Byron

"The Man with the Steel Body!"
Byron
Species	Human
Hair color	Red
Base	Canalave City
Relatives	Underground Man (father} Roark (son)
Debut	Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl Versions

Byron is the sixth gym leader of the Sinnoh region who appears in Pokémon: Diamond, Pearl and Platinum Versions. He specializes in Steel-type Pokémon.

Background

Byron was a powerful trainer who became gym leader of the Canalave City Pokémon Gym. He had a son Roark who trained hard to impress him. However, Byron always treated Roark as a child and had low expectations from him. This can be shown in how he offered a gym leader position to Riley that he he declined so that Roark could be considered instead (it is unsure if this refers to the Oreburgh Gym before Roark before it became its leader, or to Canalave in the future after Byron leaves). Byron was known for his tough nature and often trained at Iron Island.

In Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, he was challenged by Lucas/Dawn, recognizing Roark's Oreburgh gym badge but expressing little surprise that Roark had lost a gym battle. After being defeated by the player trainer, he commended their strength by giving them the Mine Badge and TM91: Flash Cannon. He resolved to train at Iron Island more in order to contend for this new generation of Pokémon trainers. Byron could later be found at the house on Iron Island after defeating the Elite Four, where he would look back at his treatment of Roark over the years with regret, but he chalked that up to father-son relationships always being tricky. He would reward Lucas/Dawn for listening to his rambling by giving them a Steel Coat. In Platinum, he could also be challenged to rematches at the Battleground.

Pokémon Roster

Byron uses the following Pokémon for the Gym Challenge in Diamond, Pearl and Platinum:

• Bronzor (Diamond/Pearl only)/Magneton (Platinum only)
• Steelix
• Bastiodon

In Platinum, Byron uses the following Pokémon in Battleground rematches:

• Skarmory
• Magnezone
• Steelix
• Bastiodon
• Aggron

Other Appearances

• Byron appears in two episodes of the Pokémon anime's Diamond & Pearl series, which chronicle Ash Ketchum's gym battle with him while touching on his relationship with Roark. In the first episode it was shown that he used to be Oreburgh's gym leader before leaving to Canalave due to his interest in fossils, and he was revealed to have truly cared for Roark by having secretly kept a fossil Roark had given him as a child. The second episode depicted Ash's victorious gym battle against Byron.