Enemy Mon Hall of Fame

Inspired by this post, I'm curious what people's most memorable encounters are against an NPC mon, be it boss or mook. There are similar threads floating out there but I think this differs in that I'm looking for memorable in-game mons which you have faced up against, not so much their trainers and respective rosters. I'll leave it open ended as to why people nominate a specific mon for their in-game Enemy Mon Hall of Fame, be it difficulty, showmanship, etc. But here's mine:

1. FRLG - Champion Rematch Rival's Blastoise
This is the one reason I hate picking Charmander in FRLG. It results in the absolute monster that is your rival's Blastoise in the champion rematch, a mon that can cover both of its weaknesses and still fire away with Hydro Pumps (potentially rain boosted) on anything it wants to hit for neutral or worse. Just a devastating mon that is very difficult to 1v1.

2. RS - Steven's Metagross
The first pseudo-legend you face in the franchise without a 4x weakness to exploit. This thing definitely left an imprint on me as a kid. Not just its stupendous stats, typing and menacing appearance, but I love the showmanship of Meteor Mash as a signature move. You had never seen it before and just by looking at the animation, you knew it was going to hurt. It's a punch from outer space for fuck's sake.

3. Pt - Fantina's Mismagius
For my money, the hardest Gym leader mon to take down ever, even more so than Whitney's Miltank. Just a nasty mon for that stage of the game that really forces you to think of some out of the box strategies and utilize true team work to take it down. Love the showmanship of Mismagius's matching visage with Fantina as well.

4. BW - Ghetsis's Hydreigon
Anther pseudo-legend without a 4x weakness (at the time). And with stupendous coverage it surely left a mark. Pretty decent showmanship as the first explicitly evil looking pseudo-legend to pair well with what might be the most overtly evil human being in the Pokémon universe. Perhaps to a fault, but I digress.

5. B2W2 - Iris's Haxorus
No matter what iteration, rematch, Challenge mode, whatever, that Focus Sash will cause problems. Once it gets off a Dragon Dance, good fucking luck.

With all of these, not having an easily exploitable 4x weakness goes a long way towards making the encounter memorable since that mon is most likely sticking around for a while. High stats aren't purely enough for me, which is why I kept off stalwarts like Cynthia's Garchomp and any of Lance's Dragonites. Anyway, curious to hear other people's thoughts...
 
X- Wulfric's Avalugg
The Honedge line has a lot of good matchups in XY. I ended up struggling a bit against Valerie by being very slightly too low level to learn Iron Head, but I was steamrolling everything afterwards with doublade. An ice-type gym was not where I was expecting to encounter resistance, but this Avalugg barely took half from my supereffective STAB. I might have quickly switched to Delphox and taken it out easily afterwards, but there was a moment of me being genuinely impressed by its resilience, and it was the most memorable turn in my playthrough.

USun- Plumeria's Crobat
Throughout my damageless playthrough, I was limited most often by speed. During the rainbow rocket sections, several bosses had crobats, but they lacked natures or EVs so I could still get the jump on them. As the bosses began to blur together, I remember the crobats being played around just as much, if not more than the legendaries. Giovanni was simple and by-the-book, so in my hubris I went back for the league rematches. And there I found something that struck fear into me more than mega mewtwo. 252 Speed, Jolly. It didn't even matter that the other half of EV's weren't allocated, it beat me. While I felt obliged to at least theorycraft a win against it, it made such a great ending that I consider it to be where the story concludes.

Emerald-Greta's Shedinja
The Battle Arena has a very specific theme, that I happen to not have great memories with. I've been held back in my challenges for it because I don't just want to win, I want to destroy what it stands for. So I really appreciate that despite all the talk about aggressive fighting spirit, the frontier brain pulls out a brightpowder mon with immunities to 12 types but highly vulnerable to status. I think I was even running shedinja on my team when I first beat her.
 
Illima's Smeargle (First battle) is in the exact singular moment where it can be tough and you have to at least partially plan around. I respect it a lot, and it's fun that even on the first "real" boss battle they did put on some IVs & EVs. But at the same time, not so tough to be a roadblock. Like it a lot.

Teacher Emily's Magnemite: i'm glad it was changed to the other starter in usum
 
Watson's Magneton (R/S)
I chose Treeko. Sadly, Magneton resists Treeko's moves well.
This thing is the whole reason I always start with Mudkip (and in Emerald his Manectric too to a lesser extent)

My nomination is Wallace's Gyarados (Emerald). In my last Emerald nuzlocke I didn't have an Electric mon to 1hko him and this damn thing swept my entire team after setting up 2 Dragon Dances.
 
1646937550844.png

Emerald: Gold Anabel's Snorlax
Curselax is an absolute beast in Gen 2/3, and Anabel having one means that you are in for a tough battle. I lost against Gold Anabel on my first battle against her, Snorlax was one of the reasons. It is almost unbeatable once it has managed to set up. High HP and Defenses means it will tank most hits, while high Attack makes it hit hard. Low Speed makes no difference since you likely can't beat it even if you move first.

1646937718332.png

D/P Battle Tower: Cradily
I have posted this story many times in other threads, so here's just a short summary. Back in 2008, I had an insane stall battle against a Cradily in the Diamond Battle Tower. I won, but it was extremely close. Definitely one of my most memorable battles ever.

