Top 10 Hardest Gym Leaders

The top 10 most difficult gym leader battles across all of main series Pokemon
Go to buyraycon.com/... for 20% off your order, plus free shipping! Brought to you by Raycon.
📽️Subscribe here! bit.ly/mandjtv_sub
👕Merch store! mandjtvmerch.com/
🎮Gameplay Channel MandJTV Plays! bit.ly/mandjtv_...
💸Patreon for exclusive videos! / johnmichaelandco
📱 TikTok! bit.ly/mandjtv_...
📸Instagram! bit.ly/mandjtv_...
👽Reddit! bit.ly/mandjtv_...
Pokemon videos about new Pokemon games, retro Pokemon games, or just Pokemon in general!
Edited by KeeLoker! / keeloker
Mytey subscribe animation by Spoody: / @_judepayne_
#Pokemon

[@MandJTV]

Go to buyraycon.com/mandjtv for 20% off your order, plus free shipping! Brought to you by Raycon.

[@Kea984]

Hi

[@lorelaimorace-kk1xz]

oh i heard of that earbuds YOOOOOO

[@TheNico2000]

10:28

[@ProjectEAUX]

14 minutes ago

[@playersnake]

Please continue the Pokémon types then vs now series

[@Qahnaarin-xp6dz]

My favorite Whitney memory. "Ill bring the machop for security." 1st turn clefairy used metronome, metronome used aeroblast. Muscle fainted. 😂

[@SangsangaHlawndo-xb5yc]

Aeroblast?Damn.Did you win though?

[@ohhReina]

I had an Oddish go up against Clefairy once-it got Sacred Fire out of Metronome. 😐😐😐

[@mamamia5905]

@@ohhReinaoh my God that same thing happened to me lmaooo

[@kenthuang436]

I fought her Clefairy in HG once and it used a Metronome Psycho Boost on Muscle.

[@legthieff]

If you think whitney is easy, play the game Pokérogue, a web-based version of a pokemon RPG, it’s really fun, just google “Pokerogue” it appears instantly. She is horrible to fight. She has a clefable with a healing move and insane bulk, her miltank has extremely high stats. I paralysed her miltank and she just switched out and i died. I hate her and unless i have a fighting, rock or ghost type, i just accept that the run’s lost. And if you think i’m just bad at the game, play it yourself, any gym leader is quite difficult. Even easy gym leaders like larry are quite difficult, and hard gym leaders? Yikes.

[@otdtyh]

I haven't played Pokemon in YEARS, and as soon as this video popped up I whispered, "Miltank." and remembered how I actually shed tears over this battle.

[@markp4046]

First thing I remember was whoever had Milank 😭😭😭

[@Doomview]

I did the same for Gardenia because no matter what, she screwed me over, even if I had a ponyta

[@vereornox701]

I don’t even remember Miltank. That’s how forgettable the gym battle was for me

[@tobiasnguyen2502]

I remember the fight vaguely but I can say that I was stressed fighting that miltank. No memory, but the emotion stayed.

[@atalantecorday8847]

that damn cow gives me PTSD

[@nightmare348]

Whitney and her cursed Miltank is what nightmares are made of

[@dankmctwist6575]

Yeah i’ve just started cheesing it tbh. I let her rollout get out on an onix since it can easily tank and spam screeches with onix, then switch to a heracross (or any fighting type, I just love hera) and one shot it😭

[@GabetheMagician_22]

I recently started to play pokémon soul silver for the first time, and she completly destroyed me in the first battle. I won the second time, but my luck with the other gym leaders isn't doing much better 🥲

[@deltadex7]

Glad I read the guide that told me to bring a Curse Gastly. I already have a tank in Bayleef and Rocky the NPC-traded Onix, and this battle would have turned to hell otherwise. I am pretty sure I had to 4v2 to beat her. Just make sure to get Clefairy out of the way first to ensure Miltank runs on borrowed time. Make sure your Gastly has enough HP to set up the Curse, since her dang speedy cow has Scrappy ability to hit the ghost even if your table says "ghost is immune to normal". EDIT: Get Muscle the female Machop to bypass Attract, it helps a lot EDIT 2: Those are all already in the video, so whatever

[@Historicutuber]

Yeah she’s awful

[@jeffreygao3956]

Nah, I just feast on her tears.

[@CookiehsAndDreams]

I now can't stop imagining an Arcanine running majestically, but then getting overtaken by a Miltank aggressively barreling past it like a bowling ball.

[@lln-pk2zs]

Then you go to Sinnoh, and find the same racers being overtaken by a Purugly for some reasons.

[@nickywal]

​@@lln-pk2zsnot going to lie, the first time I saw that alpha in legends I ran. Stupid Mars and her stupid cat

[@Grey_Warden_Invasion]

Imagining that made me laugh. 😂

[@alisonphillips1599]

LOL

[@flygonathome]

I was going to say Mikey is in his WatchMojo era now but the difference is Mikey knows what he's talking about

[@SeaweedBrainCabin3]

Lmao true

[@garvgupta3567]

This comment made my day.

[@aehrol46]

he's already done a lot of list videos before tho

[@Conduit_king]

Fr like they said that totk Ganondorf is THE hardest Zelda boss like I get it that he's kinda hard but HARDEST is a stretch

[@d04lvallier]

​@AMindnamedAdamlately? it was already bad and missinformative 10 years ago lmao

[@princessrosalina43]

Miltank: "They see me rolling, they hating" Everyone else: *raging*

[@Kyonvtuber]

Lmao perfect

[@alphagamer9505]

😂

[@AhmedHussain-ju6xd]

"They see me rolling, they hating" -Miltank

[@JordanMendoza-uh9ct]

We don’t talk about Miltank

[@flapthywings]

This needs to be more popular 😂

[@Necroverse19]

She wasn't even hard...

