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4th Gen Who is the toughest Gym leader you ever battled?

31
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10
Years
  • Seen Mar 9, 2016
I only recall ever having trouble with Whitney (just need a high leveled Pokemon for that Miltank or a good stat decreasing strategy to make it vulnerable) and Clair when I didn't level high enough for Kingdra, with its sole weakness and its resistances.
Maybe Candice in Diamond, but the rest of those Gym Battles were quite easy.

My first run through in that game I ended beating Crasher Wake easily before Maylene.
 

Aurora

seven years here and i finally figure out how to d
859
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10
Years
I can't give input on HG/SS because I've never really gotten so far into the game to be able to construct an actual opinion...

I had a lot of trouble with Gardenia at first in D/P, however, because I hadn't had the genius idea of picking up a Flying-type and I don't think I had trained Piplup to the point of it learning Peck. Grinding / catching a Starly helped me out greatly. I didn't have any issues with any Gym Leaders after this because I went way overboard insofar as levelling up was concerned.
 
5,281
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14
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  • Age 29
  • Seen yesterday
Either Bugsy, Roark (in DP) or Fantina (Pt).

In Diamond, I'd completed the game a couple of times with Piplup and Chimchar as starters, and normally Chimchar evolves at lv.14 giving you Mach Punch to take on Roark. Well this time I decided to delay his evolution because he's cute and he's gone so soon in the game. Ended up evolving into Monferno just to get the Rock resists xD.

In Platinum, Fantina caught me out a) by being battled as the 3rd gym leader, not the 5th. I assumed she'd be weaker, particularly when I encountered Haunter, not Mismagius. However, Mismagius completely wrecked my Prinplup. (Yeah, I still beat it - I haven't had many truly tough gym battles outside Gen III).

And Bugsy in HeartGold/SoulSilver...his Scyther's just so strong! Always 2HKO's Totodile / Croconaw, against Quilava he comes out early, U-turns, then comes back and either kills me with Quick Attack or I switch for something else to get killed with QA whilst I heal.
 

TreeKangaroo

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
277
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10
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I never found Whitney to be hard lol. For me it was Chuck, he had good strategies for making focus punch hit. I had to reset once because of him.
 
412
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11
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  • Seen Jul 22, 2014
Personally, I'd say either Bugsy, Crasher Wake, or Roark. Bugsy because of his/her/its (I'm still not convinced that Bugsy is actually a boy) Scyther, and Crasher Wake and Roark because I always started with Chimchar and most likely had a team weak to either Water- or Ice-type moves by the time I got to Pastoria City.
 

PekoponTAS

Game Boy Advance Fan
86
Posts
11
Years
None of the HG/SS gym leaders are really too big of an issue so long as you pick the right guys. Geodude destroys the first three gyms, and if you get a Scrappy ability Kangaskhan on the Pokewalker, Morty is a complete joke, and it should learn Outrage by the time you're about to fight Claire.

Still, the gyms I've had trouble with are the typical ones before I figured that out. Whitney, Claire, and sometimes Morty. Though Morty is still a million times easier in the remake since his Gengar doesn't know dream eater like in the original Gold.

As for D/P/PL, I've had trouble at most of them for different reasons. Volkner is always easy though.
 

Zekrom1066

Master of Ideals
71
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10
Years
Well, this is how I rate the difficulty of the Sinnoh Gyms.

Oreburgh City Gym
Just make sure your Pokemon outspeeds Cranidos, so that it can't Headbutt flinch you.

Eterna City Gym
Do not ever let Gardenia's Turtwig set up Reflect, also Roserade isn't easy to defeat.

Hearthome City Gym
Fantina's Mismagius is annoying, with its STAB Shadow Ball.

Veilstone City Gym
Not that difficult, but Lucario can be rather annoying sometimes.

Pastoria City Gym
Your Pokemon should be a special attacker which outspeeds Floatzel and also carries something like a STAB Thunderbolt. Special attackers also do not mind the Attack drop from Gyarados's Intimidate and can KO it before it starts spamming Waterfall, which can prove deadly if not resisted. Also pack a Grass type to counter Quagsire.

Canalave City Gym
You need a special attacker with a STAB Flamethrower to hit Magneton and Steelix hard, and also something with an attack that is x4 Super-effective against Bastiodon.

Snowpoint City Gym
One of the hardest Gyms in Sinnoh in my opinion. Sneasel and Piloswine are not really threats but Abomasnow and Froslass are. You need to use a weather-inducing move to get rid of Hail once Abomasnow switches in, and KO it with a strong STAB Fire type attack. If Abomasnow manages to switch in and immediately get Hail up and you can't change the weather, watch out for Froslass coming up.

