Greetings Junglers, Evan here, also known as Haxford! This article is the first of a series called Gym Leader Showdown. In this series I’ll name the different Gym Leaders we’ve met during our Pokémon journey, along with some basic info on them. At the end of each article there will be a poll, which will determine which Gym Leader is the very best of each region. After that, all the winning Gym Leaders will battle against each other to see what Gym Leader is the top favorite. Let’s start!
Brock
- Gym Leader 1
- Rock
- Geodude and Onix
- Pewter City
- Boulder Badge
- Bide (Gen 1), Rock Tomb (Gen 3), Rock Slide (Gen 4)
- Name Inspiration: Rock
- Trivia: Brock’s Pokémon don’t know any Rock-type moves in Gen 1.
Misty
- Gym Leader 2
- Water
- Staryu and Starmie
- Cerulean City
- Cascade Badge
- Bubblebeam (Gen 1), Water Pulse (Gen 3 and 4)
- Name Inspiration: Mist
- Trivia: Misty is the only female Water-type specialist.
Lt. Surge
- Gym Leader 3
- Electric
- Voltorb, Pikachu and Raichu
- Vermillion City
- Thunder Badge
- Thunderbolt (Gen 1), Shockwave (Gen 3 and 4)
- Name Inspiration: Electrical surge
- Trivia: Lt. Surge is probably from Unova since it’s based on the USA.
Erika
- Gym Leader 4
- Grass
- Victreebel, Tangela and Vileplume
- Celadon City
- Rainbow Badge
- Mega Drain (Gen 1), Giga Drain (Gen 3 and 4)
- Name Inspiration: Erica genus, a plant
- Trivia: Erika is the only Kanto Gym Leader with the same Japanese as English name.
Koga
- Gym Leader 5 (Gen 1 and 3)
- Poison
- Koffing, Muk, Koffing and Weezing
- Fuchsia City
- Soul Badge
- Toxic (Gen 1 and 3)
- Name Inspiration: Koga-ryu, a school of ninjutsu
- Trivia: Koga is also an Elite Four-member in Johto.
Janine
- Gym Leader 5 (Gen 2 and 4)
- Poison
- Crobat, Weezing, Weezing, Ariados, Venomoth
- Fuchsia City
- Soul Badge
- Toxic (Gen 2) or Poison Jab (Gen 4)
- Name Inspiration: Ninja
- Trivia: Janine is the only Gym Leader who has not appeared in the anime.
Sabrina
- Gym Leader 6
- Psychic
- Kadabra, Mr. Mime, Venomoth and Alakazam
- Saffron City
- Marsh Badge
- Psywave (Gen 1), Calm Mind (Gen 3), Skill Swap (Gen 4)
- Name Inspiration: Brain, or the teenage witch
- Trivia: Sabrina is the only Gym Leader in Gen 1 that uses a Pokémon not of her specialized type.
Blaine
- Gym Leader 7
- Fire
- Growlithe, Ponyta, Arcanine and Rapidash
- Cinnabar Island
- Volcano Badge
- Fire Blast (Gen 1 and 3), Overheat (Gen 4)
- Name Inspiration: Blaze and flame
- Trivia: Blaine is the only Gym Leader whose Gym is in two different locations.
Giovanni
- Gym Leader 8 (Gen 1 and 3)
- Ground-type
- Rhyhorn, Dugtrio, Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon
- Viridian City
- Earth Badge
- Fissure (Gen 1), Earthquake (Gen 3)
- Name Inspiration: Geo (Giovanni also means gift from God)
- Trivia: Giovanni is the only Gym Leader that’s also the leader of a criminal organization.
Blue
- Gym Leader 8 (Gen 2 and 4)
- No type specialization
- Pidgeot, Alakazam, Rhydon, Gyarados, Exeggutor and Arcanine
- Viridian City
- Earth Badge
- Trick Room (Gen 4)
- Name Inspiration: After the game
- Trivia: Blue is the only Gym Leader who uses a full team of six Pokémon.
[poll id=”99″]
X — EVAN