[@AhmedHussain-ju6xd]

@@Necroverse19 With prepararyion she's easy. Most people who didnt know her team or dont plan struggle with her. The machop trade and a female geodude. most people don't do in game trades and only use new pokemon introduced in a gen for their first run. miltanks stats, and attract can cancel the predominantly male starters makes it difficult to fight her

[@Ilikesceptile11]

​@@Necroverse19honestly I agree, she's more so frustrating than hard

[@HuskerNinja]

“If you need specific Pokémon to make a fight easy, then the fight isn’t easy.” PREACH

[@zeked4200]

Idk...I kinda disagree. By that logic, if you pick Charmander and need to catch a water/grass Pokémon to beat Brock...does that make him a tough fight? Kinda...but I think if only having one specific Pokémon allows you to sweep the fight...then that fight was pretty easy. If you need to assemble a whole crew with different types and coverages...that's a tough fight.

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

nah that doesn't work here, pokemon has type effectiveness for a reason

[@Jeikobu]

In line with Lenora, I literally have never had a problem with her, I just...use STAB moves to hit her hard.

[@Unison23]

@@zeked4200Brock is definitely hard if you didn’t start with Bulbasaur or Squirtle because you’d then need to catch a specific Pokémon to beat him consistently. You can still beat him with a Charmander tho

[@Redfork2000]

@@zeked4200 Brock's difficulty really depends on your starter. Brock is a pushover if you chose Squirtle or Bulbasaur, but if you chose Charmander, then he definitely is a hard fight. I say this as someone who picked Charmander as my first ever starter. I remember my Charmander evolved into Charmeleon before I could beat Brock. Brock is so early in the game that your options to deal with him are very limited unless you picked a starter that's good against him. So for people who chose the starters that are good against him, he's an easy fight, but for those like me that picked Charmander, he's definitely a hard fight. Compare this to say, Blaine. By the time you get to him, there's so many options at your disposal to deal with him. In fact, you can't even get to Blaine without a Pokémon that knows Surf, so by the time you get to him you already have a counter pretty much guaranteed. So I'd say Blaine is an easy fight. Regardless of what Pokémon you have on your team, you definitely have the means to beat him without much trouble. I think the principle to keep in mind is that each player will have a different team when they reach that gym leader, thus a fight is easy if most regular team compositions can handle it easily, but it's difficult if most team compositions you could have by that point of the game struggle with it. If it's a fight that's very hard unless you go out of your way to seek a specific counter, then it isn't really that easy. For example, when I'm playing in Kanto, I consider Lt. Surge to be pretty easy, so I don't really bother going out of my way to get a specific counter for him. I know that my team as it is will be perfectly capable of handling him without much issues, even if I don't have any Ground moves (Though you do get Dig before that, but it doesn't feel like a "necessity" to have to beat Lt. Surge without struggling). You could also get the specific counter the game offers you near the gym, a Diglett from Diglett's Cave, but it's still a pretty easy fight even without the counter. But then later on when the fight against Sabrina is up ahead, I feel compelled to specifically prepare for her fight in advance. On a regular playthrough, this means catching a Snorlax to serve as my counter. With its great bulk and physical attack, it's one of the best counters for Sabrina. While it is possible to beat Sabrina without a specific counter like Snorlax, it's definitely much harder to do so. While you could argue that I'd probably pick up a Snorlax anyway since it's such a good Pokémon, the point I'm trying to get at is that when you feel like you need to seek out a specific counter in order to make the fight easy, then the fight isn't easy. Is Sabrina easy if I can bring in a Snorlax and just body her physically frail Psychic types while tanking her attacks with Snorlax's great bulk? Sure, the fight was easy for me in that case because I prepared for it and had a specific Pokémon to mostly trivialize the fight, but that doesn't make it an easy fight in the general sense. It's still a challenging fight with most team compositions.

[@phil2921]

"Dragon, Dark, Fairy types are the strongest of all types" Normal-type Gym Leaders in this video: Hold my Silk Scarf

[@Silver_Sonic_23]

I misread the title as "hottest gym leaders," and looking at the thumbnail, that also works. Sabrina, Raihan, and Clair are all pretty hot.

[@rrb9233]

Lmao

[@lordvader1993ger]

Agreed, three of the best.

[@BisexualG00SE]

I mean, I agree

[@StormlordOG]

If Marnie counts, Then...

[@venomgaming7014]

*true*

[@verylostdoommarauder]

The fact that two Johto gym leaders are the only ones in the whole series to give you trouble with getting the badge is actually pretty funny.

[@bulbasaur15]

# 0001 I'd argue Jasmine to be on this list too. Yeah true enough she's not a sore loser like Whitney and Clair but the fact that you have to climb the lighthouse only to find out that she can't battle you because Ampharos needs medicine, then Surf across to Cianwood, get the medicine, Surf back (or Fly back via Chuck), climb the lighthouse AGAIN, and then finally give the medicine for Ampharos, to finally get the right to battle her! At least with Clair the Dragon's Den is just getting across some whirlpools and answering a few questions.

[@bibigamer502]

⁠@@bulbasaur15I mean with Jasmine what she has you do is out of actually caring for another living being with Clare it’s cause she’s upset she isn’t stopping trainers from getting to the Pokémon League

[@RodimusMinor1987]

​@@bulbasaur15 Jasmine is only difficult if you don't have super effective damage, I swept her with a Quagsire

[@jeffreygao3956]

@@bibigamer502 Plus, Jasmine's a lovely ballerina.

