Raihan: The Hammerlocke Gym Leader Who Weaponizes Weather

Losing is his working method. Raihan runs the Gym in Hammerlocke, the last one in Galar, where he champions the Dragon type. What sets him apart, though, is less his dragons than what he does with the battlefield: he sets up the weather, then lets the climate do the work for him. And after every loss, he pulls out his phone.

Contents

• Hammerlocke, Galar's Final Gym
• The Defeat Selfie
• The World Coronation Series, Class by Class
• Three Pokémon, Two Weathers, One Fall
• Outside the Stadium: A Region to Defend and a Cake
• In the Mobile Game and on Cards
• Raihan at a Glance
• Frequently Asked Questions

Hammerlocke, Galar's Final Gym

Raihan runs the Hammerlocke Gym in Galar, and it's the last one a challenger faces in the region. His stated specialty is the Dragon type.

His profile credits him with a second one, much rarer among Gym Leaders: weather. Sandstorm, pouring rain: he doesn't just field dragons, he changes the battlefield conditions before he strikes.

His documented roster blends dragons and minerals: Duraludon, Flygon, Goodra, Sandaconda, Gigalith, Turtonator, Torkoal and even an Alcremie. His Gym battle is a Double Battle, with two Pokémon on each side.

🐉 Dragons have their own section: check out the Pokémon figures.

The Defeat Selfie

On the surface, Raihan is a laid-back Trainer, the kind who will pull out his phone mid-battle to snap a photo of himself. The mobile game sums up the contrast in one line: friendly off the field, merciless on it.

Yet there's nothing careless about the gesture. Every loss calls for a selfie, and the anime explains where the habit comes from: after losing to the Monarch, he wanted to keep the regret-filled face he wore that day, so he could eventually move past it.

Behind the pose, the goal never shifts an inch: beating Leon, his greatest rival and also a close friend. Tournaments, fans and photos all come second to that one aim.

The World Coronation Series, Class by Class

Raihan enters Pokémon Journeys by taking part in the World Coronation Series, without giving up his Gym. He climbs fast: Great Class, then Ultra Class, then Master Class, where he reaches seventh place.

His first appearance is a loss. At the stadium in Wyndon, he takes on Leon one-on-one: Duraludon gets the upper hand on Leon's Charizard at first, then Gigantamaxing isn't enough against Gigantamax Charizard. The winner congratulates him and says he's counting on him for his own dream, making Galar's Trainers the strongest in the world; Raihan replies that he'll be the one to beat him.

Another animated production replays the same showdown. There, Raihan first appears on a magazine cover alongside Leon, then waits for him at Wyndon Stadium for an official match that the Champion's lateness pushes back until nightfall. Both Trainers go all out, and the post-credits scene reveals that Raihan lost once again.

Three Pokémon, Two Weathers, One Fall

His last entrance battle pits him against Ash at Hammerlocke Stadium. The night before, once the fans who came to photograph him have gone, he admits, alone, just how far his opponent has come, then sends out Duraludon to train.

The battle is a showcase of his method. Flygon opens with Sandstorm and knocks out Ash's Dragonite, before catching a Gengar in the same trap; Raihan seizes the moment to scold Ash for wanting to face strong opponents without trying to surpass them.

Then everything flips. Gigantamax Gengar swallows the storm and brings Flygon down, Goodra answers with a Rain Dance that powers Thunder, Surf and Hydro Pump all the way to a double knockout, and then Gigantamax Duraludon falls to the giant Aura Sphere of Ash's Lucario. Raihan drops out of the Master Class — and takes a selfie with the Trainer who beat him.

Outside the Stadium: A Region to Defend and a Cake

The Gym Leader doesn't stay shut away in his Gym. Outside the entrance to Hammerlocke Stadium, he steps in when men working for Chairman Rose threaten Sonia: Duraludon wipes out the whole squad in a single exchange, after which Raihan heads off to deal with the Dynamax Pokémon rampaging across the region.

The episode closes on an unexpected image. Once Eternatus is caught, the Pokémon that were forcibly Dynamaxed return to their normal size, and the Kommo-o Raihan had just been battling becomes perfectly calm again before the eyes of the Gym Leader and his alloy dragon.

Elsewhere, the anime has him decorating a cake. Invited to Ballonlea by Opal, he only agrees to enter the contest on learning that Leon would have jumped at it, and works with an Alcremie lent to him for the occasion. His creation is praised for its bold look and complex flavor, but what really has his attention that day is watching Ash.

In the Mobile Game and on Cards

Raihan joined the sync pair mobile game on April 28, 2021. His default sync pair teams him with Duraludon, and a variant with Gigalith unlocks once you reach friendship level 100 in the Trainer Lodge.

Two event outfits round out the picture. The Anniversary 2022 outfit pairs him with Flygon, which can Dynamax, and presents the pair as specialists in sandstorms fierce enough to lift an entire stadium.

The New Year's 2025 outfit dresses him as a ninja, a costume given to him by Adaman after Adaman met Sandaconda, which became the partner for that sync pair. On the card side, Raihan made his debut in the Sword & Shield—Evolving Skies expansion, released in France on August 27, 2021.

Raihan at a Glance

Frequently Asked Questions

• What type does Raihan specialize in?
  The Dragon type. His profile credits him with a second specialty, far rarer among Gym Leaders: weather, which he sets up in battle with Flygon's Sandstorm or Goodra's Rain Dance.
• Why does Raihan take selfies?
  To keep a record of his losses. The habit began after a loss to the Monarch: he wanted to hold on to the regret-filled face he had that day so he could move past it. He sometimes takes them mid-battle, too.
• Who is Raihan's rival?
  Leon, who is also a close friend. Beating him is his only stated goal. Their clash at Wyndon Stadium ends in defeat for Raihan, despite a Gigantamax Duraludon.
• What is Raihan's main Pokémon?
  Duraludon, present in almost all of his appearances and Gigantamaxed as soon as the battle gets tough. The mobile game also makes it his default sync pair partner.
• How far did Raihan get in the World Coronation Series?
  All the way to the Master Class, where he reached seventh place. His loss to Ash in his last entrance battle dropped him back down to the Ultra Class.

In short

Raihan is a final-hurdle Gym Leader who loses a lot on screen, and who has turned his losses into a working tool. The selfie isn't vanity, it's a notebook. What remains is a battle style all his own (set the weather, then let the field do the rest) and a single target, never reached: Leon.