Page 7: Gym Leaders

You'll encounter 8 Gym Leaders in the game. Sometimes, you can continue on in the game without beating them, other times you can't. For example, if you try to continue on to Mt. Moon without first beating Brock, a man will make you follow him all the way to Brock's Gym. You can't pass this man without beating Brock first.

Each Gym has a little statue that lists the names of the trainers who have defeated this Gym Leader. Gary's name is always on there. After you beat the Gym Leader, your name will be too.

Either directly outside of or inside the Gym will be a guy who looks like one of Professor Oak's Aides. He'll give you some hints about which types of Pokémon to use and which types to avoid using.

Also, each Gym has one or more minor trainers who won't let you pass without fighting them. Keep in mind that if you manage to avoid them, they won't want to fight after you've beaten the leader. So unless you can help it, try to fight all the trainers first. You'll get lots more experience points and money that way. And remember, you can always leave the gym, heal your Pokémon, and come back.

 

 

Brock



Brock uses rock Pokémon, so you should have an advantage if you started the game with Squirtle. Otherwise, make sure you've built up your Pokémon's levels before challenging him.

Brock has a level 12 Geodude and a level 14 Onix. Defeat them to get the Boulder Badge. This raises the Power of all your Pokémon. It also lets you use Flash at any time.

Brock will also give you a TM, Bide. Bide, to quote Brock, "absorbs damage from two turns then pays it back double!" In other words, if an enemy damages you on two turns and the total is 32 HP, Bide will then Unleash Energy and pay back 64 HP damage.

 

 

Misty



Misty likes to use water Pokémon, a fact you should be aware of if you're a regular watcher of the TV show. Try to use electric or grass Pokémon.

Misty's Pokémon are: Staryu(Level 18) Starmie(Level 21)

After you beat Misty, she'll award you with the Cascade Badge. This lets you use Cut at any time, and makes Pokémon up to level 30 obey you.

Misty'll also give you a TM, Bubblebeam. It works a lot like Bubble, but gives more damage.

 

 

Lt. Surge



Lt. Surge is a very paranoid guy. You have to find two secret switches to get to him. If you find one switch, then try to find the other and it's not there, the locks will reset and you'll have to start over. Lt. Surge uses electric Pokémon. He claims they saved him during the war.

If you defeat his level 21 Voltorb, his level 18 Pikachu, and his level 24 Raichu, you'll win the Thunder Badge. This lets you use Fly outside of battle, and also increases the speed of all your Pokémon.

Lt. Surge will also give you Thunderbolt, a more powerful version of Thundershock.

 

 

Erika



This is where things actually start to get tough. To reach Erika, you have to use Cut to hack through a bush. If you're not tyring to fight with all the minor trainers, you still might need to make a trip or two to the Poké Center. Just so you know, Erika is the second girl from the right in that group of four girls.

Erika uses grass Pokémon. They are: a level 29 Victreebel - a level 24 Tangela - a level 29 Vileplume. Try to fight her with a Vulpix or a Growlithe, if you have one. Flying Pokémon are also strong against grass, so bring your Pidgey/Pidgeotto and Spearow/Fearow.

After beating Erika, you'll get the Rainbow Badge. The Rainbow Badge lets you use Strength outside of battle. It also makes Pokémon up to level 50 obey you.

 

 

Sabrina



Sabrina's gym is only available after you've beaten Giovanni, the Team Rocket boss, for the second time (in Silph building). To get to Sabrina, you have to go from warp tile to warp tile until you finally find her. There are a bunch of minor trainers waiting to challenge you, including Psychics and Channelers.

Sabrina uses Psychic Pokémon. She has at her command a level 38 Kadabra, a level 37 Mr. Mime, a level 38 Venomoth, and a level 43 Alakazam.

A way (but not fool-proof) to find Sabrina without much trouble is to go, from the first warp tile, up, down, up, down, and so on. This has not been proven to work, but it's worth a try.

When you defeat Sabrina, she'll award you the Marsh Badge. The Marsh Badge makes Pokémon up to level 70 obey you. She'll also give you a TM, Psywave.

On a side note, does anyone else think the translators of this game screwed up here? If Erika is the plant gym leader, then shouldn't she be the one to give the Marsh Badge? "Rainbow Badge" is a much better name for a badge given out by a psychic gym leader. Don't you think?

 

 

Koga


Koga uses poison Pokémon. His Pokémon are: level 37 Koffing, level 39 Muk, level 37 Koffing, and a level 43 Weezing. It's hard to get to him because there's a maze of invisible walls. The minor trainers who will challenge you are mostly Jugglers and Tamers.

If you're having trouble getting through the maze, try turning up (lightening) the contrast on your Game Boy. It makes the walls easier to see. (I know I said they were invisible before!)

After beating Koga, he'll give you the Soul Badge. It increases your Pokémon's defense, and lets you use Surf outside of battle. Koga will also give you the TM Toxic. It's a great move to use in trainer battles, but not so good out in the world if you're trying to capture Pokémon, because the poison acts so rapidly.

 

 

Blaine


Blaine doesn't really look like this. It's possible he did in the prototype, or in the Japanese version, but in the game, Blaine's an alien. No kidding!

Reaching Blaine is pretty simple. There's no maze to figure out, no puzzle to solve. You just have to fight a lot of minor trainers. They're all Robbers, and they use fire Pokémon. So does Blaine. His are a Growlithe(level 42), a Ponyta(level 40), a Rapidash(level 42), and an Arcanine(level 47).

After you beat Blaine, you'll recieve the Volcano Badge, which makes your Pokémon's elemental attacks' power rise. You'll also get Fire Blast, a powerful fire-type move.

 

 


This is your final challenge. Nobody's supposed to know who this guy is. If you really want to know, click here.

This "mystery guy" has five powerful Pokémon: a level 45 Rhyhorn, a level 42 Dugtrio, a level 43 Nidoqueen, a level 45 Nidoking, and a level 50 Rhydon.

By the way, some people have had troubles even finding the last gym. It's located in Viridian City. Remember the first time you traveled through there? The door was locked. Now it's unlocked.

The trainers there like to use rock and ground Pokémon, so bring your Pokémon you use for Surfing. Also, some of the boss's Pokémon have high agility and evade, so you might want to bring a fighting-type Pokémon like Machoke (I used Primeape) or buy a bunch of X Speed and Carbos.

To find the gym leader, you'll have to get through a bunch of directional tiles (the ones that make you spin in one direction, like the ones in Rocket Game Corner's basement). You can avoid a lot of battles if you follow this plan:

Go up into the room with the three trainers. One's facing down, one's facing up, the last one's facing down. Stay to the right wall and avoid them.
Get the item if you want. It's a Revive.
Go up, fight with the guy on your left, then go past him.
Just sorta follow the path.
You should reach the boss with only two or three battles behind you.

When you beat him, you'll get the Earth Badge. All Pokémon will obey you! You'll also get Fissure, a move that can destroy a Pokémon in one hit. Unfortunately, it only works about one time out of ten, and there are only 5 PP for this move. *sigh*