Norman
- If you were looking for the president of 4Kids Productions, seeNorman J. Grossfeld. For thecharacter of the day inThe Bridge Bike Gang, seeNorman (EP036).
Norman (Japanese:センリSenri) is the father of theplayer and theGym Leader ofPetalburg City'sGym, known officially as thePetalburg Gym inPokémon Ruby, Sapphire, andEmerald and theirGeneration VI remakesOmega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. He is anexpert ofNormal-typePokémon, and hands out theBalance Badge to anyTrainer who defeats him.
In the core series games
Norman is also theplayer character's father inPokémon Ruby, Sapphire, andEmerald no matter which gender is selected. The other gender choice (and therefore therival) is the child ofProfessor Birch.
Although he is the first Gym Leader encountered, he refuses to battle until the player has at least four Badges. Before stating this, he first introduces the player to Wally (secondary rival) which is when the Pokémon catching tutorial happens. Once he is beaten, he gives the player the Balance Badge, as well asTM42 (Facade) inRuby, Sapphire, andEmerald orTM67 (Retaliate) inOmega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
As revealed inPokémon Black 2 and White 2, Norman and his family are originally fromOlivine City inJohto. He, as well as the player, have just moved toHoenn so that he could take up the position of Gym Leader. People have come to describe him as someone who "lives for Pokémon".
Norman also provides special items scanned in viae-Reader to the player.
Norman also appears in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, taking part in thePokémon World Tournament. He can be faced in theHoenn Leaders,Type Expert, andWorld Leaders Tournaments.
Norman has known Birch since their school days.[2] According to theTV showTrouble Talk, they went to college together.
Trainer's Eyes/Match Call
Leader NormanRSORAS /Reliable One DadE
- Strategy
- I flexibly adapt my style.
- Trainer's Pokémon
- Grown in a balanced manner.RSE
- Those grown in a balanced manner.ORAS
- Self-Introduction
- Pokémon are my life. My chosen path is harsh...RS
- I walk the 30 minutes from home to here every day.E
- I've chosen to dedicate my life to Pokémon, but the road is hard...ORAS
Pokémon
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Loaned
Norman loans this Pokémon toWally to show him how to catch Pokémon.
Gym battle
Norman uses twoHyper Potions.
Pokémon Emerald
Norman uses twoHyper Potions in the Gym battle and threeFull Restores in the rematches. All rematches are double battles.
Loaned
Norman loans this Pokémon toWally to show him how to catch Pokémon.
Gym battle
Firstrematch
Second rematch
Third rematch
Fourth rematch onwards
Pokémon Black 2 and White 2
Pokémon World Tournament
Norman uses three of these Pokémon inSingle Battles, four inDouble andRotation Battles, and all six inTriple Battles. Norman will always lead with his signature Pokémon,Slaking.
Hoenn Leaders Tournament
Type Expert/World Leaders Tournament
Gathered! Gym Leader!
Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Loaned
Norman loans this Pokémon toWally to show him how to catch Pokémon.
Gym battle
In the spin-off games
Pokémon Masters EX
- Main article:Norman (Masters)
Norman forms async pair withSlaking inPokémon Masters EX. Norman became a playable sync pair since the game's release, with him joining theplayer after completing the seventh chapter of thePML Arc.
In this game, Norman isBrendan's father and one of the PML Leaders of thePokémon Masters League, handing out thePatience Badge to those who defeat him. He has also made notable appearances in the game's Main Stories: the PML Arc,Legendary Adventures, and theVillain Arc.
| Dex | Trainer | NDex | Pokémon | Type | Weakness | Role | EX role | Base potential | Availability | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #022 |  | Norman | #0289 |  | Slaking♂ | Normal | Fighting |  | ★★★☆☆☆EX | Story Chapter 07 | |
Gallery
Artwork
 |  |
| Official artwork from Generation III | Concept artwork from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire |
Sprites and models
 |  |  |
| Sprite from Ruby, Sapphire, andEmerald | Sprite from Black 2 and White 2 | VS portrait from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire |
 |  |  |
| Overworld sprite from Ruby, Sapphire, andEmerald | Overworld sprite from Black 2 and White 2 | Overworld model from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire |
Quotes
- Main article:Norman/Quotes
In animation
Pokémon the Series
History
Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire
InPokémon the Series, Norman is the father ofMay andMax, two of Ash's former traveling companions, and the husband ofCaroline.
