Building a Pokémon Gym Leader’s Team
This column is a reprint from Unwinnable Monthly #181. If you like what you see, grab the magazine for less than ten dollars, or subscribe and get all future magazines for half price.
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Thoughts about being something else.
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Part of the fun for me in Pokémon is building a monster team for the main campaign. I go for both type function and aesthetic; I try to avoid doubling up on an element and also look for someone with a cute or cool design. It gives me variety in both tactics and looks.
On the other hand, gym leaders go for a theme, often along type lines. And honestly, it’s been neat to see. It’s also come in handy when introducing new Pokémon types, like when the Fairy-type gym leader helped showcase the fae-inspired creatures. But ever since #gymleadersona became a thing a while back, I’ve thought about what I’d do for a gym leader’s more unified theme. Or more about how I could play with it, push it. Specifically, could I still somehow have type variety with a theme? Here’s what I’d do (and with a full team of six, because I’ve wondered about that for gym leaders too):
Theme:
I mentioned how I like using aesthetic to build my Pokémon teams before – and that’s where my core for a theme would be. My gym leader team would all be reptilian Pokémon. That would be their unifying factor, while elemental type could differ. With 1000+ pocket monsters by now, there’s gotta be enough to theme by animal aesthetic alone.
Team:
1. Feraligatr, Water (as evolved from Croconaw, as evolved from Totodile)
The starter, my very first Pokémon. My real introduction to the franchise’s mainline games was actually with Silver, rather than Red/Blue/Yellow. My eyes immediately slid past Cyndaquil and Chikorita and straight to the adorable blue crocodilian. He’s one of many pocket monsters I’ve considered not evolving, but Croconaw and Feraligatr had interesting designs too, and all together they make for a solid evolutionary line. That, and a gym leader would likely take their team to the highest levels of evolution. Totodile was a croc of my own, that I could safely have in a blocky and portable device. The first and strongest of my team, and a clear choice for my hypothetical gym leader roster.
2. Krookodile, Ground/Dark (as evolved from Krokorok, as evolved from Sandile)
After losing track of Pokémon, I got back into it with Pokémon Y. There I added Sandile, a perfect recruit – positions for neither Ground nor Dark types had been filled, and he was another cute crocodilian. While Totodile/Croconaw/Feraligatr being a Water type had fit the aquatic environments often linked to his crocodilian aesthetic, Sandile/Krokorok/Krookodile provided an imaginative contrast with his Ground typing. But he also likely drew upon the nature of burrowing lizards and reptiles of the desert. This Pokémon is a good example of the Cute-to-Cool pipeline in terms of pocket monster evolution, an aesthetic development I’ve found fun. Sandile goes from wide-eyed to a more sardonic Krokorok, to a Krookodile ready to throw down at all times. Around his eyes, he’s got the mask pattern of Rocket Raccoon and an attitude to echo it.
3. Salazzle, Poison/Fire (as evolved from Salandit, restricted to females)
I believe we first crossed paths in Pokémon Sun. The Poison/Fire dual typing makes me think of some inspiration derived from chemistry – perhaps flame that would ignite toxins into an even stronger explosion, or the poisonous gas of a fire? The earliest evolutionary stages of a pocket monster is often the cutest, and it’s no different for Salandit. In contrast to Sandile, Salandit’s eyes are mischievous crescents instead of wide with wonder, the moon to his sun. Salandits seem to take a page from lionesses – only those identified as female are known to evolve into a stronger form, Salazzle.
4. Heliolisk, Electric/Normal (as evolved from Helioptile, only when exposed to a Sun Stone)
I’m drawing a blank, but I think he’s been on one of my mainline teams before. Not sure if I ever got my hands on a Sun Stone to evolve him all the way. But he’s the pick to cover the Electric slot in a hypothetical gym leader team. Helioptile’s ears can rival Pikachu’s in terms of cuteness, longer and flopping down instead of pointing up, and a little more reminiscent of Digimon’s Terriermon. When he evolves into Heliolisk with the power of unique geology, some resemblance to Jurassic Park’s Dilophosaurus can be felt – going from cute to something more frilled and formidable.*
(*Marginally formidable when compared to the cinematic Dilophosaurus, but definitely more formidable than Helioptile.)
5. Dragonair, Dragon (as evolved from from Dratini, could evolve into Dragonite)
I fondly remember the Dratini plushie from the KFC fast-food chain. Dratini always looked so sleek, even as a soft toy. Her evolution into Dragonair is even sleeker, with her snout smoothing out into one solid color, the webbed fins on her head turning to feathers. And for her, she’ll stay as Dragonair on this team. The final evolutionary level Dragonite is such a divergence with a complete color change from light blue-gray to a pastel orange. Dragonite’s design has some appeal – she’s cute with her little delivery bag in the first Pokémon movie – but I prefer the aesthetic of Dragonair. This gym leader roster already has members taken to their highest evolutionary level; at least one exception can be made.
6. Serperior, Grass (as evolved from Servine, as evolved from Snivy)
The terrestrial snake to parallel Dragonair’s sea serpent vibes. Or a literal snake in the grass, if you will. I’ve never had her on a team before, but more fictional snakes are always welcome, and there’s space for a Grass fighter. In a way, Serperior/Servine/Snivy can be seen as somewhat a spiritual evolution of Ekans/Arbok. Also with a fantastic design and ultimately cobra-esque look, Ekans/Arbok ends up strongly associated with Team Rocket villain Jessie, albeit a joke villain. Later, Serperior/Servine/Snivy is added to the Pokédex – and is, in a way, a more palatable snake Pokémon, automatically a potential starter companion for new trainers. It’s interesting to see the way Serperior is smoother where Arbok is sharper, the edges sanded off. And yet the franchise still makes an effort to be open to any Pokémon being a companion, making the point of Pokémon being at the mercy of their trainer’s attitude. Intrinsic worth is equal and valid across all pocket monsters, or it should be.
Honorable Mentions:
Charmander/Charmeleon/Charizard, Ekans/Arbok, Aerodactyl, Fuecoco/Crocalor/Skeledirge, Toxtricity
(Our gym would be laid out like the herpetology exhibit at a zoo, but larger and with other key differences. Technicians would ensure temperature levels were appropriate for the physiology of reptilian creatures and with considerations for their elemental type. Gym trainers would duel challengers in rooms with glass dividers, open for visitors to watch on the other side. There would be infographic signs and hired guides to also educate people about reptilian Pokémon across different types and regions. The public would have access to a whole library on the subject. Our gym would emphasize both sport and education. Essentially, Blathers’ Museum meets a Pokémon Gym.)
It would be a fun change of pace if the mainline Pokémon games made some new gym leaders like this – one unifying aesthetic and type variety. In addition to a reptilian-themed gym, imagine gyms focused on canines, felines, or pocket monsters that look like objects.
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Alyssa Wejebe is a writer and editor specializing in the wide world of arts and entertainment. Her work has included proofreading manga, editing light novels, and writing pop culture journalism. You can find her on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Twitter under @alyssawejebe.
