3rd Gen Steven or Wallace, who is the better Champion in Hoenn?

[Sheep]

Who do you think was the better Champion in Hoenn games? Who of the two did you like more? If you could change their Champion teams to make one of them better, what changes would you make?

 

[Orion☆]

I'm gonna be in the minority and say Wallace is the better Champion.

If you didn't pick Treecko (which at this point I never would), good Grass-types and Electric-types to counter his team are hard to come by in Hoenn, and that's what makes battling him so difficult. You're gonna need some strategy and a lot of extra firepower to take down the monstrous tanks that are his Milotic, Tentacruel and Whiscash - even in the remakes, where he battles you in the post-game with the same team as in Emerald! He gave me hell in my playthrough of Emerald (which, ironically, only intensified my love for him.) Steven is actually really easy due to the early abundance of Water-, Fire- and Fighting-types, and if you picked Swampert like I did, he might as well hang the towel before the battle even starts. The only scenario where I can actually see Steven being hard is on a Mono-Ice run because that type is weak to both of his preferred types, and I'm unlikely to ever do one of those because it's my least favourite type.

I've always felt like Wallace was more representative of the region's traditions, too. Not only does he train Water-types in a region that can be summed up as "7.8/10 too much water," but he also belongs to one of the region's original communities, the Sootopolitans. As if that weren't enough reason to like him better, in addition to being an accomplished battler, he is also a Master Rank Coordinator in the very region that introduced Contests, as well as the mentor to his niece Lisia. Lastly... I was going to put my older man bias aside, but it's extremely relevant in this case. One of the reasons I came to love him so much is that he just gives off a more mature, experienced vibe than the young and often arrogant Steven does. Heck, the Delta Episode only cemented that fact for me, because I thought Wallace was the only genuinely helpful person in the entire quest while Steven just left me baffled and kind of pissed with his impulsive behavior.

So yeah, Team Wallace forever. Go home to your rock collection, Steven!

 

[Sweet Serenity]

Steven was definitely more of a challenge, at least to me. Wallace was extremely easy to beat because he used all Water-types. Steven had Pokémon with better abilities such as Sturdy that gave him an edge, which made him harder to beat. He was also a better strategist too, as he lead with Skarmory using Spikes, very similar to a real competitive player. Even though he still mostly used Steel-types, he still had a more balanced team of Rock, Steel, and Ground-type Pokémon, which made him less easy to defeat with a single Pokémon. Steven is practically the only Champion that gave me challenge. He almost completely swept my entire team with his Mega Metagross, which boosted its Attack stat with Meteor Mash on more than one occasion. I felt like I was battling Ultra Necrozma. I like Wallace as a character, but as a battler, he just doesn't compare to Steven Stone at all.

 

[Corveone]

I prefer Steven simply because I prefer champions focusing on a certain theme rather than a specific type, I think that gives them more personality and makes them more memorable.

Especially when you make the champion a Water specialist, in a region in which the Water has already had too much protagonism by that point.

 

[ReKoil]

Steven can actually put up a decent fight and is the better champion.
Wallace is easily swept and never gave me any trouble whatsoever. Go back to your dressing room and stare at yourself in the mirror some more =P

Wallace strikes me as very superficially vain, you know... the type who cares only or mostly about looks, so ofc I like Steven more there too.

I'm not gonna bother changing Wallace's team as I'd need to rebuild it from scratch except for the Milotic.
As for Steven... I'm not sure what else could fit the theme that was available in Hoenn. I'd just keep it the way it is I guess. One of the regi's could fit, but Champion's usually don't have legendaries.

 

[_confused_piplup_]

I agree so much with Viellerue, who perfectly summed up all my points!
Well, I love Wallace, his story and his design. He's by far my second favourite Champion after Cynthia. I also think that if you pick Swampert as a starter the Hoenn games are pretty easy and Steven isn't too hard too.
On the other hand Wallace has a nice team, which is really interesting. Surely, the fact that it's monotype doesn't really help and I am not a fan of that, but still his water type pokemon are really interesting and very strong. I was doing a challenge on Emerald and it took me many many many tries to defeat him. Well, it was a challenge so it was hard. But anyway, not only he has high levelled Pokémon but for each of the team members, he has a counter against grass types (blizzard in general). Honestly, if the AI was even more intelligent, he could have been even more difficult as he could use his Milotic to set toxic each time, but he doesn't do that. I love water type pokemon, so that's a +1 reason, but I mean Wallace is just great imo.

