I absolutely love Crasher Wake from Sinnoh. The dude's a luchador, and he uses his winnings from Pokemon battling at his Gym to help the less-fortunate. He's like the Pokemon equivalent of Fray Tormenta.
My favorite was always Jasmine from Johto, not only did she use my favorite type (when it was new), Steel, but unlike many of the other Johto gym leaders who come off as selfish or conceited, she seems very caring and genuine on the inside but tough as nails on the outside. a polar opposite to Whitney (or at least how she comes off IMO).
Jonas Svenstrup Because all his thoughts are being live-streamed between the twins. What he thinks, she sees...and that includes lady parts. Imagine the roles reversed, and Tate gets dick-pics directly in his mind out of nowhere, and he can't look away or even simply close his eyes.
Her design always freaked me out. I could never stand cold clothes- her revealing top/ shorts and her sweater tied around her waist?!- in cold weather. It suits her but it made me uncomfortable >_
And she's not as cold as ice. She's a perky girl with a good attitude and always happy and cheery. She's like the Ty Lee of Pokemon She even has braids like her.
Brock, he is probably my all time favorite and most memorable gym leader to me, he was your first milestone, your first real challenge to overcome, i remember having so much trouble with him in the beginning of the game cause i ALWAYS picked charmander as a kid. He really taught me a lot about the game to be honest. Things like type match ups, what moves to use and he even taught me about evolution because i would always have to grind to levels until i could get my charmander stong enough to take on his onix, but then my charmander evolved, and learned a move that was super effective against rock types and i was able to beat that gym. As a result i learned the importance of having multiple types on my team for every situation and honestly made the game a lot easier from that point on.
TheDaringstDo Brock did a horrible job about teaching type matchups. You could just sweep his entire team with ember as his stone pokemon have no special defense.
ingenjannik Yes because sweeping rock types of equal level with a garbage tier move when you have no special attack either is better than leveling twice more so you could one shot them with a better move.
TheDaringstDo If it's stupid and it works, it isn't stupid. When you can defeat a gym leader without grinding, why would you grind? I don't quite understand your objection.
Never said it was stupid lol those are you own words bud, my objection was "leveling twice more so you could one shot them with a better move." is in my opinion a better way of doing it. idk what kind of Charmander you're using but last time i checked one ember isn't enough to OHKO a level 14 Onix that can easily one shot a Charmander of the same level with a rock tomb, and besides by the the time you're a high enough level to with stand one hit so you can use another ember and MAYBE get him down to half HP at best, you would already have evolved and have metal claw.
I was just skimming through the list of gym leaders, and wrote down the memorable ones to me. They are: Koga, Morty, Winona, Maylene, Skyla, Iris, Korrina, Clemont. I'll just quick list the reasoning for them all. Koga: People always say Whitney's Miltank was the most difficult Pokemon. For me, it was Koga's Muk. I hit it a bunch, but IT KEPT MINIMIZING OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. It took SO MANY tries that took SO LONG each try. I hated that pile of sludge. Morty: I used to always pick grass starters. As I did on my Soul Silver game. I got to Morty, and could NOT beat him for the life of me. Not long after I got there, I lost it somewhere on a trip, so I never got to beat the game. I was sad :/ Winona: The last part of her puzzle, the very last thing you had to turn, it screwed me over SO BAD. I could not figure it out for a very very long time, it was infuriating. Maylene: Lucario is pretty much my favorite Pokemon. It's mega's shiny is my favorite shiny, and I really like it as a Pokemon. Whenever I think of Lucario, I think of Maylene. That's about it. Skyla: I watch someone known as OldManWillakers (or PKMNRob, or Rurikar22, or BruceWillakers, or... well he has a bajillion names so I'll stop there) and my favorite run he's done of Blaze Black 2 nuzlocking, the first one he finished, had a pretty much sweep to Skyla. Four died, and two of my three favorites survived. My third favorite who died was a steelix, known as Reggie, who died by just a few HP. The reason he died, is because he had a -Sp. Def nature. He would've lived with anything besides -Sp. Def and -Def. I was veeeeeery sad. Iris: I liked her character. Playing through White 2, I was really surprised to see her as a champion! I liked how she showed up as a gym leader before, and how you see her here and there at places besides the gym and the E4. Korrina: I like roller skates. I like how she has Lucario. That's about it. Clemont: I was always good at all types of Pokemon puzzles. His was the first I lost at. The panpour/pansear/pansage part, while being a total BS puzzle, was fun to guess and lose at. Whew that was a long comment to write.
