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Pokemon Sword and Shield

How to Beat Champion Leon

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★ Tier List / Doubles Tier List / Movesets / Rental Teams
✬ Pokemon HOME Dex Completion Shiny Rewards:
┗ Meloetta | Manaphy | Enamorus | Keldeo | Meltan
☆ Competitive Battle Guide

How to Beat Champion Leon Header.png
This guide will show you how to beat Champion Leon in both the main Story and in the Battle Tower in the games Pokemon Sword and Shield.

List of Contents

Leon's Pokemon Team (Story)

If Starter Pokemon is Grookey

Pokemon Type Weakness
Aegislash ImageAegislash
Lv. 62		 Ghost Type Steel Type Ground Type Ghost Type Fire Type Dark Type
Haxorus ImageHaxorus
Lv. 63		 Dragon Type Ice Type Dragon Type Fairy Type
Dragapult ImageDragapult
Lv. 62		 Dragon Type Ghost Type Dragon Type Ice Type Fairy Type Ghost Type Dark Type
Seismitoad ImageSeismitoad
Lv. 64		 Water Type Ground Type Grass Type
Cinderace ImageCinderace
Lv. 64		 Fire Type Water Type Ground Type Rock Type
Charizard ImageCharizard
Lv. 65		 Fire Type Flying Type Rock Type Electric Type Water Type

If Starter Pokemon is Scorbunny

Pokemon Type Weakness
Aegislash ImageAegislash
Lv. 62		 Ghost Type Steel Type Ground Type Ghost Type Fire Type Dark Type
Haxorus ImageHaxorus
Lv. 63		 Dragon Type Ice Type Dragon Type Fairy Type
Dragapult ImageDragapult
Lv. 62		 Dragon Type Ghost Type Dragon Type Ice Type Fairy Type Ghost Type Dark Type
Mr. Rime ImageMr. Rime
Lv. 64		 Psychic Type Ice Type Rock Type Bug Type Ghost Type Steel Type Fire Type Dark Type
Inteleon ImageInteleon
Lv. 64		 Water Type Electric Type Grass Type
Charizard ImageCharizard
Lv. 65		 Fire Type Flying Type Rock Type Electric Type Water Type

If Starter Pokemon is Sobble

Pokemon Type Weakness
Aegislash ImageAegislash
Lv. 62		 Ghost Type Steel Type Ground Type Ghost Type Fire Type Dark Type
Haxorus ImageHaxorus
Lv. 63		 Dragon Type Ice Type Dragon Type Fairy Type
Dragapult ImageDragapult
Lv. 62		 Dragon Type Ghost Type Dragon Type Ice Type Fairy Type Ghost Type Dark Type
Rhyperior ImageRhyperior
Lv. 64		 Ground Type Rock Type Water Type Grass Type Ice Type Fighting Type Ground Type Steel Type
Rillaboom ImageRillaboom
Lv. 64		 Grass Type Fire Type Ice Type Poison Type Flying Type Bug Type
Charizard ImageCharizard
Lv. 65		 Fire Type Flying Type Rock Type Electric Type Water Type

Tips on Beating Leon (Story)

Level Up your Pokemon up to 70 or more

Having higher level Pokemon than Leon's team will greatly benefit you in the final match in the Championship Cup. Higher level Pokemon have greater stats, which will give you an edge when battling Leon's lower-level Pokemon. You can level up your Pokemon easily by doing Max Raid Battles and getting Exp. Candy to level up your Pokemon.
How to Level Up Fast

Learn Pokemon Typing

Learning the weaknesses of Leon's Pokemon will greatly benefit you as you will be more ready and plan better when making a Pokemon team to battle against Leon. Having a good team with great type coverage will help you get the victory in the battle with Leon.
Type Effectiveness and Damage Output

Stock Up On Items

Before going into battle with Leon, it is recommended to stock up on medicines and Potions, as these will help you in sticky situations during the battle. If you have the money, you should stock up on Full Restore and Max Revive, as having enough of these items can turn the tides of battle in your favor.

Recommended Pokemon (Story)

This Pokemon will help you greatly in your Pokemon battle with Leon. Leon has 2 Dragon-type pokemon, and you can either use Duraludon or Grimmsnarl to deal with his 2 Dragon-type Pokemon.

If you pick Scorbunny as your starter, Toxtricity is a recommended Pokemon, as he will have a Inteleon and its Electric typing will counter it effectively

If you got Grookey as your starter, be sure to grab a Toxapex, as he will have a Cinderace and its Water typing and high Defense will counter it effectively.

If you have a Sobble as your starter, get Centiskorch, as he will have Rillaboom and you can use this to counter.

For his Gigantamax Charizard, you can use a Coalossal to counter, as it will resist Charizard's moves and its Rock attacks will be 4x effective to it with a STAB bonus. It's recommended to get a Gigantamax Coalossal as it will be better in dealing with the Gigantamax Charizard.

