Roark: Difference between revisions

Roark ヒョウタ Hyouta
"Call me Roark the Rock!"
Art from Diamond and Pearl
Gender	Male
Eye color	Cordovan
Hair color	Cordovan
Hometown	Oreburgh City
Region	Sinnoh
Relatives	Byron (father), Underground Man (grandfather), Unnamed mother (anime)
Trainer class	Gym LeaderDPPt Pokémon TrainerB2W2
Generation	IV, V
Games	Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum Black 2 and White 2, Masters EX
Leader of	Oreburgh Gym
Badge	Coal Badge
Specializes in	Rock types
Game animation debut	GOTCHA!
English voice actor	Alejandro Saab (Masters EX)
Japanese voice actor	Kenji Nojima (Masters EX)
Anime debut	Shapes of Things to Come!
English voice actor	Craig Blair Zoe Martin (child)
Japanese voice actor	Masataka Azuma Satsuki Yukino (child)

Roark (Japanese: ヒョウタ Hyouta) is the Gym Leader of Oreburgh City's Gym, known officially as the Oreburgh Gym. He hands out the Coal Badge to Trainers who defeat him. He specializes in Rock-type Pokémon. He is Byron's son and the grandson of the Underground Man.

In the core series

Roark's team is made up entirely of Rock-type Pokémon. After he is defeated, he will give the player the Coal Badge and TM76 (Stealth Rock); the Badge gives the player the ability to use Rock Smash outside of battle. Roark, as the Oreburgh Mine's safety supervisor, lets the Trainers of Oreburgh train in the mines. Despite his young age, he keeps the mine running safely and efficiently. After losing, he feels embarrassed that his Cranidos lost to a Trainer without any Badges and cautions the protagonist that the following leaders are a lot tougher. Roark later appears in the Underground, welcoming the player on their first visit there, and explaining a handful of features of the area. Like the other Gym Leaders, he can be fought again at the Battleground in Platinum Version.

As a child, Roark spent a significant amount of time playing on Iron Island.

Apparently, Riley was considered for position of Oreburgh Gym Leader first, but he declined and suggested Roark for the position, and Roark was instead instated.

Pokémon

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Leader Roark Oreburgh Gym Diamond and Pearl Reward: $1680

Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head Held item: None Geodude♂ Lv.12 Rock Throw Rock Physical   --       Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head Held item: None Onix♂ Lv.12 Rock Throw Rock Physical   --       Screech Normal Status   --       Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Type: Rock Unknown Ability: Mold Breaker Held item: None Cranidos♂ Lv.14 Headbutt Normal Physical   --       Pursuit Dark Physical   --       Leer Normal Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --

Pokémon Platinum

Gym battle

Leader Roark Oreburgh Gym Platinum Reward: $1680

Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head Held item: None Geodude♂ Lv.12 Rock Throw Rock Physical   --       Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head Held item: None Onix♂ Lv.12 Rock Throw Rock Physical   --       Screech Normal Status   --       Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --       Type: Rock Unknown Ability: Mold Breaker Held item: None Cranidos♂ Lv.14 Headbutt Normal Physical   --       Pursuit Dark Physical   --       Leer Normal Status   --       Curse Unknown Status   --

Rematch

Leader Roark Battleground Platinum Reward: $7800

Types: Rock Flying Ability: Rock Head Held item: None Aerodactyl♂ Lv.62 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Dragon Claw Dragon Physical   --       Aerial Ace Flying Physical   --       Types: Rock Steel Ability: Sturdy Held item: None Probopass♂ Lv.61 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Earth Power Ground Special   --       Discharge Electric Special   --       Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head Held item: None Golem♂ Lv.61 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Brick Break Fighting Physical   --       Flamethrower Fire Special   --       Type: Rock Unknown Ability: Mold Breaker Held item: None Rampardos♂ Lv.63 Head Smash Rock Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Zen Headbutt Psychic Physical   --       Avalanche Ice Physical   --       Types: Rock Dark Ability: Sand Stream Held item: Sitrus Berry Tyranitar♂ Lv.65 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Crunch Dark Physical   --       Fire Fang Fire Physical   --       Aerial Ace Flying Physical   --

Pokémon Black 2 and White 2

Pokémon World Tournament

Roark uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles, and all six in Triple Battles. He will always lead with his signature Pokémon, Rampardos.

