Awesome Bosses / Pokémon

Hundreds of collectible monsters, and plenty of awesome bosses along the way.

All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

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General

• Facing Legendaries, though for the most part the goal isn't to defeat them...
• Yes, we all know that beating a Gym Leader is awesome, but to get real satisfaction out of the ordeal, try beating them with underleveled Pokémon. Or take it up a level and do the same thing with the Elite Four and Champion. The Generation V games brought it up a little when the music shifts to an upbeat remix of the classic Pokémon theme when the leader is on his/her last mon.

Generation I: Red, Blue, and Yellow, plus FireRed and LeafGreen

• Mewtwo. Generation I. You've gone through the Pokémon League, tackled Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, proved once and for all that you're better than Blue, and now you're at the end of Cerulean Cave. There you see it before you: a single solitary Pokémon. You remember the journal entries from Cinnabar Mansion: the scientists finding Mew and cloning it to make Mewtwo, who proceeded to escape and destroy the laboratory/mansion. This is Mewtwo. Level 70. And you can catch it. The only way to ruin that fight is to use the Master Ball, in which case it's an Anticlimax Boss.
  • Another way to make it an anticlimax boss is to fight him with a Dark-type in FRLG/HGSS, allowing you to catch him with baseline Poké Balls with total ease, if a bit of a time investment. As Dark-types are unaffected by Mewtwo's Psychic-type offensive moves, almost the only thing you have to worry about is Mewtwo running out of PP.
  • Then there's the solo battle in Pokémon Stadium. That he challenges you is his way of saying, "Hey. I can beat you and your whole team by myself. Bring it on!" The arena is made of a bunch of transparent crystalline material, and he has music befitting a final boss. And because the balancing issues hadn't been sorted out yet, he stood a good chance of actually wrecking your team all by himself.
• The final battle against Blue. No matter if you're playing the Game Boy originals, or the Game Boy Advance remakes, this is a showdown as old as time immemorial. This talented yet cocky trainer has been a step ahead of you throughout your entire journey, taking every opportunity to belittle your progress and make you know you're just a stepping stone on his journey to become the very best. It all culminates in the Indigo Plateau where after you beat the Elite Four, it's revealed that Blue already got there before you. And then you realize: it's finally time. Blue's team is expertly built around the decisions made at the beginning of the game, whether it's the starter he chose in Red and Blue or the Eeveelution he obtained in Yellow, and his team is easily the strongest in at least the original games. Once you finally beat Blue, you get the satisfaction of beating your rival, watching his grandfather call him out, and becoming the Pokémon Champion for the first time.
• The rematches against the Elite Four and Blue in the remakes. Their teams got a massive overhaul, substituting some of their duplicate Pokémon for either their evolved forms or Pokémon discovered in the Johto region. Seeing Bruno with two Steelix and Lance with a Kingdra is just the icing on the cake compared to Blue swapping out his Pidgeot and Rhydon for a Heracross and Tyranitar. After finally beating them again, you'll definitely feel like you've surpassed championship.

Generation II: Gold, Silver, and Crystal, plus HeartGold and SoulSilver

• The True Final Boss of the second generation and its fourth-generation remakes. You've obtained sixteen badges, and defeated every Gym Leader within your reach. Your team of mons is fully-evolved and totally ready and pumped to kick some ass. You've literally defeated every other trainer in the two regions. Who could possibly be left to challenge you? Who else but Red, the protagonist of the previous game, who after five generations still wields the highest-leveled Pokémon in the series. ^note His HGSS and GSC teams are the first and fourth-highest leveled trainers respectively, excluding Battle Frontier facilities but including Benga's Challenge Mode team from BW2, who is tied for second with Barry from Platinum. He's got some of the most famous and traditional Pokémon: the three fully evolved Kanto starters, Snorlax, Pikachu, and either Espeon or Lapras depending on version. As if all that wasn't enough, he doesn't even say anything as you fight him, speaking only in ellipses as a reference to his own silence in the original games. It was an incredible way to tie the first two generations together and bring everything full circle. It speaks volumes of how awesome this fight is when there is absolutely no dialogue or context involved and it still manages to feel epic based solely on the Previous Player-Character Cameo. To make it even better, the battle theme (which he shares with Lance, the Pokemon League Champion) is a driving Boss Remix of the classic theme song.
• To some, HeartGold and SoulSilver have some of the best battles in the series. Red? Check. Blue? Check. Clair and Lance while teamed up with Silver? Check. Giovanni? Check. Too many legendaries to count? Check. Eusine? Sure.

