There is always a discussion about which battle is the most difficult in Pokemon. There are plenty of powerful Gym Leaders like Whitney or Sabrina that can tear teams to shreds. Or what about the Elite Four, with the likes of Drake, Grimsley, and Shauntal? This is all without even mentioning the Champions or Rivals that frequent these journeys.
But amongst all this debate, there are still hundreds of Trainers that many players completely forget about: the regular Trainers! These citizens of the Pokemon world are taking on the League challenge just like you, and want a piece of that Champion pie! So, let's take a look at the truly powerful Trainers that most fans have forgotten even exist.
10 Bug Catcher Elijah - Kanto, Route 6
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
In a list that's all about the most difficult Trainers in Pokemon, it feels odd to start off with the lowly Bug Catcher. Mostly known for frequenting Viridian Forest and using Caterpie and Weedle, the Bug Catcher is one of the weakest Trainer classes in the entire franchise.
That is until you get to Route 6, right before Vermillion City. Here you'll encounter Bug Catcher Elijah, a Trainer with only a single level 20 Butterfree. While that may seem like an easy battle, this Butterfree has access to all of the different Powder moves — including Stun Spore and Sleep Powder. This means it can easily incapacitate your team, and whittle them down with Confusion. While you might be able to defeat Elijah with a full team, there's no doubt that his Butterfree will put up a very irritating fight.
9 The Winstrate Family - Hoenn, Route 111 (And Victory Road)
There are lots of interesting mini challenges in the Pokemon series, such as defeating consecutive Trainers to get a prize on Nugget Bridge. One of the more difficult versions of these challenges is with the Winstrate Family in the Hoenn region. If you approach the father standing outside their home on Route 111, you'll engage in four consecutive battles — and you won't be able to heal in-between. This gets especially difficult when two of the previous teams are able to paralyze you, and the final team has a Meditite with the Ability Pure Power, and that knows Meditate and Hi Jump Kick/Force Palm. That's a dangerous combo!
What makes this even more interesting is that there is a fifth member of the family waiting for you at Victory Road. His name is Cooltrainer Vito, and he has a pretty good team that differs depending on which game you're playing. Just like in The Godfather and The Fast and the Furious, it's dangerous to go against family.
8 Veteran Julia - Unova (B2W2), Twist Mountain
The strongest regular Trainer class is easily the Veteran. These are Trainers who have been around for a while, and have teams that aren't just powerful, but well-balanced. One of the best examples of this class is Veteran Julia. While she does appear in the original Black and White at Challenger's Cave, it's in Black 2 and White 2 where she really shines.
She claims to be the number one tactician of Twist Mountain, and it's easy to see why. On her team she has Glaceon, Bastiodon, Rhyperior, and Drapion, which are all at level 63 or 68 if you're playing on Challenge Mode. They're all incredibly bulky, and can dish out powerful attacks while they're being hit. It's a tough battle, and it ensures that she is one of the strongest female Trainers in the game.
7 Double Team Zac and Jen - Sinnoh (BDSP), Route 210
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
After the third generation of games, double battles became a lot more prevalent in Pokemon. While it's not how most of the game is played, double battles allow for a new layer of strategy that really force a player to think before they blindly attack. This is especially true of Double Team Zac and Jen in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Located on Route 210, Zac and Jen only have a single Pokemon each: Gyarados and Raichu. Raichu is able to support the team with Nuzzle and Light Screen, while Gyarados is able to handle all of the Ground-types that threaten Raichu since it is immune to them. Add to that the dense fog, and you're in for a very frustrating fight.
6 Maid Tammy - Unova (B2W2), Celestial Tower
As you can probably tell with Veteran Julia, Pokemon Black 2 and White 2 have some of the toughest Trainer battles in all of Pokemon. But one of the most surprising of these is the battle with Maid Tammy near the top of the Celestial Tower. She features a full team of incredibly powerful Steel-type Pokemon, including Metagross, Skarmory, Ferrothorn, and Bisharp.
What really makes this battle interesting is the inferred story around it. You head to Celestial Tower after a young man asks you to ring the bell at the top for his new wife. But in order to get there, you have to get through four other women, whose first letters of their names spell 'JILT'. It becomes clear that these women are the jilted lovers of this man, and who are trying to hurt this new relationship. It's fascinating, and one of the many reasons that the fifth generation of Pokemon still has the best stories to date.
