Merchant

Got sumthin' that might interest ya'.

The Merchant is a hooded Ganado who aids Leon during Resident Evil 4 by buying and selling weapons, upgrades and healing aids. He is infected with Las Plagas yet was one of few immune to Osmund Saddler's Master Plaga.

About The Merchant
How he became a Ganado is not known but he may have been infected with the other villagers and the Plaga failed to take control of him (Note that he is suspiciously unharmed by the P.R.L. 412). He speaks with a distinctive Cockney accent, indicating that he is not from the local area. He carries a large amount of weaponry and ammunition in his coat and in backpack, though he will not sell the player ammunition for gameplay reasons. He is the main source of weapons in the game, instead of the player picking up weapons as he progresses (although several weapons can still be picked up in-game, and weapons available for purchase are unlocked as progress is made in the game).

The Merchant in each area can be killed although no benefit is gained from doing so. Killing the merchant in any area causes him to never appear in that location for the rest of the game. He will appear later in the game at different location on the normal difficulty, but on professional he stays dead.

Examining his weaponry, he tells Leon that he has enough artillery to "start a small war". He also tends to say things when you do business like "Ha, ha, ha, ha, thank you" (when you sell him something), or "Stranger! *laughs* What d'you need that for? You goin' huntin' an elephant?" (if you get The Handcannon). "Stranger... Stranger... now that's a weapon" (Chicago Typewriter or Rocket Launcher). "Not only will you need cash but you'll need guts to buy that weapon" (Mine Thrower warning of the nature of the gun). He is usually found near a flaming blue torch (except for once, late in the game) away from other Ganados either behind buildings or inside caves, but usually keeping a low profile (to anyone who doesn't know about the blue torches anyway).

In several secluded locations, the Merchant has set up a small stand, where he keeps several weapons on display stands. He has copious amounts of ammunition, such as belts of 7.62x51 mm ammo, Hand Grenades, artillery shells, RPG-7 rounds, and dozens of ammunition boxes such as Red Hawk Handgun bullets and Heavy Load Shotgun shells. Despite the hefty stock of weapons and ammunition, the player cannot purchase a majority of the items in the shop, including ammunition and grenades. In addition, the weapons displayed include a Sig 552, which is not in Resident Evil 4 but makes an appearance in Resident Evil 5. Some weapons, like the Striker and Chicago Typewriter are visible in the shop but cannot be purchased until certain requirements are fulfilled, such as advancing far enough into the game or completing minigames.

The Merchant also seems to host a shooting range, which can be found in multiple areas inside the Castle, although this may prove to be non-canon, and might be instead intended for gameplay purposes only.

He may wish to keep his temporary affiliation with Leon secret as he won't speak with Leon if there is an enemy nearby. However, no enemies will harm the Merchant in any way except the dynamite-equipped Ganados, who can kill them with the "splash" of the explosion.

It is unknown if the Merchant survived the explosions on the Island. A blue torch can be seen as Leon comes down from the lift after defeating Saddler (when Ashley says "It's gonna what?!?") but the Merchant is not visible in the scene. The Merchant was likely either caught in the explosion, or escaped the island with such haste that he forgot to extinguish his torch or left his stock at the stand.

Come back any time.