gym leaders in D/P

[pokemonfan]

Ok, I was just thinking back to the differences between D/P and Pt and realized that there is such a difference in the gyms. In diamond and pearl I believe they were a lot weaker!

Take a look at the first gym...

Geodude and Onix are both at level 12 and they are the exact same types and share the same weakness, grass! I say grass just incase you chose the fire type starter this might be difficult. However, they are all weak against fighting type moves so a mach punch from monferno will crush them all. The highest there is a level 14 cranidos which shares the same weakness as its fellow combatants. Although this is the same as the gym in platinum I still think it is weak because the weakness is obvious and with a little training up to about level ten with a grass type, (chimchar evolve it) you can easily beat this gym. Could the creators at least find a way to make it difficult? The stealth rock signature attack wouldn't matter because you wouldn't have to switch out because you can sweep through this gym.

My Luxio went in level 15, came out level 17 and beat the entire gym single handily! A luxio! That was in my pokemon pearl version. Are gyms supposed to be weak or what because this gym is weak.

The second gym although it remains the same besides its design in platinum I think it is similar to the first gym, easy to beat. Its weakness being fire and flying type pokemon makes it a sinch to defeat. There is the starly you can catch in the beginning of the game and if you come in knowing wing attack or aerial ace your bound to sweep. Dont forget both dustox and beautifly learn gust, a flying type move, at an early level. Plus there is ponyta (in case you didn't choose the fire starter) Ponyta learns a fire type attack, ember, at level 16 at least in diamond and pearl. In platinum it learns flamewheel an even more powerful attack at level 15! Ember is learned back at level 10 in platinum. It is fairly simple to get a ponyta so why one wouldn't is beyond me.

Then there is a big factor when it comes to taking on the gym without training, drifloon. You can catch a level 22 drifloon in diamond and pearl at the valley windworks on fridays. Drifloon will know gust and at a level 22 it will be the same level as roserade the highest level pokemon that gardenia will use. Gust is flying type move which will be a STAB attack for drifloon (at that level its pretty decent) so it should be a pretty decent sweep of that gym. Overall yet another easy gym.

Then with the third gym...it gets different. In D/P its maylene in Pt. Its Fantina, the ghost trainer. This is what I think makes the gym leaders in platinum tougher because fantina was fought earlier. Maylene can be a very easy sweep, especially with a drifloon that knows gust. Drifloon will be immune to the fighting type moves of the foes and the ground type move of lucario, bone rush, the only thing drifloon will have to worry about is metal claw. However, a powerful gust can easily clean up. Plus with all the psychic pokemon you can catch like abra, (and get via trade) chingling, and meditite with those knowing some psychic type moves you wont have to worry about drifloon fainting because if the other two pokemon that didn't know metal claw are out then if drifloon does faint the psychic types can clean up. Plus dustox can learn confusion early on.

Fantina on the other hand might prove to be more difficult because of the lack of dark types available but there are the ghost types like ROTOM which can be caught before the national dex and platinum. Plus there is drifloon again rearing his head. Dont forget the ever gassy gastly and evolved co.

The 4th gym, crasher wake, (at least in d/p) can easily be beaten with the plethora of grass types and the electric types such as pachirisu and shinx + evolved forms. Annoyingly enough if you put all your effort into infernape then the grass type move, grass knot, that you got from gardenia will work great with infernape and crasher wake will fall faster then an elephant. Being that all of his water types are heavy grass knot will be really super effective on them.

I do have to comment on the levels of crasher's pokemon in D/P. They are the exact same as maylene's! 27, 27, then 30. I mean at this point, because I've been training a lot. My highest pokemon in my restarted pearl version is drifblim (no surprise being that I'm obsessed with drifloon/and kind of the drifblim.) and Drifblim is a level 40 and I haven't even challenged maylene yet or gotten to veilstone because I've been training. Looking onward the next 4 I'm going to have a level advantage over! That's if I dont level up drifblim from now till I battle byron. I'm going to level him up because he's going to be in my gym battles before hand I'm still going to train. The ghost gym can easily be brought down with ghost type team. Like my gengar and drifblim are currently higher then fantina's and mismagius shares the same level with her mismagius. Its going to be a peace of cake making it through. By then I'll have a major level advantage over byron and the rest of the gyms.

Byron can easily be brought down by the flames of rapidash/infernape and the ground power of graveler/golem. Byron's top level pokemon is a level 39 with his bastiodon. That's only 9 levels higher then lucario and floatzel maylene and crasher's best pokemon. Plus all that training you do on the way with a type advantage too you can easily destroy that gym.

