Top Six Pokemon Boss Battles · 8:28pm Mar 28th, 2016
Here we go again! (Love this pic, BTW)
Hello once again, everyone! SuperKamek back again with another list! I know I'm really late to the whole "Celebrate Sun and Moon" thing, but I still wanted to compensate after losing my super long list to corruption. So, instead of listing 18 different Pokemon and their types, a task I'm sure all of us wouldn't exactly want to read through, I'll be listing my top six favorite boss fights from the Pokemon series. Why top six? One battle for each generation of Pokemon just to make this list more fair.
Rules are simple! One boss fight from each generation, as mentioned before. What I consider a boss fight is any major battle against someone in the story (i.e. Gym Leader, Evil Team Leader, Elite Four, Champion, etc.). However, no "Pokemon" battles. Fights against legendaries are cinematic, yes, but they all boil down to how many balls it takes to eventually capture one. Only story battles as well! Rematches against gym leaders or fights against frontier brains don't count. I would also like to tell you that this is my own personal opinion! If you agree or disagree with the list, I will hold no judgement against you. Hell, even if you like Whitney, more power to you!
That being said, let's go!
Oh, and if it wasn't obvious, SPOILERS!!!
Number 6:
Lysandre
Theme:
Team Flare was really dumb.
Let's face it; Team Flare wasn't exactly a good evil team. They were bland, they rarely showed up in the story, and whenever they DID show up, they were just kinda... there. There aren't really any redeeming qualities about them, save for one; the big boss of Team Flare himself, Lysandre. AKA, that guy people keep shipping with Professor Sycamore.
Lysandre himself is a very well-written character. His motivations are scary, and his backstory is actually a little interesting. What's more, he also has the power to control Mega Evolution, which, while that doesn't sound like much now since everyone on planet earth can use it, is actually a big deal in the Pokemon world. If you didn't use the cheap-ass EXP-Share during the story, you'll be met with an amazingly good fight from him. He comes packing with a Mienshao, which is already a powerful Pokemon, as well as a Honchcrow and a Pyroar; two mediocre Pokemon that could potentially put up a good fight, but are overally dealt with easily due to their type advantages being found everywhere. However, then out comes his Gyarados, which has the power to mega evolve and raise his attack, defense and special defense stats by THIRTY!! Holy shit! Adding that much power to an already powerful Pokemon seems unnecessary, but overall puts up a good fight. And with powerful moves like Earthquake and Outrage, you'll certainly have a rather difficult time with this one.
However, even with the extra challenge of no EXP-Share, Lysandre is still a pretty easy fight. If you've been training for gym battles, all of his Pokemon would be underleveled and really no problem to beat. Nonetheless, he's still a great character with a great fight behind him! Besides, I cannot even begin to describe to you the amount of satisfaction I got when he had his little rage-quit at the end of his final battle.
Number 5:
Norman
Theme:
Choosing a boss from Gen 3 was HARD.
There are already so many great fights from it, including Steven, Maxie, Archie, and the Gym Leader version of Wallace. And now with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, we can add the battles with Wally and Zinnia on there as well! However, I decided to go with the battle that made me feel the most accomplished with the game. It's none-other than the fight with Norman!
Norman is a normal-type gym leader. That may sound like a bunch of baloney to you, but his importance is actually increased when you discover this man is your FATHER. So when you finally go up against him, it isn't just a test of your skill as a trainer, but a sign of proof that if you can beat your own dad, you can do anything! Well, in simpler terms, that's basically what that is. Norman is at his most difficult in Pokemon Emerald and Pokemon ORAS. In Emerald, he comes packing with a Spinda for support, a Vigoroth and a Linoone for some speed, and his almighty Slaking, which, although has the useless ability of Truant, is still a powerhouse with moves like Counter for extra damage and Yawn for irritation. In ORAS, his Pokemon's levels were overall decreased a bit, but that was made up for with their movesets. All of his Pokemon have Retaliate, which is the last thing you want if you can sweep Norman's team. In addition to that, his final Slaking's Yawn is replaced with Swagger and Chip away; two moves that, if used in succession, will cause your downfall.