Sinnoh Leaders Tournament

PKMN Trainer Roark Pokémon World Tournament Black 2 and White 2 Reward: 1BP

Type: Rock Unknown Ability: Mold Breaker Held item: Salac Berry Rampardos♂/♀ Lv.50 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Zen Headbutt Psychic Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Outrage Dragon Physical   --       Types: Rock Steel Ability: Sturdy or Magnet Pull Held item: Chople Berry Probopass♂/♀ Lv.50 Power Gem Rock Special   --       Earth Power Ground Special   --       Sandstorm Rock Status   --       Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Type: Rock Unknown Ability: Sturdy or Rock Head Held item: Liechi Berry Sudowoodo♂/♀ Lv.50 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Hammer Arm Fighting Physical   --       Wood Hammer Grass Physical   --       Sucker Punch Dark Physical   --       Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head or Sturdy Held item: Rindo Berry Onix♂/♀ Lv.50 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Roar Normal Status   --       Sandstorm Rock Status   --       Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head or Sturdy Held item: Passho Berry Golem♂/♀ Lv.50 Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Gyro Ball Steel Physical   --       Hammer Arm Fighting Physical   --       Curse Ghost Status   --       Types: Water Rock Ability: Swift Swim or Rock Head Held item: Ganlon Berry Relicanth♂/♀ Lv.50 Rock Slide Rock Physical   --       Amnesia Psychic Status   --       Sleep Talk Normal Status   --       Rest Psychic Status   --

Type Expert/World Leaders Tournament

PKMN Trainer Roark Pokémon World Tournament Black 2 and White 2 Reward: 1BP

Type: Rock Unknown Ability: Mold Breaker Held item: Focus Sash Rampardos♂/♀ Lv.50 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Superpower Fighting Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Avalanche Ice Physical   --       Types: Rock Steel Ability: Sturdy or Magnet Pull Held item: Air Balloon Probopass♂/♀ Lv.50 Stealth Rock Rock Status   --       Earth Power Ground Special   --       Discharge Electric Special   --       Pain Split Normal Status   --       Types: Rock Flying Ability: Defeatist Held item: Life Orb Archeops♂/♀ Lv.50 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Focus Blast Fighting Special   --       Quick Attack Normal Physical   --       Types: Bug Rock Ability: Sturdy or Shell Armor Held item: Power Herb Crustle♂/♀ Lv.50 Rock Slide Rock Physical   --       X-Scissor Bug Physical   --       SolarBeam Grass Special   --       Shell Smash Normal Status   --       Types: Rock Ground Ability: Rock Head or Sturdy Held item: Choice Band Golem♂/♀ Lv.50 Stone Edge Rock Physical   --       Earthquake Ground Physical   --       Sucker Punch Dark Physical   --       Explosion Normal Physical   --       Types: Water Rock Ability: Swift Swim or Rock Head Held item: Liechi Berry Relicanth♂/♀ Lv.50 Head Smash Rock Physical   --       Waterfall Water Physical   --       Rock Polish Rock Status   --       Yawn Normal Status   --

In spin-off games

Pokémon Masters EX

Main article: Roark (Masters)

Roark forms a sync pair with Cranidos in Pokémon Masters EX.

Artwork

Sprites

Sprite from Diamond and Pearl	Sprite from Platinum	Sprite from Black 2 and White 2	VS sprite from Platinum
			File:Badge Case Roark.png
Overworld sprite from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum		Overworld sprite from Black 2 and White 2	Sprite from the Badge Case

Quotes

Main article: Roark/Quotes

In the anime

Main series

Roark in the anime

Roark is the Oreburgh City Gym Leader as well as the foreman of the Oreburgh Mine and the chief of Ancient Pokémon Expedition Operations.

Roark first appeared in Shapes of Things to Come!, in which he was seen excavating for buried fossils at the Oreburgh Mine. He later battled Paul, during which he demonstrated his strong abilities, even beating Paul's Azumarill with his Geodude. However, his powerhouse, Cranidos, was not powerful enough to defeat Elekid. With this victory, Paul earned the Coal Badge from Roark.

Following his defeat, Roark recovered and battled Ash the following day in A Gruff Act to Follow!. Roark's Cranidos quickly knocked out Aipom, Ash was later forced to recall Pikachu as well, but Turtwig’s super effective Razor Leaf attacks led to Cranidos's defeat. Onix made quick work of Turtwig in the next round, then its Screech attack knocked Pikachu out and Ash was left defeated.

In Wild in the Streets!, Roark used Cranidos to confront a wild Aerodactyl which had been released into Oreburgh City by Team Rocket. While Dawn had her Piplup and Buneary pin Aerodactyl to the ground, Cranidos later evolved into Rampardos and sent Team Rocket blasting off.

