Best Order to Beat Gym Leaders in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The latest installment in the Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, lets players forge their own path by allowing them to explore the world of Paldea in whichever order they choose. Players have three main storylines that they can focus on, and from the start of the game, players can go anywhere on the map they want. While this newfound freedom is exciting for many Pokémon players, it can also make deciding which order to do things a bit more complicated.

Players looking to take on Victory Road, one of the three Scarlet and Violet storylines, will need to first defeat the eight regional gyms; however, just because players can choose which order to take on the gyms does not mean that the game will make it easy. Gyms in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are level-locked, meaning that the level of the gym leader’s Pokémon will not change based on the level of the player. This can make certain gyms more difficult for players at the beginning of the game. Therefore, it is recommended that the Scarlet and Violet gyms are tackled in the below order.

The Bug-Type Cortondo Gym

Players looking to take on Victory Road should start their journey in Cortondo, taking on Katy, the Bug-type Gym Leader. Cortondo is located southeast of the Academy and is an excellent gym to start with. Players will be fighting Katy’s three Pokémon: Nymble (Level 14), Tarountula (Level 14), and a Teddiursa (Level 15) with a Bug Tera Type. Ideal Pokémon to fight Bug-Type are Fire, Rock, and Flying (Bug-type Pokémon are oddly resistant to Fighting-Type); however, players should remember that Katy’s final Pokémon, a Teddiursa, is a Normal-Type Pokémon with the special Bug Tera Type.

The Grass-Type Artazon Gym

The Grass-Type Gym located in Artazon is the best gym for players to take on second when completing Victory Road. Artazon is located southwest of the Academy and features the Gym Leader Brassius. Players will be battling Brassius’ three Pokémon: Petilil (Level 16), Smoliv (Level 16), and Sudowoodo (Level 17) with a Grass Tera Type. Players looking to easily defeat Grass-Type Pokémon should have a team featuring Fire-, Ice-, Poison-, Flying-, or Bug-Types.In addition, players should be aware that Brassius’ final Pokémon, Sudowoodo, is a Rock-Type (even though it resembles a tree) with a Grass Tera Type.

The Electric-Type Levincia Gym

The third gym players completing Victory Road should set their sights on is Iono’s Electric-Type Gym in Levincia. Levincia can be found on the far east side of the map, northeast of Artazon. Iono, a streamer in the Scarlet and Violet universe who played fans’ favorite Pokémon anime game, will use four Pokémon against the player: Wattrel (Level 23), Bellibolt (Level 23), Luxio (Level 23), and Mismagius (Level 24) with an Electric Tera Type. Players looking to defeat Iono should have a team featuring strong Ground-type Pokémon to defeat the Electric-Type team she has. However, a Ghost- or Dark-Type will also be helpful against her Mismagius.

The Water-Type Cascarrafa Gym

The fourth gym that players should focus on to complete Victory Road is the Water-Type Gym in Cascarrafa. Cascarrafa is located just west of the center of Palde, and its gym is led by Kofu. Kofu will use the following Pokémon when battling the player: Veluza (level 29), Wugtrio (Level 29), and Crabominable (Level 30) with a Water Tera Type. Players should make sure to have the appropriate level Grass- and Electric Type Pokémon when taking on Kofu; however, his Crabominable is primarily a Fighting-Type Pokémon, which has only one weakness.

The Normal-Type Medali Gym

After completing the Cascarrafa Gym, players should head to the Normal-Type Gym in Medali, led by Larry. Medali can be found just northeast of the Water-Type Gym. Players will be battling Larry’s three Pokémon: Komala (Level 35), Dundunsparce (Level 35), and Staraptor (Level 36) with a Normal Tera Type. In addition, players will need to ensure that they have a few good Fighting-Type Pokémon on their team because this is the only type with an advantage against Normal-Type Pokémon.

The Ghost-Type Montenevera Gym

The sixth gym that players should take on is the Ghost-Type Gym in Montenevera and its gym leader Ryme. The Montenevera gym is the northernmost gym in the Paldea region. Ryme will use four Pokémon against the player: Mimikyu (Level 41), Banette (Level 41), Scarlet and Violet‘s Greavard evolution Houndstone (Level 41), Toxtricity (Level 42) with a Ghost Tera Type. Players looking to defeat Ryme should have a team of strong Ghost- and Dark-Type Pokémon, but should remember that Ghost-Type is strong against other Ghost-Type.

The Psychic-Type Alfornada Gym

The second-from-last gym players should attempt to defeat to complete Victory Road is the Psychic-Type Gym in Alfornada. Alfornada can be found in the far southwest of the Paldea region and is run by Gym Leader Tulip. Tulip will face the players with four Pokémon: Farigiraf (Level 44), Espathra (Level 44), Gardevoir (Level 44), and Florges (Level 45) with a Psychic Tera Type. Psychic-Type Pokémon are weakest to Bug-, Ghost-, and Dark-Type Pokémon; a Bug-Type Pokémon will also be an advantage against Florges.

The Ice-Type Glaseado Gym

The eighth and final gym that players will take on in Paldea is the Ice-Type Gym located in Glaseado. Grusha leads this gym, a Scarlet and Violet gym leader revealed back in August and is located just southeast of the Montenevera gym. Players will need strong Fire-, Fighting-, Rock-, or Steel-Type Pokémon to take on Grusha’s team of four: Frosmoth (Level 47), Beartic (Level 47), Cetitan (Level 47), and Altaria (Level 48) with an Ice Tera Type. Grusha is the highest-level Gym Leader in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and must be defeated before the player can advance in the Victory Road storyline.

While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet players are free to tackle the game in any order they please, there are less difficult paths that players can take to complete each storyline. For example, players focusing on defeating all the gyms will need to confirm that they have the appropriate Pokémon at the appropriate level to beat each gym leader. Players can either focus on one story at a time in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or they can complete them simultaneously; however, specific orders for each will make the playthrough significantly less challenging to take on.

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