Continuing on from the previous update, here is part 2 and the final part to our Champions ranking based on battle prowess alone.

8. Hau

Hau is the rival character in the Sun & Moon games. He's food motivated and is the Champion placeholder in Alola because there is no Champion. Hau is the first person the player challenges after becoming Champion and is the replacement/placeholder for the traditional Champion fight after the Elite 4 thus explaining why I'm including him in this ranking. His team is very inspired by his grandfather, Kahuna Hala, and his adventure across Alola.

Team: Ultra Sun & Moon

1. Decidueye-Ghost/Grass
Base Stats: 530
2. Crabominable-Ice/Fighting
Base Stats: 478
3. Tauros-Normal
Base Stats: 490
4. Alolan Raichu-Electric/Psychic
Base Stats: 485
5. Vaporeon-Water
Base Stats: 525
6. Noivern-Flying/Dragon
Base Stats: 535
Combined Stat Total: 3,043
I'm cheating a little bit with Hau's team as his team HIGHLY differentiates depending on what starter the player chose. I decided to give Hau his Rowlet team as in the anime Hau canonically has a Decidueye and that the team he has as the Champion placeholder only has 5 Pokemon so I went with his Ultra Moon team. Yes, Hau has variety on his team but he's actively using... Not the best Pokemon. It's the same issue as Nemona except his Pokemon are faster than hers by a mile which grants him the advantage that Nemona didn't have. Yeah, his Stats could he better too, but atleast his entire team isn't weak to the same type unlike Lance and Diantha.

7. Iris

Iris, the woman who defeated and became the current Champion of Unova. She is the former apprentice to Drayden, the final Gymleader of Unova. Regarded as a dragon master in her region, her Champion team thankfully has a bit of variety.

Team: Black & White 2

1. Aggron-Rock/Steel
Base Stats: 530
2. Lapras-Water/Ice
Base Stats: 535
3. Haxorus-Dragon
Base Stats: 540
4. Hydreigon-Dark/Dragon
Base Stats: 600
5. Druddigon-Dragon
Base Stats: 485
6. Archeops-Rock/Flying
Base Stats: 567
Combined Stat Total: 3,257
Besides Lance, Iris has the 2nd highest Combined Stat Total for her Pokemon team. I won't deny, when I looked at her team I was blown away because it is filled to the brim with heavy hitters. Despite that, Iris has a blaring weakness to Ice, Dragon & Fairy types. It's the same issue as Cynthia as Iris became champion prior to the introduction of Fairy types therefore you cannot cheese her entire team with one type and nobody plays the Black and White games with Ice OR Dragon types because Ice types are useless in this game and Dragon types evolve at too high of levels for anyone to even bother with them. Still though, I'm also ranking the Champion on their own outside of their games so overal, Iris is somewhat easy to defeat if you bring the proper Pokemon. Let's say you don't bring any Ice, Dragon or Fairy types, all are RARE types as well, then you'll definitely have a hard time with Iris and it's why I Ranked her higher than most.

6. Steven

Steven is a fan favorite character despite just how little he's seen within the Pokemon Anime and games over the years. He is the first Champion in the series that doesn't specialize in one particular typing BUT his team does indeed have a theme. He's into the 'earthy' types such as Rock, Ground & Steel. In Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, his Champion team became his canon team but also his strongest to date crowning him as one of the strongest trainers in the planet.

Team: Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire

1. Skarmory-Flying/Steel
Base Stats: 465
2. Claydol-Psychic/Ground
Base Stats: 500
3. Aggron-Steel/Rock
Base Stats: 530
4. Cradilly-Grass/Rock
Base Stats: 495
5. Armaldo-Bug/Rock
Base Stats: 495
6. Mega Metagross-Psychic/Steel
Base Stats: 700
Combined Stat Total: 3,185
Surprisingly, Steven's team is quite great! Before writing this, I firmly thought Steven was gonna be one of the weakest Champions BUT he's actually one of the strongest as he only has two weakness of Ice & Fighting and he utilizes Mega Evolution. His team is made up of especially bulky Pokemon and types built specifically for defense. Quite a few of his Pokemon's typings also cancel out weaknesses meaning he has his bases covered AND hes can counteract his weaknesses too. Between the types he utilizes and just how overal strong his team is, he can EASILY tank Diantha and MAYBE Cynthia if she can strategize correctly.

5. Professor Kukui

Professor Kukui aka the Masked Royal, is the regional Professor for the Alola Region with a secret identity he uses when professionally battling around the globe. Both in the anime and Ultra games, Kukui IS the strongest trainer in Alola and acts as the regional Champion placeholder until the player and/or Ash Ketchum dethroned him. I love Kukui and he has a surprisingly great team!

Team: Ultra Sun & Moon

1. Incineroar-Fire/Dark
Base Stats: 530
2. Lucario-Steel/Fighting
Base Stats: 525
3. Braviary-Normal/Flying
Base Stats: 510
4. Midday Lycanroc-Rock
Base Stats: 487
5. Magnezone-Steel/Electric
Base Stats: 535
6. Alolan Ninetales-Ice
Base Stats: 505
Combined Stat Total: 3,092
Yes I cheated again, I swapped out one of Kukui's Pokemon for one he had in the anime because Lucario was literally the only Pokemon Kukui openly owned in the anime and it fits his team better than Snorlax. Heck, I technically gave Kukui a weaker Pokemon! That being said, Kukui has a surprisingly great team even with me dialing him down a little as he has all of his bases covered with strong Pokemon to back him up as the only type more than one of his Pokemon are weak to is Fire & Ice as fire types aren't common in Alola and Ice is a type rarely anyone uses. I don't think many people realize that Kukui's team IS a pro team as it consists of Pokemon most often used in competitive battling in real life, outside of Lycanroc AND Kukui has one of the more advanced AI in recent years making him a worthy opponent.

