Kenny ケンゴKengo
Kenny
Gender	Male
Eye color	Black
Hair color	Dark Auburn
Hometown	Twinleaf Town
Region	Sinnoh
Trainer class	Coordinator
Animated debut	Getting the Pre-Contest Titters!
English voice actor	Rhonda Krempa (DP026-DP161) Bella Hudson (DP174-DP180)
Japanese voice actor	Yuko Mita

Kenny (Japanese:ケンゴKengo) is a recurring character inPokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl. He is aPokémon Coordinator fromTwinleaf Town and a childhood friend ofDawn andLeona. He and Dawn have since becomerivals.

History

Kenny first appeared inGetting the Pre-Contest Titters!, where it was revealed that he had lost toZoey in the final round of his very firstPokémon Contest. He toldDawn's friends several embarrassing stories involving her, which made her angry and caused her to challenge him to a battle, but Kenny ignored her for a battle againstAsh and hisPikachu. During his battle with Ash, Kenny used themoves of hisPrinplup uniquely, typical of aCoordinator. He blocked Pikachu'sThunderbolt with ease and left everyone impressed, includingJames andMeowth, who were watching all the action from a bush. The battle was interrupted byTeam Rocket and their attempt to steal Prinplup, but their plans were thwarted thanks toDawn's Piplup.

InSettling a Not-So-Old Score!, Kenny competed in theFloaroma Contest. In thePerformance Stage, he used hisAlakazam to deliver a performance reminiscent of a magic show, impressing theContest Judges who placed him among the contestants advancing to theBattle Stage. There, he quickly made his way to the finals, where he found himself up against Dawn. The two fought a hard battle, but when the time ran out, Dawn was declared the winner. Before bidding farewell to her, Kenny said he was happy to have become a Pokémon Coordinator because that way he and Dawn would battle again.

He made a brief appearance ontelevision inThrowing the Track Switch, where he was seen winning theSage Town Pokémon Contest with his Prinplup. This victory gave Kenny his secondRibbon.

InJourney to the Unown!, Kenny was revealed to own aBreloom. He was invited by Ash to finish the battle they started in Floaroma Town, but declined the offer saying he was going to seeDialga andPalkia. He decided to battle Ash at theSolaceon Ruins, right in front of theLegendary Pokémon statues. Using his Breloom againstAsh's Turtwig, Kenny was glad the damage was being kept to a minimum, since it was a battle between twoGrass-type Pokémon. He was more focused on showing off the attacks of his Pokémon, just like Dawn anticipated. Ash was struck by a move in particular,Energy Ball, and asked Kenny to teach the attack to his Turtwig. Kenny said he would only do so if he was defeated. Ash agreed, but their battle was interrupted once again when the stairs where Dawn was sitting on began to lift and they had to run to help her. They all ended up inside the Solaceon Ruins, where Kenny became frightened by the illusions caused by the residentUnown. After hearing from Ash that aTrainer must remain calm to pass confidence to their Pokémon, Kenny pulled himself together and began looking for Dawn. While searching for her, he used his Prinplup and Breloom to snap the Unown that kept appearing along the way out of their confusion. Eventually, he found her, and after seeing Piplup convincing the Unown to bring everything back to normal, he left the ruins along with Dawn and the others. Upon leaving, Ash asked him about their battle, to which Kenny replied agreeing to teach Turtwig Energy Ball as long as Ash did not tell Dawn how scared he was at the ruins.

InTeam Shocker!, Kenny was seen helping Ash teach Turtwig the move Energy Ball. Later, he participated in theSolaceon Town Pokémon Contest. Using Breloom for the appeals, Kenny impressed the judges enough for them to grant him a place in the second round. He then used Prinplup in the Battle Stage, and the Penguin Pokémon quickly advanced him to the finals, where he facedJessilina. Kenny was determined to win, but Jessilina managed to use his techniques to benefit her Pokémon and this led Kenny to a defeat.

Kenny made short cameos inPruning a Passel of Pals! andStrategy with a Smile!, watching theWallace Cup on TV. He then made a cameo inA Breed Stampede!, appearing inMarian's news report about Coordinators alongsideNando.

His next appearance was inStopped in the Name of Love!, where he, along withBarry, revealed that they are best friends, despite having recently met. He also helped search for Piplup when theWater-type Pokémon ran away from Dawn.

InOld Rivals, New Tricks!, he entered theSandalstraw Contest in hopes of getting his fourth Ribbon. He declared war against Dawn and said he would complete the requirement for theGrand Festival before her. He used hisMachoke in the Appeals Round, and the unique performance given by theSuperpower Pokémon easily put him in the second round. Using his reliable Prinplup, he made it to the finals, where he found himself up against Dawn once again. After turning the battle into aping-pong match, Kenny was able to defeat Dawn and herAmbipom, thus winning the Contest.

Kenny entered theSinnoh Grand Festival inLast Call — First Round!, where it was revealed that his Prinplup hadevolved into anEmpoleon. During the Appeals Round, he used Empoleon alongside hisFloatzel, and while the appeal started well, the Emperor Pokémon'sFlash Cannon proved to be too powerful and Floatzel was sent flying. As a result, Kenny didn't make it past the round, leading to an early exit from the competition. Upset about his loss, Kenny decided not to remain for the rest of the Grand Festival, and after bidding farewell to Dawn and her friends, Kenny leftLake Valor to begin his training anew. He made a brief cameo inA Grand Fight for Winning!, watching Dawn and Zoey compete in the finals.

