The top 5 greatest Pokémon gym leaders of all time

Here are the top 5 greatest Pokémon gym leaders of all time, from both the series and the games.

So, you want to become the Pokémon Champion? To boast that title, you, as a Pokémon Trainer, must be declared the victor of many, many battles. This means battling many Pokémon gym leaders gaining badges.

Pokémon Gym Leaders aren’t your average, everyday trainers. Some specialize in certain types of Pokémon. Some have been appointed to certain gyms by the Pokémon League. Others have built their gyms from the ground up.

1. Whitney

Whitney is the Gym Leader of Goldenrod Gym which is home of the Plain Badge. She specializes in Normal Type Pokémon and is seen in both the series and multiple games. Whitney is one of the most skilled gym leaders of all time. Even with only two Pokemon, Clefairy and Miltank, she uses great strategy focusing on Miltank’s Rollout and Clefairy’s Metronome. It also helps that Whitney has a strong affection for all Pokémon. This coincides with her sweet, yet klutzy personality.

2. Blue (Gary Oak)

Blue is the rival character of the player in the video games, but is also known as Gary Oak in the Anime Series. Blue (or Gary) is known for being a pompous jerk and a little rough around the edges, but he just wants to become the greatest Pokémon trainer. Blue is the Gym Leader of the Viridian Gym, home of the Earth Badge. He takes over the gym after Giovanni’s departure. Blue specializes in various types of high-level Pokémon allowing him to train or fully evolve his team of six, which includes an Alakazam, a Ninetales, and a Pidgeot.

3. Sabrina

Sabrina is the leader of the Saffron Gym, home to the marsh badge. Sabrina is a formidable gym leader thanks to her Psychic abilities and her specialization in Psychic-type Pokémon. Sabrina is a character in both the games and the anime series with unbelievable teleportation, telekinetic, and transmutation abilities (to name a few). Her telepathic connection to her Kadabra allows her to use a psychic link to train her Pokémon. Sabrina ended up using her status as a gym leader to create a training school for practicing psychics.

4. Morty

Morty, the leader of the Ecruteak Gym and home of the Fog Badge, is a strategic, knowledgeable, and calm gym leader. He’s one of the best Pokémon gym leaders in both the series and the games. His strategies involve disabling opponents by using fright, or confusion.  Morty is gifted with clairvoyant abilities that allow him to communicate with his Pokemon. Providing classes on how-to train ghost-type Pokémon, Morty is all about the lessons that can be gained from Pokémon battles and he allows people to watch his Gengar in action.

5. Brock

Brock is the gym leader of the Pewter City Gym, home of the Boulder Badge. Brock specializes in rock type Pokémon and uses his Onix to knock the socks off of his opponents. He uses his rock type Pokémon well and uses his gym (home field) to his advantage. Generally known from the anime series, Brock is also seen in multiple video game editions. He dreams of becoming a Pokémon breeder and takes the chance to leave his gym (and his siblings), upon the return of his father. Brock has a very flirty personality, constantly pining after Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. 

The gym leaders on this list are not only powerful, skilled, and durable in battle, but they are motivated to bettering themselves and the trainers they encounter. That’s why they have made the list of the top five greatest Pokémon gym leaders of all time.