1646937749273.png

Gen 5 Battle Subway: Escavalier
In the Subway, I have lost against Escavalier many times. Notably against set 4, but sometimes against the other sets too. I remember that I lost many times against set 4 when I played Super Double at the Subway. No matter what I did, it seemingly always found some way to beat me.
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Kinda surprised no one has brought up Lenora's Watchog. That hideous little groundhog for as weak as it is overall (compared to most fully evolved mons) is quite cruelly powerful for the point where you see it used by Lenora, being Level 20 when most of your mons are Level 15-18 at most, and being quite fast and strong compared to most of your mons who aren't anywhere near fully evolved at this point, as well as being relatively durable for that point as well. It has a mighty powerful Retaliate that is extra brutal if it uses it on the first turn it comes out, has the annoying Hypnosis to put your mons to sleep, and can also hit hard with Crunch. The best options you have for them are, incidentally, Sawk or Throh, who are rare spawns in the area nearby if you specifically go out of your way to go there and catch one of the two, but otherwise Watchog will be a force if you don't go out of your way to grab Sawk/Throh and/or use Pignite. Your evolved starter is your second best bet, so if you have Servine, Pignite, or Dewott, you better hope it can hold its own. It's really "that one boss you will struggle with unless you do what the game wants you to do and catch that one mon", albeit to a less extreme degree than Striaton. That Watchog is really a case of "use Sawk/Throh or good luck".

Another worthy mention is Clay's Excadrill. His Excadrill is very strong, fast, and powerful and it has a ton of resistances to boot, especially for the mid-game, and has coverage between Bulldoze and Rock Slide as well as Slash, making it difficult to wall. You will need a strong Water or Fighting-type to take it down, and even then, Excadrill can still put up a good fight. Certainly a force to be reckoned with in its own right.

An honorable mention goes to Winona's Altaria. In the originals it is a formidable foe as its main weaknesses are either Rock or Ice, both of which are rare at that point, and in RSE it has Aerial Ace and Earthquake which it can use Dragon Dance alongside, and it has the bulk to boost and then sweep. In ORAS its moveset is different, but still equally as annoying with Cotton Guard and Roost, giving it nigh impenetrable bulk on the physical side while Roost gives it longevity, making it a hard foe to take down while it can slowly wear down your own Pokemon in return. While the rest of her mons are pretty weak in both RSE and ORAS, her Altaria is certainly a force to be reckoned with in different ways.

I might as well bring up Clair's Kingdra. Not only is it a strong Pokemon with an unresisted combination of STABs between Surf and DragonBreath in the originals and with extra oomph in Hydro Pump and Dragon Pulse in HGSS, it has SmokeScreen to lower your mons accuracy and its typing also gives it only one weakness, which is one you will not be able to exploit at all at this point, as your best bet is Dragonair who loses to Kingdra anyway, or if you have the means to trade, your own Kingdra. This is really a mon you will have to brute force with everything you've got, and maybe resort to status like paralysis to help ease the task of taking it down, or resort to a bulkier mon such as...lo and behold, Meganium, to help with dealing with it.

Just a few that came to mind.
 
Kinda surprised no one has brought up Lenora's Watchog. That hideous little groundhog for as weak as it is overall (compared to most fully evolved mons) is quite cruelly powerful for the point where you see it used by Lenora, being Level 20 when most of your mons are Level 15-18 at most, and being quite fast and strong compared to most of your mons who aren't anywhere near fully evolved at this point, as well as being relatively durable for that point as well. It has a mighty powerful Retaliate that is extra brutal if it uses it on the first turn it comes out, has the annoying Hypnosis to put your mons to sleep, and can also hit hard with Crunch. The best options you have for them are, incidentally, Sawk or Throh, who are rare spawns in the area nearby if you specifically go out of your way to go there and catch one of the two, but otherwise Watchog will be a force if you don't go out of your way to grab Sawk/Throh and/or use Pignite. Your evolved starter is your second best bet, so if you have Servine, Pignite, or Dewott, you better hope it can hold its own. It's really "that one boss you will struggle with unless you do what the game wants you to do and catch that one mon", albeit to a less extreme degree than Striaton. That Watchog is really a case of "use Sawk/Throh or good luck".
Half the time when I fight Watchog it derps with Leer, doesn't abuse the Retaliate damage bonus, or misses with Hypnosis. Your points are for sure valid otherwise though!

Screw Brawly's Emerald Makuhita. That thing is just unfair. At least Fantina's Mismagius has some feasible random Dark moves like Floatzel's Crunch / Luxio's Bite. Makuhita? LOL Ralts gets 2HKOed and I don't even think 2HKOs back with Confusion (and with how little EXP you have at this point if you don't go to Slateport first, having a Ralts still is very feasible).

I've never tried Tailow, but giving Makuhita Guts is just the icing on the mean cake, because guess what early mon people use for their in-game playthroughs? That's right, Shroomish, which can be very bad if Brawly decides to Arm Thrust and you don't roll Sleep with Effect Spore. Vital Throw and Reversal are outright ridiculous that early too, and 72 / 30 / 30 bulk with solid 60 Attack is rough.
 
Just for funsies, let's focus on generic trainers only, i.e. no one with a unique design

RB Rocket Grunt's Raticate (Mt. Moon)

1646948249747.png


This guy only exists in Red and Blue specifically; he's outright removed in Yellow in favor of the Jessie and James fight, and in FRLG, he's using a Rattata and a Sandshrew instead. Simply put, Raticate is terrifying at this point by virtue of Hyper Fang; very little 'mons can stand up to a 120 BP move off of 81 attack at this point, bar early evolutions with the Moon Stones you've had access to in this very dungeon. You can just safely walk around him, but he definitely jumpscares unsuspecting players with something that can very easily decimate the unprepared. I think it's a shame that he was removed from all other versions, but... I get it.