[@KugelBlitz0]

Arcanine: Runs across the land majestically Miltank: ROLLING AROUND AT THE SPEED OF SOUND

[@SogekingFirebirdStar]

I love that any time Mickey complains about Whitney and Clair throwing tantrums, he does so by throwing a tantrum himself.

[@voidtectonic]

I can imagine their gym trainers, actually cheering up and celebrating with the player when they win because it's so difficult, and that's why Whitney and Clair throw fits.

[@OldGreggIRL]

Mickle*

[@ShortXTee]

@@fenixrises9854*John Michael wingull

[@DarkEclipse23]

It comes with the territory it seems 😂

[@jeffreygao3956]

Just feast on her tears!

[@williamoconnell12]

As someone who wants to get into competitive pokemon, this video was really educational and taught me what “synergy” actually looks like in a battle. The gym teams are really well thought out when you’re not 15 levels ahead and spamming close combat and hydro pump to get through them.

[@BusinessSkrub]

If you're looking to get into competitive doubles (VGC), check out Wolfey and Cybertron if you haven't. Both amazing, renowned players with solid content and commentary.

[@prismatic_genesis_85]

Yeah you can say that.

[@F14thunderhawk]

its fairly obvious when youre doing non-overleveled runs that Unova and Paldea have the hardest gym challenges. Which is impressive because Unova's challenge comes primarily from lack of variety in the opportunities you have to construct teams until gym 7/8, where as Paldea lets you catch ANYTHING you need. Even then if youre intentionally cheesing gymleaders Paldea will throw brick walls at you outside of Katy one of the weakest gym leaders to ever exist.

[@aromanticfranziskavonkarma]

@@F14thunderhawk Oh huh, I was like 5 levels over all of them in my Violet run and it was so easy it was almost boring, maybe I should try... not doing that when I get around to Scarlet

[@mrbubbles6468]

‘Is the cow just rolling faster’ Yes. Wheel beats feet.

[@leafeon8956]

I thought the title said "hottest gym leaders" and I honestly didn't think it was too out of place

[@TheMonkeyKing4]

Same😅

[@Sammy_TD]

Mmm, yes, because I also think Raihan is sexy.....hey, wait a minute, he IS hot-

[@BrianStorm742]

That's easy. 10) Burgh, 9) Tulip, 8) Grant, 7) Milo, 6) Flannery, 5) Brock, 4) Winona, 3) Elesa, 2) Wallace, 1) Nessa

[@Sharde-xe1sn]

Dude it lead with candice are you alright

[@leafeon8956]

@@Sharde-xe1sn no, I'm dyslexic 👍

[@PedroHenrique-mk5zi]

Houndoom and Sneasel are the best counters to Froslass. -Resist Blizzard -Resist Shadow Ball -Immune to Psychic -Feint Attack always hits, bypassing Snow Cloak and Double Team, AND it's super-effective, AND it's Stab.

[@pokemonbb4227]

Cool

[@nevenpatrk9661]

Funny enough, that is exactly how I beat Candace in my Hardcore Nuzlocke of Platinum. I was shocked on how easy this fight was when I swept her team with just Houndoom and Infernape.

[@kipolem53]

Clemont's dang Heliolisk has Dry Skin so my water moves dont work on it, that is so not right.

[@devilrider39000000]

I would also recommend Umbreon, it gets access to stab feint attack and its incredibly bulky.

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

​@@kipolem53 why would you use a Water type mon in an Electric gym?

[@WesleyAPEX]

The jump from gen 2 to 3 absolutely was the biggest jump. Gen 3 is still the only game that lets you dive underwater…

[@spagootest2185]

bro never played gen 5

[@matedespot1480]

My thoughts exactly ​@@spagootest2185

[@courtney1496]

Uh, you can dive underwater at undella Bay in gen 5 🙃

[@Void_Echoes]

I deadass keep forgetting that “if it’s not 100% accurate it’s 50% accurate” was meant to be a joke because it genuinely feels true, especially in competitive

[@BusinessSkrub]

I missed 4 hurricanes in a row the other day, followed up by the opponent hitting 3 in hurricanes a row and getting 2 confusions. I cried

[@Jlaps941]

I’ll never forget Aaron Zheng’s Rotom missing 5 will-o-wisps in a row 😂

[@silver_was_found]

we love focus miss. and stone miss. and fire miss.

[@silver_was_found]

@@Jlaps941 will-o-miss :)

[@brodymuser2947]

Im telling you now, this thumbnail will change 😂

[@olin1034]

Will this age well?

[@elsiegreen2704]

😂

[@AaronWest-tt6kr]

True

[@bupendrakumaran4054]

Maybe

[@Not_Luke_5]

They always do 😂

[@Lilliaace]

All of us 1990s kids having Vietnam flashbacks to Whitney's milktank in gold-silver-crystal

[@BodaciousCNO]

Not my siblings and I Please don't speak for us

[@thunderstudent]

I bred a Charmander from my gen 1 Charizard and raised it to Charmeleon, just to fight Whitney. My Gen 2 Charizard exists solely because of Whitney. Although my rival must have been confused as to where the Hell I pulled out a Charmeleon from.

[@TheSandwhichman108]

@@thunderstudent Damn so you hated witney so much you bred a pokemon specifically to counter it XD?

[@thunderstudent]

@@TheSandwhichman108 Yup.