and i agree with elesa. when i played bw2 for the first time, i was shocked at how authentic that scene with bianca and her dad was, when elesa intervened.
Gen 5 really did have a lot of character development with Gym leaders and I think that actually is one of the reasons why it is in my top 3 games. Also I would like to see a top 10 Evil Trainers in game like N, Giovanni, etc.
Icy Angels Okay, some of the comments here have convinced me that all of us are gender blind. People are debating what Bugsy is, someone thought Fantana was a drag queen, and another person thought the captain was Roxie's mom.
6:25 "I wonder what stopped him" I dunno, but I remember one of the citizens saying that the project was abandoned because it was going to ruin the habitat for many Pokémon if they were to build New Mauville, so the project was abandoned.
Speaking of New Mauville, would you be interested in making a video about location "teases" in the game? By that I mean areas that seem like they'd be accessible in appearance or by what the NPCs say but aren't, like the blocked stairway in New Mauville, rumored secret passage in Mr. Fuji's memorial house, Kalos Power plants, area behind Bill's house, etc,
Jasmine is my favorite! Aside from the "cute" design, she's a very caring person who doesn't want to battle you until you help her aid a sick Ampharos back to health. Once you do she is the first gym leader of the series to use the new typing Steel. When I first battled her I beat her Magnemite which was no easy task, but then she sent out Steelix, a terrifying yet awesome looking Pokemon I had never seen before and soon after lost. It took a while to beat her but once I did I felt so accomplished as a kid :) that's why she's my favorite x)
Im sort of surprised Norman didnt make it somewhere on the list. First time we ever hear of a Father figure in the protagonists life and ORAS did a great job of making him feel human in the post game material.
Blue has been my favorite gym leader since gen 2. Former champion, varied team, and you get to see how much he's matured since gen 1. He's one of the few gym leaders that I felt like I knew since we saw him so often in RBY.
(At the intro) Tamashii says every region has thier own set of gym leaders. I think of Pokémon RBY and GS. I'm probably wrong though but those games shared ALOT
One of my favorite gym leaders was always Norman. He's the reason that your family moves to Hoenn in the first place and he's also the first gym leader you meet in generation 3. He tells you that you're not strong enough to beat him yet and to come back once you've earned 4 badges, there's just something so satisfying about coming back and beating him to get your fifth badge. Not to mention the fact that he's your father, which I believe marks the first canonical time that you meet your father in a Pokemon game which is just really cool.
Elesa was one of my favourite Gym Leaders too! You explained why so eloquently!! That Emolga and its volt switch gave me Hell, a very sparky and switch Hell.
My personal favorite gym leader was Sabrina (aka Natsume), with her awesome redesign, showing her character development going from conservatively dressed while staying indoors, to a casual outfit and venturing outside the gym on the dock of S.S. Aqua--a change that leads her on the path of stardom as an actress in Black 2/White 2.
One if my favorites is Giovanni! As a kid I had no idea he was the gym leader till I got to the last gym. He was also super hard to defeat. I always saved right before I battled him.
My favorite gym leader is Watson I love how he is older but not really serious or crotchety like many old man cliches He is energetic and fun loving but knowledgeable and responsible as well which is the vibe I get from him
Personally, my favourite gym leader is Winona. I just love her town, gym design, character design and pokemon. Shame she is never considered very important. I think I just like flying pokemon, because I would probably put Falkner and Skyla somewhere on my list.
