List of Hoenn Gym Leaders

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Below is a list of Gym Leaders from the Hoenn region in the Pokémon media franchise, a series of games, anime, manga, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. Any trainer seeking entry into the Pokémon League championship of any region must defeat the eight gym leaders of that region.^[1]

Each of these gym leaders is in charge of a Pokémon gym, a training center that is located in a city. In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon Emerald, the gym leaders are difficult trainers that the player must defeat in order to progress through the game and face the Elite Four. They serve much the same role in the anime, as each of them pose a challenge for Ash Ketchum, the main protagonist, before he can advance to the Hoenn League. In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Sapphire, the main female protagonist, must defeat all of the gym leaders in eighty days in order to prove her battling prowess to Ruby, the main male protagonist.^[2] Also, strangely, each gym leader has a clue in their name that has to do with what type they use (excluding Juan from Pokémon Emerald, Liza, and Tate. Tate's name might have came from mediTATE).

Contents 1 Roxanne 2 Brawly 3 Wattson 4 Flannery 5 Norman 6 Winona 7 Tate and Liza 8 Juan 9 Wallace 10 References

[edit] Roxanne

Roxanne
Roxanne, in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	ツツジ (Tsutsuji )
Voice actor(s)	Amy Palant
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Anime episode	Ep. 291, "Gonna Rule The School!"
Pokémon Adventures chapter	Chap. 190, "Vs. Nosepass (Part 1)"
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Rock-type Pokémon
Occupation	Rustboro City Gym Leader; also a schoolteacher in the anime and manga

Roxanne is in charge of the Stone Badge, and resides in Rustburo City. She is an expert on Rock-type Pokémon (Seen in the name Roxanne, Rox being pronounced like Rocks). Her name in the Japanese version means azelea.

In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, Roxanne and her Pokémon Gym serve much the same purpose as Brock's Gym in previous games. She is the first Gym Leader players encounter, and her team (a Geodude - two in Emerald - and a Nosepass), while durable, is weak against all three starting Pokémon and is greatly lacking in offensive ability. Similarly, her Gym has few subordinate trainers (serving mostly to ward off any player who hasn't built up his or her team sufficiently) and no puzzles or complex mazes.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga, Roxanne is both the Rustboro City Gym Leader and an instructor at the Rustboro Trainer School. She has appeared in "VS. Nosepass" Parts 1 & 2 (Ch.190 & Ch.191), "VS. Shiftry" (Ch.222) and "VS. Kyogre & Groudon X" (Ch.248), normally as either appearing as the Gym Leader of Rustboro (where she supplements the traditional head-to-head challenge with written tests), or fighting against Team Aqua and Team Magma with the other Gym Leaders from around Hoenn.

In the Pokémon anime, Roxanne is not only a Gym Leader, but also a teacher at the Pokémon Trainers' School in Rustboro City, teaching skills she learned as Professor Oak's star pupil. She teaches an introductory course on Pokémon to young children not old enough to be trainers. She appears in episodes 291 and 292, "Gonna Rule The School!" and "Winner By A Nosepass." While "Gonna Rule The School!" introduces Roxanne in passing but instead focuses on members of her class, in "Winner By A Nosepass," Pikachu and Ash take a class to teach Pikachu a new attack, "Iron Tail," which Pikachu then uses to defeat Roxanne's Nosepass in a battle for the Stone Badge.

[edit] Brawly

Brawly
Brawly, in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	トウキ (Touki)
Voice actor(s)	Jason Anthony Griffith
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Anime episode	Ep. 294, "Brave The Wave"'
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Fighting-type Pokémon
Occupation	Dewford Town Gym Leader

Brawly is a character in the Pokémon series. He is a gym leader in the Hoenn region and resides in Dewford Town. His gym is a pitch black maze. As the player defeats more trainers inside the gym, it becomes lighter; when the player has defeated Brawly, the gym becomes completely lit up. He specializes in Fighting-type Pokémon. Brawly once trained alongside Kanto Elite Four member Bruno. Brawly's name has Brawl in it, referring to fighting; while his Japanese name Tōki can be literally translated as "fighting spirit".

In the Pokémon anime metaseries, Brawly is a Gym Leader who likes to Surf and train his Pokémon at the same time. His Pokémon move like the waves, always changing and avoiding attacks through the course of battle. He also has a private island which has a training facility and a battle field that has many geysers on it.

Ash loses to Brawly the first time, as he only relied on brute strength. However, in the rematch, his Corphish and Treecko use the forces of nature to defeat his Machop and Hariyama.

