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Late Johto & Kanto Gym Strategies

How to beat Chuck through Blue, plus Elite Four preparation. No grinding required.

These are the gyms where the game expects you to understand team composition, not just type matchups.

You'll need more than one answer to each gym. Plan ahead.

Chuck (Cianwood City)

Badge: Storm Badge Type: Fighting Level Range: 28-31

His Team

  • Primeape (Lv. 30): Defiant; Karate Chop, Seismic Toss, Screech, DynamicPunch.
  • Farfetch’d (Galarian) (Lv. 29): Steadfast; Swords Dance, Body Slam, Feint Attack.
  • Hitmontop (Lv. 28): Intimidate; Bulk Up, Sucker Punch, Double Kick, Rapid Spin.
  • Poliwrath (Lv. 31): His ace. Water Absorb; Hypnosis, DynamicPunch, Waterfall, Ice Punch.

What Makes This Hard

Poliwrath. Water Absorb blanks Surf; Hypnosis + DynamicPunch flips fights, and Ice Punch punishes Flying-types. Primeape/Farfetch’d add early pressure and coverage.

What Works

Psychic-types: Espeon, Alakazam, or Xatu. Psychic deletes Primeape/Hitmontop; watch for Dark coverage and Sucker Punch.

Flying-types: Crobat, Pidgeot, or Fearow. Wing Attack/Fly handles Primeape/Hitmontop; beware Ice Punch from Poliwrath.

Fairy-types: Clefable, Wigglytuff, or Togetic. Fairy resists Fighting; use Moonblast for clean KOs on Primeape/Hitmontop.

What Doesn't Work

Dark-types. Risky: Fighting hits Dark super-effectively. Only use if you outspeed and have coverage.

Steel-types. Avoid. DynamicPunch and Fighting STAB blow through Steel.

Strategy

  1. Lead with Psychic or Flying.
  2. Remove Primeape/Hitmontop quickly; deny Bulk Up.
  3. Don’t use Water vs Poliwrath; Water Absorb heals it.
  4. If DynamicPunch confuses you, pivot out; don’t coin-flip.
  5. Plan for Hypnosis; carry Awakening/Chesto.

28-31. You need answers (Psychic/Flying/Fairy), not levels.

Related: Type Chart

Jasmine (Olivine City)

Badge: Mineral Badge Type: Steel Level Range: 33-37

Her Team

  • Skarmory (Lv. 34): Mud-Slap, Drill Peck, Spikes, Steel Wing.
  • Magneton (Lv. 33): Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Supersonic, Tri Attack. Ability differs: Sturdy (Faithful) or Levitate (Polished).
  • Forretress (Lv. 34): Spikes, Gyro Ball, Defense Curl, Rollout.
  • Scizor (Lv. 33): Pursuit, Aerial Ace, Metal Claw, Slash.
  • Steelix (Lv. 37): Her ace. Body Slam, Screech, Rock Slide, Iron Tail. Ability set includes Sheer Force/Sturdy.

What Makes This Hard

Steelix. Huge Defense and strong coverage; special or super-effective hits are mandatory. Expect Sturdy on Skarmory and (Faithful) Magneton to trigger; plan follow-ups.

What Works

Fire-types: Typhlosion, Arcanine, or Magmar. Flamethrower deletes Skarmory, Magneton, Forretress, and Scizor; Steelix takes big damage.

Water-types: Feraligatr, Vaporeon, or Lanturn. Surf/Ice Beam chunk Steelix and cover Skarmory/Scizor.

Ground-types: Donphan, Sandslash, or Quagsire. Earthquake erases Steelix; Magneton may Levitate (Polished) or be Sturdy (Faithful)—plan Fire/Fighting backup.

Fighting-types: Machamp or Heracross. Low Kick/Brick Break is super-effective vs Steelix. Magneton/Skarmory resist; don’t stay in.

What Doesn't Work

Physical attackers without super-effective moves. Steelix's Defense is too high. You'll deal 10% per hit.

Normal-types. Steel resists Normal. You'll do nothing.