Its Blizzard, in Hail has a 100 Accuracy and also a chance of Freezing. Do not underestimate its Blizzard, or you'll regret it. Besides Blizzard, it also has a STAB Shadow Ball and also Psychic, which is also nothing to laugh at.

Just remember to pack a Fire type when facing Candice :)

Sunyshore City Gym
Volkner's not easy to beat. Besides having strong STAB Electric attacks, Luxray has access to Ice Fang, Raichu has Ice Punch if I remember correctly while Electivire also has access to Ice Punch. You need to beware even if you are using Garchomp, because if it's under-leveled, Electivire and Raichu will most likely outspeed and OHKO it with Ice Punch.

If Garchomp's is about 5 levels higher than Electivire and Raichu, considering a Neutral Nature(Hardy, Docile, Serious, Bashful, Quirky), it can outspeed Electivire comfortably and outright KO with a STAB Earthquake.

Also, beware of Jolteon's raw speed. Luxray is also not easy to take down. Garchomp's level needs to be higher than Jolteon if you even want to outspeed it.

ゼクロム1066さん
 
64
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15
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DPPt: I didn't really struggle against any gym leaders.. the hardest would had to be Gardiner or whatever she's called.
HGSS: Clair because of dragon types or Whitney.. her painful Miltank.
 
6
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11
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Volkner was the hardest for me. I usually pick Chimchar at the beginning, but this time I wanted to go with Turtwig and see what I could do. Everything fine until I fought Volkner. I had no idea his Pokémon had Ice-type moves, so he caught my Torterra off guard. If you're going to fight him, make your one of your Pokémon isn't weak to Electric- or Ice-type moves and knows a Ground-type move. Really recommended.
 
376
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10
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I've only played Soul Silver from this gen, and because I'd played GSC when I was younger, I half knew what to expect. That being said... Whitney will always cause problems for me. Miltank always has been, and always will be very annoying to take care of, if you don't go in smartly. Clair was another really tough trainer, and certainly a fight worth bragging about.

I think for me though, I had a TON of trouble facing Chuck. It's been so long since I've went through getting badges, but I just remember getting rocked, and rocked, and rocked by him... I don't exactly remember why or what caused it, but I certainly remember multiple blackouts, trips to the PC, and that waterfall pouring down on his head...
 
2,724
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13
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Well while playing Platinum I never had any tough battles upto where I am while playing HeartGold , Whitney's Miltank was a frustration to battle while for that Morty I had to train my whole team upto Level 30 to beat his Gengar
 
13,600
Posts
15
Years
  • Age 31
  • Seen Dec 11, 2023
I don't believe that Sinnoh was really tough for me when it comes to Gym Battles. At least there is none but one battle that really stuck out to me as difficult. The toughest battle I had that I remember would be Volkner on my Platinum where I won only thanks to Toxic Spikes. But I don't remember how underleveled (I normally am by the eighth gym because ew grinding) I was though.

HGSS it really depended on my team. I just finished having a bit of trouble with Whitney my second time battling but it was due to ill luck. I don't really recall having any trouble with gyms on my SoulSilver though.
 

Cerberus87

Mega Houndoom, baby!
1,639
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11
Years
Candice was the only one who beat me, so my vote goes to her. She starts with Abomasnow, bringing hail to the field. You murder all her Pokémon, because they're easy to kill, then she sends out Froslass and, with help of Double Team hax, 100% accurate Blizzard and type coverage, she turns the battle around and kills you.
 
220
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13
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I know everyone exaggerates whitneys strength but that miltank really does get me every time. Another tough gym leader for me was always Watson of mauville.
 

Renegade

Time for real life...
995
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12
Years
Surprisingly enough, I never lost to a gym leader in any of the games. I usually just blow through them all with ease, but that confidence ends when I hit the Pokemon Leagues. I would say the toughest gym battle would be with Whitney because of that dang Miltank.
 
41,091
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17
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Clair is a huge pain in the behind in HGSS, oh my god. Definitely the hardest one I've fought (to date, even) since I'm struggling to beat her in HeartGold. None of the Sinnoh gym leaders gave me too much trouble bar Fantina once, but Clair is just horrible, haha.
 

*Icecold*

Bow down to Queen Meowstic
133
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10
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Many of the 4th generation gym leaders are only difficult because of their star Pokémon. Maylene's Lucario, Gardenia's Roserade, Fantina's Mismagius, Wake's Floatzel, Whitney's Miltank, Bugzy's Scyther, Falkner's Pidegeotto... They were all a pain.

Claire was also a real doozy. Had trouble defeating her.
 
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