Mr. Parker runs a toy shop in a small town nestled between Charicific Valley and Azalea Town. He's best known for his former life as Gligarman, a local superhero he invented himself—partly out of genuine crime-fighting spirit, but mostly as a clever marketing scheme. By playing the hero and selling Gligarman figurines and merchandise to his adoring fans, he turned the character into a profitable business. When he was in his prime, Gligarman rode the Gligar Cycle (essentially a souped-up motorcycle) and fought crime with his trusty Pokémon partner, Gligar, operating out of the Gligarcave—a secret hideout hidden beneath his mansion. The whole thing worked great until age caught up with him; by the time the show caught up with him, he'd gotten noticeably out of shape, which made maintaining the superhero act increasingly difficult.
Ash and his friends first meet Mr. Parker when he's still in full Gligarman gear, helping rescue Togepi from Team Rocket. Later, they encounter him back at his toy shop, where Togepi's immediate affection tips them off that something's fishy. Mr. Parker nearly blows his cover when he casually uses Misty's name—something she never told him. Once confronted directly, he and his daughter Latoya come clean, inviting the trio back to his mansion to show them the whole operation. It's there that Mr. Parker admits his health is forcing him to retire, and he's been eyeing Ash as a potential successor. But Team Rocket shows up for another round, and a new masked hero emerges to save the day: Gligirl, who's revealed to be Latoya. The town gets its new hero, and Mr. Parker finally gets to step back and just be a toy shop owner again.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