[@KingNothng1]

‘Sheer heart attack has no weakness’s’ Iono’s mismagius: And I took that personally

[@kipolem53]

Say,w hat happens if you Soak a TErastalized Pokemon? Or is Soak no longer extant in Pokemon games like Pursuit?

[@VMajor411]

SONO CHI NO SADAME

[@Aisphodel]

@@kipolem53 It fails.

[@kwonk5298]

@@VMajor411JOJOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@astarteswillum5259]

Is that you, Kira?

[@geeconners7541]

These female johto gym leaders are something else Whitney cries Jasmine is depressed (Ampharos) Clair throws a tantrum AND KAREN...... is elite but needed a tyranitar❤ 9.5/10

[@jeffreygao3956]

Jasmine’s also a graceful ballerina.

[@torshavnnewell]

They got that ohio rizz

[@torshavnnewell]

​@@jeffreygao3956 I remember you from the catcher in the rye rant comment section

[@jeffreygao3956]

@@torshavnnewell Uh...Look! A Parasaurolophus stepping on Holden! Like stepping in poo! Fun!

[@mismagiusthemagicuser2341]

“You and your opulent dress MUST fall” *Top 10 OOC Team Sky moments*

[@trexep]

24:08 Mikey was so annoyed by Beedrill he tapped into Grunty Boi voice for a moment. 😂

[@ericthompson749]

In Heartgold/Soulsilver, you can get Heracross by using Headbutt in Azalea Town and have it learn Brick Break at level 19, making the Miltank fight easier.

[@nine_tails137]

That was literally the only way I was able to beat Whitney's Miltank! Cause Muscle the Machop, is way too slow!

[@anjugupta8367]

EASIER, more life pathetic. Whitney was the easiest gym leader for me because I had a level 20 heracross that OHKOed both her pokemon

[@princeapoopoo5787]

Heracross gang Heracross gang

[@nine_tails137]

@@anjugupta8367 I didn't even have a Heracross during my first few attempts against Whitney! Muscle the Machop was too slow, My Quilava got attracted and stomped into submission, it healed any status I inflicted with a Lum Berry, it used milk drink to restore any damage I inflicted, and even my level 20ish Magnemite couldn't survive long enough to KO it! Even with Sturdy! It wasn't until I caught a female Heracross, and taught it Brick Break at level 15, that I was finally able to KO Whitney's Miltank!

[@HiroUey]

​@@anjugupta8367Congrats, you went out of your way to get a pokemon to specifically beat her, now try that fight without the Heracross.

[@MidwestArtMan]

I only played HeartGold once. When I got to Whitney, I realized that every Pokémon I caught was male. 😐 I ended up winning by spamming Sand Attack with my Quilava. Maybe that's why Whitney was crying. She got sand in her eyes.

[@metaeditzz6934]

He finally brought Top 10’s back.. now we Types Then VS Now

[@jeffreygao3956]

Because what is there to cover with the rest of the types? Fire going from maybe good if you can use Fire Spin trapping to valuable for resisting key types like Steel and Fairy.

[@theoaremevano3227]

Then vs. now is probably more of a wait and see series, since new games continue to throw in new factors and Pokemon that can change the situation for a type. A type that might not be worth covering now could benefit significantly, or take a massive hit in later generations, or both, back to back, which is just as worthwhile to cover.

[@patrickzalatoris3206]

Let's also just talk about water, cuz there's just not enough water type pokemon in the franchise!

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

Ice is the only type I can see where "Then vs Now" would work as they got buffed in SV

[@levistokes3960]

I'm so glad you mentioned that about normal types. It is deceptively hard to deal with. I want to see a normal type elite 4 at some point. High level normal types are terrifying.

[@taylord2006]

This! They could make such a tough normal type E4 or Champ battle! I would love to see it.

[@bigmemvb]

Well Larry is a Normal type specialist... just not in the elite four battle

[@PJNyte]

​@bigmemvb Shout out to his staraptor who has ONLY facade for some damn reason 😊

[@Landeroony]

@@PJNytefacade is all you need

[@joshuakim5240]

Imagine a Normal type E4 member who just aggressively spams STAB Boomburst.

[@WesleyAPEX]

I already know Whitney is #1. Brock has to be up there, Falkner too. Honestly every gen 3 gym leader was a beast, Norman, Watson, Brawly, Roxanne, Flannery, Tate & Liza, Wynonna, Wallace… WALLACE IS LITERALLY THE CHAMPION.

[@AS-AnimationStuff]

I actually had a crazy moment with the Lenora fight where I won despite being under leveled because sent out my Roggenrola and spammed Sand Attack till Watchhog couldn’t do anything, and then sent out my Servine and spammed Leaf Tornado, getting an accuracy decrease with it too. I’ve loved Roggenrola like a son ever since.

[@satyanarayannayak9216]

What a wholesome story

[@bottomtext251]

lmao cheese her with gambling on accuracy. Beat those NPCs at their own game I love it.

[@joyaday606]

I will never get bored watching Mikey complaining about Whitney’s Milktank lmao

[@ScottOshawott]

You do raise an interesting point about specific counters in Gym Battles. I also think the list of "hardest Gym Leaders" is interesting because, as you bring up, there is a difference between a player who is not experienced or who has not played the game before versus those who have played a long time and/or are replaying games and/or have done research on Gym Leaders' teams. The past couple of generations, I have worked hard not to spoil myself on major characters' teams, so I go in more blindly. But with older games, I know what's coming simply from experience. Granted, some Leaders are harder than others, and I do tend to EV-train my Pokemon, but I think you did a good job trying to factor in both kinds of experiences in this list. (Also, for Whitney, I just kept laughing to myself thinking of how many times I've used Smokescreen shenanigans to get a leg up on Miltank. That just proves your point, though.)

