In a long-running franchise that basically thrives on minimal characterization, it’s only natural that the Gym Leaders, each Generation’s defacto 𒐪bosses, end up some of the most popular characters in the Pokémon series. While they rarely, if ever, interact with the plot in some meaningful way, they end up some of the most appealing characters in large part due to t🥀heir designs and easy to understand personalities. In typing all the Gym Leaders, Game Freak is capable of using visual shorthand to quick🍬ly convey traits and demeanors to players without slowing down the pacing.

Naturally, Sabrina has wound up one of the more populꦓar Gym Leaders in the franchise. With countless appearances in half a dozen mangas, the anime, and even multiple Generations, it’s hard not to like Sabrina. Her personality is clearly defined, she has a great design that constantly changes, and she’s just generally likable (depending on which version of the series you’re consuming.) For as simplistic as the Gym Leaders can be, howev𓆉er, it’s not as if Game Freak writes them with absolutely no nuances. Starting with Generation II, characters began taking on subtle traits. As a result, Sabrina has become quite the complex character with plenty of information to dig through.

32 Sabrina Uses Telepathy To Talk With Her Pokémon

For whatever reason, there happens to be an incredi𒀰ble ♏amount of dialogue referring to Sabrina’s character. While this isn’t unusual for Gym Leaders Generation IV and onwards, it is strange that even before HeartGold and SoulSilver Sabrina was ea♌sily the most characterized of the Kanto Gym Leaders. In fact, oꩲne of the first things you learn about her is that she can telecommunicate with her Pokémon.

As a psychic, this is perhaps not too out of the ordinary, but to get a confirmation outright that such a feat is possible in the Pokémon universe is a massive deal, 🍸especially when it’s in reference to a major Gym Leader. Of course, given Sabrina’s role in both Gen I and Gen II, this doeꦯsn’t amount to much but flavor text, but it certainly adds some depth to her character.

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30 Sabrina Is 21 During Generation I

Ages in Pokémon have always been a bit tricky. Red and Ash are both 10, but the former ages while the latter doesn’t. Brock and Misty accompany Ash, but are the♐y 10? Is Misty a Gym Leader and not even a teenager? How old is Brock an꧑yways? How old do you have to be in order to become a Gym Leader? There’s no real clear-cut answer, but The Electric Tale of Pikachu tries to offer an answer.

Gym Leader ages are still weird.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu, it’s reve🍌aled that Sabrina is 21 years old. Given that she’s considered rather young for a Gym Leader, we can at least assume that most Gym Leaders are in their 20ﷺs. Of course, this is also the series where Misty, despite being roughly 13, still plays a major role but that’s beside the point. At least this manga tried giving reasonable ages to the cast.

29 She Personally Decommissioned The Karate King’s Gym

While Sabrina is, all things considered, one of the nicer Gym Leaders in the first Generat🐼ion, her backstory reveals something not so kind about her. Before the events of Red, Blue, and Yellow, Saffron City had two gyms: the Fighting Gym and Ps𝄹ychic Gym. They coexisted in an attempt to give Kanto nine badges, but Sabrina had none of that.

When you're so good at your job that you don't want anybody else doing it. 

As soon as Sabrina became Gym Leader of the Psychic Gym, she apparently went to the Fighting Gym and challenged the Karate Master to a battle. It’s implied that this battle put both Gyms on the line with the loser retiring as, onc🦄e Sabrina won, the Fighting Gym lost its League recognition, rebranding itself as a Dojo.

28 Sabrina Can See The Future

Dialogues with Sabrina will almost always reference her ability to see the future in some way. She claims to have foreseen both Red and Gold when they challenge her respectively, and she even apparently sees her d⭕efeat in some respect, at least in the case of the former. When battling Gold, especially in rematches, she’ll sometimes mention off hand how she saw herself winning or that her visions aren’t always foolproof. It’s interesting enough for Pokémon to introduce the ability to see the future, but making it fallible✃ gives it added depth.

27 Sabrina’s Inconsistent Champion Vision

Speaking of fallible visions, Sabrina makes a vision in Generation II that, for all intents and purposes, is a legitimate plot hole.💝 Upon defeating Sabrina, she comments on how Gold will go on to make a great Champion. Specifically, she comments how she had a vision that Gold would be Champion. ꦫHere’s the problem: Gold is already Champion.

While the Elite Four doesn’t recognize him꧑ for gameplay reasons, the whole♛ reason Gold ventures to Kanto is because he’s Cha🅠mpion. Now he’s just challenging the Kanto Gym Leaders for fun. They should naturally all know this, but Sabrina doesn’t. In fact, she has a vision he’ll become Champion. It’s all very odd and a result of Game Freak refusing to commit whole hog to the idea of a pos🦂t-game in Pokemon.

26 Sabrina’s Gen I Characterization

Althoughဣ Sabrina is as kind as she typically is in Gen I compared to otheꦿr Generations, her characterization in Red and Blue is legitimately skewed. While everything seems business as usual on a textual level, Sabrina is visually… off, so to speak. Her actual design is fine, and in 💮line with the rest of the series, but she’s holding a prop that doesn’t con🅘vey her personality.

Sabrina's not quite herself until Gen II. 

If you need a reminder, it’s the whip. For some reason, Sabrina wields a whip during her Gym Battle against Red. Now, this isn't’ a trait unique to her in the first two games, but it’s one that🤡 creates a contradiction in her character. Why would Sabrina, someone who respects her Pokémon and has a strong bond with them, whip them? This gets all the odder when you learn how Sabrina feels about🐓 battling in general.

25 Sabrina Hates Battling

In a line of dialogue that passes by so fast, it honest to A💮rceus may as well not exist, it’s mentioned that Sabrina deplores battling. She’s the type of trainer who only battles because she has to. This is definitely a weird trait given she’s a Gym Leader, but it’s not one unique to her. In giving Sabrina a whip in the first two games, however, Game Freak completely undermines this characterization. Characters need to make sense both visually and cohesively. The redesign she got in Yellow was honestly ෴for the best as was removing wꦏhips from the series altogether.

24 Ash Battles Sabrina Out Of Order

Although the Pokémon anime is far from a faithful adaptation, it at least tried to follow the main game’s beats as closely as possible. Events were changed in order to create actual drama, but the structure was about the same. Until Ash got to Sabrina. For whatever reason, instead of battling Sabrin꧂a sixth, Ash battles her fourth.

Even though this isn’t all that big a deal in theory, i🦩t severely hurts Sabrina’s reputation. In Generation I, she’s easily one of the toughest Gym Leaders in large part due to the fact that she’s designed to be fought near the end of the game. Stuffing her so early in the anime removes her natural tension and just makes for a weaker display of ꦓpower on her part.

23 Sabrina’s A Jerk In The Anime

While she’s not exactly “nice” in the games, Sabrina’s not mean either. She’s fairly professional, treats you with respect, and acts how a Gym Leader should. In the anime, howeﷺver, Sabrina’s a big ol’ jerk. Every time Ash tries to battle her, she either puts him down maliciously or tries to torture him with her Psychic abilities. It takes Ash befriending a Haunter to give her that finally snaps Sabrina out of her funk. It’s a bizarre take that takes a likable character in the game and turns her into a massive pain. You have to wonder what the anime staff was thinking 🐻here.