The Type system is the backbone of the Pokemon franchise. Each one is unique, and certain properties come to mind when a certain type is mentioned. Fighting-types exude martial arts prowess, Water-types elegance, Electric-types speed, and the like.
It would only be natural that some people specialize in certain types, and it helps that those people are recognized officially in the Pokemon world as Gym Leaders or the Elite Four members. Of course, some are stronger than others, and this list will look at the strongest of them all, taking into account their positions and teams.
18 Grass: Erika
For quite an iconic type, it’s surprising that Grass hasn’t reached the upper echelons of officially recognized Trainers. Erika, as popular as she is, is only the fourth Gym Leader of Kanto.
She sports quite a nice team, though, of Tangela, Victreebel, and either Vileplume or Bellossom. She takes this spot over fellow fourth Gym Leader Ramos for appearing in more games, hinting that she may have been a Gym Leader for longer.
17 Normal: Norman
The Normal-type has carried a stigma of being somewhat weak. Despite its unassuming name, there are a lot of strong Normal-type Pokemon. Norman uses them to their full potential, especially with his Slaking. Whitney is also worthy of this spot, though, with her Miltank of nightmares, but Norman is technically stronger by virtue of being the fifth Gym Leader of his region, whereas Whitney is just the third of hers.
16 Fairy: Valerie
The Fairy-type is a newer one relative to the others, so naturally there will only be so many representatives of it. Valerie technically stands out as the best of the group, being the sixth Gym Leader of Kalos. Opal and her protégé Bede can be argued for being better though, with deeper teams as well as the ability to Gigantamax their ace Pokemon.
15 Electric: Volkner
It’s quite surprising that the Electric type hasn’t been blessed with an Elite Four member yet, considering the mascot of the franchise is an Electric-type. Regardless, Volkner represents the type quite well as the final and probably strongest Gym Leader of Sinnoh; it should be noted, though, that he, along with Flint of the Elite Four, notoriously only had two Electric-types on his Diamond and Pearl team.
14 Ice: Lorelei
For a type that is kind of weak, especially defensively, there are many strong Ice-type Trainers. Lorelei stands atop all of them as one of the Indigo League’s Elite Four. Although Glacia is also an Elite Four member and is even faced later in the gauntlet, Lorelei takes the cake for having a less repetitive team, consisting of old reliable Water-Ice-types such as Cloyster, Dewgong, and Lapras.
13 Bug: Aaron
The Sinnoh Elite Four is a weird one type-wise, mainly for the decision to lead with a Bug-type expert. Perhaps it was an indication of the Bug-type improving in quality after once being labeled a throwaway type. Regardless, Aaron holds his weight amongst other Elite Four members with a competent team, consisting of strong Bug-types, most of which are from Sinnoh, such as Yanmega, Vespiquen, and (the non-Bug type) Drapion.
12 Poison: Koga
Having been a ninja in the Pokemon world long before it was cool (ahem, Greninja, ahem), Koga stands as one of the OGs of the franchise, and its best Poison-type specialist. Being the first and so far only Gym Leader to be canonically promoted to the Elite Four, Koga makes use of some classic Poison-type Pokémon like Weezing and Crobat.
11 Ground: Bertha
Quality over quality applies to specialists of the Ground type. There aren’t many because of the type’s stylistic overlap with Rock and Steel, but Giovanni, Bertha, Clay, and Hapu all stand out among their peers as excellent strong Trainers. Bertha, being the only Elite Four member of the bunch, stands out as the strongest, reflected by her formidable team consisting of powerhouses like Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Rhyperior.
10 Fire: Malva
The Fire type is a powerful one in many respects, and that’s no different when it comes to Fire-type Trainers. There’s a lot of them, and even another Elite Four member in Flint, but Malva takes this spot for having all iterations of her team being fully Fire-type (sorry Drifblim, Steelix, and Lopunny). Her association with Team Flare certainly helps her standing here.
9 Flying: Kahili
Much like the Ground type, there aren’t many notable Flying-type specialists in the franchise. Kahili stands out among them as the best, being a member of Alola’s Elite Four and having a collection of the strongest birds in the game (and Crobat if you’re playing Sun and Moon). Watch out for that Beak Blast from her Toucannon.
8 Ghost: Acerola
The Ghost-type has the most Elite Four members out of any type (four), so there were a lot of choices for this spot.
Acerola takes the cake for her secondary role as a Trial Captain, where the final goal is to defeat a Totem Mimikyu. It helps that her team as an Elite Four member is both strong and versatile across the board, especially her ace Palossand.
7 Dark: Grimsley
The Dark-type is an intimidating one, so it makes sense that a lot of strong Trainers specialize in it. Grimsley in particular, proved to be arguably the toughest of Unova’s Elite Four, with his team consisting of some of Unova’s strongest: Liepard, Krookodile, Scrafty and Bisharp. Even in the Alola games when he was merely a shell of himself, he proved to be a worthy opponent at the Battle Tree.
6 Psychic: Caitlin
Caitlin takes this spot over a plethora of other Psychic-type Trainers, even amongst other Elite Four members Will and Lucian, for being the brain behind Darach’s Battle Castle of the Sinnoh Battle Frontier.
While she only uses a Gallade there, her Elite Four team consists of Unova’s best Psychic-types; her regulars are Musharna, Sigilyph, Reuniclus and Gothitelle.
5 Rock: Olivia
From a pool of relatively weak competition, Olivia is an easy choice for the strongest Rock-type specialist. That’s no knock on her though, as she’s had the duty of holding two positions in the Alola League: as a Kahuna and as an Elite Four member. That’s thanks in no small part to her teams that showcase only the best of the best Rock-type Pokemon, with her ace being the speedy yet powerful Lycanroc.
4 Water: Wallace
Every entry on this list from here on has been a Champion at one point, and the first of them is Wallace, Champion of the Hoenn region in Pokemon Emerald. To be the foremost expert of arguably the most popular type in the game is no small feat. His team best represents the Water-types of the region that famously had “too much water,” topped off by his beautiful and deceptively powerful Milotic. He also excellent in Pokemon Contests, proving his natural talent.
3 Fighting: Mustard
It seems as if Mustard’s current position as the Dojo Master at the Isle of Armor is just the cherry on top of an incredible career, having been a Galar Gym Leader and Champion once before. Not to mention, he’s the only Trainer on this list that canonically owns a Legendary Pokemon, Urshifu. It should only be right that he stands atop the long line of Fighting-type specialists in the franchise.
2 Steel: Steven Stone
Although his team isn’t 100% Steel-type, Steven’s association with mining and fossils warrants him being called an expert of that type, and a really good one at that. His team is strong from top to bottom, from the two fossils Armaldo and Cradily all the way down to his pseudo-Legendary ace Metagross that may or may not sport its Mega Evolution depending on the game.
1 Dragon: Lance
The Dragon Master certainly lives up to his name. Iris and Raihan in particular are very close seconds, but Lance has been a more established figure in the franchise for longer. Although some iterations of his team infamously consist of three non-Dragon-types and three Dragonites, his time as the final Elite Four member in the Kanto games and the Champion in the Johto games solidifies his position as one of the Pokemon world’s strongest Trainers, period.
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