Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Balance Badge Guide

Lavaridge to Petalburg. This phase turns you back toward your father, Norman. It includes desert cleanup if you skipped it, Petalburg Gym’s room structure, Slaking counterplay, Surf, and the first useful Surf errands.

Route Map

Phase 5 is shorter than Phase 4, but Norman is one of the most dangerous Gym Leaders in the game.

Before Petalburg

If you did not clear the desert after Flannery, do it now. Trapinch and Baltoy are long-term options, and the fossil choice is permanent in Ruby/Sapphire. This is also a good time to return the Meteorite to Professor Cozmo in Fallarbor if you want to clean up that side objective.

Once you are ready, travel back to Petalburg City. You can use the Rusturf Tunnel shortcut now that Rock Smash is available, or simply retrace through Mauville and the western routes.

Petalburg Gym Rooms

Petalburg Gym uses a room system instead of a normal hallway. Each room advertises a battle style like Speed, Accuracy, Defense, Recovery, or One-Hit KO. The trainers use items or tactics that match the label.

You do not have to clear every room to reach Norman, but you should clear several if your team needs experience. If you are playing with level caps, stop before passing Norman’s ace level.

Understanding Truant

Norman’s Slaking has Truant, which means it only acts every other turn. That ability is the entire fight. On attacking turns, Slaking is terrifying. On loafing turns, you get a free move.

Good answers exploit the rhythm. Use Protect, Dig, switching, healing, status, or setup on the dangerous turns, then attack on loafing turns. If you attack blindly every turn, Slaking’s stats will win trades that look fair but are not.

Team Recommendations

Role	Best picks for Norman	Why it matters
Fighting offense	Combusken, Breloom, Makuhita/Hariyama	Hits Normal types super effectively
Truant control	Protect users, Dig users	Wastes Slaking’s active turns
Status	Shroomish/Breloom, Dustox, Gardevoir support	Sleep, stun, or poison reduces pressure
Bulky pivot	Geodude/Graveler, Marshtomp, Hariyama	Can absorb a hit if plans go wrong

Must-Grab Items (Phase 5 Master List)

Item	Location	Why You Want It
Fossil	Route 111 desert	Permanent Lileep or Anorith choice
TM42 Facade	Norman reward	Strong status-synergy Normal move
Balance Badge	Norman reward	Lets Surf work outside battle
HM03 Surf	Wally’s father after Norman	Major world unlock and strong Water move
Optional water-route items	Routes 105-109 after Surf	Early cleanup before Fortree path

Gym Strategy - Norman, The Normal Leader

Norman uses Slaking Lv. 28, Vigoroth Lv. 30, and Slaking Lv. 31. His reward is the Balance Badge and TM42 Facade. After the battle, Wally’s father gives you HM03 Surf.

The first Slaking teaches you the rhythm. Do not panic if it hits hard; use the loafing turn to recover or attack. Vigoroth in the middle is sneaky because it does not have Truant. It attacks every turn and can punish players who assume the same pattern continues.

The second Slaking is the ace. Save your best Fighting damage, status, or Protect plan for it. If you brought Dig, use Dig on Slaking’s attacking turn and land damage on the loafing turn. If you brought Breloom or Hariyama, keep them healthy enough to survive a mistake.

After The Badge

Go to Wally’s house in Petalburg. Wally’s father gives you HM03 Surf. Teach Surf to a Water type you actually plan to use if possible; in Gen 3, Surf is one of the best reliable special attacks in the game.

Wild Pokemon

Surf Unlock - Early Route Cleanup

After Norman, Surf opens older water tiles. These are cleanup catches, but they matter for dex and Nuzlocke routing.

Pokemon	Versions	Method & Rate	Notes
Tentacool Water/Poison - Lv 5-35	Ruby & Sapphire	Route 103 Surf 60%	Available in the listed area during this phase.
Wingull Water/Flying - Lv 10-30	Ruby & Sapphire	Route 103 Surf 35%	Available in the listed area during this phase.
Pelipper Water/Flying - Lv 25-30	Ruby & Sapphire	Route 103 Surf 5%	Available in the listed area during this phase.
Wingull Water/Flying - Lv 10-30	Ruby & Sapphire	Route 104 Surf 95%	Available in the listed area during this phase.
Pelipper Water/Flying - Lv 25-30	Ruby & Sapphire	Route 104 Surf 5%	Available in the listed area during this phase.
Marill Water - Lv 5-35	Ruby & Sapphire	Route 102/117 Surf 99%	Available in the listed area during this phase.
Surskit Bug/Water - Lv 5-35	Ruby & Sapphire	Route 102/117 Surf 1%	Available in the listed area during this phase.

Surf opens optional routes around Dewford and Slateport, but the main story wants you to go east from Mauville across Route 118. Before that, you can clear water items, catch Tentacool, and revisit old routes with Cut and Surf.

Randomizer Hook

If you are rolling teams by badge, add Route 111 desert, all routes cleared through Petalburg, Granite Cave, Fiery Path, Meteor Falls, and early Surf water encounters after Norman. Keep late ocean routes locked until you actually reach them in Phase 7 and Phase 8.

Version Note Summary

Norman is identical in both games. The version differences around this phase come from encounters: Ruby players may have Seedot, Zangoose, Mawile, and Solrock lines available at different points, while Sapphire players may have Lotad, Seviper, Sableye, and Lunatone.

Phase 5 Checklist

• Clear the Route 111 desert if you skipped it after Flannery.
• Choose the Root Fossil or Claw Fossil.
• Return to Petalburg City and stock up on healing items.
• Train a Fighting, Protect, Dig, or status answer for Norman.
• Defeat Norman and receive the Balance Badge.
• Get HM03 Surf from Wally's father.
• Teach Surf to a useful Water type.