[edit] Wattson

Wattson
Wattson, in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	テッセン (Tessen)
Voice actor(s)	Dan Green
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Anime episode	Ep. 316, "Watt's With Wattson"
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Electric-type Pokémon
Occupation	Mauville City Gym Leader

Wattson is a character in the Pokémon series. He is a gym leader in the Hoenn region and resides in Mauville City. He is an expert on Electric-type Pokémon. An old man, Wattson is almost always seen smiling (his sprite even shows him laughing). Defeating Wattson will earn the trainer the Dynamo Badge. His name is derived from "watt", while his Japanese name is likely a reference toward Nikola Tesla.

Wattson uses moves which Paralyze the most. The first move that his Magneton uses, if your pokemon is not already paralyzed, is Shock wave.

When the player returns to Mauville City after defeating Norman, Wattson is standing outside. He will tell the player that there have been some problems at Mauville's electrical power station, called New Mauville, and asks him or her to enter the station to turn off the generator. Wattson hands the key over. Once the player completes this sidequest, he or she will be rewarded with TM24.

As shown in the Pokémon anime, Wattson always likes a good joke, as any visitors (gym challengers or not) take a roller coaster ride, ending up against a mechanical Raikou.

Ash surprisingly defeats Wattson easily with just his Pikachu, which is unusual as Electric-type moves are not very effective against Electric-type Pokémon. Wattson dejectedly plans to retire from his Gym Leader post but regains his fighting spirit after helping to defeat Team Rocket. It is revealed that Pikachu's Electric attacks had been temporarily supercharged when he destroyed the mechanical Raikou, which allowed him to overwhelm Wattson's Pokémon. Ash, hoping to get a fair rematch, tries to return his Dynamo Badge and earn it back fairly, but Wattson asks him to keep it because Wattson realizes that he also needs to continue training.

He and Ash meet again later in the series and have a rematch. Wattson's training has paid off, as he beats Ash.

[edit] Flannery

Flannery
Flannery, in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	アスナ (Asuna)
Voice actor(s)	Lisa Ortiz
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Anime episode	Ep. 328, "Poetry Commotion!"'
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Fire-type Pokémon
Occupation	Lavaridge Town Gym Leader

Flannery is a character in the Pokémon series. She is a gym leader in the Hoenn region and resides in Lavaridge Town. She is an expert on Fire Pokémon.

When the player first faces her in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Flannery has recently inherited leadership of the gym from her grandfather (revealed in the games to be a former Elite Four member), and has a reputation to live up to.Flannery is a young,tall and slim girl,in the anime she is seen wearing a thight black tanktop and wide pants.At this point in her career, she seems uncertain and inexperienced. After beating Flannery in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, she will comment that the player battles like Norman.In the manga she becomes friends whit Sapphire and theyeven went to take a bath together in the hot springs.

Ash arrives in Lavaridge Town to find that Flannery has been the Gym Leader for only three days. Her grandfather recently left on a journey to write better poetry. However, he secretly spies on her to see how she is doing, as the older citizens of the town are not expecting him back for a long time. He comes in disguised as a Pokémon referee. He helps Flannery out, and eventually drops his disguise. She has two Slugma (Mag and Meg). Mag evolved instead of Meg.

The battle between Flannery and Ash is intense. Both sides make entertaining moves. Eventually, a fired-up Torkoal faces Ash's sleeping Corphish. However, Corphish eventually wakes up to defeat Torkoal, and Ash wins his fourth badge.

[edit] Norman

Norman
Norman, in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	センリ (Senri)
Voice actor(s)	Dan Green
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Anime episode	Ep. 276, "There's No Place Like Hoenn"
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Normal-type Pokémon
Occupation	Petalburg City Gym Leader

Norman is a character in the Pokémon series. He is a gym leader in the Hoenn region and resides in Petalburg City. He is an expert on Normal Pokémon and is the father of the hero in the Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald games.

During the game, Norman is said to appear on the TV at the beginning of the player's adventure. He is mentioned by Professor Birch in conversation when the player first meets him. Norman and Professor Birch are very good friends.

It is also Norman who lends Wally the Zigzagoon he uses to catch his first Pokémon, Ralts.

In the anime, Norman is May's and Max's father. He is a major celebrity in the area around Petalburg, and his skill is reputed to approach the level of an Elite Four member. He uses a high-level Slaking to accompany his powerful Vigoroth. His undefeated streak ends when he battles Ash, who wins his fifth gym battle.

His role in Pokémon Adventures is similar to his video game role, as he is the father of Ruby. His personality however is quite different. He is shown to be calm. He was originally going to be a gymleader in Hoenn 5 years prior to the starts of the R/S saga. There he brought along his family and his friend Professor Birch, who also brought his family. There a wild Salamance attacked Proffesor Birch's daughter Sapphire. But Norman's son Ruby saved her, resulting in him receiving a scar on the forehead. This event caused Ruby to believe he needs to be more soft and Sapphire to toughen up to protect herself. The wild Salamance then went into the nearby research building resulting in Rayquaza escaping from the building. Norman is then banned from becoming a gym leader until he tracks down where Rayquaza is.