Generation III: Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, plus Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire

• Tate and Liza in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald. They're the only double-battle Gym Leaders in the main games prior to Pokémon Sword and Shield (rematches in Emerald notwithstanding) and require the player to push their double-battle strategies to their limits — or to come up with one on the spot — if they haven't been Level Grinding. The battle may take longer than most battles up to that point (even though there are only two Pokémon (four in Emerald), but that's part of the charm of RPG bosses for some players.
• Steven in Ruby/Sapphire (he apparently abdicated his Champion position to Wallace in Emerald, but he remained in the game as an even stronger Superboss). Although he was the first Final Boss in the series to not have a direct connection to the player (as opposed to your rival in the first generation and the below-mentioned Red in generations two and four), he overcame that disappointment with an incredibly difficult-to-defeat team and a kickass battle theme. He also had a Cool, easygoing personality... and an interior as hard as the Steel-types he uses. Badass.
• Some of the later battles against Norman in Emerald can feel like this. It's not just the thrill you get after taking out his skill-swapping Slaking, which received a negative ability just to keep them balanced. It's what he says after you beat him: "<Your Name Here>... What is your dream? My dream... Hahaha...It has already come true, actually." To summarize: it's not just beating him, it's that instead of resenting that his child has defeated him multiple times, he's genuinely happy for you.
• Fighting Maxie and Tabitha at the same time alongside Steven in Pokemon Emerald was cool, and the music only made it better.
• The Delta Episode in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which the post-game immediately throws you into. You're out to stop a giant meteoroid that's hurtling towards the planet, and throughout the story, you have to go through various locations like Meteor Falls, Team Magma/Aqua's hideout, and other parts. But you meet Zinnia, a female Dragon-type trainer with a very cool personality. After everything, you and her arrive at the Sky Pillar, where you catch Rayquaza and it gets Dragon Ascent, a new move introduced that allows it to Mega Evolve without a Mega Stone. Then, you fight Zinnia once more, except this time she comes equipped with two more Pokémon and a Mega Salamence. But the true awesomeness comes in right after that: You take the Team Magma/Aqua suit you used in the Seafloor Cavern AND RIDE RAYQUAZA INTO ACTUAL OUTER SPACE!!!!! There, you fight Deoxys, and can capture it for your very self. And as a reward for saving the world, you get a very touching montage of moments to watch that unfold.
• The battle with Wally at Victory Road in ORAS. In the original games, he was just one last trainer before traversing Victory Road/challenging the Pokémon League. Here, he has his own epic battle music, the battleground is a field of red spider lilies, and instead of Gardevoir, he's evolved his Ralts into a Gallade, and he can Mega Evolve it too. He gets even better in the Battle Maison, to the point where his team wouldn't look at all out of place in a pro-league tournament.