When you beat him in the original games, he just gives you the gym badge and gives you a speech about growing stronger, as most RPG mentors do. However, ORAS's cutscene is a lot more powerful, with a shot of Norman turning away from the player for a moment and smiling, as if he's proud that you finally beat him. It's a really good moment in the series, which is why Norman lands at number 5 here.
Number 4:
Clair
Theme:
This was also a difficult choice as... I've never really played Gen 2 before.
Don't get me wrong! I don't hate the generation, I just don't have enough information on it to really connect to anyone about it. This is where my good friend Bulbapedia comes around. Looking through the gym leader list of Johto, I finally came across a leader I could potentially enjoy one day; the original dragon-type lady herself, Clair!
Again, while I've never played the second generation, I can say that Clair doesn't look like someone I wanna be messing with anytime soon. I could have easily put Mr. Three-Dragonite himself on here, but I feel as if Clair would be the more interestingly fun battle. In the original games, all she had were three Dragonairs and a Kingdra. Pretty uninspired, if you ask me. However, in HGSS, dhe starts her attack with a Gyarados; a Pokemon that isn't even a dragon-type. This would be an odd choice had it not been for Gyarados's three powerful dragon-type moves. Two of her Dragonairs survived the update, but now come packing with Dragon Pulse for each instead of Dragon Breath, and Aqua Tail for the first, Fire Blast for the second. Her main Pokemon is Kingdra, a mediocre as fuck Pokemon turned deadly thanks to the update, sporting new, powerful moves like Dragon Pulse, Hydro Pump, and the almighty and infamous Hyper Beam, the most powerful normal-type move of all time. Definitely a Pokemon you do NOT want to be near when it's enraged!
This fight sounds awesome, and it honestly makes me wish I had either the original games or the remakes. Maybe I'll pick them up one day or soon. What do you guys think?
Number 3:
Blue
Theme:
Oh hell yeah! If that theme doesn't get your blood pumping for a good fight, I have no idea what will!
Blue (Douche, Dick, Assbag, Fucklord) was an obvious choice for me simply because of the set-up. This isn't just some random guy you fight at the end of your journey, this is your rival, who you have loathed since the very day you first laid eyes on him in-game. Now, after all the tormenting on his part, it's time to face him in his finest hour to finally teach him a lesson!
Already the set-up is fantastic, but what's more is that Blue doesn't use just any random powerful Pokemon any normal champion would have, but instead Pokemon he's caught along his own journey. Your Pokemon against his in probably your greatest battle yet! We'll be talking about his remake's team today as to make this paragraph understandably shorter. In all of his battles, he has a Pidgeot, an Alakazam, and a Rhydon. However, depending on what starter you chose, he'll have two of the three; Gyarados, Exeggutor, or an Arcanine. This as well as his own starter Pokemon, which is the head of his team. While all of his Pokemon's levels were decreased a bit from the originals, his Pokemon move sets were overall improved, what with Rhydon now no longer having just normal type moves and actually able to hold itself together. Of course, my favorite change was giving Arcanine Flamethrower and not the piss-weak Ember. All of his Pokemon have been well rounded from the original game in only the finest ways possible.
Of course, maybe he was too rounded, as the battle is still a little on the easy side, even in the remakes. However, with the setting, concept, and that kick-ass music, this is a battle that will surely go down in the history books as one of the greats!
Number 2:
Cynthia
Theme:
I couldn't do it.
I honestly could not do it. I couldn't NOT put Cynthia on this list! While she may not be the most story-driven champion ever, her battle MORE than makes up for it. And, I'm sorry, is that the sound of awesomeness hitting my ears or is that Cynthia's battle theme? What a fantastic final battle theme to cap off a game so very, very nostalgic for me!