HGSS Double Team Thom & Kae (Route 47)

1646949061439.png
1646949081872.png


It was hard to come up with something here, and truth be told I don't this pair lives up to any of the others on the list, but so it goes. Magmar and Electabuzz can be tricky to fight as a duo, and level 25 on both is fairly high at this point in the game. ...Yeah I've got nothing else, GSC's trainer quality is just generally poor given its level curve.

RS/ORAS Cooltrainer/Ace Trainer Jennifer (Route 120)

1646949208831.png


There are very few trainers that I'd call notorious, much less generic trainers. I'm referring to the likes of Whitney's Miltank, Lance and his trident of Dragonites, Ghetsis's comically underleveled Hydreigon, so on and so forth. Cooltrainer Jennifer is one of the very few generic trainers that makes the cut. Much like the Mt. Moon Rocket Grunt, what makes her difficult is largely circumstance. No one expects to see a Level 31 (Level 36 in ORAS!) Milotic from a generic trainer after the 6th gym, after all, so there's not much preparation you're going to do accordingly. Moreover, it's very likely to rain on Route 120, meaning that Milotic is going to smack and then confound you with 120 power Water Pulses off of a meaty Sp. Atk... and then Recover back all the damage you did while you flail to hit it back. In theory you could simply smack it with Thunder, but the TM for it is on the other side of Jennifer in Lilycove, and the only thing likely to have learned it naturally by this point are Plusle and Minun. Simply a very difficult fight overall, and I'm glad ORAS preserved it (even when Emerald chickened out and gave her a Sableye as a replacement).

DPP/BDSP Double Team Zac & Jen (Route 210)

1646949700783.png
1646949723844.png


Have you ever wondered what inspired the Gyarados/Electivire core of DPP OU (memetic) legend? This probably wasn't entirely it (actually I'm stretching), but the core premise of an Electric/Gyarados duo definitely had a subliminal influence, if you ask me. The fight isn't terrible in DP or BDSP, merely challenging, but Platinum escalates things with a jump of 9 levels for both 'mons. An Electric type can fry Gyarados and take anything Raichu is throwing out, but Gyarados very nicely compensates for Raichu's primary weakness to make it harder to dispatch. I'm repeating myself at this point, but it's worth emphasizing that this fight is difficult in large part due to circumstance. They're about midway through a rather long route, so you've no doubt been whittled down a bit - just enough for Zac & Jen to strike on the unaware trainer who dare to wander within eyesight.

BW Veteran Shaun (Challenger's Cave)

1646950689929.png


Much like GSC, this was difficult in large part because generic trainers just aren't usually notable compared to bosses; unlike GSC, however, I'm more inclined to think this was intentional. Shilling aside, Veteran Shaun is notable for being a legitimately well-constructed fight that doesn't rely on shock value to get the upper hand. Despite the word choice, I don't see unexpected surprises as a bad thing; being able to adapt to an unexpectedly difficult fight is fun and is a good demonstration of skill. There should just be other strong trainers in the world of Pokemon, you know? Yet Veteran Shaun stands out for being both climactic and anti-climactic; he's the challenge that awaits you at the end of the post-game Challenger's Cave despite being, well, a nobody. He has a well-rounded team consisting of Gyarados, Excadrill, Crobat, Druddigon, Gigalith, and Snorlax. I choose to represent him with his Excadrill, as it is at Level 62 - precisely the level it learns Fissure, making it possible for Excadrill to simply delete a 'mon from your team with a lucky roll of the dice. OHKO moves are never a good sign, of course, but overall it's a well-constructed team that's just fun to fight. Unfortunately, Challenger's Cave has caved in in B2W2, and with it, Veteran Shaun seemed to vanish as suddenly as he arrived. Wherever he is now, though, I'm sure he's terrorizing newly-inaugurated Champions and knocking them down a peg or two.

XY Battle Girl Hedvig (Reflection Cave)

1646950944608.png
1646950972607.png


Reflection Cave hosts many an odd mystery - what's point of the area with the shimmering light? Who the hell decided wild Wobbuffets with Shadow Tag would be ok? And most of all, why is Battle Girl Hedvig here and not replacing Korrina? Hedvig will catch you by surprise early on in the cave, and is sure to KO a 'mon or two with a terrifying duo of a Throh and Hawlucha. She's been discussed in this thread already so I see little need to expand on it further, but suffice to say, it's a very potent team at this point in the game even for a generic trainer, and is genuinely more threatening than the Fighting-type Gym Leader that comes after her.

Unfortunately I don't have unlimited time and I don't recall the rosters of SM/USUM and SWSH's generic trainers very well, but I'll definitely continue this at another point with them when I have the time to review a bit!
 

