Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Best gym order
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has 8 gyms to challenge, each with its own interesting minigame to complete beforehand. You can technically complete these gym challenges in any order, but there’s not a lot of direction in-game to tell you what to do next. We’ve put together a guide for the best order, based on the gym leaders’ Pokémon levels and relative challenge.
1. Cortondo Gym - Katy the Bug-type Gym Leader
The gym in Cortondo is the best place to start, offering the lowest level Pokémon and by far the easiest challenge. She uses Bug-type Pokémon, which should be a breeze to take down with Fire, Flying, and Rock-type Pokémon, of which the latter two are fairly common in the early game.
2. Artazon Gym - Brassius the Grass-type Gym Leader
The Artazon gym should be the next step on your journey; his Grass-type Pokémon are a small step up from Katy’s Bug-types in challenge, but shouldn’t offer too much difficulty. Players who pick Fuecoco should see a clean sweep through Brassius’ team, and Flying-type Pokémon shine here, too — just watch out for his Sudowoodo’s Rock moves.
3. Levincia Gym - Iono the Electric-type Gym Leader
You all know Iono from the trailers, she’s the amped-up gym leader/influencer whose whole life is one big Twitch stream. The challenge starts to pick up a little bit here, with none of the starter Pokémon offering any effectiveness against her Electric-type Pokémon. Ground types are the only option here, and players who pick Quaxly should be extra careful — her Pokémon can pack a punch.
4. Cascarrafa Gym - Kofu, the Water-type Gym Leader
Kofu’s Water-type Pokémon are pretty tough, but players who picked Sprigatito should have at least evolved it once by now, offering a distinct advantage. Hopefully, by now, you’ll also have somewhat of a healthy team balance, but just in case you don’t, Electric and Grass-type moves are the way to go to take out his team.
5. Medali Gym - Larry, the Normal-type Gym Leader
Normal-type Pokémon only have one weakness: Fighting. They’re also resisted by Steel and Rock-type Pokémon, and Ghost-types are immune altogether. Gastly is plentiful throughout Paldea at nighttime, and you should have access to at least a couple of Fighting-types by now.
6. Montenevera Gym - Ryme, the Ghost-type Gym Leader
The Montenevera Gym is where the gym challenge starts to get tough. Ryme is a powerful gym leader, and her Ghost-type Pokémon don’t mess around. They’re weak to other Ghosts, as well as Dark-types, which gives a strong advantage to fully-evolved Fuecoco and Sprigatito. Quaxlyusers aren’t so lucky, but there are plenty of good Pokémon out there to make the fight easier.
7. Alfornada Gym - Tulip, the Psychic-type Gym Leader
This writer went to the Alfornada gym before the Montenevera gym. That was a mistake. Tulip carries a team of incredibly powerful Psychic-type Pokémon, and if you’re not prepared, you’ll end up in a bad spot. Think carefully about your team, bring some Ghost, Dark, or Bug-types (there are plenty of Bugs around), and heal up when you need to.
8. Glaseado Gym - Grusha, the Ice-type Gym Leader
And finally, we come to Grusha. Ice-types have traditionally been a little bit on the weaker side, owing to a bunch of weaknesses and a generally lower speed stat. Grusha’s high-level Pokémon make this a harsh challenge, but by this point in the game, you should easily have the tools to take them down. Bring a Fire, Fighting, or Steel-type Pokémon, and enjoy earning your last gym badge.
Be sure to check out our guides for the best Titan order, and the best Team Star base order, as well as our guide for the best route to take if you’re taking on all the story paths at the same time.