Cynthia herself is a powerful champion with incredibly powerful Pokemon, such as Milotic and Lucario. Note that I'll be using the Platinum version of this fight as reference, as that is when she's at her most powerful. Again, her Pokemon's levels were decreased a bit, but the overall challenge is still there, if not increased! She leads out with a Spiritomb, which at the time had no weaknesses to any type. Despite that, it was pretty mediocre and lulled you into a false sense of easiness. After that, she brings out Roserade with it's move Toxic which can be very dangerous; Togekiss replacing Gastrodon with it's lineup of OP special moves; Lucario with Shadow Ball and Extremespeed for psyching you out; Milotic with Mirror Coat because fuck you; and Garchomp, which has, for absolutely no reason whatsoever, Giga Impact slapped onto it. Oh yeah, great idea! Let's make an already powerful pseudo-legendary Pokemon even more powerful with Giga Impact, as well Earthquake, Dragon Rush and Flamethrower. I see nothing wrong going here!
This final struggle against Cynthia is all the more rewarding when you finally beat her. I cannot describe the joy of my 11-year-old self felt when he finally beat a Pokemon game for the first time. Challenging, satisfying, and overall just plain epic, Cynthia's battle is one I won't be forgetting anytime soon, that's for sure.
But who could come above her?
Number 1:
Ghetsis
Theme:
Light falls, and darkness reigns.
Ghetsis is my favorite boss from Pokemon in the entire franchise. But why? After the climactic and cinematic battle with N, you'd think that I'd go with that, right? Well, while it is true that N was the one we all expected to battle here, and it is true that he put up a good fight, his father, Ghetsis, just blows him out of the water.
First off, his battle theme. Many people have joked that the choir is saying "Dennis", but the leading theory is that it's actually saying "Penance". Penance is a word often used with religious context, otherwise meaning a collection of your sins. In other words, Ghetsis wants you to repent for your sins against his ideals like the god he thinks he is. Seeing how he believes he controls everything from the moment you first meet him to the hour you finally battle him, it's absolutely astonishing how powerful just one word is.
His team in the first Black and White is no joke either; all of his Pokemon have little to no weaknesses, and those that DO have weaknesses are usually covered by their moves. He always leads out with a Cofagrigus, which is an overly sturdy ghost-type with the move Protect and the OP Mummy ability. After that he sends out Bouffalant, a dangerous Pokemon with a huge variety in attacks, including Wild Charge and Earthquake; Seismitoad, which has the move Rain Dance and the ability Swift Swim, which is never a good combination on the opposing side; Bisharp, which can surprise you with Stone Edge and X-Scissor; Eelektross, which has no weaknesses and that in itself is bad news; and how could we forget his hacked Hydreigon? While it's certainly more powerful with the Life Orb slapped onto it in the second games, this Hydreigon is still a force to be reckoned with powerful moves covering all but one of it's weaknesses.
This is without a doubt the most rounded Pokemon fight in the entire series, and without a doubt one of the most challenging, which in this day and age is something I think EVERY Pokemon fan needs now.
And that's the list! Did you enjoy or agree with it?
Oh, and what are your favorite boss fights in the series? I'm actually really curious as to know who you think should have been in this list. Put your answers down in the comments below! Until next time, this is SuperKamek saying thank you, have a great night, and how do you think Ghetsis got that Hydreigon anyway? Since it's level 54 and Zweilous evolves at level 64, does that mean Ghetsis...
...IS A CHEATER?!
Well, at least I have something for a few to say about:
Claire: pretty risky move to put someone you haven't fought so high
Ghetsis: sorry, but just because you fight legendary v legendary puts N higher for me
Cynthia: 1. Nostalgic, for me she also was the first defeated champ (and the one that made me realize I can not only use my starter (after dozens of fails))
2. She uses my 2 favourite pokemon Lucario and (in BW) Braviary
3. Her Milotic is strong enough to survive a lv 100 Arceus' Judgement and then one-hit it with the already mentioned Mirror Coat
3833197
1. Hey, risk is everything in humans.
2. That... is a valid reason. But I SWEPT N's team! Ghetsis is just the better fight, in my opinion.
3. Mirror Coat can be broken if used correctly.
Good old Cynthia.
3833305
Indeed!
