Hardest Champion Battle?

[AuraChannelerChris]

Why doesnt Kukui get a poll? He more or less serves the same function as any Champion fought at the end of the game

Technically not even a champion, or else we would count N too.

 

[Ignition]

Why doesnt Kukui get a poll? He more or less serves the same function as any Champion fought at the end of the game

There’s only 10 slots for a poll and would it really make a difference?

 

[RedBlastoise]

Iris in B2W2. Her Haxorus stands out as one of the hardest Pokemon to defeat on her team but her other Pokemon are a challenge too. Cynthia is almost at the same level of difficulty.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Cynthia is the only one who’s actually a challenge. It says a lot as that’s the a big factor as to her being the most popular Champion and arguably 2nd most popular female character after the female protagonists

I think that's why I like Cynthia; she's a strong independent woman.

 

[Leonhart]

Iris in B2W2. Her Haxorus stands out as one of the hardest Pokemon to defeat on her team but her other Pokemon are a challenge too. Cynthia is almost at the same level of difficulty.

I remember struggling against her Sazandora (Hydreigon) when I first battled her in White 2, although I always had a hard time beating that species overall, not just hers.

 

[Venomshock]

Lance and Cynthia were both a pain in the butt. I think Lance is worse in some ways because leveling up in Johto was harder than leveling up in Sinnoh.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Lance and Cynthia were both a pain in the butt. I think Lance is worse in some ways because leveling up in Johto was harder than leveling up in Sinnoh.

Lance is somewhat easier than Cynthia, because his team is mostly Dragons (or draconic-looking Pokémon) while Cynthia's is a rich mix of types.

 

[Leonhart]

Lance is somewhat easier than Cynthia, because his team is mostly Dragons (or draconic-looking Pokémon) while Cynthia's is a rich mix of types.

Wataru's (Lance's) team being mostly Dragon-type Pokemon did make it somewhat easier to defeat, although in the Gen I games you pretty much had to use Ice-type moves against his three Dragon-types since there was only one Dragon-type move back then [Dragon Rage], which wasn't very good since it always did 40 damage and wasn't affected by type match-ups.

 

[carterfeygo]

Fighting Alder was hard for me because I was too under leveled at the time I fought him in White. Cynthia is also one of the harder champs to beat and Iris comes in third.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Fighting Alder was hard for me because I was too under leveled at the time I fought him in White. Cynthia is also one of the harder champs to beat and Iris comes in third.

His ace Pokémon, Volcarona, is level 75 if I remember correctly, while Ghetsis’s Hydreigon is only level 54. There was quite a big jump in levels in B/W’s post-game, where after you get done defeating the Elite 4 and Ghetsis’s level 40s and 50s, the trainers throughout the rest of Unova suddenly start using level 60s and 70s. It was quite a shock for me when I first played Black.

Also, I think in Platinum’s post-game, Cynthia’s team also gain level boosts, with her Pokémon being in the 60s-70s or so. (I never played DP.)

 

[Leonhart]

Fighting Alder was hard for me because I was too under leveled at the time I fought him in White. Cynthia is also one of the harder champs to beat and Iris comes in third.

Adeku (Alder) wasn't that much of a struggle for me, in fact since he used three Bug-types, defeating him was slightly easier than I thought it would be when I faced him in Black version for the first time.

 

[OwensJB]

1) Cynthia because of Spiritomb having no weakness & Garchomp's badassery. 2) Lance because he had three freaking Dragonites in GSC. 3) Iris in B2W2 because she had all kinds of strong Pokemon with no universal weaknesses.

 

[RoughCoronet0]

I must have just been lucky or something, because I never had any more difficulty with Cynthia and her team whether in Diamond/Pearl or Platinum then any other trainer. This is not me trying to be like "Oh I'm so awesome and everyone else must suck at the game", I didn't even know she was hailed as the strongest champion and that so many people had trouble against her until the the time of Black and White 2 when I became exposed to a lot of the Pokemon community online.

Lance was the biggest challenge for me. Not only did he have one of the strongest Pokemon of those generations, but all three of them had different coverage moves that if you didn't anticipate right could completely screw your team up.

Otherwise, everyone else was pretty much as challenging as you made it depending on team composition and level.

 

[Zoruagible]

Cynthia, everything afterwards was a walk in the park. I've never lost to a champion apart from her, in fact I've swept Diantha even on Wonderlockes!