[@onerustydatsun951]

I had a risky but fun way to beat Whitney using Ghastly and Scyther. Start with Ghastly and Mean Look Clefairy to prevent switching, and naybe a hypnosis to prevent any Metronone hijinx. Then switch to Scyther and start setting up Fury Cutter. By the time Fury Cutter is powerful enough to one -shot Clefairy with its relatively high HP after Whitney heals it, it’s powered enough to one -shot Miltank or do so much damage that Miltank tries to heal using Milk Drink. It’s a risky setup because Fury Cutter can miss occasionally and Scyther has a 4x weakness to Rollout, but it’s a very satisfying way to win when it works

[@BusinessSkrub]

I love using Chikorita, it's my favourite starter of all time, and it trivialises miltank, funnily enough. By the time you're fighting Whitney, it has Poisonpowder/Reflect/Synthesis, and miltank basically just gets boned. By the time rollout would be doing enough damage, it's dead. Stomp does nothing, even if you flinch 2-3 times under reflect you're still above half and doing fine, even if a bit annoyed haha. Feels good watching that sausage-nipple-swinging bugger just slowly melt. Gen 4, though, it has Lum Berry because game freak was feeling sadistic at the time lmao

[@guszwierlein2811]

I just get Rocky the Onix and I teach it Mud Slap. I will make that Miltank miss Rollout every time.

[@TheShiningEnergy]

There's also Heracross, if you're patient enough to headbutt trees untill you get one.

[@DukeDarkshadow]

Gastly using Mean Look is pointless if you're gonna switch it out to Scyther right away. Mean Look is only in effect if the Pokemon that uses it stays in battle.

[@zaeemnasarullah]

32:51 Michael going from losing his cool to calmly thanking us for watching the video. 🤣🤣🤣

[@DarkRedPsycho92]

"WHAT ABOUT MY TEARS WHITNEY, HUH!?!?!?" 😡

[@Drangelon]

Whitney's Miltank taught me the importance of status moves: specifically, when I fought her for the first time, I had to make use of smokescreen to stand any chance of defeating her.

[@tytool2385]

"Haxoropodeez nuts" absolutly loving it.

[@ndholme1499]

Seems you beat me to it

[@SirenPandaSabo]

YeS!

[@youtube-kit9450]

The fact that Whitney probably would be even harder if she only had the Miltank because now you can't set up or rage/rollout-cheese on her Clefairy is honestly fucking hilarious

[@garrettsmith6102]

3:51 "Double battles are also harder because your team isn't built for them," I sweeped the ghost gym trainers and the ghost gym leader, Ryme, in Scarlet with just Skeledirge and Houndoom, and back then, I didn't even know double battles were a thing.

[@bottomtext251]

That one isn't hard at all since you get stat boosts for K.O. ing a mon of hers and her team is pretty weak. What he meant was good doubles teams with synergy like Raihan or in the Scarlet and Violet DLC. I suggest you play competetive doubles online then you will see what real double battles look like.

[@Stormrage_is_on]

*swept

[@jacquelineking5783]

I as someone who struggled with BDSP gym leaders and had a bit of difficulty with Rime doesn't remember a single gym battle being mildly inconvenient for SwSh.

[@theanimeniac1906]

Credit where it's due to Whitney, she may cry after you win, but at least she doesn't make you go through a trial/test. She just needs to calm down and that's okay.

[@ES-dp6tw]

I'll always give a shout-out to Dwebble for making BW easier. With eviolite, it can better tank Elesa's Emolgas while setting up stealth rocks, punishing the switches, then go on to learn Shell Smash and crush Skyla, Brycen, all the rest.

[@dvillines26]

Crustle is so much fun to use in the Unova games

[@JustNick612]

"Haxoruses...Haxori? Haxorapadeez?... Haxorapadeez nuts" Had me snort and cackling bahahaha

[@mr.benjamin6292]

I missed the days when Mikey was at odds with Grunty Boi. Seeing one of them get frustrated with the other makes me happy and nostalgic for well-written confrontational writing.❤❤

[@legthieff]

“WHY ARE YOU IN MY SHOWER???”

[@Link_724]

4:00 Just wanna mention surf didn't hit your allies until gen 4 so it made T&L exceptionally easy with just being able to double spam surf.

[@bewearstar9462]

This is why muddy water is the better surf

[@zaeemnasarullah]

But Muddy Water is only 85% accurate, whereas Surf is 100% accurate.

[@bewearstar9462]

@@zaeemnasarullah but it doesn't hurt your allies in double battles

[@Link_724]

@zaeemnasarullah gets it. Hitting both of your targets and your pokemon that could resist it is better than just your opponent and both pokemon having a 15% chance to miss.

[@bewearstar9462]

​@Link_724 true but it's could be worse

[@braddorcas9363]

I remember vividly my first encounters with Whitney. Everything before her had been cake up to that point. Then you get to her and her stupid cow bludgeons you to death over and over with little to no hope, and with the only option to basically start walking in tall grass for hours trying to squeeze out levels until you can squeak by if you didn't know about the available counter options available to make it slightly less difficult.

[@kylepaup]

I still remember how hard Brock was when Gen 1 came out. We were all in middle school and had no idea about Pokemon. So you waltz up with a team that has no chance against him. I was a Bulbasaur guy, and that made it easier, but when you don't understand all the type advantages, special vs physical attacks, status conditions, and you were like most kids who picked a Charmander, it was an extremely tough battle until you found a friend who could tell you what to do. I remember how smart I felt when I figured out I could get a Jolteon with pin missile to help take down Sabrina's Alakazam.

