The Pokémon League Champion, often shortened to just Champion, is the top, most prominent Trainer in the entire region, and is someone who has earned all of the Gym Badges as well as defeated the Elite Four and the former Champion to take the title.
The goal in most of the main series Pokémon games is to do just that: become the Champion by defeating the existing Champion. However, when the player becomes the Champion, they generally do not need to worry about defending their title or doing anything special afterwards. Even after becoming the Champion, most main series Pokémon games allow you to rematch the Elite Four and the former Champion, who will still use the title Champion in battle.
In most games, the Champion also serves as the final boss, or the final battle you’ll have to go through before “beating” the game and seeing the credits. As such, they usually have a strong, high-level team of diverse Pokémon with lots of type coverage in their moves.
Champion in Pokémon Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed & LeafGreen
The Champion in the original Pokémon games in the Kanto region is none other than your Rival, Blue, who becomes the Champion moments before you face off against him.
His team is a very diverse team with Pokémon of all different types. The team he uses depends on the starter Pokémon you chose or, in the case of Pokémon Yellow, which evolution he evolved his Eevee into.
Champion in Pokémon Gold, Silver, HeartGold & SoulSilver
Set three years after the previous games, the Pokémon League Champion is Lance, the Dragon-type master, who was formerly an Elite Four member but has since become Champion. His team consists of primarily Dragonite, with three separate Dragonite on his team, along with a few other Dragon-like Pokémon such as Gyarados, Charizard, and, uh, Aerodactyl.
Despite most of these games taking place in the Johto region, the Johto region shares its Pokémon League with the Kanto region, and that is where the Pokémon League is stationed, in Indigo Plateau in the Kanto region. As such, Lance is effectively the Champion of both regions in these games.
Although the main character of Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed, or LeafGreen ascended to the role of Champion in those games, at some point after that, they went off to Mt. Silver, leaving behind their role of Champion and instead becoming an optional superboss to fight, known as Pokémon Trainer Red, with one of the strongest teams in the Pokémon main series games.
Champion in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
In the Hoenn region, the Champion you’ll have to fight at the end of your adventure is none other than Steven Stone, the man that helped you out at various points throughout your adventure in the region.
He uses a team focused on tougher Rock- and Steel-type Pokémon, including the main star of his team, his trusty Metagross. In Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, he will Mega Evolve his Metagross into Mega Metagross on the first turn it is sent out.
Champion in Pokémon Emerald
Exclusive to Pokémon Emerald, the eighth Gym Leader from the original Ruby and Sapphire games, Wallace, is now the Champion you must fight at the end of your adventure. He uses a team consisting of strong Water-type Pokémon, which have very few weaknesses.
Champion in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum
Throughout the Sinnoh region, the mysterious Trainer Cynthia will help you out through your adventure, giving you insight and information as you traverse the region. At the very end of your adventure, after fighting against the Elite Four, you’ll have to face off against her, as she is actually the Champion of the Sinnoh region.
She uses a variety of very strong, versatile Pokémon, all at quite high levels compared to where you are expected to be at that point in the game. Her strongest and most memorable Pokémon is her Garchomp, which is very fast and hits very hard, not to mention is at level 66 in Diamond and Pearl or level 62 in Platinum, with strong moves like Earthquake.
Her and her Garchomp are often regarded as the most difficult Champion to take down in the main series Pokémon games.
Champion in Pokémon Black and White
The Champion of the Unova region in Pokémon Black and White is a man named Alder, who you run into at several points throughout your adventure. He’s wandering the region trying to find himself after the loss of one of his Pokémon and, while it is no secret that he is the Pokémon League Champion, he seems to have lost a lot of the motivation to maintain that role.
Though he is the region’s Pokémon League Champion, near the end of the game, before you have a chance to challenge him (but after you’ve defeated the Elite Four), he will have lost to the Trainer N, thus presumably making N the new Champion. However, when you fight N afterwards, he does not use this title in battle.