Generation IV: Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

• The Sinnoh Elite Four. Hell, the battle with Cynthia alone. You can't exploit type weaknesses against her Spiritomb, because it has no weakness. Her team is the most balanced of any NPC ever. A revenge killer, a special wall, a mixed wall, and a sweeper as well. It is telling that this is considered the best of the champion fights in the series. She fights like an actual player, with a much more balanced team than any other NPC in the series.
  • Cynthia is generally improbably cool. Not only she has a kickass well-trained team, an awesome battle track, but she is an appealing character as well, walking around and helping the player character because she thinks newbies are cool.
  • Cynthia was so cool they added her in as an optional battle in Black and White and Black 2 and White 2.
  • Cynthia maintains this role into the remakes as well. This time, she actually takes held items and abilities into account. Her Garchomp is holding a berry that weakens incoming ice damage (Giving it plenty of time to fight back) and has Poison Jab for any Fairy-type Pokémon the player might think to use. Her Spiritomb may have a weakness now, but also is packing Shadow Ball, while her Roserade is packing an item that makes super-effective moves deal more damage. Notably, her Milotic becomes a Stone Wall once the Flame Orb kicks in - not only is it rocking sky high Special Defense (Which allows it to mirror counter easily), but its ability Marvel Scale also increases its physical Defense by 50%.
• Cyrus in the Distortion World in Platinum. You're at the end of a confusing world where the laws of physics as you knew them have no meaning, led through the puzzles by Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, and before you get to go capture Giratina, you gotta beat a guy who, if you fail, will destroy existence and remake it in his own image as a world without emotion, thought, or free will. Just that alone should point to how epic the buildup is, and the boss usually doesn't disappoint, especially not with the epic music.
• The Giratina fight following it also is very awesome, due no doubt to the music and just the fact that you're fighting a powerful being that probably isn't too happy with what Cyrus was doing and probably thinks you're part of it. It's also a tough fighter in its own right and won't give up easily.
• The Elite four in the remake have been praised for adapting strategies used in competitive play:
  • For the first time around, their teams are the same as before. Even though this does mean Aaron once again is using two Crutch Character Pokémon in the endgame and Flint has only two fire types, they find ways to stall and make up for it. Because unlike the original, all take advantage of moves, abilities introduced past the fourth generation, IV/EV training, and held items. Aaron's Heracross in particular takes advantage of the Flame Orb and Facade, Flint's Drifblim takes advantage of using Status Buff attacks and Baton Pass like in the original but this time has much more reliable ways to do it, and Lucian's Alakazam is carrying a Life orb to make Future Sight hit like a truck if the battle isn't ended quickly.
  • Their rematches are also against their Platinum teams... except this time? This includes held items. Aaron now carries bulkier Pokémon, but now his Scizor has its double weakness to fire reduced by having an Occa Berry. Flint may no longer run a Sunny Day/Solar Beam combo like he did in Platinum, but the held items will still allow his Pokémon to even inflict some major damage despite resistances if you don't take them out fast enough. Lucian's Alakazam now includes some dark type coverage - via the more accurate Dazzling Gleam instead of Focus Blast.
  • And what's more? They have a second rematch in which the entirety of the Elite Four now has a full team. They may still be limited to only four generations of Pokémon and held items, but do they ever take advantage of it. Bertha in particular practically sets up her entire team to make those who are attempting to sweep with Torterra cry - because she replaces her Golem with a Nidoking, and her new addition is Mamoswine. Lucian adds a Slowbro to his team - a Slowbro with Leftovers and Regenerator. So you just know that thing is not going down quickly.

