Janine Shimizu
Janine Shimizu (清水 アンズ, Shimizu Anzu, born May 17, 1987) is the current Fuchsia City Gym Leader and one of the few remaining practitioners of Kanto-style ninjutsu.
Early Life
Shimizu was born in Fuchsia City to Koga Shimizu and his then-wife (whose name, for some reason, has never been revealed to the public). She quickly learned the ninjutsu teachings of her father, as he was the one who raised her at the Gym. By her 10th birthday, she was already one of the most advanced ninja her father trained.
At that point in time, her father decided to send her off on her own Pokémon journey, presenting her with her first Pokémon: a Venonat. It was also at this time that, like her father, she took another given name, reversing the syllables in the word "ninja" to come up with her given "Janine".
In a 2006 interview with Johto Radio's Places and People!, she said her decision to change her name stemmed from "too many people mispronouncing her name. 'Anzu' isn't that hard of a name to mess up, but you'd be surprised how many people did. I'd get An-zoo, Ahn-shoo, Ain-zu…it irritated me to no end. So I changed it. Yeah, people still call me Anzu—but you'll only meet the ones who can pronounce it correctly."
As Gym Leader
Shimizu took over the Gym from her father in 2000, after he was promoted to the Johto Elite Four. At 13, she became the second-youngest person to ascend to the rank of Gym Leader anywhere in the world, second only to Misty Waterflower (who took over the Cerulean Gym at the age of 10). However, she is over a year younger than Waterflower, making her the youngest Gym Leader in the Kanto League.
To expand upon the ninja protection techniques her father implemented to confuse incoming challengers, Shimizu kept the invisible walls (despite revealing that, in her early years as Gym Leader, she kept running into them) and had all of her lieutenant trainers disguise themselves as her.
"I can't keep track of the invisible walls, but I can keep track of who's who even when they're in disguise," she said with a chuckle.
When asked about her ambition to become a better Gym Leader than her father, Shimizu simply said, "Beating his career Gym record will be a win in my book."
Her lieutenant trainers have noted that she is considerably more compassionate towards her Pokémon than her father is.
Shimizu's team typically consists of her Venomoth, Crobat, Weezing, Ariados, and Muk.
According to Pokémon League HQ, Shimizu's career Gym record is 176-122-8. This does not include her appearances in special tournaments or battles against other Gym Leaders, although her status as the youngest Kanto Gym Leader could explain the relatively few number of battles.
Accomplishments
Shimizu was a guest question reader on the Blaine O'Donnell-hosted game show Poké Quiz Attack 25 when O'Donnell himself was a contestant. She has been tapped to be the guest reader again for the 2011 Tournament of Champions, to be taped in March.
She was a celebrity contestant on DJ Ben's version of Who Wants to be a Poké Millionaire? in 2010. While she became the first contestant to miss the final ¥10,000,000 question in the history of the show, it was later discovered that the question was flawed and she was invited back on another celebrity special. She was asked a replacement ¥10,000,000 question, but elected not to answer it and instead walked away with ¥7,500,000 for charity.
She is the current Warden of the Fuchsia City Safari Zone, which she designated as her charity for her Millionaire winnings. Every year she holds a Pokémon catching contest twice a year, similar to the Bug-Catching Contest in Johto's National Park.
INSET: Shimizu's flawed ¥10,000,000 question, aired February 13, 2010:
According to Pokémon professors, how many Pokémon make up the first generation of Pokémon?
A: 100
B: 150
C: 151
D: 251
Shimizu answered C, 151, but the program revealed the correct answer to be B. A letter from Professor Oak himself said Shimizu was actually correct, as Mew was technically classified as a first-generation Pokémon in 2000.
Shimizu's replacement ¥10,000,000 question, aired May 5, 2010:
Which of the following Pokémon cannot be encountered inside the Silver Cave?
A: Sneasel
B: Larvitar
C: Mantine
D: Seaking
Having never traveled to the Silver Cave, Shimizu did not choose to answer this question and walked away. The correct answer—which was verified with Professor Oak before the question made the air—is C.
You can now check my profile for the official queue of Gym Leaders to be profiled in this wiki. And in case it wasn't clear enough on the first chapter of this wiki, I'm only going up to a certain region. I'll leave you to do some investigation to figure out which one.
