Project Bronze Forever Jake, Tess, and Gerald

Roria does not give you a silent walking partner. Jake lives in Mitis Town, fights you with Eevee before Route 1, and keeps appearing outside gyms like a metronome. Tess and Uncle Gerald arrive after Fluoruma, which is the game’s way of saying gym 6 is the mid-game gate. This page tracks those trainers so you know who is due for a battle, who hands Rock Climb, and why Anthian Park feels personal. For the org they keep running into, read Team Eclipse. For the leaders between their scenes, read gym leaders.

If you are still in the lab, finish getting started and pick from the starter guide plus the starter tier list before you worry about rival evos. Jake’s Eevee is not a wall. Your starter plus a potion is enough.

Jake — Mitis Town, Eevee, gym shadows

Jake is already in the lab when Cypress opens the starter cases. He does not take Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. He takes Eevee. The first fight is on the way out of town: Normal type, low level, five Poke Balls as a reward if you win. That set of balls is your Route 1 budget. Do not dump them all on the first Patrat-equivalent you see.

After Silvent, Jake shows up in Brimber to introduce Sebastian, which is how you learn the Red Orb is gone. He pops up around Rosecove and Anthian as a pacing tool: if Jake is in the Pokemon Center, you are on-plot; if he is missing, you skipped a flag. His later teams grow with gym levels and pick Eeveelutions and coverage that check whatever you have been spamming. If you only raise the starter, he will feel hard. If you built the early six on team comps, he is a checkpoint.

The Anthian Park raid is where Jake stops being comic relief. Eclipse captures him during the airship attack. You and Tess confront Cypress with the Bronze Brick glowing. Dialga and Palkia intervene. Jake’s next appearances are not gym-door trash talk. Late-game Route 14 and the Eclipse Base include fights tagged as Admin Jake in many walkthroughs. If you want zero spoilers, stop this paragraph here and stay off spoiler channels on Discord. If you want the mechanical warning: prepare a team that can beat a fully grown rival with Dark coverage, not just an Eevee.

Jake is also the character who forces a decision after Demon’s Tomb in the original Brick Bronze arc. Do not assume he remains a cheerful neighbor through Crescent. Build the late party as if a rival can throw a full six at you between Zeek and Captain B.

Tess — second rival, Anthian partner

Tess is the other named trainer who is not a gym leader and not a grunt. She enters the story as someone who actually helps during Eclipse raids instead of only challenging you for prize money. Anthian Park is her showcase: she is in the fight when Cypress drops the professor act, and she is in the cutscene when the brick summons legendaries to stop the explosives.

Her battle style is closer to a traveling trainer than a specialist. Expect mixed types, not a copy of Jake’s Eevee line. If you ignored Fairy and Fighting into the mid-game, Tess is the fight that makes you open the type chart. She is also the reason you should keep a spare slot on the party instead of six HM slaves: tag battles and story doubles show up around her scenes.

Do not confuse Tess with Linda. Linda is the blue-roof thief in Gale Forest. Tess is the ally who appears much later. If a random Eclipse grunt is talking, it is not Tess.

Uncle Gerald — after Fluoruma

Gerald is Tess’s uncle. You meet them as you leave Fissy’s greenhouse after the Harvest Badge. The mechanical gift is HM Rock Climb, which the badge authorizes in the field. Route 14’s ruins, later legendary gates, and several shortcuts expect you to have that HM on a Pokemon that can actually learn it. Put it on a slot you do not mind sending out, then keep moving toward Frostveil.

Gerald is not a gym leader and he is not a secret boss. He is a quest flag with a personality. Talk to him. Get the HM. Do not walk to Route 14 without it and then blame the gym walkthrough. Tess and Gerald together are the game telling you that the cute early rival loop is over and that Eclipse Base is on the calendar.

How to use rivals as a training plan

• After Jake’s first Eevee fight, catch coverage for Chad. Electric gym. Ground immunity.
• After Jake appears in Brimber, finish the Red Orb raid before you grind the lava gym.
• After Tess joins the Anthian scenes, rebuild for Ryan and Fissy using team comps.
• After Gerald hands Rock Climb, EV train only if you have a target; otherwise keep story levels honest until Victory Road.
• Before Eclipse Base, assume a rival-sized full battle can appear. Pack Dark answers.

Rivals will not replace legendary birds or the Regis. They will steal your momentum if you treat every cutscene as skippable. If the live Roblox copy changed overnight, confirm it on game status before you look for Tess in a town that has not loaded yet. Codes still want Chad first via codes.