Byron
From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
| Byron トウガン Tougan | |
| The Man with the Steel Body! | |
 Artwork from Diamond/Pearl | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Eye color | Black |
| Hair color | Purple*, Mahogany* |
| Hometown | Oreburgh City |
| Region | Sinnoh |
| Relatives | Roark (son), Underground Man (father), Unnamed wife (anime) |
| Class | Gym Leader |
| Generation | IV |
| Games | Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum |
| Gym | Canalave Gym |
| Type | Steel |
| Badge | Mine Badge |
| First episode | 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.
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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 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, then he'll 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
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Pokémon Platinum
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Rematch
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Quotes
- 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."
- "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."
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.
Pokémon
This listing is of Byron's known Pokémon in the anime:
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Bronzor was the first Pokémon used by Byron during his Gym Battle against Ash where it went up against Ash's Chimchar where it was able to stand up to Chimchar's Flamethrower thanks to Byron's intensive training with the Pokémon. It was able to cause significant damage to Chimchar before being knocked out by Flame Wheel Bronzor's known attacks are Gyro Ball and Rain Dance and its ability is Heatproof. |
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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. |
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Bastiodon is Byron's main Pokémon, first appearing when Byron had a battle with Roark. It was then used in the Gym Battle against Ash as Byron's final Pokémon. It knocked out an already weakened Chimchar, but was defeated by Gliscor |
In Canalave Gym
 Kabuto |  Kabutops |  Omanyte |
 Omastar |  Armaldo |  Cradily |
Voice actors
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In the manga
Pokémon Adventures
Byron made an appearance with his Shieldon. Roark met him at Eterna City when exploring the Underground, where they discussed something (not known yet). Roark said that his father was the unpredictable type.
After being defeated by Berlitz, Byron takes on the responsibility of protecting Professor Rowan and Mr. Berlitz while doing research in Canalave City. When Candice, Maylene, and Platinum Berlitz are defeated by Team Galactic, he responds with their request to send one strong to help them. After briefly considering Roark, Byron reluctantly calls Volkner.
Pokémon
This listing is of Byron's Pokémon in the Pokémon Adventures manga.
 Shieldon |  Bronzong ×2 |
Given away
| Shieldon |
Byron gave a Shieldon to Diamond.
Pokémon DP
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.
Pokémon
 Bastiodon |  Bronzor |  Steelix |  Onix |
In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Byron or his Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
| Name | Type | Level | Rarity | Set | Set no. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bastiodon GL |  | 41 |  | Rising Rivals | 2/111 |
| Steelix GL | | 38 |  | Rising Rivals | 51/111 |
Trivia
- Both Byron and his son, Roark, use Fossil Pokémon and a member of the Onix evolution family in Gym Battles.
- Both of their Pokémon in the Onix evolutionary line know the move Screech in the Pokémon anime.
- Byron and his son's badges are references to coal mines. They both have mines in or near their respective towns (Oreburgh Mine and Iron Island, which was once a mine).
- In Platinum, all of Byron's Pokémon have the Sturdy ability when the player challenges him at his gym.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | トウガン (Tougan) | The Japanese name of the wax gourd (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 (Dongwa) in Korea. |
External links
| Byron's Pokémon | |
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| On hand: | Bastiodon | Steelix | Bronzor |
| 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. |
