Pokémon Sword and Shield: Raihan

Sometimes all a gym leader has to do to be a challenge is have a real strategy that differentiates them from the same battles you spend most of the game fighting through. Raihan from Sword and Shield is that motherfuckin’ guy. The Hammerlock Stadium gym leader is ostensibly a dragon-type trainer, but really, his party is based in weather effects rather than a specific type. He challenges the player to a double battle and leads with a Gigalith that summons a sandstorm as soon as it’s on the field thanks to its Sand Stream ability. Rather than using a regular Sandstorm attack to set up the weather effect, Raihan gets to immediately set the stage on which you’ll battle him, with a sandstorm pelting all your non-rock, steel, or ground-type Pokémon each turn while his team is entirely immune.

There are several big battles in Pokémon where the trainer you’re facing has a strategy in place that gets immediately derailed by a decisive, super-effective blow that knocks out their Pokémon immediately. Raihan, on the other hand, skips a step by having his weather effects set before you can even choose an attack. The only options are to either override it with your own weather ability, or simply endure the sand and soot slowly chipping away at your health as you deal with his tanky team. Raihan really shows off how intricate Pokémon’s battle systems can be when they’re used to their full potential, something you don’t see in all the haphazardly slapped-together teams that are merely meant to slow you down.