In the Galar region, there lives a Dragon-type user. His name is Raihan.
The player character will hear about him before they are formally introduced, as the supporting cast mentions him on passing. He is considered to be the second most powerful trainer in the region, and he is well aware of it—the number on his back, 241, is a pun on tsuyoi, or strong/powerful in Japanese. He is the single competitor in the Galar league who can measure up to Leon, the reigning champion, in combat prowess. His status as the champion's rival is cemented during the intro sequence of the game, in which both engage in an exhibition match. Officially, the player avatar meets him upon arriving at Hammerlocke, the dragon-shaped city that sits at the heart of the region. This is a place of long history, and Raihan acts as the custodian of the city and its legends. He's hot shit, to put it short.
His gym challenge is simple and to-the-point: defeat his three apprentices, then himself, using the double-battle format. Each of his minions specializes in a different weather condition, and Raihan himself is no different: despite not battling with a full roster, the sandstorm strategy of his Ground-skewed team might catch the unprepared off-guard. Galar's gym circuit features plenty of breezy battles, but this one is no pushover.
After his defeat, the protagonist re-battles him during this game's Elite Four equivalent: a tournament-styled competition featuring (almost) all of Galar's gym leaders. Raihan warns the player that he is not the same person they fought during their gym challenge. To comply with the tournament's ruleset, he has now crafted a new team more suited to the singles format. Ready to give his all, he expects to claim victory this time.
As the battle begins, he first throws out Torkoal, whose Drought ability immediately sets up sunny weather. This boosts its Lava Plume attack and turns Solar Beam into a single-turn move.
Torkoal is rather frail for a defense-oriented Pokémon, however, so it falls without much issue.
After that, Raihan picks his shiny new Goodra as a counter. It spends its first turn setting up Rain Dance, which grants 100% accuracy to Thunder and boosts both Surf and (sigh) Muddy Water.
Depending on what Pokémon took out Goodra, either Turtonator or Flygon come out next, and—I shit you not—both of them also spend their first turn setting up weather. Turtonator needs to undo Goodra's work via Sunny Day, and Flygon uses Sandstorm because the joke has been running for so long Raihan feels compelled to keep it going, I suppose.
This game is bad, and Raihan is a dumbass.
The player character will hear about him before they are formally introduced, as the supporting cast mentions him on passing. He is considered to be the second most powerful trainer in the region, and he is well aware of it—the number on his back, 241, is a pun on tsuyoi, or strong/powerful in Japanese. He is the single competitor in the Galar league who can measure up to Leon, the reigning champion, in combat prowess. His status as the champion's rival is cemented during the intro sequence of the game, in which both engage in an exhibition match. Officially, the player avatar meets him upon arriving at Hammerlocke, the dragon-shaped city that sits at the heart of the region. This is a place of long history, and Raihan acts as the custodian of the city and its legends. He's hot shit, to put it short.
His gym challenge is simple and to-the-point: defeat his three apprentices, then himself, using the double-battle format. Each of his minions specializes in a different weather condition, and Raihan himself is no different: despite not battling with a full roster, the sandstorm strategy of his Ground-skewed team might catch the unprepared off-guard. Galar's gym circuit features plenty of breezy battles, but this one is no pushover.
After his defeat, the protagonist re-battles him during this game's Elite Four equivalent: a tournament-styled competition featuring (almost) all of Galar's gym leaders. Raihan warns the player that he is not the same person they fought during their gym challenge. To comply with the tournament's ruleset, he has now crafted a new team more suited to the singles format. Ready to give his all, he expects to claim victory this time.
As the battle begins, he first throws out Torkoal, whose Drought ability immediately sets up sunny weather. This boosts its Lava Plume attack and turns Solar Beam into a single-turn move.
Torkoal is rather frail for a defense-oriented Pokémon, however, so it falls without much issue.
After that, Raihan picks his shiny new Goodra as a counter. It spends its first turn setting up Rain Dance, which grants 100% accuracy to Thunder and boosts both Surf and (sigh) Muddy Water.
Depending on what Pokémon took out Goodra, either Turtonator or Flygon come out next, and—I shit you not—both of them also spend their first turn setting up weather. Turtonator needs to undo Goodra's work via Sunny Day, and Flygon uses Sandstorm because the joke has been running for so long Raihan feels compelled to keep it going, I suppose.
This game is bad, and Raihan is a dumbass.