Then the 7th gym is going to burn to the ground by the power of rapidash/infernape. Other pokemon would be good to. The only problem might be medicham but throw in a ghost type or a dark type and lets see what happens to that psychic warrior. A sneasel caught up in snow point knowing a dark type move can bring down medicham and then flames will burn through the snow and grass that is the snowpoint gym. The hardest part of that gym may very well be the puzzle.

The 8th gym. Wow, send in ground types and your done basically.

I think the gyms are incredibly weak and can easily be destroyed. They should be harder so someone who took complete advantage of the gyms weaknesses doesn't get to the elite four and then they get creamed because their highest level pokemon is like in the 50s because that's all it took to beat the gyms. Maybe I train my pokemon to much when I dont need to at this point...I dont know what it is but I think the gyms are too weak. Are they meant to be weak because it sure didn't help me the first time through when I came up to the elite four. My pokemon were so under leveled because that's all it took for the gyms. The elites creamed me until I finally got my pokemon up to speed and then even with that it was a close match.

Does anyone else see this. What do you think of this? I'm wondering if the gyms are supposed to be weak? So what do you think?

[wraith89]

. . .

It's in-game. Of course it's supposed to be easy. But no, not always. You may THINK it's easy, but some people have trouble. And what do you expect from in-game anyways? Most people play for what comes AFTER the in-game stuff: competitive battling!

I had trouble with the 7th gym though. I was only left with Vaporeon and Empoleon standing.

[pokemonfan]

My first time through in pearl, it was my first pokemon game so dont judge me I knew NOTHING, I evolved my prinplup into an empoleon just to beat gardenia! I had an empoleon to beat gardenia. I didn't even know grass was better then water back then. I LOL at myself all the time for that. I'm pretty sure though that after now the rest of the gyms with my awesome drifloon, infernape, gengar, mismagius, cherrim, ambipom, combee (I traded it to platinum and taught it some good moves so I'm hoping that it will serve me well. Its just to cute!) and eventually heracross I'm going to destroy the gyms and the elite four! I've always had to redo the elite four, but not this time. That's my goal sort of. For some reason I always get pushed back by that stupid garchomp! I cant stand that thing.

I guess we all struggle with some gyms but really if you look at it we shouldn't struggle with them at all.

[wraith89]

So your point is? You're saying at one point it's easy and at the other point you're saying it's difficult and is challenging. So... which is it?

[pokemonfan]

Its easy! The only reason I had trouble with the gyms was because I knew NOTHING about pokemon. My first ever pokemon game was pokemon pearl and I knew squat about type advantages and disadvantages. Once you know the rest is training and then the gym leaders are a peace of cake. It took me a while to respond....I'm working on a balloon gimmick competitive team. I love the floons!

[HottSushiz]

Do remember that Pokemon is aimed at a much younger audience for in-game, so of course it's suppose to be easy, so that Nintendo/Gamefreak won't be destroyed by overly frustrated kids.

[pokemonfan]

That may be so, but dont you think its a bit too easy?

[chycorita]

I hated the e 4. I wanted to win in one go, so I kept on restarting it...

[Endless Eden]

The only one that gave me a bit of trouble was...Fatina!Really you had no good advantage over her because of the lack of super effective hits at that point.

The E4 was alright the champ was the only one that gave me any trouble and again i had a lack of super effective attacks but i won in the end.It was very close though.

[pokemonfan]

Fantina can give trouble because there is a lacking in dark types to defend against the psychic and ghost type attacks but if you out level her (which you should) you can easily bring her down.

[FLOOTENKERP]

I thought the last gym was a little tough. Then again I only had grass types, but I won! But the gyms were okay.

[wraith89]

Sigh... PF... you really underestimate these Gym Leaders. Fantina was tough... definitely. So was Candice. Even if I knew about their weaknesses and whatnot, they were still tough. Not to mention that Bronzong from Lucian STILL gives you trouble. They're challenging enough. If you want to bash easy gym leaders, look at G/S/C (excluding Whitney's Miltank and Morty's Gengar, but aside from that... the whole thing was easy).

[pokemonfan]

??? I'm not talking about the elite 4 those guys are tough. I dont know wraith89...I still think its going to be a snap.

[wraith89]

Well, then. Try picking someone NOT named Chimchar. Good luck...

