Pokémon - All Champion Battle Themes (2023) (inc. L:A, SV) 

Which champion theme is your favourite? Alder is high up there, but I think Cynthia's wins out.

Is it just me or Diantha's theme song it feels like I'm attending a wedding or I'm inside a church where I can hear angels singing. 😅

Iris theme is absolutely beautiful

The blue theme for FireRed and LeafGreen is pure MASTERPIECE! Always gives me chills and Nostalgia.

Whenever i hear Cynthias theme my skin got chills, everytime, no matter what

The World Champion theme from Black and White is one of the best themes in the series and you cannot convince me otherwise

There's something about Gen 5 that's so iconic - truly felt like the peak of pokemon. Their music is near unbeatable

“You”/Kukui” is my favorite theme. A criminally underrated track if you ask me. For those curious, Steven’s and Cynthia’s themes are right below. I can’t decide which of the two I prefer for 2nd, but they both almost made first for me

Blue will always have the most threatening theme to me, still gives me chills up to this date. Below there's a draw, Cynthia's and Lance's theme.

Sada/Turo battle music goes so hard. Scarlet/Violet music in general is so good but everything in area zero is 11/10

Can’t we Agree Volos is a masterpiece

SV really didn't miss with the OST, the AI professor theme is probably the most hype a song has ever been in pokemon.

HGSS Red's Theme is always a masterpiece to me. Gives me nostalgia, I remember climbing Mt. Silver and randomly finding him by pure accident. The hardest & best battle ever.

I friggin love Leon's theme. It fits that world and his character perfectly. Pokemon battles have always been fun and a spectacle for me and his is the only one that really embraces the "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?" aspect that I love

I gotta say, for all the faults that X/Y had, Diantha's theme is one of my all time favorite pieces of Pokemon music. So amazing!

Diantha’s ain’t talked about enough Frlg Blue’s is simply a masterpiece. THAT INTRO I love Nemona’s and the academy tournament

I love how all the themes are, while still menacing since this is the Champion, rather upbeat and make you feel excited for the battle. It's the climax of your journey, the final battle as a trainer before you become champion, so there's a sense of celebration. And then you get to Volo, and it's just such a tonal shift because you're trying to stop a madman from destroying the world with the help of a primordial deity.

The shift from Leon’s theme to Volo’s is wild

Iris' theme literally screams at you "Hey, this is the last fight! Might as well have fun with it!" and that's why her theme is the best.

I knew about Volo's betrayal I fought him This theme still gave me MAD chills I still haven't beat him and I've had the game for 2 weeks

Love listening to these while i do hw! Thank you!

there's always been something about Ruby/Saphire/Emerald that made it pop so much more than the others. i dont think those games had a single bad track to them.

Blue's and Lance's/Red's theme just blows every other theme out of the water. It may be because I'm on the older side but those themes just work SO well for a champion and final battle theme. I also really like Iris's theme.

Trainer red/lances theme is by far what all these strive to be. Just going up nt silver, and fighting what was then the greatest trainer ever. Thats badass, and the theme really goes all out to let you know youre in for an asswhoopin

33:56 Entering a random house in Undella Town was Absolute Scary

All these themes are great!

bw2 cynthia is definately my favorite rendition of the theme ever, so fast paced and so good with that soundfont.

Diantha theme's is so incredible, like Cynthias too

I love how Red's theme is still a menace even in G/S/C

Man, for the longest time I thought the battle theme for N would not be topped. The intensity and pending doom along with the highest of stakes for this battle. But, the Professors and Volo might’ve topped it 2 times in a row.

cynthia is my favourite champion, and her theme rules but diantha's is honestly my favourite, it feels so triumphant

Something about Volo’s theme with Cynthia’s intro sprinkled in there is soooo satisfying

What a great collection. All high quality, not missing anything. Amazing.

Have to battle Red at the end of Gold probably was one if not the most unexpected plot twist of video game history (if you played red or blue in the first place) it's almost as if you were battling yourself and that was an amazing feeling omg

Blue’s champion theme is the winner for me. I wasn’t that good at the game as a kid and that final battle really had all the stakes

the champ theme in ORAS literally slaps so hard and no one talks about it but its my fave even all these years later!