Very early in his Hoenn journey,Ash arrived with May in Petalburg City in the hope of getting his first Gym battle. InThere's no Place Like Hoenn, Ash found the Petalburg Gym and metMax, who posed as if he was the Gym Leader. May stopped him and allowed Ash to meet her parents, Caroline and Norman. Norman turned out be to the realPetalburg CityGym Leader. Norman used his Pokémon, aVigoroth, in an exhibition battle against Pikachu, and later to saveMay's Torchic fromTeam Rocket.
Norman is a good friend ofProfessor Birch and was most likely the person to send May toLittleroot Town to get her first Pokémon. As May did not initially like Pokémon, this seemed to have created some distance between the two. Before Ash knew that Norman was May's father, he commented that it sounded like she knew the Petalburg Gym Leader pretty well, to which she replied, "No, I just wish I did," and became subdued.
InA Double Dilemma, Norman appeared in flashbacks and on memorabilia. It was also revealed that he had a large fanbase inNorth Petalburg.
InLove, Petalburg Style!, when Ash and his friends visited Petalburg City again, May and Max tried to figure out why Norman and Caroline were getting all worked up as Ash tried to save Norman's three Pokémon from Team Rocket. It all turned out that Norman had Nurse Joy set up a special firework display to make fireworks in a form of aBeautifly as a wedding anniversary gift for Caroline. During the episode, Norman showed that he was rather dense, not realizing that Caroline assumed that he was having an affair with Nurse Joy.
Ash had his Gym battle with Norman inBalance of Power. Using hisGrovyle,Pikachu, andTorkoal, Ash defeated Norman's Pokémon. Upset by his father's loss, Max stole the Balance Badge and locked himself up in Norman's greenhouse. Norman was able to calm Max down, and Max gave Ash hisBalance Badge.
He reappeared in flashbacks inWhiscash and Ash,A Scare to Remember!, andA Cacturne for the Worse.
InHi Ho Silver Wind!, Caroline joined Ash andhis friends inSlateport City to watch May compete in theHoenn Grand Festival, though revealed that Norman was too busy at the Petalburg Gym, so he would be cheering her on from home. InDeceit and Assist, Norman was watching May competing in the Hoenn Grand Festival ontelevision.
InSaved by the Beldum, Norman watched Ash competing in theEver Grande Conference from the comfort of his living room.
He reappeared in a fantasy inTactics Theatrics!.
Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl
Norman appeared in a flashback inA Full Course Tag Battle!.
His latest appearances saw him watching May perform in theWallace Cup on television inStaging a Heroes' Welcome! andStrategy with a Smile!.
Character
Norman cares deeply for his family, wishing his children to have some quality time and good friends. Norman is also very protective of them, often fighting even more aggressively in the process of protecting them.May andMax respect their father's extensive efforts to ensure a healthy relationship with them, such as coming home for lunch and playing with his children. As seen inLove, Petalburg Style!, Norman can also be quite naïve and dense at times, as when Caroline said she was leaving, he densely asked if she needed help with her luggage, unaware she meant she was leaving him after assuming he was in love with Nurse Joy, and subsequently continued to misunderstand the situation despite his entire family trying to explain it to him without directly mentioning the actual issue.
Norman is very dedicated to running the Petalburg Gym, often working too hard. He and his assistantKenny handle most of the duties and the Pokémon in the greenhouse.
In the broader community, Norman is quite popular for both his looks and his position as aGym Leader, having an enthusiastic fanbase inNorth Petalburg and an emerging image inPetalburg City. In battle, he is intensely focused and has perfected his Pokémon in both offensive and defensive tactics. Norman commonly utilizes his trio ofSlakoth,Vigoroth, andSlaking to confuse his opponents because they are capable of moving at different speeds. Norman gives his opponent credit for an excellent strategy and accepts a loss as critical to personal growth. He enjoys a challenge, wanting to see his opponent struggle to overcome his strategy and sheer power. However, he does not let his children watch the battle, thinking it would distract the challenger. Max claimed that Norman was capable of entering theElite Four inBalance of Power.
