It’s time to discover how to defeat All Kanto Gym Leaders In Pokemon Red, Blue, & Yellow!
Well, we’ll get to know them a little first, and then we’ll figure out how to crush them, ok?
Pokemon Red, Blue are the original Pokemon games for the Gameboy DMG. They’re the titles that started the whole series off and still two of the best Pokemon games of all time.
Anyone that knows their Pokemon games will also know that there usually tends to be an advanced version of the original games with new features that comes out too. In this case, that’s Pokemon Yellow!
The stories are the same in all three games, but the end gym leader battles change slightly depending on which Pokemon you picked or indeed if you’re playing Yellow instead of Red or Blue.
Listen, I’m going to crack on and let the article do the explaining for me. Get ready to find out how to defeat all Kanto gym leaders In Pokemon Red, Blue, & Yellow and become the ultimate Poke champ!
Table of Contents
1. Brock – Pewter City
- Type – Rock
- Badge – Boulder
- Pokemon used – Geodude, Onyx
With just two Pokemon to his name, Brock doesn’t put up as much of a fight as you might expect after watching him in the Anime series.
Still, depending on which starter Pokemon you choose, you might end up in hot water pretty quickly!
Water attacks are great against Rock type Pokemon, so Squirtle will make mincemeat out of both Geodude and Onyx.
Bulbasaur has a tougher time, but with Charmander being weak against Rock and Ground types and Pikachu weak against Ground attacks, Brock suddenly becomes a tough opponent despite his small team.
2. Misty, Cerulean City
- Type – Water
- Badge – Cascade
- Pokemon used – Staryu, Starmie
If you want to get the cascade badge, them you’ll need to beat Cerulean City’s gym leader, Misty.
We all know Misty from the TV show, and we’re all familiar with Staryu and Starmie too! And even though Misty only has two Pokemon, she’s much tougher to beat than Brock
Because Starmie is so quick, it’s going to be attacking you first every team. Obviously Charmander won’t fair well against either Pokemon, but even Pikachu, the Pokemon Yellow starter, won’t be able to take down Starmie on its own.
Squirtle or Wartortle might not be affected that much by the attacks, but it can t least take some health off.
Bulbasaur or Ivysaur can make a bigger dint, but the main thing to remember is that this certainly isn’t going to be easy!
3. Lt. Surge, Vermillion City
- Type – Electric
- Badge – Thunder Badge
- Pokemon used – Voltorb, Pikachu, Raiachu
I think it’s safe to say that Squirtle is going to have a bit of a terrible time in this gym…
Any of the other starters can fair pretty well against the electric barrage, bar Pikachu who will mainly have the same move sets as Surge’s Pokemon.
Your best bet is to either teach one of your Pokemon a Ground-type move or to use a Ground-type Pokemon at a reasonably high level to knock that smug smile of the Lieutenant’s face.
4. Erika, Celadon City
- Type – Grass
- Badge – Rainbow
- Pokemon used – Victreebel, Tangela, Vileplume
If you picked Charmander as your starter Pokemon, then you’re not really going to need to read the next section at all. Any Charmander or Charizard is going to sail through this gym.
Pika and Ivysaur or Venasaur aren’t going to have too much of a terrible time, but Wartortle or Blastoise are going to be crying shameful tears all down themselves.
Erika doesn’t prove that much of a challenge, but the fact that there are so many trainers inside means you’ll need to pack some potions in order to up your Pokemon’s HP as you progress.
5. Koga, Fuchsia City
- Type – Poison
- Badge – Soul
- Pokemon used – Koffing (x2), Weezing, Muk
Usually when players get to a halfway point in a game, the difficulty ramps up slightly. The Kanto gym leaders in Red, Blue, and Yellow, however, get insanely hard all of a sudden.
Not only that, but Poison gets added into the mix.
You’re going to need some antidotes for this section; Koga is a beast when it comes to poisoning your Pokemon and will always try to incapacitate them with Poison-type attacks.
Try to burn them with Charizard’s attacks and use any Ground attacks to show Koga who’s boss.
6. Sabrina, Saffron City
- Type – Psychic
- Badge – Marsh
- Pokemon used – Kadabra, Mr Mime, Venomoth, Alakazam
Of all the initial Kanto leaders in Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, Sabrina proves the biggest challenge. Maybe that’s just me, but her Alakazam is totally tough to beat and doesn’t go down without a fight!
