Bulbasaur andBeautifly. May won this battle as well, and progressed further into the tournament.

Harley's next appearance was inSaffron City duringThe Saffron Con andA Hurdle for Squirtle. This time, he met May in thePokémon Center, where he stated he was working as an assistant toNurse Joy in gratitude for her healing his Cacturne. He stated that he was sorry and that he was working hard to make up for things. All of it was a lie in order to fool May once again. After gaining May's trust, he told her that she could use herHoennContest Pass to compete inKantoPokémon Contests, and also lied about the deadline for registration. This nearly left May out of the Saffron Contest. However,Lilian Meridian gave her a Kanto Contest Pass and a Ribbon case in thanks for her help in repellingTeam Rocket when they raided the Pokémon Center.

Harley competed in the Saffron Contest using Cacturne for theappeals and Ariados for thebattles. He defeatedJessie who entered withWobbuffet, but was defeated by May and herSquirtle in the finals.

InHarley Rides Again, Harley competed in theWisteria Contest. In the first round, he used Ariados'sSpider Web to surround the stage with its web, similar to the previous Contest. He then asked it to entangle itself with its web and useScary Face, scaring everyone. He then used his Octillery againstMay's Munchlax in battle. After utilizingOctazooka,Sludge Bomb andRest, he managed to defeat May.

InNew Plot, Odd Lot! andGoing for Choke!, after learning that May needed one more Ribbon to enter the Grand Festival, Harley devised a plan to prevent this. To do this, he enlisted the help of Team Rocket, promising to help Jessie win and havingJames andMeowth help him sabotage May behind the scenes. However,Ash,Brock, Max, and Drew got wind of this and thwarted his plan.

InNew Plot, Odd Lot!, it was also mentioned that part of Harley's hate for May came from when a girl who looked like May ate his food when he was younger.

InMay, We Harley Drew'd Ya!,Thinning the Hoard, andChanneling the Battle Zone, Harley competed in theKanto Grand Festival. In the Appeals Round, he used his Banette while dressed up as May, asking himself to be calledMayley. He used Cacturne and Wigglytuff against Munchlax and Eevee, but both defeated his Pokémon.

InThe Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing, Harley simply watched May and Drew have a practice Contest Battle. At the end of the episode, he revealed that he was also going to compete in Contests in theJohtoregion. He also invitedJessie to do the same, but she denied, saying she still wanted to stay inTeam Rocket. Because of this, he got mad at her. He then sent out his Cacturne to battle her. As she was searching for a Pokémon to use, Harley asked Cacturne to useBullet Seed, sending Team Rocket flying with Jessie still looking for a Pokémon.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

InA Full Course Tag Battle!, Harley andWigglytuff appeared in a flashback. Harley later made cameo appearances with Drew and Solidad inStaging a Heroes' Welcome! andStrategy with a Smile!, where they were atEcruteak City, watching May live on TV as she performed in theWallace Cup.

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

InBattling as Hard as Stone!, Harley appeared alongside Drew andProfessor Birch, watchingSteven'sMasters Eight Tournament match against Ash ontelevision.

Character

Harley has a rather peculiar personality. He is undeniably flamboyant, wearing an outfit similar in appearance toCacturne, and has very effeminate mannerisms, which include wiggling his hips as he walks and talking with a high voice. Additionally, in the Japanese version, he uses アタシatashi, the Japanese feminine version ofI. He also has a tendency to use English words intermixed with his normal Japanese speech; for example, he callsCacturne andBanette "my buddies" and tellsMay "good morning". In theLatin American dub, this is replaced by using Latin American slang and allusions to local urban culture; for example, he sings a song by the Mexican showmanJuan Gabriel in theKanto Grand Festival, as hisOctillery dances in the flames. Another example of his feminine side is seen inMay, We Harley Drew'd Ya!, where he cross-dresses as May, calling himself "Mayley" (Japanese:ハリカHarika), much to May's embarrassment,Ash's astonishment, andSolidad's amusement. He is old friends with Solidad, as she said so herself. He hasContest Passes to compete inHoenn,Kanto, and presumablyJohto as well.

