Kalos is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating Pokemon regions, as not only is it full of bizarre and powerful Pokemon, but it’s also populated by skilled trainers who know how to efficiently use said creatures in battle. Unfortunately, Kalos didn’t get time to shine for over a decade, as players could only explore this region in a single pair of games: Pokemon X and Y.
Fortunately, Game Freak and The Pokemon Company finally rectified this with the recent release of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which takes place entirely within Kalos’ biggest location: Lumiose City. Between the Pokemon Gyms and Elite Four of the original Generation Six games and the Z-A Royale competition from the newest one, it’s safe to say that this France-inspired region is now full of strong Pokemon trainers who can wield Mega Evolution in combat.
The following eight characters are the absolute strongest ones, based on their respective teams, their impact on the story, their titles and their victories against other skilled trainers.
AZ
A 3000-Year-Old Living Legend
- Debut: Pokemon X and Y
- Frequently used Pokemon: Torkoal, Golurk, Sigilyph, Eternal Flower Floette
The history of Kalos centers mainly on the actions of AZ, as he was the region’s former king and the creator of the Ultimate Weapon, which cursed him with immortality, and, as a result, he was forced to roam alone for over three thousand years. Needless to say, his extraordinarily long life allowed him to hone his Pokemon training skills, as can be seen when the player faces him at the very end of Pokemon X and Y.
All of AZ’s Pokemon are Level 60, and they certainly pack a punch, but, unfortunately, this was the only time players got to face him firsthand, so it is unclear if he got more powerful between the events of X and Y and the events of Legends: Z-A. But, considering that he created both the Ultimate Weapon and Ange, his best friend was Eternal Flower Floette, and he was aware that it could Mega Evolve, it’s safe to say that AZ was a very powerful trainer until the end.
Wikstrom
Kalos’ Steel-Type Elite Four Member
- Debut: Pokemon X and Y
- Frequently used Pokemon: Klefki, Probopass, Scizor, Aegislash
It’s difficult to pinpoint who exactly is the strongest member of Kalos’ Elite Four, because the player is free to fight them in any order they want. However, it could easily be argued that Wikstrom is the strongest one of the group, mainly due to the type he specializes in: the Steel Type.
Wikstrom’s team is surprisingly diverse, and all of its members are extremely durable, so it’ll take quite a few hits for them to go down. The most dangerous weapon in his arsenal is definitely his Aegislash, which is infamous for being one of the most overpowered Pokemon in the Sixth Generation. If Wikstrom only used a Mega Scizor (like his anime counterpart does), he could have easily been on the same level as Champion Diantha.
Grisham
This Team Flare Nouveau Member Sits At The Top Of Rank A
- Debut: Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Frequently used Pokemon: Pangoro, Malamar, Pyroar, Tyranitar, Salamence, Mega Charizard X
In Legends: Z-A, players have to rise through the ranks of the Z-A Royale, which obviously goes from Z to A. At the very top of Rank A sits Grisham, the owner of Nouveau Café and, more importantly, a member of Team Flare Nouveau, an organization that is trying to rectify Lysandre’s mistakes and fix the original Team Flare’s reputation.
Needless to say, Grisham is one of the strongest Pokemon trainers in the game, as he uses a team of fully-evolved Pokemon – including two pseudo-legendaries: Tyranitar and Salamence – and a Mega Charizard X with powerful moves like Flare Blitz and Dragon Rush. Even though he was canonically defeated by the main character, he still put his skills to good use during the game’s final battle, when he assisted Team MZ by defeating various Rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon alongside his partner, Griselle.
Lysandre / L
The Leader Of Team Flare
- Debut: Pokemon X and Y
- Frequently used Pokemon: Mienshao, Honchkrow, Pyroar, Noivern, Florges, Mega Gyarados
The main antagonist of each mainline Pokemon game tends to be one of the strongest trainers of their respective region, and Lysandre is no exception. He’s the leader of Team Flare and, as such, players have to face off against him multiple times throughout the main story of Pokemon X and Y, which includes a climactic final battle in which he unleashes his powerful Mega Gyarados on the player’s team.
Lysandre not only uses a very solid team of strong Pokemon, but he also intended to drain the power of Xerneas and Yveltal, which is perfectly reflected by the fact that his alternate-dimension counterpart actually controls these two legendary Pokemon in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. An amnesiac Lysandre (now known as L) reappears in Legends: Z-A and works alongside Zygarde throughout the game in an effort to redeem himself. He can be fought shortly after the final boss, and his team is now stronger than ever before, with his signature Mega Gyarados being Level 80.
