Pokemon Sword & Shield: Ranking Every Gym Leader

Raihan is the final gym leader of the game, and comes with the tough (though occasionally vulnerable) Dragon typing. He’s a fairly constant presence throughout the game, and has a great design with some neat little touches. While a stripped back trial didn’t work for Opal or Kabu, it definitely does for Raihan.

The one thing really keeping Raihan off the top though is the quote unquote unbeatable Champion of Galar, Leon. The two of them are just too similar, and it has to hurt to Raihan’s rankings. There’s clearly an attempt to make the narrative alive outside of yourself, with the pair as rivals, but it could be more nuanced.

With so many characters, there’s always going to be some cross over, but there could be more between them. Especially as they’re positioned as the number one and number two trainers of the region.

Raihan is image conscious and likes selfies. Take away the Leon comparisons and that’s all there is.

One of the most compelling parts of the Messi v Ronaldo debate is how different they are off the pitch. Raihan and Leon though are both Ronaldo.