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Favorite Gym Leader

CodeHelmet

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We all have our favorite Gym Leaders from the various regions but I want to know which one you put at the top of the mountain or who you consider to be your absolute favorite. Brock and Misty, despite being Ash's companions in the Anime, are Gym Leaders after all and for me personally, I actually like Misty. I have a thing for Red Heads(which she is one) and her battling skills noticeably took a meteoric rise when she acquired a Gyrados(one that can now Mega Evolve no less). Flannery and her red hot hair and Korrina came in a tie for 2nd. I know Korrina is going to get a lot of love(especially from a certain someone) but I wanted to gauge the community at large.
 
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Not counting Misty, Brock, Iris, Dent, or Clemont, since, while technically gym leaders, they're more group companions in this case, I'd say Lt. Surge would be close to a favorite, mostly because of how Ash managed to struggle to beat him, being a paragon of what the challenges of fighting gym leaders are supposed to be like, especially against rookies. I'd also probably list Brawley regarding Hoenn, being the only Gym Leader Ash actually had to struggle against with his newbie team compared to the rest of those pansies.

Counting the group companions who happened to be Gym Leaders, I'd also list Misty and Iris as well (even though the latter technically isn't a gym leader in the Anime), and Brock up until Johto.
 
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CodeHelmet

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Not counting Misty, Brock, Iris, Dent, or Clemont, since, while technically gym leaders, they're more group companions in this case, I'd say Lt. Surge would be close to a favorite, mostly because of how Ash managed to struggle to beat him, being a paragon of what the challenges of fighting gym leaders are supposed to be like, especially against rookies. I'd also probably list Brawley regarding Hoenn, being the only Gym Leader Ash actually had to struggle against with his newbie team compared to the rest of those pansies.

Counting the group companions who happened to be Gym Leaders, I'd also list Misty and Iris as well (even though the latter technically isn't a gym leader in the Anime), and Brock up until Johto.

Part of why I hate Black&White is the mistreatment of Iris. She could have been so much better than what the writers portrayed her to be. She isn't a Gym Leader in the Anime despite being one in White and my ire grew when you factor in BW2. In the sequels shes the Champion for crying out loud and yet she only has two Dragon types(one that didn't come until 89 Episodes in) for the entire series. I don't count Gible seeing as she got that in her post series special.

Favorites per region:

Kanto: Misty
Johto: Jasmine *Changed my mind*
Hoenn: Flannery
Sinnoh: Gardenia
Unova: Skyla
Kalos: Korrina
Alola: Need not apply...
 
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LadyJirachu

Fluffy and Elegant :3
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Mine is Korrina, because she is nice,energetic, an awesome battler and she gives you a free Lucario.

:D

(by the way, people, she's my own favorite, too)
(how could she not be? I'm in love with her and she help's with my autism <3 also i love the traits he stated too ^_^)
 

CodeHelmet

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:D

(by the way, people, she's my own favorite, too)
(how could she not be? I'm in love with her and she help's with my autism <3 also i love the traits he stated too ^_^)

*Cough* Didn't notice the not so subtle reference to you in my OP? Anyways, this might cheer you up ;)

What Gen 6 Gym Battle Music SHOULD have been
or at the very least... Korrina theme

Not one to edit but I wanted to add two things. 1) Would you cosplay as Korrina if you could and 2) I had to go through like 6 renditions on my region list for favorite Gym Leader purely because Johto and Unova have a few good ones. Johto I narrowed it to Whitney, Clair and Jasmine and initially settled on Whitney. However I remember her evil "Cow" from the games and proceeded to swap to Jasmine since Steel types are so underrated. As for Unova, came down to two honestly: Elesa and Skyla. Settled for Skyla because... well Red hair :D
 
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Frozocrone

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Roxie is one of the coolest gym leaders around.

Plays lead guitar in a band, has a killer Koffing, actually hinders herself in battles so challengers can give their all and is all around a fiery/entertaining person to be around.
 