[edit] Winona

Winona
Winona, in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	ナギ (Nagi)
Voice actor(s)	Amy Birnbaum
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Anime episode	Ep. 360, "Who's Flying Now?"
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Flying-type Pokémon
Occupation	Fortree City Gym Leader

Winona is a character in the Pokémon series. She is a gym leader in the Hoenn region and resides in Fortree City. She is an expert on Flying-type Pokémon. An invisible Kecleon bars the way to her gym, which can only be revealed by using the Devon Scope.

Winona, depicted in the Pokémon anime, is a very experienced gym leader who specializes in Flying-type Pokémon. She also owns a Shiny Swellow. She puts up a good fight against Ash, but thanks to Pikachu, Grovyle and Swellow, he manages to win his sixth badge.

Winona's name is likely taken from the word wing.

[edit] Tate and Liza

Tate & Liza
Tate and Liza in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	フウとラン (Fuu & Ran)
Voice actor(s)	Tate: Jason Anthony Griffith Liza: Andi Whaley
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Anime episode	Ep. 373, "It's Still Rocket Roll To Me!"
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Psychic-type Pokémon
Occupation	Mossdeep City Gym Leaders

Tate & Liza are the twin gym leaders in the Hoenn region and reside in Mossdeep City. It turns out that Tate is the slightly younger brother of Liza and slightly less experienced, ending up in constant teasing. Tate and Liza are experts on Psychic types. Their strategy is to Double Battle. In the games, Tate and Liza communicate with their Pokémon and each other telepathically in order to perfectly coordinate their attacks. This ability is not evident in the anime. Although the reason why Liza is named that is unknown, Tate's name seems to come from Meditate. However, LizaTate sounds like "levitate". Their Japanese names can be interpreted as the Chinese "Feng" and "Lùan" respectively, complementing their appearances; additionally, the former translates to "wind" and is the first character in the art of feng shui, while "lùan"'s character is used in a pair of characters used to refer to confusion, a tcommon echnique of Psychic Pokémon.

Many players of the Pokemon video games initially believed that Tate and Liza were both girls; this belief stemmed from the fact that they dress in similar clothing, and Tate is not a very common boys' name. This was cleared up in the anime, however.

In the Pokémon anime, Tate and Liza first appear at the Mossdeep Space Center, preparing to watch the shuttle launch, with the rest of their family. Their father, the astronaut, is going into space to find more space Pokémon, such as Lunatone and Solrock, Tate and Liza's Pokémon. After Max and Tate are kidnapped while fooling around on the shuttle, Team Rocket launches the shuttle, in an attempt to steal it and give it to the Boss. Ash's Corphish accidentally also boards the shuttle, and defeat Jessie, James and Meowth, allowing Max and Tate to land the shuttle safely in Mossdeep, with the help of the family's many Baltoy.

Ash finally gets to battle Tate and Liza in the following episode, using Pikachu and Swellow in a double-battle between Solrock and Lunatone. Although Ash's Pokémon can't get past Tate and Liza's defense strategies, including using Light Screen and Psychic.

Swellow and Pikachu both absorb massive amounts of thunder, produced by Pikachu by reacting with clouds, in turn, turning it into a form of armour, as both Pokémon contained so much power both Lunatone's Light Screen, and Solrock's Solarbeam were cut through, leading Swellow and Pikachu to strike down the cosmic pairing.

Tate and Liza learned a lot from the battle, and Ash won his seventh Hoenn badge, the Mind Badge.

[edit] Juan

Juan
Juan, in the Pokémon anime
Japanese name	アダン (Adan)
Voice actor(s)	Sean Schemmel
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Emerald
Anime episode	Ep. 385, "The Great Eight Fate"
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Water-type Pokémon
Occupation	Sootopolis City Gym Leader

Juan is a character in the Pokémon video game series. He is a gym leader in the Hoenn region and resides in Sootopolis City. Like his favorite student, Wallace, Juan is an expert on Water-type Pokémon. In Pokémon Emerald, Juan has become the gym leader, as Wallace is now the Pokémon League Champion.

Juan is also the Sootopolis gym leader in the anime (and the last gym leader that Ash faces), but Wallace is not mentioned. Also in the anime, Juan is a former Pokémon Contest Champion. As a result, his Gym is very stylish, especially compared to the swimming pool of the Cerulean City Gym. In both the anime and game, Juan uses five Pokémon in his gym battles, though his lineup is different in the anime (which uses the same Pokémon as Wallace did in Ruby/Sapphire) and the game. This battle lasts two episodes.