And Pachirisu and Luxray are not good. >.>

[pokemonfan]

I still think it would be easy! Luxray...if you told that to my friend he'd blow up on you...luxray and pachirisu would be enough to get you past the water gym if they were trained enough. Dont forget there is the grass types like cherrim, roserade, and burmy (evos too) That's enough to bring it down. Plus ice types too for that because of how both gyarados and quagsire would be weak against it. Then the first gym would fall easily to any of the starters and grass has so many weaknesses. There are a plethora of flying and psychic type pokemon to beat maylene plus it never hurts to have your water starter thrown in the mix. I mean ash beat lucario with his buizel (although that is the anime) Then I talked about wake (for some reason first I dont know why?) fantina will just have to be hit with dark type moves or catch a spiritomb. If you're playing diamond catch a murkrow and evolve it. Plus fantina is weak against ghost types as well. I can see why it would be a challenge but not much even with out the flaming ape on your side. Byron and Candice should both fall to the flames of rapidash and watery powers of gyarados/tentacruel/empoleon. Plus dont forget the ground powers of torterra or other ground types. You can easily do it without the ape of flames.

For the record my luxio took down the first gym single handidly and it had the type disadvantage they should've destroyed him. He was only 3 levels higher then cranidos. He took down the two trainers before roark and then roark all by himself with no items or the use of a pokemon center. And luxray is bad? I can understand pachirisu but luxray?

[wraith89]

"If trained enough" is the key word. Pachirisu still blows, but Luxray has a chance, I guess. But they're still not that great.

Gyarados and Quagsire are NOT weak to Ice. And you don't find much Ice Pokemon to begin with then. Crasher Wake wasn't too easy though... that Gyarados was annoying for me since I didn't have an electric user aside from my low leveled Gastly which I taught Thunderbolt to.

I used Roserade... she got me through the game so much

Fantina's weak to Ghost but your Ghost pokemon are also weak to Ghost... 'tis a shame.

Believe me, it's more of a challenge than you think. But if you find it so easy... then join me in the world of competitive Pokemon and show you how hard it really is

[pokemonfan]

That's competitive play wraith89 but I'm working on it. Its one of my goals, but for now I have to beat pearl again I still think its going to be easy. How come they're not weak towards ice? Aren't ground and flying type pokemon weak against ice?

[wraith89]

Quagsire and Gyarados are part Water, which resist Ice. Therefore, Ice is neutral against them. Both of them do have W4s though, which I won't deny. Gyarados hates Electricity the most (he also has a Rock weakness) and Quagsire has a W4 to Grass, but is immune to Electricity.

[pokemonfan]

I know that, those two are the water resisters of generation 4. Quagsire resists electricity while enhancing his weakness to grass and gyarados resists grass while enhancing his weakness to electricity. Then we have the fastzel with normal weaknesses and resistance so a grass and electric pokemon duo could defeat wake.

[wraith89]

Gyarados does NOT resist Grass. Grass is neutral on Gyarados. And Floatzel's a monster >.>

[pokemonfan]

He does to resist it! He makes it neutral it would've been super effective if it wasn't for the flying side. I know that its neutral but he does resist it to make it neutral...that's what I meant. So wraith89 how do you do it. It says that 2 members are viewing the thread but only shows my name.

[wraith89]

Resist means 1/2x. Grass is 1x against Gyarados meaning NEUTRAL >.>

Sigh, PF, you need to learn type advantage/disadvantage too.

[pokemonfan]

NO! Ugh, well maybe a little, but what I meant by resist means it lowers it down to neutral instead of x2 like it usually is. Its still a valuable thing to have on a water type...besides the stupid steel type addition to empoleon...who wants a water type that makes fire attacks neutral or weak against ground types which it is superior too? What up with that?

[wraith89]

I hate how they did that to Empoleon, but it still has those juicy 10 resistances and 1 immunity. However, its weaknesses to three COMMON types are just annoying. Dragon resistance, though, helps a LOT... and that penguin can sweep if you play him right. He's a late game sweeper.

And use these terminologies then:

Neutral = 1x effective

Resist = 1/2x or 1/4x

Weak to = 2x or 4x (specifically, 4x is W4)

Immune = 0x

[pokemonfan]

Proper terminology...what is this school? Oh wait...I've always dreamed about a pokemon school. Ok time to test out what I've learned...

Empoleon is attacked by fire is the attack

1x effective

1/2x effective or...

4x effective

Answer: 1x effective

Ground is 2x effective as the same for grass and electric. How could they make empoleon more vulnerable to fire? How could they? How could they *cries* ok...then ground...how could they? Water owns ground? Why do they do this? Why why why? Sinnoh starter evos are messed up...

Now water can do damage to grass

Grass (you got me there)

Fire can do more damage to water

What is wrong! Oh yeah...everything. How can they do this to the starters. Plus they have to go degrade landscape over there by not adding a type to the uberinferno which would allow grass to hurt fire. Although ground makes it more resistant to fire right?