LadyJirachu

Fluffy and Elegant :3
2,498
Posts
19
Years
*Cough* Didn't notice the not so subtle reference to you in my OP? Anyways, this might cheer you up ;)

What Gen 6 Gym Battle Music SHOULD have been
or at the very least... Korrina theme

Not one to edit but I wanted to add two things. 1) Would you cosplay as Korrina if you could and 2) I had to go through like 6 renditions on my region list for favorite Gym Leader purely because Johto and Unova have a few good ones. Johto I narrowed it to Whitney, Clair and Jasmine and initially settled on Whitney. However I remember her evil "Cow" from the games and proceeded to swap to Jasmine since Steel types are so underrated. As for Unova, came down to two honestly: Elesa and Skyla. Settled for Skyla because... well Red hair :D

Oh! I just read your first post. :) Thats so true. She gets lots of love from me every day hehe X3;

Yeah i'm glad Korrina has her own little theme though :) The gym leader theme still sounds similar to it.

I liked johtos leaders a lot in the past too ;3

I would cosplay korrina if i could for sure :D Then blow kisses to myself in the mirror xD
 
9,570
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Years
Sabrina, especially in the anime canon. When I saw this brooding, green-haired lady as a wee little one she just gave off the impression that she was the most powerful woman in Kanto-- she probably was. She barely spoke a word, yet spoke ten thousand just by her icy demeanor. I like psychic Pokemon and her Kadabra really made an impression on me. The whole episode is pretty surreal and dramatic, a darkness that gradually got phased out as the seasons went on. Her backstory was interesting and so were her dolls. Since I'm a doll collector I should be spooked by her turning people into toys and carrying that creepy ghost doll of herself as a child, but it actually is all fascinating to me.
 
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Sabrina, especially in the anime canon. When I saw this brooding, green-haired lady as a wee little one she just gave off the impression that she was the most powerful woman in Kanto-- she probably was. She barely spoke a word, yet spoke ten thousand just by her icy demeanor. I like psychic Pokemon and her Kadabra really made an impression on me. The whole episode is pretty surreal and dramatic, a darkness that gradually got phased out as the seasons went on. Her backstory was interesting and so were her dolls. Since I'm a doll collector I should be spooked by her turning people into toys and carrying that creepy ghost doll of herself as a child, but it actually is all fascinating to me.

Do you get the same vibe in the game or not?

What sucks what the anime did with that though, despite all that buildup, there was no actual fight. And it was pretty disappointing. I remember even thinking that as a kid.
I wanted to see Haunter actually be used, but all he did was make goofy faces and then she started laughing, and then some guy gave him the badge.

That was literally it. Yeah... pretty lame.
 
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Do you get the same vibe in the game or not?

What sucks what the anime did with that though, despite all that buildup, there was no actual fight. And it was pretty disappointing. I remember even thinking that as a kid.
I wanted to see Haunter actually be used, but all he did was make goofy faces and then she started laughing, and then some guy gave him the badge.

That was literally it. Yeah... pretty lame.

Yes, I do get a sense of her complexity in game and think she seems cool, intense, lonely and offers one of the strongest Kanto Teams. I specified the anime just because the thread was tagged under the anime, not because I like her any less in the manga and games. I enjoy this character in her many different forms.

I like the Haunter vs Kadabra episode but can understand why you didn't. These are two really cool Pokemon who didn't battle each other. I myself am okay with this outcome, but its also fine if you disagree.

Let me start by saying that I don't think this was a winnable battle for Ash. While there may have been some cool attacks launched, I think realistically the battle would have resulted in the same outcome we had seen previously in the battles between Pikachu and Kadabra. Haunter is awesome but it was totally wild and untrained and weak to Kadabra psychic moves. Ash did not really know what he was doing in season 1 and Sabrina was powerful and ruthless.

Even if Haunter did win Sabrina was still a very disturbed girl. Because she was lonely I don't know if she would have let Ash go even if he fulfilled all of his requirements. She refused to let Misty and Brock leave her even though they had nothing to do with her battle with Ash, and she refused to even let Misty to attempt to battle her for the chance to go free. She ultimately just didn't want to experience being abandoned.

