TV-Series
Description
Professeur Friede, known simply as Friede to most of his companions, is a Pokémon Professor and one of the founders and the original leader of the Rising Volt Tacklers, a group of adventurers who travel the world aboard an airship called the Brave Olivine. He comes from the Kanto region and began his career as a researcher for the Exceed company, where he worked under the tutelage of Lucca, the mother of one of the story's main characters. Friede eventually left that laboratory position, feeling that he already knew everything there was to know about Pokémon and that indoor research no longer held any interest for him. It was Lucca who revived his curiosity by introducing him to a Pikachu with the unusual ability to fly using Volt Tackle. Fascinated, Friede studied the Pokémon, asked it to become his partner, and decided to travel the world in search of unsolved mysteries. With the help of his childhood friend Orla, he converted a fishing boat belonging to the elderly Ludlow into the airship Brave Olivine, named the Pikachu as its captain, and founded the Rising Volt Tacklers.
In personality, Friede is lively, adventurous, and unconventional, a researcher who much prefers fieldwork to a desk. He is charismatic and free-spirited, bringing energy to everything he does, and he dislikes being addressed by his title of Professor. Although he is an accomplished battler, he is more interested in being useful than in being celebrated. He teaches by example, showing his younger companions how to act in the field rather than lecturing them. His good-natured demeanor has some quirks: he is forgetful, sometimes misses meals, and has a habit of putting off important explanations until a situation becomes urgent. He is also fiercely devoted to his crew and will place himself in considerable danger to protect them. As a leader, he is competent without being authoritarian, guiding the group through trust and consensus rather than commands.
Friede's central motivation is a genuine love of discovery. He wants to explore the world, meet new Pokémon, and uncover answers to unresolved questions, a drive that leads him away from established institutions like Exceed and toward a life of travel. He also takes on a protective mission early in the story when Lucca hires him and his crew to act as bodyguards for her daughter, Liko. Friede rescues Liko from the Explorers, an antagonistic organization, and eventually welcomes her aboard the Brave Olivine, where she and the young trainer Roy come to see him as a mentor. His involvement deepens as the crew investigates the mystery of Liko's pendant, the legendary Pokémon Terapagos connected to it, and the fabled destination of Laqua, all while contending with the Explorers. Friede is careful about what he shares regarding these mysteries, in part because of his own past ties to the research surrounding them.
His key relationships are central to his role. With Liko, he is a protector and guide, helping her grow into a more confident trainer. With Roy, he is a teacher who encourages the boy's enthusiasm and organizes training for him. His closest companions are his Pokémon: Charizard, his powerful battling partner and preferred means of aerial travel; Captain Pikachu, the flying Pikachu who serves as the airship's captain and his closest friend; and Starmie, a partner he gives the title of Instructor Starmie, which he encountered while training for a mission in space. Among the human crew, he shares a long friendship with the mechanic Orla, whose skill made the airship possible, and he works alongside Ludlow, the cook Murdock, and the Pokémon doctor Mollie. His history with Lucca, both as her student and as someone connected to her former workplace, gives their relationship a layer of personal weight.
Over the course of the story, Friede develops from a disillusioned researcher into a dependable adventurer and guardian. His early belief that he already knew everything gave way to a humble awareness of how much remained to learn, a change sparked by Captain Pikachu. As a mentor, he grows more attentive to the needs of Liko and Roy, even while his protective instinct sometimes leads him to withhold dangerous information. His defining moment comes during the escape from Laqua, when he ensures Captain Pikachu is safe with Liko and then falls from the airship alongside Charizard, disappearing without confirmation of his fate. He is later revealed to have survived, having spent more than a year in space on a mission before returning to deliver his findings on the substance Laquium to the Devon Corporation. In his absence, Captain Pikachu stayed close to Roy, and the reformed Rising Volt Tacklers eventually came under Roy's leadership.