Generation V: Black and White and Black 2 and White 2

• N and Ghetsis from Black and White play things a lot more differently than the villains in the other main Pokémon games. They are fought right after defeating the Elite Four. You first fight the mascot legendary — which respawns if it faints, forcing you to catch it — then you fight N, who has the other version's mascot legendary as part of his team, then you fight six more Pokémon from Ghetsis. It helps that N is easily one of the most compelling rivals you've ever had, and that Ghetsis is utterly despicable.
  • Add the fact that he is in a very short list of villains who have actually obtained a Legendary Pokémon and use it against you. The only other ones to do so? Cipher.
  • Ghetsis and more specifically, his Hydreigon. That meta-gaming jerk has a mid-50s Hydreigon (the game mechanics have it evolving at 64), plus it's loaded down with Surf, Fire Blast, Focus Blast, and Dragon Pulse. It'll just about one-shot anything it can line up a type weakness against. So your list of types to fight it with are slim. Best option is a pure Fighting-type, as it is a Dark/Dragon. Barring that, a Water-type with Ice moves (Samurott and/or Jellicent) works, too.
  • In Black 2 and White 2, Ghetsis is back. His Hydreigon was dumbed down quite a bit^note its moveset is physical-based instead of special-based and is walled by Steel-types, not to mention you have plenty of other options to combat it with thanks to the New Unova Dex, and two of his former Pokémon (Bouffalant and Bisharp) were replaced with Poison-types from Sinnoh, but it still makes for a cool fight. His theme was also revamped hardcore, too.
• Colress from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, who you fight before Ghetsis. Despite four of his five Pokémon being Steel-type (six in post-game rematches), his Magneton and Magnezone can really mess with you if you lack an answer to them, thanks to the fact he actually takes advantage of held items. His other Pokémon can hit hard as well, but he does make for a fun battle, especially with his technologic and intense battle theme.
• Battling the Champion, Iris, in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. After an outstanding battle intro scene, which is the only one the series has had yet to feature full body VS sprites, the battlefield is a bunch of multicolored beams flying through the starry sky. You know you're in for a fun fight when the Champion's first Pokémon is a Hydreigon. Another underleveled one, no less, which, in fact, if you're playing on Challenge Mode or a rematch, has the same moveset that Ghetsis' had in the originals ^note In a regular initial battle, it has Flamethrower and Charge Beam instead of Focus Blast and Fire Blast. And that's just the beginning. She also has a Haxorus with Dragon Dance and a Focus Sash, along with lots of other strong hitters. She is typically considered one of the harder champions, and has the pure undiluted awesome that is her battle theme. And on Challenge Mode, it's even more intense, because her entire team gets redesigned and are given much more powerful movesets consisting of 100-120 and even 150 power STAB moves.
  • Additionally, on Challenge Mode, she and the entire Elite Four can be considered this, because in addition to them having five Pokémon like they did in previous games prior to Black and White, they all get unusual held items that boost the power of their attacks or accuracy (Wise Glasses, Expert Belt, etc). This one takes an all-out offensive force to be reckoned with.
  • And while Iris isn't a very prominent character in the story compared to most other Champions before her, special mention goes to her for being a badass as somewhere around the age of the protagonists while rocking a team of dragon and monster themed Pokémon in a crazy battlefield. That is not something a typical player would likely expect for a Champion.
• The final round in Pokémon World Tournament Matches, where the battlefield becomes more flashy and colorful as you progress, accompanied by a triumphant music track evocative of Super Smash Bros.. Especially if you're up against your favorite character.
• Elesa's revamped gym in Black 2 and White 2. It consists of a gaudy catwalk where you fight supermodels, who add to the funky-fresh mix of the normal gym music when you defeat them (complete with Gratuitous English!). It's more of a funny boss than an awesome boss, but it's still plenty great.
• Benga, Alder's grandson also from Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, is an awesome fight as well. You battle him at the top of the Black Tower/White Treehollow, which gives the battle with him a unique background. Getting to him is a long and arduous trek through extremely high leveled trainers with very limited chances to heal. When you finally do reach him, he comes flying at you with three extremely powerful Pokemon with good hold items that are even higher leveled than Iris'. One of them (depending on the version) is even a Latios or Latias! Finally, during the battle, him and his grandpa's heroic and triumphant theme is blasting in the background, giving the fight an incredible feeling of grandeur. Oh, and if you defeat him? He rewards you with a shiny Dragon-type (Gible or Dratini depending on the version)!

Generation VI: X and Y

• The climax of the Team Flare arc.
  • First, the mascot legendary battles. As with Zekrom and Reshiram, it respawns if it faints and forces you to catch it, but in the middle of doing so, you get thrown into an outstanding battle scene, with Xerneas in what looks like a rainbow-ish field, and Yveltal in outer space, with their absolutely mind blowingly awesome battle theme to throw on it.
  • Then you fight Team Flare's boss, Lysandre, for the final time, with his Doc Ock-style robotic limbs on his back, on the sun. He's no BW Ghetsis in terms of difficulty, but it's still pretty sick, not to mention you can use your newly acquired legendary to kick his butt.
  • Yeesh, is this guy a joke? Mega Blaziken took all of them down with ease! Oh, wait, a Gyarados? Ah, no worr- The opposing Gyarados's Gyaradosite is reacting to Lysandre's Mega Ring! And you thought only you could use Mega Evolution. NOPE!

Generation VII: Sun and Moon and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon

