The Pokemon League. The gauntlet of Gym Leaders that tests every trainer's mettle in the field of battle. Only once you claim all eight badges signifying your skill and mastery of Pokemon can you climb Victory Road and challenge the Elite Four. Even after withstanding the onslaught of the four toughest trainers in the region, you still have one, final challenge: the Champion. This climactic battle will decide your status as a Pokemon Master, the fate of the region, and the destiny of both yourself and your opponent. Now, which Champion should you face? There are 15 Champion-ranked trainers across Pokemon's history, and we've gathered 10 of the best.
Some trainers won't be appearing in this list, however. Team Plasma's N and Ghetsis, while filling the role of Champion in Black and White as the game's final boss, are technically not Champions (though an argument can be made for N). Furthermore, the expansive cast of characters that challenge you for the title of Champion in the Alolan Pokemon League will also not be included. Only truly certified Champions will make this list. So, without further ado, let's begin.
10 Geeta
Top Champion Geeta builds up quite a lot of hype for her inevitable battle with the player at the end of the Victory Road storyline in Scarlet and Violet. Her calm, commanding attitude and claim that she "is incapable of holding back" paints her as quite the powerful trainer. And, on paper, she would be! Geeta wields a variety of Pokemon, including powerful new Pokemon such as Espathra, Kingambit, and her ace, Glimmora. However, Geeta also uses strange choices for a Champion, such as Gogoat and Veluza. Despite her team being good in theory, in practice, Geeta seems to need another round of practice.
Her ace, Glimmora, which is sent out last, is all but designed to spread entry hazards around, so logic dictates Geeta would send Glimmora out first. But she doesn't. Geeta's Kingambit has the Supreme Overlord ability, which makes Kingambit stronger based on how many of its allies are KO'd - so she'll send it out last, right? No, Geeta sends Kingambit out roughly three Pokemon in. Despite her status as Top Champion, Geeta makes several mistakes that make you question how she maintains her iron-clad grip over Paldea's Pokemon League.
9 Diantha
Poor Diantha. Pokemon X and Y are considered the black sheep of the Pokemon series, and sadly Diantha suffers a similar fate. Diantha's team consists of Hawlucha, the two Kalos fossils, a Gourgeist, Goodra, and her ace, a mega Gardevoir.
At this point, you will have more than enough tools to completely dismantle Diantha's team, making her a disappointing conclusion to a disappointing Elite Four. Any Pokemon with a Steel- and Ice-type attack should be enough to sweep Diantha's team. Despite Diantha's status as a famous actress, it seems she couldn't fill the role of Champion.
8 Lance
Lance, the Dragon Master of the Indigo Plateau, is your final Pokemon Gold and Silver opponent. The Dragon-type is rarely seen in early Pokemon, only belonging to two lines of Pokemon, one of which is very hard to find. Boasting a resistance to your starter's STAB attacks, Lance's team of Dragons will undoubtedly be an insurmountable opponent. At least, if he actually had a whole team of Dragons.
While Lance does use Dragon-types, they are three (under-levelled) Dragonites, with the rest of his team being Charizard, Gyarados, and Aerodactyl. It'd be more apt to describe Lance as a Flying-type user. Despite this, Lance puts up quite the fight, and even changes up each of his Dragonites' movesets to handle different threats. Lance is still the Champion of two regions despite his bizarre and illegal team.
7 Blue
The classic rival Blue held the Champion title for all five minutes until Red came along to crush his dreams and steal away his grandfather's love. Poor guy. However, that doesn't mean Blue didn't put up a fight; far from it. Even with Generation 1's janky mechanics, Blue manages to assemble a team of some of Kanto's best - even snagging two Psychic-types if you didn't pick Squirtle as your starter.
The battle against Blue in the Indigo Plateau is perhaps one of the most iconic moments of Pokemon's first generation - finding out your rival had stolen the rank of champion while you weren't looking, and approaching him to settle your rivalry once and for all. Blue accepts your challenge with a laugh and proclaims he is "the strongest trainer in the world!" Cue battle music.
