Anyone that has played the first generation of Pokemon games or ever watch the anime will instantly recognize Brock. The iconic Rock type gym leader has been featured prominently in the show even and in several spin-off games for the series. Suffice it to say, fans love Brock.
Still, this well-loved gym leader still has a few secrets up his sleeves (when he's wearing a shirt at all that is). There are things only the biggest fans of the series know about Brock that can only be found with some serious digging and research.
10 He Wasn't Supposed To Be The First Gym Leader
It's wild to think of anyone but Brock as the first gym leader in the original games these days but this was almost the case. Confirmed by concept art created by Ken Sugimori, there was another gym leader planned to take his place. Nothing is known about the type of Pokemon that he would potentially use only his general appearance. His design does look like one later used for trainers in the game, so at least the character concept didn't go to waste.
9 He Was Almost Removed For Being Racially Insensitive
A lot of fans were sad to see Brock removed from the main cast during the Orange Islands ark only to be replaced by Tracey Sketchit. Former Pokemon anime director Masamitsu Hikada stated that his reasons for removing Brock from the cast at that time was that he was concerned Americans would find Brock to be an offensive racist Japanese stereotype. They later had him return to the series once they realized how many people loved the character and didn't mind his design.
8 He's Cheated, Twice!
Fans might be shocked to learn that Brock has managed to cheat not only once, but twice during his battles with trainers in the games! In Pokemon Yellow, Brock's Onix knows the move Bind despite his Onix being level 12 (Onix didn't learn Bind until Level 15 in Generation I).
Brock cheated once again in Heart Gold and Soul Silver when he used a Rhyhorn that has the ability Sturdy. Seeing as how it's impossible for Rhyhorn to have at all, we have to wonder just how Brock convinced GameFreak to give him this extra leg up on the competition.
7 He Makes A Trade In-Game That References The Anime
In the anime, Brock trains an adorable Bonsly that goes on many adventures throughout the Sinnoh region. In Heart Gold and Soul Silver, it seems that Brock was missing those days from his times adventuring in the anime. He is willing to trade a Rhyhorn (with the Egg Move Tunder Fang no less) for a Bonsly if the player has one. It's hard to not imagine this isn't a reference to his time in Sinnoh.
6 His Last Name
Most characters in the anime are never given a last name (outside of Ash Ketchum) but Brock is a rare exception. In the episode Love, Totodile Style, Brock confirmed he had a last name but never shared it during the episode. What finally helped fans figure out the secret was an interview with K-Zone Magazine in 2006 with his voice actor, Eric Stuart. He told fans that his last name was Harrison.
5 He Sang An Incredibly Creepy Love Song
Everyone knows Brock's love of the ladies in the original anime but they might not know just how bad he has been. Back during the Johto season of the anime, the song Two Perfect Girls (which was originally a part of the Pokemon Live! musical) was played as one of the ending themes. The song is downright creepy at times and he even ends up chasing after a different girl at the end of the song.
4 For A Rock Expert, He's Bad With Rock Type Moves
Brock is supposed to be a master of Rock types but he actually does a very poor job of showing it. During the original games, none of his Pokemon even know a single Rock type move. This was eventually changed in the remakes of the games.
He is also one of only two gym leaders to not give players a TM that matches the type they specialize in with the other being Falkner. This also eventually changed with him changing to give players TM39 (Rock Tomb) instead of TM34 (Bide).
3 There Is Only One Series Where Brock Goes Unseen
Brock is the character featured in the most episodes of the anime (after Ash and Pikachu of course) and has been a sample of the show for a long time. This has made it so that outside of the Orange League arc, he has only ever not made a single appearance or is mentioned in any way: Pokemon the Series: XY. Other than that, he's still the only character to travel with Ash across multiple series.
2 He Appeared In The Pokemon Trading Figure Game
While often forgotten, there was a Pokemon Trading Figure Game produced by Kaiyodo back in 2006. Due to his popularity, Brock was one of the rare Trainer figures to appear in the game in its launch set. The figure is actually quite difficult to find today with it almost never showing up on auction sites like eBay.
1 He Has Opened His Eyes
There are long-running jokes about Brock never opening his eyes in the anime but they are simply not true. In fact, he opens his eyes in three separate episodes — A Crowning Achievement, Who Gets To Keep Togepi?, and The Ninja Poké-Showdown. The few times they are open are for comedic gags and it does look a bit disconcerting. Still, this long-held myth of the series should finally be debunked!