Byron

Byron トウガン Tougan
"The Man with the Steel Body!"
[[File:File:Byron.jpg|{{{size}}}]] Artwork from Diamond/Pearl
Gender	Male
Hometown	Canalave City
Region	Sinnoh
Relatives	Roark (son), Underground Man (father)
Trainer class	Gym Leader
Generation	IV
Games	Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Leader of	Canalave Gym
Badge	Mine Badge
Anime debut	DP107
English voice actor	N/A
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 Template:Type2 Pokémon. He is Roark's father.

In the anime

File:Byron.png

Byron in the anime

Byron was first mentioned as having been defeated by Jun in DP102. He is voiced by Kazuki Yao in the original version.

Byron made his debut appearance in DP107 together with his his son, Roark. It was revealed Byron left his family to become the gym leader of Canalave as he was more interested in fossils. He also battled Roark for a short while 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.

In DP108, Ash held his gym battle against Byron, defeating him and earning a Mine Badge.

Byron has a somewhat odd personality, and is obsessed with digging and fossils. When his fossils were stolen by Team Rocket in DP107, Byron was too busy admiring the hole they dug into the building to notice.

Pokémon

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

Bastiodon

Steelix

Bronzor

In the games

Byron uses Template:Type2 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.

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!"

In the manga

Pokémon Special

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.

Pokémon

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

Shieldon

Bronzong ×2

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

Trivia

• Both Roark and Byron use Fossil Pokémon in Gym Battles, as well as a member of the Onix evolution family.
• He and his son's badges are references to the term Coal Mine. Plus, they both have mines in or near their respective town (Oreburgh Mine and Iron Island, which is supposed to have a mine).
• In Platinum, all of Byron's Pokémon can have the Sturdy ability.

Names

Language	Name	Origin
Japanese	トウガン (Tougan)	Tōgan is wax gourd in Japanese. His son, Hyouta, is also named after a gourd.
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

• Serebii.net Sinnoh Leaders Page

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.