One of the most memorable parts of any Pokemon journey is the Gym Leaders. Not only do they provide background and personality to the game's region, but they also provide a challenge meant to test just how far a player has come.
But this is not the case for the Alola Region. Instead, eleven-year-olds are sent on their Island Challenge, where they need to pass eight trials and four grand trials run by seven Trial Captains and four Island Kahunas. And while it's not necessary to battle them all, you are able to at multiple points in the game. So let's see which of these formidable figures is the strongest in all of Alola!
11 Ilima
Known as the "Prince of the Trainers' School," Ilima is a Normal-type specialist. The first Trial Captain you'll ever face, his trial consists of battling either the Yungoos or Rattata lines. This is fairly basic and, frankly, so is battling Ilima.
Ilima uses a similar gimmick to the first Gym from Black and White, except instead of using a Pokemon that has an advantage against your starter, he'll have a Smeargle that knows a Super Effective move. This is a clever way to show off Smeargle's gimmick, but the downside is that Smeargle has awful attacking stats and Ilima's other Pokemon aren't that great either. It's especially a shame since there are so many great Normal-type Pokemon on Melemele Island. All in all, Ilima is at the bottom of the list for a reason.
10 Kiawe
Kiawe easily has one of the coolest character designs in all of Pokemon. Kiawe studies the traditional dances of Alola, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:which justifies his Fire-type focus. Hiཧs trial consists of watching diff🍷erent Alolan Marowak dance and spotting the differences between them.
Kiawe's team is all about physical attack, eventually consisting of Arcanine, Talonflame, and Alolan Marowak. While this seems awesome on paper, there are a few issues with his team. First of all, he doesn't have many answers to Fire-type's weaknesses, particularly Water-type attacks. Second, none of his team has a full moveset, and they all could really benefit from it. So while his team may seem intimidating at first, it's pretty easy to handle if you have a couple of Water or Ground-types.
9 Mallow
The Grass-type trainer Mallow is a cheerful girl who loves to cook. She works this into her trial by having the player gather ingredients for a meal that the Totem Pokemon will love. And while she may seem like a pushover since she's young and uses Grass-type Pokemon, her team is surprisingly tough.
Mallow's ace Tsareena is decently bulky with a great 120 Attack stat. On top of this, she has two more defensive Pokemon with some immunities: Trevenant and Shiinotic. Mallow's main goal is to drain and recover HP with moves like Leech Seed, Horn Leech, and Giga Drain. This keeps her stockier Pokemon alive longer and makes it easier for Tsareena to finish you off in the end. And while she does have the same issue as Kiawe when it comes to type coverage, her team is much more structurally sound.
8 Hala
Hala is a constant presence in all of the Gen 7 games. He gives you your starter, is your rival's grandfather, is the first Kahuna you fight, and is a member of🐷 the Elite Four in Sun and Moon. However, all of this is brought down by the fact that Hala is one of the most disappointing trainers in all of Alola.
Hala is a Fighting-type master, one of the strongest offensive types out there. Not only do they hit hard, but they have lots of answers for the three types they're weak against. But for most Sun and Moon, Hala barely has any answers for these. To make matters worse, only one of his Pokemon has a full move set. Three of them only know two moves! While he does get better coverage in his rematch and in the Ultra games, Hala is still a pushover and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:one of 🐽the weakest Elite Four members ever.
7 Lana
Lana is a young girl who is dedicated to her family, especially her younger siblings. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:She loves Water-type Pokemon and often spends her time fishing, which is probably why it is a major part of her trial. It's surprisingly tough, which is also the perfect way to describe her team.
Lana's team consists of three Pokemon that can take a few hits. Lanturn has a bunch of HP, Cloyster is a defensive monster, and Araquanid has a much higher Special Defense than you'd think. What makes her team especially strong compared to those before her is how she covers her weaknesses. Cloyster and Araquanid demolish Grass-types and Lanturn is immune to Electric attacks. Don't let her shyness fool you, Lana is one of the toughest Trial Captains out there.
6 Olivia
Olivia is the Kahuna of Akala Island as well as a member of the Elite Four. She runs a jewelry store, so it's appropriate that her specialty is Rock-type Pokemon. And unlike fellow Khauna/Elite Four member Hala, Olivia is actually a challenge.
Despite Rock-types having five weaknesses, Olivia is able to cover most of them with her Ultra team. This is mainly because she swapped out three of her Sun and Moon Pokemon with double weaknesses out with ones that counter them. On top of this, she adds a Sand Stream Gigalith that will increase her team's Special Defense. However, her coverage isn't perfect, and she can still easily be handled by Water and Fighting-type Pokemon. Either way, she's a real gem of a trainer.
5 Nanu
Nanu is one of the more fascinating characters in Alola. A former special agent that investigated the Ultra Beast Guzzlord, he is now a police officer and the Island Kahuna for Ula'ula Island. And even though he turned down being a member of the Elite Four, he is still a formidable trainer.
Nanu's team of Dark-type Pokemon is pretty much built to take down two of Dark's main weaknesses: Bug and Fighting. A lot of his team knows Rock and Flying-type moves with some frustrating status moves on the side. He also likes to reduce your stats with Intimidate and Snarl. But there is one big error in Nanu's team: he never accounts for Fairy-type Pokemon, and there are a few that could destroy his team. But even then, Nanu is a trainer that shouldn't be taken lightly.
4 Mina
Mina is unique on this list since he can be encountered in another main Pokemon game: Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee. Her father considers her to be a "fey vagabond," wandering from place to place and painting whatever she likes. And her Fairy-type team is no joke.
Unlike most other Trial Captains, Mina's strongest team has five Pokemon. Also, unlike most Trial Captains, Mina has her weaknesses covered. She only needs to worry about Steel and Poison-type Pokemon and has plenty of coverage moves to handle both. She does have some problems with a lack of major offense and overall frailty. Fortunately, she solves the latter by having a Prankster Klefki use Reflect and Light Screen. The only thing keeping her from being higher on this list is how comparably weak her team is in the Ultra games.
3 Sophocles
Sophocles is a young boy who runs the Festival Plaza. An Electric-type aficionado, So♋phocles often works with the Steel-type Elite Four member Molayne to develop different machines for his trial. Sophocles is also one of the trainers who can come and challenge you after you become champion. And his team is good!
In Ultra Sun and Moon, every member of Sophocles' team is at level 67. He also has a lot of great Pokemon that really pack a punch, like Magnezone, Electivire, and Vikavolt. However, he does fall into the same trap every Electric master does: Ground-types. A Ground-type Pokemon would completely wreck shop against Sophocles. The closest thing he has to combat that is Vikavolt, but it doesn't know any moves to deal Super Effective damage back. That glaring weakness aside, Sophocles is still shockingly good.
2 Acerola
Acerola is a spooky orphan who loves Ghost-types and is also the descendant of an Alolan royal family. But what makes her really stand out is that she's the only Trial Captain who is also a member of the Elite Four.
The big thing that Acerola gets right about her team is its type diversity. In her teams for Sun, Moon, and the Ultra versions, she only has one Pokemon that is purely Ghost-type. This gives her a lot of type coverage to handle many different types of teams. On top of this, her team is bulkier than most other Ghost teams. This means that even though she doesn't really have an answer for Dark-type Pokemon, she can still survive and hit them back hard.