ScraftyIsTheBest

On to new Horizons!
is a Top Contributor Alumnusis a Smogon Media Contributor Alumnus
Unfortunately, Challenger's Cave has caved in in B2W2, and with it, Veteran Shaun seemed to vanish as suddenly as he arrived. Wherever he is now, though, I'm sure he's terrorizing newly-inaugurated Champions and knocking them down a peg or two.
Actually, wrong! Veteran Shaun didn't vanish at all in BW2! In fact, he's one of those generic NPC Trainers you meet again in the sequel after seeing him in BW1. Yes, Challenger's Cave caved in, but Veteran Shaun simply relocated himself accordingly, and in the sequel two years later, he shows up in...lo and behold...Wellspring Cave! Which is now a post-game location in BW2, Veteran Shaun awaits your arrival there while you're exploring the rest of Unova you didn't get to explore beforehand, including the original early routes of BW1 which are now hardcore post-game areas in BW2. Not only that, he meets you again with the exact same team he had in BW1.

And as a side note, his fellow veteran from Challenger's Cave, Veteran Julia, also relocated herself in such a manner that she shows up again in BW2, and she relocated herself to Twist Mountain, which was also made into a post-game area in BW2. Both of those Trainers are Trainers who reappear in the sequel and are ready to take you on again in different locations from the original. However, Veteran Julia comes with a new team. Ace Trainer Shanta from BW1's Victory Road is another instance of the same generic Trainer reappearing in BW2 in the sequel Victory Road, except like Veteran Julia, she also has a new set of Pokemon.
 

CTNC

Doesn't know how to attack
RSE's Youngster Billy stands out to me because he's the first trainer I ever lost to. He has a Level 6 Seedot and I didn't know what Bide did. I don't think I need to explain how I lost. I didn't even make it to his Level 8 Taillow until the rematch. He must have been a problem for a lot of other new players because his Levels were lowered by 2 in ORAS.

XY's Battle Girl Hedvig can't be said enough. Unlike the supposed real Fighting Gym Leader, she doesn't have two Pokemon that can't touch Ghosts.

SwSh has Black Belt Brian in a random house in Hammerlocke. He stands out because he has a Level 2 Cottonee when your team around Level 30. That's weird, but it's an easy OHKO, right? It has a Focus Sash and the one move it knows is Endeavor. He gives you a Focus Sash after you beat him.

An honorable mention goes to Winona's Altaria. In the originals it is a formidable foe as its main weaknesses are either Rock or Ice, both of which are rare at that point, and in RSE it has Aerial Ace and Earthquake which it can use Dragon Dance alongside, and it has the bulk to boost and then sweep. In ORAS its moveset is different, but still equally as annoying with Cotton Guard and Roost, giving it nigh impenetrable bulk on the physical side while Roost gives it longevity, making it a hard foe to take down while it can slowly wear down your own Pokemon in return. While the rest of her mons are pretty weak in both RSE and ORAS, her Altaria is certainly a force to be reckoned with in different ways.
Seconding this, but it's way more than an honorable mention for me. I had so much trouble beating Altaria the first time I played Emerald that I thought it was a really good Pokemon and caught and trained a Swablu even though my team was 20 Levels higher than wild Swablu and the playthrough practically turned into an Altaria solo. (The main exception being the Ice Elite Four because of needing to use a ton of Revives) Winona is the reason Altaria became my favorite Pokemon.


If counting Pokemon that are only notable in Challenge Runs, Waitress Tia's Patrat deserves a mention because I challenged and lost to her for over 10 Hours. With Status Moves Only, you will barely endure against one Pokemon unless you use Sand-Attack and her Patrat has Keen Eye. You can stall until it uses Struggle if you have a Purrloin with Growl and Patrat doesn't get too many Critical Hits, but Tia's Purrloin will finish you off. Not winning is a good thing though. Losing lets you challenge her again and her Patrat is the best way to train until you get Leech Seed.

When it seems like you've beaten Volo's near copy of Cynthia's Platinum team, Giratina comes out of nowhere as her seventh Pokemon. If that isn't devastating enough after being worn down by the first six Pokemon, Giratina changes to Origin Form after you defeat it and you have to defeat it again! By the way, there's no heals between any of that. It's all one trainer. One cheating trainer. Good luck.
 
My first thought when I saw this thread was: "both of teacher Emily's Pokemon!", so I'm happy that her Magnemite has been mentioned already. God, I hate teacher Emily.

Anyway, veteran Ray on route 18 in Unova has a level 36 Darmanitan, which makes this trainer an absolute run killer for nuzlocks. This darmanitan has sheer force flare blitz as a STAB, along with belly drum. And let me remind you that Darm has 140 base attack along with a very decent 95 speed. If you are not prepared, you will probably just get swept. Doesn't help that he also has a Basculin and a Simisage for a nice water/fire/grass core.
 

bdt2002

Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs superfan
is a Pre-Contributor
:dp/kingdra:

Clair's Kingdra in HeartGold & SoulSilver. And the originals, but I grew up with the remakes so here's a 4th Gen sprite instead. Yes, I know it's not the right sprite but I'm still working on that. For the uninformed, Kingdra counters are incredibly scarce in Johto playthroughs, and you'll always have to do a merry little dance around this thing as it starts pelting you with special attacks and SmokeScreens. A very similar annoying Kingdra exists in Pokémon Emerald in the final gym battle against a horrible character Juan, and while I never had the chance to reach that battle, I'm honestly kind of glad I didn't because all that one does is clicks Double Team and Rest and runs away with the game. Both Kingdra fights have other similarities aside from accuracy/evasion hax, though. Fairy-Types didn't exist in time for any of the three iterations, and the best available checks at the time of each game's eighth gym battle are either a bit too weak compared to Kingdra, or have the strength but only really go even at best with this thing.

