Kurt

If you were looking for the character with the Japanese name Kurt from the thirteenth movie, see Karl.

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Kurt ガンテツ Gantetsu
Artwork from HeartGold and SoulSilver
Gender	Male
Eye color	Black
Hair color	Gray
Hometown	Azalea Town
Region	Johto
Relatives	Maizie (granddaughter)
Generation	II, IV
Games	Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, SoulSilver
Animated debut	A Shadow of a Drought
English voice actor	Jimmy Zoppi
Japanese voice actor	Masashi Hirose

Kurt (Japanese: ガンテツ Gantetsu) is a Poké Ball smith who lives in Azalea Town. In addition to making his own custom Balls out of Apricorns, he studies Poké Ball mechanics, and is known far and wide as a Poké Ball expert. He is Maizie's grandfather.

In the core series games

Kurt lives in a house in the northwest corner of Azalea Town. After Team Rocket is cleared out of the Slowpoke Well, he will give players a Lure Ball in Generation II, or a Fast Ball in Generation IV. After this, he will offer to make his Apricorn Balls as long as he is brought an Apricorn. By the next day, he will have crafted it into one of his custom Poké Balls, depending on the color of the Apricorn. In HeartGold, SoulSilver, and Crystal, he allows players to give him multiples of one kind of Apricorn, resulting in gaining more than one of his special Poké Balls per day. Additionally, in Pokémon Crystal, when the player obtains the GS Ball, Kurt will examine it for a day if it is brought to him. Finding Ilex Forest restless after this, he asks the player to check things out. After that, Celebi can be caught in the forest. In his house there is a picture of Kurt, Professor Oak, and a lady with determined eyes.

Gallery

Artwork

Official artwork from Gold and Silver

Sprites

Prototype sprite from Spaceworld '97 demo	Prototype sprite from Spaceworld '99 demo	Overworld sprite from Generation II	Overworld sprite from Generation IV

Quotes

Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal

Azalea Town

• Before beating Team Rocket at the Slowpoke Well

"Hm? Who are you? <player>, eh? You want me to make some Balls? Sorry, but that'll have to wait. Do you know Team Rocket? Ah, don't worry. I'll tell you anyhow. Team Rocket's an evil gang that uses Pokémon for their dirty work. They're supposed to have disbanded three years ago. Anyway, they're at the Well, cutting off Slowpoketails for sale! So I'm going to go give them a lesson in pain! Hang on, Slowpoke! Old Kurt is on his way!"

• After beating Team Rocket at the Slowpoke Well

"Hi, <player>! You handled yourself like a real hero at the Well. I like your style! I would be honored to make Balls for a trainer like you. This is all I have now, but take it."

• After giving the player the Lure Ball

"I make Balls from Apricorns. Collect them from trees and bring 'em to me. I'll make Balls out of them."

• If talked to when the player has at least one Apricorn

"You have an Apricorn for me? Fine! I'll turn it into a Ball."

Choosing an Apricorn^C

"Which Apricorn should I use?"

Choosing how many^C

"How many should I make?"

If an Apricorn is chosen

"It'll take a day to make you a Ball. Come back for it later."

CANCEL

"Oh... That's a letdown."

• If talked to while working on a Ball^GS

"I'm working! Don't bother me!"

• If talked to while working on a Ball^C

"Now that my granddaughter is helping me, I can work much faster."

"I'm working! Don't bother me!"

• When the Ball(s) is/are finished

"Ah, <player>! I just finished your Ball. Here!"

• Upon giving player the Ball(s)

"That turned out great. Try catching Pokémon with it."

• If talked to after obtaining the GS Ball^C

"Wh-what is that? I've never seen one before. it looks a lot like a Poké Ball, but it appears to be something else. Let me check it for you."

• If talked to while checking the GS Ball^C

"I'm checking it now. Ah-ha! I see! So..."

• After checking GS Ball^C

"<player>! This Ball started to shake while I was checking it. There must be something to this!" [!]

• After running outside^C

"Ilex Forest is restless! What is going on? <player>, here's your GS Ball back! Could you go see why Ilex Forest is so restless?"

• If talked to before going to Ilex Forest^C

"Could you go see why Ilex Forest is so restless?"

