Gym Leaders. The boss battles of the Pokémon games. And do Iove me some boss battles. The gym leaders are sort of a mixed bag though. Most don’t pose much of a threat, while others are so hard to beat they’re downright cheap. As such, coming up with 5 awesome gym leaders top, boven 5 lijst won’t be easy, much less arranging them in a suitable order. But I’m willing to take that challenge. Oh, and don’t expect to find any of the gym leaders of Pokémon X and Y on here. I never fully beat that game, and the ones I did beat weren’t that impressive. Anyway, here we go!

Number 5: Cheren

The first gym leader in Black 2 and White 2, is my favourite gym leader from what most of us consider the “newer” Pokémon games. (generation IV and onwards) I personally felt a little underwhelmed when battling against him. u battled his Pokémon before in the tall gras and against other trainers, and Cheren’s two Pokémon don’t even exceed Lv 11. But it was his role in Black 2 and White 2 that made him pretty interesting, meer so than the others on this list. Other than the gym leaders from generation IV and before that, u pretty much met the gym leaders in their gyms, and they were just sorta… there. Cheren actually had a role in the story. Besides, u can call him up on the Xtransceiver and he’ll tell u about type matchups and Pokémon abilities. I even learned something new from him! Cheren, you’re alright.

Number 4: Whitney

The crying aside, I freakin’ love Whitney. I sure u remember it well: u were laughing while u completely annihilated Faulkner and Bugsy, not even breaking a sweat. Congrats, u have two badges. How does the game reward you? Well, with a massive slap to the face, and a kick in the groin. What? u thought your entire journey was going to be easy? She starts off with a Lv 18 Clefairy that knows Metronome, meaning she could pomp out anything from a Drill Peck against your Machop to an Earthquake against your poor Gastly. Scary? When u meet her seconde Pokémon, you’d wish you’d face Clefairy again. Her Lv 20 Miltank is tough and durable. Her Rollout is devastating to all but the most the bulkiest Pokémon, her Attract will leave your Pokémon helpless, and if u so much as manage to wither down her HP to the red zone, she’ll use melk Drink, and u can try again. That is, if she hasn’t defeated your Pokémon already. Whitney sounds like a cheap trap, but in reality, she isn’t. Once u develop a strategy, she’s very manageable. But the fact that this is the first Johto leader whom u actually have to use tactics on to beat, makes Whitney a very cool Gym Leader to me. I seriously doubt anyone beat Whitney on their first playthrough of goud and Silver. I know I didn’t. She totally destroyed me on my first try. And my seconde try… And my third…

Number 3: Brock

First thing’s first: Brock is a pushover. Even if u choose Charmander, Brock can be tossed aside with ease. Because of Mankey. But I remember the first gym leader of the entire series as an icon. One of the series’ finest moments, if u will. He’s the first true obstacle u have to overcome in order to reach your goal. Brock was the first gym leader I had ever fought, and the Boulder Badge was the first badge I had ever won. My very first gym badge… That’s something I have to hold dearly in my Pokémon-loving heart.

Besides, he’s totally my favourite character from the show, too.

Number 2: Giovanni

No, I didn’t see it coming. I know many people did, but I sure as heck didn’t. On my first playthrough of Pokémon Blue, I was totally flabbergasted to see Giovanni in the Viridian Gym, at the end of your journey through Kanto. I know, Team Rocket was kind of a big thing in Pokémon Red and Blue, but truth be told, I kind of forgot about Giovanni after beating his Pokémon senseless in the Rocket Hideout. And then he suddenly appeared at the end of the Viridian gym. Sure, he was fairly to beat, but the fact that it was such a mystery as to who the final gym leader actually was throughout the entire game, only to find out it was none other than the freakin’ leader of Team Rocket made the final gym battle of Red and Blue one of the most memorable in the entire series. Well, it is only seconde to one. Namely…

Number 1: Norman

My favourite gym leader of the entire series is Norman, your father in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire! One of the new things in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire was that instead of a mother, u also had a father, and to find out that your father is actually a gym leader? That was cool. And Norman was strong, he was probably the most difficult battle u fought up until that point in the game. u rocked Roxanne’s socks, u forced Brawly into submission, u shock and awe’d Wattson, and u melted Flannery. And now, u had to test your skills against none other than your father. This was actually a really big thing for me, something I literally had prepared towards for the entire game until then. And the battle against him did not disappoint. Although I didn’t think it was as difficult as, let’s say, Whitney, Norman provided a nice challenge. But the symbolism of this battle is what stands out, and makes the battle against Norman the best gym battle in the series, in my opinion.