Raihan (pronounced Rai-han) is a Gym Leader in the Galar region. He is acknowledged as the strongest amid the Galar Gym Leaders and also Leon's rival.
Appearance[]
Raihan is a young man with a tall and slim build. He has black hair tied in a protective style with an undercut, light brown skin, and cyan-colored eyes. Raihan wears a black hoodie with dark blue, orange, and tan-colored accents, the Dragon-type uniform, and dark blue/orange shoes, as well as an orange hairband. His outfit resembles his gym's type, Dragon. The hoodie has a collar that resembles the teeth of an open mouth. The sleeves end as his elbows with orange cuffs stopping at his forearms. He sports a Dynamax Band around his right wrist.
Personality[]
Raihan has a flair for taking selfies of himself with his Rotom Phone. He is kindhearted to his peers, as well as having a strong rivalry with Leon. He is one of the few people in Galar who are able to knock out Leon's Pokémon. Despite the strong rivalry he has towards him, Raihan respects Leon as a worthy advesary.
Unlike his fellow gym leaders, who each specialize in a single Pokémon type, Raihan focuses his battle strategies on weather conditions, such as sandstorms and harsh sunlight. In his initial Gym battle, Raihan uses a mix of various Pokémon (all of them being Sandstorm-resistant), but in the Champion Cup, its rematch and the Galar Star Tournament, Raihan's Pokémon are primarily Dragon-types.
Etymology[]
Raihan's name comes from the Arabic word ريحان (rayhan, basil). Basil is sometimes referred to as the "royal herb", which could possibly be a reference to him specializing in the Dragon type.
Kibana, his Japanese name, comes from 牙 (kiba, fang).
Biography[]
Raihan first appeared in the Gym Challenge ceremony alongside the other Gym Leaders (apart from Piers). In order for the player to challenge Raihan, they need to acquire the other seven badges first.
During Sonia's study of the legend regarding the Darkest Day, Raihan allowed her and the player to enter Hammerlocke's vault. There, he was intrigued with the player as they had been endorsed by Leon himself, so he had already expected them to be full of potential. As they had already acquired the three Gym Badges necessary to enter Hammerlocke, Raihan then sent them on their way to Stow-on-Side to get their next badge.
When the player returns with the seven required badges, Raihan's staff directed them back to the vault, where he expressed pleasure at their growth. However, before he would challenge them, he asked them to complete his Gym Mission, which involved defeating three Trainers he had taught his style to, consisting of fire, water and ice-based weather tactics. Once they were all defeated, Raihan agreed to challenge the player, utilising a sandstorm-based strategy. Raihan was ultimately defeated, causing him to realize that he had neglected his own training. As a sign of respect to them, he gave them the Dragon Badge, a replica of his uniform and the TM for Breaking Swipe.
The player would run into Raihan during the Champion Cup semi-finals, who had just defeated Piers in the quarter-finals. The player defeated him again, so he wished them luck and told them to prove that Leon could be defeated.
After the Champion Cup, the player, Hop and Piers start to go around the Gyms across Galar to deal with Dynamaxed Pokémon after Sordward and Shielbert began to cause havoc with them. At the Hammerlocke Gym, Raihan had them deal with a Dynamaxed Haxorus while he, Piers and Hop dealt with the remaining Pokémon. Once the situation was sorted, Raihan gave them his rare card and expressed the intention to fight Piers again without relying on Dynamax.
League Card entries[]
Regular League Card[]
Raihan is commonly regarded as the most skilled Gym Leader in the Galar region. He has striven for victory in every environment, and as a result, he has adopted a battle style where he utilizes weather effects to their fullest. It is rumored that he could easily become another region's Champion should he choose to move, but it seems that to Raihan, defeating Leon is much more important. His uploaded selfies are quite popular. Occasionally he'll post a photo that only shows a sandstorm.
Rare League Card[]
Raihan started taking selfies so as to never forget the pain of his defeats, but more recently he has been taking photos showing off his training routine, his fashion choices, and the like, causing some fans to leave harsh comments whenever he loses to Leon. It's true that Raihan is on a ten-nil losing streak against Leon, but no other Pokémon Trainer has managed to KO as many of Leon's Pokémon as Raihan has. Raihan no doubt looks forward to taking a selfie after finally defeating Leon.
Other appearances[]
Pokémon[]
Gym battle[]
Unlike the other gym battles, Raihan's battle is a Double Battle.
Gigalith |
Flygon |
Sandaconda |
Duraludon
| ||||
Lv. 46 | ♂ | Lv. 47 | ♂ | Lv. 46 | ♂ | Lv. 48 | ♂
|
Ability: Sand Stream | Ability: Levitate | Ability: Sand Spit
| |||||
Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None
| ||||
Stealth Rock | Thunder Punch | Protect | Breaking Swipe | ||||
Sand Tomb | Breaking Swipe | Glare | Body Press | ||||
Rock Blast | Crunch | Fire Fang | Stone Edge | ||||
Body Press | Steel Wing | Earth Power | Iron Head |
Champion Cup[]
Torkoal |
Goodra |
Turtonator |
Flygon |
Duraludon | |||||
Lv. 53 | ♂ | Lv. 54 | ♂ | Lv. 54 | ♂ | Lv. 54 | ♂ | Lv. 55 | ♂ |
Ability: Drought | Ability: Hydration | Ability: Shell Armor | Ability: Levitate
| ||||||
Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | |||||
Lava Plume | Rain Dance | Sunny Day | Sandstorm | Dragon Claw | |||||
Body Press | Surf | Dragon Pulse | Dragon Claw | Body Press | |||||
Solar Beam | Thunder | Shell Trap | Earthquake | Stone Edge | |||||
Yawn | Muddy Water | Fire Blast | Crunch | Iron Head |
Champion Cup rematch[]
Torkoal |
Goodra |
Turtonator |
Flygon |
Duraludon | |||||
Lv. 60 | ♂ | Lv. 60 | ♂ | Lv. 61 | ♂ | Lv. 61 | ♂ | Lv. 62 | ♂ |
Ability: Drought | Ability: Hydration | Ability: Shell Armor | Ability: Levitate
| ||||||
Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | Item: None | |||||
Lava Plume | Life Dew | Sunny Day | Sandstorm | Dragon Claw | |||||
Body Press | Surf | Dragon Pulse | Dragon Claw | Body Press | |||||
Solar Beam | Hydro Pump | Shell Trap | Earthquake | Stone Edge | |||||
Gyro Ball | Sludge Bomb | Fire Blast | Crunch | Iron Head |
Galar Star Tournament[]
As an opponent, Raihan can be paired with Leon, Piers or Melony.
Trivia[]
- 241, his uniform number, can be read in Japanese as "tsuyoi" (strong). It can also be read as "two-four-one" or "two for one," referring to the fact that his Gym battle is a Double Battle.
- His outfit resembles the one worn by Lance in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Version.
- In "Flash of the Titans!", Lance himself stated this was because he based his outfit on Raihan's.
- Raihan, along with others, appeared in the music video, GOTCHA!, of the alternative rock group, Bump of Chicken's single, Acacia.
Notes[]
Locations · Pokédex | |
Gym Leaders | |
Others | |
See also | |
Characters |
Kanto | |||||||
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Johto | |||||||
Hoenn | |||||||
Sinnoh | |||||||
Unova |
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Kalos | |||||||
Galar | |||||||
Paldea | |||||||
Orange Islands | |||||||
See also |