The stage is set. Leon has only one Pokemon left: the unbeatable Charizard of the unbeatable champion. The crowd, despite the carnage against their champion, is still singing. The Hall of Fame theme, a motif reserved for winners, becomes the theme of the cornered. As Leon Dynamaxes his final fighter, you know he's doomed. A single Max Rockfall from your Dreadnaw, and Charizard is down. It feels anticlimactic. You just downed the supposed strongest Pokemon in the whole of Galar with one fell swoop.
But that single decision, the dynamaxed Dreadnaw, is part of why that Charizard is a great final boss.
Very few encounters in Sword or Shield can be answered only by a Rock-type STAB move from a high-damage Pokemon. While the decision is fairly obvious, it's still a decision that had to be made. It was premeditated, and you likely are training such a Pokemon with the Galarian master in mind.
And if you don't run a Pokemon to counter that Charizard, the fight becomes much closer. Charizard's impressive coverage plus Dynamax boosts and effects can make it a tough Pokemon to beat on even footing. Like any Pokemon game, of course, it becomes a trivial matter when you're punching below your weight. That's just how Pokemon works; higher levels are more likely to beat lower levels. In fact, many of the difficulty complaints about the series could be solved by players simply keeping Pokemon around the level of their opponent. But that hole in the game's design doesn't make the battle against Leon's Charizard any less meaningful.
More than that, this Charizard is the only Pokemon that is foreshadowed to be the champion's ace from the very beginning. We catch glimpses of other champions and their teams (Blue, Lance, and Cynthia, mainly) but they either didn't start as champions (Blue) or they aren't fighting alongside you until mid-game (Lance/Cynthia.) But Leon's Charizard is different. From the first moments of the game, it's hyped up to be the Pokemon to beat. In universe, any Trainer worth their starter would want to prove themselves by beating that one Charizard.
Also, consider the stakes of a few fights before the showdown with Leon. The big bad Eternatus fight alongside Zacian, Zamazenta, and Hop. After that fight, you likely do what even Leon couldn't: You catch Eternatus. Going back to the fight against Charizard, of course you beat it. You caught what Leon couldn't catch. You befriended 2 Legendary Pokemon in the process. Leon's claim to fame is in beating the average person, even skilled average people. You, at this point, have gone beyond that. You've beaten legends. Leon couldn't do so with Eternatus, and he couldn't do so with you.
The anticlimax that often is your final KO of the main game then begins to make sense: Leon just took a massive reality check straight to the heart. What he saw as unbeatable is no longer. Legends were made the day before, but at that moment you've proven to him that you are a worthy part of that legend.
Leon and his Charizard are an easy final fight done right. They don't make it easy because they're weak, you think it's easy because you're stronger.
If you enjoyed this take on the final Pokemon Sword and Shield fight, or if you'd like another hot take that isn't all that hot, check out my article on Pikachu over here!
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