The Hoenn region is home to many wonderful phenomena: towering volcanoes, vast ocean routes, and mythical Pokémon hidden deep underwater or high in the sky. It's no wonder fans pushed for remakes of Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, with Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire offering a return to Hoenn full of familiar sights and faces. It is perhaps the people of Hoenn that truly makes the games come alive, and there are few characters as important as Hoenn's gym leaders.
Because gym leaders are opponents the player must face off against in a fantasy world, it seems fitting to figure out each one's Dungeon and Dragons' moral alignment. They may not be a threat to the player, but they can sure put up a fight!
10 Roxanne: True Neutral
She may not be the toughest of Rock trainers, but Roxanne serves as a good introduction to Gym Leaders and the Pokémon League in Hoenn. Following in Brock's footsteps as a Rock-type trainer and the first gym leader the player will encounter, Roxanne is a no-nonsense honors student who doesn't bother with gym puzzles. She is invested in her goals and causes but remains relatively indifferent to everything else, often the mindset of a True Neutral character.
9 Brawly: Neutral Good
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Brawly offers a fierce fight early on in the game, arguably tougher than other Fighting-type Gyms out there, but his personality and spirit are undeniably good. His enthusiasm for surfing matches his enthusiasm for discovering and battling promising trainers such as the player.
After registering Brawly on the Pokénav match call, he shows no envy or upset at being defeated, only encouragement and anticipation to the moment when he is prepared to battle the player again. Outside of his relationship to the player, Brawly enjoys a friendship with Kanto Elite Four's Bruno, having trained together in the Sevii Islands' Sevault Canyon.
7 Wattson: Chaotic Good
Surprisingly absolutely no one, Wattson is Chaotic Good in not only his enjoyment of laughing and practical jokes but also in his genuine love and concern for Pokémon. Wattson took actions to close the New Mauville power plant, once planned to be an underground city, when he discovered it had become a habitat for wild Pokémon.
He puts much emphasis on the healing power of laughter and the importance of honesty, stating that "One must never throw a match. Even I must not." He is a boisterous and somewhat unpredictable man, especially in battle. The man owns an exploding Voltorb, after all!
6 Flannery: Chaotic Neutral
Flannery is an interesting opponent: the puzzle to reach her is difficult enough, and the actual battle can be quite difficult if the player has chosen a Fire or Grass-type starter. Most interesting is her personality. Chaotic Neutrals are impulse-driven, finding it difficult to know the "correct" path to take. Flannery's behavior is undeniably impulsive and a bit of a hothead, though the driving force may be from her insecurities as a gym leader (or being an authority figure with power in general). Her desire to mimic the "powerful" way of acting she has seen in order to be a successful gym leader is almost endearing, if not misguided and, again, impulsive.
5 Norman: Lawful Good
The father figure whom the player must overcome to prove not only their strength but also their maturity? Norman could only be lawful good, acting as a beacon of strength and as a goal for the player to work towards. He keeps his child on the right path, using his gym as a teaching tool to help trainers understand the rules of battling. Norman and his Normal-type Pokémon act as the halfway point for Hoenn's story, with the player's victory opening up a new path across the ocean and onto tougher challenges.
4 Winona: Neutral Evil
Winona is a gym leader who embraces the unique beauty and strengths of Flying-type Pokémon to an intense degree. Her goal is to impede the player through her challenge, but she possesses less ambition for being the best than she does respect for Flying Pokémon and the sky. After being defeated in battle, she will remark "Never before have I seen a Trainer command Pokémon with more grace than I." This either is a credit to the player's strength or a sign of her overwhelming confidence in her battling abilities.
3 Tate & Liza: Chaotic Evil
Tate & Liza could be no other alignment. These two are absolutely chaotic with the way they revel in surprising the player with their ability to communicate telepathically. They add to the surprise by being the series' first-ever double battle gym leaders, with double battles being new to Generation III. Interestingly enough, if the player manages to trap themselves in Mossdeep City with only one Pokémon and no way of obtaining any more, the twins will refuse to battle, leaving the player trapped in a permanent softlock. At least they give out TM Calm Mind after being defeated.
2 Juan: Lawful Evil
Juan is perhaps the toughest Water-type Gym Leader in Pokémon history so far. He is the Sootopolis City gym leader in Pokémon Emerald and is the mentor of the successful Wallace. Juan is extremely confident in his abilities (with good reason), and only by following a strict code can one rise to such prestige and talent.
It can be seen that Juan has his own goals besides being a gym leader: not only does he wish to take in more trainers to mentor, but he seems to have a mission to make every trainer more elegant in battle, starting with loaning them one of his fabulous outfits.
1 Wallace: Lawful Neutral
Wallace is the Sootopolis City gym leader in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, but in Pokémon Emerald, he is the one to guide the player to the Sky Pillar in order to wake Rayquaza and put an end to Groudon and Kyogre's war
It takes a calm-tempered and by-the-book person to be the protector of Hoenn's legendary sky Pokémon Rayquaza, and Wallace is that person. He even tests the player's readiness in Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire by battling them. This proficiency with responsibility (and excellence in battle) is no doubt why he became Champion.