One of the largest version differences between Pokémon Sword & Shield are their Gym Leaders, something you’ll first encounter in the canyon town of Stow-on-Side. Players in Pokémon Sword meet Bea, a karate expert who trains daily with her Fighting-type Pokémon. With Pokémon Shield, trainers will encounter the mysterious Ghost-type master Allister.
Each of these Gym Leaders has their own personality, team, and look, and if you haven’t played through these games yet, it’s important to pick an opponent that you’ll consider both memorable and challenging. These are some of the reasons why Bea should be your foe, and some that prove that Allister is the definitive Stow-on-Side Gym Leader.
10 Allister: Frightening Mask
Allister’s look comes with a first for the Pokémon series, in that he’s the first to hide his face from both the audience and his opponents. This is a great way to make him so distinct as a Ghost-type Gym Leader, giving him a degree of mystery that few other trainers have.
If you’re curious what he looks like underneath, his bare face is revealed in the rare League Card you get from rescuing Stow-on-Side after you’ve become champion, and he doesn’t look particularly unusual or irregular behind the mask. That said, not every player will know in a standard playthrough, and that reveal makes his League Card more valuable than most.
9 Bea: Clear Athlete
Bea’s outfit makes her unmistakable as a Fighting-type trainer. She’s somewhat similar to Maylene from Pokémon Diamond & Pearl, who also had a more minimal outfit suited for combat, but in Bea’s case, the stronger colors and collared shirt make her much more professional.
More than just the clothes, though, is how well she wears it. Her karate posing and movements while battling showcase her outfit, as well as her more muscular figure than other small trainers like Allister have, and her aesthetic is clear through her entire design.
8 Allister: Diverse Team
There are very few Ghost-types that have a secondary typing, and it’s common for Ghost-type Gym Leaders to not use the most extravagant combinations. This helps keep Gyms more consistent, but the result is that many of these Gyms Leaders have a small variety of Pokémon.
Allister breaks this pattern by having nearly all of his Pokémon having different secondary typings. They’re all distinctly ghosts, particularly with the flavorful faded coral reef Cursola, but his team is significantly less restrained than other Gym Leaders and makes his fight much more challenging.
7 Bea: Defensive Team
Fighting-type Gym Leaders often have some restraints too, but more in terms of the stats of their teams. Most of Bea’s recent peers stick to incredibly fast Fighting-type Pokémon, showcasing their strength by dealing great damage at the cost of their defense.
This isn’t the only way to fight, however, and Bea has a significantly slower defensive team than nearly any Gym Leader in Galar. This fight takes time, and helps her stand out from the Lucarios that belonged to Gym Leaders like Maylene and Korrina.
6 Allister: More Colorful Gym
Allister’s purple costume and gym color might not match the orange sands of Stow-on-Side, but it’s significantly prettier and a nice change of pace from the canyons you’ve been wandering thus far. Bea’s gym isn’t bad, but the bright orange is unsettlingly bright and the gym floor itself is quite bland.
This is an especially important trait because trainers can also use different Gyms as backgrounds in online battles, based on their League Card Background and online icon. Having access to this purple and patterned floor is just a more unique and option than the relatively plain background that comes with Bea.
5 Bea: Fits Galar’s Sports Theme
Being plain isn’t inherently bad, though, as Bea’s Gym fits a much larger aesthetic of Galar throughout the rest of Pokémon Sword & Shield. Each gym is meant to resemble an athletic stadium, complete with a raging crowd and performative Gym Leaders.
Bea fits that mold perfectly, having her Gym look like an actual arena, while Bea herself is dressed as a serious and intense trainer that spectators could easily enjoy. She’s far more of an athlete than Allister seems to be, and while this theme isn’t important to all trainers, it’s great to see Bea’s outfit and home remain so consistent.
4 Allister: Gigantamax Gengar
Both Bea and Allister’s signature Pokémon are from the original Pokémon Red & Blue, but each has a new Gigantamax form that makes them unique to Galar. Allister gets the fast and intimidating Gengar, whose mouth and tongue grow massive when it grows into this titanic new form.
Gengar itself is an adorable and powerful partner, but its Gigantamax Form isn’t why. Its Speed and Special Attack stats are incredibly high, and with the rest of Allister’s team being quite slow, it makes a great finisher for him. Its signature G-Max move, G-Max Terror, is unfortunately not too helpful, but Gengar’s battle prowess is plenty powerful otherwise.
3 Bea: Gigantamax Machamp
Bea uses another old favorite, Machamp, who differs in nearly every way with Gengar. This Pokémon has a massive Attack stat and huge defenses, and with its ability, Guts, it only becomes stronger with a status condition attached.
Unlike Allister, though, the Gigantamax form is much more effective for Bea. Machamp’s new signature move, G-Max Chi Strike, deals damage while raising the Critical Hit rate, and taking Machamp down before it can hit again is remarkably difficult. Few trainers in Pokémon take advantage of critical hits, but Bea’s Machamp makes a spectacular first.
2 Allister: More Secretive
Many of the Gym Leaders of Pokémon Sword & Shield have little background and characterization, but that’s far from a problem in most cases. There’s a lot of subtle storytelling from other characters, and each Gym Leader is revealed early when the Galar League opens to pique your curiosity early.
Allister benefits from this the best, standing out from the other Gym Leaders by his age and outfit. Of all the Gym Leaders, he’s bound to tempt your curiosity more than the others, and getting to finally meet him is made all the more satisfying based on the mystery surrounding him.
1 Bea: More Well-Known
Bea doesn’t have much more detail of her character in the games, but thankfully she’s been given a lot more characterization through animation in Pokémon: Twilight Wings. Her episode was one of the first of this online series, showing more of her personality as she trains with her Pokémon to hopefully take down Champion Leon someday.
Mysterious characters can be fun, but it’s just as satisfying to learn lots about a character before meeting and fighting them. It’s a shame that these details aren’t in Pokémon Sword & Shield itself, but fans of this spectacular series are sure to get a lot more enjoyment out of their interactions with her.
NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Legitimately Evil Things Gym Leaders Do (That Everyone Ignores)