• The climax of the first game. After using the Sun/Moon Flute at the Altar of the Sunne/Moone, Nebby of all things jumps out of Lillie's bag, flies up and evolves into the mascot legendary! This is the first time an evolving legendary has been introduced, and of course, you get to fight and capture them right after. Their battle is fairly easy, but after that buildup, it's still amazing.
• The final boss battle against Aether President Lusamine. After you beat her once and chased her into Ultra Space, she decides that she's had enough and freaking fuses with a Nihilego to become the Eldritch Abomination known as the Mother Beast. She has a team of rather powerful Pokemon, which are all under totem boosts that boost all their stats. Which makes it all the more awesome when you still manage to beat her.
• The post-game battles against the Ultra Beasts are amazing, partially because they're under a permanent stat buff, go unnamed when first met and have monstrous stats in one or two regards. It's even better when you finally catch the things that have been giving you trouble for most of the game and sic them on every Pokemon in the area.
  • Nihilego is especially great to battle since it's responsible for the entire conflict in the game. While it had just sat in the background causing events to happen most of the time, most players will learn now that it's perfectly able to hold its own in battle, with very high Sp. Atk and Sp. Def stats and a typing that's nearly impossible to guess just from looking, Rock/Poison.
  • Buzzwole or Pheromosa are also great to fight since they were in one of the trailers, the former being a Mighty Glacier with extremely high physical Attack power, while the latter is a Fragile Speedster who outspeeds everything and has extreme Attack and Special Attack. They can and will punish the unprepared with a flurry of One-Hit Kill attacks, especially the latter, who will be faster than anything you have^note its base Speed is 151 — for comparison, Electrode's base Speed is 150. The only faster Pokémon are Ninjask and Speed Forme Deoxys.
  • Xurkitree symbolizes a massive Difficulty Spike in comparison to the last two: with an insane Special Attack stat (which is further boosted by its aura), Electric Terrain to further boost its attacks and keep you from stopping it with sleep, Power Whip to punish people that brought Ground-types (because it was pretty obvious what type it is), and due to its Sp. Atk, possibly the most devastating Discharge in the game (which is boosted even further by Electric Terrain). This thing can One-Hit Kill nearly anything, even if it resists Discharge, which makes it all the more amazing to sic it on your opponents after the fight.
  • Kartana and Celesteela. The former is a Glass Cannon that can One-Hit Kill anything with its insane Attack stat, while the latter is a Mighty Glacier with extreme defenses. Unlike Buzzwole/Pheromosa, their battles vary a lot, meaning it's a totally different experience if you got Sun or Moon.
  • All of these pale to the fifth one, though: Guzzlord. The thing has an insane amount of HP, good defenses, and a monumental Attack stat meaning it can tank everything you throw at it while dishing out near instant-death attacks like they're nothing. Combine this with its menacing appearance, and you have a monster many RPGs would be begging to have as a Final Boss.
  • Both Kartana and Pheromosa can turn into Anticlimax Bosses, though, if you know that their catch rate is 255, meaning you can just throw your Beast Ball at them from get-go with guaranteed success.
• The Pokémon League is a massive step up from the previous entries. It's not just that the Elite Four are people you've met and battled throughout your journey. It's not just that after defeating them, you get to face off against Professor Kukui himself. It's not just about the fantastic battle music. The biggest thing is that by doing this, you are officially recognized as the first Alola League Champion. Kukui wasn't the champion, oh no; he was your first challenger for the title, and every time you enter the League, a new trainer shows up to try and take the title from you. For once in the series, you get to be the Final Boss that other trainers aspire to overcome — which also means that the Champion's battle theme is your Theme Music Power-Up. How does it feel? Pretty darn awesome. And Professor Kukui's team is one of the first genuinely decent teams an NPC has ever had, even setting up Stealth Rock right at the start to limit your switches.
• In Ultra, first you fight a fusion of Solgaleo/Lunala and Necrozma, in the form of Dusk Mane/Dawn Wings Necrozma. It's a strong enough foe, but then you ride through the Ultra Wormhole and make way to Ultra Megalopolis, where you fight Ultra Necrozma, an opponent that will make you rethink everything you ever thought about Cynthia and BW Ghetsis. This foe has offensive stats on par with Kyurem's fused forms, is very fast, has wide coverage, a signature move that bypasses abilities (meaning no Sturdy for you), and worst of all, the Totem Aura boosts all its stats, making it VERY difficult to defeat without the usage of Toxic stalling or something else. At the same time, it reeks of epicness.
• Ultra's post-game arc features every villainous team leader from every previous generation in a massive Boss Rush. They're all from universes where their goals were successful because the Player Character didn't exist to stop them, and they all have their game's respective box legendaries at their disposal.^note Cyrus, Ghetsis, and Lysandre's legendaries differ depending on which version you're playing; if you're playing Ultra Sun, they'll have Dialga, Zekrom, and Xerneas, respectively. If you're playing Ultra Moon, they'll have Palkia, Reshiram, and Yvetal. Archie and Maxie, on the other hand, aren't version dependent—you fight both, but they're from the original Ruby and Sapphire, so sadly no Primal forms. Not epic enough? Giovanni can Mega-Evolve his Mewtwo.^note Also version-dependent—Mega Mewtwo X in Ultra Sun, Y in Ultra Moon.
• Also in Ultra, there's a Bait-and-Switch where you're led to believe you'll be battling Kukui again, but instead he steps aside and Hau challenges you instead. Unlike in the originals, he has a full team of 6—he swapped his Komala for a far more formidable Tauros (meaning he conquered his implied fear of it from earlier in the game) and added a Noivern—and instead of his starter holding the generic type-based Z-Crystal, it will be holding the species-exclusive one. His team also pushes level 70 the second time you fight him, making him one of the strongest trainers in the game apart from you and Red. His strategy might not be much to write home about compared to Kukui's Stealth Rock+Whirlwind combo, but it's awesome to see how far Hau has come alongside you.

