Gordor: the Go-Rock Squad boss who played legendaries on an organ

His ultimate weapon is a keyboard. Gordor leads the Go-Rock Squad, the criminal organization of the first Pokémon Ranger, and his motive has nothing to do with an ordinary thirst for conquest: it's a grudge born in a lab. A fellow student who turned out more brilliant than him, a capture device the two of them designed together, and an obsession — to settle once and for all which of them was the better man.

Contents

• A grudge born in a lab
• Lyra Forest: the man you escort out
• The theft of the Super Styler
• Entei, the Jungle Relic and the exploding base
• The Power Styler, an organ for three Legendaries
• After Go-Rock: the disbanding and the debt
• Gordor at a glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

A grudge born in a lab

Gordor and Professor Hastings studied together and were already competing with each other back then. The relationship shifts the day Gordor starts seeing himself as inferior to a classmate he considers more inventive than himself.

The falling-out centers on one specific object, the Capture Styler, which they had developed together. Gordor wanted to use it to control Pokémon, Hastings to help them: two irreconcilable readings of the same device.

Out of this jealousy an organization is born. Gordor founds the Go-Rock Squad for the sole purpose of thwarting Hastings and the Ranger Union, recruits quickly, and installs his four children — Tiffany, Clyde, Garret and Billy — as admins under the name of the Go-Rock Quads.

Lyra Forest: the man you escort out

The player crosses paths with Gordor long before knowing who they're dealing with. Their first encounter is an escort mission in Lyra Forest, where a walker claims to be lost and demands to be led to the exit.

The walk turns into a little exam. He points out that the Styler doesn't obey just anyone and that a successful capture requires the Ranger to have a sense of justice, then asks whether today's justice will still be tomorrow's.

A Murkrow follows him, cawing, scrambles the path and leads him back to the same spot twice; once the bird is captured, the haze lifts with it. Gordor uses the walk to slip in a good word for the Go-Rock Squad, wondering aloud whether it might simply be misunderstood, before finishing the way on his own.

The theft of the Super Styler

Hastings develops an improved version of his device, the Super Styler, and sets off for Ringtown to show it to Spenser. Gordor lies in wait and has his Grunts steal the prototype.

The stolen invention goes straight into production. The Go-Rock Squad mass-produces copies of it at the Dusk Factory, until the player, accompanied by the professor himself, shuts down the line.

Closing the factory solves nothing, because Gordor has kept some copies for himself. The rest of the game shows what they were meant for, and it wasn't to equip Grunts.

Entei, the Jungle Relic and the exploding base

At the Jungle Relic, Gordor gets his hands on Entei thanks to the copies of the prototype. Capturing the Legendary sets off a series of supernatural disasters across the whole region, which the player puts a stop to by freeing the Pokémon.

His version of events is worth hearing: the legend of the Relic was true, and the last of the four challenges, cleared by two Rangers, woke the underground volcano and, with it, Entei. The Legendary is the first Pokémon he captures with his new device, after a struggle he describes as fierce — and he concludes that his organization outclasses the Ranger Union.

The player then sets out with the Ranger Base leaders to take back the Super Styler from the Go-Rock Base, near Wintown. Once defeated, the Quads blow up the base to take the intruders down with it; Spenser gets them out before the explosion.

The Power Styler, an organ for three Legendaries

The failure at the base doesn't stop him. He captures Entei, Suicune and Raikou with his latest invention, the Power Styler, a device that looks like an organ and is played like one: a melody is all it takes to make the target obey.

The plan rests on a reversal of roles. The three Legendaries were to unleash natural disasters on Fiore that only the Go-Rock Squad would then know how to stop, while the Rangers looked on powerless; public opinion would have done the rest and crowned the Squad the region's new heroes.

It all comes down to the top of Fiore Temple. The player and their partner capture Raikou and then Suicune, a Plusle and a Minun wreck the Power Styler by jumping on its keyboard, and Entei, back to its senses, turns on Gordor. The Ranger calms the Legendary and captures it, which gives the Squad's leader time to escape.

🔥 Entei, Raikou and Suicune have their own section: see the Legendary Pokémon.

After Go-Rock: the disbanding and the debt

Hastings then reminds him that they studied side by side and offers him a place at the lab. Gordor replies that his own work always stayed in the shadow of his rival's: years of preparation to show the world which of the two was the better man, and a dream the Rangers have just shattered.

The turnaround is immediate. Gordor disbands the Go-Rock Squad and chooses to do good, as grateful as he is surprised that the player and their partner saved him from Entei instead of leaving him to his fate.

He later describes what happened in between: the shame of feeling small in front of the people he had fought, the urge to run away, then the decision to own up to his crimes. He doesn't think he can redeem himself, and looks every day for ways to help people. When the Go-Rock Squad steals the Manaphy Egg from the professor, he reappears one last time to force the new commander to give it back.

Gordor at a glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• Who is Gordor in Pokémon Ranger?
  He's the leader of the Go-Rock Squad, the criminal organization of the first Pokémon Ranger. He's also the father of Tiffany, Clyde, Garret and Billy, whom he appointed as admins under the name of the Go-Rock Quads.
• Why does Gordor hold a grudge against Professor Hastings?
  The two men studied together and designed the Capture Styler together. Gordor felt inferior to a more inventive classmate, and then they fell out over what the device should be used for: controlling Pokémon for one, helping them for the other.
• What is the Power Styler?
  It's Gordor's final invention, derived from the Super Styler stolen from Hastings. The device looks like an organ and is played like one: a melody lets it take control of Pokémon, Legendaries included.
• How is Gordor defeated?
  At the top of Fiore Temple, the player and their partner capture Raikou and then Suicune, while a Plusle and a Minun destroy the Power Styler by jumping on it. Entei, freed, attacks Gordor before being calmed and captured.
• What happens to Gordor at the end of the game?
  He disbands the Go-Rock Squad and decides to do good, surprised to have been saved by the people he was fighting. He reappears one last time to force the group's new leader to return the Manaphy Egg stolen from Professor Hastings.

In short

Gordor is an antagonist whose plan for domination is nothing more than career revenge disguised as a political project. He doesn't want to rule Fiore, he wants to pass for its savior, and he's ready to manufacture the disasters he'll then claim to solve. He's also one of the few organization leaders the series allows to change their minds: he disbands his group and tries to make amends rather than start over.