In O'er the Rampardos we Watched, Ash challenged Roark in a rematch. Onix and Geodude were defeated by Ash's Pikachu and Aipom respectively. His powerhouse Rampardos battled against Ash's whole team, but it was knocked out by Turtwig. Being the victor, Ash earned his first Sinnoh League Badge, the Coal Badge.

A younger Roark with his first Fossil

He reappeared in Ancient Family Matters!, where he confronted his father Byron in Canalave City over some family tensions. Roark revealed that his father left the Oreburgh Gym to him after he was requested to take over the Canalave Gym. Roark was shocked and saddened by his father's sudden departure, thinking that he didn't care what happened to him or his mother. The pair argued over who loved fossils the most, and it escalated into a battle. Byron's Bastiodon and Roark's Rampardos were evenly matched, but the battle was interrupted after Team Rocket set off alarms when they stole Byron's fossil collection. The father and son duo joined forces to defeat Team Rocket, and Pikachu sent Team Rocket blasting off. Later, Byron revealed that he had always treasured a fossil of a Sunkern's leaf that Roark had given to him as a child ten years earlier, and Roark accepted that his father did care about him all along.

In Dealing With Defensive Types!, he was the referee for Ash's Gym battle against Byron.

Roark made a cameo appearance during the ending credits of Zoroark: Master of Illusions.

Character

Roark is a compassionate individual who often complements his challengers on their strategies during a Gym battle. Roark is ambitious, but he puts a lot of pressure on himself to perform his best in his leading roles at the Oreburgh Mines and as Gym Leader. He also shares his father Byron's enthusiasm for fossil Pokémon, and has deep interests in investigating the past.

Roark has trained his Pokémon to be fast and relentless in battle. While his style of battle is largely offense based, his defense strategies however are much like his father. He utilizes his Pokémon's Abilities to combat status condition ailments and negate damage, while the move Stealth Rock causes damage to any of the opponent's substituted Pokémon before the round begins.

Pokémon

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

		Geodude
		Geodude was the first Pokémon Roark used against Paul. It first battled Paul's Azumarill, and despite being at a major disadvantage, it defeated the Aqua Rabbit Pokémon as if it were nothing. Geodude then went up against Elekid, and this time it had a type advantage, but it was defeated by a single super effective Brick Break attack. It was also used as the second Pokémon in Ash's rematch and faced Aipom. Although it put up a good fight, Aipom's speed and agility turned out to be too much for Geodude, causing it to be defeated by her powerful Focus Punch. Geodude's known moves are Hidden Power, Rollout, and Seismic Toss.
Debut	Shapes of Things to Come!
Voice actors
Japanese	Shin-ichiro Miki
English	Michael Haigney

		Onix
		The powerhouse of Roark's team, Onix was used as Roark's second Pokémon during his match against Paul. It first went up against Elekid and while it was able to weaken it, Onix was struck by Elekid's Static and was paralyzed, allowing it to be defeated by Chimchar. Onix was also used during Roark's first match against Ash and easily won the battle, knocking out an already exhausted Turtwig and Pikachu. During the rematch, Pikachu made up for his loss and defeated Onix with Iron Tail. It reappeared in a flashback in Dealing With Defensive Types!. Onix's known moves are Slam, Double-Edge, Stealth Rock, and Screech, and its Ability is Rock Head.
Debut	Shapes of Things to Come!
Voice actors
Japanese	Unshō Ishizuka
English	Unshō Ishizuka

		Skull Fossil → Cranidos → Rampardos
		Main article: Roark's Rampardos Rampardos is Roark's main Pokémon. It first appeared as a Cranidos. It was used to battle Paul, but lost. Then, against Ash, it won. It's rock hard head and incredible speed make it a difficult opponent, and it was shown to be able to launch itself into the air making it also good against Flying Pokémon. While battling Team Rocket, it evolved into Rampardos. In the rematch, Rampardos defeated Ash's Aipom followed by Pikachu, and it almost defeated Turtwig, but Turtwig managed to win. It reappeared in Ancient Family Matters!, where it battled against Byron's Bastiodon.
Debut	Shapes of Things to Come!
Voice actors
Japanese	Kenta Miyake
English	Kenta Miyake

Voice actors

GOTCHA!

Roark briefly appeared in GOTCHA!.

In the manga

Pocket Monsters DP

Roark in Pocket Monsters DP

Roark appeared in PMDP07.

Pokémon

Cranidos

Pokémon Adventures

Roark and his Cranidos with Gardenia and her Roserade

Roark first appears arriving in Oreburgh City after exploring the underground with the Underground Man at Eterna City and speaking with his father, Byron, at Canalave City. He meets Platinum, a new Trainer who wishes to challenge and sets up a match for the next day.

