Every Pokémon Champion always comes equipped with a fantastic team, acting as the final boss of the main story. They are oftentimes the most memorable trainers in the entire game, sometimes rivaling the Rivals themselves.
In Sword & Shield, Leon has one of the best Pokémon teams out of any of the Champions. Almost every single Pokémon he has on his roster has risen up to be some of the most competitive Pokémon in all of Sword & Shield. It’s not farfetched to see how Leon became the Champion of the Galar Region, he made (mostly) amazing choices in regards to building his team.
10 Mr. Rime
Mr. Rime appears on Leon’s team if you chose Cinderace as your starter. This is also by far the worst Pokémon in Leon’s roster by a mile. Mr. Rime is a rather awful Pokémon, with abysmal stats outside of its Special ones. Its Ice and Psychic Typing also makes it weak to plenty of powerful Types such as Dark, Fire, and Ghost. Mr. Rime doesn’t have much of anything going for it, with weak moves, lackluster abilities, and awful bulk that’ll cause it to be swiftly taken care of whenever it’s on the field.
9 Charizard
Despite it being Leon’s flagship Pokémon, Charizard is actually one of the weakest members on his team. While it does have access to its Gigantamax Form and access to powerful Fire Type moves, it is still missing way too much in the defense category to ensure it stays on the field. It’s incredibly easy to one-shot a Charizard with a hit from a Water, Electric, and especially Rock Type attacks. This includes its Giantamax Form. Even though it gets a boost to its HP, Gigantamax Charizard is still incredibly easy to knock out in one hit, making it one of the weakest Pokémon.
8 Haxorus
Haxorus is one of Leon’s Dragon Type Pokémon and the only pure one. Haxorus is a solid Pokémon, capable of doing devastating amounts of damage due to its massive Attack stat. However, Haxorus is incredibly frail in every other aspect of it. Similar to Charizard, its easy for Haxorus to get knocked out in one hit.
Unlike it, however, since its a Dragon Type, it has more relevant resistances that make it harder to go down. Even so, Haxorus is still able to make a hefty dent in opposing teams.
7 Rillaboom
Appearing on Leon’s team in the Champion Battle if your starter is Inteleon, Rillaboom is a very respectable choice to have on any team. Rillaboom has solid HP and Attack stats, enabling it to deal powerful damage to many Pokémon. Its biggest downfall is its Fire Type weakness, which can exploit its low defensive stats putting it in danger of getting one-shotted. Thankfully, Rillaboom is more protected than other low bulk Pokémon on Leon’s team thanks to its solid HP stat. In addition, Rillaboom comes equipped with solid abilities, and the very powerful Grassy Surge to increase the power of Grass Type moves.
6 Inteleon
When you choose Cinderace as your starter, Inteleon makes an appearance on Leon’s roster. The sleekest starter, Inteleon is also a solid Pokémon. While Inteleon is severely lacking in its bulk with awful defensive stats, it more than makes up for it with its attack prowess. Inteleon has great Special Attack and Speed stats, allowing it to outspeed many opposing Pokémon while taking care of them with its damaging attacks. In Pokémon where taking care of a Pokémon in one hit is so important, this makes Inteleon such a threatening member of Leon’s team.
5 Seismitoad
If Rillaboom is your starter then you’ll be battling a Seismitoad in Leon’s possession. Seismitoad has a Water and Ground Typing, meaning the only Type it is weak to is Grass (although its a four times weakness).
It even gains an Electric immunity thanks to the Ground Typing, circumventing Water Type’s biggest weakness. Seismitoad comes equipped with great defensive capabilities, enabling it to deal massive damage with Earthquakes and Liquidations while being safe from danger. This makes Seismitoad one of the best defensive Pokémon on Leon’s team, being one of the hardest to take care of easily.
4 Rhyperior
Having Inteleon as your starter will lead to Leon using a Rhyperior against you in the final. Rhyperior has an interesting stat spread, with phenomenal HP, Attack, and Defense stats with the trade-off being terrible Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed stats. While Rhyperior is a fragile member on Leon’s team, if it managed to get an attack off, there’s a very good chance that unless your Pokémon resists it, it won’t be able to survive the attack. Leon’s Rhyperior also comes equipped with fantastic STAB moves to play into its strengths.
3 Aegislash
Aegislash has always been a top tier Pokémon since its introduction, and Sword & Shield continues that trend. It makes sense for the Champion of the Galar Region to make use of such a powerful Pokémon. Aegislash is one of the most versatile Pokémon in the series’ history thanks to its ability Stance Change allowing it to switch between Offensive and Defensive styles. With its Ghost and Steel Typing, Aegislash also has a plethora of resistances, making it even harder to take care of. Aegislash in incredibly unpredictable, making it such a threat on Leon’s team.
2 Dragapult
One of the strongest new Pokémon in Sword & Shield, Dragapult is one of the best Pokémon Leon has at his disposal. Its Dragon and Ghost Typing allows it to have plenty of resistances.
Dragapult can also learn many different types of moves, enabling it to cover plenty of other opposing Pokémon. Dragapult comes equipped with a solid stat line as well, especially its Speed and attacking stats. It can utilize these in order to make use of its wide move pool to potentially dismantle other teams all on its own.
1 Cinderace
When it comes to the new starters, Cinderace stands on top as the best of the trio. Appearing on Leon’s team when you choose Rillaboom as your starter, it is also the best member of it. Cinderace has great Attack and Speed stats along with respectable bulk stats to make it easy to withstand incoming attacks as well. Being a pure Fire Type benefits it as well, only have a few weaknesses and a fair bit of resistances. Cinderace is an incredibly threatening Pokémon, making it the most valuable Pokémon on Leon’s team.
NEXT: Gotta Get Those Badges: 10 Most Challenging Trainers To Beat In The Pokémon Games
