Your favorite Champion?

[Epic Spheal]

To be honest, the champions are actually probably my favorite trainer class of the games

My number one is Leon. He's incredibly handsome, cocky in an endearing way, I like how they gave him flaws like questionable fashionable sense and terrible directions (which does not make him dumb guys, seriously a lot of people typically viewed as smart are just as pants with directions as Leon is). His battle was the hypest battle I've had in Pokemon and the only champion I ever lost to. Plus having a Male POC character be champion (to complement Iris being female POC rep) is just amazing. I'm glad to see he's doing well in the polls since I know he's a bit of a base-breaking character.

Cynthia would be my number two. What made me like her was the DP anime (I hated the DP games but the anime I loved). I liked how involved she was with Ash and Co. In game though, I love her themes (I love pianos so no surprised) and her outfits are always on point and her in game team is cool. She absolutely did not disappoint being the first female champion.

Mustard is my number three. He is just a cool old man with a lot of hidden depths. His battles were fun, I love his music and I can't wait to the Galarian stars tournament to see his dynamic with his Mentee Leon (especially if we can put them together as a team)

Honorable mention goes to Kukui. There was something just really cool about the "champion" battle of SuMo being against the region's professor to decide the first ever champion was really nice.

 

[Gengarzilla]

I would actually say Alder, because he's involved within the actual story of the games much more than than the average Champion. In retrospect I think revealing him as Champion on the spot was a good move, it makes his character and what he says stand out much more than the random blonde woman who seemed to be somehow important for undisclosed reasons.

Plus, his overall personality. I care a ton more about this than how powerful an NPC's team is; it's why I rank Crasher Wake as my favourite Gym Leader. I'd totally love to go on a camping trip with Alder.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Mine is Iris, because I think the concept of a little girl in a frilly princess dress commanding an army of ferocious draconic beasts is adorable and hilarious. It also helps that Iris's Champion Team has several Pokémon who are high on my favorites list. Kid's got good taste.

 

[Puddle]

My vote goes to Cynthia because not only is she strong, but I approve of her taste in Pokemon as well. She uses three of my favourites: Lucario, Togekiss and - in Unova - Braviary. I like how she kind of acts as a big sister to Dawn/Lucas as well, watching out for them and helping now and again. And I really enjoyed battling her in Unova.

I also like Alder and Leon a lot. I love how left field Alder's team is (three Bug types!), and I like how he's a bit of a loner who enjoys wandering around the natural world (he's similar to Aarune in that regard). And because Leon is Hop's brother, the stakes feel more personal once you finally come to battle him.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Added Peony to the vote list.

 

[WyndonCalling]

I have three top picks, all for slightly different reasons.

Leon gets top spot but really it's a team effort - the best facet of the Galar champion is how much more the role is contextualised by Galar itself. Galar gives us the most in-depth description to date of how the league is structured, what it means to be a challenger or a leader, and very effectively creates in-universe hype around Leon. The fight with the man himself isn't one of my top-rated (due in no small part to the fact that Charizard is not a very threatening ace at this point in the game) and I'm one of few people who isn't actually a fan of the Hall of Fame remix (the upbeat, victorious vibe detracts from the supposed challenge of the fight), but the world-building is absolutely on point with Leon.

Cynthia has a great character design, fitting music and one of the most notoriously nasty teams in the franchise. I find her personality and interactions with the player to be quite dreary but there's no denying her powerful legacy, as this poll bears out.

Finally, I do want to give a shout-out to Blue. His team is legitimately tough post-Gen 1 but somewhat undermined by how...mundane a lot of it is - it's packed with relatively common species you may well have picked up along the way. No, what I think gives him an edge is his role in RBY's barebones story. The stated meta-goal of the series is for the player to personally develop as they play, visiting new places, making new friends and overcoming challenges. Blue's the perfect foil to this; he's making the exact same journey we are but is always one step ahead with seeming ease. For him to turn out to be the ultimate obstacle, having just pipped the player at the post in the final moment of victory, is wonderfully fitting.

 

[DynoStretch]

Cynthia without a doubt.

I love how much her design screams 'legendary trainer', her smooth and mellow personality, her fascination with the legends of the land. The anime gave her a funny little quirk where she takes forever to pick out a flavor of ice cream. I can relate to that.

She's definitely one of the strongest Champions too, with them having max IVs, and you know she means business when her first Pokemon is Spirtomb, one who (at the time) had no weaknesses.

And her music is really good stuff.

And yes, she's hot too. Call the horny police if you must.

 

[EternalPokéFanGirl]

Cynthia
Lance
Iris
Diantha
Leon
Alder

I wish I could vote more than once, with just one vote per user Cynthia and Leon are grabbing all of them, and I'm not helping the case .

 

[Emmy]

I just had to change my vote, as much as I like Leon I couldn't resist the charm of Mustard after playing the Isle of Armour.

 

[Camille]

Cynthia by far, I love her battle theme, her diverse team and her interest in mythology. She looks pretty hot, too. That being said, I also really like Steven and Lance.

 

[Jammy2A]

Love Cynthia, also because in the anime she was SO strong, schooling the entire E4 (minus Bertha I think) and Palmer, but also drawing (obvs because of time limit!) with Caitlin. She was dope, collected, and the most solid trainer in all of Sinnoh.

