Pokémon: Every Generation, Ranked By Their Gym Leaders

Not all Gym Leaders are made equal, and some generations have offered more formidable opponents than others.

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Across all eight generations of the Pokémon games, there are countless Gym Leaders who have posed problems for players over the years. There are several Gym Leaders who can be tough but are ultimately located near routes that offer super-effective counters, but there are also those Gym Leaders who present limited options in battle.

None of the generations feature an entire roster of all-powerful Gym Leaders, which is arguably the best way to pace a game, but on the other hand, some generations don’t offer enough of a challenge when it comes to the supposed big battles. The conventional format in most of the games is to have eight Gym Leaders, with the badges that they provide when defeated allowing the player entry into the Pokémon League to face the Elite Four.

8 Generation VI: Valerie And Korrina Are The Only Gym Leaders Who Can Cause Problems In X & Y

Although Ash runs into multiple difficulties with various Kalos Gym Leaders in the anime, despite having one of his best teams, in the X & Y games most of the Gym Leaders are straightforward enough to get past without much trouble.

The introduction of Fairy-type Pokémon in this generation was mildly received by fans, but when the typing instantly got a Gym Leader, Valerie, and it was revealed that Fairy only had two weaknesses to Steel and Poison, with neither typing having too many powerful moves, this made for a surprisingly tough challenge. Korrina also had the potential to pose a real threat, mainly because all of her Fighting-type Pokémon knowing Power-Up Punch.

7 Generation VII: Of All The Island Kahunas, Nanu Is The Toughest

Sun & Moon are unique in the sense that they don’t follow the conventional power-scaling format of Gym Leaders and Elite Four, which arguably makes it even more refreshing to have a change of pace.

The Generation VII equivalent to Gym Leaders therefore would have to be the four Island Kahunas: Hala, Olivia, Nanu, and Hapu. While none of them are especially difficult, Nanu and his Dark-types have caused problems for many players, since his lightning-quick Alolan Persian utilizes Z-moves. Otherwise, the Generation VII Kahunas aren’t too difficult to get past.

6 Generation VIII: Raihan Is The Best That Galar Could Muster

The most recent generation of games, Sword & Shield, is another installment where Gym Leaders are largely underwhelming, posing no real threat. The two possible exceptions to this would be the Fairy-type quiz-master Opal and and the Dragon tamer Raihan.

Opal’s battle forces the player to answer multiple questions, with correct answers helping the player and incorrect answers helping Opal. Providing the player gets the questions right, Opal is pretty straightforward, but some incorrect answers can make it a real contest. Raihan, however, is a consistent threat, running a heavy-hitting team in the form of a double battle with Flygon, Duraludon, Gigalith, and Sandaconda, all while utilizing a Sandstorm strategy.

5 Generation V: Elesa’s Volt Switch Strategy Is The Toughest That Unova Has To Offer

Across Black & White and Black 2 & White 2, there are some formidable Trainers who can cause problems for the player. Lenora and her unassuming Normal-types can be more troublesome than they should be, while Drayden and Iris can both be formidable Dragon-type opponents, depending on which game is being played.

However, the Unova Gym Leader who’s hands down the trickiest and hardest to deal with is Elesa. In Black & White, she employs an excruciatingly frustrating strategy to face in the form of Volt Switch, with two Emolga and a Zebstrika. Her team is slightly different in Black 2 & White 2, but is still not the easiest.

4 Generation I: Most Kanto Gym Leaders Can Be Easily Defeated By Catching Nearby Pokémon

The original Gym Leaders of Kanto in the Generation I games are among the most memorable. However, in most cases, there were hardly any tough battles between them because of the Pokémon available to be caught in the neighboring routes. Brock could be beaten easily even by Charmander Trainers providing they caught a Mankey, Grass-type Pokémon were available near Cerulean for the battle with Misty, and Vermilion City’s Lt. Surge was conveniently situated next to Diglett Cave.

But Sabrina of Saffron City was in a different league entirely. In the original games, one of Psychic’s two weaknesses, Ghost, wasn’t even acknowledged properly, meaning that only Bug-type moves were super-effective and there were barely any of them in the first place.

3 Generation IV: Sinnoh Offers Up Multiple Challenging Gym Leader Battles

The Generation IV games Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum are largely revered by fans for a number of reasons, including the Pokémon on offer, the battles, the story, and much more. As with most Pokémon games, a number of the Gym Battles are easy enough with appropriate planning and strategies, but there are still some Gym Leaders who are tough regardless.

Although the battle-ordering and her Pokémon’s levels change between Diamond & Pearl and Platinum, Fantina’s Ghost-types can be problematic, especially the Mismagius. Volkner, Crasher Wake, and Roark can also be tricky unless the player is fully prepared with super-effective moves.

2 Generation III: Hoenn Throws Some Tough Challenges The Player’s Way

The Gym Leaders and their rosters do vary slightly from Ruby & Sapphire to Emerald, but when looking at the Generation III Gym Leaders overall, the line-up is very impressive regardless of the changes.

Everyone who plays Generation III seems to have trouble with different battles, but there are some consistently fearsome battles with Gym Leaders that are often talked about. Norman’s Vigoroth and Slaking can be frustratingly strong, Winona’s Altaria can be dangerous as long as it doesn’t get too greedy with Dragon Dances, and Tate & Liza prove to be a tricky double battle to get through.

1 Generation II: Whitney, Clair, And Blue Are But A Few Of The Many Challenging Gym Leaders In These Games

While the Kanto part of the Generation II games catches a lot of flack for being too much in addition to Johto, while at the same time not being necessary enough to justify its inclusion, it does mean that the Gold, Silver, and Crystal games have 16 Gym Leaders in total.

It would arguably be unfair to say that Generation II was the best for Gym Leaders due to its sheer numbers, but there is one Kanto Gym Leader, Blue, who’s different from the Generation I games. When considering that the Generation II games feature the likes of Whitney and Miltank, Clair and her Dragon-types, Jasmine and her newly introduced Steel-types, not to mention the powerful Blue as the Viridian City Gym Leader, Gold, Silver, and Crystal offer a formidable overall roster.

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