Between Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, the Galar region has ten Gym Leaders that can be battled to collect their gym badges as you make your way through the Galar League. Each one has their own unique design, personality and specializations that make them unique. So, which one do you like best and why? My favorite isn't encountered until late in the game, so I'll put my explanation in a spoiler tag for those who haven't gotten that far yet. Spoiler Piers may just be my new favorite gym leader out of all of them, for so many reasons. First off, he's the first Dark type gym leader in the series, which is something that has been long overdue. There's also his Gym (or lack thereof), which is running along a street set up like an old Beat 'em Up game. There's also the fact that he doesn't use Dynamaxing at all yet is still the second to last Gym Leader in a system where they have to be challenged in order from weakest to strongest. His relationship with his sister Marnie, his status as the leader of Team Yell, his surprising humility, and his being an apparently popular musician on top of being a Gym Leader. The only thing I don't like about Piers is his hair, his black and white, thorny hair tied up in three massive ponytails, with large bangs that go down bast his shoulder. It's one of the most absurd hairstyles that I have ever seen (and I watch a lot of anime), though in a way its sheer absurdity of it actually starts to be a bit endearing in a strange sort of way.
Many will disagree with me on this, but so far my favorite gym leader is Opal. Her quiz mission was hilarious and very cheeky.
I still love Allister, his cute little mask is so adorable and I want to give him a hug. Also his name in Japanese is apparently Onion which is even cuter. Spoiler I saw him without his mask and he’s even cuter uwu, he needs to be protected at all costs Edit: Piers is my new favorite, I like him just the teeniest bit more than Allister now. One, I really like his design, it’s been growing on me. Two, he’s the first Dark type gym leader EVER. Three, his theme SLAPS. One of my favorite themes in all the games. Four, he doesn’t Dynamax. Five, he made Team Yell just to support her sister. What a lad. Piers > Raihan, fight me.
My favorite is Raihan, but I have to take some points away from him because he doesn't use strictly Dragon-Types while calling himself the leader of the Dragon-Type gym. His last Pokémon doesn't even require him to be misleading that regard, but that's all I'm saying about it though. My second favorite? Spoiler It's Marnie. She's so nice throughout the game, and her team seemed pretty solid too. Bede comes in third simply because I didn't like him for most of the game.
I’m going to have to choose Raihan. His animations in and out of battle are full of personality and it’s cool to see a character from the Hoenn region. My only issue is that his team is very similar to Blaine’s (other than his ace). Galar isn’t short on fire types, so I’m not sure why he needed two Kanto Pokémon.
I'd have to go with Melony. She's thicc, she's a milf, and she's got nice big, soft... ice type Pokémon. What? Did you think I'd say something else lol? In all seriousness, I love motherly characters with a bit of weight to them.
As for myself, of all the gym leaders in Galar, I love Allister the most. He's just... adorable af. And when it comes to his Japanese name, Onion is surprisingly cute for a human name. For my second favorite, there's Milo. He's such a big guy yet still manages to be adorable. Also, there's this hilarious part of the transcript on his rare league card: Spoiler "It has become common in Turffield to see the whole town chasing after Milo, who is in turn chasing after a stray Wooloo, along with Yamper."
Is it biased to say the ice type gym leader when I picked sword? What I have to pick a gym leader I actually saw? Fine. My SECOND favorite gym leader is Piers. Spoiler Out of most all other gym leaders, he is the most "don't judge a book by its cover" leader we've had. Not only was he stuck to your character for longer than the required gym, but he himself is not a bad guy to be around. The additional screen time really fleshed out the rest of his character, (the little that there was) and showed us a gym leader who's a person rather than an obstacle.
Ice type gym leader is Melony, right? I'm cool with you loving her, but isn't she supposed to be Shield exclusive like Allister?
I think you mean Kabu Raihan is the dragon gym. Speaking of Raihan, I dont normally like the dragon type leaders/elite four that much. They often lack personalities (I am not counting Cynthia, she was pretty unique) and their teams feel kinda one note. Raihan surprised me. His instagram star attitude that still managed to come off as charming to me, his neat outfit and most importantly of all his battle ethics and team. His gym made me realize that I kinda want to see gyms with themes like his more often, less pure monotype gyms and more based on their favorite tactic. It was really fun to fight him and his underlings.
Ugh the tossups are endless. I have to say I'm stuck merely on Kabu and Allister. Two different spoilers mainly in case people are like me and only just recently got the game Spoiler: Kabu Can I just say that I love how he basically is the honest and upfront out of the first three in the sense of he was highly anticipating the battle with Hop and the main character? Then there's his stadium entrance. Most come at you from in front of your face. Him? Nope screw that he's going to just appear out of nowhere beside you and casually jog out beside you like "Hey. 'Sup?" Spoiler: Allister Allister is such a cute little gym leader. First off according to his entrance in Shield and the card he's school aged. He's a kid and he's a gym leader that's ranked number 4 which some Gym Challengers never make it to. Then I just love how the mask lights up his eyes at points. Now I haven't met or played against him yet but a close 3rd would be Gordie merely for the fact of the card entrance he makes on Melony's rare league card. Looking forward to getting Sword for that exact reason
Allister is definitely my favorite. I kinda wish I got Shield just because he’s in it, but I went in blind so I didn’t know until it was too late. Also I feel like him and Gloria/Victor would likely be friends in-universe, since they’re both in high positions at such a young age and they can relate to each other. Plus, his Japanese name is Onion, and onions have layers. What more do you need.
I love Gordie. He's p hot, and Raihan is pretty cool. Pretty much the character I'm sure everyone that is constantly on social media can relate to.
I am a big fan of Ghost Pokémon. So Allister won my heart. He's also really adorable and pathetically shy which adds to it.
There is a distinct lack of Bea love in here, and that makes me sad. Bea's team kicks butt, they'll kick your Pokémon's butts, and then she'll probably kick your butt. Piers is indeed pretty cool tho.
I haven't played these games, but just going off of design and what little I know about their personalities, I really like Kabu, Gordie, and Piers. I admit, a bit part of my like for Piers is that he's the first gym leader to specialize in dark type. Kabu's look reminds me of Nanu, and yet from what I can tell he's really determined and hard working, making it a nice contrast. As for Gordie, I'm always a big fan of characters who stick to what they're passionate about, even if it's not what is expected of them. He also seems really nice. Again, I haven't played these games at all, so my impressions could be completely wrong.
First, Lorelei is not even a gym leader to begin with. She's a member of Kanto's original Elite Four. Second, we're talking about the gym leaders in Sword and Shield here, from Milo to Raihan. If this were in Other Pokémon Games section, those from any other games would've been welcomed as well.