Baoba
| Baoba バオバ Baoba | |
 Baoba in Pokémon Adventures | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Unknown, possibly Fuchsia City |
| Region | Kanto, Johto |
| Relatives | Unnamed son, unnamed granddaughter |
| Generation | I, III, IV, VII |
| Games | Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, LeafGreen, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Let's Go, Pikachu!, Let's Go, Eevee! |
| Animated counterpart | Kaiser |
| Counterpart debut | EP035 |
Baoba (Japanese: バオバ Baoba) is a non-player character that first appeared in Pokémon Red and Blue. At that time, he was the owner and warden of the Kanto Safari Zone in Fuchsia City and was known simply as Safari Zone Warden. (Japanese: 園長 Park Head). He also used to be nicknamed Warden Slowpoke, due to his vacant look. In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, it was revealed that the warden had built a new Safari Zone west of Cianwood City.
In the core series games
The warden plays the same role in Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, and LeafGreen. He is first encountered in his house east of Fuchsia City's Pokémon Center. When spoken with, he can only mumble: the false teeth he wears have been lost deep in the Safari Zone. If they are returned to him, he will reward the player with HM04 (Strength).
To encourage interest in the Safari Zone, the Warden runs a special promotion: Pokémon Trainers who are able to locate the Secret House at the far end of the Safari Zone within the allotted step limit are given HM03 (Surf). This Hidden Machine is required to progress to Cinnabar Island.
The locals of Fuchsia City nicknamed him "Warden Slowpoke" because of his vacant look similar to that of a Slowpoke. Despite this appearance, he is actually very knowledgeable about Pokémon. He takes care of all the Pokémon in the Safari Zone and Zoo, and has a large collection of Pokémon Fossils as well. The warden is good friends with Koga, the Gym Leader of Fuchsia City. Koga will sometimes patrol the Safari Zone as security.
Three years after the initial defeat of Team Rocket, Baoba closes the Safari Zone and goes traveling. In Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal the Safari Zone simply cannot be accessed; however, in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver a Pal Park is in its place. It is stated by Baoba's grandchild that Baoba's son runs the Pal Park. On his travels, Baoba decides to open a new Safari Zone in Johto; the site he chooses is at the northern end of Route 48. As part of the games' plot, the player will meet with Baoba on Route 39, who promises to inform the player as soon as the Safari Zone is open for business. He will call, announcing the opening of the Safari Zone, once Amphy the Ampharos of the Olivine Lighthouse has been healed.
Throughout the remainder of the game, Baoba will issue two challenges to the player: catch a Geodude in the Safari Zone and catch a Sandshrew in the Safari Zone. By completing these challenges, the Safari Zone will gradually become customizable, and the player will be able to arrange the six areas in any way they choose. The amount and variety of Pokémon available will also change. Baoba will always call the player via the Pokégear to announce that these changes have been activated.
The signs outside his house remained the same throughout the first three generations, only changing significantly in Generation IV due to the replacement of the Safari Zone with Pal Park.
In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Baoba's Gold Teeth are no longer found deep within the Safari Zone. They have been moved south of Fuchsia at Kanto Route 19's beach, where Jessie and James happen to dig them up from the sand and give them to the player, instead. As thanks, he teaches the player's Partner Pokémon the Secret Technique Strong Push.
- Generation I
SAFARI ZONE
WARDEN's HOME
- Generation II
SAFARI ZONE
WARDEN'S HOME
- Generation III
- Generation IV
Gallery
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This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: LGPE model |
Sprites and models
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| Overworld sprite from Generation I |
Overworld sprite from FireRed and LeafGreen |
Overworld sprite from HeartGold and SoulSilver |
Quotes
- Main article: Baoba/Quotes
In animation
Pokémon the Series
- Main article: Kaiser
The Safari Zone warden is known as Kaiser in Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, because he had no official first name when his episode was made. He appeared in EP035. He found a Dratini in the Safari Zone as a boy, but as a result of media hype surrounding the event, the Dratini retreated into a lake and Kaiser resolved to protect the Safari Zone and the Pokémon that live within it. Professor Oak states that he knows the warden well.
When Ash and his friends visit the Safari Zone, Kaiser acts violently because he fears they may harm the Pokémon within. He aims a gun at Ash, which led the episode to be banned worldwide. It has not been aired in any country outside Asia (leading to confusion in other parts of the world in how Ash obtained all of his 30 Tauros, which he caught in this episode, because every time he threw a Safari Ball, a group of Tauros would run in front of him).
In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
Baoba is the warden of the Kanto and Johto Safari Zones.
Red, Green & Blue arc
In this arc, Baoba is unnamed and referred to simply as the Safari Warden. He owns two robotic Pidgey called Pidgebots, which accompany Red when he decides to play the Safari Game. After Red breaks the rules by catching a Safari Zone Pokémon with a normal Poké Ball, Baoba has to look for Red. He only does so in the next morning, and collapses in shock when Red shows Baoba a horde of Pokémon he's caught.
FireRed & LeafGreen arc
Baoba, still unnamed, makes a cameo appearance in Start the Countdown, Starmie, seeing the stalling Team Rocket airship fly past Fuchsia towards Vermilion.
Emerald arc
In Epilogue, Baoba makes a cameo appearance in one of the ships heading to the Battle Frontier.
HeartGold & SoulSilver arc
Baoba is finally named when he appears in this arc, opening Johto's new Safari Zone near Cianwood. Team Rocket Executive Petrel was able to disguise as Baoba to break free of Silver who had battled him there and was about to silence him.
Pokémon Zensho
The Safari Zone warden appears in PZ06. Similar to the plot of Red and Blue, he has lost his Gold Teeth, which Satoshi agreed to find. After recovering the dentures from the Safari Zone, Satoshi learned that they had been stolen by Koga as a petty revenge for the warden having built the Safari Zone where a ninja village once stood. The warden, however, being childhood friends with Koga, didn't hold a grudge against him, having made sure to not touch the area's original Pokémon when building the Safari Zone and knowing that Koga just had his own kind of love for nature.
Trivia
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | バオバ Baoba | From baobab |
| English, German, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese |
Baoba | Same as Japanese name |
| French | BaobaHGSS Thibault SouryrePE |
Same as Japanese name From sourire (smile) |
| Korean | 바오바 Baoba | From baobab |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 巴奧巴 Bā'àobā | Transcription of his Japanese name |
| Chinese (Cantonese) | 巴奧巴 Bā'oubā |
Related articles
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This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games. |