Pokémon has had a lot of tough trainers to overcome throughout its long history, and while we all remember the likes of Cynthia, Miltank-wielding Whitney, and Scarlet & Violet’s Larry, they can’t all be fantastic. Gym Leaders vary greatly in terms of quality and power throughout each game, but we’ve never been able to nail down which one is categorically the worst in the series.
That was until YouTuber SmithPlays Pokémon decided to get some answers (thanks GamesRadar), as they recently uploaded a video in which they simulated over 1 million battles between 152 Gym Leaders, Elite Four members, Champions, and Rivals to scientifically determine who is the very best like no one ever was, and who is the very worst.
To determine the outcome, SmithPlays Pokémon pitted each trainer against each other a total of 100 times, recording the outcome to see how many of their combined 15,000 battles they win. Each trainer goes into battle with their standard team at the level their ‘mons are at when the player faces them. If you’re a Johto fan, you might want to look away now.
Coming in at dead last is Falkner, the first Gym Leader you encounter in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. It’s not that much of a surprise considering he comes at you with a Pidgey, but the pathetic performance that he displays during this whole experiment is truly impressive. After 15,000 battles, Falkner managed to win only five of them, with Bug Gym Leader Viola from Pokémon X & Y coming in at second worst in the entire series with 214 wins.
In fact, pretty much every Johto trainer involved in this experiment besides Red performed well below average, as Lance is the worst-ranked Champion, and Gym Leader Morty only managed to rank at 135 despite being the fourth Gym Leader of Gen 2.
SmithPlays Pokémon’s experiment also managed to scientifically determine which trainer is the best in the series, and while I won’t reveal it here to avoid spoiling the video for you, I will reveal that it isn’t Cynthia. Not even her superpowered endgame team could earn her top spot, and the video contains a bunch of similarly interesting surprises that you should go check out for yourself.
It’s also possible that SmithPlays Pokémon’s list could need altering with the recent release of Pokémon Scarlet & Violet’s Indigo Disk expansion, which adds a bunch of powerful trainers for your squad to contend with, along with a new and improved Kieran who’s itching for some revenge after the events of The Hidden Treasure in Area Zero.
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