The Pokémon franchise has been straying a little from its familiar formula lately. Only a little, granted, but changes like the removal of HMs and rejigged gyms (Alola’s Island Trials and Galar’s very different gym challenges) have been welcomed by fans. Pokémon Sword and Shield players, however, were totally unsurprised to find that there was a new series of Gym Badges to grab and a new Champion to overthrow.
The alleged ‘unbeatable’ Champion of Galar is Leon, Hop’s elder brother. He’s a character with an impressive resume and heroic nature, but is he really a better Champion than Lance? Let’s take a look!
10 Leon: He Inspires New Trainers
Of course, an important part of the whole Champion thing is feeling totally superior. You are, after all, the greatest and most powerful trainer in a given region, and that’s got to be one heck of an ego-stroking good time.
True enough, the very first time we meet him, he’s showboating and posing for the crowd. In the next breath, however, he’s encouraging his fans to develop their skills as battlers, wanting to prove that Galar’s trainers are the best in the world. He understands that his reign won’t last forever and wants to inspire budding Pokémon Trainers to be the very best that can be. That’s quite a message to deliver the very first time the player character meets him.
9 Lance: He’s A True Pokémon Icon
As magnificent as Leon’s long, flowing hair and cape might be, there’s just no getting around the fact that he’s an absolute newbie to the Pokémon series. Lance, meanwhile, has been the rounds for decades.
Like a fine meme, it takes years for something truly great to mature and earn its place in history. Lance’s iconic design, team, and dialogue about almost invincible Dragon-types has stood the test of time, but will Leon? We’ll have to see how things pan out.
8 Leon: His Pokémon Can Do New, Amazing Things
Those climactic battles with Lance in Gen I and II had spectacle, for sure. They were as dramatic as the humble Game Boy hardware could muster. Naturally, though, technology has seen gigantic leaps forward since the late 90s, and Leon’s Champion battle is just pure theatrics.
When you finally have him on the ropes and his Charizard’s Gigantamax form emerges, it’s like actually watching a high-stakes Pokémon battle in real life. You can just feel the electricity and excitement of the poorly animated NPCs in the crowd. It’s like nothing we could have imagined back in Lance’s time.
7 Lance: His Pokémon Can Do Straight-Up Impossible, Cheaty Things
So, yes. A Charizard that suddenly grows to the size of the Chrysler Building and wants to crush your hopes, dreams and feeble human human body into tenderized meat is a spectacle, there’s no denying that. Dynamax and Gigantamax are entirely normal within the context of Sword and Shield, though.
Lance, meanwhile, went one better, using Pokémon with moves that they just plain can’t learn. Old-school fans will remember the famous Barrier Dragonite he used, back in his tenure as an Elite 4 member. Much later, an event Dragonite was released with the move as an homage to Lance, proving what a beloved series icon he really is.
6 Leon: He Puts The Region First
Now, nobody’s saying that Lance didn’t perform his share of heroism during his time in the Elite 4/as Champion. That’s all part of the Champion code, after all, as we see several times during the course of the first two Generations of games. For our money, though, Leon embodies that noble spirit a little better.
During the Dynamax attack in the latter stages of the story, he fearlessly charges down that tunnel into combat against who the heck knows what. The young man also stands up against Chairman Rose and his plans, a worthy Champion in every sense.
5 Lance: Thwarts Not One But Three Evil Teams
Leon’s stand against Galar’s threats is utterly admirable, but there’s one thing he never had to contend with: a genuine Evil Team™. Team Yell are… well, more of a harmless Marnie fan club/silly punk reference than anything else. They’re not exactly the dastardly-yet-ultimately-useless-and-bumbling Team Rocket, are they?
Over in the anime, though, Lance has thrown down with not only Team Rocket, but Team Magma and Team Aqua as well. Naturally, our be-caped hero bested all three of them. Considering how useless everybody but the protagonist themselves tend to be against these villains, these are super impressive accomplishments.
4 Leon: He Trained Up The Starter Nobody Wanted
In the beginning of Sword and Shield, the player and Hop pick their starters, as per Pokémon tradition. Leon, who offered them their Pokémon, promises to take good care of the remaining one. You might well have predicted that Leon’s new Scorbunny/Sobble/Grookey would appear in his team when you face him much later. If so, props to you, because it does.
It’s quite a touching moment to see the fully-evolved form of the Pokémon hit the battlefield, and it also lends some much-needed variety to Leon’s team (something ‘Three Dragonites because why the heck not’ Lance couldn’t always boast).
3 Lance: He Appreciates Pokémon That Definitely Deserve To Be Dragon-Types
Now, we can appreciate Flappel and Appletun, we really can. It’s just… when a tiny 1’04” apple-creature gets official Dragon status and a mighty, draconic sea creature (and destroyer of hopes, dreams and earthly souls) like Gyarados doesn’t, something’s probably gone just a little bit wrong there.
This sad reality isn’t lost on the self-proclaimed Dragon master, though. Lance understands that Charizard and Gyarados (and Aerodactyl, to a lesser extent) absolutely deserve to be Dragons, and they’re darn well going to be on his team. That’s Champion-level thinking right there.
2 Leon: He Has The Ultimate ‘Dragon’ On His Team
So, yes. It’s long been stated that Charizard is a worthy candidate for Dragon typing. It would finally gain that honor as Mega Charizard X, but Mega Evolutions are old news now.
If regular Charizard deserves to be a Dragon, then it’s an absolute travesty that Gigantamax Charizard isn’t one. Just look at this magnificent beast. Just imagine Lance’s envy that Leon gets to command such a reptilian powerhouse.
1 Lance: His Rematch Team Is Super, Super Scary
As we know, the main stories of the Pokémon games don’t tend to be especially taxing. As long as you don’t stubbornly avoid absolutely every battle you can, you should be more than on par with your opponents (especially with the EXP Share mechanics of the more recent games).
Players looking for more of a challenge have been able to rematch tough opponents throughout the series. Lance’s rematch team in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver really showed what he was capable of at full strength. Salamence, Dragonite, Charizard, Altaria, Garchomp and Gyarados? Most of which were at level 70+? That’s a stacked team if ever we saw one. Sure, you can run through most of it with a powerful Ice-type, but we won’t put a downer on things by pointing that out.
NEXT: The 10 Best Ice Pokémon
