I came across an interesting Reddit thread here that talks about how you might rank trainers in-game, across games based on their in-game achievements. It's a pretty hard topic to discuss since everyone will have their own criteria but I thought I'd give it a shot.
I think ranking across games is a bit over zealous for me at least at this moment, so I'll just focus on my favorite game Platinum. I'll separate who I believe are the top trainers in this world/region ranked into 4 separate tiers:
Champ tier - Lucas/Dawn (protagonist), Cynthia, Barry, Palmer
Elite tier - Lucian, Bertha, Darach, Aaron, Flint, Cyrus, Dahlia, Argenta, Thorton
Leader tier - Maylene, Saturn, Byron, Volkner, Jupiter, Wake, Candice, Gardenia, Fantina, Roark, Mars
Ace tier - Buck, Marley, Riley, Mira, Cheryl
Overall I put a lot of emphasis on a trainer's ace mon. How I rank a trainer within a tier is entirely based on their ace's mon matchup spread against the other trainers' ace mons in their own tier. For example, Maylene is the highest in her tier since her Lucario has a +6 matchup spread (offensive or defensive, based on typing) against the other Leaders' ace mons in her tier. While Mars is the lowest since her Purugly is a -5 against the other aces in her tier.
I consider the champ tier to be obviously the best of the best in the region. Cynthia pretty much goes without saying. I think Barry having the highest levelled roster in the game is a huge point in his favor. And I think Palmer being the leader of the Battle Frontier warrants his placement in the highest tier.
The Elite tier is reserved for obviously the Elite Four, as well as the Frontier Brains. I think Cyrus belongs there as well. His last fight in the Distortion World is the only time other than Barry when a boss throws a five mon roster at you, until you face the Elite Four. It's also probably the most difficult fight in the last half of the game other than Lucian and Cynthia, but that's a more subjective point.
The Leader tier is pretty self explanatory. I do think the Galactic Commanders belong there. Often times their fights portray them as just as much of a threat, if not more so, than their Gym Leader counterparts for their respective points of the game. Mars 1 to me is more formidable than Roark, as well as Jupiter 1 being more formidable than Gardenia, just in my opinion.
Lastly the Ace tier contains the five stat trainers who I view as the best "Ace" trainers in the game, a notch above actual ace trainers, and a step below the main bosses. They're not decorated official leaders but they are good enough to get invited to the Battleground Café, which is something I guess.
Anyway, that's a long post. Feel free to discuss this topic flexibly, I took quite a few creative liberties myself. Just curious to see what others' in-game trainer ranking criteria would be and how that framework could be applied to your favorite game, or across games, to produce a ranked list of trainers that logically makes sense to you.
I think ranking across games is a bit over zealous for me at least at this moment, so I'll just focus on my favorite game Platinum. I'll separate who I believe are the top trainers in this world/region ranked into 4 separate tiers:
Champ tier - Lucas/Dawn (protagonist), Cynthia, Barry, Palmer
Elite tier - Lucian, Bertha, Darach, Aaron, Flint, Cyrus, Dahlia, Argenta, Thorton
Leader tier - Maylene, Saturn, Byron, Volkner, Jupiter, Wake, Candice, Gardenia, Fantina, Roark, Mars
Ace tier - Buck, Marley, Riley, Mira, Cheryl
Overall I put a lot of emphasis on a trainer's ace mon. How I rank a trainer within a tier is entirely based on their ace's mon matchup spread against the other trainers' ace mons in their own tier. For example, Maylene is the highest in her tier since her Lucario has a +6 matchup spread (offensive or defensive, based on typing) against the other Leaders' ace mons in her tier. While Mars is the lowest since her Purugly is a -5 against the other aces in her tier.
I consider the champ tier to be obviously the best of the best in the region. Cynthia pretty much goes without saying. I think Barry having the highest levelled roster in the game is a huge point in his favor. And I think Palmer being the leader of the Battle Frontier warrants his placement in the highest tier.
The Elite tier is reserved for obviously the Elite Four, as well as the Frontier Brains. I think Cyrus belongs there as well. His last fight in the Distortion World is the only time other than Barry when a boss throws a five mon roster at you, until you face the Elite Four. It's also probably the most difficult fight in the last half of the game other than Lucian and Cynthia, but that's a more subjective point.
The Leader tier is pretty self explanatory. I do think the Galactic Commanders belong there. Often times their fights portray them as just as much of a threat, if not more so, than their Gym Leader counterparts for their respective points of the game. Mars 1 to me is more formidable than Roark, as well as Jupiter 1 being more formidable than Gardenia, just in my opinion.
Lastly the Ace tier contains the five stat trainers who I view as the best "Ace" trainers in the game, a notch above actual ace trainers, and a step below the main bosses. They're not decorated official leaders but they are good enough to get invited to the Battleground Café, which is something I guess.
Anyway, that's a long post. Feel free to discuss this topic flexibly, I took quite a few creative liberties myself. Just curious to see what others' in-game trainer ranking criteria would be and how that framework could be applied to your favorite game, or across games, to produce a ranked list of trainers that logically makes sense to you.