Byron

Revision as of 20:38, 13 February 2013 by Steph (talk | contribs) (→‎In the games)
Byron
トウガン Tougan
"The Man with the Steel Body!"
Diamond Pearl Byron.png
Artwork from Diamond and Pearl
Gender Male
Eye color Black
Hair color Purple*, Brown*
Hometown Canalave City*, Oreburgh City*
Region Sinnoh
Relatives Roark (son),
Underground Man (father),
Unnamed wife (anime)
Trainer class Gym LeaderDPPt
Pokémon TrainerB2W2
Generation IV, V
Games Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Black 2 and White 2
Leader of Canalave Gym
Badge Mine Badge
Specializes in Steel types
Anime debut Ancient Family Matters!
English voice actor Dan Green
Japanese voice actor Kazuki Yao

Byron (Japanese: トウガン Tougan) is the Gym Leader of Canalave City's Gym, known officially as the Canalave Gym. He hands out the Mine Badge to Trainers who defeat him. He specializes in Steel-type Pokémon. He is Roark's father.

In the games

Byron uses Steel-type Pokémon in his battles. Trainers who defeat him will receive the Mine Badge, TM91 (Flash Cannon), and will be able to use Strength outside of battle. Byron asked Riley to become a Gym Leader, but Riley declined because he thought Byron's son Roark should be considered first. Byron isn't surprised to find that his inexperienced son lost to the protagonist, but is enthusiastic about the next generation of Pokémon Trainers. Byron resolves to train harder at Iron Island to compete with younger Trainers.

He apparently owns the normally deserted cabin on Iron Island. After the Elite Four, he can be found there. Speaking to him results in him chiding himself for still treating Roark like a child; he will then give the player a Metal Coat and leave. In Platinum, he mentions that he lived on Iron Island for a long time and so feels out of place when visiting the Villa. Along with those visits, he can also be battled again at the Battleground in Platinum.

Pokémon

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl



Pokémon Platinum

Gym match



Rematch



Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

Pokémon World Tournament

Byron uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles and all six in Triple Battles.

Sinnoh Leaders Tournament



Type Expert/World Leaders Tournament



Quotes

Canalave Gym

  • Before battle
"Ah! That's Oreburgh Gym Badge! I see, I see! You've defeated my son. But that's no surprise. He still has much to learn. In place of my son Roark, I, Byron, will take your challenge!"
  • After sending out last Pokémon
"Oh, what's this? My last one! This is where we make our stand!"
  • During battle
"We're not done yet! There's no giving up!"
  • When defeated
"Hmm! My sturdy Pokémon, defeated!"
  • After being defeated
"You were strong enough to take down my prized team of Pokémon. In recognition of that power, I give you this: the Mine Badge!"
"Gwahahahaha! The Sinnoh region is vast! Tough Trainers like you and <rival> crop up constantly to challenge the old guard! With more young Trainers like my son and you two taking charge, the future of Pokémon is bright! But I'm not stepping aside just yet! I merely need to rededicate myself to training on Iron Island."

Villa

"Guhahahaha! How's your Villa? Can you give me a tour?"
"Gwahahahaha! I spent a long time living on Iron Island. A place this fancy, I feel a little out of place. Don't get me wrong, it's a great place. It's nothing like my son's!"
"You're acquainted with a fellow named Riley, aren't you? He's a mystifying sort, that one. I have no idea how old he is, to tell you the truth."

Battleground

  • Before battle
"I've faced many a challenger at my Gym. I've trained on Iron Island while contemplating my worth for days... I have the confidence now to batter down your defenses. Could I ask you for a rematch?"
"I have the confidence now to batter down your defenses. Could I ask you for a rematch?" (If No is the first answer)
No: "When you came to my Gym, you had a glint that's dulled now."
Yes: "We are tempered and honed by battling the strong. Here's to our showdown!"
  • During battle
"We're not done yet! There's no giving up!"
  • When defeated
"Hmm! My sturdy Pokémon--defeated!"
  • After being defeated
"I trained by pummeling steel continuously on Iron Island alongside Pokémon... Gwahahahaha! I could still use more toughening up!"

Battleground (alternate)

  • Before battle
"Since we last lost to you, we've been in training. I think we've addressed our shortcomings. Could I ask you for another rematch?"
"Could I ask you for another rematch?" (If No is the first answer)
No: "Gwahahaha! That's disappointing, but all right! There's a lot to be learned by battling you. We had our hopes up."
Yes: "Thank you! Like me, my Pokémon were longing for another chance to battle with you!"
  • During battle
"We're not done yet! There's no giving up!"
  • When defeated
"Hmm! My sturdy Pokémon--defeated!"
  • After being defeated
"Argh... Came up short again... Do I talk to my son Roark to train together...? No, that's too embarrassing... Hmm... This is a dilemma..."