Second to that is probably Wallace, just cause I like me a good Gym Leader taking on the E4 and becoming Champion and I like the idea of a water-type team

 

[skiittylalis]

man coming into this thread and im seeing a disturbing lack of steven stone love, dont worry 5 other people who voted for the guy you have me now

so yeah steven is my favorite champion!! theres just so much to love about the guy...... i could just say "he cute" and move on but honestly hes a great character in his own right. hes a silly little nerd and he loves his silly little rocks and im really glad that oras gave that little hobby of his a purpose with mega stones and how he gets more involved in the story that way!! hes a strong champion who really deserves the title and i adore how his team reflects his love of geology. also i think this gets slept on a lot but can we please talk about how steven is implied to be a closet contest fanboy and likes to watch wallaces contests?? get yourself a bro like steven who supports you in all your endeavors. honestly in this day and age where its so common to get shamed for having "weird" or "silly" interests its so wholesome to see a character shamelessly gab about how much he likes rocks. pokemon masters made him adorable in particular, he says he likes shooting stars because theres something "magical" about rocks that fall from the sky CMON HES SO CUTE AAAAAAA

but imo he has such a deep and complex character under the whole rock nerd shtick...... if you look at oras and the delta episode and how it relates to ruby/sapphire to emerald its like steven feels guilty about the whole weather crisis that happened and how he as a champion couldnt do anything which is why he tells wallace he wants to step down: to find his own purpose in the world where he can actually help people. it may be my headcanons but i feel like steven and his whole relationship with devon make him want to do these things because he doesnt seem particularly interested in taking over the family business, he wants to do what he thinks will make him happiest. he wants to understand not only the world but himself and hes working on finding a true purpose and thats okay!! he says in pokemon masters his dream is simply "to walk this world with my own two feet" and discover everything about the world he loves and himself. theres just a lot about this one character to unpack he has a really cool story and motivation beyond "likes rocks" you guys should stan steven stone to understand

or i could just admit i bought a plushie of steven that cost me almost 100 dollars and that would also do the trick........ i love this little funky man to death

 

[RK9]

To be fair, Steven's cool. After Cynthia and Alder he's my third favorite.

 

[Fan of Jarrus]

I do not know why he did not try to do something.

 

[Esserise]

I mean, Steven didn't sit on his ass or anything; the BuzzNav talks about him and the other Gym Leaders working to help with rescue efforts during the weather cataclysm. I think he just means that because he wasn't able to solve the two crises on his own, by coming up with his own solutions as one might expect a Champion to do, that he's taken another look at himself and come to the conclusion that he still has more to learn from the world.

 

[Epic Spheal]

I would actually say Alder, because he's involved within the actual story of the games much more than than the average Champion. In retrospect I think revealing him as Champion on the spot was a good move, it makes his character and what he says stand out much more than the random blonde woman who seemed to be somehow important for undisclosed reasons.

Plus, his overall personality. I care a ton more about this than how powerful an NPC's team is; it's why I rank Crasher Wake as my favourite Gym Leader. I'd totally love to go on a camping trip with Alder.

Alder 10000% deserves more love honestly I appreciated him actually trying to solve things before getting the children involved (just like Leon in SwSh). Like thank you for being the mature adult in the room who realizes their position means more than sitting pretty and being number 1 of the region.

I mean, Steven didn't sit on his ass or anything; the BuzzNav talks about him and the other Gym Leaders working to help with rescue efforts during the weather cataclysm. I think he just means that because he wasn't able to solve the two crises on his own, by coming up with his own solutions as one might expect a Champion to do, that he's taken another look at himself and come to the conclusion that he still has more to learn from the world.

Fair but compared to just hearing it on the BuzzNav helping the gym leaders versus seeing Alder step up to N and Leon stepping up to Eternatus it makes the other champions look less impressive. Like why is Steven with the gym leaders why not have him try to stop Kyogre/Groudon but get knocked out instead? Not saying that helping with rescue isn't important, but as the strongest trainer in the region at the time, it makes more sense for them to be at the actual center of the conflict rather than that far removed. I liked the tag battle in Emerald with Steven (even though he was champ then) as a child so much because again here we have an adult actually acting like one and realizing that just throwing a kid at the situation.

Also side note but this conversation also is a reason why I tend to love the anime and manga because it actually gives the champions (and also gym leaders and elite four) the chance to look far more competent than they do in the games by getting them directly involved. Even though the kid protagonists save the day in the end, at least it's not at the expense of characters we're supposed to see as the good guys.

 

[RK9]

Meanwhile in the manga:

Steven literally dies to save Hoenn.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Meanwhile in the manga:

Steven literally dies to save Hoenn.

And then is resurrected soon after, making the whole heroic sacrifice completely pointless.

 

[Esserise]

why not have him try to stop Kyogre/Groudon but get knocked out instead?

The interior of the Cave of Origin is too hostile an environment. The player needed the opposite Orb and the Aqua/Magma pressure suit in order to safely go in, and there was only one of each. So Steven's efforts were better spent elsehwere.

 

[skywaffles]

Steven and Red