Norman/Anime

In the, Norman is the father of and Max, and the husband of Caroline.

Very early in his Hoenn journey, arrived with May in Petalburg City in the hope of getting his first Gym battle. In There's no Place Like Hoenn, Ash found the Petalburg Gym and met Max, 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 real Petalburg City Gym Leader. Norman used his Pokémon, a, in an exhibition battle against Pikachu, and later to save May's Torchic from.

Norman is a good friend of Professor Birch and was most likely the person to send May to Littleroot 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.

In A Double Dilemma, Norman appeared in flashbacks and on memorabilia. It was also revealed that he had a large fanbase in North Petalburg.

In Love, 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 a 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 in Balance of Power. Using his, , and , 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 his.

He reappeared in flashbacks in Whiscash and Ash, A Scare to Remember!, A Cacturne for the Worse, and A Full Course Tag Battle!.

He made a cameo appearance in Deceit and Assist, where he was watching May competing in the Hoenn Grand Festival on television.

He made a cameo appearance in Saved by the Beldum, where he watched Ash competing in the Ever Grande Conference.

He reappeared in a fantasy in Tactics Theatrics!.

His final appearances saw him watching May in the Wallace Cup on television in Staging a Heroes' Welcome! and Strategy with a Smile!.