Sprites

           
Byron's sprite from Diamond and Pearl Byron's sprite from Platinum Byron's sprite from
Generation V
Byron's overworld sprite from
Generation IV
Byron's overworld sprite from
Generation V
Byron's VS sprite
from Platinum

In the anime

 
Byron in the anime

Byron made his debut appearance in Ancient Family Matters! together with his son, Roark. It was revealed Byron had once been the Gym Leader of Oreburgh and had left his family to become the Gym Leader of Canalave as he was more interested in Fossils, leaving his former position to Roark. Byron battles his son for a short time before the match got interrupted by Team Rocket. It was later revealed that Byron still cared for his son as he kept the Fossil Roark had found as a child with him ever since.

Byron is obsessed with digging and Fossils. When his Fossils were stolen by Team Rocket in Ancient Family Matters!, Byron was too busy admiring the hole they dug into the building to notice.

In Dealing With Defensive Types!, Ash had his Gym battle against Byron, defeating him and earning a Mine Badge.

In Double-Time Battle Training!, Byron was presumably defeated by Paul, earning him his eighth Badge, and thereby making him eligible for the Sinnoh League.

Pokémon

This listing is of Byron's known Pokémon in the anime:

 
Bastiodon
Byron's main Pokémon, Bastiodon, first appeared in Ancient Family Matters! where Byron used it to battle against his son Roark and his Rampardos. However, the match was interrupted due to Team Rocket stealing all of Byron's Fossil collection. It then teamed up with Rampardos to send them blasting off and recover the Fossils.

It appeared again in Dealing With Defensive Types! where it was used in a Gym battle against Ash. It managed to defeat Chimchar easily but it finally went down to Gliscor after a hard fought battle, earning Ash the Mine Badge.

Bastiodon also appeared alongside Byron during the credits of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.

Bastiodon's known moves are Iron Defense, Flamethrower, Iron Head, Flash Cannon, and Metal Burst.

Debut Ancient Family Matters!
Voice actors
Japanese Unshō Ishizuka
English Dan Green
 
Bronzor
Bronzor was the first Pokémon used by Byron during his Gym Battle against Ash. It went up against Ash's Chimchar, and was able to stand up to Chimchar's Flamethrower thanks to Byron's intensive training. It was able to cause significant damage to Chimchar before being knocked out by Flame Wheel.

Bronzor's known moves are Rain Dance and Gyro Ball, and its Ability is Heatproof.

Debut Dealing With Defensive Types!
Voice actors
Japanese
English Tom Wayland
 
Steelix
Byron's Steelix was seen for the first time in Dealing With Defensive Types!. Steelix was the second Pokémon used by Byron when battling Ash, and proved to be a very tough opponent. It knocked out Buizel easily, and was able to cause massive damage to Chimchar. However it was eventually defeated by Chimchar after the Chimp Pokémon weakened the ground with Dig restricting its movement.

Steelix's known moves are Screech, Bind, and Iron Tail.

Debut Dealing With Defensive Types!
Voice actors
Japanese Unshō Ishizuka
English Unshō Ishizuka

In Canalave Gym

 
Omastar, Kabuto and Omanyte
Byron's Omastar, Kabuto and Omanyte are Pokémon Byron keeps at the Canalave Gym; it is unknown if he uses them in Gym battles. They caught Team Rocket trying to steal food from the Gym kitchen whilst Ash was having his Gym battle, they used powerful attacks sending Team Rocket blasting off.

Omastar and Omanyte's only known move is Water Gun, and Kabuto's only known move is Aqua Jet.

Debut Dealing With Defensive Types!
 
Kabutops
Byron's Kabutops is a Pokémon Byron keeps at the Canalave Gym; it is unknown if he uses it in Gym battles. When Team Rocket tried its second attempt to steal Fossils, Kabutops heard them and chased after them.

None of Kabutops's moves are known.

Debut Dealing With Defensive Types!
 
Armaldo and Cradily
Byron's Armaldo and Cradily are Pokémon Byron keeps at the Canalave Gym; it is unknown if he uses them in Gym battles. When Team Rocket tried their second attempt of stealing Fossils, they had found the room where all of the Fossils were kept. They dismissed Armaldo and Cradily thinking they were Fossils, but they were actually sleeping. They woke up and sent Team Rocket blasting off for the second time.

Armaldo's only known move is Hyper Beam and Cradily's only known move is Energy Ball.

Debut Dealing With Defensive Types!

Voice actors

Language Voice actor
Japanese 矢尾一樹 Kazuki Yao
English Dan Green
Czech Ladislav Cigánek
Brazilian Portuguese Luiz Antônio Lobue
Spanish Latin America Jorge Ornelas
Spain Pablo Adán


In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

 
Byron and his Bronzong with Fantina and her Mismagius

Byron first appears at Canalave City talking to Roark over the Pokégear about his recent loss in a Gym battle. He then changes the subject to something that is later revealed to be about Team Galactic. Later, at the Canalave Gym, Byron wakes up to find Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum sneaking into his Gym. Acting on his impulsive nature, Byron attacks the intruders under the impression that they are villains. Believing Byron to be the person that caused her father and Professor Rowan to go missing, Platinum faces the Gym Leader in battle.

While they battle, a stray attack causes a curtain to be destroyed and reveals Professor Berlitz and Professor Rowan trapped in a cage. After being accused of kidnapping them, Byron reveals that he has been investigating Team Galactic for months and found a Galactic Grunt attacking and trapping the two scientists in a cage.