As a trainer, Friede's notable abilities set him apart. He is a formidable battler whose Charizard is capable of both Mega Evolution and Terastallization, making him one of the strongest trainers active in the field. He favors a team of strong, independent Pokémon that younger Pokémon tend to look up to, and he gives his partners ceremonial titles such as Captain Pikachu and Instructor Starmie. He is also an experienced pilot and navigator, able to operate the Brave Olivine when needed. Combined with his knowledge as a Pokémon Professor and his willingness to leap into action, these skills make him both the practical and the emotional anchor of his found family.
In personality, Friede is lively, adventurous, and unconventional, a researcher who much prefers fieldwork to a desk. He is charismatic and free-spirited, bringing energy to everything he does, and he dislikes being addressed by his title of Professor. Although he is an accomplished battler, he is more interested in being useful than in being celebrated. He teaches by example, showing his younger companions how to act in the field rather than lecturing them. His good-natured demeanor has some quirks: he is forgetful, sometimes misses meals, and has a habit of putting off important explanations until a situation becomes urgent. He is also fiercely devoted to his crew and will place himself in considerable danger to protect them. As a leader, he is competent without being authoritarian, guiding the group through trust and consensus rather than commands.
Friede's central motivation is a genuine love of discovery. He wants to explore the world, meet new Pokémon, and uncover answers to unresolved questions, a drive that leads him away from established institutions like Exceed and toward a life of travel. He also takes on a protective mission early in the story when Lucca hires him and his crew to act as bodyguards for her daughter, Liko. Friede rescues Liko from the Explorers, an antagonistic organization, and eventually welcomes her aboard the Brave Olivine, where she and the young trainer Roy come to see him as a mentor. His involvement deepens as the crew investigates the mystery of Liko's pendant, the legendary Pokémon Terapagos connected to it, and the fabled destination of Laqua, all while contending with the Explorers. Friede is careful about what he shares regarding these mysteries, in part because of his own past ties to the research surrounding them.
His key relationships are central to his role. With Liko, he is a protector and guide, helping her grow into a more confident trainer. With Roy, he is a teacher who encourages the boy's enthusiasm and organizes training for him. His closest companions are his Pokémon: Charizard, his powerful battling partner and preferred means of aerial travel; Captain Pikachu, the flying Pikachu who serves as the airship's captain and his closest friend; and Starmie, a partner he gives the title of Instructor Starmie, which he encountered while training for a mission in space. Among the human crew, he shares a long friendship with the mechanic Orla, whose skill made the airship possible, and he works alongside Ludlow, the cook Murdock, and the Pokémon doctor Mollie. His history with Lucca, both as her student and as someone connected to her former workplace, gives their relationship a layer of personal weight.
Over the course of the story, Friede develops from a disillusioned researcher into a dependable adventurer and guardian. His early belief that he already knew everything gave way to a humble awareness of how much remained to learn, a change sparked by Captain Pikachu. As a mentor, he grows more attentive to the needs of Liko and Roy, even while his protective instinct sometimes leads him to withhold dangerous information. His defining moment comes during the escape from Laqua, when he ensures Captain Pikachu is safe with Liko and then falls from the airship alongside Charizard, disappearing without confirmation of his fate. He is later revealed to have survived, having spent more than a year in space on a mission before returning to deliver his findings on the substance Laquium to the Devon Corporation. In his absence, Captain Pikachu stayed close to Roy, and the reformed Rising Volt Tacklers eventually came under Roy's leadership.
As a trainer, Friede's notable abilities set him apart. He is a formidable battler whose Charizard is capable of both Mega Evolution and Terastallization, making him one of the strongest trainers active in the field. He favors a team of strong, independent Pokémon that younger Pokémon tend to look up to, and he gives his partners ceremonial titles such as Captain Pikachu and Instructor Starmie. He is also an experienced pilot and navigator, able to operate the Brave Olivine when needed. Combined with his knowledge as a Pokémon Professor and his willingness to leap into action, these skills make him both the practical and the emotional anchor of his found family.