Pokemon games are generally easy games to play. They are targeted for children but there are many adults who pick up the franchise and have never stopped playing since. Sometimes, the games will throw us a curveball and catch us unexpectedly. These are usually difficult battles and if you are not prepared, you can easily get wiped.
Today, we will be dissecting the topic of what are the 10 toughest Pokemon battles in the mainline games and why are they so difficult. Note that we will be only including Trainer battles, so Pokemon battles against Legendaries are omitted from this list.
Let’s begin!
1. Whitney (Pokemon Gold, Silver, Crystal)
Whitney and her good old Miltank still send shivers down players of the past. Back then, Google wasn’t a thing and you can’t just look up what Whitney has in store for us and it hurt us badly.
Coming after Bugsy—who is a pretty simple Gym battle—this Gym match was a huge increase in difficulty. Her Clefairy is relatively easy to handle but her last Pokemon, Miltank, is scarring. Not only is it beefy but if the battle is drawn out, she can annihilate your team with just Rollout,
What’s more, her Miltank also knows Milk Drink, a move that recovers her Miltank’s health. Your starter cannot deal super effective moves against it as it is only weak against Fighting moves. For starters, this is most likely their first roadblock and if not prepared, they’ll most likely lose this one.
2. Cynthia (Pokemon Diamond and Pearl)
Just imagine how strong Cynthia was in Diamond and Pearl that the developers had to nerf her in Platinum. Her team is incredibly diverse and all of them have very strong moves if your team is not equipped with dealing with it, you’ll be in trouble.
Leading with her Spiritomb—during the Generation where it does not have any weakness—is already a sign of things to come. After mowing you down with it, she still has some formidable Pokemons like Lucario and Milotic you’ll have to deal with. All of them are either hard-hitting or as bulky as a punching bag.
And when the time comes, she’ll send out her ace, Garchomp. A dedicated sweeper that has incredible Speed and Attack stats. If your Pokemons are underlevelled, her Garchomp will one-hit-ko them and before long, your entire team will fall.
3. Hugh (Pokemon Black 2 and White 2)
Rivals are often bashed due to their annoying personality. This is a different case for Hugh though as not only is he an awesome character with a likeable personality, but he is also very formidable in battle. Someone that can put up a fight against you.
His team might not have an overpowered ace like Cynthia but his team is very well-rounded and there’s not one Pokemon in his team that is generally weak. All of them can pose a problem and his team’s type-coverage is huge, so you cannot just sweep his team with your starter.
Make sure that your team is diverse as well and if you are playing on Shift mode, you should do fine. However, if you are playing in Set mode, his battles will be a true challenge where you need to rely on smart switches to get an edge over Hugh.
4. Blue (Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen)
When it comes to personality, Blue isn’t the friendliest. He’s arrogant and thinks he is the best Trainer around and the thing is—he has the skills to back it up.
Over time, you’ll get to battle Blue at various points in the game and each time, his team gets stronger. His ace will be a type disadvantage against your starter so you can’t bank on your ace to take down his.
When you reach the Champion Battle, his team will be at the peak of its power. He has a versatile squad that can challenge any typing and you can quite easily wipe to him if you are not careful. In his rematch Champion fight, his Pokemon will all be super-high levelled, making an already difficult challenge even harder.
5. Fantina (Pokemon Diamond and Pearl)
The Ghost type is usually a killer for newbies. Many types are ineffective against them and there are some Pokemon from the type that are dedicated sweepers.
Fantina is a master of the Ghost-type and her Mismagius is super-hard to deal with. Her high Speed and Special Attack stats make her extremely dangerous. Confuse Ray can also cause a lot of issues and if you’re having bad luck, she can steal a couple of turns of you being confused.
6. Kiawe (Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon)
Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon are really tough games. The Trials are unfairly difficult and Kiawe stands out for us as being one of the hardest.
His Pokemons all hit extremely hard and if you don’t have a Water Pokemon with you, you’re in a world of hurt. Two of his Pokemon have priority moves and starting with Intimidate Arcanine, you are already at a disadvantage at the start of the fight.
His Alolan Marowak is also a major pain where his signature Shadow Bone move can potentially lower its target’s Defense stat. If that happens, it could well easily follow up with a Flame Wheel or Boomerang move that can take your Pokemon quickly.
7. Ghetsis (Pokemon Black 2 and White 2)
Ghetsis is one of the evilest villains the Pokemon franchise has offered us and behind his vileness, he is a darn good Trainer with a beast of a Pokemon team.
You can even say all of Ghetsis’ Pokemons are a threat. All of them have dual-typing and have insane coverage. Taking a look at his Pokemons’ moves, none of them is particularly weak and each of them is designed to knock out yours quickly.
His powerhouse Hydreigon will be holding a Life Orb which increases its attacks at the cost of some health. Do not underestimate this as this is a one-way ticket to your Pokemon seeing the grave.
8. Tate and Liza (Pokemon Emerald)
Generation III was the generation to introduce Double Battles and it opened doors for a lot of strategising and team building. Suddenly, a Pokemon’s power is grown tremendously given that they have a partner that complements them well.
Tate and Liza are the masters of this and back when we were all inexperienced with Double Battles, there is a good chance that the twins be able to catch you off guard. Her Pokemons are designed for Double Battles. Abusing their weakness with Ground-type moves is not going to work because four of her Pokemons have the Levitate ability that nullifies Ground moves.
9. Cyrus (Pokemon Platinum)
Let’s be specific here, the Cyrus we are referring to is the one from the Distortion World. In here, Cyrus is at the peak of his powers and his Pokemons are threatening as heck. Leading off with Gyarados, your Pokemon’s Attack stat will automatically be reduced by one stage.
Other mischievous things Cyrus has up his sleeve are his Houndoom and Crobat. The former can Burn you with Will-O-Wisp and the latter Confuse with Confuse Ray. As such, it is best to have some Full Heals ready because getting inflicted by these statuses is like opening a gateway of troubles.
10. Misty (Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen)
You would think that since Misty is the second Gym Leader you’d have to face, it’ll be easy. Not really, especially if you pick Charmander as your starter. To be honest, even if you were to pick Squirtle or Bulbasaur, Misty will still be tough to beat.
Her star, Starmie is a menace. It has excellent—most probably outspeeding your starter at this point—speed and a deadly Water Pulse attack. At this stage a 60-power STAB attack that can potentially confuse you is crazy. To beat her, it’ll be a team effort and not just a one-Pokemon show which most beginners tend to do.
So that’s it! We’ve finally made it to the bottom of the hardest Pokemon battles you’d have to face in the main games. Available on Nintendo platforms, be sure to get your Pokemon video game needs with our Nintendo eShop Cards here!