Slowpoke Well

"Hey there, <player>! The guards^GS/guard^C up top took off when I shouted at them^GS/him^C. But then I took a tumble down the Well. I slammed down hard on my back, so I can't move. Rats! If I were fit, my Pokémon would've punished them... Ah, it can't be helped. <player>, show them how gutsy you are in my place!"

"Way to go, <player>! Team Rocket has taken off. My back's better too. Let's get out of here."

Ilex Forest (only if Celebi is caught)^C

"Whew, wasn't that something! <player>, that was fantastic. Thanks! The legends about that Shrine were real after all. I feel inspired by what I just saw. It motivates me to make better Balls! I'm going!"

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Azalea Town

"Hm? Who are you? <Player>, eh? You want me to make some Balls? Sorry, but that'll have to wait. Do you know Team Rocket? Ah, don't worry. I'll tell you anyhow. Team Rocket's an evil gang that uses Pokémon for their dirty work. They're supposed to have disbanded three years ago. Anyway, they're at the Well, cutting off SlowpokeTails for sale! So I'm going to give them a lesson in pain! Hang on, Slowpoke! Old Kurt is on his way!"

Slowpoke Well

"Hey there, <player>! The guard up top took off when I shouted at them. But then I took a tumble down the Well. I slammed down hard on my back, so I can't move. Rats! If I were fit, my Pokémon would've punished them... Ah, it can't be helped. <Player>, show them how gutsy you are in my place!"

"Way to go, <player>! Team Rocket has taken off. My back's better, too. Let's get out of here."

Azalea Town (after Kurt returns)

"Hi, <player>! You handled yourself like a real hero. As I mentioned before, Team Rocket was disbanded by a boy called Red three years ago. Now that they have come back... I have a bad feeling about it... In any case, it would please me greatly to make Poke Balls for a Trainer like you, <player>. This is all I have now, but take it."

Azalea Town (after Team Rocket leaves)

• When talked to before being given any Apricorns

"You have Apricorns for me? Fine! I'll turn them into Poké Balls."

• After Kurt receives the Apricorns

"It'll take a day to make you a Poké Ball. Come back for it later."

• If the player decides not to give any Apricorns

"Oh... That's a letdown."

• When talked to while in the process of making the Poké Balls

"I’m working! Don’t bother me!"

• When talked to after Kurt has finished making the Poké Balls

"Ah, <player>! I just finished your Poké Ball. Here!"

• After placing Poké Balls into player's bag

"That turned out great. Try catching Pokémon with it."

In animation

History

Kurt was first mentioned in The Rivalry Revival, where Professor Oak told Ash and his friends to deliver the GS Ball to him for studying.

Kurt made his physical debut in the Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver episode A Shadow of a Drought. After Ash had accidentally stepped on one of Azalea Town's Slowpoke, Kurt disguised Ash and his friends as Slowpoke to avoid the angry townspeople. He then told them that he had been investigating strange sounds coming from the Slowpoke Well, which later turned out to be caused by the activities of Team Rocket. After Ash and his friends had foiled Team Rocket's plan to steal all the local Slowpoke, they were surprised to learn Kurt's identity as the man they had been supposed to meet.

In Going Apricorn!, Ash gave the GS Ball to Kurt, who agreed to study it. Afterwards, he demonstrated Ash, Misty, and Brock his ability to make custom Poké Balls out of Apricorns, and gave each of them a Fast Ball. After a trip through a nearby forest, the group also gave Kurt two Blue Apricorns and one Black Apricorn to be fashioned into Poké Balls. The completed Poké Balls were delivered to the group by Maizie in the next episode, with Ash and Misty each taking one of the Lure Balls and Brock taking the Heavy Ball.

In A Farfetch'd Tale, Professor Oak mentioned that he hoped Kurt would be able to solve the mystery of the GS Ball.

Character

Kurt is regarded as an expert in Poké Balls, and specializes in crafting Apricorn Balls. He is often working extensive hours trying to meet customer demands, though he enjoys the process and required attention to detail to achieve a good product. Despite his gruff nature, he is a generous individual who adores his granddaughter Maizie, who he is currently mentoring to make Apricorn Balls.

