Brad Van Darn

Brad redirects here. For the character from the game Detective Pikachu, see Brad McMaster.

Brad Van Darn

Brad Van Darn (Japanese: ブラッド・キタオ Brad Kitao) is a character of the day who appeared in The Screen Actor's Guilt. Brad is an action movie star with many female fans. He is known for starring in a movie called "Ultra Maximum".

Ash and his friends first met Brad when he approached them in disguise and handed them a bundled-up blanket, which was revealed to contain a Smoochum. He asked them to watch it for him and then left. Later on, he searched for Ash and his friends to get his Smoochum back, but he couldn't find them anywhere due to them having an encounter with Team Rocket. Brad's manager Vitzo later found him and drove him back to the arena.

Having saved Smoochum from Team Rocket's clutches, Ash and his friends visited the arena to reunite Smoochum with its Trainer. Vitzo tried to keep Brad away from Smoochum because he feared that Brad's tough reputation would be damaged by the cute Pokémon. Despite this, Brad eventually reunited with Smoochum. Brad later left it in the group's custody as he prepared for his upcoming stage performance. Still intent on getting rid of Smoochum, Vitzo ordered two security guards—which happened to be Team Rocket in disguise—to get rid of the kids and Smoochum. Team Rocket decided to put their own plans into play and attempted to steal Smoochum.

Seeing that Smoochum was in danger, Brad jumped into action, onstage and in front of an audience full of his fans, and fought to save Smoochum from Team Rocket, without the aid of any Pokémon. His acrobatic prowess enthralled fans, who cheered him on. After he managed to get Smoochum back, Brad told his fans that Smoochum is his real-life Pokémon. Despite Vitzo's fears, Brad's fans also loved Smoochum, and she went on to costar in Brad's movies.

Pokémon

Smoochum ♀

Debut	The Screen Actor's Guilt
Voice actors
Japanese
English	Tara Jayne

Smoochum is Brad Van Darn's only known Pokémon. He often refers to her by pet names such as "Smoochy", "Smoochy-oochy", and "Smoochy-kins". The pair have been together for a long time, and Brad credits Smoochum for supporting him through his toughest days prior to beginning his fledgling movie career.

In a haste to avoid a crowd of fans, Brad handed Smoochum to Ash and his friends in a yellow blanket. As the fan-girls swarmed Ash's group, Smoochum ran off with Togepi and Pikachu to chase a Skiploom, which turned out to be a mecha created by Team Rocket. Team Rocket captured the three Pokémon, and Jessie took a particular liking to Smoochum's adorable nature. Ash and his friends arrived, however, and sent Team Rocket blasting off.

The group tried to find Brad and followed his limousine to an arena. They managed to get inside and give Smoochum back to Brad. Meanwhile, Team Rocket disguised themselves as bodyguards and escorted Ash, his friends, and Smoochum onto a stage. While Team Rocket netted the children, Smoochum was still free and refused to enter a cage. Brad saw Smoochum and tried to retrieve her when Team Rocket sent out their Pokémon. Smoochum put Team Rocket into a daze with her Sweet Kiss attack, while Ash's Pikachu sent the trio blasting off again.

Despite Vitzo's ideas of Smoochum, she proved to be popular with Brad's fans. In the end, Brad starred in a film with Smoochum, and soon, Smoochum dolls became a must-have item for fans.

Smoochum's only known move is Sweet Kiss.

Voice actors

Trivia

• Brad's name is a pun on real-life actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, and may also be a reference to Brad Pitt. "Darn" could have been chosen for his last name because "darn" often replaces "damn" when shows or movies are edited. Meanwhile, his Japanese name, Brad Kitao, is a reference to Brad Pitt.

This article is part of Project COD, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each one-time character of the Pokémon animated series.