Cross

Cross (Japanese: クロス Cross) is the main antagonist of I Choose You!. He is the rival of and the original Trainer of Ash's Charmander.

History
Cross was first seen walking through Viridian Forest, where he had previously abandoned a that he was raising. To Cross's surprise, Charmander had obeyed his orders to wait where he left it despite the risk of staying out during a pouring rainstorm. When Charmander saw its former Trainer, it ran up to Cross and hugged him, only for Cross to kick it off his leg and tell it to leave him alone. and Verity, having seen the whole incident, told Cross off for leaving Charmander out to die. Cross then told them that only the strong were meant to survive before leaving. As he walked away, Cross introduced himself and proclaimed his intent on becoming the strongest Trainer around.

Later, at a library, Cross overheard Ash and reading about the legend of the Rainbow Hero, a Trainer given a Rainbow Wing by, which signified that they are worthy of battling it. The next day, at a town, Cross used his to battle against Charmander, which by now had evolved into Charmeleon. While it initially appeared that Charmeleon had the advantage in the battle, it was defeated after Incineroar revealed its ability to get stronger after taking damage. Gloating over his victory, Cross insulted Ash and called him the worst Trainer he had ever seen before taking his leave.

Later, Cross traveled to Mount Tensei, where he challenged Ash for ownership of the Rainbow Wing. In the battle, Cross used Incineroar against Ash's Charmeleon again, but the battle ended in Ash's victory after Charmeleon evolved into a. His Incineroar had been defeated with Charizard's Flamethrower. Defeated, Cross recalled Incineroar and revealed that, like Ash, he also saw Ho-Oh at one point, but didn't receive a Rainbow Wing. Angered that a Trainer he considered weak was chosen to be the Rainbow Hero instead of him, Cross stole Ash's Rainbow Wing and attempted to summon Ho-Oh himself so that he could have his revenge. However, due to the wickedness in his own heart, the Rainbow Wing immediately lost its color, causing the skies to turn black once Cross put the wing on Rainbow Rock.

Angered by this,, who had been observing the battle between Cross and Ash the entire time, attacked Cross and tried to seal the Rainbow Wing away, only to become corrupted by the evil tainting it. Cross tried to take the Rainbow Wing back by force, but Marshadow used its powers to take control of Cross's and forced it to attack its Trainer. Marshadow then took control of the other Pokémon living in the area and used them to form a small army to attack everyone. While the others battled Marshadow and its army, Cross freed Lycanroc from Marshadow's control by making Lycanroc remember the day they first met. Afterwards, Cross and Lycanroc joined the others in facing Marshadow's army.

After Marshadow was defeated, Cross watched as Ash challenged Ho-Oh to a battle. After Ash's battle concluded, Cross, having had a change of heart, said his goodbyes to Ash and his friends. As he left, Cross promised to challenge Ash to another battle after he got stronger, and told Ash not to lose again until that day comes. He was last seen in the ending credits, sharing a meal with Lycanroc and Incineroar around a campfire.

Character
He is a boy that believes strength is everything and aims to become the ultimate Trainer. He abandoned his when he deemed it too weak and wouldn't listen when Ash told him that Pokémon and trainer have to work together to become strong.

Pokémon
This listing is of Cross's known in the :

In the I Choose You! manga
Cross appeared in. Sometime after entered Professor Oak's laboratory, Cross went inside to pick up  from. Ash offered to have Cross give him Charmander instead but Cross declined, commenting on Ash's irresponsibility. After insulting Ash, Cross left the lab.

Later, Cross was revealed to have left Charmander outside after he deemed it too weak to use. Ash and Verity found Charmander in a forest where Cross left it. Cross then walked through that forest and encountered Charmander again. When Cross gave Charmander a hard time, Ash went to its rescue and Cross encountered Ash again. Ash and Verity saw as to what Cross did when he and told him off for mistreating it. Cross then lectured Ash about his way of being a Pokémon Trainer. Ash offered to have a with Cross but Cross couldn't have one since he doesn't do them on rainy days.

Sometime after Ash's Charmander evolved into a Charmeleon, Cross had a battle with Ash at a town. Sending out, he battled Charmeleon. Even though it seemed that Charmeleon had the advantage during the battle, it was revealed that Incineroar had the ability to get stronger when it took damage. Because of that, Cross was able to defeat Ash. After winning, he insulted Ash and he called Ash the worst Trainer that he seen. Cross then left.

Cross headed over to Mount Tensei and arrived as soon as Ash was about to put the Rainbow Wing on the rainbow rock. Cross then challenged Ash to a battle for ownership of the Rainbow Wing. When Ash sent out Charmeleon and Cross sent out Incineroar, Cross was confident enough that he was going to win since he deemed Charmeleon weak. However, in the battle, Charmeleon evolved into Charizard and it became evenly matched. Because of this power, Cross was defeated. This defeat didn't change Cross and he grabbed the Rainbow Wing and placed it on the rainbow rock. Since Cross had a wicked soul and wasn't the one that chose, the Rainbow Wing lost its color and the skies turned black.

After became corrupted by the tainted Rainbow Wing, Cross attempted to take it by force but Marshadow took control of Lycanroc and had it attack its own Trainer. Marshadow then took control of the wild Pokémon in the area. While Ash and his friends battled Marshadow's army, Cross had Lycanroc remember the day that they met each other. This caused Lycanroc to snap out of Marshadow's control.

After Marshadow was defeated, Cross then watched as Ash placed the Rainbow Wing on the rainbow rock and then Ho-Oh appeared. He then watched Ash's battle with Ho-Oh but the battle wasn't shown. After the battle was done, Cross waved goodbye to Ash and his friends. He then promised Ash another battle after he got stronger and hoped that Ash didn't lose to anyone until that day comes.

In the Pocket Monsters the Movie: I Choose You! Remix manga
Sometime prior to ICYR3, Cross had obtained a and then abandoned it. then found Charmander and then it joined his team, which eventually evolved into. Cross then crossed paths with Ash. He then pointed out as to how weak Pokémon were useless. Cross then traveled to Mount Tensei.

Cross appeared in ICYR3. When Ash was about to put the Rainbow Wing on the rock on Mount Tensei, Cross appeared and told Ash that he was going to be the one who got to see. He then battled Ash using his with Ash responding with. During the battle, Charmeleon evolved into and then defeated Incineroar with. He then sent out his, claiming to show Ash and Charizard what real strength was. As the battle was not shown, it was unclear as to who won.

Trivia

 * Cross's role as Charmander's abusive original Trainer was taken over from Damian from the original series.
 * Cross also bears a number of similarities to Paul from the . Both Trainers are recurring rivals of Ash's, who are only concerned with the strength of their Pokémon in battle, to the point where they disregard Pokémon they see as weak. Both Trainers abandoned a starter Pokémon for that very reason (Charmander for Cross,  for Paul), with said Pokémon eventually joining Ash's team, and both rivals would later witness their former Pokémon's evolutions under Ash's ownership.
 * Cross's necklace bears the image of an.
 * Cross is referred to as Kurosu on the Pokémon official site for Asia.