Pokemon Adventures: Red (ESFP)

Se:

“It’s pointless to plan ahead when fighting deoxys! Whenever we do, it’ll just change its forme to slip out of it or retake the advantage. Just use your most powerful moves and strike as hard as you can!”

“I could use a trainer with your stubbornness, your explosive energy, your empathy for your Pokemon…” – Giovanni to Red

Red from Pokemon Adventures is a fairly typical ESFP anime protagonist. He’s impulsive, and constantly rushes into situations without thinking. For instance, when leaving Pallet Town for the first time, he realizes that he doesn’t have many Pokemon with him, but pretty much just shrugs his shoulders and continues on anyway, clearly unconcerned. He is often shown acting in this manner, like when he decides to sneak onto a ship just for the fun of it. Red frequently jumps into battles that he’s not prepared for, and Blue berates him for this. For instance, he enters a competition without any battle ready Pokemon, and realizes this too late. Red is competitive and cocky, which is relatively typical for Se dominants. He’s shown lashing out physically in anger, like trying to punch Blue when he’s just insulted Red. He’s not afraid to talk to people, or to challenge them to some kind of match. However, he is also shown giving into Se temptations and foregoing training, due to laziness or even “cute girls.” He’s not one to do a whole lot of speculating. Blue seems to take on that role when the two of them work together. He’s also opportunistic, and is shown setting aside his anger to ask for training from an old lady who had just captured him and Blue. (Blue had a hard time accepting that this was a good idea.)

Fi:

“I can’t attack a defenseless opponent.”

“How come there are so many bad people in the world?”

Red connects with people wherever he goes. He’s quick to help anyone he crosses paths with when they need it. He meets a girl whose had her Pokemon stolen, gets angry for her, and immediately rushes off to hunt down the thieves. In addition, he’s always focusing on becoming friends with all of his Pokemon. After Blue and him accidentally swap Pokemon, Red is shown focusing all his efforts on trying to befriend them. Later, when Blue gets his Pokemon back, he is confused by how much more friendly they appear to be. He also states very clear Fi values and demonstrates Fi idealism. He refuses to attack defenseless opponents, disapproves of Green’s purely money driven goals, and etc. He’s prone to declaring that things aren’t fair, and doesn’t understand why there are so many bad people in the world. He also frequently berates Blue for his mean and obnoxious personality early on after first meeting him. He’s also naive, allowing himself to be tricked by Green multiple times in a row after initially meeting her. Lastly, Red holds himself to a high standard. After losing a battle while not in the possession of his pokedex, he declares that he is unworthy to be a pokedex holder, and starts to believe that is why Professor Oak had him leave it in Pallet Town (inf. Ni).

Te:

“I won’t give up until I’ve accomplished my goals!”

Red is very goal oriented, determined to be the greatest Pokemon trainer that ever lived. He is very vocal about his values and goals. He refuses to surrender, and is shown explaining his entire reasoning for not surrendering to his opponent, which is demonstrative of extraverted thinking. He also on occasion is shown taking control of his environment, like when he pushes away Blue in order to approach an old lady to ask for training. Red’s failure to plan can also be indicative of low Te use. He intends to heal his Pokemon prior to entering a certain competition, but fails to plan ahead far enough, and things work out such that he’s unable to get it done prior to the match.

Ni:

“But I have a feeling I’ve seen this face somewhere before…”

Red’s inferior Ni shows up as the occasional vague memories and “feelings” that he can’t quite place (see quote above), and in his impulsive behavior. As mentioned, he frequently charges into situations without considering the future or making any effort to plan. However, he actually briefly slips into the grip of Ni during Leaf Green/Fire Red after losing badly to a deoxy. He loses all of his optimism and starts to believe that it’s impossible to win. He believes that if any of them attempt to battle the deoxy in the future, they will inevitably lose. He also starts to wonder why he’s even fighting to begin with, and ponders this for a while. Eventually, he determines that he is fighting for himself, which is another clear example of his Fi.