Since their initial reveal, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet openly declared players would be able to do whatever they want right from the start—with Paldea being Game Freak’s first true attempt at an open-world game. This includes the ability to challenge any Gym Leader in any order during the Victory Road story path. However, many trainers are wondering which Gym order they should follow.
The devs did indeed make it possible to challenge what would normally be the eighth Gym first thanks to this open-world formula. But, due to some other design decisions and odd placement, it is very easy to get confused during your journey across Paldea.
To start, there is no level scaling in the game. This means—much like in a game like Xenoblade Chronicles—entering new areas of the map will not scale down the Pokémon, Trainers, and other challenges within them. This includes Gym Leaders, with every location having a set level for its Gym Tasks and the Gym Leader’s team.
Obviously, a lack of dynamic levels will prevent most players from truly tackling the game across its three story paths as they want to just based on the numbers advantage RPG stats involved, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have some fun with Pokémon’s newfound freedom.
Now Scarlet and Violet are out, here is the best Gym order—including details about the surrounding areas—for players looking to stock up on information and plot their course through Paldea strategically.
Best Gym order for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Victory Road
The basics of level scaling mechanics and how they impact Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
While Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are open-world games at their core, there are several mechanics in place to keep you somewhat gated out of high-level zones at the early stages. The two biggest factors to keep in mind here are how your number of Gym Badges affects your Pokémon team and the Legendary Pokémon you are riding around on—Koraidon and Miraidon.
Gym Badges take up a very important role in Paldea, as earning more of them will gradually increase the max level a Pokémon will absolutely obey your directions in battle and how easy they are to catch in the wild.
Basically, if you catch a high-level Pokémon in the wild—say a level 55 Dragonite—you will need to have all eight Gym Badges to make it completely obey you during battle.
You can get around this by simply training up Pokémon you have captured early on in the game, as it appears this only applies to Pokémon captured in the wild at higher levels than your Gym Badge level limit or traded Pokémon, though that might just be luck while testing.
As for Koraidon and Miraidon, the more Titan Pokémon you defeat on the Path of Legends story section of the game, the more traversal options you will unlock.
Most of the Gym locations can be easily accessed by simply finding the right path on the map and strategically picking your battles when you reach higher-level areas before you are ready. But for some, like the Psychic Gym in Alfornada, it is extremely difficult to get there without having the increased jump height for your Legendary partner.
But don’t let these details stop you from trying to play the game however you want. Here are some details about the actual gyms themselves and the order you can easily take them out. Just don’t forget that, even if a Gym Leader’s final Pokémon seems like an odd choice for their Gym type, they will always Terastallize it to match their team.
Best Gyms to battle first in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
There are two Gyms that are your basic “gimme” options right at the start—Katy’s Bug-type Gym in Cortondo and Brassius’ Grass-type Gym in Artazon.
Cotondo’s Gym is where Nemona suggests you head first right after explaining the Victory Road story path and all of its details at the end of the tutorial section. Meanwhile, Artazon hits essentially the same level cap and is in the direction Arven wants you to take toward the closest Titan Pokémon he has heard about.
You shouldn’t struggle with either of these Gyms, as they have a level cap of 15 and 17 respectively and no overly powerful Pokémon to speak of. This decision is all based on which story path you want to follow or which direction looks the most fun to explore.
- Cortondo Gym: Bug-type Leader Katy
- Nymble: Level 14
- Tarountula: Level 14
- Teddiursa: Level 15
- Artazon Gym: Grass-type Leader Brassius
- Petlil: Level 16
- Smoliv: Level 16
- Sudowoodo: Level 17
Best Gyms to battle in the mid-game in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Once you clear the first two areas that are clearly meant to get players used to new mechanics and Pokémon things start to get a little more convoluted on the optimal pathing due to the lack of level scaling.
The obvious choice is Levincia Gym, home of streamer-extraordinaire Iono and her Electric-types because after that the levels jump up pretty significantly and it is also the easiest to reach after leaving Artazon.
Kofu’s Water-type Gym in Cascarrafa is actually probably the one you want to tackle next, as it will require some trekking around some higher-level areas in order to return the Leader’s wallet—which he left on his way to Porto Marinada. This will give you some time to level up your team a bit and catch some new Pokémon before clashing with the chef.
And, from one chef to a businessman in an actual restaurant, Medali’s Normal-type Gym Leader Larry should be the final stop on this portion of your journey. His team hits like a truck and his Gym is located close to the middle of the northern part of Paldea, which will give you easy access to some additional paths heading into the final three Gyms. You can even skip his Gym Task by knowing the right thing to order right away!
- Levincia Gym: Electric-type Leader Iono
- Wattrel: Level 23
- Bellibolt: Level 23
- Luxio: Level 23
- Mismagius: Level 24
- Cascarrafa Gym: Water-type Leader Kofu
- Veluza: Level 29
- Wugtrio: Level 29
- Crabominable: Level 30
- Medali Gym: Normal-type Leader Larry
- Komala: Level 35
- Dudunsparce: Level 35
- Staraptor: Level 36
Best Gyms to battle last in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
Are you ready to see the worst offenders for the lack of level-scaling and map layout?
The Montenevera, Alfornada, and Glaseado Gyms all sit between level 41 and 48 for their Leaders’ teams. However, Glaseado is the highest level and the easiest to get to—you actually have to go past it to reach Montenevera if you take the upfront route that most players will trek through up the icy mountain.
Alfornada’s Gym is also on the complete other side of the map and probably the hardest location to reach in the game on Victory Road. It also has the most tedious Gym Task by far, but that is just another reason to be annoyed at the placement.
If you go by levels, you should go Montenevera, then Alfornada, and end with Glaseado, but by this point, you can probably handle all three of them easily depending on your teams. Tulip’s Psychic-types in Alfornada are probably the toughest of the trio overall just based on team composition and Montenevera’s Leader Ryme is the only Double Battle challenge of the Gym path.
- Montenevera Gym: Ghost-type Leader Ryme
- Banette: Level 41
- Mimikyu: Level 41
- Houndstone: Level 41
- Toxtricity: Level 41
- Alfornada Gym: Psychic-type Leader Tulip
- Farigiraf: Level 44
- Gardevoir: Level 44
- Espathra: Level 44
- Florges: Level 45
- Glaseado Gym; Ice-type Leader Grusha
- Frosmoth: Level 47
- Beartic: Level 47
- Cetitan: Level 47
- Altaria: Level 48
Once you beat all eight Gyms, you will have full control over Pokémon of all levels and be free to choose your next path. If you want to, you can run straight to the Pokémon League to battle the Elite Four and try to reach Champion Rank, or you can venture back into Paldea’s wilds to complete Operation Starfall or the Path of Legends.
