Pokémon Sword & Shield Avery Vs Klara - Which Is The Better Isle Of Armor Rival

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Pokémon Sword & Shield Avery Vs Klara - Which Is The Better Isle Of Armor Rival

Pokémon Sword & Shield: Isle Of Armor introduced Avery and Klara, two trainers. But which one is the better rival? There’s a lot of rivals in . Between Hop, Marnie, and Bede, you have more than plenty of recurring opponents through your journey to become Champion, but their stories end by the end of the game. Thankfully, the Isle of Armor DLC gives two more, as each version has a wannabe Gym Leader for you to face. Trainers in Pokémon Sword will meet Klara, a peppy girl with pink hair who dreams of being Galar’s first Poison-type Gym Leader. Meanwhile, Pokémon Shield players face the Avery, who’s training and hoping to inherit Galar's Psychic-type Gym. You’ll only encounter one of them in your playthrough, so here’s what makes each of them the superior new rival to the series. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY

Avery Speedy Psychic-type Partners

Besides their looks, the key difference between these trainers is their mono-type team, each being mostly stocked with Pokémon exclusive to Galar’s Isle of Armor. Avery’s choice is Psychic-type, and to fulfill that he uses a wide set of incredibly powerful glass cannons. Avery isn’t the most original, as already starts as a master of Psychic-type Pokémon, but Avery doesn't crowd the type thanks to his stability. Since he doesn’t transition to a new type, having Psychic-types that also can fly and run make his team more distinctly his, and makes a good replacement for Bede.

Klara Bulky Poison-type Tanks

Klara’s team is much more uniform, taking a lot of slow and purple Pokémon that all hit hard. Her team doesn’t shine strong early, but by the final fight, she has some extremely powerful defensive fighters like Weezing and Drapion, some of which can easily counter many Poison-types’ usual weaknesses. Unlike Avery, Klara’s type is fully original to her, and even the disruptive Team Yell focuses more on Dark-types than other villain team counterparts like Team Rocket. By being original, she ends up using some moves that many trainers might not have even seen in the original game.

Avery Dresses Like A Magician

This might seem minor to many trainers who care more about the Pokémon than the trainers themselves, but Avery's hat was a big deal to many Pokémon fans upon reveal purely based on the silliness of it. This accessory, and the floating Pokéballs, are a remarkably unique thing compared to any other in the game, and immediately define him as being slightly more mystical. The reason for this silly headwear is that he comes from a long line of Psychic-type trainers who normally have powers, and his training on the Isle of Armor is to compensate for that by being a better trainer. Having this cheesy costume fits the idea of him as an unpowered Psychic-type expert, and the height from his hat helps him be hilariously recognizable as a special character.

Klara Dresses Like A Pop Star

Klara’s style isn’t as definable by a single accessory, but her entire look is still on the level of Avery in terms of being memorable. Her bright pink hair sticks out from the natural colors of most other characters, but wearing her under a big puffy coat successfully makes her look both overdressed, and overconfident. Those qualities of her outfit fit her perfectly, especially since her prior job was as an underground pop singer. Seeing her proud celebrity ego and conniving personality expressed through her appearance makes her wonderfully consistent throughout each appearance.

Avery Would Make a Unique Gym Leader

Most Psychic-type Gym Leaders define themselves on their own psychic powers or love for outer space, but lacking any mystical interests makes Avery wonderfully original. He might resemble a magician, but definitely an unprofessional one thanks to his shorts and jersey, and it makes for a goofy mix of traits that we've rarely seen in a Pokémon character before. This look might not suit him in the Master Dojo, but as a Gym Leader he would stand out from the mystical Psychic experts that he wants to contend with. This powerless and bitter trickster would make for a remarkably fun Gym Leader in a future game, especially after such a good taste of him as an aspiring trainer in this DLC.

Klara Not Enough Poison-type Gym Leaders

Klara’s dream to become a Poison-type Gym Leader is significantly stranger than Avery’s, but is much more welcome. While Poison-types have been a staple of the series since Pokémon Red & Blue, there have only been to ever give out badges for this typing, with two of them being ninjas while the other is a punk rocker. Klara is filling a much-needed void, but also is an extremely independent character from her peers. She’s fancily dressed and seems peppy upon appearance, but getting to know her reveals how grudging and vengeful she can be. Essentially, her personality is toxic, and it’d make her a great addition to this small club.

Avery Cheats with Psychic Terrain

Terrain is a fairly new to the Pokémon series, and it’s not often it shows up. Most players will experience it with G-Max moves that put them into play alongside damage, but there are extremely few Pokémon with abilities that showcase them, and few regular moves that utilize them to increase the damage by other moves of the same type. Avery is a prime exception, where he tries getting an advantage over you by putting Psychic Terrain up before your ultimate battle. This is a great thing to see, especially with how rare Terrains are, and since most trainers won’t use them it makes for a great one-sided advantage for him.

Klara Cheats with Toxic Spikes

Klara doesn’t plan to fight fair either, but unfortunately, Poison-types lack Terrain or Weather Conditions. Thankfully, there are still environmental effects at her disposal, and by laying some Toxic Spikes many of your Pokémon will have their health chipped away as you fight her. While these spikes don’t have a visual appearance like Avery’s Psychic Terrain, this hazard gives the battle a difficulty boost that Klara’s fights lack early on. Her starting Pokémon are in infant form and have extremely few high stats, so this fight can easily catch trainers off-guard in a way that Avery’s Terrain doesn’t accomplish as well.

Avery Fitting Slowbro Owner

A Pokémon as slow and comical as Slowbro is the perfect Psychic-type partner for this undoubtedly comical character. He does try to keep ahead of the competition through cheating and charisma, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t realize the fool he’s being until he finally loses to you in dramatic and Dynamaxed fashion. He doesn’t necessarily need Galarian Slowbro to do this, as the is just as dopey while retaining its Psychic-type. But given his condescending attitude, having something additionally poisonous still suits him plenty well.

Klara Perfect for Galarian Slowbro

This new Slowbro fits well with Avery, but it shines brilliantly with the privately toxic Klara even better. When Galarian Slowpoke was first revealed, its secondary typing was an utter mystery until later trailers, and gaining its lets this Pokémon fit greatly into a trainer’s team that the original Slowbro never would have. This new Slowbro also fits Klara by looking friendly and familiar on the outside, while also being toxic at its core. Klara’s identity is based on a peppy exterior and a jealous interior, so having a Pokémon that looks like it’s hiding its sickness is a slam dunk for her team.