In the first episode, the battle begins with a double battle. Juan chooses Sealeo and Seaking, and while they defeat Ash's Snorunt, they are beaten by Pikachu and Corphish. Although Pikachu's electric attacks are blocked by Seaking's Horn Drill attack, Pikachu uses Iron Tail against, smashing it into a protruding rock from the water. Sealeo uses Blizzard which Snorunt freezes and Pikachu smashes apart, allowing the pair to use the ice shards as stepping stones.

In the second episode, the field and positions are switched, and Ash starts with Grovyle, while Juan uses Luvdisc to defeat it, via a confusing Sweet Kiss attack, making it attack itself. Ash sends out Corphish once more, who defeats Luvdisc, but the crab Pokémon is quickly defeated by Whiscash. Ash defeats Whiscash with his Swellow, and then continues against Juan's best Pokémon:Milotic. Milotic defeats Swellow, but is ultimately defeated by Pikachu, using a full power Thunder attack beneath the water. Juan awards Ash with the Rain Badge and directs them to the next Pokémon Contest, in Pacifidlog Town.

The Rain Badge looks similar to The Legend of Zelda trademark, the Triforce.

[edit] Wallace

Wallace
Japanese name	ミクリ (Mikuri)
First appearances
Game	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
In-Universe Information
Preferred Pokémon type	Water-type Pokémon
Occupation	Sootopolis City Gym Leader; later Hoenn Pokémon League Champion

Wallace is a character in the Pokémon video game series. He was once the Gym Leader of Sootopolis City, but was replaced by his mentor, Juan, when he became champion of Hoenn's Elite Four. He is an expert of Water-types. In all games, Wallace is the guardian of the Cave of Origin, where deceased Pokémon are resurrected and where the player may catch Groudon and Kyogre in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, respectively. His demeanor is similar to that of his mentor's, possessing an affection for lavish beauty and extravagance.

In Pokémon Emerald Wallace plays a far more significant role in the plot line of the game. Wallace is first introduced after the release of Kyogre and Groudon by Team Aqua and Team Magma, respectively. Upon arriving at Sootopolis City, the player speaks with Steven who tells him that someone knows the secret to stopping the natural disasters wrought by the legendary pokémon. This turns out to be Wallace and Wallace tells him that there is a third legendary pokémon, Rayquaza, that can be found at the Sky Pillar. The player then meets Wallace at the Sky Pillar and sends him up to the top of the tower to wake Rayquaza. Rayquaza then comes to Sootopolis City and calms Groudon and Kyogre and all three legendary Pokémon leave the city. Wallace is then beside the Sootopolis City gym and, unlike in Ruby and Sapphire, Wallace is no longer the gym leader and has turned his position over to his former mentor. His mentor, Juan, uses water-type pokemon much like Wallace did and even has afew from Ruby and Sapphire, though he does have his own new pokémon as well (notably his powerful Kingdra).

Shockingly, Wallace is later found as the Champion of the Elite Four and is a very formidable opponent. He retains his usage of water-type pokémon and uses powerful pokémon in battle, most notably his Milotic, which has astonishing special defense, and his, Tentacruel, which has learned powerful moves like Ice Beam and Hydro Pump, and his Gyarados.

In Pokémon Adventures, he likes Winona, the Fortree City Gym Leader.

Wallace has never appeared in the anime, but it seems that he was planned to judging by some early promo artwork for the anime until the changes in Pokemon Emerald.

[edit] References

1. ^ GameSpy review of Pokémon Ruby Gamespy. URL accessed July 10, 2006.
2. ^ Synopsis of Pokémon Adventures Manga: "Chapter 183: VS. Torchic!" Serebii.net. URL accessed July 10, 2006.

Pokémon Gym Leaders and Frontier Brains
Kanto Gym Leaders	Brock | Brock's family | Misty | Daisy, Lily, and Violet | Lt. Surge | Erika | Koga | Janine | Sabrina | Blaine | Giovanni | Blue | Agatha
Orange Island Gym Leaders	Cissy | Danny | Rudy | Luana | Jeremy | Drake
Johto Gym Leaders	Falkner | Bugsy | Whitney | Morty | Chuck | Jasmine | Pryce | Clair
Hoenn Gym Leaders	Roxanne | Brawly | Wattson | Flannery | Norman | Winona | Tate & Liza | Wallace | Juan
Sinnoh Gym Leaders	Hyouta | Natane | Sumomo | Maxi | Melissa | Tougan | Suzuna | Denji
Leaders of Unofficial Gyms	Kiyo | A.J. | Yas & Kas Gym | Dorian
Frontier Brains	Anabel | Brandon | Spenser | Greta | Noland | Tucker | Lucy