Sometimes the best way to understand a type in Pokemon is not to look at the Pokemon categorized under it, but the trainers who've mastered it. This is especially true for Fire-type trainers who tend to exemplify the wild nature of flame and a burning passion for Pokemon battles.
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Most of the trainers here are perfect embodiments of the type the represent, although not every one of them quite lives up to their flaming monikers. So let's see which of these Fire-type masters from the main-line games burns with the heat of a thousand suns and which ones are left in a pile of ash.
9 Unnotable Trainers
While there are a lot of powerful Fire-type trainers that Pokemon fans have grown to love, there are still a few common trainers that get forgotten. But not today! Let's look at the Fire-type trainer classes that we'll battle along our journey!
Firebreathers
Firebreathers are circus performers who, you won't believe this, breather fire. They are only found in the Johto region and their teams usually consist of a Fire-type Pokemon or part of the Koffing evolution line. Even though their teams can get quite strong level-wise, they're not threatening at all.
Kindlers
Kindlers are trainers from the Hoenn region who like to carry around a bundle of sticks for them to light on fire. In order to do this, they have many different Fire-type Pokemon.
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What makes them a bit more interesting than the Firebreathers is that in the Japanese version of Pokemon Emerald, the battle hill has a trainer named Kindler Bernard who has a Moltres. That's particularly impressive and edges them ahead on this list.
Team Magma
Team Magma is a criminal organization bent on getting rid of all the water in the world so people will have more space to live. While this may make them seem more like Ground-type trainers, most of them have a Numel who is indeed a fire-type Pokemon. This is better than Team Flare who barely has any Fire-type Pokemon despite being named after a solar flare. And speaking of Team Magma...
8 Maxie
Despite Team Magma's ill-founded plans, Maxie is interesting as a leader. He has a very sleek design and his calm attitude is the perfect antithesis to Team Aqua's Leader, Archie. His main evil goal is to gain the power to control Groudon, one of the most powerful legendary Pokemon of all time.
Unfortunately, there is some debate as to whether Maxie is actually a Fire-type trainer since the two Pokemon associated with him, Camerupt and Groudon, share the Ground-typing. However, when Groudon reverts to its primal form, it gains a secondary Fire-typing meaning that his Pokemon are also Fire-types. But since there is still some question whether he is actually a Fire-type trainer, he'll head closer to the bottom of this list.
7 Chili
Without a doubt, Chili and his brothers are some of the weakest Gym Leaders out there. They each sport two Pokemon: a Lillipup and an elemental monkey representing their type. If you want to beat them, just go and get the opposing monkey that has an advantage over their aces. Beating them is simple. That being said, Chili's a bit more interesting than Cilan and Cress.
His Pansear knows Incinerate that, while weaker at the time with 30 base power, can destroy whatever berry their opponent is holding. This can be incredibly helpful, especially at a lower level. And if you look at Chili's teams in the World Tournaments, they can be surprisingly dangerous with the likes of Darmanitan, Magmortar, and Emboar. But overall, you just need a decent Water-type to defeat Chili.
6 Kiawe
Characters obsessed with dancing don't usually do well in Pokemon games. Just look at Tierno, probably the worst "rival" in a Pokemon game. However, Kiawe's passion for the dancing styles of Alola is a perfect reflection of his firey passion for Pokemon battles.
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Kiawe's ace is an Alolan Marowak and it can be pretty tough! It runs Bonemerang, Flame Wheel, and either Shadow Bone or Hex paired with Will-O-Wisp. This allows it to hit multiple different opponents for super effective damage while also protecting itself a bit. However, his other two Pokemon leave a bit to be desired. This isn't because the Growlithe and Fletchling lines aren't good, but because they don't have full move sets. In fact, that's a problem with a lot of the main trainers in the sixth and seventh generations of Pokemon. So while Kiawe definitely inhabits a firey spirit, he's not all that tough.