Surprised to see like nobody mentioning Nemona's theme. It fits her personality so well!! Adventurous and exciting.

i LOVE Blues theme, because its a perfect representation of himself. its threatening and fast paced, it even gets a little wild, almost like it's going to lose control of itself and all over the place. Just like Blue can be. Then it comes back together in a very bombastic way full of power and skill, which also describes Blue. He's genuinely one of the best trainers in the world, even though he can be erratic and hot headed. His champion theme (especially in Fire Red/Leaf Green) perfectly reflects his own personality.

So many good themes amongst these. The original Cynthia from DPPt and then the Volo adaptation from PL:A are both iconic themes with completely different dynamics. The XY World Champion theme is another personal favourite, thanks in part to following the VGC World Championships from that year (the BW version is also good, its much darker and grittier). And finally the Kukui SM theme, I remember concluding my first run at something like 2am with headphones and the nostalgia wave at the opening stuck so much for me.

I feel like Alder's theme is so underrated man. The buildup for it is so fantastic. Its genuinely my favorite one

I have just big bias with Lance theme, but I like all of them... Also Dianta, Iris and our MC theme in sumo are just beautiful

While i have the memories of the past where i sat ontop of a mountain battling red, struggling a bit at cynthia and just over all experience from pokemon red and blue till now something I've loved is the progression of the music to me when i was a kid during red and blue all battles felt like well an epic battle, and now after the years of experience most of the gym and champion music just makes it seem like im no longer in an epic battle but im showing off my skills and the people in the world of pokemon are cheering for me while i use my years of experience to wipe the floor with the gyms/champion's pokemon and i will forever add that to my memories from now on as well

初手からグリーン戦のBGMに、心を震わせられて鳥肌立つ…それぞれの世代の 世界観や思い出がよみがえってきて、凄くノスタルジックな気分になる🍃☕️

I like a ton of these themes for different reasons. I’ll list my top 5 in reverse order. 5) “You” from Sun/Moon This one is huge because… well, this time you really were the first to make it. The games reflect this in their brutal difficulty as well, this wasn’t an easy feat. If you’ve played every game in the series, you know how close you’d have come to being the first in RBY, but this time… you actually did it. 4) Volo from Legends Arceus This one is honestly genuinely frightening. The piano is scary enough, but when he sends out spiritomb and suddenly you know what basically his whole team is going to be… it doesn’t help. Legends had a new gameplay style that made winning really only super feasible with equal or more Pokémon than the opponent. Having to fight that 6v8 is HARD. 3)Blue, the World Champion Do I really have to explain why fighting the WORLD CHAMPION is huge? I didn’t think so. It feels tense and intimidating. 2) Nemona Thank god she’s here, because Geeta is one of the most underwhelming and least thought out champions in history. Back to Nemona, the theme is INCREDIBLE. Victorious, full of energy, and, for once, an all out assault. For a trainer that loves battling as much as she does, you actually don’t get to battle her too much, but this final one really does make up for it. 1)Red HGSS/B2W2 This one… this one is something else. You aren’t fighting someone else. It’s not external this time. You’re fighting YOURSELF. You are proving your own growth as a trainer, as a person. In HGSS in particular you can really feel this. It’s a SHAME really that they made this theme shared with Lance, he doesn’t deserve this in the slightest, and it takes away from the idea that this is a theme for you.

All of the champion themes in Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon are criminally underrated

Lance's will always be my favorite. As a small child that knew nothing of type advantages, 3 Dragonites were terrifying.

Professor theme from SV are amazing especially the version from retrospector. But gen1-3 all classics

My top 5 list of Champion Battle Themes: 1. Red Theme 2. N Theme 3. Cynthia Theme 4. Iris Theme 5. Diantha Theme Bonus: Professor theme from Scarlet/Violet is really good.

