Roxanne

"The Rock-Loving Honor Student"
Roxanne
Species	Human
Hair color	Brown
Eye color	Red
Base	Rustboro City
Voiced by	Erica Shroeder (2014) Sarah Miller-Crews (2019)
Debut	Pokémon: Ruby/Sapphire Versions

Roxanne is a Pokémon trainer who is as the first gym leader of the Hoenn acting as an opponent in the third generation games of the Pokémon series: Pokémon: Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Versions, as well as in the remakes Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. She specializes in Rock-type Pokémon.

Background

Roxanne was a student who studied at the Pokémon Trainer's School in Rustboro City. She became the gym leader of Rustboro's gym in order to apply her lessons in battle and learn more about Pokémon. In battle, she believed in attacking with Rock-type power and understood the responsibility that came with running a large gym.

In Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Roxanne was challenged and defeated by Brendan/May. After being defeated, she decided to abide by the Pokémon League rules and awarded the winner with a Stone Badge as well as TM38: Rock Tomb. Roxanne suggested that the player try challenging other gym leaders in order to continue to learn new things. In Emerald, she closed her gym for a while in order to retrain herself, and when she reopened it, she invited Brendan/May to rematches through the Match Call feature. In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, he could later be found at the Fossil Maniac's cries, where she begged him for a fossil and even cried about it. She contemplated offering a Stone Badge in exchange, only to quickly change her mind, because that would be unethical in her eyes.

Roxanne reappeared in Black and White 2, where she competed in the Pokémon World Tournament. She took part in the Hoenn Leaders, World Leaders and Type Expert divisions.

Pokémon Roster

In Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, she has the following Pokémon:

• Geodude (2 in Emerald, only 1 in others)
• Nosepass

In Emerald, she uses the following Pokémon in rematches:

• Golem
• Kabuto (first rematch)/Kabutops (second rematch onwards)
• Onix (first three rematches)/Steelix (fourth rematch)
• Nosepass
• Omanyte (second rematch)/Omastar (third rematch onwards)
• Aerodactyl (fourth rematch)

In Black 2 and White 2, her potential roster for tournament battles could include some or all of the following Pokémon:

• Probopass
• Armaldo
• Cradily
• Aggron
• Relicanth (Hoenn Leaders) or Carracosta (World Leaders/Type Expert)
• Golem

In Other Pokémon Games

Roxanne and her Nosepass appeared as a playable sync pair in Pokémon Masters EX. She could be recruited at random through the Sync Pair Scout feature, and her Nosepass could evolve into Probopass through a Sync Pair Story in which she had to defeat Brawly in a one-on-one battle. There was also a Fall 2023 variant of Roxanne dressed as a witch and paired with Runerigus which was made available through the Sync Pair Scout during limited time periods, starting in October 2023. She also acted as an opponent in a Sync Pair Story in which Roark had to defeat her in a one-on-one battle order to evolve his Cranidos. Roxanne was also featured as a teammate in the Story Event "The Girl in Black and White", where she was waiting in line to try a Casteliacone with Hilda and the player. While taking parts in battles with Team Break and another trainer, they realized that they disagreed about their different battle styles, as Roxanne felt that Hilda was too reckless. After the Casteliacones sold out while they were still in line, they battled Thorton to get the Casteliacones that he had. They won, but the cones had melted. Still, Roxanne saw that they worked together well regardless of their different battle styles, and they decided to wait in line together again on the next day. Roxanne made minor appearances in some other events, such as arguing with Steven Stone about a rock in "Pasio Eggsplorers", offering to let her Nosepass guide Scottie/Bettie and Lillie through a cave in the "Curious Tea Party" Costume Event and helping Flannery and Shauna find adults to consult in the "With Beauty and Grace" Solo Event. Roxanne was featured in her fall outfit during the Story Event "The Haunted Museum". Roxanne and Lenora had been appointed by Lear to look after the exhibits at a newly-opened museum and had to investigate an apparent haunting. They teamed up with Phoebe and discovered the source was a Cofagrigus and Runreigus that had accidentally been brought in with the other artifacts. It turned out that the Pokémon wanted to fight as sync pairs, and the Runerigus bonded with Roxanne, who was impressed by the Pokémon's rock-like composition.

Other Appearances

Other Media

• Roxanne appeared in two subsequent episodes of the Pokémon anime. In the first episode, she was shown teaching at the Pokémon Trainer's School in addition to her job as the gym leader and giving Ash and his friends a tour of the school. The second episode covered her gym battle with Ash, which Ash won with the help of Pikachu's new Iron Tail attack.
• Roxanne appeared in various chapters of the Pokémon Adventures manga during the Ruby/Sapphire arc. She first appeared when Sapphire challenged her gym. Because of an influx of challengers, Roxanne was shown to subject potential challengers to written tests, with only the highest scorers being allowed to battle her. She was also depicted with somewhat of an elitist attitude. Sapphire was able to pass her test despite trouble reading and defeated her in battle by taking advantage of the weaknesses in Nosepass's magnetic abilities. She was later seen at the gym leaders' meeting, initially supporting Team Aqua due to the support they give to her colleague Professor Cozmo. After Groudon and Kyogre awakened, Roxanne was part of the team sent after Groudon, but she wound up battling Team Magma member Courtney and was defeated after Courtney took some civilians hostage. Roxanne later reappeared in the Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire arc, where she was among the trainers who helped in the effort to stop Grand Meteor Delta.

Trivia

• Her English name is a simple pun on the word "rocks". Her Japanese name is Tsutsuji, named after the Japanese word for the rhododendron.
• Roxanne's type specialty acts as an homage to the first generation games, where the first gym leader was the Rock-type trainer Brock.
• In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, if the player has the special promotional Pokémon, Steven's Beldum, Roxanne will react to it and describe Steven Stone, who she considers a friend.
• Her gym has a series of earthy walls that challengers must navigate. In Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, the front of her gym is also a museum which contains several fossils and a stone from the Glittering Cave in Kalos. Her gym also contains giant fossils of several Pokémon: Kabutops, Lileep and what appears to be a Dragonite.