Pokémon
On hand
 | This article is missing information on this character's English voice actor. Please feel free to edit this article to add this information. |
This listing is of Norman's Pokémon inPokémon the Series.
| Debut | There's no Place Like Hoenn |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Yūji Ueda |
| English | Dan Green |
Vigoroth was first seen after Norman agreed to have an unofficialbattle withAsh because he had less than three Pokémon at the time. After a tough battle withAsh's Pikachu, Vigoroth managed to defeat him. Later, it helped in destroying one ofTeam Rocket's mechas that was attacking the Gym.
InBalance of Power, Vigoroth was the second Pokémon used by Norman in his officialGym battle with Ash. It managed to easily defeatTorkoal before once again facing Pikachu. This time, Pikachu was able to defeat Vigoroth, but ended up exhausting all of his own energy as well in the process, resulting in a double knockout.
It reappeared in flashbacks inGoing for a Spinda,A Double Dilemma, and the Japanese version ofA Scare to Remember!, and made a cameo appearance inDeceit and Assist, where it was watching May competing in theHoenn Grand Festival ontelevision.
Vigoroth's known moves areScratch andFlamethrower.
| Debut | Love, Petalburg Style! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Shin-ichiro Miki |
Slakoth first appeared in the greenhouse where Norman keeps his Pokémon. It appeared again inBalance of Power!, during Norman'sGymbattle withAsh. It first went up againstPikachu, but when Pikachu's strategies failed to work, Ash switched him out forTorkoal, who was able to defeat its opponent.
It made a cameo appearance inDeceit and Assist, where it was watching May competing in theHoenn Grand Festival ontelevision.
Slakoth's known moves areShadow Ball,Hidden Power, andBlizzard.
| Debut | Love, Petalburg Style! |
|---|---|
| Voice actors | |
| Japanese | Unshō Ishizuka |
| English | Dan Green |
- Main article:Norman's Slaking
Slaking debuted in Norman's greenhouse with the rest of his Pokémon. InBalance of Power!, it battledGrovyle duringAsh'sGym battle against Norman, but was ultimately defeated.
Cared for
 Beautifly |  Skitty |
Voice actors
| Language | Voice actor | |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 小杉十郎太Jūrōta Kosugi | |
| English | Dan Green | |
| Arabic | شادي شمصShadi Shamas | |
| Finnish | Jari Viitanen (AG003) Saku Mäkynen (AG069-AG070) | |
| European French | Alexandre Crépet (AG003) Mathieu Moreau (AG069-AG070) | |
| Italian | Lorenzo Scattorin | |
| Norwegian | Erik Skøld (AG003) Trond Teigen (AG069-AG070) | |
| Polish | Andrzej Chudy | |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Élcio Sodré (AG003) Mauro Eduardo (AG069-AG070) | |
| Russian | Дмитрий ФилимоновDmitry Filimonov | |
| Spanish | Latin America | Enrique Mederos (AG003) Salvador Delgado (AG069-AG070) |
| Spain | Luis Bajo (AG003) Gabriel Jiménez (AG069-AG070) | |
GOTCHA!
Norman briefly appeared inGOTCHA!.
In the manga
Ash & Pikachu
Norman appeared inI'll Win With My Own Battle Style!!, where he, like in the animated series, had a Gym battle with Ash.
Pokémon
- Main article:Norman's Slaking
Slaking is Norman's first known Pokémon. During the Gym battle, he sent it out as his final Pokémon againstAsh's Grovyle.
Pokémon Adventures
- Main article:Norman (Adventures)
In thePokémon Adventuresmanga, Norman is the father ofRuby and the newly appointed leader of thePetalburg Gym.
Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire
Norman appears inThere's Someone More Important Than Clefairy?!. Unlike other media, Norman does not have any known relatives.
WhenRed and his Pokémon visit thePetalburg Gym after getting startled by a Poké Ball that flew from there, they notice Norman drinking and feeling down. Norman revealed to the group as the one who threw the Poké Balls. He then revealed that he felt sad since hisSlakoth refused to partake in any battles. Norman takes out a chart and shows it to Red and his Pokémon that theBalance Badge is stuck inside Slakoth. AfterClefairy took a nap, Norman explained to Red and his Pokémon that Slakoth doesn't like it when someone is lazier than it. Norman then watched as Clefairy went inside Slakoth to get the Balance Badge. After retrieving it, Norman demanded the group to return the badge to him but Clefairy refused. Afterwards, he became furious about this and chased after Red and his Pokémon since Clefairy refused to return the badge to Norman.