Pokemon's Final Boss themes are ALWAYS chilling the first time they were heard. The first five generation songs (2D era) were special.

4:50 this one is my personal favourite. It really makes you feel like you're in for the battle of your life.

I'm glad to see that Steven's theme is the most viewed. He gets so overshadowed by Cynthia, don't get me wrong she's up there as one of the best champs for a reason, but Steven was the first true nightmare. That metagross is still one of the most terrifying champion aces ever. Also glad the professors got in here too, their whole team was a nightmare.

HeartGold/SoulSilver champion battle theme will always be #1 in my eyes the fire beat the intensity of it it all just works and bounces off each other to create this harmonic symphony 😌

I love the cheering in Leon’s theme but there’s something so nostalgic and satisfying about the original fight against blue.

Kukuis Theme is the greatest Theme this World has ever heard. He whiped our all asses and was still a maniac, he was God Tier when u fought him the second Time and when this Banger started playing u knew it was over ur last Minute has begon, u and him u reached ur 100% potencial. A Battle of literally Gods

FR/LG's version of Champion Blue's theme will always be my favorite. It feels so dramatic; after countless battles with this guy who's continuously insulted you, it's finally time to defeat him for good.

Cynthia for the most challanging and death defying theme and champion. Blue/Red/Lance for the most nostalgic and flat out insane theme. Both Black and White series for the peak (almost) of champions, both for it's themes and champions. Pokemon champion themes never miss when it comes to cooking.

Good work, full nostalgia emerged. 😉👍🏻

Can't believe I don't see the Professors theme mentioned in the comments here. IMO that is the GOAT. It was either Cynthia or Blue for me up until SV and the Professor theme blew them both out of the water

For me, when I think of a champion theme, I will always remember Lance from HG/SS. Iris is a close second, as well as Ghetsis(screw what anyone says, he was 50 times harder than N or Alder with his Hydreigon, he was champion level), but Lance hit different. His music makes me imagine him slowest walking towards you, giving you a friendly smile…then whipping out a Pokeball, chucking it as hard as he can at the ceiling just for a Dragonite to start dragon rushing you right out the gate.

My OG Champion Battle as GSC and is seared into my brain. I adore Iris's theme so so much even though I never played any Unova games, I love it because it is so fun and light helping determine that the champion isn't necessarily just an advisory but also invested in your growth as a trainer. Prof. Kukui's theme has all the proper thematic growth from Iris's in terms of the grandeur of establishing a new league and making it a competitive environment but also understanding and bursting with life. The Gen 9 themes are all over honestly because the AI Professor themes are SUCH bangers.

Iris them hits really hard in my opinion it has that retro and modern sound combo which is amazing

17:35 and 31:04 will always be the "prepare to cry kid" themes to me

Geeta is probably my favorite theme out of all of these. Her battle is ridiculous, bur her theme is a banger !

It’s kinda crazy how well Blue’s theme holds up for being the first champion theme

Blue's theme will forever slap, it's the most intimidating.

First Red from HG/SS, Blue in leafgreen/firered in second that choir in the begininng made it gorgeous

Steven/Wallace's theme is the best by far. It feels like a final battle theme more than most of these.

Because Geeta was so easy, I didn't have time to take the theme in, but it's actually hits pretty hard

32:24 shit still gives me chills to this day

Fight me if you want, but i will die living by the fact that Sun/Moon and US/UM Champion themes are the best. Do they have as much nostalgia factor as others? No. Do they slap? HELL FREAKING YES

I love DP Cynthia theme. I still play at Diammond with my DS (who froze at time) just for it.

