5th Gen Alder is the most forgettable champion

This probably has something to do with the fact that you can't actually battle him until the post game.
He wasn't a very memorable character either, and was overshadowed by N as the champion (Who, IMO, was a much more interesting character)

I think Alder had some nice character to him, which I admired. I can't deny he was a bit weak compared to say, Steven Stone (<3) - but he had a nice smidge of depth I could appreciate while not being overwhelmed by.

I also liked to think his dead pokemon companion he rings the bell for in the Celestial Tower in Unova - is a volcarona. Because every time I faced him; that thing ate one rock attack and was never heard from again that battle.

He's no Lance or Steven, thats for sure. He didnt have that great of a speciality and he didn't really give me the impression that he was a powerful champion.

Who? I don't even remember this person.

I actually found Cynthia to be waaay more memorable - and I never even fought her! (I beat Black and White though)

I agree in appearance hes practically the same as Lysandre, a dude with lots of ginger hair.

The only thing I didn't like about Alder was his battle theme.

Me? I liked Alder because he was the first Champion to actually have a shot at taking on the villain, even if it ended in disastrous defeat. Given that his Pokémon died, it had been a long time since he was in prime battling state which is why N defeated him, so I guess for that I can understand why people think he wasn't Champion material.

As for battling him? I honestly don't remember how hard he's been for me, it's been a long time (maybe even before B2W2 released in the US I think).

Pendraflare said:

Me? I liked Alder because he was the first Champion to actually have a shot at taking on the villain, even if it ended in disastrous defeat. Given that his Pokémon died, it had been a long time since he was in prime battling state which is why N defeated him, so I guess for that I can understand why people think he wasn't Champion material.

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You actually made a good point here. I liked that he wanted to try and stand up against the threat even if he ended up getting humiliated, and the fact he had a Pokemon of his die he took a long time to get back on his feet in terms of battling. It's probably due to this that many don't consider him to be a "real" champion, along with the fact his team is heavily weak to Rock and Fire moves, especially given it has half of it made up of Bug-types, one of which is his ace.

It's mainly his team having such easily exploitable weaknesses that he's not champion-worthy like what most people say, because that's coming from those who want a champion who is actually worth a challenge, like Cynthia.

I agree. I thought Alder was forgettable the moment I encountered him. His overall impression by design and character both miss a mark somewhere. I think the Elite four of that gen gave way more of an impression than he ever did which is saying a lot.

Huh, I never really thought about it before, but I'd have to agree. Alder isn't especially memorable, though at least you see him throughout the game iirc. That said, I don't think people considered Steven or Wallace to be especially memorable until ORAS. The most memorable champions are probably Cynthia and Lance, come to think of it.

~Psychic

I liked Alder, but he was definitely not one to stand out from the crowd. When you compare from the likes of Cynthia who seems to be much more of a staple to the franchise.

Pendraflare;8610193[B said:

]Me? I liked Alder because he was the first Champion to actually have a shot at taking on the villain[/B], even if it ended in disastrous defeat. Given that his Pokémon died, it had been a long time since he was in prime battling state which is why N defeated him, so I guess for that I can understand why people think he wasn't Champion material.

As for battling him? I honestly don't remember how hard he's been for me, it's been a long time (maybe even before B2W2 released in the US I think).

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I think Lance back in gen 2 would like to say something about that. He did kinda ask you to help him out in raiding a TR base and had his Pokemon hyper beam a TR grunt. Steven also had some involvement, although less than these two, and Cynthia joined you in chasing Cryus and Giratina.

As for the topic, I... can't exactly agree. I certainly remember him well despite not battling him until post game. He had a big handle in the plot; he fought N, discussed with you what should be done when Plasma had a bigger impact once N got his legendary dragon Pokemon... and he also had some impact in Cheren's character development. While the lack of battling him at the end does set him apart from the others, that's not much of a factor for myself.

Really, if there's a champion that's forgettable, it's Diantha from XY. Every single other champion has been seen during the story sans Lance in FRLG (and again, he makes up for this in GSC/HGSS). Diantha... she appears exactly twice before the endgame. One is in a cafe, talking to Lysandre about acting and how she'd like to battle you. Then in Coumarine City she rambles a bit to you about legendary Pokemon and bonds. That's it.