Pokémon
This listing is for Norman's Pokémon in the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga.
Slakoth is Norman's Pokémon who refuses to participate in any Pokémon battles and has swallowed the Balance Badge to prove it.Clefairy tries to get the Badge out of Slakoth's stomach but the sloth Pokémon puts a stop to it by making Clefairy tired and swallowing the alarm clocks Clefairy strapped around to himself. Clefairy was able to go into Slakoth's body and get the Balance Badge out of there.
Slakoth's known moves areYawn andCovet, and its Ability isTruant.
Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire
Norman appeared as the newly-appointed Gym Leader ofPetalburg City. He is the father of Ruby and a friend of Professor Birch's.He berated Ruby for failing to heal hisMudkip after a battle, but rescinded later on after seeing how Ruby and Mudkip began to develop a good relationship with each other.
In the TCG
- Main article:Norman (Paradox Rift 168)
Norman was introduced as aSupporter card in thePokémon Trading Card Game during the English Scarlet & Violet Series (the Japanese Scarlet & Violet Era). It was first released in the JapaneseAncient Roar expansion and the EnglishParadox Rift expansion, with artwork byHideki Ishikawa. Anultra rare version with artwork by the same illustrator was released in the same sets. It allows players to draw 2 cards, and 2 more if their opponent's Active Pokémon is aPokémon ex.
In Japan, Norman and the Balance Badge were also featured on one of theGym BadgeXY-P Promotional cards given out at events in 2015.
Trivia
- Norman is the first and currently only father of theplayer that has been seen in thecore series games.
- However, in the early development ofPokémon Diamond and Pearl, the player was originally going to have a father, which is further evidenced by script files leftover in their remakes,Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.[3]
- Norman was also the only known father of any player character in the core series games untilPokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, although not directly seen.
- InPokémon Ruby, Sapphire, andEmerald, a non-player character inPetalburg City mentions that Norman and his family are fromJohto. InPokémon Black 2 and White 2, Norman reveals that he is more specifically fromOlivine City. In some new dialogue fromPokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the player'sMom also mentions that they moved from Johto.
- However, in thePokémon Adventures manga, they are fromGoldenrod City instead. This was introduced in the manga prior to the reveal that they are from Olivine City in the games.
- InEmerald, Norman owns a level 29Linoone that knowsSlash andBelly Drum, even though Linoonecannot learn said moves until level 41 and 53 respectively.Zigzagoon, its pre-evolved form, cannot learn Slash, and does not learn Belly Drum until level 41.
- InPokémon Black 2 and White 2, along withGiovanni, Norman uses more different species of Pokémon than any otherGym Leader at thePokémon World Tournament, with a total of 10.
- Not counting Ash'sGym Leader companions andGiovanni, Norman is the first Gym Leader to physically reappear in theanimated series outside of his home region's debut series.
- Norman is the only Gym Leader afterGeneration I who shares his English name in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
Names
| Language | Name | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | センリSenri | From 仙蓼senryō (glabrous sarcandra) and 千里senri (1000li; great distance) |
| English, German, European Spanish, Latin American Spanish, French, Italian, Indonesian, Brazilian Portuguese | Norman | Fromnormal |
| Korean | 종길Jonggil | Possibly from 길gil (road) and possibly a corruption of 길동Gil-dong in 홍길동Hong Gil-dong (Korean equivalent of "John Doe") |
| Chinese (Traditional) | 千里Qiānlǐ /Chīnléih | From 千里qiānlǐ / chīnléih (1000 li; great distance) |
| Chinese (Simplified) | 千里Qiānlǐ | |
| Russian | НорманNorman | Transcription of his English name |
| Thai | เซ็นริSenri | Transcription of his Japanese name |
| Vietnamese | Senri | Transcription of his Japanese name |
References
Related articles
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 | This game character article is part ofProject CharacterDex, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in thePokémon games. |
- Characters
- Male characters
- Animation characters
- Manga characters
- Characters with an unknown English voice actor
- Game characters
- Ash & Pikachu characters
- Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire characters
- Ruby and Sapphire characters
- Emerald characters
- Gym Leaders
- Normal-type Trainers
- Black 2 and White 2 characters
- Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire characters
- Fathers