Generation VIII: Sword and Shield

• The Gym Leaders in general are often considered a cut above those from the rest of the series with the atmosphere the game sets up. Instead of being inside a building, you face off against the Gym Leader in a huge stadium packed with people, while the leader throws in dialogue to hype up the fans, and their final ace is a Gigantamaxed monstrosity just daring you to take them down. And, of course, it's impossible not to get pumped up by the incredible battle theme that even shifts depending on the situation in battle, complete with a bombastic crowd chant when the Leader is on their last Pokémon. Even players underwhelmed by the game itself often cite the Gym battles as a highlight.
• The battle with Opal is a delight, because in a case of Gameplay and Story Integration, she still throws her quizzes at you in the middle of her battle. You don't know when you're going to be buffed or debuffed, and instead of making the fight annoying, it makes the fight endearing as you learn more about the little old lady fighting you. Plus, many of the responses are silly and Opal just has a generally fun team to fight against. This is the first time Pokémon has ever tried to incorporate a gym gimmick into the gym leader's fight, and it is done seamlessly and with aplomb.
• The seventh Gym Leader, Piers, has an especially notable battle for several reasons. Firstly, he's the first Dark-type Gym Leader in the entire series, and he definitely pulls his own weight — his Pokémon have more strategies than you might expect, such as his Scrafty having its Hidden Ability, Intimidate and his Skuntank (which has only one weakness - Ground) combining Toxic and Sucker Punch. Secondly, his battle comes right after the revelation that Team Yell isn't even an evil team; it's just made up of the Gym Trainers of Spikemuth. This makes him, essentially, the team leader (his battle theme is even called Team Yell Captain in-game), making the showdown more climactic — and since Piers isn't even evil, it feels like the perfect reversal of the Giovanni fight from the original Red and Blue games. Third of all, due to Spikemuth's location, your Pokémon can't Dynamax (though neither can his, not that he'd Dynamax them anyway), making the battle feel more nostalgic — like a classic Gym Leader fight. Fourth of all, Piers regularly cuts into the fight to hype up the crowd and Trash Talk you, adding an extra level of cinematic energy to an already fantastic battle. And finally, his battle theme is amazing!
• The initial battle against Eternatus isn't anything special; sure, it looks cool, and it might be higher-leveled than you if you didn't go out of your way to grind; but barring the fact that you can't capture it, it plays out much like any other endgame legendary battle. That is, until you knock it out, at which point it goes One-Winged Angel; it surpasses Dynamax and Gigantamax to Eternamax, turning from what's basically a skeletal dragon (which is already pretty cool-looking), to a coiled skeletal spiral around a glowing core, with one end extending out into a bony hand with an eye on the tip of each "finger" and black crystals on its "palm". Hop immediately joins the battle with you, only for your opponent's mere presence to prevent either of your Pokémon from moving. Three turns later, just when all seems lost Hop remembers the earlier MacGuffins, which the two of you then use to summon both of this generation's cover legendaries, which prove capable of knocking Eternatus out of "can't touch this" mode. What follows is basically a Max Raid battle with you, Hop, and the cover legendaries ganging up on this Eldritch Abomination until it's knocked out, at which point you're made to capture it in a Pokéball of your choice. All while on an Amazing Technicolor Battlefield courtesy of Eternatus warping reality around it to show flashes of various locations on your journey. Finally, there's the music packing Electric Guitars and even howling-esque noises.
• Leon, the undefeated champion of the region, deserves some kudos for being a very challenging Champion alongside Cynthia and Iris. With his team being surprisingly well-balanced and at a noticeably high level compared to the other trainers up to that point in the game (his highest-level Pokémon being level 65). On top of that his team consists of multiple powerhouses, including the residential pseudo, with varied move-sets to cover their weaknesses (except for his Seismitoad/Mr. Rime/Rhyperior whose only coverage move is Heat Crash for Grass-types). It is safe to say, if you don't come prepared, he can easily catch you off guard with how strong he really is (with the exception of the aforementioned trio). That being said, having a legitimately challenging champion in a mainline Pokemon game is a pleasant surprise and quite a refreshing challenge for a relatively easy game.