5 Ace Trainer Jennifer - Hoenn, Route 120
Sometimes, all a Trainer needs is a single powerful Pokemon in the right conditions to be a threat. That is the case with Ace Trainer Jennifer. Her only Pokemon is a Milotic, a rare and powerful Special Defense wall, with moves to reflect that. Not only can she hit hard with Water Pulse, but she has Recover to make sure her HP is always solid. Also, Milotic's Ability, Marvel Scale, increases her Defense by half whenever she is afflicted with a status.
What makes this battle especially dangerous is the fact that it's on Route 120: a route where it is always raining. That means her Water-type moves are going to be even more powerful. Really, you're going to need a solid Grass-type Pokemon to take her down, or else lose most of your team in the process. It's clear that Game Freak felt she was too powerful, because this Milotic was swapped out for a Sableye in Pokemon Emerald.
4 Veteran Sinan and Veteran Rosaline - Unova (B2W2), Pinwheel Forest
It's already been established that the Veteran is the best Trainer class out there. But how would you handle two at the same time? Black 2 and White 2 answer that question with a terrifying battle between Veterans Sinand and Rosaline in the Pinwheel Forest.
What makes this battle so tough is how well all of these Pokemon work together. You start off battling Crobat and Ludicolo, where Crobat can set up Rain Dance in order to activate Ludicolo's Swift Swim Ability — doubling its Speed. But that's not all! Crobat can U-Turn out of there, so that it can save its other moves to help out the other Pokemon, while an Electivire can take advantage of the rain with Thunder. And if both Electivire and Ludicolo are taken down, Crobat can just set up Sunny Day to support Magmortar and Leafeon with Leaf Guard. And there are still more Pokemon on their team! There is so much more strategy to this team than there is for any other, easily making it the most difficult double battle in all of Pokemon.
3 Psychic Inver - Kalos, Inverse House
Although Pokemon has been more focused on single and double battles, there are many more battling formats to choose from — such as triple battles, rotation battles, sky battles, and inverse battles. Of all of these, inverse battles are probably the most frustrating, since they completely reverse the type effectiveness chart that you've probably been memorizing since 1998.
The only place where this happens is at the Inverse House, where Psychic Inver is waiting for you. He'll only battle you once a day, but his teams are randomized so that there's no way to plan for them. Also, these Pokemon are all competitively trained and are incredibly powerful. If you go into this battle expecting an easy fight, you'll be found wanting. The best advice is to have the reversed type chart open as you battle, so you know what you're dealing with.
2 Morimoto - Many Locations
Ok, this one might be cheating, but this is technically a Trainer class and not a character of any narrative importance — so it counts! Shigeki Morimoto is a game designer who has been involved in just about every Pokemon game. While he's most famous for creating Mew, he's had his hand in many different aspects of Pokemon. And in Generation Five, he made his way into the game as the Game Freak Trainer class. This has continued into Generations Seven and Eight, as well.
Every time he's appeared he's had a powerful team, ranging anywhere from level 14 all the way to level 78. His most powerful team probably appears in Sword and Shield, where he has many strong Pokemon. These include Snorlax, Cursola, and Dragapult. All of these battles are optional, but usually result in earning an awesome item like the Oval Charm. It's a nice nod to the team working on this game, as well as the series' history. However, despite all of his knowledge and influence behind the scenes, Morimoto isn't the strongest regular Trainer in Pokemon.
1 Veteran Shaun - Unova, Challenger's Cave (BW)/Wellspring Cave (B2W2)
Many of the strongest Trainers have hidden in dark, stony areas. Red was found at the top of Mt. Silver in Gold, Silver, and Crystal. Steven Stone hid out at the bottom of Meteor Falls in Emerald. And in Black and White, lurking in the shadows at the bottom of Challenger's Cave, is... Shaun.
Veteran Shaun is in a class all his own, with a team that is varied and competitively viable. It boasts powerhouses such as Gyarados, Snorlax, Excadrill, Crobat, Druddigon, and Gigalith. Not only are these Pokemon strong, but they work incredibly well together, covering each others weaknesses and boasting movesets that have many surprises. When it comes to finding the strongest Trainer, there really is no contest. Veteran Shaun leaves all other Trainers in the dark.