[@PalZer0]

You actually make a good case for at least including him as an honorable mention. If you didn't pick Squirtle or Bulbasaur in Red/Blue then you're gonna have a tough time while you're always gonna have a tough time in Yellow because his Pokemon are especially strong against Pikachu dut to them having immunity to Electric moves (and, due to him being the first gym leader, you won't have much in the way of preparation).

[@enigmatic2878]

His rant with Elisa made me feel lucky that my stupid strategy of just switching between intimadate krookorok and boldore against zebstrika's flame charge and emolga's aerial ace worked so well

[@maddlespaddles413]

I wanna add for Norman that the only Pokemon available that learns protect by level up (the best way to cheese the slaking) is Anorith. Who’s best move is metal claw and water gun by this point.

[@bottomtext251]

Pelipper

[@maddlespaddles413]

@@bottomtext251 dang I forgot about my fav Pokemon 😭 Point still stands though two Pokemon is not a lot and neither have super effective damage on Slaking

[@bottomtext251]

@@maddlespaddles413 thats true, you could try dig, but you'd need to outspeed I think.

[@THE.OLD.CALLER.BRONZONG]

"AUTOBOTS ROLLOUT" -miltank

[@GoatyBoatyBH414]

We all know if Purplecliffe were in the place of Mikey in the thumbnail, his facial expressions would've been VERY different.

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

man I hope they both patch up soon and come back as friends, really miss them and feel like a part of the charisma of the trio is gone

[@Eric-iq7sn]

@Purplecliffe Please do a reaction vid on this!!!

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

Over time, I've grown fond of Whitney and her Miltank. I like that the battle is a hands-on lesson about not just relying on your starter to carry you through the game.

[@robertwolff3580]

Whitney:*exists Heracross with brick break:Imma about to end her whole career

[@Svithi.N.98]

Yup. Exactly what I did in my heartgold playthrough. Whitney was easy. 😁 Probably difficult in GSC though because I don't think heracross got brickbreak

[@robertwolff3580]

@@Svithi.N.98no it only gets counter and to make it worse it gets it at like level 50

[@cesarflamenco9484]

​@@Svithi.N.98Brick Break didn't exist in GSC, so...

[@Svithi.N.98]

@@cesarflamenco9484 yeah i thought so... Thats why GSC would have been difficult as compared to HGSS.

[@robertwolff3580]

@@cesarflamenco9484yeah gsc I would just go with onix to beat her

[@ugandianos_]

22:47 a common threat is that most difficult gym leaders- Me: Are women. -specialize in a type thar has very few weaknesses. Me: oh.

[@Undergroundchuck-gu5dv]

Bro

[@regoar88ar]

Just here to find out if Whitney is number one

[@bL4ckSalamander]

undeserved honestly, unless you're a completely new player to strategy in pkmn games miltank is easily one shottable

[@crustypotato9809]

​@@bL4ckSalamandernuh uh

[@Papacheeks6]

@@bL4ckSalamanderDefinitely deserved because that was when mostly kids were being introduced still to the games

[@dylan3488]

@@bL4ckSalamanderlol Miltank is not one shot able unless you just spend a lot of time grinding a Heracross

[@blazingstorms9648]

You can cheese the Norman fight pretty easily with a pokemon that knows protect.

[@arunsingla3452]

Dig work as well

[@THE.OLD.CALLER.BRONZONG]

FINALLY the sequal to Most dangerous gyms in pokemon IVE BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS

[@jameskeeling5278]

"Miltank has a base stat total of 490!" *Scyther with a bst of 500:*

[@nichtsistkostenlos6565]

Okay, but Scyther is terrible against Miltank since it's 4x weak to rollout.

[@Red-Ranger3142]

27:04 HELP I’M DYING!😂

[@Lupinemancer87]

I know Mikey said he doesn't care, but I'm one of those that has never had problems with Whitney. However, I absolutely love everytime he rants about her and her Miltank. I find it so hilarious and I'm laughing my ass off everytime.

[@BusinessSkrub]

Miltank is only REALLY a problem for Cyndaquil, because of Rollout killing it 2 hits rather than 4. As a Chikroita purist, it's basically a meme fight for lil plant babby

[@Lupinemancer87]

@@BusinessSkrub Yeah, I was lucky enough that my Chikorita was female, so it was immune to Attract, and I'd spend a lot of time catching many Pokemon so my team was a bit over-leveled, so when I fought Whitney, I didn't struggle as much. Sure she still managed to knock out one or two of my Pokemon, but I beat her first try.

[@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470]

​​​@@BusinessSkrubHonestly with Cyndaquil I just killed the Milktank before Rollout could do too much damage. Think I might've been overleveled and packing too many items though. Clefairy was never an issue for me.

[@BusinessSkrub]

@@snnnaaaaaakeeeee4470 clefairy may as well not even be there yeah lol, 99% of the time it just dies after wasting a turn or two doing nothing

[@OtterFan48]

The Lenora battle is made slightly easier due to an NPC giving you the TM for Rock Smash (which can be used any number of times in Gen V). It is not the strongest Fighting-Type move, but it has a chance to lower the opponent's Defense.