Generation VIII: Pokémon Legends: Arceus

• The Noble Pokemon of the main arc are notable for their exciting premise where for the majority of it, you're taking on the target yourself via throwing balms at them rather than your Pokemon until you find an opening that, if successful with a normal battle, allows you to whale further with balms. The final Noble, Hisuian Avalugg, is extremely massive, akin to a Dynamaxed Pokemon, and fights with an arsenal of giant homing icicles and a Wave-Motion Gun-sized Ice Beam that wouldn't be out of place in a Metal Gear game.
• One of the best of all is the epic main story Final Boss, Origin Forme Dialga or Palkia. The dragon sends a barrage of meteors hurtling towards you and also uses its time/space warping powers for some surprise attacks and maneuvers. But the best part is that the fight is much less linear than the other Noble Pokémon fights; you have a lot of opportunities to throw balms at the dragon even without tiring it out, or you can choose to wait things out to engage it in a battle with your own dragon (a la Pokémon Black and White) so that throwing balms at it is more effective. Couple that with a killer remix of their battle theme from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and you have one hell of a memorable final showdown.
• Possibly one of the most memorable encounters is the last boss of the post game: Volo, who has revealed his true colors as the Big Bad and is bent on taking Arceus' power and using it to recreate reality. Not only is his battle theme a Call-Back to Cynthia's infamous piano, his team is nearly identical to that of the dreaded Champion and is capable of putting up a similar fight. Once he loses his Pokemon, however, he summons Giratina and sics it on you, prompting a second stage of the fight where you take on the powerful Renegade Pokemon without any reprieve. On top of that, once you defeat Giratina, in an arguable first from the series, it gets back up followed by a magnificent Theme Music Powerup as it transforms into its Origin Forme, returning to battle at full strength with a remix of its classic theme playing - making Volo the first trainer in the series to have effectively eight Pokemon in a single battle (breaking the previous record of seven with Greevil in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness and Ghetsis in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 - and unlike with those two, you don't get free healing in between). All of this together makes for a brutally difficult, yet immensely satisfying challenge for the final stretch of the game.
• The boss fight against Arceus is a spectacle and a massive challenge all in one. After you complete the Pokédex and play the Azure Flute, a glowing staircase appears, taking you to an arena floating amid auroras in a starry, spacey sky. Arceus appears, and then puts on the most difficult fight in the game, shooting homing projectiles that require perfect timing to dodge, sending out shockwaves directly followed by meteors, having two charged attacks you have to shatter, and tearing through space and time to run you down. The opportunities to throw balms in the fight are scant and efficient progress (and longer survival) in the fight requires risky throws timed in the gaps of its attacks, pushing you into a hectic rhythm that's nonetheless possible to master due to the fight's consistency. Even if you break a charged attack and get to fight it with Pokémon, Arceus still proves its status as Creator of the Universe by using its Legend Plate to immediately switch to a type your Pokémon is weak to and likely annihilating it with Judgment. All in all, the battle will make you feel like the puny mortal that you are in comparison to Arceus, and winning becomes all the more satisfying for it.

Generation IX: Scarlet and Violet

• The Team Star Bosses are like Gym Leaders and Titan Pokémon combined, topped off with with an intense Rock & Roll track blaring from the Starmobile's speakers. Said Starmobiles often have powerful abilities and unique moves, making each fight an intense struggle.
• The True Final Boss against the AI Sada/Turo (depending on which version) controlled by the Paradise Protection Protocol is a gut-wrenching, but truly epic battle, one of the best in the series. Fighting an AI copy of the professor (who was revealed to actually be Dead All Along) who now seeks to destroy the Time Machine that the original professor built in order to stop the rampages of the Pokémon from the past/future. The AI itself doesn't want to fight you, but the Protocol forces them to do so with a strong team of entirely Paradox Pokémon. Once they're defeated the first time, the Protocol doesn't want to give up, seals every Poké Ball not registered to the original professor's from opening, and sends the Koraidon/Miraidon that defeated yours previously, with you having to use your own to fight them in equal footing. Coupled with awesome music, it manages to be a climax that's on par with the spinoffs.