Strategy

  1. Open with Fire to clear Skarmory/Forretress/Scizor quickly.
  2. Handle Magneton with Fire or Ground; respect Levitate/Sturdy differences.
  3. Expect Sturdy; plan two-hit sequences on Skarmory (and Magneton on Faithful).
  4. Save special/Ground coverage for Steelix; don’t try to set up into Screech + Rock Slide/EQ.
  5. Keep pressure; don’t give Steelix free turns.

33-37. Bring coverage; don’t brute-force through her bulk.

Related: Abilities Guide

Pryce (Mahogany Town)

Badge: Glacier Badge Type: Ice Level Range: 38-42

His Team

  • Dewgong (Lv. 39): Thick Fat; Waterfall, Rest, Rain Dance, Aurora Beam.
  • Sneasel (Lv. 38): Swords Dance, Icicle Crash, Screech, Slash.
  • Cloyster (Lv. 38): Defense Curl, Supersonic, Water Pulse, Ice Shard.
  • Lapras (Lv. 40): Sing, Confuse Ray, AncientPower, Ice Beam.
  • Mamoswine (Lv. 42): Magnitude, AncientPower, Avalanche, Fury Strikes.

What Makes This Hard

Thick Fat. Fire moves are less effective vs Dewgong and Mamoswine. Cloyster’s utility + Lapras status can stall; Sneasel punishes slow teams.

What Works

Fire-types: Still strong, but plan for Thick Fat. Flamethrower/Fire Blast 2HKOs; beware Water coverage.

Fighting-types: Machamp or Heracross. Brick Break/Low Kick handle Cloyster/Mamoswine; swap out vs Dewgong/Lapras.

Rock-types: Golem or Rhydon. Rock Slide/Stone Edge pressure Lapras/Sneasel; don’t sit in vs Surf.

Electric-types: Ampharos, Jolteon, or Magneton. Thunderbolt deletes Dewgong/Lapras/Cloyster; Mamoswine resists—bring coverage.

What Doesn't Work

Water-types. Mixed. You’re safe into Mamoswine/Sneasel; beware Lapras status and Dewgong bulk.

Grass-types. Ice punishes Grass; don’t take stray Icicle Crash/Beam.

Strategy

  1. Lead with Electric or strong special attacker.
  2. Remove Dewgong/Lapras early; deny Rest/Sing.
  3. Don’t sit in vs Cloyster if you’re weak to Ice/Rock.
  4. Save Fighting/Ground for Mamoswine.
  5. Keep tempo; don’t give Pryce free setup turns.

38-42. You win with coverage and tempo, not blind Fire spam.

Related: Type Chart

Clair (Blackthorn City)

Badge: Rising Badge Type: Dragon Level Range: 43-47

Her Team

  • Gyarados (Lv. 43): Crunch, Thrash, Dragon Pulse, Aqua Tail.
  • Yanmega (Lv. 45): Double Team, Supersonic, AncientPower, (Faithful) Air Slash / (Polished) Dragon Pulse.
  • Dragonair (Lv. 44): Thunder Wave, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Dragon Pulse.
  • Dragonair (Lv. 44): Thunder Wave with elemental coverage; varies by build.
  • Kingdra (Lv. 47): Her ace. Sniper; Smokescreen, Hyper Beam, Dragon Pulse, Surf.

What Makes This Hard

Kingdra. Water/Dragon is only weak to Dragon and Fairy in Polished Crystal. It’s bulky and fast; you need focused answers. In this first fight, Gyarados doesn’t set up; later rematches add Dragon Dance.

What Works

Ice-types: Lapras, Cloyster, or Piloswine. Ice Beam deletes Dragonair; Gyarados takes neutral.

Fairy-types: Clefable, Wigglytuff, or Azumarill. Moonblast handles Dragonair and chips Kingdra; cover Gyarados separately.

Dragon-types: Dragonite or Kingdra. Dragon is super-effective but trades are risky.

Electric-types: Ampharos, Magneton, or Jolteon. Thunderbolt handles Gyarados; Dragon resists, so pivot on Dragonair/Kingdra.

What Doesn't Work

Fire-types. Limited. Use only for coverage (e.g., on Yanmega).

Water-types. Dragon resists Water; don’t lean on pure Water damage into Kingdra/Dragonair.