:dp/mismagius:

Fantina's Mismagius, specifically in Platinum. Platinum introduced a change to the Hearthome City gym battle that was not present in the original Diamond & Pearl versions or in BDSP. The story requirements to unlock access to the battle were removed completely, resulting in the gym battle becoming a proper third-tier gym battle... is what I would say if they didn't keep her Mismagius relatively unchanged from its original incarnation. The problem here is that her Mismagius was designed with a fifth-tier gym battle in mind, as was the rest of the gym's roster. Mismagius stays the same pending the level shift, however, whereas the power level in Platinum's iteration of the battle doesn't properly compensate for this. Mismagius itself comes packing STAB Shadow Ball to really drive home the power creep as well as some coverage moves and Confuse ray for good measure.

:bw/emolga: :bw/emolga: :bw/zebstrika:

These little f***ers from Black & White. The fifth generation games tend to come across as the part in Pokémon's history where Gym Leader battles went from "occasionally tricky" to "Come on, Game Freak, make your battles harder for the longtime fans." Clearly someone over in Nimbasa City didn't get the message, however, because this fight was so pesteringly annoying that they had to nerf it in the sequels and it's still above average over there. The question: why? The answer? Volt Switch. The issue with this battle is that while the battle's certainly not impossible, the concept of Electric-Types specifically using a damaging switch move to potentially pivot into a Pokémon with a Ground-Type immunity in the form of Emolga puts the player in a rare "catch 22" situation. The Emolga duo can be handled with Rock-Type moves, especially if you're running a Ground-Type with a coverage move to block Volt Switch attempts. The very extensive list of Pokémon who can do this at this point in the game without being overlevelled (higher than the opponent) consists of Sandile, Drilbur, and... that's it.

Here's some scenarios that I've seen as very real possibilities with the Emolga duo and their striped friend.

Sandile: Must run Intimidate, can lose to Aerial Ace spam
Drilbur: Lacks Intimidate, takes less from physical attacks in neutral matchups than Sandile but can still lose and is also not resistant to Pursuit
Palpitoad (Lv. 25-27): Can't learn TM39 Rock Tomb, loses hard to Zebstrika
Boldore (Lv. 25-27) & Dwebble: Not enough special bulk to take repeated Volt Switches, will eventually lose over time
Tirtouga & Archen: ...you're joking, right?
 

Ema Skye

Work!
1647147249553.png

This dude is the only generic I remember in BW2 because it was the only battle I whited out in during my first playthrough of it. It is an absolute lesson on how much RNG plays a role in Pokemon, especially during itemless runs.
1647147353587.png

(This was also the first battle where I realized Minimize now gave +2 evasion. Yes, this is its moveset, yes it has Cute Charm and yes, all my Pokemon were male.)

You can probably imagine how brutal the RNG was given that I was 6-0ed by this.
 
These little f***ers from Black & White. The fifth generation games tend to come across as the part in Pokémon's history where Gym Leader battles went from "occasionally tricky" to "Come on, Game Freak, make your battles harder for the longtime fans." Clearly someone over in Nimbasa City didn't get the message, however, because this fight was so pesteringly annoying that they had to nerf it in the sequels and it's still above average over there. The question: why? The answer? Volt Switch. The issue with this battle is that while the battle's certainly not impossible, the concept of Electric-Types specifically using a damaging switch move to potentially pivot into a Pokémon with a Ground-Type immunity in the form of Emolga puts the player in a rare "catch 22" situation. The Emolga duo can be handled with Rock-Type moves, especially if you're running a Ground-Type with a coverage move to block Volt Switch attempts. The very extensive list of Pokémon who can do this at this point in the game without being overlevelled (higher than the opponent) consists of Sandile, Drilbur, and... that's it.
When I was a kid, I thought that Elesa had an infinite supply of Emolgas because that battle gave me so much trouble.

Speaking of annoying gym leaders, I remember getting really frustrated with Chuck in one SoulSilver playthrough because both of his Pokémon spammed Double Team. It reminded me of LuckySevenDX's legendary battle against Janine's Venomoth.
 
View attachment 412171
Emerald: Gold Anabel's Snorlax
Curselax is an absolute beast in Gen 2/3, and Anabel having one means that you are in for a tough battle. I lost against Gold Anabel on my first battle against her, Snorlax was one of the reasons. It is almost unbeatable once it has managed to set up. High HP and Defenses means it will tank most hits, while high Attack makes it hit hard. Low Speed makes no difference since you likely can't beat it even if you move first.
Jesus, I will never forget this thing. I beat it with my own curselax, which happened to have Body Slam compared to Anabel's stronger Return. I lucked out, as the odds of getting the meaningful para hax are against the body slam user, I believe. Just an incredible mon, to cap off the incredible challenge that is Battle Tower Gold. Glad you were also able to eventually make it! :)
 

Mario60866iPod13

Banned deucer.
I hate Wobbuffet too. When I'm training in Cerulean Cave in FRLG these things jump out of ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE and stall me to Hell and back when I'm trying to catch it to avoid counter and mirror coat!

Also, read my post in the funny experience thread. That whole thing explains why I hate Wobbuffet.
Just for funsies, let's focus on generic trainers only, i.e. no one with a unique design

RB Rocket Grunt's Raticate (Mt. Moon)

View attachment 412222


This guy only exists in Red and Blue specifically; he's outright removed in Yellow in favor of the Jessie and James fight, and in FRLG, he's using a Rattata and a Sandshrew instead. Simply put, Raticate is terrifying at this point by virtue of Hyper Fang; very little 'mons can stand up to a 120 BP move off of 81 attack at this point, bar early evolutions with the Moon Stones you've had access to in this very dungeon. You can just safely walk around him, but he definitely jumpscares unsuspecting players with something that can very easily decimate the unprepared. I think it's a shame that he was removed from all other versions, but... I get it.

