Pokemon is such a long-running franchise that making just one list of characters isn’t enough. You have to categorize these kinds of things, but it can be a bit hard to pick only a few characters that stand out in the entire series. There are plenty of iconic women that appear in Pokemon, all with either great designs, great hearts, or fantastic teams that nearly blow the player away. This article will be going over some of the best female Pokemon characters and how awesome they are as they appear in the games.
Acerola
Acerola is the cute Ghost-type Trainer you meet while traveling all around Alola. She makes the list for her stellar character design and the Pokemon she uses when you fight her. Mimikyu is the star of the show on her team, and both she and the Pokemon share the same childlike but haunting vibe. The mission you get with her in the Thrifty Megamart remains one of the most iconic moments in the 3DS era of Pokemon, and she only gets more fun to battle as time goes on. Her team evolves from the first time you fight her to the last, with rematches after the Pokemon League and her Gym Battle.
Lenora
Lenora is one of the first Gym Leaders you meet in Unova, and what an impactful one she is! Her Gym is Normal type, but that doesn’t stop it from being a great challenge for a new Trainer in the early game. Because it’s quite the challenging Gym towards the beginning of the game, during your battle with her, you may come across some of the game’s major soundtrack home runs during the fight.
The low Pokemon health track, the track that plays when a Gym leader has their final Pokemon out, both of these are iconic moments, along with her lines, that made Lenora a great female role in the cast. Later, She appears to help settle difficulties in Driftviel City to deal with museum robbers and later, at the end of the game, to deal with end-of-the-world level issues. We love Pokemon Trainers and Gym Leaders who step in and help the player, and she is definitely one of them!
Elesa
Having one of the most iconic Gyms across two Pokemon games, Elesa is a fantastic Gym leader with an impressive ace Pokemon up her sleeve, Zebstrika. Both of her Gyms are stylish and even come with music that introduces itself in waves, just like during the beginning when you run into Accumula Town. The gym she has in Pokemon Black and White is great, but the design for Black and White 2 takes things a major step further. Her design, team, and even relevant soundtracks only improve as time goes on, although it’s hard to say which design is best for her between Black and Black 2.
Roxie
Roxie gets so many points for both design and soundtrack. Her Gym may not be as big as Elesa’s, but it makes up for it with heart. The track that plays for her Gym is fantastic and is one of the very first instances we see of voice acting (or rather, singing) in Pokemon, ever. Unfortunately, we don’t see voice acting afterward, but this was a major step up for the kids playing Pokemon Black and White 2. Plus, the song is a little bit of an earworm. Her team is also formidable, sporting bulky Poison types that give any Trainer pause.
Iris
Iris is a Trainer full of life and skill that you have to fight on multiple occasions throughout Pokemon Black and White. She’s a dragon tamer with a robust team, both when you fight her as a Gym Leader and when you fight her as the Champion. In the anime, her presence is necessary; she accompanies Ash throughout his journey throughout the Unova region. Her part to play in the games is also critical, being one of the strongest characters around to help against Team Plasma.
Cheryl
Cheryl is a gentle Pokemon Trainer who helps you navigate the forest where double battles occur. Her presence is almost therapeutic, along with the soundtrack you get from the forest area that practically matches her. Her character design is almost suited for such, with how green and lovely she looks, both in sprite work and official art all across the board.
She has a Chansey that can keep your Pokemon team health in perfect shape. All the way through the forest, she’ll battle alongside you until you reach the end of the forest, where you part ways. While she isn’t a tough Trainer, she’s one with a lot of heart, one that stuck with many memories for those who played Pearl, Platinum, and Diamond.
Shauntal
Shauntal is a Unova’s Elite Four member, which uses Ghost types to defend her position. She’s a writer, which gets some extra points from me on a personal level. Her ace in the hole is Chandelure, which is a tough customer to beat, especially if your team has any kind of fire-type vulnerabilities. Her area in the Elite Four is also one of the coolest, second to Caitlin. Who doesn’t love spooky, book-ridden haunted places?
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Caitlin
Caitlin makes this list almost entirely because of her room design in the Elite Four. Everything from her character design to the room she’s in, to her team setup is just presented in perfect synergy. The floaty way she presents herself, the fact that she’s just barely awake for your battle, and the fact that she has both a Musharna and a Reuniclus, which are both floaty, dreamy Pokemon, is a real testament to the game design quality back in the day. If every Elite Four member could have such perfect presentation, or if every Gym Leader could have such great thematic design, we’d have a much different-looking Elite Four in the current generation for certain.
Jasmine
Not only is Jasmine a good Gym Leader to tussle with in Silver and Gold, but if you remember in her time during the games, she cares very much for the Pokemon that runs the lighthouse. She seems to be a kindhearted Trainer, one with very few words. Her kindness towards Amphy is what stuck out to me the most, and while it did necessitate that we go on a fetch quest to get to her Gym Battle, it wasn’t one that I minded. Her Gym Type is steel, which made her a very interesting leader to fight during the main campaign of the game.
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Whitney
Whitney is an infamous character who probably stopped a fair bit of runs for Pokemon during Silver, Gold, and their respective remakes. With her Milktank, she’s an absolute gauntlet to face when you’re first starting out your Pokemon game. Even for veterans, she can be a challenge and has likely ended plenty of Nuzlocke runs thanks to Rollout. Besides that, her gym, design, and almost everything about her are cute and pink. While she is a bit of a crybaby about losing, that doesn’t stop her from being one of the most memorable female trainers out there in the Pokemon world.