#4: Character who helps you save a city and gives you one of the most important items in the game #2: Character who helps develop 3 characters at once #1 Character with a cute design I CALL SHENANIGANS!
My top favourite leaders are either Giovanni or Flannery. Giovanni I love because one, he's basically a Mob boss and two, he's just so interesting. You meet him early-ish in the game and it's a total surprise to see that he is the gym leader of viridian. And it's satisfying and also saddening in a way when you beat him for the last time and solidly admits defeat... And I found it even sadder in Johto when you fight him in in that cave under the waterfall. When you beat him there, there is a small sound after he walks out and I thought it was his splash after through himself into the water, fed up loss after loss. As for Flannery, I found her sweet and relatable, as she doen't know how she should act with her new responsibilities of becoming the gym leader. And after you beat her, opens up and spills her worries.
Tamashi, I have a story. So I recently started following you, it was really like 2 weeks ago I discovered that you are a poketuber and that you existed And while watching your favorite Pokemon form every type video I remembered about a dream I had about with you in it a year ago cuz I recognized you. You and I were casual friends hanging out and all of a sudden a Beauty Trainer showed up trying to get me to go out with her and that I should be her wife etc etc she attempted to attack you but I stepped in challenged her to a battle and if I won she'd leave if she did I'd go with her. I beat her with my Charizard and she went her way, that started to stirrup emotions between us and eventually we dated, we got married and live our life in the Pokemon world. So yeah... Legit story. So far I love what you're doing, keep it up and make the Pokemon world proud. Don't think I'm some old or young creep, haha from what I can tell I should be your age. ^__^
Wattson is my favourite. He's so fun loving and an adorable old man, especially in the manga, where he just gives out gym badges to anyone who tried to battle him, even if they don't win. Also he used my favourite Pokemon, Manectric, in RSE. I was sad that he didn't use it in ORAS. But he's just so adorable. Also props to Cheren for going from an annoying dorky little boy to a smart dressed hot piece of ass.
I've always thought Sabrina was my favorite gym leader, reasons being in gen 1 red and blue days, it seemed impossible sometimes to take out her alakazam! One psychic from that thing and you were done! As well as her power in gen 1, they really were able to make quite a creepy anime episode out of her! Sabrina will always be my top gym leader!
First time i played R/S Wattson was very hard, but my favourite is Sabrina from Yellow, her sprite is really cool, her pokemon adventures appearance is very bad ass, i like the fact shes a psychic kid and her team was VERY op back at the day, specially because no dark types existed, ghost types were weak to psychic and bug types used to be very weak. The fact that she had a Alakazam using psybeam was pretty reckless
I dont think I've struggled with much of any of the gym leaders. The main gym leader that really challenged me and actually forced me to start thinking about status moves was Clay. So he makes it pretty far up on my list because of the challenge and he also had a good part in the story too.
Thing that makes me chuckle about Roxxane is that I actually have a sister named Roxanne. Me and her had a bit of a laugh when I first played through gen 3, and even when I fought Roxxane again in Omega Ruby.
I've been thinking recently and I think my favorite character in the franchise is Blue, and he is a gym leader in the Johto games. Seeing him basically flip a 180 and becoming really chill in gen 2 is great to see. Also, he uses a larger selection of pokemon across all the games than maybe anyone else. Lastly, how badass was it that pokemon was meta enough to make the rival the champion the very first time around? If you think about it, pokemon has been running in circles around itself for decades in a lot of ways trying to deal with the so many things (though not all) that they absolutely nailed in right off of the bat in Kanto.
I must admit, of all the youtubers air know, Tamashiihiroka has to be the most productive. Not only is she a youtuber she also attends college. I imagine she may be spending her money on paying for college, or her appartment. What a hard working young adult!