Wow, listening to some of these themes back to back again made me hear a few songs from my past in kukui, hau, and Leon's theme. Kujui/Hau with the opening to the original games, and Leon's with the original "welcome to the hall of fame" song. It perfectly fits their place and style in the game. You're Alola's first champion. What better theme to start off as the first champion than the first song you hear to begin your adventure at the beginning of the series? Leon's theme fits so well with what you've accomplished in the game so far. The fact you're standing against the invincible Leon after saving the region from Eternitus is praise enough (i found his Rhyperior to be silly, but im not going to dunk on it right now) Nemona is probably the best rival in the series. Blue was always amazing, especially with that chip on his shoulder, but Nemona is the perfect blend of "in at the top of my game, i have nothing to prove, so losing is actually interesting, because this doesn't actually happen". I wanted a few more battles with her in the story than i got. Blue could be seen as an opportunist because of the way he catches you just before trying to heal and such, but being a Vicky and arrogant guy just didn't feel right for "I know I'm the best, I have nothing to prove". Compare that to Nemona.

oh man, •I have never played pokemon arceus but that champion theme, WOW, I got the chills! Must be honest that theme is what convinced me to get the game now! •I love pokemon emerald/ruby/sapphire theme, it really showcases what the game was all about, a very fun and intense adventure! •Nemona theme... I just finished pokemon scarlet literally a few hours ago, and listening to Nemona theme was like going back to that era of Mario Kart Double Dash, Sonic Adventures, Mario Sunshine, just that calm, peaceful and fun era as a child! And then from the professors theme I just get this vibe of "My child, this is only the beginning of this adventure and there is no end, so let's all have fun and enjoy every single moment of it!"

I'm old school with the OG theme, but the Legends Arceus theme is the best sounding and it's a throwback

volo's theme and the ai professor's theme have to be my ABSOLUTE favorite in all of pokemon. both of them give me chills throughout the whole song.

戦闘！ウォロ入れてるのほんと神…！

The Champion theme from Fire Red is my absolute favourite.

Lance and Red got the best one if you ask me, truly iconic

My 3 personal favourites are the Champion theme from HG/SS, FR/LG, and the B2/W2 version of the Hoenn champion theme. These 3 songs are what got me into Pokémon. So they’re all very special and nostalgic to me.

Gen1 "Im going all out at the pinnacle of my power" Gen2 "Gather your courage and still your beating heart, the Champion is here" Gen 3 *Steven stone use Boulder toss* Gen 4 "this will be the battle of the ages" Gen 5 "congratulations on stopping Team Plasma, now face this land's champion" Gen5 Iris "The Dragon Princess is here" Gen6 "the graceful champion" Gen7 The culmination of a grand adventure Gen 7 Hau "We may be friends but this battle will show whos the strongest" Gen8 "Lets give these folks a show to remember" Gen 9 Nemona "best friends forged through battle"

Cynthia, Lance/Red and Iris are my top 3.

I am playing this at the gym during workout lol, some of them are really motivational. Well in fact they're all champion themes so no surprise 😎

Red in HGSS under my skin🔥

I think Lance's theme is the perfect example of sound designers putting their brains together to make the most out of the NES's limited sound capabilities. Especially comparing it to the Gen 1 theme; they made it sound like the NES can play more simultaneous notes than it actually physically could.

Blue is the first encounter with real ear Red is a silent but really threatening menace Cynthia is childhood trauma giving chills and atleast one tear everytime Diantha is a beautiful and epic battle Leon is entertainment Volo is encountering a primal evil threatening to destroy everything... mixed with childhood trauma

Maybe it's the recency bias, but out of all of these themes, I found that Geeta's was THE COOLEST if not a contender for the best out of all of them. The opening using the main Pokémon theme is perfect, and the rest of the song captures both the fun of being a champion (like Leon's theme) and the seriousness of being the region's strongest (like Cynthia's theme) well. I also heard from another comment that one of the OG Gamefreak composers was retiring with Scarlet and Violet, and that Champion Geeta's theme may have been one of the last songs he'll ever composed, which is just the best way to end your career. Thank you Mr. Masuda (I looked the composer list up and I believe the composer was Mr. Junichi Masuda)

Lance from 0:17:35 is my favourite. Listen to it at random times to give my activity a feeling of epicness. It’s top tier.

Gen 2 Champion theme just hits differently.

