Character Profile: Harley

Harley is a Pokemon Coordinator from Slateport City who dresses like his lead Pokemon, Cacturne. He debuted in the episode "A Cacturne For The Worse", in which he and May participate in the Izabe Island Pokemon Contest. He becomes offended when she doesn't recognize Cacturne and later calls it "scary-looking". He offers her a cookie and she says it's "not half bad" and he takes it as an insult. He takes a photo of her and puts it in what can be assumed to be a "burn book" and draws a skull-and-crossbones over her photo. (In some airings of the episode, he draws a sad face.) He vows revenge on her for insulting his cooking and thus begins their rivalry.

Harley is very scheming and will use any means to defeat and/or humiliate his opponent. In "A Cacturne for the Worse" he tells May that Surskit is slow so she should let her Bulbasaur get in close before striking, almost costing her the win. He also records her little brother Max telling an embarrassing story about her and a group of Tentacool and plays it during the contest, effectively stressing her out until Ash tells her to calm down. He also allies himself with Team Rocket in the episodes "New Plot, Odd Lot" and "Going for Choke". In "Hi Ho Silver Wind" and "Deceit and Assist", he tells May to use her Skitty's Assist move in the next match, causing it to become confused.

Harley has lost most of his contests against May despite his cheating and deception, except for one, in "Harley Rides Again". He still manages to get plenty of ribbons from other contests and has enough to enter the Grand Festival, as he has won over ten contests.

Harley's gestures, expressions, and speech patterns tend to match those of a girl. He runs in typical anime schoolgirl fashion and his hips tend to shake when he walks. His outfit is very flamboyant, with tight bell-bottom pants and go-go boots. He also has silly nicknames for May and her friends, calling May "Miss Tent" and "Gingerbread Cookie" (in the Japanese, he calls her "Meno-chan" and "Kamo-chan") and Ash, Brock, and Max "May's boys" or her "boy toys". At one point in "Harley Rides Again" he calls Brock "big boy" and joins a crowd of girls in admiring Brock's Bonsly. In season 9 he began adding "honey" or "hun" to the end of his sentences when speaking to someone. For example: (to Contest MC) "Well, don't look at me, honey." He also uses several cliches in his speech ("Off to go powder my nose. Toodle-oo!"). In "Begin! Pokemon Contest- Grand Festival", he cross-dresses as May to stress her out before the contest begins, blowing a few kisses to Drew just to throw in a little jealousy factor. His appearance, actions, speech, cross dressing, and his rather blatant fanboying of James dressed as Norman in "Hi Ho Silver Wind" lead many to believe he is homosexual. Whatever the case may be, flamboyant is definitely the word to describe him.

Editor’s Note:

I was told by someone that Harley should be only slightly older than May because in a flashback they were shown in preschool together. However, I then learned that the girl in preschool was not actually May, she only looked like May.