The biggest fear of every person who picks the water starter is an early-game grass gym. Luckily, rock usually comes up first. But, which grass gyms in Pokémon are a genuine threat? The leafy type is usually considered a bit easy to take down, but if you're not prepared, these grass-type specialists can take you out before you know it.
Grass is often given gyms that are plentiful in flora and beautiful displays. These leaders love their plants, and they can catch you by surprise with a combination of status conditions, health absorption, and strong attacks. Here are the grass-type gym leaders (and one trial captain), ranked.
6 Cilan
Cilan will only be faced by trainers who choose Oshawott, as this gym rotates its leader based on your starter choice. Each of the Striaton Gym Leaders will have their respective elemental monkey, meaning Cilan will have the grass-type Pansage.
This is meant to throw the player a bit, as no matter which starter they choose they'll face its weakness as the first major challenge. But, there's a simple way to counter this problem, and that's by picking up a gift Pokémon in the nearby Dreamyard.
Because of this, regardless of which member you face — Cilan, Chili, or Cress — they'll be a pushover. You are gifted an elemental monkey right before this gym, and it'll be the opposing type to your starter. This means if you choose Oshawott, you'll receive a Pansear, which will take down Cilan easy-peasy.
5 Milo
This beefy boy is the first gym leader faced in the Galar region. With the dramatic buildup to the gym challenge at the beginning of the game, one might think this is going to be a difficult challenge. But, Milo isn't that hard to take down, especially given the relative ease of Sword & Shield.
He'll lead with a Gossifleur, which shouldn't pose too much of a threat. Following that, he'll throw out his Eldegoss, which, while pretty, isn't too powerful.
Eldegoss will be Dynamaxed, meaning you'll have to either max out your own Pokémon, or make sure you have a strong flying, fire, or ice type to use against it. But, it goes down fairly easy, and you're on to the next gym to face Nessa.
4 Mallow
Mallow isn't technically a gym leader, but she functions as one for the purposes of this ranking. Acting as the trial captain for Akala Island's final trial in the Lush Jungle, she'll require your help in creating a dish that attracts the totem Pokémon to finish the trial.
After you fight Olivia, however, Mallow will battle you in the Lush Jungle. This isn't a required fight for game completion, but seeing as Mallow is basically the equivalent of the gym leader, she belongs on the list. Mallow's fight is fairly easy, but she can take you by surprise like most grass-type specialists. Her Pokémon have interesting type combinations and some good movesets.
Both her Phantump and Shiinotic will heal themselves with Leech Seed, Ingrain, or Mega Drain. Furthermore, they'll confuse you and put you to sleep with Confuse Ray and Sleep Powder. Take these two down, and you'll face her signature Steenee, which can also toss you around with its moves.
3 Erika
This kimono-clad lady is often seen as the quintessential grass specialist, typically the face of the grass-type gym leader squad. But, she isn't necessarily the most difficult of said squad.
Erika might give you some trouble in the original Generation I games, partially because of her strong team, but also in part due to the glitched nature of some of her moves. She runs a Victreebel, Tangela, and Vileplume.
Tangela's Bind is glitched in the original games, so you won't be able to move if she out-speeds you and uses it. Following that, her Vileplume will put you to sleep and continuously steal your health with Mega Drain. However, this will be the first gym to not make you regret choosing Charmander, so put it to use if you chose it. If not, you'll need a fire or psychic type to take her out.
2 Ramos
This elderly man is a specialist in gardens and the Pokémon you'd probably find in them. His grass-type gym will be the fourth you face in the Kalos region, shortly after Korrina beats the hell out of you with her fighting-types.
Head to Coumarine to face Ramos, and you'll be up against his Jumpluff first. As is par for the course with grass-types, it'll probably hit you with a Leech Seed, healing it a bit every turn. From there, you'll be up against his Weepinbell, which runs three Poison-type moves, meaning there's a good chance you'll be poisoned.
Finally, you'll face his Gogoat. This thing seems easy, but it can be tough in the wrong situation. Your fire-types will go down quickly to Gogoat's Bulldoze, and it'll finish you off with Take Down if it needs to.
1 Gardenia
At face value, the Eterna Gym Leader's team doesn't look too tough. You'll first notice a Cherubi and a Turtwig — both easy enough if you know what you're doing. But, then it'll dawn on you: Roserade.
This Grass/Poison-type 'mon will really mess up your day and take no prisoners. While the Cherubi and Turtwig Gardenia leads with are pretty simple, they might throw up Leech Seed, Safeguard, or Reflect, which will make this fight a bit tougher. Then, Roserade will come out and finish you off.
She has a pretty decent Special Attack stat, and you can be sure she'll put it to use. Roserade will batter you with Magical Leaf (which never misses), Poison Sting (which can poison you), and Grass Knot, while probably keeping you paralyzed with Stun Spore. Add in a choice of Piplup as a starter, and Generation IV's infamous lack of fire types, and you're in for a world of hurt.