Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team/Characters

The Main Characters

The Hero -- A human who wakes up in a forest to find they've been mysteriously transformed into a Pokémon, with no memory of how or why... or much of anything beyond their own name. And as time goes on, they gradually start to see a vision of Gardevoir (both in dreams and in reality), who seems to know much about the player's past...

• Audience Surrogate
• Back from the Dead: After stopping The End of the World as We Know It, both the player and the partner find themselves in some sort of Underworld, making them technically dead - until Gengar comes and fishes their souls back from the Underworld.
• Cursed with Awesome
• Disappears Into Light
• Hello, Insert Name Here
• Heroic Mime: The player is privy to their hero's thoughts, but anything they say is left to the imagination (and others' reactions).
  • Though they do talk after level-ups and during the ending.
• Heterosexual Life Partners: With their partner.
  • Platonic Life Partners: Genders weren't defined in these games, so they could be this too.
• Involuntary Transformation: The player actually came to the world of Pokémon of his/her own accord, but may or may not have been expecting actually turning into a Pokémon.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: The player actually requested that their memories be erased during the trip to the Pokémon world; in other words, the amnesia was self-inflicted. Ouch.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Related to the Laser-Guided Amnesia above: Because the hero requested to have his/her memory erased, upon being accused of being the human from the Ninetales legend, he/she had no way to prove otherwise. If you'd kept your memories, then the whole misunderstanding could have been avoided.
• Required Party Member/We Cannot Go on Without You
• Standardized Leader
• Trapped in Another World: This being so since the two worlds are not on different time periods, but rather in different places.

The Partner -- A Pokémon who dreams of founding a Rescue Team, but doesn't have anyone to form the team with... until the player comes into the Pokémon world. After rescuing a Caterpie from a forest, the rescue team is formed by the player and the partner. The partner also provides the player a team base/home at the very beginning.

• Back from the Dead: See explanation above.
• Compressed Vice: Briefly shows cowardice twice, claiming a bad stomachache in order to beg out of an impending boss fight. This doesn't work, and is never referred to thereafter.
• Flat Character: Doesn't get as much Character Development as the Explorers partner received.
• Heterosexual Life Partners: With the hero.
  • Platonic Life Partners: Genders weren't defined in these games, so they could be this too.
• Required Party Member/We Cannot Go on Without You: At least during the main story arc.
• Satellite Character: See above. Aside from their brief bit of pre-boss faked illness, everything about the partner revolves solely around the hero.

Other Rescue Teams

Team Meanies - A trio consisting of Gengar, Medicham, and Ekans, who wants to use this rescue team business as a part of their plan to gain power and riches. Led by Gengar, and is the second boss of the game.

• Card-Carrying Villain: Gengar openly and proudly states his "hidden motives" for starting a rescue team. Really, the team name is a dead giveaway.
• Heel Face Turn: Gengar. He saves the protagonist and the partner from the Underworld as well as helping crafting the Teleport Crystal for the duo to go to the Sky Tower. Also, turns out he was the "cursed" human from the Ninetales legend and he goes into remorse to break that curse on Gardevoir.
• Obviously Evil
• Poison Is Evil: Ekans and Gengar although subverted with Gengar later, as seen under Heel Face Turn.

Team ACT - A trio of Alakazam, Charizard, and Tyranitar who are said to be the best rescue team around, due to their Gold Rank achievement.

• Fun with Acronyms: Their team name.
• Hero Antagonist: They actually help you after Gengar turns the town against you by delaying the mob as long as they can, not to mention how they refuse to prosecute the Pokémon who also help you escape (Caterpie, Shiftry etc).
• The Worf Effect: They're said to be the most powerful team around, yet when they chase the hero and partner down and fight them, the match is pretty equal. Then, later, they're beaten completely by Groudon, which the player's team then proceeds to take down.

Pokémon Square Villagers

The Kecleon Brothers - Two brother Kecleon who run the local Item Shop. The older green Kecleon sells food and berries, and the younger purple Kecleon sells orbs and Technical Machines. They also can be found manning the occasional Dungeon Shop (but beware: Shoplift and Die).

Kangaskhan - A matronly Kangaskhan who takes care of the locals' Storage. Always has kind words for everyone, and calls others terms of endearment like 'dear' or 'sweetie'.

• Team Mom: Acts like one to the hero's team.

Gulpin - A Gulpin who runs the Gulpin Link Shop, where he teaches customers how to link moves together. He can also help Pokémon remember any moves they've forgotten.

Persian - Teller of the "Persian Bank", who jealously watches over money Pokémon store so they don't lose it if a dungeon expedition goes horribly wrong.

Wigglytuff - A Wigglytuff who runs the Friend Area Shop, where Pokémon can buy friend areas to recruit more kinds of Pokémon. Only available after clearing Skarmory in Mt. Steel.

• Cloudcuckoolander: Though not quite as much as Explorers' Wigglytuff.

Makuhita - The head of the Makuhita Dojo, where Pokémon can train in special type-themed dungeons, and even in some dungeons where they can battle the other rescue teams.

Caterpie and Metapod - Two friends who are on friendly terms with the protagonists. They had to be rescued in Tiny Woods and Sinister Woods, respectively.

• Hero Worshipper: Both of them, Caterpie a little more so.

Diglett and Dugtrio - A father-son duo who are usually found overlooking the ocean. Dugtrio loves telling tall tales about his exploits and abilities.

• Large Ham: Dugtrio.

Whiscash - An elderly Pokémon who knows all the ancient legends and lore.

• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: He knows and relates the legend of Ninetales' curse, which directly contributes to the hero being Misblamed and run out of town. To his credit, he had no clue this would occur, and clearly feels guilty about it.

Gardevoir - A mysterious Pokémon that haunts the players dreams. It's revealed she protected her trainer, now Gengar, from getting cursed by Ninetales.

• Laser-Guided Amnesia: After her physical form is restored, she loses all memories of her past.
  • Gameplay and Story Integration: If the player chooses to recruit her after the storyline, she's level 5, which shows that she has forgotten fighting. Kirlia normally evolves into Gardevoir at level 30, and deleveling is impossible in these games.
• Spirit Advisor: Appears as a spirit in the player character's dreams, and once on the way to Mt. Freeze and is not seen by the partner. Although she does return to her physical form later.
• Taking the Bullet: For her old trainer, who is revealed to be who Gengar once was.

Ninetales - A legendary Pokémon residing in Mt. Freeze. It's soon believed that she cursed the player character to turn into a Pokémon after they ran away when Gardevoir protected them. It's revealed to be false, as the player is not the human in the story.