Burgh: Castelia City's Painter Gym Leader and Insect Badge

His Gym is a giant hive whose walls he painted himself. Burgh runs the third Gym of the Unova region, in Castelia City, and champions the Bug type. Gym Leader and artist all at once, he fields the very species that also serve as his models — and the badge he awards is, fittingly, named after insects.

Contents

• Castelia City, the Region's Third Gym
• A Gym Leader You Can Spot by His Scarf
• An Early Whirlipede, Six Pokémon at the Tournament
• The Badge Ash Truly Earned
• Outside N's Castle, and in the Mobile Game
• Burgh at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Castelia City, the Region's Third Gym

Burgh is the Gym Leader of the Castelia City Gym, in the region of Unova. Trainers who manage to beat him leave with the third Badge of their journey, a position that puts him early in the progression, right after the first Gyms.

The badge in question is the Insect Badge — the name is spelled out the moment he hands it to Ash at the end of their battle in the anime. The games call it the same thing and specify that it is the region's third.

His specialty never varies: the Bug type, and nothing else. His character profile even singles out one favorite above all others, a Leavanny, which you'll find at his side both in the anime and in the spin-off adaptations.

A Gym Leader You Can Spot by His Scarf

The character's design says as much as his specialty. Curly light-brown hair falling to his shoulders, a green T-shirt, red pants striped with green: this is the palette of a painter who dresses the way he paints.

Two details complete the silhouette. A silver butterfly-shaped brooch marks where his shirt meets his pants, and a red scarf he never takes off — not in his Gym, not in the forest, not in his alternate versions.

The character's official description in the mobile game boils down to two traits, and they echo each other: all his inspiration comes from Bug-type Pokémon, which he is utterly smitten with, and he moves at a pace all his own without it taking anything away from a remarkable intelligence.

🎨 Leavanny, Whirlipede and their cousins stand tall on a shelf: browse the Pokémon figures.

An Early Whirlipede, Six Pokémon at the Tournament

There's an oddity hidden in his in-game team. His Whirlipede battles at a lower level than the one at which the species normally evolves: the game bends its own evolution rules for him, without ever commenting on it.

Burgh is also a regular at the Pokémon World Tournament, where he shows up in several separate competitions, including the Driftveil Tournament, the Mix Tournament, the Unova Leaders Tournament and the Bug-type Type Expert Tournament.

The format adjusts how dangerous he is. He draws from a pool of six Pokémon: three in Single Battles, four in Double Battles and Rotation Battles alike, and the full roster as soon as you move up to Triple Battles — in other words, you never face him twice under the same conditions.

The Badge Ash Truly Earned

The anime brings him in through the forest, not through his Gym. He first appears in Pinwheel Forest, accompanied by his Leavanny, which demonstrates String Shot there. He returns shortly afterward to help Ash and his friends rid Castelia City of a Venipede invasion.

When Ash finally stands before him, he is busy feeding a Sewaddle in his Gym. The battle starts right away, and his Dwebble gets the better of Tepig before falling to the challenger's Sewaddle.

What follows hinges on a dramatic twist. His Whirlipede is knocked over by a freshly evolved Swadloon, his Leavanny takes revenge on that same Swadloon before giving way to Pikachu — and the Insect Badge changes hands.

Outside N's Castle, and in the Mobile Game

A short animated adaptation gives him a role no Gym battle ever offers him: he stands guard outside N's Castle to block the Seven Sages. Alongside other Unova Gym Leaders, he takes on the grunts of Team Plasma to delay their plan.

The mobile game recruited him on June 18, 2020, with two looks instead of one. In his original outfit, the one from the Black and White games, he forms a pair with his Leavanny — the expected partner.

His second outfit is an Easter costume, released for a seasonal event, and it pairs him with a Togepi rather than a Bug type. The premise fits the character: this Togepi loves to draw, and Burgh finds inspiration in his own colorful clothes.

Burgh at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Which badge does Burgh award?
  The Insect Badge, the third badge of the Unova region. It rewards a win at his Castelia City Gym, which is devoted entirely to the Bug type.
• Which Pokémon does Burgh use?
  Leavanny is his declared favorite. In the anime, he sends out Dwebble, Whirlipede and Leavanny against Ash, one after another. At the Pokémon World Tournament, he draws from a pool of six depending on the battle format.
• Why is his Whirlipede special?
  Because it battles at a lower level than the one at which its species normally evolves. It's an exception to the evolution rules that the game allows itself without explaining it.
• Does Burgh appear in the anime?
  Yes, during the Black & White series. He first shows up in Pinwheel Forest with his Leavanny, then during a Venipede invasion in Castelia City, and finally in a Gym battle against Ash.
• Is Burgh playable in the mobile game?
  He was added on June 18, 2020, with two looks: his original outfit paired with Leavanny, and an Easter costume paired with Togepi.

In short

Burgh is one of those Gym Leaders whose calling spills beyond the Gym: you meet him in a painting studio, not a battle hall, and the game makes sure his palette, his specialty and his models all line up. The rest of the character lives in the details — a red scarf he never takes off, a butterfly brooch, a Whirlipede that shouldn't have been able to battle at that level. Three signatures for a Gym Leader you could never mistake for anyone else.