HGSS Double Team Thom & Kae (Route 47)

View attachment 412226View attachment 412227

It was hard to come up with something here, and truth be told I don't this pair lives up to any of the others on the list, but so it goes. Magmar and Electabuzz can be tricky to fight as a duo, and level 25 on both is fairly high at this point in the game. ...Yeah I've got nothing else, GSC's trainer quality is just generally poor given its level curve.

RS/ORAS Cooltrainer/Ace Trainer Jennifer (Route 120)

View attachment 412228

There are very few trainers that I'd call notorious, much less generic trainers. I'm referring to the likes of Whitney's Miltank, Lance and his trident of Dragonites, Ghetsis's comically underleveled Hydreigon, so on and so forth. Cooltrainer Jennifer is one of the very few generic trainers that makes the cut. Much like the Mt. Moon Rocket Grunt, what makes her difficult is largely circumstance. No one expects to see a Level 31 (Level 36 in ORAS!) Milotic from a generic trainer after the 6th gym, after all, so there's not much preparation you're going to do accordingly. Moreover, it's very likely to rain on Route 120, meaning that Milotic is going to smack and then confound you with 120 power Water Pulses off of a meaty Sp. Atk... and then Recover back all the damage you did while you flail to hit it back. In theory you could simply smack it with Thunder, but the TM for it is on the other side of Jennifer in Lilycove, and the only thing likely to have learned it naturally by this point are Plusle and Minun. Simply a very difficult fight overall, and I'm glad ORAS preserved it (even when Emerald chickened out and gave her a Sableye as a replacement).

DPP/BDSP Double Team Zac & Jen (Route 210)

View attachment 412229View attachment 412230

Have you ever wondered what inspired the Gyarados/Electivire core of DPP OU (memetic) legend? This probably wasn't entirely it (actually I'm stretching), but the core premise of an Electric/Gyarados duo definitely had a subliminal influence, if you ask me. The fight isn't terrible in DP or BDSP, merely challenging, but Platinum escalates things with a jump of 9 levels for both 'mons. An Electric type can fry Gyarados and take anything Raichu is throwing out, but Gyarados very nicely compensates for Raichu's primary weakness to make it harder to dispatch. I'm repeating myself at this point, but it's worth emphasizing that this fight is difficult in large part due to circumstance. They're about midway through a rather long route, so you've no doubt been whittled down a bit - just enough for Zac & Jen to strike on the unaware trainer who dare to wander within eyesight.

BW Veteran Shaun (Challenger's Cave)

View attachment 412232

Much like GSC, this was difficult in large part because generic trainers just aren't usually notable compared to bosses; unlike GSC, however, I'm more inclined to think this was intentional. Shilling aside, Veteran Shaun is notable for being a legitimately well-constructed fight that doesn't rely on shock value to get the upper hand. Despite the word choice, I don't see unexpected surprises as a bad thing; being able to adapt to an unexpectedly difficult fight is fun and is a good demonstration of skill. There should just be other strong trainers in the world of Pokemon, you know? Yet Veteran Shaun stands out for being both climactic and anti-climactic; he's the challenge that awaits you at the end of the post-game Challenger's Cave despite being, well, a nobody. He has a well-rounded team consisting of Gyarados, Excadrill, Crobat, Druddigon, Gigalith, and Snorlax. I choose to represent him with his Excadrill, as it is at Level 62 - precisely the level it learns Fissure, making it possible for Excadrill to simply delete a 'mon from your team with a lucky roll of the dice. OHKO moves are never a good sign, of course, but overall it's a well-constructed team that's just fun to fight. Unfortunately, Challenger's Cave has caved in in B2W2, and with it, Veteran Shaun seemed to vanish as suddenly as he arrived. Wherever he is now, though, I'm sure he's terrorizing newly-inaugurated Champions and knocking them down a peg or two.

XY Battle Girl Hedvig (Reflection Cave)

View attachment 412233View attachment 412234

Reflection Cave hosts many an odd mystery - what's point of the area with the shimmering light? Who the hell decided wild Wobbuffets with Shadow Tag would be ok? And most of all, why is Battle Girl Hedvig here and not replacing Korrina? Hedvig will catch you by surprise early on in the cave, and is sure to KO a 'mon or two with a terrifying duo of a Throh and Hawlucha. She's been discussed in this thread already so I see little need to expand on it further, but suffice to say, it's a very potent team at this point in the game even for a generic trainer, and is genuinely more threatening than the Fighting-type Gym Leader that comes after her.

Unfortunately I don't have unlimited time and I don't recall the rosters of SM/USUM and SWSH's generic trainers very well, but I'll definitely continue this at another point with them when I have the time to review a bit!
 
I would like to submit a new candidate.

1649084001098.png

The Reverie's Cresselia (Pokémon Legends: Arceus)
Level: 80-100
- Lunar Blessing
- Psychic
- Ice Beam
- Moonblast

She will be your personal menace. Befitting a battle that takes place in a dream, Cresselia is the big kid on the block who will push you off your bike and send you home to mom. Real ones remember PMD2's Cresselia being a glass-jawed pushover and a major drain on curatives. This is not that Cresselia. This is a nightmare beast that will whittle down your entire team at a glacial speed while soaking up everything you dish out.