 

[NovaBrunswick]

Cynthia, everything afterwards was a walk in the park. I've never lost to a champion apart from her, in fact I've swept Diantha even on Wonderlockes!

Diantha was pretty easy, though I think I had a bit of trouble with her Mega Gardevoir. Alder is still the easiest Champion, though.

Also, what's a Wonderlocke? (If you don't mind me asking, I know of Nuzlockes.)

 

[RoughCoronet0]

Also, what's a Wonderlocke? (If you don't mind me asking, I know of Nuzlockes.)

It’s a variation on the Nuzlocke Challenge. For the Nuzlocke challenge....

1. You can only catch the first Pokemon you find on every route or new area. If you are not able to catch the Pokemon (it faints, you accidentally run away or have no pokeballs) then you forfeit your ability to catch a Pokemon in that area. (Though optional rules say you can find a new Pokemon in an area if the first Pokemon you find is of the same species/evolutionary branch as one you already have)
2. All Pokemon must be nicknamed to better ensure a bond is formed with that Pokemon.
3. If the Pokemon faints, it counts as being dead and must be released/permanently boxed in the box graveyard.

A Wonderlocke follows the same rules with one big change. Whenever you get a new Pokemon (starter, catching, gift or otherwise) you immediately wonder/surprise trade it and use the first Pokemon you receive (though optional rules can still apply for Pokemon you already have or if the Pokemon level is so high you could not use it for a long time and that’s up to each Locke player)

Also apologies, missed the part saying you know Nuzlocke already, but it might be informative for those who read and don’t know what a Nuzlocke is either.

 

[Leonhart]

I must have just been lucky or something, because I never had any more difficulty with Cynthia and her team whether in Diamond/Pearl or Platinum then any other trainer.

Out of curiosity, what was your team when you fought Shirona (Cynthia)? Is it possible that your team was just over-leveled and therefore stronger than her team?

 

[RoughCoronet0]

I tend to have a team that can have Pokemon within 5 levels over or under by the time I’m at the champion. For Cynthia I have always consistently used a Torterra, Lucario, and either a Dialga for Diamond or a Giratina for Platinum. Having a legendary might have helped matters some in truth since I know many people will choose not to use them. Then I have often used both Staraptor for diamond and Togekiss for platinum as my flyers. Pokemon like Floatzel, Vaporeon, or Gyarados are often my swimmers. I’ve also used Glaceon, Roserade, Luxray, Gallade, Gardevoir, and on occasion I have used Pokemon like Vespiquen, Glalie, Honchkrow, And Tyranitar.

All these Pokemon would have different coverage moves and items that help out that Pokemon in some small way. If a Pokemon has a draining move, Big Root. If that Pokemon has a very varied coverage move pool, Expert Belt. If the Pokemon was slow, Quick Claw. Special attackers get Wise Glasses, physical attackers get Muscle Band. If I needed a certain move to be a bit stronger, a plate or item for that move’s type. Leftovers for someone I thought needed a bit of healing aid and so on. On top of that, I’m one that likes to keep lots of healing items on my person.

Like I said, I could have been lucky, just pretty patient or something else.....however, I tended to have the same luck with Cynthia as I have with most of the other champions. She definitely has a team that requires a bit of thought due to having various types on her team but in that regard she is like your rival that always tends to have a wider array of coverage. Not patting myself on the back or anything, I have been beaten by random trainers plenty of time in the games. Champions however, I’m usually adept at handling them.

 

[NovaBrunswick]

I'd think Cynthia would be the hardest Champion for a first-timer, while Alder and Diantha would be the easiest.

 

[catzeye]

Cynthia and Leon tied for me as the only two champions I really struggled (as in having to spam revives/Max revives just to not lose).

Cynthia's team is easily the most balanced of the champions and I won mainly because I had Dialga on the team to tank some hits when needed. Also Diamond was only my 2nd Pokemon game ever at the time so I was very much a noob as far how my team make up was. Not saying that if I fought her now it would be a cakewalk (it wouldn't) but at least now I know better as far keeping my team balanced.

For Leon, while his team isn't as balanced typewise (two ghosts, two dragons and depending on starter choice, 2 fire types), it makes up for it with good attack coverage (that Haxorus is killer) and a lot of fast attackers. I'm actually doing a poison monotype run for Sword right now and I'm thinking about breaking my "no legendary" rule for him ( I stopped using legendaries on teams for initial champion matches in Gen 5) and bringing on Eternatus (poison/dragon) because I need something to reliably counter his dragons as hopefully one-shot that Charizard.