Pokemon Sword & Shield: Ranking Every Gym Leader
2. Bede
Sound off in the comments if you think it’s hypocritical to have Bede so high yet Marnie so low, but allow me to get my justification in first. Bede isn’t a particularly likeable character, but all the flak Hop gets for being too nice a rival seems to ignore Bede’s existence.
He’s a Oliver Twist homage, and while he’s not perfect, it certainly suits Galar’s British sensibilities. His narrative, of trying to impress Rose and ultimately being discarded without thought, has far more substance than Pokémon usually offers in main titles.
His pseudo adoption by Opal to become the Fairy gym leader feels earned and realistic, plus before Marnie stole his idea, offered a sense of uniqueness too.
Like Marnie, you don’t strictly get the option to battle him as gym leader, but he challenges you in the initial tournament with some weight of narrative behind him, as well as during the Swordward and Shielbert post game storyline.
He has a considerable evolution throughout the game, and deserves to end it as a fully fledged gym leader. An unusual one, no doubt, but when you look at the best of them, that seems to be a necessity of the job.