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Strategies
Kingdom Hearts
First confrontation
Sora first encounters Leon in Traverse Town, after exploring the place and going into the Accessory Shop for the first time. Here, Leon's attacks are rather basic - he does a few occasional slashes and casts fireballs on Sora every now and then, but each attack deals substantial damage to Sora (considering that Sora's stats are low and the game has just begun).
It is recommended that Sora train to Level 9 and above; the Scan and Guard abilities would come in handy too - Guard should be used to fend off the fire - deflecting fireballs will make Leon let his guard down for a while ; but when used against Leon himself he will immediately countterattack, rendering the Guard ability useless. Also, do not be shy about using the Keyblade: attack and block Leon's slashes while you can. One advantage of this battle is that you have the entire First District as a battlefield, so when you are out of Leon's reach and your HP is depleting, use a Potion quickly.
Should you fail in this battle, don't fret - the outcome is more or less the same, whether you win or lose.
One very useful strategy is to keep your distance and wait for Leon to fire a fireball. You can attack to deflect it, doing damage and stunning Leon. You can then hit him with a combo without fear of getting hit, then retreat and repeat the process.
Pegasus Cup
Leon and Yuffie appear as the first seed in the Pegasus Cup, and Leon's abilities improve significantly here. Start by defeating Yuffie first, as she has less HP, and then concentrate on Leon.
This time, apart from the occasional slashes and fireballs, Leon goes into Limit Break mode when he has less than half of his HP left (i.e. when his Gunblade becomes longer and has a blue glow to it which is often referred to as Blasting Zone), making him more difficult to defeat. Furthermore, while Leon is in Limit Break mode, his attacks become more powerful. You may use melee attacks on him while he is not in Limit Break mode, and as in the previous encounter, fend off the fireballs with Guard.
While he is in Limit Break mode, there are a few instances where he will walk (note: walk, not run) towards Sora and attack him. This is the cue for Sora to use Guard to fend off his attacks. When several Guards are performed successfully, Leon's Limit Break stops and he has to power up. This move may be time-consuming, but it does give Sora more experience everytime he deflects Leon's attacks.
When Leon runs towards Sora and plunges the Gunblade into the ground, it is best to attack Leon from the back. Continue doing so until Leon's HP is depleted. As in the previous encounter, do not be shy about using the Keyblade, because Leon can now heal when his HP is running out. Do also remember to heal when necessary.
It should be noted that Leon uses the same strategy in the Hades Cup, except that instead of Yuffie, Leon's combat partner is Cloud. Here, it is advisable to defeat Leon first before concentrating on Cloud.
Leon's stats in the Pegasus Cup are slightly stronger than that of his strength in Traverse Town before Kairi's rescue, and is slightly weaker than his strength in the Hades Cup. These stats aren't shown in the descriptive information box in the top-right side of this article.
Kingdom Hearts II
Hades Paradox Cup
Leon is fought multiple times in the Hades Paradox Cup: once with Cloud, and once with Yuffie, Cloud, AND Tifa as his allies.
First Battle:
Leon and Cloud are your opponents. For this, your Keyblade should be the Ultima Weapon. Since you have access to drive forms, make sure to use LVMAX Final Form with your sub-weapon as Rumbling Rose or another Keyblade with high strength.
Repeatedly attack Cloud (since he's a greater threat than Leon is) while in Final Form. Make sure you have both Form Boosts equipped, as well as Drive Boost and Damage Drive to stay in Final Form as long as possible.
You can also spam Firaga if both are near, but to max out your damage, make certain you've got Fire Boost active.
If you're strong enough and have the right Keyblade/ability combos, you should be able to finish this in less than 2 minutes.
Second Battle:
This time around, you're fighting Leon and Cloud again. But they're not happy about getting their butts whupped last time, so they brought their girlfriends to help them out (Yuffie and Tifa). And y'know what? That makes the whole thing at least TEN TIMES HARDER THAN BEFORE!!!
For a complete list of required abilities, check the similar section on the Tifa (Enemy) page. Once you have all of those abilities, and I do mean ALL of those abilities, you're prepped for the battle.
You should start by trying to take out Yuffie and Cloud with Thundaga before anyone else--but if you defeat another character on accident, consider yourself lucky.
Whenever you're less than roughly 60% health, use Curaga immediately, to raise the chances of survival. Note: even though you've got Berserk Charge, you're not going to use it until only one of the four remains.
Start by gunning for Yuffie, since she can teleport and her attacks can affect a wide area. Thundaga, Curaga, glide away, repeat. This is your strategy until both Yuffie AND Cloud are defeated--Cloud should be attacked next because he's so fast.
After they're taken care of, you can choose between Tifa and Leon.
At this point, Reflega, Firaga, and Trinity Limit are your new best friends. After you've brought down one of the two, heal with Curaga and then use Berserk Charge on the survivor until you land your finisher.
Then, use Trinity Limit to land a few more hits and use up the rest of your MP and resume Berserk Charge. Repeat this pattern until Sora's the last man standing.
Quotes
Kingdom Hearts
"It's over!"
"Get this!"
"Dodge this!"
"Power!"
"Now you've got my attention!"
"You don't stand a chance against me!"
"Hey, you need a break?"
"What's the matter? Had enough?"
"Hey, gimme a break."
"No way...I can't lose..."
Kingdom Hearts II
"Here goes!"
"It's over!"
"I'll help out!"
"Go!"
"I'm better, give it up..."
"So that's it..."
Video
| Leon - First Battle - KHI | Leon and Yuffie - Pegasus cup - KHI |
| <youtube width="320" height="240">h6TcXjtcFek</youtube> | <youtube width="320" height="240">Zjap9JPMTqo</youtube> |
| Leon and Yuffie - Pain and Panic cup - KHII | Leon, Yuffie, Tifa and Cloud - Hades Paradox cup - KHII |
| <youtube width="320" height="240">rxNzKXSatXI</youtube> | <youtube width="320" height="240">j95RcYIWDKI</youtube> |