The next day, Platinum challenges the Oreburgh Gym for their match. After getting through the Trainers inside, she faces Roark in an official Gym battle. In the match, Roark's Cranidos proves to be a powerful opponent for Platinum's Piplup, but the match eventually ends in Platinum's favor. Defeated, Roark awards Platinum with her first Badge, the Coal Badge. Later, he talks with Byron over the phone about his recent loss to Platinum and they begin talking about another subject.

Later, it is revealed that the aforementioned subject was about a mysterious group that had been going in and out of Canalave to read ancient texts at the library. With the recent disappearance of two scientists, Roark worries that his father would start jumping to conclusions about the littlest things. Later, when Byron is forced to find her, Maylene, and Platinum someone to train them so they can confront Team Galactic, he considers Roark at first but soon changes his mind to Volkner.

Later, Roark, along with Fantina and Gardenia, faces the Team Galactic Commanders on the Spear Pillar. After Candice, Maylene, Byron, and Crasher Wake join the fight, Roark and Fantina team up to face Saturn. Eventually, they emerge victorious and attempt to fight Cyrus before he can finish his ritual. Due to a rift in space-time, they are forced to use the Sinnoh Underground to get to Cyrus, but they manage to come up right at the exact spot he was in.

All the Gym Leaders attempt to stop Cyrus's plan by breaking one of his Red Chains. Though a difficult struggle, they manage to succeed, but they bring upon Cyrus's wrath in the process and are defeated.

After the final battle with Cyrus ends, Roark and the other Gym Leaders are taken to a hospital due to their heavy injuries.

Pokémon

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

		Egg → Cranidos → Rampardos ♂
		Main article: Roark's Rampardos Roark received Rampardos when it was an Egg prior to its debut and it eventually hatched into a Cranidos. Roark used it during Platinum's first Gym challenge. It was able to weaken her Piplup with Shock Wave as Roark was aware of the type disadvantage his Pokémon had with Water types. However, even with its Double Team it was defeated by the Penguin Pokémon's Water Pulse which confused it and it knocked itself out. In Brash Bronzong I, Cranidos evolved into a Rampardos.
Debut	Putting a Crimp in Kricketot

		Onix
		Roark used his Onix during Platinum's Gym battle after switching out Cranidos. It was able to defeat Platinum's Ponyta but lost to her Piplup despite being hit by the effect of Stealth Rock. Onix's known moves are Double-Edge, Stealth Rock, and Slam, and its Ability is Rock Head.
Debut	A Conk on Cranidos's Cranium

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!

Roark first appeared in Oreburgh City, using his Cranidos to defeat the Galactic Grunts that kidnapped Hareta. Afterwards, Hareta challenged him to a Gym battle. Using a combination of Bide, Bubble Beam and the Oran Berry Roark had given him, Hareta managed to defeat Roark and earn the Coal Badge.

Pokémon

		Cranidos
		Main article: Roark's Cranidos Roark's Cranidos was used to rescue Hareta after he was tied up by Wurmple's String Shot. Then, he used it in Hareta's Gym battle and lost to his Piplup with the help of an Oran Berry Roark gave earlier.
Debut	Hareta's Very First Pokémon Battle!!

		Geodude
		Geodude appeared in a flashback where it tried to comfort Roark when he was young after Byron pushed him too hard to become a Gym Leader. None of Geodude's moves are known.
Debut	Team Galactic's Conspiracy Revealed!!

In the TCG

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

Roark'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	#
Rampardos		Rising Rivals		11/111	Bonds to the End of Time		051/090
Aerodactyl		Rising Rivals		55/111	Bonds to the End of Time		049/090

Trivia

• His Japanese Leader title is ザ・ロックと　いわれた　おとこ.
• Roark is the third Gym Leader encountered first in the region that uses Rock-type Pokémon, the other two being Brock and Roxanne.
• He and his father's Badges are references to the term Coal Mine. Additionally, mines are located in or near their respective town (Oreburgh Mine and Iron Island, which was once a mine).
• He is the only Sinnoh Gym Leader not to use any fully evolved Pokémon in his Gym battle in the games.
  • He is also the only Sinnoh Gym Leader whose Pokémon do not change in the slightest between Diamond and Pearl and Platinum.
• He is the only Gym Leader to have a parent that is a Gym Leader in the same region at the same time.

Names

Related articles

• Images on the Bulbagarden Archives

References

• Pokémon.com Shapes of Things to Come!
• Pokémon.com A Gruff Act to Follow!
• Pokémon.com Wild in the Streets!
• Pokémon.com O'er The Rampardos We Watched!

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.