Generation 4 Roark's post battle quote

[Greninjaman]

After you defeat him, Roark says that it's embarrassing that he lost to someone with no badges. Which is very strange to me. Like, you are the first gym leader. Of course, those who show up will have zero badges. How/why is it embarrassing?

 

[beasttrash]

This is very much a headcanon for me so take this with a grain of salt: but I've always considered the order of the gyms to be based on geographic then an actual ranking of their power?

So perhaps a trainer from Sunyshore City will battle Roark for their final badge while Volkner might have been their first. So, I suppose losing to two trainers with no badges in a row might be a little embarrassing to him.

That said, we already know that he feels a little insecure in his position (The fact that he's quite young and still kind of a fresh face on the scene.) so that might also be weighing on him when he loses to you.

 

[Greninjaman]

This is very much a headcanon for me so take this with a grain of salt: but I've always considered the order of the gyms to be based on geographic then an actual ranking of their power?

So perhaps a trainer from Sunyshore City will battle Roark for their final badge while Volkner might have been their first. So, I suppose losing to two trainers with no badges in a row might be a little embarrassing to him.

That said, we already know that he feels a little insecure in his position (The fact that he's quite young and still kind of a fresh face on the scene.) so that might also be weighing on him when he loses to you.

That actually makes sense. If you are in Sunnyshore, why go across the region and fight Roark, when Volkner is right there?

 

[Ness]

I think it has something to do with him battling trainers that started their journey in other towns of Sinnoh and they battle him last and still lost like mem its likely just headcanon

 

[RichestAirPirate]

If I recall correctly, the order you fight gym leaders in the games doesn't equate to their actual, I guess, ranking or order in universe. In Pokémon Origins, Brock asks Red how many badges he has. Upon hearing Red has no badges, Brock only choses two Pokémon out of 6. In other words, gym leaders hold back their strength based on how many badges their challenger has.

While Origins isn't really canon, this rule seems to translate to the main series in some way. In Scarlet and Violet, Katy is advised to hold back in battle despite her desire to go all out because her gym is located so close to Mesagoza and is a common first stop for beginner trainers.

For example, while Candice is the 7th gym leader in the Sinnoh games, she isn't necessarily the 7th gym leader in universe. If she were someone's first gym leader, she would probably only use two Pokémon as well.

Roark's embarrassment makes sense.