Due to these storyline elements and more, the actual “final boss” of the games is not the Champion, making it one of just three sets of games where this happens (the other two sets being Sun and Moon along with Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, where there is no Champion as the Pokémon League had just been started in Alola).
However, after beating the game, you can go back to the Pokémon League, face off against an even stronger Elite Four, and then battle against Champion Alder to win the title properly, even though, if past games were any indication, you should have become Champion after beating N. Maybe Unova is just different like that.
Champion in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2
These two games are set two years after the events of Pokémon Black and White, similar to how Gold and Silver were set after the events of the original games.
Alder is still around and you will run into him early on, however he is not the Champion, just a former Champion who gives Trainers advice and aid throughout the region.
The Champion is not known throughout the game, although it ends up being someone that you have helped at a few times throughout the adventure, and that’s former Opelucid Gym Leader Iris, who has now been promoted to the role of Champion and possesses a very strong team that still has her signature Haxorus, but is a lot more diverse than being focused on the Dragon type and has a variety of powerful Pokémon.
Champion in Pokémon X and Y
The Champion in Pokémon X and Y is the movie star you’ve run into a few times throughout the adventure, Diantha. She does nothing to help you throughout your adventure and is mostly seen talking with Lysandre during the times you do run into her.
Her team is fairly well-balanced and doesn’t focus on a particular type, though the star of her team is her Mega Gardevoir, which is the last Pokémon she will send out against you in your battle with her. Diantha’s team is actually the highest level for any Champion that is fought before seeing the credits, with her Mega Gardevoir reaching level 68 when you fight her (Alder in Pokémon Black and White is the strongest Champion without factoring in rematches, but he is not fought until the post-game).
Champion in Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon
The Champion in the Alola games is… you! Yes, that’s correct, you, the player. Sort of.
Throughout your journey in the Alola region, Professor Kukui will share with you his vision and plan to bring the Pokémon League to the Alola region while still finding a balance for the region’s old Island Challenge traditions. He establishes the Pokémon League on Mt. Lanakila and recruits four prominent Trainers from the islands to serve as the Alola League’s Elite Four.
However, as this is the start of the region’s Pokémon League, there is no Pokémon Champion sitting on its throne, so upon defeating the Elite Four, as you enter the Champion’s chambers, Professor Kukui (in Sun and Moon) will challenge you to a battle to see if you’re worthy of becoming the Alola region’s first-ever Pokémon League Champion. He, himself, is not the Champion, though, so you truly do become the first-ever Champion after beating him and, after rematching the Elite Four following that victory, you’ll be challenged by random challengers looking to take your position.
In Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, pretty much everything is the same as far as the Alola region getting its Pokémon League and Elite Four together, although rather than facing off against Professor Kukui to see if you’re worthy of becoming the first-ever Champion, you’ll instead have to face off against your Rival, Hau, to see which of you will become the first-ever Champion.
Champion in Pokémon Sword & Shield
It’s absolutely no secret who the Champion in the Galar region is: it’s Leon, brother of your childhood friend, Hop, and the definitive Champion of the Galar region. His slogan is to “have a Champion time” and you’ll run into him numerous times throughout the adventure, along with his trusty Charizard.
It’s also just as straightforward as that: there are no big surprises or upsets with Leon, as he is indeed the “final boss” of the game and you do fight him as a challenger to the region’s Champion. His team is very strong and his star Pokémon, his Charizard, will even enter its Gigantamax form when you battle against it.
Although Leon is the Champion, the Galar region doesn’t use the same system that the rest of the Pokémon Leagues do. There is no Elite Four; instead, qualifying Trainers that have earned eight Gym Badges fight it out in an elimination-style tournament, the Champion’s Cup. The Trainer that makes it through the qualifying rounds of the Champion’s Cup then fight in another elimination tournament, the true Champion’s Cup, where they must face off against Gym Leaders from the region that are vying for the title of Champion. Finally, the winner of that tournament has a one-on-one showdown with the Champion—in this case, Leon.