Pokemon Sword & Shield: Ranking Every Gym Leader

The second of four exclusives on the list now, Melony is the sixth gym leader in Shield in place of Gordie. She suits the town Circhester a lot better, has a far less grating personality and has an interesting trail. She does, however, only have a fleeting role in the story; likely a symptom of her position as an exclusive.

Melony is a sweet yet stern mother, and together with her fuller figure, big hair and thick clothes, makes for a very cuddly gym leader. She’s Gordie’s mother, in fact, and while she’s sweet in a fleeting visit, her overbearing nature might go some way to explaining him.

In the icy town of Circhester, she feels like a warm mug of hot chocolate. Spare a thought for poor Gordie though, drinking only hot chocolate for his entire life.

Pokémon’s fandom spins off in all directions, and Melony will undoubtedly inspire a certain genre of artwork. Still, it feels wrong to hold that against her in a world which already contains Goodra, Gardevoir and Hatterene.

Her trial of falling ice floors is the closest we get to a real dungeon, and it’s not her fault the rest of the game is dumbed down.