The next day, Byron hands Platinum the Mine Badge for his previous defeat and is tasked with protecting Professor Rowan and Professor Berlitz while they recuperate after escaping the cage. When Platinum and Pearl go to protect the three lakes from Team Galactic, Byron sends Diamond to go train on Iron Island with his friend, Riley, to increase his battling skills.

Later, after a defeat at the hands of Jupiter, Candice calls Byron and demands that he send her, Maylene, and Platinum someone to train them. After briefly considering Roark, Byron reluctantly calls up Volkner to help them.

Byron later joins the other Gym Leaders at the Spear Pillar with the Underground Man, Professor Berlitz, and Professor Rowan to help them fight Team Galactic. By using their digging skills, the Underground man and Byron heal any injured Pokémon by taking them from the battle and putting them back after using a Potion.

After Cyrus's defeat, Byron steals a machine from Team Galactic scientist Charon. Unfortunately, Charon's machine causes a disturbance in the hole in the sky that was created by Dialga and Palkia's fighting and mysterious tentacles shoot from the hole and pulls Cyrus, Palkia, and Dialga inside of it.

Pokémon

On hand

This listing is of Byron's Pokémon in the Pokémon Adventures manga.

 
Bronzong (×2)
Byron's two Bronzong are his main battlers. He first used them against Platinum when she attempted to rescue her father after mistaking Byron for being his kidnapper but they were easily defeated by her Ponyta.

Bronzong's known moves are Payback and Extrasensory.

Debut Brash Bronzong I
Given away
 
Shieldon
Shieldon was the first Pokémon seen in Byron's possession. Despite numerous attempts at trying, Byron was unable to befriend him. However, Diamond was able to. As a result, the Gym Leader decided to give it to the boy who named it Don.
Debut A Big Stink Over Stunky

In the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure! manga

Byron finds Hareta washed up on the shore after having been defeated by Cyrus. Byron takes Hareta in and allows him to regain his strength before putting him through a rigorous training session similar to what he put Roark through years ago. Hareta charges forward never considering his remaining strength, causing him to fail the challenge at the final stage. Byron then sends him to Iron Island to restart his training from scratch and improve his skills. He returns at the completion of Hareta's training to allow him to take his challenge again, however something terrible is happening in the distance. Byron seemed to have a fondness for Hareta, possibly like a second son to him.

Pokémon

 
Bastiodon
Bastiodon was sent out to finish off Hareta's Piplup. Later, it took on Saturn's Bronzong where its Take Down was blocked by Reflect and was finished by Bronzong's Earthquake.

Bastiodon's only known move is Take Down.

Debut Challenge! The Fortress Of Steel!!
 
Bronzor
After Hareta was finished with the first part of Byron's challenge, Byron sent Bronzor for the official battle.

Bronzor's only known move is Hypnosis.

Debut Challenge! The Fortress Of Steel!!
 
Steelix (×2)
Byron's two Steelix were used in the challenge in which they served as walls to prevent Hareta from getting to the top. Later, one of the Steelix took on Saturn's Bronzong where it was no match for the Bronze Bell Pokémon and was taken out by a single SolarBeam.

None of Steelix's moves are known.

Debut Challenge! The Fortress Of Steel!!
 
Onix
Onix was used as an obstacle for the first part of the challenge.

Onix's known moves are Earthquake and Rock Slide.

Debut Challenge! The Fortress Of Steel!!

In the TCG

This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Byron or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

Byron's Pokémon
Cards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.
Cards listed with a green background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.
Card Type English
Expansion
Rarity # Japanese
Expansion
Rarity #
Bastiodon     Rising Rivals   2/111 Bonds to the End of Time   067/090
Steelix     Rising Rivals   51/111 Bonds to the End of Time   062/090
 


Trivia

Names

Language Name Origin
Japanese トウガン Tougan From 冬瓜 tougan, winter melon. (His son, Hyouta, is also named after a gourd). Possibly a reference to 鋼 hagane, steel.
English Byron Sounds similar to iron.
French Charles From charbon, coal.
German Adam From latin adamas, very hard iron, steel.
Italian Ferruccio From ferro, iron.
Spanish Acerón From acero, steel.
Korean 동관 Dongwan Similar to Japanese name. Also, wax gourd is called 동과 (冬瓜) Dongwa in Korea.
Chinese (Taiwan) 東鋼 Dōnggāng* From the Japanese 東 tou and 鋼 hagane. Literally eastern steel.
東瓜 Dōngguā* A pun of 冬瓜 dōngguā (winter melon, wax gourd).
Chinese (Mainland China) 东瓜 Dōngguā From 冬瓜 dōngguā .


Gym Leaders of the Sinnoh region
Oreburgh Gym  
 
Roark
Eterna Gym  
 
Gardenia
Veilstone Gym  
 
Maylene
Pastoria Gym  
 
Crasher Wake
Hearthome Gym  
 
Fantina
Canalave Gym  
 
Byron
Snowpoint Gym  
 
Candice
Sunyshore Gym  
 
Volkner


  This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.