[@TSLstudio2010]

*I would like to vote Lucian for one of the hardest Elite 4 members* (Diamond and Pearl version) His Bronzong is only weak to fire! Thanks to levitate and because steel resisted both ghost and dark in gen 4. Also it's really bulky and knows earthquake! Meanwhile, if you didn't pick Chimchar as your starter, there is quite change you don't have a fire Pokémon in your team. If you go into this battle with ghost moves, you might have problems with his Girafarig which is part normal and knows shadow ball and crunch. If you go in with dark types, you might have problems with Medichem having drain punch also his Alakazam knows focus blast (and recover). Last but not least, he starts of with Mr Mine, if you don't manage to defeat it directly it's able to so put on Reflect and/or Lightscreen (which cuts down half the damage in gen IV).

[@Redfork2000]

Lucian is definitely the hardest of the Sinnoh Elite Four by a lot. I think in general a team that has coverage to deal with the weaknesses of their type is much harder. I agree with this vote. I would also like to suggest Marshal. His team are not only hard hitters but they all come equipped with coverage to hit their weaknesses for super effective damage. Your Psychic and Flying types won't be safe as they have to deal with the amount of Rock and Dark moves these Pokémon have. Also Sawk having Sturdy means you won't one-shot it even with a super-effective move, giving a perfect chance for it to retaliate. Out of the Unova Elite Four, he's the one that gave me the most trouble by far.

[@G_K-m2o]

As soon as i saw the title i knew he was gonna hate on Whittney

[@kipolem53]

No hating on Whitney she is beautiful! Plus with Pokemon going to the dark side with DEI, we must praise good looking female characters. If Roxanne is on any hate list, that would just be wrong.

[@dylan3488]

@@kipolem53Yeesh incel ass comment right here

[@noxic8863]

24:43 My Golem with self-destruct and sturdy ready to nuke his ass: "Haha, rock goes BOOM!"

[@Lycan4]

My experience with this list: Candice: She was never a problem for me. Fire is my favorite type (Dragon a close second), and I always have one on my team, so... Ice doesn't last long when I'm around. Though, I will agree, Froslass is a great Pokemon, and I love this thing. A bit of a glass cannon, though. Tate and Lisa: I don't have significant memories of these two, other than the fact that because of the sprites, I thought they were both boys when I was a child. Even as a child, I understood type match-ups, and so always went for their weaknesses, making them trivial. I even used Fang the Mightyena against them once, and that thing completely destroyed them. Lonora: Yes! This woman took ACTUAL preparations to get through, thanks to that stupid Watchog! I refuse to use Throh and Sawk (don't like them), and I despise the Tepig line, so I had to just use brute non-Fighting force on this woman every time except for my first time, when I did use Tepig (then saw its evolutions, and never touched it again). Elisa: Also this woman! I tried using a Sandile against her, because Ground, but that's when I learned about Emolga. This woman and her stupid flying squirrels swept me multiple times before I managed to beat her! To this day, I despise Emolga. Raihan: I purposefully went into Sword and Shield as blind as I could, so I didn't know very much going into this game. I genuinely like Raihan, but I do agree. His team is difficult (as it should be, he's the final Gym Leader). I, too, thought I could sweep him with a Fairy type... until his Duraludon destroyed my Galarian Rapidash with a Steel move. That thing was a monster. Fantina: Other than my Nuzlocke, I don't have any prominent memories of this woman. She was never too difficult for me, aside from my Nuzlockes, but that's a given. (she also killed my Beautifly, which I had grown fond of, and I'm still salty about that) Norman: Norman wasn't that difficult for me, though those Slaking are truly tough. I always have either Blaziken (yes, I trained for the Blaziken) or Breloom on my team in this region, sometimes both. My go-to strat for these things is Leech Seed, and then punch them until they die. No Facade boosting to worry about. Clair: Again, I don't have prominent memories of this woman. Johto is my least-played region. Pretty sure I just over-leveled and brute-forced her, too. Sabrina: Yeah, another Gym leader that I used the brute-force strategy on again. Switching between Persian and Charizard, depending on the opponent. Yes, I defeated Alakazam with a cat. As a child! Whitney: THIS WOMAN, AND HER STUPID COW! I'm with you, Mikey, I HATE this thing! That things hooves should be colored red, because of the body count it must have! Even if you're over-leveled, this stupid chunk of beef is a PROBLEM!

[@Martin724K]

More honorable mentions: 1. Flannery, Overheat in the sun is nasty 2. Winona, Altaria has DDance 3. Clay in BW, Excadrill has Hone Claws and it's a strong ace Imo Juan has to be top 3, that Kingdra is disgusting

[@magolor152]

Bugsy's scyther from hgss is up there for me, if you let that thing get off one focus energy you're very likely to get swept by technician boosted quick attacks

[@jacobkohr7243]

Flannery in Emerald derailed my first attempt at an Emerald Nuzlocke. I though Marshtomp would tank the hits and sweep, I learned very quickly that sun boosted Stab Overheat doesn't care about resistances.

[@Maddiez484]

Winona can easily end your Nuzloke, if her Atlaira, her ace pokemon, gets up too many Dragon Dances, Good Luck.

[@jacobkohr7243]

@@Maddiez484 Thanks man! I've already finished with zero deaths about a year ago. Hardcore nuzlocke to. Ice beam Marshtomp, Gyarados, and Magneton cleaned up Winona. The main thing with Flannery is having mutliple tanky resists (Marshtomp, Gyarados, Thick Fat Hariyama, Tentacruel). Nuzlockes get a lot easier when you realize you can swap your team around depending on the boss.

[@Maddiez484]

@@jacobkohr7243 Fair.