Professor Turo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So glad they added that song to this list. Well deserved #2 spot right above Volo and right Under Cynthia 😂

Definitely a fan of Cynthia's OG theme! But also Steven/Wallace, Iris, and Diantha. Diantha's particular location + theme really looks and sounds like you're battling in a ballroom and it's an interesting thought to me. Like, don't scratch the floors TOO much!? xD Watch the chandelier!

I know it’s the most known theme, so everyone might not call it the best. But whenever I hear red and lances theme, I know I’m about to have the toughest battle yet.

I really like HGSS Lance/Red theme, even though it's a short loop it's a good loop. The omega ruby/alpha sapphire is a close second though, I first heard it today and wow really impressive work. Love how regal it feels while also having that energy to it Iris theme is quite good too, I like how it's somehow both friendly/cheerful and intimidating sounding at the same time with the different bits. Like she would win with a smile on her face. Also both of N's themes are bangers

Legends Arceus aside, each Champion brings about the essence of its generation Blue: Your 1st adventure, you're 1st rival. The spirit of pursuing the title of 'the best' Lance and Red: Johto is about the myths and traditions, of looking at the past to go to the future. With Lance being a former E4 and a member of an ancient Clan and Red the former champion after dethroning Blue, they represent the past that the future must face to come out Steven/Wallace: They represent Earth and Sea, which is ironic considering that Hoenn consist on exactly 50%sea and 50% ground. Cynthia: Sinnoh has the most extended mythology, which focuses not only on the creation of the Universe but also in the quality of the soul (Wisdom, Acuity and Bravery). To defeat her you have to forge your own soul in order to have any possibility. Alder: Alder represents the wisdom that comes with experience. As Unova's first story consists on the conflict between truth and ideals and puts the original quest in controversy, Alder represents the village elder that makes you question yourself and explore the whole region before confronting him. Iris: While Alder represents the wisdom of old age, Iris represents the exuberance of youth and a shining future for a region previously ravaged by futile conflicts. Diantha: The actress, the epitome of beauty. In Kalos Pokémon battles are seen as a form of artistic expression, and what's better than an artist to be your last challenge? Kukui/Hau: Alola's Insular Path is not only a new test for seasoned players, but also the rite of passage for Alolan denizens. A new flavor is added into that tradition with the creation of a new Pokémon League, with Kukui being the organizer and the 1st Challenger for the player once he establishes as the Champion. Leon: In Galar Pokémon battles are seen as sporting competitions with trainers playing the role of athletes. Who's better than Leon to represent the ultimate superstar, the MVP of the League? Also Leon is the only Champion that directly tackles the region's legendary problems... Geeta and Nemona: Geeta's story ended up disappointing a little, as she's only a placeholder for a Nemona that's the true Champion. Geeta's not there to be the strongest, her play is more like guiding the new generations and test their worth, like a teacher guides his students. On the other hand, Nemona is the Champion that, being unable to go out to new regions, decides to go yandere on a new student in the faculty and groom him into becoming her true rival, one that she can battle at full power with the uncertainty on the result.

Am i the only that thinks the profesor champion theme from S/V goes hard

Technically the Professors theme from SV isn’t a champion theme but that’s my favourite last boss theme of all games.

my favorites are iris, nemona and leon's personally. being a long time pokemon fan, they just make me so emotional while the others are more intense sounding.

Nemonas got that black church vibe tho lowkey lmao I fw it 🤝😂

I love almost all of these themes, and my favorite (Rose's final battle theme) isn't included, so I'd have to say that Volo takes the cake. Literally anything from Black and White takes third, because they remind me of Ocarina of Time in a way. Though I do love the Professor themes. Fighting Turo was one of the most bittersweet experiences I've ever had playing a Pokemon game. Bitter because it was emotionally hard (and Arven didn't help), and sweet because I was so happy to have finally escaped the divine terror that Area Zero inspired in me.

If you update this to include Champion Kieran's theme, may I suggest also including the Smash Bros. remixes of Cynthia, Steven, and SM Champion themes

The first seconds of Gen 2 champion theme all the way until the beat drop are my favorite part of any pokemon music