Emerald Gym Leaders
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| {Emerald} Gym Leaders |
Gym 1 - Roxanne
The first gym leader, Roxanne, resides in Rustboro City. She uses Rock-type Pokémon.
Geodude - Level 12
Geodude - Level 12
Nosepass - Level 15
Since Roxanne uses Rock and Ground types, you would have the best luck using Water or Grass type attacks, as both Rock and Ground have a weakness to it. If you chose Treecko or Mudkip as your starting Pokémon, this battle shouldn't be too hard as long as they're trained to around Level 14 or 15 with a Grass or Water move. If you chose Torchic, however, a Fighting-type Pokémon like Makuhita will work nicely. A Ralts with a Psychic-type attack will work as well, but keep in mind that Psychic attacks aren't super effective on Rock or Ground types.
If you have beaten Roxanne, you'll be rewarded with the Stone Badge, which raises your Pokémon's attack, and TM 39, which contains Rock Tomb. You are also allowed to use the HM 01, Cut, outside of battle.
Gym 2 - Brawly
Brawly is the second gym leader, located in Dewford Town. His specialty is Fighting-type Pokémon.
Makuhita - Level 19
Meditite - Level 16
Machop - Level 16
Once you've reached Brawly's gym, your team of Pokémon should probably have reached around Level 19, if not higher. Brawly's Pokémon have weaknesses to Flying and Psychic-type attacks, so a nice, solid Taillow or Ralts would do well here. Moves like Gust, Peck, Wing Attack, and Confusion would be desirable in this battle.
For defeating Brawly, you will be rewarded with the Knuckle Badge, which ensures Pokémon at or below Level 30 will obey you. You can use HM 05, Flash, outside of battle, and you receive TM 08, Bulk Up.
Gym 3 - Wattson
In Mauville City, you'll find your third gym, lead by the gym leader Wattson. He uses Electric Pokémon.
Voltorb - Level 20
Electrike - Level 20
Magneton - Level 22
Manectric - Level 24
For a fighting chance in this gym, your team should be at least Level 25. Ground moves are the only ones super effective against Electric, and they're immune to Electric attacks as well, so if you can obtain a few Ground-type Pokémon, you're good to go. If Ground isn't available to you, strong Grass types are good, as well. Although their attacks aren't super effective against Electric, they are resistant to Electric attacks.
Your prizes for defeating Wattson are the Dynamo Badge, which grants you permission to use HM 06, Rock Smash, outside of battle and raises your Pokémon's Speed, and TM 34, which contains Shock Wave.
Gym 4 - Flannery
Flannery is the Lavaridge Town gym leader. As her name and town suggest, she uses Fire-type Pokémon.
Slugma - Level 24
Numel - Level 24
Camerupt - Level 26
Torkoal - Level 29
At this point, a team of Pokémon with levels around 30 and 31 will help you enormously in this battle. Water and Ground types are your best choices for this battle, preferably ones with high Special Defense. Make sure that they have powerful moves of their type, such as Bubble Beam or Earthquake. Rock Pokémon are effective as well, but their Rock type attacks don't work as well against Flannery's Pokémon that are part Ground-type.
Your rewards for winning this battle are the Heat Badge and TM 50, Overheat. The Heat Badge ensures all Pokémon at or below Level 50 will obey you, and also allows you to use HM 06, Strength, outside of battle.
Gym 5 - Norman
Your character's father runs the Petalburg City gym. When you first reach Petalburg City, you can't battle Norman, but later on in the game, you can return to battle. Norman uses Normal-type Pokémon.
Vigoroth - Level 27
Slaking - Level 31
Spinda - Level 27
Linoone - Level 29
For this battle, your team should be over Level 30, preferably around 35. Fighting-types will deal a lot of damage against Norman's Normal-type Pokémon, but practically any type except Ghost will do well. If you want extra defense on your side, Rock and Steel types have resistance to Normal attacks. Pokémon with high Defense stats are desirable, as those Normal attacks, especially Facade, can hurt.
