Yappy

Yappy (Japanese: ヤッピー) is a main character of the Pokémon RéBURST manga. He is an odd looking man who resembles a Pansage but, as Ryouga discovered, he is in fact, a normal human being.

Character
Yappy is a self proclaimed "freelance journalist who aims to expose all the evil in the world." He wishes to become the world's top journalist and believes that everything he has to undergo is just a trial he has to go through to become one. He is quite cowardly and extremely untrustworthy as shown when he quickly attempts to betray Ryouga and Miruto after he starts traveling with them.

When he was younger, Yappy was teased by the kids in his town for wanting to be a reporter and called him the stupidest person in their town.

History
He is first seen running away from two chefs, having run away after eating without paying. Ryouga sees what looks like a talking Pansage running towards him, and thinking that he's a Burst Warrior, attacks him in Burst mode, knocking him out. When the chefs catch him, he tells them that he only stole the food because he has to care for his sick mother and young brother and sister back in his hometown, and he hasn't eaten in three days; but the chefs keep harassing him, saying that if that was true would he really order the priciest meal, when Ryouga interrupts and tells them he'll pay Yappy's bill. After Miruto pays, Yappy introduces himself, saying he'll pay her back for it someday and that he knows somewhere nearby where he can get money. When they arrive, it turns out to be a giant valley full of angry Darmanitan that Yappy pushes Ryouga and Miruto into, telling Ryouga that he knows he transformed into Zekrom, and revealing him as a human Pokémon will be a big scoop, watching them intently through his camera.

But he doesn't notice when a Darmanitan creeps up on him until it flicks him into the same valley. Ryouga ends up having to transform but when Yappy tries to take a photo, he finds that his camera broke in the fall. The trio eventually find that the Darmanitan are just trying to protect some poorly Darumaka inside a cave, which Yappy heals with a Potion. After they all escape, they tie Yappy up in a tree for pushing them into the valley. Yappy apologizes, saying that he just wanted a scoop like no other, with his goal being to become the world's top journalist. When Ryouga and Miruto fall asleep leaving him hanging from the tree, he unties himself and goes and steals Ryouga's Burst Heart, thinking that with its power he'll become a great hero, but without having undergone Burst training, he is just hit by lightning when he tries to Burst. He ends up tied up again by Miruto, but Ryouga asks him to join him on his adventure, since they're both aiming for the same goal—to become the world's best—and that being with Ryouga he'll surely find good scoops. Yappy agrees, with a shifty grin, and tells them he'll guide them through the forest ahead to the next town.

The group travels to Free Market City 'Karakuda' where they try on the various items being sold there. After Ryouga saves a child from a pair of fighting Bouffalant, they are invited by the child's grandmother to pick something from her store as a reward. While Yappy wanted Ryouga to pick a vase, he instead picks a plate he found between the shelves. The plate reacts to Ryouga's Burst Heart and once he puts it in one of the six grooves that suddenly appeared, it fires a light that points to a young man. The young man reveals himself as Hariru, a member of Great Gavel and a Zorua Burst Warrior, and attacks Ryouga.

Ryouga tells Yappy to hold onto the plate, now known as the Compass of Light, while he battles Hariru; Yappy takes the plate and runs away. After Ryouga is defeated, Yappy sneaks off with the Compass with the intention of selling it. He travels to a village known as Chabio Town where he attempts to sell the compass. However, due to no one knowing what a Burst Heart or a Compass of Light is, they all assume it's just a worthless plate and don't want it. Yappy gets into a fight with one of the townsfolk but is saved by a man named Rend. The Compass reacts to Rend, revealing him to own a Burst Heart and a suspicious Yappy decides to follow him. Rend quickly spots Yappy following him and reveals his Burst form, a Boldore.

