5th Gen The three butlers

[Sheep]

Gen V introduced us with our first trio of gym leaders for the first gym, who use a Pokémon super effective against your starter.

Did you struggle with these three?

Which of their designs do you like the most?

 

[ReKoil]

I don't recall having any problems with their gym, but then again... I find the entire trio forgettable, probably because I played the original Black only once as I didn't like it that much.
Black 2 & White 2 were better and I played both versions, but they replaced the trio with Cheren so.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Pretty sure I picked Tepig in Black, but looking at Cress he just doesn't even ring a bell lol

 

[Nah]

Wasn't really into the characters themselves, but their Gym was a neat little idea to both teach newcomers about type matchups and to impress the idea not to overly rely on a single Pokemon (even if basically soloing the games with one 'mon is hardly impossible). Might not be a bad idea to see future games have some similar stuff where an earlier decision affects battles, beyond starter choice.

 

[Janp]

I like the idea of multiple Gym Leaders in one Gym. But as almost everything in Pokémon, the implementation is very poor. The characters are not really memorable. I don't think I could even name all of them and I fought all of them multiple times. The red-haired one is called Chili or something like that. The green-haired one is Cilan, but I obor the because of his role in the anime. No idea about the blue-haired one. I think they should have more distinct designs and teams.

 

[CoolKid575]

I don't recall ever really struggling with them, there's an NPC that gives you the elemental monkey that counters them and it's pretty easy to just brute force the fight by overleveling your starter. I do think it's nice that the game subtlety pushes you to catch/use other Pokemon rather then just stick with your starter. I also like the lore about them feeling insecure due to not making it to Team Plasma's castle in BW1 and people generally treating them like a joke, saying how "it takes all 3 leaders of Striaton City to make one great trainer". idk, I feel like they're kind of slept on compared to other Gym Leaders and have more to them then some believe.

To answer your second question, Cilan is my favorite due to his role in the anime.

 

[Palamon]

The three butlers... didn't they own a restaurant, though?

In any case, yes, I did struggle with them. Since you can't trade in these games until after you beat the first gym, finding options to battle the first gym leader aren't really there, so you just have to hope for the best, or use the monkey that's super effective against theirs. (Lowkey hoping that the remakes don't make trading inaccessible for the first hour or so of the game, but... yolo.)

 

[Setsuna]

I really liked the idea the game forces you up against a type disadvantage and gives you a way out like the elemental monkeys. It's a great way of teaching you how important type matchups are and how you shouldn't just raise one Pokemon. I've kinda always admired that move. I didn't struggle with them since I'd already played several Pokemon games by that point, but if I was a newcomer I might have. I've always liked Chili most, but I think that's just cause of his hair.