For defeating Norman, you receive the Balance Badge. This raises your Pokémon's Defense as well as allows you to use Surf, HM 03, outside of battle. You also are awarded TM 42, Facade.
Gym 6 - Winona
Winona is the fifth gym leader, specializing in the Flying type. Her gym is located in Fortree City.
Swablu - Level 29
Tropius - Level 29
Skarmory - Level 31
Pelipper - Level 30
Altaria - Level 33
Winona's battle is much trickier than many others, since her Pokémon are all dual-type. Against Altaria, Ice is the best choice, as both Dragon and Flying types are weak to it. Ice is the best for Tropius as well, given Tropius's double weakness to it. Pelipper's double weakness is Electric-type attacks, but neither Swablu nor Skarmory have a double weakness. Swablu could fall to either Ice or Electric attacks, but Skarmory's Steel-type fends off some Ice damage. I would recommend an Electric-type for Skarmory, since you'll probably want one for this battle anyway, but a Fire-type would work just as well.
Once you have defeated Winona, you will be rewarded with the Feather Badge, making sure all Pokémon at or below Level 70 will obey you. This also allows you to use HM 02, Fly, outside of battle. Along with these prizes, you'll receive TM 40, Aerial Ace.
Gym 7 - Liza and Tate
Liza and Tate are twins, both running the Mossdeep City gym. They specialize in Psychic types, and your battle with them will be a double battle.
Lunatone - Level 42
Solrock - Level 42
Xatu - Level 41
Claydol - Level 41
For this gym battle, which I would say is probably the hardest so far, your Pokémon should have grown to at least Level 45 to have a good chance. None of Liza and Tate's Pokémon have double weaknesses, so you'll have to settle for taking advantage of one weakness. All four Pokémon have a weakness to the Dark-type, so you should bring one or two strong Dark-types to this battle. Mightyena and Absol are good choices. Dark-types also have the advantage of being immune to Psychic attacks, which you'll be seeing plenty of in this battle. All four Pokémon also share a weakness to Ghost and Bug types, although I, for one, wouldn't really recommend Bugs. Their offensive Bug attacks aren't very powerful, and a lot of the Bug types share a Poison type, making them bad choices for this battle. Lunatone, Solrock, and Claydol all have a weakness to Water, so a strong Water-type would be a good Pokémon to bring. Xatu is also weak to Electric, Ice, and Rock, if you happen to have a strong Pokémon of that type. Bring plenty of Revives and Hyper Potions to this battle; it's not easy.
After you've won this battle, your prizes are TM 04, Calm Mind, and the Mind Badge. This badge allows you to use Dive, HM 08, in the field, and also increases your Pokémon's Special Attack and Special Defense.
Gym 8 - Juan
Juan is a new gym leader in Emerald Version; he has replaced Wallace, who moved on to the Elite Four, as the Sootopolis gym leader. Juan specializes in Water types.
Luvdisc - Level 41
Kingdra - Level 46
Sealeo - Level 43
Crawdaunt - Level 43
Whiscash - Level 41
At this point in the game, if your team isn't at least around level 47, you should probably go back and train more before facing Juan. His team also has a lot of dual types. For Luvdisc, which is a pure Water type, Electric and Grass would work well. I would recommend bringing several strong Electric types with maybe one Grass type, though, because Grass types are weak to the Ice moves that many of Juan's Pokémon use. One Grass type might be a good idea, though, for Whiscash, which has a double weakness to it. Both Electric and Fighting types would be good choices for Sealeo and Crawdaunt; Water is weak to Electric, and Dark and Ice are weak to Fighting. Kingdra will be the hardest opponent here; because of its Dragon/Water combination, its only weakness is other Dragon types. However, Dragon types are also weak to Ice attacks, so if you choose to bring a Dragon Pokémon to bring down Kingdra, just be careful. Strong Pokémon with high Special Defense would be good for this battle, too.
Once Juan has been defeated, your rewards are TM 03, Water Pulse, and the Rain Badge. The Rain Badge ensures Pokémon of any level will obey you, and also permits you to use HM 07, Waterfall, outside of battle.
