Pokémon: Ranking Each Of The Sinnoh Gym Leaders Based On Their Difficulty

Generation IV introduced the Sinnoh region to the world of Pokémon. With this new landscape came a new story, characters, and Pocket Monsters. While many Pokémon titles have a reputation for being relatively easy to complete, these games are on the more challenging side.

One of the biggest reasons for this difficulty is the inclusion of the Gym Leaders of the Sinnoh region. Some are more challenging than others, relative to their place in the plot, but all test the trainers and make them work hard for their victories. With the release of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, their team members received updates, making their battles even more difficult. (Note: Only reflects teams from initial playthroughs of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are represented, not those from rematches.)

8 Roark

Among the other first Gym Leaders in the Pokémon series, Roark is one of the more challenging because he has three team members, while most of the others only have two. However, compared alongside his fellow Sinnoh Gym Leaders, Roark presents an easier battle to the trainer. This is understandable because he is the first the player will face, and thus new players can learn the Gym system without an immense amount of difficulty.

He uses a level 12 Geodude, a level 12 Onix, and a level 14 Cranidos, the last of which is the most intimidating. Its evolution, Rampardos, is one of the most powerful Pokémon in the game, and Cranidos itself is also not terrible. It has an incredibly high Attack stat for this point in the games, but it is also defensively frail. If trainers have more than one team member, as well as attacks that Cranidos does not resist, they should not have much trouble defeating Roark.

7 Byron

Byron may not have been surprised that his son Roark lost to the player, but he is not much harder to defeat, relative to his place in the plot. Specializing in Steel-types, Byron has a level 36 Bronzor, level 36 Steelix, and level 39 Bastiodon.

Both his Steelix and Bastiodon have Sturdy as their Abilities, so the player cannot take them out in one hit, but neither has a high enough Attack or Special Attack to make a massive difference in the battle. Furthermore, though his Bronzor has Levitate, making it immune to Ground-type attacks, other strikes can still knock it out with relative ease because it is not bulky enough at this point in the games to withstand extensive damage.

6 Gardenia

Gardenia is the second Gym Leader a trainer will face on their journey, and the beginning of the battle can be relatively easy, with her using a level 19 Cherubi and a level 19 Turtwig. However, she becomes a bit more challenging with her ace Pokémon.

Roserade, which is one of the best evolutions added in a later Pokémon generation, can be an intimidating foe, especially if a trainer’s team members are all unevolved. Her ace is level 22, and though it does not have excellent coverage attacks to deal with those super-effective against it, Roserade can be dangerous if a trainer is unprepared.

5 Candice

Candice’s Pokémon Platinum team is known for being one of the more difficult, but her Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl team is more reflective of her original Sinnoh team composition, which is not as viable. She uses a level 38 Snover, level 38 Sneasel, level 40 Medicham, and level 42 Abomasnow.

While her Medicham adds another pair of types that trainers must prepare for, it is not incredibly difficult to deal with because of its lackluster stats. The rest of her team is easy enough to take down as well, with Snover and Abomasnow both having seven type weaknesses and Sneasel having six.

4 Maylene

Specializing in Fighting-types, Maylene’s team relies on striking quickly and effectively, but none of them can defend particularly well. At this point in the games, her level 27 Meditite cannot compete well, so it presents few problems.

Her level 27 Machoke is tougher and has a high Attack stat, which can gain a boost from its Expert Belt, which buffs super-effective attacks. If the trainer has a Pokémon that resists Machoke’s attacks, though, the Expert Belt is ineffective. Finally, though her level 30 Lucario is one of the best glass cannons in the Pokémon franchise, it can be defeated relatively easily because of its defensive stats, as long as the trainer’s team member can survive a hit.

3 Crasher Wake

Crasher Wake’s team is composed entirely of fully evolved, relatively powerful Pokémon. He leads with a level 27 Gyarados, one of the strongest Pokémon from the Kanto region. It also holds a Wide Lens, increasing its accuracy. Though it has the Water-type attack Brine to deal with Rock-types, it has no options for Electric-types, which is its worse weakness.

His level 27 Quagsire is similar, having no attacks to deal with Grass-types, its only weakness. His ace, a level 30 Floatzel, does have an option for Grass-types in the form of Ice Fang, and its Speed and high Attack stat help it to be a solid attacker. All in all, Crasher Wake’s team is strong but runs into a variety of problems.

2 Fantina

The Gym Leader of Hearthome City, Fantina, specializes in battling with Ghost-type Pokémon. Her lead, a level 32 Drifblim, can be frustrating to face because of its access to Strength Sap, which lowers its opponent’s Attack stat and heals the user. This becomes an issue because both of her subsequent team members are weaker to Physical attacks than Special ones, so this reduction levels the playing field a bit in their favor if trainers do not plan on switching a different team member in.

Drifblim can also burn the trainer’s Pokémon with Will-O-Wisp and then do increased damage with Hex. Her level 34 Gengar can also present a threat because of its high Special Attack, Speed, and access to Dazzling Gleam, which covers its Dark-type weakness. Her level 36 Mismagius also has access to Dazzling Gleam, making the battle with Fantina a complex one.

1 Volkner

Volkner is the most challenging Gym Leader in Sinnoh to prepare for. While he technically specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, and all of his team members have at least one Electric-type attack, only two of his four Pokémon are of this typing. Along with his level 46 Raichu and level 49 Luxray, he has a level 47 Ambipom, a Normal-type, and level 47 Octillery, a Water-type.

Additionally, his Raichu has Surf, and his Luxray has Ice Fang, so both have attacks to deal with the Ground-types that would seek to do super-effective damage against them. Players may need to bring several types to deal with Volkner, preparing them for the upcoming Elite Four challenge.