The wisdom of Melli does not fail us—"pesky flying croissant" indeed.

Now, you may be wondering aloud what's the big deal. After all, we've all dealt with Cresselia in some form over the years, be it as a runaway Legendary, a white elephant escort, or a mainstay of stall and TR teams. Well, let me assure you this is a fresh permutation of the beloved mother goose that puts all of those to shame. Never before has Cresselia been as powerful as it is in PLA, and the Cresselia opponent in the Eternal Battle Reverie does not shy away from flexing that power at absolute random. Yes, random. You can be smacked by this Lv. 100 giga-goose whenever you select the challenges The Lunar Pokémon, Psychic-type, Female Pokémon, and Strong Defense. The first of these is a guarantee, but a player who selects any of the other three expecting something innocent like Wormadam runs the risk of getting cooked.

This Cresselia is overwhelming for several reasons.
  1. It can appear at Lv. 100, and it definitely has some grit values behind it. You cannot simply beat it in a game of numbers.
  2. Its new signature move Lunar Blessing combines 50% recovery with the effects of Refresh and Double Team. Also, it has 10 PP.
  3. Its three attacks carry secondary effects that, if triggered, can force a switch or sway the tide of the whole battle.
  4. Its ability to restore its HP and boost its evasion means it gets many opportunities to trigger those effects.
  5. It has mastery in Lunar Blessing and possibly all of its moves.
This war criminal never seems to take more than 35% from anything. I had my Lopunny chain two +1 Quick Attacks (max Atk) and then close with a +1 Shadow Ball. It did like half of her health. I had a Manaphy throwing Water Pulses at +1, and those also did like 25% at most. Springtide Storm from Enamorus? That's also about 25-30% if you can even connect it. The only move I had that consistently dealt high damage was Outrage from Adamant Arceus-Dragon. Unfortunately, Outrage (1) has a decent chance to miss in PLA and (2) takes one successful turn before it reaches its full power. Against an opponent that can recover and evade in the same turn, this is an absolute crapshoot.

The winning move, which I did not have, is Dark Pulse. Since pulse moves do not miss in PLA, Dark Pulse is anathema to the game's evasion demons.

If you have sensibly omitted Dark Pulse from your teambuilding up to this point, then this particular Cresselia will devour your team's HP and PP alike in a format where both are preciously missed. Even Giratina, the premier Ghost in this game, gets railed by Cresselia's coverage moves and an agile-style Lunar Blessing thrown in for extra hax. I nearly lost my run to this floating sponge mere minutes away from the Arceus battle (I had another run end against Palkia, who is a different story), and that was my second encounter with Her Royal Lunacy. Yes, I randomly drew her twice under two different challenges in the same run and paid for it dearly.

I am proud of how far Cresselia has come, but it is exactly the kind of pride Dr. Fuji felt before Mewtwo broiled his pointy face off.



How does she keep doing it?
 

The Mind Electric

Calming if you look at it right.
1650044521793.png

Floored that I made it through this entire thread without reading about Cynthia's Garchomp. Perhaps it's such an obvious pick that nobody felt like they needed to mention it. This thing scarred a generation of kids who grew up on the DS games, and is probably in the top 3 most iconic in-game enemy Pokémon across the entire franchise. I assume I don't need to write a big paragraph about why.

With that out of the way, here are some picks that I hope are marginally more interesting:

1650045314180.png

Koga's Muk: HG/SS
Fuck this thing. It's beefy, it has Minimize, and it's holding a Black Sludge. If you don't have something to flatten it in one or two turns, it will set up a aneurysm-inducing number of Minimizes and RNG your ass to death. I feel an intense existential dread every time I think about fighting this thing.

1650045775131.png

Weavile: Platinum (Battle Frontier)
Will instantly end any Focus Sash Dragon run in the Battle Hall (which is what most people do for that Gold). It has Ice Punch, a Focus Sash, and Ice Shard. There's nothing you can do with the typical sets people use to get Gold in the Battle Hall other than pray that you don't run into it. The best strategy the thread on here could think of for maybe dealing with it and a few of Garchomp's other hard Ice fights is Swagger, which is hardly a guarantee. As a result, it sticks out in my mind.

1650047134918.png

Alder's Volcarona: Black/White
I'm probably biased here because I really like this Pokémon, but it's at least the most memorable Pokémon on his team and probably the scariest. He may be somewhat forgettable as a Champion because N fucks him over, but he and Volcarona have become a decently iconic pair, I think. I remember it, at least.
 
View attachment 419041
Floored that I made it through this entire thread without reading about Cynthia's Garchomp. Perhaps it's such an obvious pick that nobody felt like they needed to mention it. This thing scarred a generation of kids who grew up on the DS games, and is probably in the top 3 most iconic in-game enemy Pokémon across the entire franchise. I assume I don't need to write a big paragraph about why.
That Garchomp has near-minimum Atk in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. It has a -Atk nature and 0 EVs. It couldn't hit much softer if it tried.

