Pokemon's Norman Shows It's A Good Thing Our Father Walked Out In The Other Games
There are many constants in a Pokemon game. While the names and places change each time, the formula has stayed startlingly loyal to its original form. We are beginning to see that change, but only in small doses. Sun & Moon moved away from the traditional eight gym framework with limited success, before Sword & Shield also tried its own thing with the removal of the Elite Four in favour of an FA Cup-style knockout contest to pay homage to Galar's (and Britain's) love of sport. Scarlet & Violet will embrace the (kinda) open world vibes of Legends: Arceus. But for the most part, we know what to expect. We're a young kid with everything to learn. We must stop an evil team. We somehow catch mythical beasts no one else has ever seen before. And, of course, we ain't got no daddy.
Yes, playing Pokemon is truly fatherless behaviour, but there is one game that bucked the trend: Ruby & Sapphire. In the Gen 3 game, you did technically have a daddy in the form of Norman. However, in-keeping with Pokemon tradition, Norman was an absent father. Rather than living with you and your mother, he instead spends most, or rather, all of his time at the Pokemon gym where he is the gym leader. Frankly, if this is the type of dad we're going to get, I think we're better off without him.
Related: Pokemon's Early Gym Leaders Need A Chance At Redemption
As a gym leader, Norman is pretty interesting. He's Normal, which is one of the worst types thanks to being super effective against precisely zero other types. It's immune to Ghost, and only vulnerable to Fighting, but Ghost's immunity to it goes both ways, and it's also not very effective on Rock or Steel. In short, it's not great. Norman, however, is one of the tougher gym leaders in the entire
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