Even if she did let Ash, Brock and Misty leave, Sabrina could have easily captured the next trainer who came by. In my opinion a fight between haunter and kadabra would not have been a more satisfying ending because it doesn't address the larger dilemmas in the story. Haunter by making Sabrina laugh with his faces and antics, rather than just using brute force, is what allowed Sabrina to let her gaurd down wn finally find peace.

While its a sorta running joke how Ash kept getting free badges in Kanto even when he did not win, in this situation I think the writers put a lot of thought into the way Ash obtains the Marsh Badge.
 
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Yes, I do get a sense of her complexity in game and think she seems cool, intense, lonely and offers one of the strongest Kanto Teams. I specified the anime just because the thread was tagged under the anime, not because I like her any less in the manga and games. I enjoy this character in her many different forms.

I like the Haunter vs Kadabra episode but can understand why you didn't. These are two really cool Pokemon who didn't battle each other. I myself am okay with this outcome, but its also fine if you disagree.

Let me start by saying that I don't think this was a winnable battle for Ash. While there may have been some cool attacks launched, I think realistically the battle would have resulted in the same outcome we had seen previously in the battles between Pikachu and Kadabra. Haunter is awesome but it was totally wild and untrained and weak to Kadabra psychic moves. Ash did not really know what he was doing in season 1 and Sabrina was powerful and ruthless.

Even if Haunter did win Sabrina was still a very disturbed girl. Because she was lonely I don't know if she would have let Ash go even if he fulfilled all of his requirements. She refused to let Misty and Brock leave her even though they had nothing to do with her battle with Ash, and she refused to even let Misty to attempt to battle her for the chance to go free. She ultimately just didn't want to experience being abandoned.

Even if she did let Ash, Brock and Misty leave, Sabrina could have easily captured the next trainer who came by. In my opinion a fight between haunter and kadabra would not have been a more satisfying ending because it doesn't address the larger dilemmas in the story. Haunter by making Sabrina laugh with his faces and antics, rather than just using brute force, is what allowed Sabrina to let her gaurd down wn finally find peace.

While its a sorta running joke how Ash kept getting free badges in Kanto even when he did not win, in this situation I think the writers put a lot of thought into the way Ash obtains the Marsh Badge.

You're very insightful. You're right. These were actually somewhat decent and interesting characterization for someone in this anime. On just Sabrina alone, I get why. Ash is boring as always and this unique outcome for Sabrina is hindered by the fact Ash almost never earns any of his Kanto badges, it comes across as the same routine, rather than the effort that was put in. Like, you get excited for an actual battle but, again, nothing. That's why anyone, at least I, craved to see it.

But imagine someone like Red or Gary was the protagonist. They battle and earn their merits. To then have Sabrina's battle exactly the same, that would've been super unique, fresh, and memorable.

So I get it now. My problem isn't with Sabrina's story, it's the fact it crosses over to Ash's boring as hell one.
 
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LadyJirachu

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I'm so glad Korrina has the power to make my days brighter.

A member here said they had hair like hers and it made me feel happy even though I felt a serious bad mood a little while ago (i rather not get into why).

Korrina is such a blessing to me. Favorite gym leader forever ^_^
 
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:D

(by the way, people, she's my own favorite, too)
(how could she not be? I'm in love with her and she help's with my autism <3 also i love the traits he stated too ^_^)

You have autism as well? Me too.

@CodeHelmet: Quite frankly, considering what happened to Misty after Johto where she was forced out of her dreams and goal thanks to her sisters, I'm actually glad that she doesn't become a gym leader (besides, AG and BW's treatment of gym leaders was just appalling as it is, so it's probably better off if she wasn't that. Heck, even DP wasn't much better thanks to their making the Gym leaders competent at the expense of making Ash and Pikachu look grossly incompetent compared to them, which is even worse after their win at the Battle Frontier.).

Regarding Sabrina, she's pretty much my second choice regarding the Kanto Gym Leaders (not counting Misty and Brock, obviously), after Lt. Surge (only reason why she isn't first is thanks largely to Ash never actually beating her in direct battle).
 
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Pretty obvious though, since Volkner is the only guy in-game she ever shows any sort of attachment to. So it's a pretty common ship.

Poke-fans generally don't mention male and females together in one sentence without alluding to a ship, haha.
 
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