Pokémon Sword & Shield were the first mainline Pokémon entries to release on the Nintendo Switch. The games featured a big step forward for the franchise that has been home to stagnation and complacency. Players experience a rather interesting narrative in the games and the cast of characters they meet run the spectrum. Plenty of them are throwaway recurring characters, but some make quite a mark on the player and franchise in general. Let’s now look at the 5 best and 5 worst NPCs in Pokémon Sword & Shield.
10 Worst: Bede
Bede isn’t a bad character in and of himself, he was just poorly used in the game’s narrative. Players meet and quickly defeat him after learning he’s also on a journey to becoming the Galar region’s Pokémon Champion. As the story unfolds it becomes clear he will be Opal’s successor at the Fairy-type gym. He can be seen once again in the Isle of Armor DLC that recently released for Pokémon Sword & Shield. He may have not been the toughest trainer, but boy does he have a killer sense of style.
9 Best: Professor Magnolia
Now, Professor Magnolia is sweet and kind, but her eventual replacement happens to be more helpful and active in your journey as a trainer in the Galar region. It wouldn’t feel right if a professor from a given region didn’t make the list f best characters in said region, either. Professor Magnolia is poorly written or frustrating, it just so happens that her granddaughter is such a welcome part of the Pokémon Sword & Shield experience. Thanks to Sonia Professor Magnolia will finally be able to retire.
8 Worst: Klara
Klara is the newest rival in the Galar region and makes her debut in the recently released DLC for Pokémon Sword & Shield, titled the Isle of Armor. She meets you at the train station as you make your way from the main continent of the Galar region over to the secluded region.
She’s not a pushover in battle which is a welcomed revelation, but her character is full of tropes and comes off less like a misunderstood individual and more so like someone desperate for attention and the validation of others.
7 Best: Oleana
Oleana is a perfect example of the franchise messing with expectations and having a payoff that leaves you surprised. She starts as the unlikable assistant of Rose, the game’s main villain for all intents and purposes. Players will initially feel as though she’s simply there to either stage a coup on Rose or make a grave mistake. Once they find out she’s actually looking out for the people of Galar and exposes Rose to the player, the perception of Oleana goes from one of indifference to one of applause.
6 Worst: Rose
Rose is the Chairman, and though he presents himself as an intelligent and kind man, he has a lot more insidious tendencies bubbling right under the surface. His relationship with Leon, the Pokémon Champion, makes him even more likable, but as the story unfolds his seams become a lot clearer. Thanks in large part to Oleana, players are able to learn of what he plans to do with Eternatus and have enough time to get in his way and stop him from making a grave mistake that will alter the course of Galar’s future.
5 Best: Sonia
Sonia is much more than the granddaughter of Professor Magnolia, the Galar region’s resident Pokémon expert. She does a good job of relaying to kids the importance of self-discovery and figuring out what you want to do with your life.
Throughout the course of the journey, she hunts down and investigates the legends behind Zamazenta, Zacian, and Eternatus. Her findings turn into a published book which in-turn has her recognized as a Professor, thus letting her take over for her grandmother, Professor Magnolia.
4 Worst: Sordward/Shielbert
Sordward and Shielbert can be avoided if you happen to just complete the game and never touch the post-game. These two dweebs not only have names that are way too obviously connected to the names of the game titles, but their hair resembles that of the two legendary dog Pokémon. They happen to be one-note rich kids who feel as though they’re owed something. As a player, you’re waiting to see when they’ll come around and the facade will be taken down, but they just become more and more irritating as time goes on.
3 Best: Mustard
Mustard is a relatively new character as he makes his debut in the Isle of Armor DLC that recently released for Pokémon Sword & Shield. He’s the leader of a dojo where he teaches kids to become better trainers. In typical story trope fashion, he unveils himself as a healthy and in-shape formidable foe despite hiding himself as an old man. He’s a great mentor to the player in this undiscovered land and takes the place of the typical professor players meet at the beginning of their Pokémon journey in each new region.
2 Worst: Hop
Hop isn’t intentionally meant to be frustrating or awful, but he’s the culmination of what the Pokémon rival in the games has morphed into. Instead of being a jerk or unsure kid who learns the error of their ways, the rival has become a laughable best friend who joins you on your journey.
The franchise shouldn’t have morphed your rival into your friend, but instead had those be two separate people. Hop is a bad character because he’s an amalgamation of two separate story-telling pillars mushed into one person.
1 Best: Bea
Not only is Bea arguably the best Gym Leader in all of the Galar region, but she also called Stow-on-Side home, which happens to be one of the more unique looking and feeling towns in the franchise. Along with her unique design and intimidating personality, she sports a team of four wonderful and uncommon Fighting-type Pokémon. The team consists of a Hitmontop, Pangoro, Sirfetch’d, and a Machamp that can gigantamax. She’s only available in Pokémon Sword, as Pokémon Shield features Allister as the Stow-on-Side Gym Leader.
NEXT: Pokémon: The Best Normal-Type Pokémon Of Every Generation, Ranked