Voice actors

Language Voice actor Japanese 広瀬正志 Masashi Hirose English Jimmy Zoppi Arabic جمال حمدان Jamal Hamdan European French Benoît Van Dorslaer Hebrew יורם יוספסברג Yoram Yosephsberg Italian Marco Pagani (Mediaset dub) Mario Scarabelli (TPCi dub) Polish Jacek Kałucki Brazilian Portuguese Sílvio Giraldi European Spanish Luis Gaspar

In the manga

Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure

Kurt appeared in Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure. When he witnessed Team Rocket stealing the Slowpoke and cutting off their tails, he came to the Slowpoke's rescue. He tried stopping Team Rocket but is pushed back by one of the members.

Pokémon Adventures

History

Past

In their youth, Professor Oak, Agatha, Kurt, Pryce, and the old couple who run the Goldenrod City Pokémon Day Care were all close friends. To try to cheer Pryce up, Kurt helped write the lyrics of "Boy and his Lapras," which was also sung by DJ Mary after that.

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

Silver got a Heavy Ball from Kurt and intended to catch an Ursaring with it. Kurt cautioned Silver that only experienced Trainers could wield his special Poké Balls.

Later, Gold met Maizie and Kurt. Kurt explained that once, his ancestors were the only ones capable of creating Poké Balls until companies started to mass-produce them. Kurt then carried a slight grudge against Gold for making fun of his Apricorn Balls, saying that Gold wasn't experienced enough to use his special Balls, something that annoyed Gold. He then challenged Gold to catch a Pokémon using one of his balls and if he couldn't by dusk, he would have to become his apprentice, which he accepted.

Kurt made a Friend Ball for Gold, and later Gold and Silver were able to use their custom Poké Balls to capture a Teddiursa and Ursaring. Silver kept Ursaring for himself while Gold gave Teddiursa to Maizie. Kurt then appeared at Slowpoke Well, to see a mass of Team Rocket Grunts tied up and defeated, everyone wondering who did it.

Later, the Masked Man forced Kurt to turn over his plans for the GS Ball.

Emerald arc

Both Kurt and Maizie made a cameo appearance in Epilogue aboard the S.S. Aqua on their way to the Battle Frontier.

Black 2 & White 2 arc

While Kurt was not seen in person, in a bonus page of Volume 52, a schedule for the Aspertia Trainers' School revealed that Kurt teaches on Ball Studies (ボール学 Ball Studies).

Pokémon

This listing is of Kurt's Pokémon in the Pokémon Adventures manga.

Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys

Kurt appeared in The Great Search! Let's Rescue The Slowpoke!. Following Team Rocket infiltrating the Slowpoke Well, Kurt tried to stop them, but injured his back. When the well started to flood, Kurt gave Gold some of his Apricorn Poké Balls to save the well's Slowpoke from drowning. Afterwards, Kurt gave Gold a Level Ball as thanks.

Kurt also appeared in a flashback in Let's Fight For The Future!!.

Pokémon HeartGold SoulSilver: Pokédex Completion Comic

Kurt briefly appeared in Pokémon HeartGold SoulSilver: Pokédex Completion Comic.

Pokémon Pocket Monsters

Kurt appears in Find Slowpoke!!, where a Slowpoke of his was stolen. He was able to retrieve the Slowpoke from Giovanni before he was able to get the tail for profit. However, the tail was cut off while stolen but it was able to get placed back on.

He reappears in PMHGSS04.

Pokémon

Names

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	ガンテツ Gantetsu	From 頑固一徹 ganko-ittetsu (obstinate)
English, German	Kurt	From the french word court (short) or curt (obstinate) and possibly كرة kura (Arabic for ball)
Spanish	César
French	Fargas	Possibly from farga (Occitan and Catalan for forge)
Italian	Franz	From franco (frank)
Korean	강집 Gangjip	From 강한고집 ganghan-gojip (tough and stubborn)
Chinese (Mandarin)	鋼鐵 / 钢铁 Gāngtiě *	From 鋼鐵 / 钢铁 gāngtiě (steel)
	嚴鐵 / 严铁 Yántiě *	From 嚴 / 严 yán (strict) and 鐵 / 铁 tiě (iron)
Chinese (Cantonese)	鋼鐵 Gongtit	From 鋼鐵 gongtit (steel)
Russian	Курт Kurt	Trancription of his English name
Vietnamese	Gantetsu	Trancription of his Japanese name

Trivia

• The card Apricorn Maker (Skyridge 121) depicts a man that is likely based on Kurt.

Related articles

Non-player characters in the core series games

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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.