6 Wallace
Hoenn's model Wallace was promoted to the Champion Rank after Steven gave up his throne. Depending on your team, that may be a downgrade - after all, Wallace's Water-types have much less defensive utility that Steven's Steel-types. Despite this, Wallace does his best to provide a challenging final battle. And Wallace definitely doesn't go down without a fight, with many of his Pokemon packing crippling status moves like Toxic and Leech Seed. Wallace even has a counter to his crippling Electric-type weakness in Whiscash, a Water- and Ground-type. Wallace's ace Milotic can even stretch out the fight with Recover. Wallace will prove to be a challenge to any trainer who didn't go and catch Rayquaza before challenging the Pokemon League.
5 Nemona
Nemona, your battle-loving friend from Scarlet and Violet, joins you along your journey across Paldea and helps you grow as a trainer. Challenging you to battle after battle, Nemona's lust for a challenge cannot be satiated. It's no wonder why Nemona obtained the Champion Rank at such a young age, and why she serves as the final opponent in the Victory Road storyline. Perhaps to serve as a more palatable conclusion after the disappointing fight with Geeta, Nemona challenges you to a fun and energetic battle in Mesagoza Square.
Even though Nemona chooses the weaker starter, she demonstrates her ability as a Champion of Paldea with the rest of her team - even setting up Stealth Rocks with her Lycanroc. Nemona's team is well-rounded and packs wide coverage options suited to a Champion.
4 Steven Stone
Despite his name, Steven Stone specializes in Steel-type Pokemon rather than Rock-types. Though, being fair, Steven does wield three Rock-types as well. Whatever the specialization, Steven Stone's team is well-suited to be a defensive powerhouse. His opening Pokemon, Skarmory, can set up spikes to deal damage to your Pokemon when switching in and applying Toxic. Claydol can set up Light Screen and Reflect to cut your damage output in half, and the rest of his team will take their time crushing you without worry. Aggron and Metagross are formidable opponents with varied movepools, able to answer all the Steel-types counters.
3 Iris
The last Champion of the 2D era. Iris, formerly a Gym Leader of Pokemon White's Opelucid City, was promoted to Champion rank and took on a royal garb to match. Iris's status as a Dragon-type user should not be taken lightly; Generation 5 was the height of the Dragon-type, and there are no Fairy-types to save you now. Even if Fairy-types were present in Black and White 2, Iris takes a page from Lance's playbook and uses some non-Dragon-type Pokemon like Aggron, Lapras, and Archeops.
Iris's team is even partially equipped with items on the game's Normal and Easy difficulties; her Druddigon pairs its Sheer Force ability and Life Orb to deal massive damage, and her ace Haxorus has a Focus Sash to prevent it from being KO'd before setting up a potential sweep. Iris is perhaps one of the best Dragon-type trainers as she demonstrates how powerful the Dragon-type was at the time, and why it demanded a counter in the Fairy-type.
2 Leon
Despite how much flak he gets, Leon is a truly formidable opponent, even among the star players of Pokemon's Champions. Leon opens up with an Aegislash, a formidable Pokemon that inspires terror among competitive circles. Leon seems to favor Dragon-types, wielding Dragapult and Haxorus in battle alongside his iconic Gigantimax Charizard. Leon will even swap out some of his Pokemon based on your starter, having chosen the remaining starter that went unpicked by you and Hop. Leon's Charizard, despite having several glaring weaknesses, covers them quite well and can quickly turn matches around with a surprise Max Overgrowth, Max Airstream, or Max Rockfall. Leon went years without losing his champion title, so you'd best be prepared to come at him.
1 Cynthia
Come on, we all knew who would take the number one spot. Diamond and Pearl's Cynthia wields perhaps one of the best teams used by an NPC in Pokemon history, much less by a Champion. Cynthia's original Diamond and Pearl team is well-rounded and efficiently trained, boasting coverage moves and powerful STAB attacks that cover each other's weaknesses.
Whatever super-effective attack you may have can be tanked by another member of her team. There's a good reason why Cynthia's appearance in Undella Town in Pokemon Black and White is considered a jump-scare. In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Cynthia's team is even equipped with items and EV spreads, putting her team on the level of a competitive player!