Emerald was my first game so without a doubt i would have to give my number one spot to your father. Having a parent be the gym leader you had to overcome was so interesting
Dat Flannery tease. I personally like Flannery alot because she's trying to carry on her grandfathers legacy and make him proud and making your family proud of you is something very relatable. Also because she is a red head.
Tate and Liza showing off Double Battles when Gen 3 introduced them was definitely a great bit of game design. It's a shame that when they introduced Triple and Rotation Battles they didn't have the first Gym having three different Gym Leaders so they could show those off...
Wanderer Eris I felt like, in the first Black and White games, Cilan, Crest, and Chili could have easily been that example or they could offer a rematch later on in the game.
***** That was kinda what I was poking at. XD Don't get me wrong, their gimmick was pretty cool and I completely didn't expect it, but they introduced two new battle types and had three Gym Leaders all lined up. When I heard about Black 2 and White 2 I expected a Triple/Rotation Gym depending on version but it wasn't in those games either. Game Freak dropped the ball in my opinion, but at least what we got instead was good.
Favorite gym leader? Huh. I gotta think about this a bit. Misty is an easy choice, because she was one of my first video game crushes after Tifa and Garnet of FF7 and 9 respectively, and her Starmie could obliterate my entire team even if I had type advantage. Drayden has that amazing beard, and as one who seeks to emulate the facial follicles of Guan Yu and the physical fitness of one who actually cares about his health he makes an enticing option as well. Giovanni is also a strong contender, simply because he's built up pretty well within the story and once you beat him as a gym leader he decides that maybe he should change his ways shows that he has more potential for growth as a character than many of his contemporaries. This question requires more thought, I think.
The gen. 5 gym leaders really stood out from the ones from earlier generations. Not only do they have fleshed-out personalities, the majority of them actually have jobs besides being gym leaders! Some of my favorites include Roxie, Marlon, Chili, Cress, and Cilan, and Elesa.
My favorite Gym Leaders from each generation: (Just a heads-up, I really like Electric-types haha.) Kanto: Giovanni/Lt. Surge. Johto: Morty/Chuck. Hoenn: Norman/Wattson. Sinnoh: Volkner. Unova: Burgh/Skyla. Kalos: Clemont (Because honestly, he's the only one I remember.)
Mine's a tie between Skyla and Flannery because they both truly show what type of Pokemon they got. And Skyla's gym is near an airport while Flannery's is around a volcano and near a hot spring. Fun fact: Skyla's Jap. voice actress is also the one who did Rin Tosaka in the Fate/ series.
Gardenia was the gym leader I have always remembered. My first Pokémon game was Platinum, and having picked Piplup as my starter, my child ass was kicked by her grass types multiple times. For some reason, (probably because fire types are hard to find early game), I decided to train the living hell out of my Piplup to finally beat her. It was such a difficulty spike for me, since whatever the first gym is in that game was an absolute breeze. Her design is very appealing too. I loved her outfit and her hair. It was very natural but not that fantasy elven sort of natural that's all in your face. The relation to her type preference in her design was subdued and I liked it more than the outrageous obviously created based on the types gym leaders I saw in later games.
I managed to beat Watson with a lvl 17 shroomish by spamming flash until it was impossible for him to touch me. Granted, I wouldn't have needed to do that if I had checked my team after I turned the game on and saw that it was my last pokemon, but it led to a huge moment of "Ha Ha! Fuck You Watson!"......I've been chasing that high ever since...
Maylene is my favorite gym leader, but that's due entirely to her role in the anime. I can relate to feeling like a failure, and I love how Dawn and Ash help get her back up on her feet. Lucario is also one of my favorite Pokemon, so that's another point in Maylene's favor.
The X and Y gym leaders were a giant step back from the gen v leaders. I really hope they get personality in the next games, because the only one that remotely had a memorable personality was Clemont.