In his quest to become aTop Coordinator, Harley has employed unsportsmanlike tactics, such as publicly embarrassing his opponents and purposely giving inaccurate information to them. May has been one of his constant targets, and she often falls victim of his ill-intentioned actions. Despite his bad sportsmanship, Harley is a skilledCoordinator whose well-trained Pokémon have allowed him to compete in at least twoGrand Festival tournaments. Whether he is performing or battling, Harley tends to showcase the more sinister side of his Pokémon, which may leave spectators frightened. While his performances are not always well-liked by the audience, thejudges have shown appreciation for his efforts to display his Pokémon's charms and skills.

Harley is a conniving character with little to no regard for anybody but himself and his Pokémon. On some occasions, however, Harley does seem to be willing to help others in trouble, as seen inThe Saffron Con, where Harley used hisAriados to preventTeam Rocket from escaping with stolen Pokémon. He tends to get personal vendettas against people for the smallest of reasons. For example, his vendetta against May began after they first met, when she said she had never heard of Cacturne before, that Cacturne was "scary", and that his cookies were "not half bad"; however, the supposed "real" reason he started to dislike her was because she looks just like aclassmate who stole his last snack when he was a small child.

He keepsphotos of people that he has grudges against in a photo album and tends to inflict humiliation to try to get the better of an opponent, showing sadistic pleasure when he does. This is evident when he pretended to be friends withMax in order to get him to tell an embarrassing story about May only to record it and play it during a Pokémon Contest. Finally, as evidenced by his performances, Harley shows no qualms in using dirty tactics to win.

Harley tended to use nicknames for May behind her back. The first was "Miss Tent" (Japanese:Meno-chan) after embarrassing her with the Tentacool story. The second wasKamo-chan, referring to the word often used at the end of May's sentences in Japanese that can imply uncertainty. In English, he calls her various cutesy pet-names, including "gingerbread-cookie".

Pokémon

Harley seems to take immense pride in his Pokémon, so much so in fact that he dresses up in clothing modeled after his signature Pokémon, Cacturne. None of Harley's Pokémon share a particular type, but they all have one attribute in common: they can be quite menacing in Contests, even the normally cute Wigglytuff.

This listing is of Harley's knownPokémon inPokémon the Series:

Cacturne

Debut	A Cacturne for the Worse
Voice actors
Japanese	Yūji Ueda
English	Unknown (AG103-AG144) Billy Beach (AG174-AG187)

Main article:Harley's Cacturne

Cacturne is Harley's main Pokémon. It made its first appearance inA Cacturne for the Worse, along with Harley.

Banette

Debut	Deceit and Assist
Voice actors
Japanese	Ikue Otani (AG122 -AG123,AG180 - present) Chinami Nishimura (AG174) Shin-ichiro Miki (AG175)
English	Darren Dunstan (AG122-AG123) Carter Cathcart (AG174-AG180)

Banette debuted in theHoenn Grand Festival when it became Harley's turn to perform on stage during the appeal round. Banette's entrance was one that horrifies the audience. Banette performed a combination of Will-O-Wisp and Thunder. As a result, Harley was able to move on to the Double Battle round. During that round, Banette was sent out along withCacturne to battleMay, where they were defeated by bothBulbasaur andBeautifly, eliminating Harley from the competition.

Banette reappeared inNew Plot, Odd Lot! where Harley lends it to Jessie for theMulberry CityContest in an attempt to prevent May from getting her final Ribbon. It was officially used in the battle round where it went up againstMay's Squirtle in the final match. As Banette was Harley's Pokémon, it was told to use Frustration continually. Since all Banette did was repeatedly use the attack, this resulted in a loss for Jessie and the plan of having May not get her fifth Ribbon failed.

InMay, We Harley Drew'd Ya!, Harley uses it in theKanto Grand Festival and appeals with a Will-O-Wisp, moving Harley to the next round.

Banette's known moves areWill-O-Wisp,Thunder,Screech,Torment, andFrustration.

Ariados

Debut	The Saffron Con
Voice actors
Japanese	Daisuke Sakaguchi
English	Daisuke Sakaguchi

Ariados first appeared inThe Saffron Con where it tried to stopTeam Rocket from getting away with the Pokémon caught in theirmecha. In thefollowing episode, Ariados was used in the battle round of where it went up againstJessie's Wobbuffet. Even though Wobbuffet'sCounter andMirror Coat would have been successful on Ariados, Harley was reluctant to have Ariados attack first and Wobbuffet only had moves that would deflect attacks back at the opponent. Since neither of them made a move, both were issued a yellow card, decreasing the points by half. Before another one was issued, Ariados starts to launch a String Shot at Wobbuffet, rendering it useless. Ariados defeats Wobbuffet by controlling it to move like a puppet. It then went on to defeat various opponents such as aWalrein. In the final match, it went up againstMay's Squirtle. Even though it was Squirtle's first Contest, Ariados ends up getting defeated.

