With eight generations (seven with proper gyms), there have been quite a few gym leaders introduced over the years. These characters are often highly-stylized and unique-looking, typically with a design that matches the type they specialize in. Gym leaders are some of the most powerful trainers in the world, taking up the helm of their respective gyms as the greatest challengers a trainer can face.
It’s fitting, then, that some of them look very intimidating or menacing. They’re the only thing standing between you and the Elite Four and Champion, so it’s right that they are a bit on the scary side. However, some of them are only menacing in appearance and are either big softies or complete pushovers.
10 Crasher Wake
Leader of Pastoria Gym and an avid wrestler and fighter, Crasher Wake looks very scary. It takes some real self-assuredness to spend most of your time shirtless, if nothing else. Crasher Wake is an intimidating force, both in terms of his appearance and his Pokemon — he typically uses Quagsire, Gyarados, and a powerful Floatzel.
However, Crasher Wake is actually a big softie. He encourages trainers to choose moves that let their Pokemon have fun rather than focusing directly on winning. He also donates prize money from battles to the less fortunate.
9 Flannery
Flannery is one cool lady in appearance, with her blazing red hair that’s always spiked up and her fierce attitude. She’s frequently shown with intimidating determination and is known for being a fiery spirit.
But, this intimidating personality is all an act, and not even a good one. Flannery is shown to regret acting this way, feeling she needs to put on the front because she’s a relatively new gym leader. Upon defeat, she’ll admit she doesn’t like trying to be someone she isn’t.
8 Winona
Not long after defeating Flannery in the Hoenn region, you’ll face off against Winona, the Flying-type specialist from Fortree City. Unlike Flannery, though, Winona is very confident in her abilities, often shown being calm, cool, and collected. She’s a very straightforward and confident person.
However, she’s often shown being a very compassionate person. She helps teach younger trainers how to start battling, and she’s shown helping the characters in the manga rediscover their own confidence.
7 Roxie
Spiked silver hair, an intimidating scowl, and a spiky electric guitar all make Roxie seem like a scary force to be reckoned with. The leader of the Virbank Gym, Roxie also specializes in deadly Poison-types, making her even more menacing.
Given the history of strong Poison-type gyms like Janine and Koga, one might even fear going up against Roxie. However, she’s a pushover. She’s very easy to take down and is just a young woman with a love of rock and roll.
6 Allister
If Allister appeared in another game other than Pokemon, he might be a lot more creepy. The leader of the Stow-on-Side gym (only in Shield), Allister specializes in Ghost-type Pokemon, which are already terrifying in their own right.
But, this gym leader is also pretty scary, donning a blank white mask and resembling a small corpse or doll walking around like a zombie. Despite his appearance, Allister is a shy youngster who only wears the mask to hide his insecurities.
5 Volkner
An Electric-type specialist and the final gym leader in the Sinnoh region, Volkner has an important position to fill. His gym is the last trial before the player can take on Sinnoh’s extremely-tough Elite Four and even tougher Champion, so he must weed out the unworthy. He is a bit pompous about this position, dejected and depressed over the fact that no “worthy” challengers have faced him in some time.
Luckily, this is all just a bad attitude. The anime has shown that the sniveling arrogance Volkner showcases can be replaced with cheerfulness. Also, you can whip through his gym pretty easily with a good Ground-type move.
4 Brycen
A trained martial artist, a man of intense focus, and one of the most powerful gym leaders in the Unova region, Brycen is a force to be reckoned with both in battle and outside of it. He’s most famous for his powerful Ice-types and for that time in the Pokemon Generations episode where he punches and throws multiple Plasma Grunts with reckless abandon.
However, get to know him a bit better, and Brycen is a fun and humorous guy. His main goal is to be a famous movie star, starring in several cheesy Pokestar Studios films.
3 Milo
Milo, the Grass-type gym leader of Turffield Stadium in Galar, is the epitome of a big softie. This guy looks like he could singlehandedly take out your Pokemon himself. He’s a gigantic bodybuilder with shoulders that look like they wouldn’t fit through the doorway of his own gym.
However, Milo’s passions and hobbies include helping soft little Wooloo and farming. He also doesn’t care about winning or losing, and just wants everyone in a battle to have fun. He’s a gentle spirit in the body of a bear.
2 Clay
Another gym leader from the Unova region, Clay specializes in Ground-type Pokemon and heads up the Driftveil City gym. He’s a miner by trade, always shown wearing a cowboy hat, chaps, and other miner-gear. He’s a tough guy, with an unflinching attitude toward battles.
He might not be a big softie, but Clay is not as menacing as he seems, Instead, he’s a cool guy with a strong sense of right and wrong. In the anime, manga, and games, he’s very helpful to the protagonists and is always ready to take down Team Plasma.
1 Giovanni
The final entry on this list is reserved for a gym leader that isn’t secretly nice or weak but is instead a bit pathetic and pitiable. Giovanni daylights as the gym leader of Viridian City’s gym, but moonlights as the supreme leader of Team Rocket, the evil mafia gang that terrorizes both the Kanto and Johto regions (and Alola as Team Rainbow Rocket).
But, underneath that guise of being a supervillain, Giovanni is weak. He’s an easy pushover in battle, and after his team’s ridiculous defeat at the hands of literal children, he runs into hiding. Grow up, Giovanni.
NEXT: 10 Pokemon With Confusing Type Combinations
