As with every other region of the franchise, the Galar Region of Pokémon Sword & Shield is filled with powerful trainers to put the player’s battle skills to the test. One of the Gym Leaders who the player will encounter along the way is the Fairy-type specialist, Opal.

Unlike the rest of the Galar Gym Leaders who can be challenged to rematches, Opal will only battle the player once in the game at Ballonlea Stadium. There, her Gym Mission serves as an audition in search of a strong trainer to replace her as the Ballonlea Gym Leader. Although she ultimately retires after selecting Bede as her successor, Opal is sure to give the player a good Gym battle with her four-member team of Galarian Weezing, Mawile, Togekiss, and Alcremie.

4 Galarian Weezing

Thanks to Sword & Shield, the original Weezing has received a new regional form with an alternate design, type, and more. Compared to the traditional Kantonian Weezing, Galarian Weezing is darker with tall hats that resemble smokestacks and green clouds that resemble facial hair. And despite what it looks like, it is indeed a Fairy-type, making it a perfect fit on Opal’s team.

In terms of the Weezing that Opal uses, its overall viability is severely lacking compared to the rest of the team. What holds it back the most is its weak moveset. Sludge is a decent 65 base power move with a chance to poison the opponent, but Fairy Wind and Tackle are both two extremely weak moves that could easily be replaced with much stronger attacks. If it had more useful moves such as Sludge Bomb, Dazzling Gleam, or Toxic, it could actually be a vital member of the team. Instead, there is not much for it to do when it comes to offense. The only upside to Opal’s Weezing is its Ability, Levitate, which grants it immunity to Ground-type moves that would otherwise be super-effective.

3 Mawile

As a Steel-/Fairy- dual type, Mawile is resistant or immune to half of the eighteen types and only has two weaknesses in Ground and Fire. Its Ability, Intimidate, is one of the best Abilities in competitive battling with how it lowers its opponent’s Attack stat right from the get-go. Opal also has Iron Defense on her Mawile’s moveset to boost its own Defense stat. This means that Mawile is a relatively defensive Pokémon overall.

On the flipside, Mawile is lacking with its offensive attacks. Out of Draining Kiss, Crunch, and Astonish, Crunch is the strongest one that can put a dent in the opponent’s HP. However, Draining Kiss is a very poor choice for Mawile to carry due to the fact that its special rather than physical. As a physical attacker, Mawile should have the much stronger Play Rough as its Fairy-type move instead of Draining Kiss. Similarly, the Ghost-type Astonish should be replaced with a reliable Steel-type move such as Iron Head to get the STAB boost for higher damage output. While Opal’s Mawile might not be the greatest on her team, it could have had the potential to be incredibly terrifying if Mega Evolution was involved like in Generation VI.

2 Togekiss

In competitive battling, Togekiss has seen a lot of usage due to its great utility and what it has to offer on the battlefield. In the age of Sword & Shield, it often serves as a special attacker and a supporting teammate who can use either Tailwind or Follow Me to gain the upper hand in battle.

In the case of Opal’s Togekiss, it’s definitely more of a special attack than a teammate who merely acts as a support. While Draining Kiss could be swapped out for the more powerful Dazzling Gleam, Air Slash is a great move that is typically found on Togekiss in a highly competitive setting. At the same time, Opal’s Togekiss could be even better if its Ability was Serene Grace over Hustle. Serene Grace would double the chances of a flinch from Air Slash while also doubling the chances of a big stat boost from Ancient Power. Hustle is unfortunately useless for Opal’s Togekiss as it only affects physical moves. If it indeed had Dazzling Gleam and Serene Grace, Togekiss might have had an edge over Opal’s ace, Alcremie.

1 Alcremie

As the Pokémon Opal chooses to Gigantamax, Alcremie is no doubt the biggest obstacle of the Ballonlea Gym Battle. On its own, its Special Attack and Special Defense stats are respectable, while the rest of its stats are average. Its moveset could be better, as it only has one attacking move in Draining Kiss, but it somewhat makes up for that with its handy ability to Gigantamax.

With its Gigantamax form, Alcremie can use the move, G-Max Finale, which not only deals massive damage to its opponent but also heals Alcremie’s own HP. Aside from its signature G-Max move, it knows Acid Armor to boost its Defense and Sweet Kiss in order to confuse the opponent. While it has the potential to give the opponent a hard time, it also spares itself from falling victim to pesky sleep tactics with its Ability, Sweet Veil.

NEXT: Pokémon Sword & Shield: Ranking Each Member Of Marnie’s Team