Honestly, Clair was a good choice, but I would have went with Red, the ultimate challenge in Gen 2. You're not even allowed NEAR Mt. Silver until you beat the Pokemon League, and he's just chillin' t the summit. And when you challenge him, dude doesn't say a word. Not one of his Pokemon are under level 50 or 60. And not to mention his theme.
(I couldn't resist
)
I do agree with most of your picks with the exceptions being Cynthia and Clair. You do have an excuse with Clair since you never played HG or my pick SS but she's not the best. The battle is good but after you beat her she uprights refuses to give you your gym badge making you take the Dragon master challenge which by the way she failed. She's a sore loser and most people would agree. The show version is better but the game version is a bitch.
Now there are two better choices with the first one being your rival silver. He uses Pokemon for fight and see them as tools, why? Well it could be because his father was GIOVANNI! After some time through the game he starts to change and by the end he's a respectable trainer with a well use Corbat to symbolize his now friendship with his Pokemon.
For number two on the other hand imagine this, you beat all 16 gyms and beaten the elite four and Champion twice. You go up Mt. silver, it's long and dangerous but you make it to the top of the summit, there you see a lone trainer with a red cap standing there. He says nothing as you go into battle.
[youtube=youtube.com/watch?v=iDFEUfS4r_A]
He has a full team of six with all three fully evolved kanto starters with a Pikachu that knows volt tackle, and two others. Red is the strongest trainer in the history with all of his Pokemon being over level 80! Now I will admit I'm not really a big fan johto but Soul Silver is my second favorite Pokemon game only behind expore of sky. Do yourself a favor and get this game... or download it just play it.
#Cynthiabestchampion
3833407
I'm just going to be straight with you, I hate the battle with Red. It's over-talked about and, from what I've seen, kinda easy. I get that he's basically you from the original games, and I really do respect the setting and the tenseness of the battle! But when it all comes down to it...
- His Pokemon are just overleveled and nothing more.
- None of his Pokemon's moves covers or counters their weaknesses.
- He basically steals Lance's theme.
However, I just want to say that if you like the battle, more power to you. You've clearly found something I couldn't see in it. Doesn't help I never played the 2nd generation.
3833413
Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm still sticking with Clair until I play GS or HGSS. All I have is Bulbapedia for this entry of the list, and Clair was the first one that caught my eye in terms of holy-shitness.
Also, I hate Red.
3833430 Well, I certainly felt a sense of accomplishment, since way back when, I literally only trained Cyndiquil. That left me going against him with a level 91 Typhlosion and a random assortment of Pokemon around level 20. And that was on Crystal version. Johto trainer for life!
3833432 Your pick is your pick but seriously play this game it's great. Also if you didn't play this why do you hate red? (Reads reason 3833430) Good points but I think the hype is what you hate about him the most.
3833442
Ah, accomplishment! That's probably what I'm missing out on.
I think the reason why I dislike him is because I was a barely functioning (as most are) toddler as Red and Blue hit the scene in America/Canada. My first game system was a DS and my first Pokemon game was Pearl, you see. I don't have and never will have the same nostalgic feelings towards him, so to me he's just another trainer who shows up and who's ass I kick. Again, that's not to say I don't appreciate him, but I think Blue, Cynthia, Ghetsis, and hell; maybe even Lance were just better final bosses.
(Also, you accidentally made a second comment, so I've removed it for you.
)
3833443
I WANT TO!!
The only real things keeping me away is my money problem and the fact I have no friends.
At least, no friends I can connect with without the aid of internet. Since... y'know... DS and Wii internets were shut down. It's just lonely playing Pokemon and not having the feeling of someone growing stronger alongside you, y'know?
My sister and I plan on getting Sun and Moon respectively, however.
3833472 To the glory of the Lunar Republic! Pokemon Moon all the way!
3833461 And now that Gameboy Color is making me feel older than I am.
But you make a fair point.
(Also, thanks.)
3833490
I dunno... It's entirely possible Moon could have absolute shit Pokemon.
3833518 I hope not but I do hope that this game will be the next Pokemon platinum and SS/HG.