Taunie/Urbain
One Of The Strongest Rivals In The Series
- Debut: Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Frequently used Pokemon: Meowstic, Goodra, Avalugg, Manectric, Meganium, Emboar, Feraligatr
The original group of rivals from Pokemon X and Y (Calem/Serena, Trevor, Tierno and Shauna) were criticized for being way-too-easy to defeat, so it seems that Game Freak tried to overcompensate by making all the members of Team MZ in Pokemon Legends: Z-A surprisingly powerful, with the main rival of the game, Taunie/Urbain being one of the most skilled trainers in the entire game.
After all, they rise through the ranks of the Z-A Royale alongside the main character and even canonically reach Rank A, just like them. Taunie/Urbain wishes to become the strongest Mega Evolution trainer, just like the main character, which is evident by the fact that they use the Mega Evolved form of the Starter that is strong against the one the player chose. The fact that players can actually lose the final battle against Taunie/Urbain and the story still plays out perfectly is undeniable proof of how skilled this rival is, not to mention that they were the ones who used Mega Eternal Flower Floette to go inside Prism Tower and stop Ange.
Diantha
The Original Champion Of The Kalos Region
- Debut: Pokemon X and Y
- Frequently used Pokemon: Hawlucha, Tyrantrum, Aurorus, Gourgeist, Goodra, Mega Gardevoir
Diantha is a world-famous movie actress and, more importantly, the original Champion of the Kalos region. X and Y players could fight her after defeating the Elite Four, and, as the strongest trainer of the region, she’s one of the few NPCs in the game who has a full team of six fully-evolved Pokemon.
Her Hawlucha, her Tyrantrum, and her Aurorus are certainly quite strong, but her two most effective team members are definitely her Goodra (the Pseudo-Legendary of the region) and her signature Pokemon, her trusty Mega Gardevoir, who can unleash devastating Special Moves like Moonblast, Psychic, and Shadow Ball. It’s a real shame that Diantha hasn’t reappeared in a mainline Pokemon game since her debut (she didn’t even appear in Legends: Z-A because she’s allegedly busy with her acting career) because it would be very interesting to see how much stronger she has gotten ever since.
The Player (Pokemon X and Y)
The New Champion (And Savior) Of The Kalos Region
- Debut: Pokemon X and Y
- Frequently used Pokemon: Chesnaught, Delphox, Greninja, Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, Mega Lucario
Needless to say, Diantha was the champion of Kalos until she lost that title to the main character of Pokemon X and Y (whose name and gender depend on the player’s choices). While the specific team and actions of this avatar vary from player to player, they do have some canonical feats, like unveiling the mysteries of Mega Evolution to train a Mega Lucario (which was given to him by Korrina), reaching the highest rank of the Battle Château, and even saving the entire Kalos region from Lysandre and Team Flare.
Unlike other main characters in the series (like Red, for example), it’s not really clear what happened to the X and Y protagonist after the events of their introductory game. They’re barely mentioned in Legends: Z-A, but it can be assumed that they gave Diantha back her title and that they have traveled to other regions in order to keep getting stronger.
The Player (Pokemon Legends: Z-A)
The Strongest Mega Evolution Trainer And The Champion Of The Z-A Royale
- Debut: Pokemon Legends: Z-A
- Frequently used Pokemon: Meganium, Emboar, Feraligatr, Eternal Flower Floette, Xerneas, Yvetal, Zygarde, Various Mega Evolved Pokemon
It has been stated various times throughout the series that a Pokemon Champion isn’t necessarily the strongest trainer of their respective region, which explains why Diantha and the main character of X and Y are not at the top of this list. As a matter of fact, the main character of Legends: Z-A is the strongest trainer in the entire Kalos region, even though they technically haven’t defeated the Champion (yet).
For starters, they rose through the rankings of the Z-A Royale and reached Rank A (alongside Taunie/Urbain). But that’s not all, because they were also deemed the strongest Mega Evolution trainer due to their ability to subdue, catch, and control a variety of Rogue Mega Evolved Pokemon (like Mega Absol, Mega Hawlucha, Mega Barbaracle, Mega Dragonite, and more). On top of all that, the main character of Legends: Z-A canonically caught both Xerneas and Yveltal, not to mention that they were personally chosen by Zygarde to become the hero of Lumiose City. In comparison, the main character of X and Y only gets to catch either Xerneas or Yvletal (depending on the version) and find Zygarde in a random cave, so they were clearly not chosen by the legendary Pokemon.
- Released
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October 16, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Fantasy Violence, In-Game Purchases
