Pokémon Scarlet & Violet takes a slightly different approach to the classic gym challenge. Paldea’s gyms are scattered across its open world. However, it should be noted that gym leaders do not scale in level. Scarlet & Violet use intimidating enemies to gate player progression, keeping low-level trainers away from high-level areas.
While the player can technically take them on in any order, certain gym leaders are literally much tougher than others. Therefore, the question must be asked: which gym leaders are the strongest? Fear not; here’s the answer to your question.
8/8 Katy, the Bug Gym Leader (Cortondo Gym)
When mousing over Katy on the map of Paldea, it’s suggested that she would be a good first stop on the gym challenge. This suggestion is more than fair. Overall, Katy’s Pokémon are the lowest-leveled of any gym leader. Her Nymble and Tarountula are each Lv. 14, while her Teddiursa is Lv. 15.
In terms of strategy, Bug is one of the weakest types in the game. It’s hit super-effectively by Fire-, Flying-, Poison-, and Rock-type damage. As pure Bug-types, none of Katy’s Pokémon have any defenses against these types. Fuecoco and Fletchinder are both great choices for overcoming her.
7/8 Brassius, the Grass Gym Leader (Artazon Gym)
Brassius is also marked as a good first stop on the gym challenge. While he is slightly tougher (especially if the player selected Quaxly as their starter), he’s certainly comparable to Katy. His Petilil and Smoliv are both Lv. 16. Meanwhile, his Sudowoodo clocks in at Lv. 17.
All around, Grass can be a troublesome type. Like Bug, it has many weaknesses. Although Grass-types often have interesting tricks and strategies to make up for this, they still struggle against heavy offensives. Fletchinder works just as well here as it does in Cortondo Gym. Wooper is another fun option, thanks to its regional Poison typing.
6/8 Iono, the Electric Gym Leader (Levincia Gym)
After defeating Katy and/or Brassius, the player must make their way through some Team Starbases to unlock Paldea’s second “tier” of Gym leaders. These are Iono and Kofu; Electric- and Water-type Gym leaders, respectively. Of the two, Iono is actually much weaker.
Iono has four Pokémon—Wattrel, Belibolt, Luxio, and Mismagius. All of them are Lv. 23, except Mismagius, who’s Lv. 24. As far as typing goes, her Wattrel can be a bit troublesome. Electric has only one weakness: Ground, which is negated by Wattrel’s secondary Flying type. Thankfully, Wattrel isn’t so tough, and we still recommend Ground-types for this Gym — Hippowdon and Clodsire are both great choices.
5/8 Kofu, the Water Gym Leader (Cascarrafa Gym)
There’s a pretty big jump between Iono, whose Pokémon are close to Lv. 20, and Kofu, whose Pokémon are close to Lv. 30. Those who choose to take on Kofu before Iono (as we did in our first playthrough) might be in for a world of hurt.
Kofu opens up with a Veluza. This terrifying Water/Psychic type is armed with a bevy of powerful attacks, though a Psychic move is absent. Notably, Veluza has the Mold Breaker ability. This means the Water Absorb ability, which would normally be a godsend, is useless against it. Veluza is Lv. 29, as is Kofu’s Wugtrio. His Crabominable is Lv. 30, and its move Crabhammer is simply devastating. For this fight, we highly recommend Electric-types such as Bellibolt and Grass-types like Floragato or Dolliv.
4/8 Larry, the Normal Gym Leader (Medali Gym)
In our hearts, Larry is the number one gym leader. Despite Pokémon’s minimal characterization, the Exceptional Everyman sticks out as genuinely likable. In terms of the gym challenge, he’s right in the middle, a perfectly average place to be.
Larry clocks in with Lv. 35 Komala, Lv. 35 Dudunsparce, and Lv. 36 Starraptor. His fight is relatively straightforward. Komala’s Yawn can toss a wrench in things by inflicting sleep, while Dudunsparce’s Glare can inflict paralysis. Otherwise, it’s just a matter of doing enough damage to take them out. Starraptor’s Tera form removes its Flying type, making it weak to Fighting-type damage. We highly recommend Annihilape for this fight; its Ghost typing negates many of Larry’s options. However, any Fighting-type is a solid choice.
3/8 Ryme, the Ghost Gym Leader (Montenerva Gym)
Next up, we have Ryme, the Ghost-type gym leader whose main hobby seems to be hosting rap battles on the side of a freezing cold mountain. Ryme’s Pokémon are all around Lv. 41, making her a good logical next step after taking on Larry. In the transition, it’s important to keep in mind that Fighting-type moves will be useless against Ryme — Ghost- and Dark-type moves will be your friends here. We recommend the Pokémon Mabosstiff, a very solid new Dark-type. Watch out, though; while Ryme’s Mimikyu lacks Fairy-type moves, her Houndstone can hit Dark-types super effectively with Play Rough.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that Ryme is a double battler. This can present a slight challenge, especially for teams that use hit-all moves like Earthquake, Discharge, or Surf.
2/8 Tulip, the Psychic Gym Leader (Alfornada Gym)
With most of her Pokémon at Lv. 44, Tulip is the most logical choice for a penultimate stop on the gym challenge. Specializing in Psychic-type Pokémon, her team has surprisingly good coverage and decent defensive typing.
Tulip has a Farigiraf, a Gardevoir, an Espathra, and a Florges. Her Gardevoir can be a surprising threat with its secondary Fairy typing, as Dazzling Gleam can super-effectively hit Dark-types that come up against it. Her Espathra, too, can surprise Dark- and Ghost-types with a super-effective Shadow Ball. We recommend using a Ghost-type like Skeledirge or Houndstone until Espathra comes out.
1/8 Grusha, the Ice Gym Leader (Glaseado Gym)
On paper, Grusha is Paldea’s toughest Gym leader, with most of his Pokémon at Lv. 47. In practice, Grusha’s questionable selection of the Ice type leaves them highly vulnerable to Fire- and Fighting-type damage. Given the abundance of offensive Fire- and Fighting-type moves, this fight shouldn’t pose much of a problem.
Grusha has a Frosmoth, a Beartic, a Cetitan, and an Altaria. His Frosmoth’s secondary Bug typing gives it some defense against Fighting-type damage. Meanwhile, his Cetitan’s Thick Fat ability actually halves Fire-type damage. These resistances give Grusha some much-needed help, but ultimately, an offensive onslaught should take him out. We highly recommend Annihilape for this fight, although any Fire- or Fighting-type Pokémon will be helpful.