All the starter Pokemon, Pika included, are going to have a bad time here. Unless you have some Bug, Dark, or Ghost-type Pokemon on your team, then you’re going to find this encounter difficult.
Seriously, that Alakazam is a pain in the behind. Keep some potions handy and stock up on revives too.
7. Blaine, Cinnabar Island
- Type – Fire
- Badge – Volcano
- Pokemon used – Growth, Ponyta, Rapidash, Arcanine
Suddenly, Blastoise is back to having a pretty easy time of it again. Anyone who picked Squirtle way back at the beginning of the game will be feeling pretty pleased with themselves right about now.
Venusaur is going to have a pretty terrible experience with Blaine, so don’t rely on it if you’re hoping to make an easy time of getting the Volcano badge.
Pika and Charizard won’t fair too badly, but it goes without saying that Water-type Pokemon are the way forward here. Keep some burn heals handy and make sure you’ve raised your Pokemon to a high level.
8. Giovani, Viridian City
- Type – Ground
- Badge – Earth
- Pokemon used – Ryhorn, Dugtrio, Nidoqueen, Nidoking, Rhydon
To say that Giovani is the last Pokemon trainer in Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, he’s pretty easy to beat.
I mean, let’s face it, you should have a pretty strong team now. And the best part is that all of his Pokemon are weak against water attacks.
That means that even Pika using surf can take him down pretty easily.
My advice; swap in more Water Pokemon than Fire or Grass for this battle.
The Elite Four, Indigo Plateau
Lorelei
- Type – Ice
- Pokemon used – Dewgong, Cloyster, Slowbro, Jinx, Lapras
Bruno
- Type – Fighting
- Pokemon used – Onyx (x2) Hitmonlee, Hitmonchamp, Machamp
Agatha
- Type – Ghost
- Pokemon used – Golbat, Haunter, Arbok, Gengar (x2)
Lance
- Type – Dragon
- Pokemon used – Gyrados, Dragonair (x2), Aerodactyl, Dragonite
The Elite Four aren’t named ‘Elite’ for nothing, but they aren’t impossible to beat.
Lorelei can be taken down pretty easily using Electric attacks, but your Pokemon will need to be of a pretty high level to be able to even contend with her attacks.
When it comes to Bruno, Water attacks are perfect against his two Onyxs, and Flying, Psychic, or Fairy attacks will take care of the rest.
For Agatha, it’s Ground, Psychic, or Electric attacks, and Electric attacks will work perfectly against most of Lance’s monsters. That’s good news for Pokemon Yellow owners!
The only exception to Lance’s team is Dragonite. If you’ve picked up Articuno, get an Ice Beam on the go and take it down!
The Champion
Pokemon Used in Red & Blue
- Player picks Bulbasaur as starter – Pidgeot, Alakazam, Rhydon, Exeggutor, Gyrados, Charizard
- Player picks Charmader as starter – Pidgeot, Alakazam, Rhydon, Arcanine, Exeggutor, Blastoise
- Player picks Squirtle as starter – Pidgeot, Alakazam, Rhydon, Gyrados, Arcanine, Venosaur
Pokemon Used In Yellow
- Player loses against rival after the battle in Oak’s lab – Sandslash, Alakazam, Exeggutor Magneton, Ninetales, Vaporeon
- Player beats rival after the battle in Oak’s lab but either loses or skips battle on Route 22 – Sandslash, Alakazam, Exeggutor , Cloyster , Magneton, Flareon
- Player beats rival in both matches – Sandslash, Alakazam, Exeggutor , Ninetales, Cloyster , Jolteon
By this point, you should have created a team that is incredibly strong and skilled in all areas. Above, you’ll see the different iterations of the Champion’s team depending on which game you have and which starter you picked or the way you played the game.
Using your knowledge from the rest of this article, you’ll be able to see which Pokemon will work best for each team order and plan accordingly.
Just do yourself a favour and make sure that your team is incredibly high levelled. Make sure you have healing potions and revives galore and go for glory. TAKE NO PRISONERS!
And that’s time!
Thanks for checking out this article on all Kanto gym leaders from Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow. Tackling the gym leaders should be a doddle now!
Now that you know all about the gym leaders, why not check out our all article on All Pokemon Games In Order!
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