Ariados reappeared inHarley Rides Again, performing in the appeals round of theWisteria TownContest. Harley gave Ariados toJames andTeam Rocket inNew Plot, Odd Lot! as part of an effort to interfere with May's performance at theMulberry City Contest. It shot an invisible web from above at both May and herCombusken while they were appealing. However, this was unsuccessful after Combusken'sFire Spin went through the web and burned Ariados.

Ariados's known moves areSpider Web,String Shot,Scary Face,Double-Edge, andShadow Ball*.

Octillery

Debut	Harley Rides Again
Voice actors
Japanese	Unshō Ishizuka
English	Unshō Ishizuka

Octillery first appeared inHarley Rides Again, where Harley used it to battleMay's Munchlax in the final match of theWisteria TownContest. Octillery wins the match with a combination of Rest to restore its strength and Octazooka to finish off Munchlax.

It reappeared inThinning the Hoard!, where it was used during the second appeal round of theKanto Grand Festival.

Octillery's known moves areConstrict,Octazooka,Sludge Bomb,Rest, andFire Blast.

Wigglytuff

Debut	Thinning the Hoard!
Voice actors
Japanese	Yumi Touma
English	Michele Knotz

Wigglytuff's first appearance was inThinning the Hoard!, where it was used in the Double Battle round of theKanto Grand Festival. It battled alongsideHarley's Cacturne againstMay's Eevee andMunchlax. Even though Cacturne was defeated, Wigglytuff was still a match for Eevee and Munchlax, since it had the capability to expand its rubber-like body. Their attacks were subsequently rendered useless on Wigglytuff. After learning fromLilian that Wigglytuff was the Balloon Pokémon, May quickly thought of a plan to use this to her advantage. She had Eevee shoot aShadow Ball and ordered Munchlax to destroy the attack; this resulted in an explosion, making Wigglytuff lose its balance. Wigglytuff was eventually defeated by May's Munchlax'sFocus Punch, with the help of Eevee.

Wigglytuff reappeared inA Full Course Tag Battle!, duringMay's flashback of Drew and Harley. She mentions that she can't beat either of them yet.

Harley's Wigglytuff is rather different from the other Pokémon of this species. It has a purple glare across its face, which is probably an attempt to make Wigglytuff fit the 'evil' stereotype of Harley's Pokémon.

Wigglytuff's known moves areBody Slam andDouble Slap.

Contests

Hoenn Ribbons

This listing is of theRibbons Harley has obtained in theHoennregion:

• Five unknown Ribbons (prior toWho, What, When, Where, Wynaut?)

Kanto Ribbons

This listing is of theRibbons Harley has obtained in theKantoregion:

• Three unknown Ribbons (prior toHarley Rides Again)
• Wisteria Ribbon (Harley Rides Again)
• Unknown Ribbon (prior toNew Plot, Odd Lot!)

Grand Festival ranking

Harley has competed in the followingGrand Festival tournaments:

• Hoenn Grand Festival - Top 32 (Rhapsody in Drew)
• Kanto Grand Festival - Top 16 (Thinning the Hoard!)

Other achievements

Harley has competed in the followingPokémon Contests:

• Purika Contest - Runner-Up (A Cacturne for the Worse)
• Saffron Contest - Runner-Up (A Hurdle for Squirtle)

Voice actors

Trivia

• Harley's name may be derived from 針hari (needle), referring tohis signature Pokémon,Cacturne.
• In the original Japanese version of the animated series, one of Harley's reasons for disliking May is her over-usage of the word "かも (kamo)", which is a word that can be added to the ends of sentences when the speaker wants to show uncertainty. Harley is annoyed by this way of speaking and is convinced that May does it to make herself sound cute and harmless, not because she is actually unsure of what she is saying. He even sometimes calls her "かもちゃん (kamochan)", the -ちゃん suffix being a diminutive Japanese honorific that can be used when addressing or referring to young girls.
• Harley'sBanette is the only Pokémon inPokémon the Series to have used the moveTorment.

Names

Related articles

• Episodes focusing on Harley
• Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

This article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.

• Characters
• Male characters
• Animation characters
• Coordinators