Strategy

  1. Bring Ice/Fairy for Dragonair; pivot to Electric vs Gyarados.
  2. Don’t chase set-up; keep tempo and deny free turns.
  3. Save your strongest Dragon/Fairy hits for Kingdra.
  4. Status is shaky: Shed Skin (Dragonair) and Kingdra’s speed reduce payoff.

43-47. Clair’s team demands coverage and clean sequencing.

Related: Common Beginner Mistakes

Elite Four Preparation

Before you fight the Elite Four, you need:

  1. A balanced team. Six Pokémon at Lv. 45-50. No gaps in type coverage.
  2. Healing items. Full Restores, Max Potions, and Full Heals. Don't cheap out.
  3. Status coverage. Paralyze, poison, or burn everything. Status wins fights.
  4. A strategy for each member. Will (Psychic), Koga (Poison), Bruno (Fighting), Karen (Dark), Lance (Dragon).

Will (Psychic-type)

  • Weakness: Bug, Ghost, Dark
  • Strategy: Prioritize Dark/Bug (Umbreon, Houndoom, Scizor, Heracross). Beware Calm Mind + screens (Alakazam/Exeggutor) and Jynx Nasty Plot. Xatu uses Future Sight; don’t leave frail targets in.

Koga (Poison-type)

  • Weakness: Psychic, Ground
  • Strategy: Use strong Psychic/Ground (Espeon, Alakazam, Earthquake users). Expect Toxic, Double Team, and Explosions (Forretress/Weezing); bring status cures and avoid set-up.

Bruno (Fighting-type)

  • Weakness: Psychic, Flying, Fairy
  • Strategy: Same idea as Chuck: Espeon/Crobat/Togetic. Watch Sneasler (X-Scissor/Gunk Shot), Hitmons with priority, and Machamp Bulk Up. Onix/EQ coverage punishes Electric/Fire.

Karen (Dark-type)

  • Weakness: Fighting, Bug, Fairy
  • Strategy: Use Machamp/Heracross/Clefable. Umbreon stalls (status + chip); break with Taunt or Toxic immunity. Gengar carries Hypnosis/Thunder; don’t let it set up. Honchkrow/Houndoom hit hard; respect priority.

Lance (Dragon-type)

  • Weakness: Dragon, Ice, Fairy
  • Strategy: Same as Clair: Lapras/Clefable/Dragonite. Bring Ice Beam for Dragonite, Electric for Gyarados, Rock for Aerodactyl/Charizard. Don’t give Gyarados free Dragon Dance turns.

48-52. Aim for balanced coverage. Polished Crystal uses modern EXP scaling; overleveling reduces gains, but enemies do not scale to you.

Related: Difficulty Scaling

Kanto Gyms (Quick Guide)

Kanto gyms are optional but give you access to Mt. Silver.

  • Brock (Rock): Use Water, Grass, or Fighting. He's not hard.
  • Misty (Water): Use Electric or Grass. Starmie is fast, so outspeed it.
  • Lt. Surge (Electric): Use Ground. Rhydon or Golem one-shots everything.
  • Erika (Grass): Use Fire, Ice, or Flying. She's easy.
  • Janine (Poison): Use Psychic or Ground. Watch out for Toxic Spikes.
  • Sabrina (Psychic): Use Bug, Ghost, or Dark. Espeon vs. Espeon is a bad idea.
  • Blaine (Fire): Use Water, Ground, or Rock. He's straightforward.
  • Blue (Mixed): His team is balanced. Bring answers to Normal, Water, Flying, Grass, and Psychic.

60-70. Expect higher levels than Johto leaders; prepare endgame coverage.

General Advice for Late-Game Gyms

  • Bring status moves. Thunder Wave, Toxic, and Will-O-Wisp win fights.
  • Don't overlevel. Polished Crystal uses modern EXP scaling; enemies don’t scale to you, but overleveling gives diminishing returns.
  • Use held items. Leftovers, Choice Band, and type-boosting items make fights trivial.
  • Save before every fight. If you lose, adjust your team and try again.
  • Read ability descriptions. Abilities like Thick Fat, Sturdy, and Levitate change how fights work.

Related: Abilities Guide