NovaBrunswick
Canada Connoisseur
Throughout the Pokémon series of games, there are some Gym Leaders who are not pushovers. How many times have you thought victory was within your reach, only to get blacked out by a powerful move from the Gym Leader's Pokémon?
Here are some of the most infamous Gym Leaders that have given us all pain and frustration:
Here are some of the most infamous Gym Leaders that have given us all pain and frustration:
- Brock (Yellow) - If you ever played Yellow, you'll know why. The first Gym in Kanto is a Rock-type gym, and you only have an Electric type, which can't do anything because Geodude and Onix are also part Ground. Brock was only really hard if you only had Pikachu; luckily, you could catch either of the two Nidorans and level them up to learn Double Kick, which'll pummel Brock's rocks in no time. Charmander can also learn Metal Claw to deal with this Gym, but only in FR/LG.
- Sabrina (R/B/Y) - She was a nightmare in Gen 1 (quite literally) due to her overpowered Alakazam, and Psychic types being so broken in this generation. Dark types weren't discovered yet, and Ghost types were useless against her team, despite what the gym guides say otherwise. Luckily, this was fixed in Gen 2.
- Whitney - Probably the one that gives most Pokémon players bad memories. She says she's new to Pokémon, but for a newbie, she's surprisingly tough. Her Miltank gets the most flack for her notorious Attract-Stomp-Milk Drink-Rollout strategy, but Clefairy can be a threat as well with Metronome, which chooses a random move. Most of you probably laughed when she started crying after you defeated her, after all the hell she put you through.
- Clair - Her Kingdra can be a pain with its Smokescreen (which reduces your accuracy) and Hydro Pump. This was also before the Fairy type was discovered, which meant Kingdra's only weakness was Dragon, so unless you caught the shiny Gyarados at the Lake of Rage or found a Dratini in the Dragon's Den, you pretty much had to use pure power. In my playthrough of HG/SS, I had to rely on my Umbreon's Faint Attack to keep hitting Kingdra, as it kept using Smokescreen. It really was a drag, but I eventually won in the end.
- Norman - Just because he's your dad (at least in Hoenn) doesn't mean he's tough. His Slaking may have Truant (which means it loafs around every two turns), but it can strike hard if you're not prepared. He isn't quite on Whitney's level of notoriety, but Norman gains my respect for him being both a loving father and a tough Gym Leader.
- Lenora (B/W) - Why is it always the Normal Gym Leaders who trip us all up? Like Whitney, Lenora comes pretty early in the game, but her Herdier and Watchog both pack Retaliate. Because you may have most likely defeated Herdier midway in the battle, Watchog is almost guaranteed to use Retaliate on its first turn, which doubles its 70 base power to 140 - and this is only the second gym! Watchog also has Hypnosis to put your Pokémon to sleep, and Crunch which can reduce your Defense, leaving you even more vulnerable to Retaliate.
- Cheren (B2/W2) - A similar situation to Lenora. Even though his Lillipup hasn't yet evolved, if it gets a few Work Ups on it, you're in trouble. Also, the only Fighting-type available at this point of the game is Riolu, which only has a 5% chance of appearing at the Floccesy Ranch, and it doesn't learn Force Palm until level 15. I mostly used my Tepig for this battle, using Flame Charge's Speed boost to my advantage.