One of the most intense moments for a Pokemon trainer is getting to the end of their journey. With their partners, they’ve battled the best of the best. They’ve likely taken down one or two crime syndicates in the process. Aftera grueling gauntlet of battles, one person stands at the top: the champion.
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Pokemon games don’t always have a standard battle with a champion. Ultra Sun and Moon, for instance, framed the player as the first champion with Hau as their challenger. Sword and Shield provided the illusion of a tournament structure, but the champion remained the same. However, trainers still have to face down one last person to claim their title as the very best like no one ever was. This is despite the fact that, in some cases, the champ is a pushover, even though most games offer a legitimate challenge.
11Trace (from Pokemon Let’s Go)
It’s not a surprise thatTrace, the rival from Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu and Eevee, is at the bottom of the list. The game, in general, provides a very simplified experience. It’s intentionally simple by design. Compared to other fights in the game, Trace is absolutely no slouch, but he is still is far from the most difficult. There aremore difficult trainersto battle in post game.
Trace’s team is balanced, which is nice to see. However, his Pokemon selection isn’t the most threatening. Additionally, each of his Pokemon only have three move slots used, limiting what he’s capable of doing. In the rematches, he becomes somewhat more challenging, but not by a whole lot. It’s an easy champion, but that’s what was expected for the game.
10Lance
Lancewas formerly the last member of the Elite Four in the Indigo League, but promoted at some point between the first two games in the series. He makes multiple appearances, but his team remains exactly the same throughout each of the entries. Asa dragon-type specialistin a game with limited dragons, he had to compromise.
Lance’s team is pretty binary. Five of his six Pokemon have a serious weakness in their typing, particularly every single one of his Dragonites. Yes, Lance brings three of them into battle. They have slightly different movesets, but tend to get taken down in the same way. The rest of his team can be dispatched fairly easily as well. At the very least, in the Gen 4 remakes, the Round 2 battle with Lance is a fair bit more favored for him.
9Kukui
While not technically a champion (similarly to Hau),Kukuifunctions as the last road block between the player and glory. Despite how unique the Island Trials were, the Pokemon League is appropriately pretty standard for the series. Kukui is not a type specialist, and the Pokemon he brings with him are honestly pretty solid overall.
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Kukui’s team changes based on which starter was chosen, but only slightly. He has the starter Pokemon that is super-effective against yours, as opposed to Hau. This isn’t too much of a challenge, although he does still pack a powerful Z-Move in his pocket. The game overall is pretty easy, so Kukui isn’t too far of a step up, but he does provide enough of a challenge that he should be respected. For those curious where Hau would rank, he would be tied with Kukui in terms of difficulty.
8Diantha
Pokemon X and Y are pretty solid games, but ultimately rather forgettable. The characters within in the game aren’t the most fleshed out and interesting, which was a step back from the last two generations. This includes the champion,Diantha. Diantha is some kind of celebrity and famous person who the player meets during their adventure. She’s clearly an important character, but mostly takes a backseat as Lysandre literally tries to destroy the world. As a result, Diantha is so forgettable that she unironically was almost not on this list.
Despite that, Diantha’s battle is still as challenging as battles get in X and Y. The game is fairly easy, similar to Sun and Moon, so her battle isn’t too much more challenging. Despite that, she boasts a rather unique team composition that’s rounded out with a powerful Mega Gardevoir. She is still pretty much a pushover, though, and the Elite Four before her is unironically more difficult. At the very least, her champion battle music is an absolute banger.
7Wallace
The champion of the Hoenn region is most well-known as Steven Stone. However, in Pokemon Emerald, Steven hands the reigns of champion over to the gym leaderWallace. Wallace is a flamboyant water-type specialist, and his team is much improved from his last appearance. Luvdisc was apparently just not good enough for the big leagues.
Wallace is a rather challenging battle. His team is rather bulky, and despite a water-type focus they cover various types and weaknesses well. He also can set up rain, which makes his team much more dangerous to deal with. Overall, although he does have a couple of glaring weaknesses, Wallace will still provide a fair challenge to players.
6Iris
Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, as sequels to a game that deviated a fair bit from standard formula, goes back to having a champion that gets battled before the post-game.Iris,another gym leader who received quite the promotion, is waiting at the end of the gauntlet. Unlike fellow dragon-type specialist Lance, she puts up more of a fight.
Iris’s team is much more balanced than that of Lance, as she brings some interesting choices into the mix. She also has items on a couple of her Pokemon, particularly the Life Orb/Sheer Force Druddigon that can and will hit like a truck. In the optional challenge mode, all of her Pokemon have held items. With a focus on all-out offense and few supportive moves, trainers will need to be prepared to face an onslaught.
5Leon
In terms of difficulty, Pokemon Sword and Shield are pretty heavily criticized for being rather easy games. They offer plenty of easy ways to level up, and without self-imposed restrictions the whole game is a cakewalk. That makes it all the more impressive thatLeon, the champion, still puts up quite the challenge. Certainly more of a challenge thanhis pushover brother, Hop.
His team is far ramped up from the levels of previous battles. He has a few serious threats in his roster, like Dragapult and Aegislash. All of his Pokemon are packing the best moves they can bring. Finally, his Gigantamax Charizard lives up to the hype, as it will demolish an unprepared team. Those who ended up overleveled may not have found him to be too tough, but those playing Nuzlockes or other challenge runs will find him to be rather shockingly difficult compared to the rest of the game.
4Alder
Aldermay be one of the few major Pokemon characters that a majority of people don’t remember. Although he makes a few appearances throughout Pokemon Black and White, the final battle with him gets interrupted by the plot. Despite that, after unlocking the National Dex and climbing up through Round Two, trainers get to face a rather tough battle.
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Alder’s team has no specialty, butseems to favor bug-types. His team doesn’t seem that impressive from a competitive standpoint, but the type-coverage will ensure to keep players on their toes. Plus, he has four Full Restores, which can make the battle drag on for longer than expected. His ace in Volcarona, unfortunately, isn’t nearly as dangerous as it could be. Despite that, he’s still a fair challenge for those who’ve made it that far.
3Steven
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire is not a game where leveling Pokemon up is fast or fun. Most trainers will likely go into the Elite Four somewhat underleveled unless they are really patient. Waiting at the end is, of course,Steven Stone. This characters has been set-up throughout the game, and finally challenging him at the end is worth it.
Steven provides a very bulky and dangerous team. He offers a mix of offense and defense, using both supportive moves and some of the strongest attacks in the game. Its obvious he prefers steel-types, butthat doesn’t bode wellconsidering steel-types are defensively hard to crack. Plus, in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, he Mega Evolves his Metagross, which is honestly just unfair. He’s always been one of the tougher champions in the series.
2Blue
When evaluating champion difficulty,Blueshould be mentioned as a fair challenge. The original games are rather limited in options for moves, but they still manage to create a final battle against an opponent that’s a serious threat. In particular, the fact he has an Alakazam gives him an edge in Gen 1, as psychic types are absurdly strong. Bulbasaur players will get the worst deal overall, but each team is dangerous.
In the remakes, Blue remains a challenge. Pokemon Yellow changes Blue’s team up every so slightly, and the different Eeveelutions he has change things up. FireRed and Leaf Green mirror the original games, except Arcanine actually gets a moveset. Round Two Blue gets even more dangerous, bringing in Tyranitar to round out his team.