No daring raids on TR bases, no letters delivering or battling Team Magma/Aqua for a Lati@s and etc, no helping a horde of Psyduck and talking about Sinnoh myths before jumping into an alternate dimensions, no engagement with one of your rivals and trying stop the team plasma takeover... just a bit of talk about being an actor and friendship. That's pretty darn forgettable, and disappointing, for a champion imo. She certainly never really did anything that had so to with the Team ___ of the region unlike the others, that's for sure.

I don't tend to think so. I don't particularly like Steven. It's also hard to forget the guy's wild style. Red hair and that garb get up put him on the list of some of the strangest fashions in the game. Alder might not be the most difficult or the best battle wise, but it seems that Alder had more importance in the games than some other champions. It probably is a bit jaded, my point of view, because I see Steven more like the rich, smart, this, that, 'perfect' champion which is just too sickly for me. How can you own a company, be a scientist, do all this research and still find time enough to train your Pokémon? He does have a full time job, right?

And just for the record, I like it when my champions try to smell me later.

bobandbill said:

Really, if there's a champion that's forgettable, it's Diantha from XY. Every single other champion has been seen during the story sans Lance in FRLG (and again, he makes up for this in GSC/HGSS). Diantha... she appears exactly twice before the endgame. One is in a cafe, talking to Lysandre about acting and how she'd like to battle you. Then in Coumarine City she rambles a bit to you about legendary Pokemon and bonds. That's it.

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Couldn't agree with you more, Such a poor character in my opinion. Whatever about Adler, At least he looked somewhat cool.
Diantha was not only forgettable but also too "dainty" for my liking

i think he is forgettable,not like the best champ ever cynthia(<3)
but i think he has a pretty deep story losing is pokemon and telling N how pokemon and people like each other

I like Alder as a Champion, honestly. He's not the most difficult Champion, far from it, but he has such a great presence in both Black and White and Black 2 and White 2, even though in the latter games, he's no longer the Champion. The fact he sticks around to give his words of wisdom in the sequel though cement him further as a great Champion, even though he no longer holds the title. I think he's a Champion that sticks out in character and dialog rather than suspense and the actual battle. I'm a big fan of his design, too. He looks like he's really one with his Pokemon and in touch with nature. He doesn't look like a badass like Lance or Cynthia or even fight like them, but I would go as far as to say he's got a better mind than those too and I enjoy his character much more.

I agree with B&B on Diantha being a very forgettable Champion. She shows up once, speaking to Lysandre, and then I'm pretty sure the next time you see her is the battle with her at the Pokemon League. There's not much character or development there. She doesn't do anything in the story and I feel they missed a huge opportunity with her character. In the first scene we get with her, she shows to be an interesting character and rejects Lysandre's ideas and she could have been a great asset at the end instead of your dumb rival. However, the fact that we don't see her again after that until the battle with her throws all of that in the garbage.

I personally did like Alder.

When I hear the word "champion" when it comes to Pokémon and whatnot, it's tough for me to imagine someone young to take this spot (even though a few of them have already done it, such as Blue); Alder, primarily due to his seniority, seemed to have represented this position very well, at least from my perspective.

As far as story-line is concerned, I do have to agree that he hasn't made much of an involvement throughout games. If he were more out there--like how Steven and Wallace were in Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Omega Ruby, and Alpha Sapphire--I'm positive he would have been more memorable.

Adler had some missed potential in a gameplay standpoint. He could have been the Bug type champion in the core games (given that three of this mons in his lineup or part Bug, including his signature Volcarona, probably one of the standouts of this Gen). I think its too much curbstomping if one would say people remember Volcarona but NOT ADLER.

I think everyone has already posted their views and opinions about Adler as a character and I have nothing against it, on an off topic note, whoever mentioned Diantha as the more forgettable champion deserves a rep, which of course should be discussed in a different topic but that's just me.

The thing that made Alder forgettable was that there was way too many trainers that were stronger than him heck even his grandson threw legends at you

Alder... Who's he?

To be honest, N was cooler.