Spinoff Series (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, etc)

• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: The battle against Primal Dialga and the preceding cutscenes in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness were epic. No arguments. Although you might not appreciate it that much after Primal Dialga wipes out your whole team with Roar of Time.
• In PMD2, battles with Dusknoir seem to be magnets for Awesome Moments.... that is, if you're not busy having a Heroic BSoD from the plot developments. Explorers of Sky adds to this with the final secret mission. Grovyle, Dusknoir, and Celebi versus Primal Dialga as they all slowly disappear due to the timestream repairing itself. It ends with all of them being revived by Arceus and getting to see the first sunrise of their lives. A perfect end to Grovyle's story.
• Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity:
  • The final boss is not a member of the Tao trio, or any of the Generation V Pokemon. It is the manifestation of all the hate, distrust, and despair of Pokemon the world over, it can choke a Pokemon to death just by being in its presence, and its attacks go unnamed. The battle opens with you not being able to damage it at all, and afterward is when it really unfolds. And the second phase comes accompanied with an absolutely phenomenal battle theme. And you proceed to beat it BY YOURSELF.
  • Another one is when you and your partner have been separated by Toxicroak as he is pursuing you. When he corners you, you have to fight him ALONE, for the first time in the entire goddamn series.
• The final boss encounter in Pokémon Ranger... was just amazing.
  • In Guardian Signs, there's the fight against Purple Eyes, who is using the full power of the Golden Armour. You just captured Ed's Mewtwo in a fight that was both extremely tough and seriously awesome, but now you have to do it again with Mewtwo surrounded by an aura of dark energy, which not only increases the power of Mewtwo's attacks, but also counts as an attack in its own right. This is way harder and considerably more awesome.
  • The Optional Boss Arceus, found in one of the special missions, is just full of awesome. While he's not necessarily hard, Arceus will not hold back in flaunting its godlike powers, spamming all manner of laser beams that sweep the field in various patterns, firing barrages of yellow energy blasts, causing waves of purple lasers to erupt from the ground, and even calling down a rain of meteors from above. These are some of the most visually-impressive attacks in the entire game, without a doubt.
• XD001. Becomes an Anticlimax Boss with the Master Ball, and even without the Master Ball it's easy to KO. Just not to catch.
• Miror B. Hard? No. Epic? No. But he's a disco dude with an enormous Poké Ball-colored afro and the most hilarious Pokémon battle music ever. What's not to like?
• If you want an awesome moment, in Colosseum, try Evice. Not just for the amazing music, but for the fact that when you work out just how well your key Pokémon fit against his (Entei beats Scizor, Suicune beats Salamence, Raikou beats Slowking, Espeon beats Machamp, Umbreon walls Slaking to death), you realise you've truly mastered the game.
• Mewtwo as the final boss of Pokémon Rumble. Every time you clear a rank, you can see his silhouette in the background, and you finally find out why in the Rank S Battle Royale... When he comes out of absolutely nowhere in the middle of your battle with the Legendary Bird Trio, accompanied by an awesome remix of the original wild Pokemon battle theme from Pokémon Red and Blue, as he focuses all of his most powerful attacks on you, while swarms of enemy Pokémon try to destroy you themselves. This is made even more awesome in Advanced Mode, where his silhouette is replaced by those of Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina... And he's still the final boss.
• Pokémon Battle Revolution in general is seen as a major Sequel Difficulty Drop from previous 3D console games, but the one exception is the second rematch against the game's Final Boss Mysterial. Facing off against an entire team of Legendary Pokémon is enough to qualify, but if you use a team from either Diamond, Platinum, or Soul Silver, you're treated to the notorious rain offense strategy that dominated the highest levels of competitive Pokémon, with Mysterial leading off with a Choice Scarf Kyogre that can outspeed and decimate opponents with its absurdly powerful Water Spouts, and other powerful legendaries like Palkia and Manaphy that gain substantial power and ability boosts in the rain. Defeating this Superboss team will make you feel like a true Master, and it's easily the most popular version of the fight to showcase online.^note If you use Pearl or Heart Gold, you face off against the weaker sun offense team, while using Rentals matches you against a team that lacks the weather synergies which makes the fight so intimidating in the first place.

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