 

[Bahamut]

I like both, but if I had to choose, I would go with Steven. I like Steven because of the Pokemon he uses, as I'm a fan of Steel-type Pokemon. His design is nice too.

 

[Janp]

Steven. At least his team isn't all weak to an electric mouse.

 

[PkmnTrainSlate]

Steven'a team has a THEME, and it isn't all one type.

Steven is a steel type MASTER, meaning he's great at training them, but he doesn't revolve his whole team around it. He's a researcher of stones and minerals, and uses Pokémon based around that sort of theme.

 

[Sweet Serenity]

Wallace's gym puzzle was annoying too. I just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[Rock_Salazar]

Wallace was like a skill check for me. In Emerald, my best pokemon was Swampert and his Ludicolo wiped my only chance at beating the game the first time around. I was only 11 at the time, and it made me realize that I needed to have a proper team to beat Pokemon rather than relying on one pokemon. So I caught Rayquaza and proceeded to sweep him for round 2. I will not forget Wallace ever for teaching me to get better at the game, but on repeated playthroughs he became a joke.

My experience with Steven is a different story. Playing Ruby years later I was surprised to find out that he was the original champion, and while I was prepared with a balanced team of Blazekin, Groundon, Minun, Wailord, Swellow, and Gardevoir, he gave me trouble. I was noticeably under-leveled, barely reaching lv 45 across all pokemon, but I managed to clutch a win with Blazekin and Wailord keeping me afloat. Even on repeated playthroughs with better teams, I find that Steven is the more difficult fight because his team is full of bulky pokemon. They're all slow, but they can wall you out if not prepared. Wallace's pokemon are a mixed bag making the fight more interesting, but they're all water types with only Milotic and Ludicolo standing out as challenges.

Personality wise I prefer Wallace because I like that you go to him for guidance on how to quell Kyogre and Groudon from destroying the region, and going into that cave with him gave off this mentor vibe of him that stuck with me. Steven is just okay for me.

 

[Dastr95]

My first game was Sapphire, so I liked Steven more as a character. I quite honestly barely played Emerald growing up. I mean, I did, but not as much as I played Sapphire. That said, Steven is a breeze compared to Wallace.

 

[virtualpet]

Our first game was Emerald so Wallace is always the Hoenn champion in our hearts, but even though I like Wallace more as a character I feel like Steven makes the game a lot more balanced instead of there being like a water villain, a water gym leader, and a water champion on top of a region where there are a lot more water Pokemon than any other type, and Steven has a more balanced team in general. Wallace might have been better if they gave him more ice type Pokemon so you couldn't just solo the elite 4 with a free level 70 Rayquaza.

 

[PoryKid575]

I think Steven is better because there's already a water type gym leader and a water type villain if you're playing Sapphire or Emerald. Having a steel type champion is a nice mix up from the constant water of late game RSE. At least Steven is still used as a super boss in Emerald which makes me much less upset about the change.

 

[kpac_xjinx]

STEVEN FTWWWWW!!!
Better pokemon, better design for a champion, much cooler, even the name screams Champion- I just never liked Wallace as a Champion, which is in contrast to the fact how I like him so much as a Gym Leader....Juan who???

 

[Explorer of Time]

Steven is my favorite champion, ever. Excellent team composition, has a Steel focus without being entirely one type like Lance or Wallace, and his Metagross is IMO the single hardest Pokemon to beat in the franchise.

That being said, Wallace is still up there in my favorite champions because his team is pretty much the gold standard for a monotype team, with his team easily covering both his type's weaknesses and synergizing very well.

 

[hollowblade]

Steven definitely.

I would actually attempt to even consider Wallace of they didn't make the new 8th Gym Leader ANOTHER Water-Type trainer. Essentially nerfing any team Wallace could have over needing to make each trainer's teams unique.

 

[Lysander]

Steven, not even close. Better variety of Pokémon on his team. Making Wallace the Champion in Emerald made little sense and only makes it less viable to pick Torchic at the start or have anything weak to Water on your team when both the 8th Gym Leader and the Champion are Water-type specialists.

 

[Pendraflare]

Steven may be the better Champion overall, but people underestimate Wallace when you really look at it. The thing with Wallace is most of his Pokemon have high Sp Def or typings that keep you from abusing Water's typical weaknesses as easily (ie Milotic's high Sp Def, Tentacruel's high Sp Def and Poison-typing, Ludicolo's Grass-typing, etcetera).

 

[Megan]

I prefer Steven. It's partly because I had Sapphire, growing up. But I also like his team a little more than Wallace's.