Trainers, in another piece, we went over how to defeat Brock and Misty, the most iconic Kanto gym leaders. However, that leaves 6 other gym leaders to square off against. In this piece, we’ll be going over Surge and Erika, the 3rd and 4th gym leaders, respectively.
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Lt. Surge presides over the Electric-type gym in Vermillion City (along with the master of the most irritating gym puzzle in Kanto history). His Pokémon seem scary, but if players come prepared, he will not be an issue.
Read More: Brock and Misty- How to Beat in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen
Lt. Surge has 3 Pokémon on his team:
Voltorb
Type: Electric
Level: 21
Ability: Soundproof: Avoids sound-based moves (Supersonic, Sing, etc;)
Moves: Shock Wave, Tackle, Screech, Sonic Boom
Pikachu
Type: Electric
Gender: Male
Level: 18
Ability: Static: Small percentage to paralyze opponents on contact
Moves: Shock Wave, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team
Raichu
Type: Electric
Gender: Male
Level: 24
Ability: Static
Moves: Shock Wave, Thunder Wave, Quick Attack, Double Team
Key Points:
Despite Surge’s team being fast, they are frail. Strong attacks (either physical or special) will do the job
Surge has 1 Super Potion and a Full Heal to use on any of his team members
Diglett’s Cave is located right next to Vermillion City. Getting a Diglett or Dugtrio will provide players with a ground type to perform super effective damage to Surge’s team.
Bench Squirtle for this fight. It will not do well.
Ivysaur will help immensely due to electric resistance, and Charmeleon can learn Dig, giving it an advantage if trained to a level that allows it to outspeed Surge.
That’s kind of it for here. Surge is cool, but not that intimidating if players prepare well.
The gym leader of Celadon City, Erika specializes in Grass-type Pokémon and will give Charizard line fans the field day they deserve after being disrespected by Misty and Brock. Definitely sturdier than Surge, Erika has a bit more of an intimidating loadout. Her team is listed below:
Victreebel
Type: Grass/Poison
Gender: Female
Level: 29
Ability: Chlorophyll: Raises Speed in sunshine
Moves: Stun Spore, Acid, PoisonPowder, Giga Drain
Tangela
Type: Grass
Gender: Female
Level: 24
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moves: Poison Powder, Constrict, Ingrain, Giga Drain
Vileplume
Type: Grass/Poison
Gender: Female
Level: 24
Ability: Chlorophyll
Moves: Sleep Powder, Acid, Stun Spore, Giga Drain
Key Points:
Erika’s team excels at status effect variety
Erika has 1 Hyper Potion and a Full Heal to use on any of his team members
Giga Drain allows Erika’s team to drain your health while restoring theirs.
Players that have Charizard as a starter can run wild and burn her team to a crisp.
Psychic types like Kadabra and Hypno can exploit weaknesses granted to them by the poison typing.
Venusaur and Blastoise will not help here at all.
Flying types are also a good call and getting Fly before this gym battle will allow players to buy 1 turn of immunity.
The challenge of the game dips a bit with Surge, but picks right back up again with Erika. Both gym leaders only slightly harder to take down than Brock and Misty though. Keep strong and have fun trainers!
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