Are the Last Gym Leaders Suppose to be the Toughest?

[Pinkie-Dawn]

The 8th gym leaders are seen as the toughest trainers to face before you head to the Pokémon League, but for the most part, they tend to be pushovers due to their type specializations having common weaknesses in-game. The only ones who proved to be a challenge were Claire and Wallace. In Johto, you were unable to obtain any Dragon Pokémon in the wild up until you beat Claire, and her Kingdra takes neutral damage from your Ice types. Wallace's Milotic has a high SpD, allowing it to take a few SE moves due to the old physical/special split prior to Gen IV. The biggest offender of the general rule of the 8th gym leader is Wulfric, who specializes on the worst type in the series: Ice. Not only that, but his Avalugg suffers the same problems as Giovanni's Rhydon: Good HP and physical stats but poor speed and special stats. May I ask, are the last gym leaders meant to be toughest to beat pre-E4, or is this nothing but fanon/over exaggeration from the anime?

 

[Cura]

I forget which anime episode I witnessed, but it was hinted and later confirmed that the 8th Gym Leader must be on par with the Elite Four. In the games however, sometimes they are pushovers; other times they are not pushovers. Now, for Claire and Wallace, yes; they are harder due to the situations that the players were forced into, but both games allowed the player to train and ready themselves for the situations ahead.

Personally, I think in the latest generation, I think they were using Ice typing as a reason. To ready you, the player for the Elite Four. In all games, this is the same factor. The gym's typing is strong to what the E4 is using, so... it teaches and ready the player.

My opinion really.

 

[Captain Gizmo]

Also in Pokemon Adventures, Giovanni was said to be the toughest gym leader in Kanto while Pryce was the strongest one in Johto, not Claire. So I don't necessarily think that the 8th gym leader must be the toughest. Because aren't the trainers allowed to choose which gym to challenge first? Aside from the video games, ofc.

 

[Nah]

Clair and Wallace certainly were some of the toughest Gym leaders. Wallace is still a pain in the ass sometimes (PWT).

The last Gym leader is probably the one thats the easiest the most often because at that point, you have a more refined team since you have a wider selection of pokes and more TMs and have had a chance to learn some good moves via level up (instead of being stuck with the elemental monkeys, Rock Smash as your only TM, and half your party knowing Scratch).

 

[Xander Olivieri]

Wallace was one of the easiest final Gym Leaders I've ever faced. Hardest ones...I honestly can't say compared to the gyms within their regions alone I typically struggle against Normal Typed Gyms, but the 8th gyms are easy because by the time you get to them you usually have a large assortment of choices to use against them. Ice and Water being two of the worst end type choices because of the over abundance of Fighting/Rock/Steel types for Ice and Grass/Electric types for Water. Clair was a bit more difficult due to the lack of types needed to fight her. You had Jynx which doesn't have much use and Piloswine from the cave right before her, but with them alone and Clair having a counter she was able to hold her own with Kingdra.

The last gyms are rarely ever the hardest gym for me though. Usually they are the easiest. Like what Wulfric said, he could be the strongest or the weakest depending on what the trainer brought with them.

 

[Warrior Rapter]

Sometimes the first gyms are the harder ones, at least for me. But that could be simply because I almost always start with the fire-type (the one exception being restarting ruby to start with Treecko). The sheer number of first gyms that can routinely counter fire is rather annoying. But, by the same token, once I get past the early game, opening up more options for my team, it becomes so much easier.

As far as the last gyms go, I think it could be partly from the sheer number of guides and walk-throughs that are available today. If you know what's up ahead, you can prepare for it, right? Not saying it could be the cause of why they tend to be easier, but it could potentially be a factor.

 

[mayuyu]

Sometimes the first gyms are the harder ones, at least for me. But that could be simply because I almost always start with the fire-type (the one exception being restarting ruby to start with Treecko). The sheer number of first gyms that can routinely counter fire is rather annoying. But, by the same token, once I get past the early game, opening up more options for my team, it becomes so much easier.

As far as the last gyms go, I think it could be partly from the sheer number of guides and walk-throughs that are available today. If you know what's up ahead, you can prepare for it, right? Not saying it could be the cause of why they tend to be easier, but it could potentially be a factor.

Oh man
I feel you there, especially in R/B/Y and FRLG. Brock and Misty are killer if you have a Charmander.

 

[King Koop]

In this case, they kind of painted themselves into a corner by having each gym leader specialize in one type.

 

[Aeroblast]

Clair's Kingdra was no pushover when I faced it for the first time.

That being said, when you do get to the last gym, you should be prepared for more difficult battles, but sometimes you just overshoot it.

 

[Pendraflare]

As far as tough Pokémon go, I thought the only really crazy thing Wallace had was his Milotic. Juan from Emerald, on the other hand, was WAY worse for that stupid Kingdra with Rest + Double Team.

Volkner was nothing really significant, especially with Ground-type Pokémon under the belt. Iris/Drayden, while they pack Dragon-types, don't have very powerful attacks (doesn't help that their Fraxure and Haxorus have nothing on Steel-types), and Marlon, while not "hard" per se, I sometimes find to be rather annoying.