Pokemon Type Weakness
Duraludon ImageDuraludon Steel Type Dragon Type Fighting Type Ground Type
Coalossal ImageCoalossal Rock Type Fire Type Water Type Ground Type Rock Type
Grimmsnarl ImageGrimmsnarl Dark Type Fairy Type Poison Type Steel Type Fairy Type
Toxtricity ImageToxtricity
(If Scorbunny Starter)		 Electric Type Poison Type Ground Type Psychic Type
Toxapex ImageToxapex
(If Grookey Starter)		 Poison Type Water Type Electric Type Ground Type Psychic Type
Centiskorch ImageCentiskorch
(If Sobble Starter)		 Fire Type Bug Type Water Type Flying Type Rock Type

Leon's Pokemon Team (Battle Tower)

These are the Pokemon that are found in Leon's team in the Battle Tower. Take note that Dragapult will only enter the pool of possible Pokemon when you get to Great Ball Tier. Remember that only any 3 of these Pokemon will be used in Leon's team at any one time, so it's best to be ready to deal with a variety of threats.

Pokemon Type Weakness
Aegislash ImageAegislash
Lv. 62		 Ghost Type Steel Type Ground Type Ghost Type Fire Type Dark Type
Haxorus ImageHaxorus
Lv. 63		 Dragon Type Ice Type Dragon Type Fairy Type
Dragapult ImageDragapult
Lv. 62		 Dragon Type Ghost Type Dragon Type Ice Type Fairy Type Ghost Type Dark Type
Seismitoad ImageSeismitoad
Lv. 64		 Water Type Ground Type Grass Type
Cinderace ImageCinderace
Lv. 64		 Fire Type Water Type Ground Type Rock Type
Charizard ImageCharizard
Lv. 65		 Fire Type Flying Type Rock Type Electric Type Water Type
Inteleon ImageInteleon
Lv. 64		 Water Type Electric Type Grass Type
Mr. Rime ImageMr. Rime
Lv. 64		 Psychic Type Ice Type Rock Type Bug Type Ghost Type Steel Type Fire Type Dark Type
Rhyperior ImageRhyperior
Lv. 64		 Ground Type Rock Type Water Type Grass Type Ice Type Fighting Type Ground Type Steel Type
Rillaboom ImageRillaboom
Lv. 64		 Grass Type Fire Type Ice Type Poison Type Flying Type Bug Type

Tips on Beating Leon (Battle Tower)

Train and Learn to Battle

Battle Tower is in a whole new league when it comes to Pokemon Battles, as the opponents will be much stronger and equipped with stronger teams. You won't be able to just spam high-power attacks to win like you can in the main Story. You'll need to use real tactics to win and defeat Leon in the sixth match.

A good place to train is none other than the Battle Tower itself. Battling here will teach you the essence of Pokemon battles, and from this you can learn new techniques for battling strategically. You can observe how the opponents move and you can either learn how to counter, or incorporate their techniques into your own arsenal.
Battle Tower Walkthrough and Recommended Party

Rent Pokemon Team

You can rent Pokemon in the Battle Tower. These teams are good teams to start with if you still don't have a team of your own. You can use any of these teams in the Battle Tower as much as you like. You can even use Rental Teams all the way to the final tier of the Battle tower if you find them useful.

Recommended Team (Battle Tower)

If you prefer to make your own team, we'd recommend using some of the Pokemon below, as they can be highly effective for a variety of opponents and are some of the strongest Pokemon in the game.

Legendary Pokemon

As you are free to use Legendary Pokemon in the Battle Tower, you can't go wrong with these three, as they have the highest Base Stats of any Pokemon in the game. The mascot legendaries, Zamazenta and Zacian, take some time to obtain after completing the Story, but Eternatus will already be in the player's party by the Battle Tower, so don't hold back on putting it to use.

Zamazenta ImageZamazenta Zacian ImageZacian Eternatus ImageEternatus

How to Catch Legendary Pokemon

Non-Legendary Pokemon

Cinderace ImageCinderace Grimmsnarl ImageGrimmsnarl Hatterene ImageHatterene
Dragapult ImageDragapult Rillaboom ImageRillaboom Tyranitar ImageTyranitar
Inteleon ImageInteleon Weavile ImageWeavile

After Defeating Leon

Congratulations on clearing the Story! But there's still lots more to be done. Keep reading for how to catch Zacian or Zamazenta, how to clear the Battle Tower, and more.

Post Game Content and Walkthrough

Related Links

Story Walkthrough

Story Walkthrough Part 1Getting to the 1st Gym Story Walkthrough Part 2Getting to the 2nd Gym
Story Walkthrough Part 3Getting to the 3rd Gym Story Walkthrough Part 4Getting to the 4th Gym
Story Walkthrough Part 5Getting to the 5th Gym Story Walkthrough Part 6Getting to the 6th Gym
Story Walkthrough Part 7Getting to the 7th Gym Story Walkthrough Part 8Getting to the 8th Gym
Story Walkthrough Champion CupChampion Cup Semifinals Story Walkthrough Rose TowerRose Tower
Champion Cup Finals.pngChampion Cup Finals The Final BattleGetting to the Champion
Post Game Content Icon.pngPost Game Content

Gym Challenge

Gym Challenge Category Banner.pngList of Gym Challenges

How to Beat Each Trainer

Rival BattlesRival Battles Gym BattlesGym Leader Battles
Post Game ContentHow to Beat Champion Leon

Comment

14 Anonymous Anonymous about 2 years

Can someone rate my team for leon before I challenge? Inteleon, Hatterene, Gallade, Braviary, Avalugg, Luxray

1 Anonymous Anonymous over 4 years

Good

See more comments (14 Comments)

Author

Pokémon Sword and Shield Walkthrough Team
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