InFour Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port!, Kenny was seen doing some training withJasmine, theOlivine CityGym Leader. He also challenged Ash to aPokémon battle, and told Dawn he wanted her to travel with him if he won. Using his Empoleon againstAsh's Buizel, he was able to win the battle. After that, he told Dawn he would be waiting for her at the city's lighthouse. Dawn didn't show up at the lighthouse, but instead sent him a letter assuring him that as long as they share the dream of becomingTop Coordinators they will meet again. Kenny then set off on his newjourney.

He made a cameo appearance in the ending credits ofZoroark: Master of Illusions.

Character

As a childhood friend ofDawn, Kenny likes to tease her. He often calls her by her nickname,Dee Dee (Japanese:ピカリPikari), which he made up when he was younger to make fun of her. He also likes to share stories of their kindergarten days to embarrass Dawn. Despite this, he still cares about her, as shown inTeam Shocker!, when he became concerned after seeing her become depressed for not making it to theContest Battles of theSolaceonContest.

Despite being friends with Dawn for a long time, he said inGetting the Pre-Contest Titters! that she had never noticed he was also interested in Pokémon Contests when they were younger. InSettling a Not-So-Old Score!, he stated that he was glad to have become aPokémon Coordinator so he and Dawn would see each other often in Contests.

InFour Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port!, Kenny was revealed to have developed a crush on Dawn. He challengedAsh to aPokémon battle and stated that if he won, he would like Dawn to go on ajourney with him. Though Kenny managed to defeat Ash, Dawn sent a message to him, saying that her plans were to cheer Ash on in theLily of the Valley Conference. She also assured him that as long as they have the same dream, they would certainly meet again.

Pokémon

This article is missing information on this character's English voice actor and Japanese voice actor. Please feel free to edit this article to add this information.

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

Piplup → Prinplup →Empoleon

Debut	Getting the Pre-Contest Titters
Voice actors
Japanese	Katsuyuki Konishi
English	Bill Rogers

Main article:Kenny's Empoleon

Empoleon is Kenny's main Pokémon. It is Kenny'sfirst partner Pokémon, and he obtained it when it was aPiplup. Empoleon was first seen as aPrinplup inGetting the Pre-Contest Titters.

Alakazam

Debut	Settling a Not-So-Old Score!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Bill Rogers

Kenny uses hisAlakazam in the first round of theFloaromaPokémon Contest inSettling a Not-So-Old Score!. It made a wonderful performance using itsmoves, which helped Kenny get through to the next round.

Alakazam's known moves areLight Screen,Shadow Ball,Teleport, andHidden Power.

Breloom

Debut	Journey to the Unown!
Voice actors
Japanese	Tomoko Kawakami
English	Bill Rogers

Kenny has aBreloom that appeared inJourney to the Unown! andTeam Shocker!. He has used it in battle againstAsh's Turtwig and helped teach him Energy Ball. Kenny then used it again in his appeal at theSolaceonContest in thefollowing episode.

Breloom's known moves areStun Spore,Mach Punch, andEnergy Ball.

Machoke

Debut	Old Rivals, New Tricks!
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Tom Wayland

Machoke was used in thePerformance Stage of theSandalstrawContest inOld Rivals, New Tricks!, during which its toughness was showcased to great results. TheFighting-type Pokémon began its performance by using Focus Energy to show off its muscles and then used Strength to lift abarbell three times heavier than its ownweight. To finish, Kenny leaped up onto the barbell and posed while Machoke continued to hold it up, leaving the judges very impressed. The presentation secured Kenny a spot in theBattle Stage.

Machoke's known moves areFocus Energy andStrength.

Floatzel♂

Debut	Last Call, First Round!

Kenny'sFloatzel first appeared inLast Call, First Round! as he used him for theappeals round in theSinnoh Grand Festival with hisEmpoleon. During the performance, Floatzel was overpowered by Empoleon'sFlash Cannon and was sent flying backward, causing Kenny to be eliminated from the tournament.

InFour Roads Diverged in a Pokémon Port!, he was training with Kenny beforeTeam Rocket tried to steal him.

Floatzel's known moves areAqua Jet,Whirlpool, andRazor Wind.

Contests

Sinnoh Ribbons

This listing is of theRibbons Kenny has obtained in theSinnohregion:

• Unknown Ribbon (prior toThrowing the Track Switch)
• Sage Ribbon (prior toThrowing the Track Switch)
• Gerbera Ribbon (prior toA Breed Stampede!)
• Sandalstraw Ribbon (Old Rivals, New Tricks!)
• Unknown Ribbon (prior toLast Call — First Round!)

Grand Festival ranking

Kenny has competed in the followingGrand Festival tournaments:

• Sinnoh Grand Festival - Appeal Round (Last Call — First Round!)

Other achievements

Kenny has competed in the followingPokémon Contests:

• Floaroma Contest - Runner-Up (Settling a Not-So-Old Score!)
• Solaceon Contest - Runner-Up (Team Shocker!)

Outfits

• 
  Kenny's outfit in usual Contests
• 
  Kenny's outfit in the Grand Festival

Voice actors

Trivia

• Kenny has a bluePokétch, the one given tomale players inPokémon Diamond and Pearl.
• Kenny is the only one ofDawn'srivals that didn't progress to the second round of theSinnoh Grand Festival.
• Despite being one of Dawn's rivals, Kenny has battled againstAsh more times overall.

Names

Related articles

• Episodes focusing on Kenny
• Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

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

• Characters
• Male characters
• Characters with an unknown English voice actor
• Characters with an unknown Japanese voice actor
• Animation characters
• Coordinators