Norman

A Man in Pursuit of Power!
Norman
Species	Human
Hair color	Black
Base	Petalburg City
Relatives	Wife Brendan/May (player character- child)
Debut	Pokémon: Ruby Version/Pokémon: Sapphire Version

Norman is the fifth gym leader of Hoenn who must be battled in Pokémon: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Versions and the remakes Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. He is also notable for being the father of the games' player character, who can be either Brendan or May depending on the gender chosen by the player at the beginning of the game. He specializes in Normal-type Pokémon.

Background

Norman was originally from Johto, where he lived in Olivine City. He had a lifelong friendship with Professor Birch, who apparently went to college with him. Normal later married a wife and had a child known as Brendan or May. Later on, Norman moved to Littleroot Town in Hoenn, when he was chosen to become the gym leader of a gym in the nearby Petalburg City. Norman had formed a strong philosophy about Pokémon, being described as someone who lives for Pokémon, and he focused on balance. He has also remarked that his "chosen path is harsh", possibly in reference to the distance from his family that can come with his duty.

In Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, he was the first gym leader encountered by Brendan/May in their Pokémon journey. Norman was pleased to see his child beginning a Pokémon journey but refused to battle them until they were more powerful. However, he did assign his child on an errand to escort young Wally, lending him one of his own Pokémon, as he went out to catch his first Pokémon so that he could travel to Verandturf Town.

Norman finally allowed his child to challenge him to a gym battle after they had collected four badges from other gyms. Norman battled his child like any other opponent, but was defeated. He had mixed emotions about his defeat, feeling disappointed as a gym leader and proud as a father. Norman gave his child the Balance Badge and TM 42: Facade (or TM67: Retaliate in Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire). He also reminded the trainer that they should visit their mother every now and then. As for himself, he declared that he would remain in the gym and redouble his training in order to avenge his loss. In Emerald, he would later call Brendan/May up through the Match Call feature to challenge them to rematches. After being defeated, he would ask his child what their dream was, while saying that his own dream had already come true.

After his child became the Pokémon League champion, Norman was seen at their home in Littleroot Town, where he noted that Brendan/May looked stronger somehow. In Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, he gave them an S.S. Ticket from Mr. Briney at this time and suggested they compete at Battle Tower to continue their path as a trainer. In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, he instead gave them a pair of tickets to the Mossdeep Space Center and suggested that they take Professor Birch's child (May/Brendan, the rival character of the opposite gender of the player) to it. The tickets were originally supposed to be used by Norman and his wife, but Norman had to cancel due to being needed at the gym. After the Delta Episode was completed, that was when Norman gave Brendan/May the S.S. Ticket from Mr. Briney. He was also part of the Eon Ticket quest; when Brandan/May showed him an Eon Ticket, he brought them to a sailor at Slateport Harbor who could take the trainer to South Island.

Norman reappeared in Black and White 2 as a competitor in the Pokémon World Tournament. He took part in the Hoenn Leaders, World Leaders and Type Expert divisions.

Pokémon Roster

The following is Norman's primary roster in Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire:

• Spinda (Emerald only)
• Vigoroth
• Linoone (Emerald only)
• Slaking (2 in Ruby and Sapphire, 1 in Emerald)

Outside of his main roster, Norman also has a Zigzagoon that he lends to Wally. In Emerald, Norman uses the following Pokémon in rematches:

• Chansey
• Slaking (2)
• Spinda in the first rematch
• Kangaskhan (second rematch onwards)
• Blissey, (third rematch onwards)
• Tauros, (fourth rematch)

In Black 2 and White 2, the potential roster that he uses for tournament battles could include Slaking and Exploud in all modes; Spinda, Kecleon, Castform and Zangoose in the Hoenn Leaders Tournament; and Ambipom, Bouffalant, Staraptor and Sawsbuck in the World Leaders and Type Expert tournaments. In "Gathered! Gym Leader!", he uses Slaking, Bouffalant, Sawsbuck and Stoutland.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Norman makes recurring appearances throughout the episodes of the Pokémon anime set in Hoenn. In this version his wife was named Caroline, and his children were May and Max, the latter being an original character made for the anime. The first episode with him shows him defeating Ash Ketchum in a gym battle but then tells Ash that he should fight Norman after beating other gym leaders. He is later featured in two subsequent episodes, the first showing him rekindling his romance with Caroline (and dispelling rumors of an affair with Nurse Joy) while the second shows Ash defeating Norman in a gym battle which leads to Max stealing the Balance Badge in denial until they convince him to return it. Norman also made a small appearance as a spectator watching May in the Wallace Cup arc of the Diamond and Pearl episodes.
• Norman appears in the Pokémon Adventures manga, where he had just become a gym leader. It is shown that years ago when he first took the gym leader test his son Ruby had attacked a Salamence which proceeded to attack a lab and accidentally release Rayquaza. Norman took the blame for the accident and was suspended from taking the gym leader test for several years while also being assigned to search for Rayquaza, which led to him becoming distant from his family. When Ruby turned away from battling in favor of Pokémon contests Norman disapproved due to knowing Ruby's natural talent and wanting his help in awakening Rayquaza. Ruby runs away from home after the move to Hoenn, unaware that Norman was going to allow him to compete in the contests, and Norman spends much of the Ruby/Sapphire arc preoccupied with finding Ruby while ignoring the other gym leaders and his duties. They eventually meet and battle at which point Norman angrily allows him to do whatever he wants. He instead winds up taking in and training Wally, and using him to awaken Rayquaza. Norman controls him in successfully subduing Groudon and Kyogre but the stress on his body leads him to die. However, the time slip created by Celebi leaves to Norman's death being prevented, and Sapphire then manages to defeat him offscreen for her last badge. Norman reappeared in the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire arc, where he worked with Ruby in searching for and then trying to capture and control Rayquaza. Afterwards, he joined the various trainers helping with the effort to destroy Grand Meteor Delta.

Trivia

• His name is a play on the word "normal", in reference to his type specialty.
• According to Emerald, it takes him 30 minutes to walk from his home in Littleroot to his gym in Petalburg.
• Norman is the only father of any of the main series' protagonists to appear. He is also the only gym leader to be related to one of the protagonists at all.