5 Blaine
Blaine is an interesting choice for a Fire-type Gym Leader. He's a quiz master and Pokemon researcher as made evident by his lab coat. This usually means he'd be an expert in Electric, Psychic, or even Steel-type Pokemon if they existed in the first generation. However, he was once led out of the mountains by the legendary bird Moltres, inspiring him to be a Fire specialist. Even then, his teams sometimes leave a little something to be desired.
Although he sports some really strong Pokemon like Arcanine, Ninetales, and Rapidash, more often than not he also uses first stage Pokemon like Growlithe and Ponyta. On top of that, his AI in Red and Blue is particularly terrible, making him use potions when his Pokemon are at full HP. But the biggest thing working against Blaine is that you have to have the HM Surf to get to him. Surf is a powerful Water-type move that can completely wash his team away with no effort. There are plenty of Water-type Pokemon that will make beating him easy and that's not even including all of the Ground and Rock-types that can just as easily take care of his team.
4 Kabu
Kabu's career in the Galar League has had its ups and downs. He was invited over from the Hoenn region because of his no-holds-barred approach to battling. He almost became champion a few times, but has also dropped to the minor division. But sometimes that's the nature of fire. It'll burn strong and then die out. However, underneath the ashes, there is a spark that can ignite at any moment.
Kabu's team is very strong. Not only is it filled with fully evolved Pokemon, but they utilize a bunch of support moves like Will-O-Wisp, Agility, and Coil. This makes for an incredibly tough battle that can catch you off guard if you're not ready for it. However, Kabu has the same weakness that all Galarian Gym Leaders have. Because of the Wild Area, there are always a plethora of Pokemon that can work against him. Despite this, his strategies can still be pretty tough to get around.
3 Flannery
Flannery is a fan favorite because of her fun design and spunky attitude. While she starts off trying to be the gym leader she thinks her grandfather wants her to be, she is absolutely delightful when she's just being herself. On top of that, her team goes against the usual archetype of the fast offensive Fire-type team.
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Flannery's team is built around bulk and keeping her ace, Torkoal, alive as long as possible. All of her previous Pokemon have Sunny Day to weaken Water-type moves and Attract to infatuate opponents into not attacking. On top of this, each of her Pokemon use Overheat to deal massive damage to any opponent, especially when Sunny Day is up. Add on a Camerupt in Pokemon Emerald and you have a surprisingly beefy team that won't go down easily.
2 Malva
In the Pokemon games, it's pretty easy to tell who the bad guys are. They all usually wear the same uniform and have the word "Team" in front of their titles. However, you never see members of those teams just living their lives. That's what makes Malva so interesting.
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Malva is a member of Team Flare, a news reporter on the Holo Caster, and part of the Elite Four. Her team is pretty dangerous with the likes of Chandelure, Talonflame, Torkoal, and Pyroar, but they can all be defeated pretty easily with Water and Rock-type attacks. Seeing her face constantly throughout the game while learning about her background makes her character much more fascinating than even Diantha, the champion of the region. Malva is exactly like a fire in that you think you know what it's gonna do, but it can't be controlled. You just have to hope you don't get burned.
1 Flint
Whenever people talk about Flint from Sinnoh's Elite Four, they mention one of three things: his red afro, his relationship with Volkner, and the fact that his team in Diamond and Pearl has barely any Fire-types on it. While this may not make thematic sense, this means that this version of his team is really tough. The usual answers of using a Water, Ground, or Rock-type don't necessarily work here and it makes for one of the most challenging Elite Four Battles out there.
Even with his more monotyped Platinum team, it's pretty strong! The combination of Infernape, Magmortar, and Houndoom can be very dangerous, with type coverage that can easily handle Fire's weaknesses. No matter which of his teams you're heading up against, there's no doubt that Flint is the strongest Fire-type trainer in all of Pokemon.
NEXT: Pokemon: Every Final Gym Leader, Ranked By Difficulty
