Gym Leaders serve multiple purposes in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet but mostly act as the most familiar of Generation IX’s three story paths—giving fans an easy option to choose if they feel overwhelmed by the franchise’s first dip into an open world.
With how level scaling works in Scarlet and Violet, Gyms are a little less straightforward than usual in order to let players more freely explore the region at their own pace.
Unlike previous games, there isn’t one specific Gym Leader you need to start with or finish with. You set the pace for your travels and are only given some light direction from your in-game friends to start things off. This could lead to a little bit of confusion for anyone new to the series or this style of game design.
In other words, Gym Leaders have no set order and you can challenge them whenever you want. But that doesn’t mean you should start your journey on Victory Road without first knowing your targets.
Related: Best Victory Road Gym order in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
While the order is up to you, there are a few easy areas to wet your whistle with at the start that then open up the region on either side of the main hub. This includes the first two Gyms that are very hard to miss and have the lowest levels of the bunch.
For players looking to do a bit of research like the top students they are, here are all of the teams for each Gym Leader in Scarlet and Violet, along with some tips on how to take them down.
How to beat each Gym Leader in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
How to beat Cortondo Gym Leader Katy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Katy has the lowest-leveled team in the game and it is made up of very weak Bug-types that can’t do much to your party as long as you have done at least some grinding or have a type advantage.
The only thing you need to look out for is her Teddiursa, which she will Terastallize into a Bug-type. If you aren’t familiar with that mechanic this could throw you off a bit, though not enough to lose you the fight.
- Cortondo Gym: Bug-type Leader Katy
- Nymble: Level 14
- Tarountula: Level 14
- Teddiursa: Level 15
How to beat Artazon Gym Leader Brassius in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Second verse, the same as the first. Brassius is almost a one-trick artist that uses Grass-types outside of his Sudowoodo—though you wouldn’t be able to tell since he Terastallizes it. See a trend?
As long as you are around the same level and know to watch out for the Grass-type fake tree at the end, you’ll be fine here using Fire, Flying, or even Pokémon with neutral types.
- Artazon Gym: Grass-type Leader Brassius
- Petlil: Level 16
- Smoliv: Level 16
- Sudowoodo: Level 17
How to beat Levincia Gym Leader Iono in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
The one Gym Leader casual Pokémon fans are the most likely to know due to how she was used in marketing for the games, top streamer Iono marks the first time a Gym might actually pose a bit of a challenge.
Wattrel and Luxio are pretty simple to deal with, though the latter will have Intimidate as an ability. Bellibolt is pretty bulky and might take some time to deal with, while Mismagius has Confuse Ray, Hex, and Charge Beam to cause players all kinds of trouble.
Bring at least one Ground-type for the first three Pokémon and you will be fine, but you can just hammer away at the unusual team ace since it can’t really hit you hard without relying on boosts from Charge Beam.
- Levincia Gym: Electric-type Leader Iono
- Wattrel: Level 23
- Bellibolt: Level 23
- Luxio: Level 23
- Mismagius: Level 24
How to beat Cascarrafa Gym Leader Kofu in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
After you track him down and give him his wallet—only to then be tasked with winning a bidding war—Kofu ends up being a pretty easy obstacle to clear. All of his Pokémon can hit hard, but you should have at least one or two counters to Water-types by this point in the game, or at least access to some easily in the surrounding areas.
- Cascarrafa Gym: Water-type Leader Kofu
- Veluza: Level 29
- Wugtrio: Level 29
- Crabominable: Level 30
How to beat Medali Gym Leader Larry in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Bring a Fighting, Rock, or Steel-type to this fight. Komala is an easy problem to tap over in its sleep but both Dudunsparce and Staraptor hit like absolute trucks with any move they use.
The saving grace here is the Gym Task, which you can bypass entirely as long you know the right order to tell the waiter at the restaurant.
- Medali Gym: Normal-type Leader Larry
- Komala: Level 35
- Dudunsparce: Level 35
- Staraptor: Level 36
How to beat Montenevera Gym Leader Ryme in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Now we enter the “late” game, with four Gym Leaders using level 40 Pokémon and sitting in the distant reaches of Paldea. Ryme is the weakest of the three but also the furthest North. Her gym is also the only one to feature Double Battles too.
Come prepared to take a few hits and with the knowledge that even the Gym Leader will face you in a Double Battle. From there, nothing can shock you—not even Ryme’s Toxtricity.
- Montenevera Gym: Ghost-type Leader Ryme
- Banette: Level 41
- Mimikyu: Level 41
- Houndstone: Level 41
- Toxtricity: Level 41
How to beat Alfornada Gym Leader Tulip in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Being punctual for Tulip’s Gym battle is more of a challenge than actually battling her if you have access to Pokémon who can deal with Psychic-types.
Despite a well-rounded team, the long trek to Alfornada and the tedious Gym Task may make players lose it before they actually lose against the makeup artist.
- Alfornada Gym: Psychic-type Leader Tulip
- Farigiraf: Level 44
- Gardevoir: Level 44
- Espathra: Level 44
- Florges: Level 45
How to beat Glaseado Gym Leader Grusha in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Ignore Grusha’s cold exterior—acting tough is the only thing this gym is good at.
Another messy minigame for a Gym Task, just throw some Fire or Rock-type moves out and you can easily blow through the “strongest” Gym Leader in Paldea. Altaria does have good coverage though, so look out for that.
- Glaseado Gym; Ice-type Leader Grusha
- Frosmoth: Level 47
- Beatic: Level 47
- Cetitan: Level 47
- Altaria: Level 48
Related: Best Order for All Pokemon Scarlet and Violet paths from Upcomer
