Age 25
Female
Seen June 19th, 2019
Posted March 5th, 2018
1,259 posts
13.7 Years
I'd say Ghetsis from the original Black and White over BW2. You're just done beating N and think it's over - you came through N's mind - but then this demon appears, reveals his intentions all along and battles you instantly. Not only is this a major twist, the battle itself has a bad atmosphere that brings you into despair. That Hydreigon alone...

I'd also nominate Lusamine V2 in Sun and Moon, except that we actually don't battle her Nihilego fusion but just her regular team. They really missed a chance there.

Mister Coffee

Blathering Fool

Male
Seen November 7th, 2020
Posted June 12th, 2019
992 posts
11.7 Years
Two particular battles that always stand out to me in my memories as being the hardest battles, are fighting Lance in G/S/C and fighting Cynthia in D/P/Pt.

Lance was just a really powerful cheater. Those under leveled Dragonites threw me throught the ringer a few times and really frustrated me when I was younger. I did eventually beat him but only after much grinding and a few breaks away from the game after being so frustrated. I always disliked Lance, he was hard to beat but in a way that was just obnoxious, his under leveled Dragonites were just so cheap to use, but I will admit, it was definitely challenging.

Cynthia was a memorably hard battle, but it wasn't annoying like Lance. Lance was annoying because he felt like he was cheating. Cynthia on the other hand was a very cool trainer with high leveled pokemon on a diverse team. I also recall her AI being relatively well done for battling (if I remember correctly she does use tactical swaps to gain an advantage over you). Cynthia was just a really strong trainer that put up a serious fight and had a relentless and terrifying Garchomp that kicked my butt a fair share amount of times. Cynthia was not only challenging to fight, but due to her well done battling AI and her on the level team, she was fun to fight and beating her felt like a serious accomplishment.
Masters of Hoenn


"Somewhere off in a distant world, an island exists, where the ocean only meets the sand, where the weather is always warm. An adventure begins, traveling from the vast lands into the deep seas, chasing into the heart of the tropics, where the plants are vibrant and the beasts are fantastic. We will find each other there, chasing the fleeting dreams of a land full of beauty and potential."
Female
USA
Seen 3 Weeks Ago
Posted April 12th, 2023
9,655 posts
5.5 Years
For me it would be Giovanni from Pokemon Yellow version. Most of Giovanni's pokemon were ground type and my strongest pokemon was Pikachu which is not good against ground type. I don't even remember how I managed to beat Giovanni's ground type pokemon with Pikachu, but I do remember he was hard.

ZeoStar

Seen 1 Hour Ago
Posted 6 Hours Ago
11,418 posts
5.6 Years
Both of the game-cube spin-offs had the hardest final battles in the series.

In Colosseum, the final boss had a skill swap Slaking, so if you didn't get the slowking out in time, he was guaranteed to sweep. There was also a boss fight before him who used a full team of 6, I don't even remember if it healed your team in-between.

In XD: Gale of Darkness, I don't even see how the final fight is possible unless you use the Lugia to tank hits. He has a full team of legendary pokemon with made up moves. My team was in the high level 50's and he still was killing everything in one shot.

Edit- Checking again, and it wasn't a full team of legendaries, just the gen 1 birds.

Flowerchild

> failure to launch

Age 24
She/Her
Hyperspace
Seen 1 Week Ago
Posted July 7th, 2022
8,699 posts
13 Years
I'd also nominate Lusamine V2 in Sun and Moon, except that we actually don't battle her Nihilego fusion but just her regular team. They really missed a chance there.
Holy crap, how amazing would that have been :0
actually battling a trainer fused with a pokemon like that would be sick
Male
VA
Seen December 20th, 2017
Posted December 20th, 2017
1 posts
5.4 Years
The hardest battle ever for me would have to be against Red in HG/SS.. first off his Pokémon are in their mid 80s with Pikachu on level 88.. we were both on our last Pokemon.. his was Charizard or Lapras.. thankfully i had a Giratina that has the pressure ability and a WHOLE LOT of Full Restores.. i only beat him cause he ended up using struggle..

blue

gucci

Male
United Kingdom
Seen September 26th, 2021
Posted August 7th, 2019
21,056 posts
15.4 Years
The second battle against Lusamine was definitely one of them. Her team all having aura stat boosts, the music, and the fact that she's fused with an Ultra Beast just made it super intense.

CF1994

Male
Seen March 9th, 2023
Posted December 27th, 2022
3,774 posts
6.8 Years
Ultra Necrozma.

FULL STOP!

This bright behemoth has an absurd 754 BST, equipped with an aura that boosts all stats by one, including its' already excellent physical Attack, Sp. Atk, and Speed stats. While a few points below 100, its' physical Defense, and Sp. Def are nothing to scoff at with a +1 aura boost.

It has a very high chance of nuking your entire team, unless you have some elaborate strategy up your sleeve. Not helping that this is a mandatory boss fight right before the new final trial.

Flowerchild

> you look cute

Age 24
She/Her
Hyperspace
Seen 1 Week Ago
Posted July 7th, 2022
8,699 posts
13 Years
Ultra Necrozma.

FULL STOP!

This bright behemoth has an absurd 754 BST, equipped with an aura that boosts all stats by one, including its' already excellent physical Attack, Sp. Atk, and Speed stats. While a few points below 100, its' physical Defense, and Sp. Def are nothing to scoff at with a +1 aura boost.

It has a very high chance of nuking your entire team, unless you have some elaborate strategy up your sleeve. Not helping that this is a mandatory boss fight right before the new final trial.
It's true lol. Normally the hard part of battling legendaries is not killing them but U Necrozma was super tough. I ended up using my Zoroark with Illusion so it'd try to Prismatic Laser me and waste a first turn, giving me time to get one free hit in, but I did that fight at least 8 times.