A Reddit poll has revealed which Pokemon League Champion players are most afraid to fight, with some stunning results. While several contenders have earned over a hundred votes each, one Champion ultimately wins the poll with a whopping 75% of the vote.
Almost every mainlinePokemongame ends with the player facing the Champion, the highest-ranked Pokemon Trainer in their respective region’s Pokemon League. Given that players typically need to push throughtricky back-to-back Elite Four battlesbefore facing the Champion, players are likely afraid of losing to the Champion and having to start over. Plus, the games often elevate the drama by only revealing the identity of the region’s Champion once players enter the Champion’s chamber. Still, in spite of the buildup, some Champions are trickier than others.
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The fans answering the poll voted overwhelmingly for Cynthia, Champion of the Sinnoh League inPokemon Diamond,Pearl, andPlatinum. It’s not hard to see why she would earn so many votes. Her team is extremely well-balanced, forcing players to frequently switch out their Pokemon. Typings aside, her Pokemon are simply very strong, with perfect Individual Values across the board. Even players who normally avoid using Legendary Pokemon may find themselves using some ofSinnoh’s Legendary Pokemonagainst Cynthia.
If the poll is anything to go by, Pokemon Champions became less scary overall in the games following Cynthia’s appearance. The only contenders with over a hundred votes were Blue, Lance, and Steven Stone, all from classic Pokemon games that preceded Sinnoh’s debut. While Champions from later games have interesting personalities, such asPokemon XandY’s actress-turned-Champion Diantha, this doesn’t equate to them being scary. Later games also introduced the ability to move through the Elite Four in any order, which may have made the endgame slightly less frightening for aspiring Champions.
In all fairness, the poll did not include every Pokemon Champion, with poll creator Auditore569 asking fans to nominate other Champions in the comments. Fans mentioned a handful of additional Champions, such asPokemon Black 2andWhite 2’s Iris, as well asPokemon Emerald’sWallace. Nominations also included a few climactic foes who were not officially Champions, such asPokemon SunandMoon’sKukui and the version ofPokemon Trainer Redfought inPokemon HeartGoldandSoulSilver.
Of course, as far as challenge level goes, the most fearsome Pokemon foes arereal-life Pokemon Championswho have climbed their way to the top of the game’s competitive tournaments. For example, optimizing Pokemon via breeding is typically not needed to beat the games' main campaigns. In tournaments, however, optimization is just a prerequisite to have a fighting chance. Still, even if Cynthia’s team may not hold up to a real-life Champion, she succeeded in striking fear into the hearts of many Trainers, who still remember it to this day.
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