Tate and Liza will always be one of my favorites. However Brycen has become a recent favorite of mine due to the fact that he kind of reminds me of one of my favorite anime characters, Mitsui from Slam Dunk. He was an actor, got injured, became a gym leader, then went back to acting after some time. This is very similar to Mitsui's character arc except basketball and going into delinquency was replaced with acting and becoming a gym leader.
I'm glad Roxie ranked on your list! She's my favourite, but for similar reasons as to why Roxanne is yours. I just think Roxie looks super cool. Back story is a bonus. :D
I was so happy to see Bugsy and Fantina on this list, because I loved them both for the exact same reasons you did, especially Bugsy's androgyny. That said, I will always have a special place in my heart for Erika and her gym. She wasn't the most intriguing of characters, but she had an effect on my life that I didn't realize until years later. When I was a kid, all of my pokemon friends "joined" whichever gym was their favorite type or whichever gym would have housed their favorite pokemon. I was often teased for the fact that I wanted to be in Erika's gym because all of my favorites at the time were grass types, despite being a boy and Erika's gym being exclusively for women. I was even teased for my absolute favorite pokemon - Vileplume - being a giant flower, which of course Middle School boys felt was "too feminine" and singled me out. I mostly just ignored them though; I made up stories and everything about my character "working" for Erika's gym, including the first of many stories about a fictional, female version of myself. Eventually, when I got a little older, I realized that I'm a transwoman and always have been, which explains why I've always felt so different. I live as a woman now whenever possible, and it was Erika and her gym that very first opened my eyes to that possibility and got me questioning gender rolls and stereotypes in my own life. Plus, for me, it brought an all new meaning to the "rainbow" badge.
minor error with wattson: in the remakes it DOES EXPLAIN why Wattson decided not to expand into New mauville: it would have disturbed nearby pokemon. If you want to know where, talk to the woman in his apartment.
As the first gym of the game you have very little pokemon to choose from especially since usually in most pokemon games they don't let you leave the first gym city before completion.
Im a pretty experienced pokemon trainer, but the first time i battles elisa's emolga in Black 2... holy hell. I actually got defeated, and it took me a couple tries to beat her. In the end she knocked out all my pokemon but one, and my transfered Duskull got the win for me. So she's a memorable gym leader in my book.
Either Erika, Jasmine, or Byron have to be my favorite. Erika was a grass gym leader, which is my favorite type. When I was playing Crystal, I remember her having a Bellossom! Jasmine has a very nice and simple design that's so pretty. She also has a Steelix...a freaking Steelix! Byron is just a cool guy. He was a really cool gym leader and I remember I got lost the first time I was in his gym.
The New Mauville project was shut down because it became a ground for electric-type pokemon! It's like how in gen 4 you have that cave they stopped drilling through because it disturbed pokemon.
It's funny, I was just thinking of asking for you to do your top 10 favorite gym leaders. Anyways, good list. A lot of choices I didn't really expect but you gave good reasons for each. Mind taking things a step further and naming your top 10 elite four/champions?
Favourite Gym Leaders from each region: Kanto: Erika (though I love Janine too) Johto: (I was GONNA say Falkner or Morty because HOTTIES but) Clair Hoenn: Winona based on appearances, but Flannery based on personality (She's PERFECT as a fire leader!) Sinnoh: this one was hard, as I love Candice, Volkner and Maylene sooooo much, but I choose Candice. She's got a great personality and I was glad that she wasn't some frosty old man. Unova: I literally couldn't chose! I love Skyla's design, but Lenora's personality. (in B2/W2 my favourite is Marlon) Kalos:a tie between Valerie and Ramos!
Elegant, Graceful, Beautiful, Calm, she just has this aura of etherealness to her. Like she's something other than human. Her name even means Calm in Japanese! She also seems older than the other female Gym Leaders (except Lenora) She seems like the type to enjoy contests because they are all about elegance and such.
