How to Beat the Gym Leaders in Pokémon Emerald, Ruby or Sapphire

Last Updated: January 31, 2023 References

Do you want to know how to defeat the gyms in Pokémon Emerald, Ruby, or Sapphire? This article will take you through each gym and will provide step-by-step instruction to beating those gym leaders.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Building The Best Team

1
Level up your Pokémon to get the best stats possible. By the end of the game, you should have most of your Pokémon near level 50. Check out the levels of each gym leader below to see where you should be -- you want most of your party of 6 Pokémon to be at or above the level of the gym leaders to be assured of victory.
2
Be diverse with your party. Build your party with dual-type Pokémon. A dual-type is a Pokémon with two primary types like Magneton, who is Electric and Steel Type, rather than just one type like Pikachu, who is only electric type. When you use dual-type Pokémon, they have the ability to learn two or more different types of moves. The more dual type Pokémon you have, the more move types you have under your belt.
- You want to cover your weaknesses. If you are wondering what Pokémon are strong/weak against other types, check out this comprehensive chart.
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3
Make sure you have a Pokémon who knows a move that would be considered super effective against the gym leader's primary type of Pokémon. For example, you would want to use water or grass type moves against a rock type gym leader like Roxanne.
4
Understand STAB bonuses. Make sure that the Pokémon you use is the same type as the move you want to use. This makes your move 25% more effective. For example, a water type move done with a water type Pokémon is more effective against rock than a grass type Pokémon using that same water type move, if it can even be learned.^{[1]
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5
Keep an eye on items. Throughout the game, you should be collecting items, whether as part of scripted events or by scavenging stray Poké Balls. Certain items can be given to Pokémon to increase certain attributes or to help in battle. Try and have all of your Pokémon holding a helpful item.
- You'll need to purchase several potions and revives at the Poké Mart. It's best to be smart about whether to use regular, super, hyper, or max potions depending on how much money you have and what each of your Pokémons' max hp's are. These helpful items can give you that extra edge during battle.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Beating Each Gym

1
Breeze by the Rock-type Gym with 3-4 Pokemon. The first gym is the easiest to get past and a few Pokémon trained up to level 15 or higher should be enough to beat Roxanne. If you started with a fire-type Pokémon, you may need to train your other Pokémon extra hard.
- Rock types are weak to Grass, Water, Ground, Steel and Fighting.
- Rock types are strong to Flying, Bug, Fire and Ice, so avoid using these Pokémon when possible.^{[3]
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2
Use your starter to whip through the Fighting Gym. You want Pokémon around level 20, likely 3-4 of them.
- Fighting types are weak to Flying and Psychic.
- They are strong against Dark, Ice, Steel, Rock and Normal Pokémon .
3
Get "grounded" to beat the Electric Type Gym. Train your Pokémon enough to handle Wattson's level 23 Magneton, and you'll be okay. You need to make sure, however, that you aren't relying on flying or water types, which will be quickly disposed of.
- Electric types are weak to Ground (Ground is immune to Electric)
- They are strong against Water and Flying.
4
Get a good water type to blow by the Fire gym. Any Water, Ground, or Rock Type move will work well. Fire Pokémon have a variety of weaknesses that are easily covered by common Pokémon, but a water Pokémon is usually your best bet. Your Pokémon should be able to fight against level 26-28 Pokemon.
- Fire types are weak to Water, Ground and Rock.
- They are strong against Bug, Grass, Ice and Steel.
5
Use any Pokémon to beat the Normal Type Gym. Use almost any of your moves for this gym, since they all hit neutrally with very few exceptions. Norman, the gym leader, has three Pokemon, the strongest of which is only level 31.
- Normal types are weak to Fighting but immune to Ghost attacks.^{[4]
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6
Blow by Winona's Flying gym with a variety of Pokémon. All of the Pokémon you fight here are around level 30, so make sure your team matches that. With a balanced team, flying Pokémon are a cinch.
- Flying types are weak to Electric, Rock and Ice.
- They are strong to Bug, Grass and Fighting and immune to Ground.^{[5]
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7
Use a strong, balanced team to get by the Psychic team. Some of the best Pokémon in the game are Psychic, and they don't have many weaknesses. That said, a solid team above level 40-45 will handle the battle easily.
- Psychic types are weak to Dark (doesn't effect), Bug and Ghost.
- They are strong against Fighting and Poison.
8
Avoid using fire, ground, or rock Pokémon to crush the final Water Gym. By now, you should have a strong, well balanced team that can get through the Water Gym. If you've got a solid electric Pokémon, like Raichu, you can usually get by with very few others. You will be fighting Pokémon from level 40-43.
- Water types are weak to Electric and Grass
- They are strong against Fire, Ground and Rock.^{[6]
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Community Q&A

Question

When I have lost to a gym leader, how can I try again?

Lugia2453

Top Answerer

Just go back to the gym and talk to the gym leader again. You can retry as many times as you need to until you win.
Question

I lost to the Psychic Gym once, in Emerald. What level should I train my Pokémon to now?

Community Answer

Around 43-35 is good. The move surf can easily beat Solrock and Lunatone. Use a very strong move like hyper beam to take down Xatu as that Pokemon is hard to beat.

Warnings

Not all of these moves will work to defeat the other Pokémon. If not, use common logic to find out the best moves to use. E.g., Water beats Fire. If you can't figure it out, consult a type chart.

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