A newly healed Ryouga and Miruto find Yappy after searching for him when they realized that he had stolen the Compass. Ryouga, in a fit of anger, kicks Yappy in the face, drags him through the ground and takes back the Compass of Light. Yappy quickly manages to get Ryouga to forgive him and witnesses Ryouga battle Rend. Miruto and Yappy watch as Ryouga is once again defeated but is given an offer to become stronger by Rend. The next day, at Rend's house, Miruto and Yappy do various chores while Ryouga does his training. They are shocked to find Rend knocking Ryouga unconscious and actually sending his mind into his Burst Heart to better connect with his Zekrom. While Ryouga treks through his mind, Miruto and Yappy wait for him to wake up. Eventually, Ryouga wakes up, much to everyone's happiness. He and Miruto watch Ryouga and Rend train to test Ryouga's newly-gained strength. After Rend is attacked by one of the Seven Warriors, Zengai, he watches Ryouga defeat him and they take Rend to get healed. After saying their goodbyes, Rend gives Ryouga his Burst Heart so they can use it in the Compass of Light.

After some traveling, the Compass of Light leads the group to a street performer named Rabine sleeping in the woods. After Rabine runs off, they chase him and end up in a small area with a vending machine in the middle. Yappy tries to get a drink out of it and ends up getting it to move instead, revealing a secret passage underneath it. The group goes down the stairs and ends up in a tournament for Burst Warriors known as Burst Heart Survival.

There, Yappy and Miruto are captured by the navigator, Pauline, for not being Burst Warriors, forcing Ryouga to win the tournament so he can rescue them. Yappy and Miruto remain trapped in the cage for most of Burst Heart Survival until the final round when Yappy uses a claw hidden inside of his camera to steal Pauline's glove and free himself while Miruto remains unaware. Having freed himself, Yappy takes all of the Burst Hearts that were taken away from the losing competitors and runs off with them.

He flees the scene but is chased by several Great Gavel members, forcing him to dive into the sea and swim to freedom. He spends the rest of the last round swimming and planning to sell the Burst Hearts for money. Eventually, after being swept away by a tidal wave, Yappy finally reaches dry land and loudly announces his plan to sell the Burst Hearts only to find that he ended up right where he started.

As punishment, Yappy is tied up and hung from a ceiling until Ryouga frees him from the ropes. Despite Ryouga forgiving him again, Yappy is forced to haul the large amount of prize money to the next town. After buying the medicine, Yappy and the others are attacked by a Great Gavel member named Rūkamu. When he uses his Burst, no one is able to take him seriously, angering Rūkamu enough to display how strong he is.

After Rūkamu is defeated, Karuta heals his village, and they gain two new members added to the group, Yappy and the others arrive in Kanai Town to win a tournament with a Burst Heart as the second place prize. Both Ryouga and Yappy enter the tournament, but while Ryouga goes on to win the Burst Heart, Yappy is eliminated in the first round.

Sometime later, Ryouga steals all of the Burst Hearts so he can meet Arcades alone due to him not wanting to keep putting his friends in danger. Before he can put the Burst Hearts in the Compass, Yappy and the others stop him and clarify that they are not separating, each with their own reasons for doing so. Hearing that his friends are together with him to the end, Ryouga decides to let them join him.

As Ryouga, Karuta, and Rug fill the Compass of Light with Burst Hearts, they are interrupted by three people, Amu, Rovy, and Ganku. The three people introduce themselves as the Three Generals of Great Gavel and turn into their Burst forms, the legendary Pokémon Cobalion, Virizion, and Terrakion. Faced with new enemies, Rug, Karuta, and Ryouga use Burst to fight their new foes while Yappy and Miruto stay behind to protect the Compass of Light.

Amu picks Ryouga as his opponent and goes off to fight him alone, leaving Rug and Karuta to face Ganku and Rovy together while Yappy and Miruto watches from the sidelines. Despite their best efforts, Karuta and Rug are defeated by their opponents. In a rare case of bravado, Yappy attempts to fight the opponents himself by using Burst. But, like the first time, the Burst Heart only explodes on Yappy, knocking himself out. Soon after, they are saved by Hariru and Carola, who had arrived to help their allies.and add to 100%