Kofu: the Cascarrafa Gym Leader who tests you off-site

The only Gym Leader in the series whose test doesn't take place in his Gym's city. Kofu runs the Cascarrafa Gym in Paldea, champions the Water type and runs a restaurant on the side. The two jobs don't coexist quietly: it's his chef's shopping list that ends up dictating the shape of his Gym test, and the challenger winds up taking it at an auction market on the other side of the region.

Contents

• A Gym Leader in Chef's Whites
• A Gym Test Moved to the Porto Marinada Market
• The Water Badge, Then the Inspection Rematch
• On Screen: An Examiner, a Self-Destruct and a Rulebook
• An Exception in the Series, a Counterpart in Kalos
• Kofu at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A Gym Leader in Chef's Whites

Kofu holds the Cascarrafa Gym and champions the Water type there, but his other title defines him at least as much: he owns and runs an Eastern-style restaurant, the Kofu Lounge, where he works the kitchen himself. The nickname that has stuck to him, "the Surging Chef", sums up that double role exactly.

The games paint a mixed portrait of him. He is friendly and popular with the locals, to the point of being stopped in his own Gym by people who've come to chat, but also impulsive and scatterbrained. On the other hand, as soon as it comes to his work, he becomes meticulous and places real value on studying — a standard that rubs off on his Gym test, reputed to be among the toughest in the region and hard to pass without experience.

That same rigor drives him to pass on what he knows: he trains apprentices in the kitchen, and one of them is none other than Katy, herself a Gym Leader. Away from the stove and the battlefield, he has one last known pastime, amateur sumo wrestling.

A Gym Test Moved to the Porto Marinada Market

The challenger's arrival couldn't come at a worse time: Kofu rushes out of his Gym, heading for the Porto Marinada auction market, where he plans to buy some goods. In his hurry, he leaves his wallet behind. The exasperated receptionist asks the visitor to bring it to him and agrees to count this errand as the Gym test, which is completely irregular.

The trip says a lot about the character: he stopped along the way to look at flowers before remembering he had an auction to catch. Once there, he discovers his wallet is missing and loses his cool; his right-hand man goes looking for it, mistakes the challenger for a troublemaker and challenges them to a battle. Once the opponent is beaten and the money returned, Kofu thanks the challenger and apologizes for his employee's manners.

That's when the day's final lot is announced: wakame seaweed from Hoenn, which the chef wants at any price. So he improvises his real test on the spot — the challenger must win this auction — then, once the seaweed is his, lets them keep the leftover change and heads back to get ready for the battle.

🍜 The Water type's stars also fit on a shelf: check out our Pokémon plushies.

The Water Badge, Then the Inspection Rematch

Back on his home turf, Kofu is once again surrounded by locals who've come to talk with him. He cuts them short, explaining that he has work to do and doesn't want to keep his visitor waiting. He thanks the challenger once more for the favor at the market, but warns in the same breath that it won't earn them any leniency in battle.

The challenger's victory comes with a double reward: the Water Badge and TM022, Chilling Water. It's the classic end to a Gym run — the only unusual thing about him was everything that came before the battle.

The inspection brings him face to face with the same opponent a second time, and he didn't see it coming: he was expecting Geeta. He concludes that time flies and that the envoy must be quite resourceful. Unflappable, because running a restaurant has made him used to criticism, he still loses, admits that Geeta's high opinion of this Trainer was well deserved, advises them to pay attention to the people around them and hold on to them, and asks his victor to let Geeta know he plans to step up his game.

On Screen: An Examiner, a Self-Destruct and a Rulebook

The anime introduces him in Pokémon Horizons as one of Paldea's Gym Leaders, and above all as the one who approved the aptitude test of Coral for the Terastal course. He travels to Naranja Academy to team up with her in an aptitude battle, against Larry.

The battle is cut short: Coral has her Glalie use Self-Destruct, knocking out every Pokémon on the field, including her own. Kofu makes no secret of his surprise at his partner's method. Yet the ruling by Dendra hands the win to Larry, since the rules declare the side that used the move the loser. Coral protests — to her, a win is a win — and Kofu bursts out laughing and tells her she was just unlucky, which sends her running off the field in a huff.

A second animated program paints a much calmer picture of him: the streamer Iono introduces him as one of Paldea's Gym Leaders in a video showing him in front of his restaurant, letting his customers try one of his dishes. He is accompanied by a Crabominable: along with the Wugtrio seen in Pokémon Horizons, it's one of only two Pokémon the animated series attribute to him by name, while his full teams are detailed in the games.

An Exception in the Series, a Counterpart in Kalos

His uniqueness can be measured: no other Gym Leader in Paldea replaces the usual test with one of their own invention, and above all none of them holds it outside the city where their Gym is located. Across the entire series, he's the only one in this situation, which makes the run to Porto Marinada an isolated precedent rather than a regional variation.

He does, however, have a thematic twin in another region: Siebold, a member of the Kalos League Elite Four, is also a chef and a Water-type specialist. The consistency even extends to the character's name, borrowed from kombu, a seaweed eaten in Asia — which sheds light on how fiercely he goes after a lot of seaweed.

Finally, the trading card game was slow to feature him: his first card came out with the Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown expansion, released in France on September 13, 2024, with several other cards following afterward.

Kofu at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where is Kofu's Gym?
  In Cascarrafa, in the Paldea region. It's devoted to the Water type, and Kofu awards the Water Badge there, along with TM022 Chilling Water.
• What does his Gym test involve?
  It doesn't take place in Cascarrafa. The challenger first has to bring the Gym Leader the wallet he forgot, then win an auction for him at the Porto Marinada market, where a lot of wakame seaweed from Hoenn is up for sale.
• Why is Kofu a unique case in the series?
  He's the only Gym Leader in Paldea to replace the usual test with one of his own making, and the only one in the entire series whose test takes place somewhere other than the city where his Gym is located.
• Which Pokémon does Kofu use?
  In his Gym battle, he fields Veluza, Wugtrio and Crabominable; Clawitzer and Pelipper join them for the rematch, and Feraligatr completes his team in the League Club Room at Blueberry Academy. The anime gives him a Wugtrio, and Iono's video shows him with his Crabominable.
• Does Kofu appear in the anime?
  Yes. He shows up in Pokémon Horizons, where he approved Coral's aptitude test and teamed up with her against Larry in an aptitude battle. He also appears in a showcase video by the streamer Iono.

In short

Kofu is a Gym Leader whose second job constantly spills over: he leaves his Gym before the challenger even walks in, forgets his wallet, gets distracted by flowers, and turns an auction into an official test. The paradox is that this apparent chaos hides the high standards of a meticulous man who trains apprentices and whose test is considered one of the toughest in Paldea. The region's least by-the-book Gym is also one of the hardest to get through.