26 Years Later, This Climatic Pokémon Battle Is Still The Series' Greatest Moment

Published Aug 24, 2026, 2:00 PM EDT Bruno Yonezawa is a Gaming Senior Writer for Screen Rant. He's been practicing professional journalism for over 10 years, and is also a communications specialist. He's played games all his life and turned that passionate hobby into a passionate career, in an industry where he's worked as a writer, editor, analyst, and more. Even though Pokémon is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, there is one moment that still reigns as the best in the series, even if it happened over 26 years ago. It’s been a long journey for the iconic franchise. We’re now heading into Gen 10 in 2027 with the upcoming release of Pokémon Winds and Waves, yet there is a ton of history behind the IP, from core games to spin-offs. Earlier this year, we saw the release of Pokémon Pokopia, a social life sim game that lets you play as a Ditto who takes the form of a human and can build a whole world according to your liking, interacting with other Pokémon you encounter. This game was met with a ton of praise, and it has easily become one of the best Pokémon games outside the core series. Nevertheless, some of the very best moments in the franchise are within the core releases, and the best of them all happened back in the 1990s. Pokémon Gen 2 Games Had The Best Trainer Battle In The Series The Pokémon Gen 2 games, Gold, Silver, and Crystal, were masterpieces upon their release for tons of reasons, but one of them is that they held the best moment in the franchise – and it remains in that position to this day. After beating the Johto League, the local Elite Four, then proceeding into Kanto to face the Indigo League and defeat the Kanto Elite Four, Trainers could reach the true endgame challenge. Gen 2 was so great that HeartGold and SoulSilver became the best video game remakes ever made. While several of these battles along the way are particularly tough, the battle against Red in Pokémon Gold and Silver – and later Crystal, HeartGold, and SoulSilver – at the top of Mt. Silver, released in 1999 in Japan and 2000 in North America, became the best moment in the series. Red’s presence in Pokémon Gold and Silver was a surprise that not every player encountered. It became iconic because he is literally the protagonist you controlled during Red and Blue back in 1997, now posed as the strongest Trainer to face. Red Has A High-Leveled Team Of Well-Trained Pokémon There’s no better moment in Pokémon than battling Red. The iconic Trainer has one of the toughest teams across all games, including those released after it, and it represented the biggest challenge you’d have for many years. His Pokémon were all above level 73, featuring a powerful Pikachu, a pretty annoying Espeon, the never-fainting Snorlax, and the iconic starter trio of evolutions from Kanto: Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. Defeating this Trainer was only for those who were truly prepared. If you’d only faced the main campaign’s challenges, you’d likely fail to beat him. Facing Red required preparation. He returned to the spot on Mt. Silver in HeartGold and SoulSilver, now boasting a team of creatures that were all level 80 and above. He’s been present in other games, too. However, no single moment in the Pokémon franchise was as memorable as climbing Mt. Silver as Ethan or Kris, only to see your own character from a few years ago become the ultimate rival in the most climactic battle ever. Released October 15, 2000 ESRB Everyone // Mild Cartoon Violence, Simulated Gambling Developer(s) Game Freak Publisher(s) Nintendo Engine unreal engine Multiplayer Local Multiplayer Franchise Pokemon Number of Players 1