4. Cynthia

The Champion nearly everyone has been defeated by in their youths, Cynthia is the champion of Sinnoh who's character utilizes crazy strong Pokemon, type variety AND the most advanced AI in Pokemon history besides Agatha. Cynthia is no pushover that's for sure.

Team: Diamond & Pearl

1. Garchomp-Ground/Dragon
Base Stats: 600
2. Roserade-Grass/Poison
Base Stats: 515
3. Spiritomb-Dark/Ghost
Base Stats: 485
4. Milotic-Water
Base Stats: 540
5. Lucario-Fighting/Steel
Base Stats: 524
6. Gastrodon-Water/Ground
Base Stats: 475
Combined Stat Total-3,139
She has a blaring weakness to Steel, Ice & Fairy types... To be fair this team of Cynthia's was made prior to the introduction of Fairy types BUT when Brilliant Diamond came out everyone was obliterating her team with Fairy types many claiming Cynthia is no longer considered a challenge. Cynthia also has other BETTER teams, but I went with the team I've seen her utilize the most across the games and anime. However, let's say you don't have a Fairy type or any Pokemon that's knows a Fairy move or two, this woman still packs a serious punch! She has type variety, a pseudo legendary that can Mega Evolve (in the anime at least) and she has one of the most advanced AIs in Pokemon history which granted her character the ability to use items, withdraw Pokemon and strategize as if you were battling a real person! It's completely understandable why she IS one of the strongest trainers in Pokemon Canon, even if the introduction of the Fairy type put a rain on her parade.

3. Mustard

Mustard, an odd name yes, is a former Champion of Galar who personally trained the current Champion of Galar: Leon. Mustard, in his retired days, still trains novice trainers in his dojo with his wife where he looks after and raises the Legendary Pokemon Kubfu.

Team: Sword & Shield

1. Gigantamax Single-Strike Urshifu-Dark/Fighting
Base Stats: 550
2. Luxray-Electric
Base Stats: 523
3. Midday Lycanroc-Rock
Base Stats: 497
4. Mienshao-Fighting
Base Stats: 510
5. Kommo-o-Fighting/Dragon
Base Stats: 600
6. Corviknight-Steel/Flying
Base Stats: 495
Combined Stat Total: 3,175
Mustard is the only Champion in history to own and utilize a legendary Pokemon, that being Urshifu which was a great surprise when I played through the events of Sword & Shield. Clearly, looking at Mustard's team he specializes in the Fighting Type but Fighting Type has the 2nd least amount of weaknesses outside of Electric with only TWO weakness of Psychic and Flying and Mustard's team accommodates for those weaknesses! That's why Urshifu is Dark type to deal with any potential Psychic type his opponent might have and also why he has Luxray and Lycanroc to handle flying types. It's honestly amazing how strong and well rounded his team is despite being Fighting type heavy on top of having a Legendary pokemon! Damn, even retired Mustard can pack a punch.

2. Kieran

Kieran is a companion you befriend and rival in the Scarlet & Violet DLC. He's the 'Champion' of Blueberry Academy granting him the title of Champion by technicality and... Wow, this kid knows how to battle. I'm not joking when I say I haven't struggled this badly in a battle in years.

Team: Scarlet & Violet

1. Dragonite-Flying/Dragon
Base Stats: 600
2. Politoed-Water
Base Stats: 500
3. Hydrapple-Grass/Dragon
Base Stats: 540
4. Porygon Z-Normal
Base Stats: 535
5. Incineroar-Dark/Fire
Base Stats: 530
6. Grimmsnarl-Dark/Fairy
Base Stats: 510
Combined Stat Total: 3,215
Kieran ranks so highly for the sake that his team is a force to be reconned with and that he is scary in terms of battling. Much like Raihan, this kid specializes in Double Battles opening the road for devastating battle tactics and support, something every champion lacks. If you take away Double battles, Kieran isn't as much of a threat but still one nonetheless especially since his battle gimmick of choice is Terastalization of which he utilizes to change his team's types which is always a major curveball. Kieran is easily one of the best Champions on this list but of course remove Double Battles and he's nowhere near as strong.

1. Leon

Leon, the strongest trainer in the world and Champion of Galar. I'm sure you all were expecting him to be placed this high on the list if not number 1.

Team: Sword & Shield

1. Gigantamax Charizard-Fire/Flying
Base Stats: 535
2. Aegislash-Ghost/Steel
Base Stats: 520
3. Rhyperior-Rock/Ground
Base Stats: 535
4. Mr. Ryme-Ice/Psychic
Base Stats: 520
5. Dragapult-Dragon/Ghost
Base Stats: 600
6. Rillaboom-Grass/Fighting
Base Stats: 530
Combined Stat Total: 3,240
Leon's in game AND anime teams are insanely inconsistent as every time you face him he's using a different team and it also changes depending on what starter the player chose. So I opted for his most balanced team which is a mix and match from ALL of his teams. Surprisingly, Leon is only vulnerable to the Dark typing as his large variety of types present on the team protects against everything else especially well. The Pokemon on his team are also built for more than just landing attacks as his Dragapult IS one of the fastest Pokemon in existence, Aegislash has stance change allowing both offenses and defense, Rillaboom has the highest Stats of all the starter Pokemon, Mr. Rime is utilized for support. Long story short, Leon is equipped for anything and Leon definitely has a champion worthy team and it's no wonder he's the strongest trainer on the planet.

Did the ranking meet your expectations? Were you surprised by any of the rankings?