Garchomp @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 66
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Atk / 31 Def / 30 SpA / 31 SpD / 30 Spe
- Dragon Rush
- Earthquake
- Brick Break
- Giga Impact

This is sincerely one of my biggest pet peeves in all of Pokémon. Nothing makes my gorge rise quite like the worship of the games' blandest champion (at the time) and her dragon that is carefully bubblewrapped for the player's safety. It is lucky to OHKO an Empoleon four levels lower. Any kids who claim to have been "scarred" by this fight (A) got unlucky with a -Def nature or a critical hit, (B) committed to something reckless like trading their ace, or (C) started with Platinum and matured with a rose-tinted view of the whole Sinnoh experience.

Yes, I am being a bitter old snob. However, I stand by the opinion this particular horror story is vastly overblown.

View attachment 419043
Koga's Muk: HG/SS
Fuck this thing. It's beefy, it has Minimize, and it's holding a Black Sludge. If you don't have something to flatten it in one or two turns, it will set up a aneurysm-inducing number of Minimizes and RNG your ass to death. I feel an intense existential dread every time I think about fighting this thing.
I do like this contribution though. I'd also like to spotlight its RGB and FRLG counterparts. The Kanto games typically do not give a clear indication that Koga is intended to be fought after Sabrina and the entire Sylph Co. gauntlet, so it's very easy to pull up on his battle at a considerable level disadvantage. His Muk has Minimize in all its appearances, but the FRLG version also has Acid Armor and Toxic to help it stall even harder. If I weren't so partial to monsters like Venusaur and Nidoqueen, I imagine I would have hit a roadblock here on at least one occasion.
 
Last edited:
That Garchomp has near-minimum Atk in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. It has a -Atk nature and 0 EVs. It couldn't hit much softer if it tried.

Garchomp @ Sitrus Berry
Ability: Sand Veil
Level: 66
Timid Nature
IVs: 30 HP / 30 Atk / 31 Def / 30 SpA / 31 SpD / 30 Spe
- Dragon Rush
- Earthquake
- Brick Break
- Giga Impact

This is sincerely one of my biggest pet peeves in all of Pokémon. Nothing makes my gorge rise quite like the worship of the games' blandest champion (at the time) and her dragon that is carefully bubblewrapped for the player's safety. It is lucky to OHKO an Empoleon four levels lower. Any kids who claim to have been "scarred" by this fight (A) got unlucky with a -Def nature or a critical hit, (B) committed to something reckless like trading their ace, or (C) started with Platinum and matured with a rose-tinted view of the whole Sinnoh experience.

Yes, I am being a bitter old snob. However, I stand by the opinion this particular horror story is vastly overblown.
Gotta push back on this one. I left out Cynthia's Garchomp since you can too easily OHKO it with a powerful Ice move, unlike the five mons I listed all of which are very difficult to OHKO unless you grind to oblivion.

However, let's stomp this narrative that DP Cynthia was in any way harder than Platinum Cynthia. Given the abysmal AI of DP, that Garchomp was twice as likely to use Dragon Rush or Giga Impact against an Empoleon rather than Earthquake, in the example you laid out.

DP Cynthia is simply not harder than Platinum Cynthia, no matter the level difference. People who say this truly don't realize how bad that AI was. Go watch videos of DP Cynthia battles on YouTube if you don't believe me. Seriously. I'll even drop a link here. It's just pathetic.
 
The Kanto games typically do not give a clear indication that Koga is intended to be fought after Sabrina and the entire Sylph Co. gauntlet
Because he isn't meant to lol, at least not after Sabrina. Koga comes before Sabrina in the trainer card so he's meant to be the 5th gym. I do think you're supossed to do Silph Co. first tough because the rival and Giovanni have lower level mons than him.

Also I have to disagree about him being hard but I always have a Psychic-type lol
 
Gotta push back on this one. I left out Cynthia's Garchomp since you can too easily OHKO it with a powerful Ice move, unlike the five mons I listed all of which are very difficult to OHKO unless you grind to oblivion.

However, let's stomp this narrative that DP Cynthia was in any way harder than Platinum Cynthia. Given the abysmal AI of DP, that Garchomp was twice as likely to use Dragon Rush or Giga Impact against an Empoleon rather than Earthquake, in the example you laid out.

DP Cynthia is simply not harder than Platinum Cynthia, no matter the level difference. People who say this truly don't realize how bad that AI was. Go watch videos of DP Cynthia battles on YouTube if you don't believe me. Seriously. I'll even drop a link here. It's just pathetic.
I don't quite get where this is coming from. My argument is that DP Cynthia's Lv. 66 Garchomp hits like a wet noodle even when it picks the right move. At no point does your reply disagree with mine. Is it The Mind Electric you mean to push back against? Because I'm surely not arguing DP is harder than Plat, and I don't think he is either. The narrative you're stomping isn't actually present anywhere in this thread.
 
I don't quite get where this is coming from. My argument is that DP Cynthia's Lv. 66 Garchomp hits like a wet noodle even when it picks the right move. At no point does your reply disagree with mine. Is it The Mind Electric you mean to push back against? Because I'm surely not arguing DP is harder than Plat, and I don't think he is either. The narrative you're stomping isn't actually present anywhere in this thread.
Perhaps I misinterpreted your point (C) “maturing with a rose tinted view of Sinnoh” after playing Platinum. Based on this wording and in the context of battling Cynthia I immediately lept to the conclusion you were arguing Platinum Cynthia was the “rosier” (read: easier) version of the fight. I hear this argument a lot since she’s lower leveled in Platinum than DP.

If I misinterpreted that, that’s my mistake I apologize.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 1, Guests: 0)

Top