[@enigmaszn3989]

I am experiencing PTSD from this video. You got my like for the accuracy

[@cesar_rdz05]

You should do a “Elite 4s ranked by difficulty” next!

[@mscottjohnson3424]

26:57 Fun Fact: like 'sheep' and 'fish', the correct plural for ALL Pokemon is the same as their singulars. 3 Pikachu 8 Flygon 17 Mewtwo Just how it works in Pokemon....grammar

[@goldenhydreigon4727]

Surprised Ryme wasn't mentioned. Its a Double Battle with GHOST TYPES *AND SHE USES MIMIKYU.*

[@arthurrezende4943]

I am so thankful I was already aware of how difficult Whitney is before I played HGSS for the first time. EVERY single time I played through Johto I always bringed a Heracross with brick break to deal with the chubby cow. This is the only reason I never lost to her but the very threat of the Miltank forcing me to get the best counter possible just shows how insane this fight is lmaoooooo

[@remhauck1577]

I always do the same on any HGSS run. Made Heracross my favorite fighting type.

[@nine_tails137]

Same here. I caught a female Heracross, taught it Brick Break, and just barely won against her Miltank!

[@anjugupta8367]

I also used a heracross though I had always planned to use it throughout the playthrough because it's amazing and easily my favourite bug type

[@nine_tails137]

@@anjugupta8367 Same here. Heracross is one of my favorite Bug types along with Scizor. But the fact Female Heracross was the only way for me to win against Whitney's Miltank, just makes me despise both Whitney and her Miltank even more!

[@Venemofthe888]

Female Geodude is a very good counter too and is actually quite good for johto in general lol

[@Your_Local_Pyromaniac]

I think Mikey forgot about one thing in the gen 4 fight, Heracross is STUPIDLY broken for that fight. 1. Brick break at level 19 2. 125 BASE ATTACK 3. You can get one before Whitney 4. If you get one with guts, well, Whitney better pray to god

[@AeroLeaf4]

He’s talked about Heracross in this regard before, its only really solid in HGSS thx to getting Brick Break around the same level you should probably be fighting Whitney (Level 19). In the originals tho, it’s not great because its only fighting type move it could use at the point of that battle is Rock Smash, which was even weaker than it still is nowadays.

[@mr.aplays1404]

I haven't been battling Whitney in my Pokemon HeartGold Playthrough yet. But once I get there, It will be a priority to have a Pokemon with Attack-Lowered and Defense-Lowered Priority moves like Charm, Growl or Screech with Super Effective moves such as Brick Break and Rock Smash.

[@nevenpatrk9661]

Geodude is also really good into Miltank, especially a female one since it's immune to Attract. It tanks all of Whitney's moves pretty easily and it can even use Rock Smash to make the Miltank easier to kill. Hell, the Clefairy is very easy to set up on given you don't get metronome cheesed. So if you don't get Stomp flinched by Miltank, you could easily Defense Curl Rollout the cow for the win.

[@nine_tails137]

That was literally the only way I was able to beat Whitney! Cause Muscle the Machop is way too slow, compared to Miltank!

[@jeffreygao3956]

Who put the glad in gladiator? HERACROSS!

[@not2shabby]

Arcanine: Running elegantly across the planet as if it were on wings. Miltank: **ROLLIN AROUND AT THE SPEED OF MOO!!!**

[@Cressian]

Whitney is a menace. One playthru I was having such bad luck even with the Machop that I went out of my way to headbutt a Heracross out of a tree just for the higher base stats

[@vadirajkulai3736]

"Is the cow rolling faster" caught me so off guard🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@AstroBlitz64]

I didn’t even know that the Emolgas had Volt Switch in the original games, I ONLY saw them use double team and aerial ace

[@MrTerminator3010]

Another thing to add to Psychic being overpowered in Gen 1 that not many people talk about: Even if the Ghost type glitch was fixed, it STILL wouldn't help because the only Ghost type move in Gen 1 was Nightshade, a move that does damage equal to the user's level

[@dakkath414]

There was also lick, with a whopping 30 base power

[@mayborneflower]

27:12 - Can confirm, I experimented with a Gameshark’d emulator and easily swept them by taking the first Gym Trainer’s Fraxure. One Dragon Dance was enough for a casual Dragon Claw sweep across the board.

[@Bazilplayz]

'haxaropadeeznu-" CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD💀

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

Lenora took me MONTHS to beat as a kid. Elesa was hard, too, but I had Krokorok to deal with her. And I swear, I got PTSD from Fantina's Mismagius. She DEMOLISHES my team with her Psybeam and Shadow Ball if I don't prepare properly. I swore I got flashbacks when I was fighting Ione's in my Scarlet playthrough. Shout-out to Clodsire for carrying my team to victory.

[@kittylover62]

I remember I had to fight Fantina for my little sister's Diamond playthrough because she was so frustrated with her.

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

​​​@@kittylover62I've never actually fought her outside of Platinum, but I do have to fight her in Shining Pearl eventually. Either way, I get BAD MEMORIES whenever I fight her on repeat playthroughs.

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

months? y'all play the main story of pokemon game for months?

[@CTSael]

@@theamazingspooderman2697Not every kid has all the time in the world to play video games, y’know? Some just prefer other activities and video games are of lower priority. If that’s not the case, then it could be parents granting limited screen time, and that extends to ALL electronics. It makes sense that some kids would need a month or more to make real progress in a game.

[@delphoxhoopa7289]

​@@CTSaelYup. It was basically a combination of repeated losses and juggling school. It was SUCH a satisfying feeling when I finally beat her, though. Definitely respect her as a worthy opponent, though, especially being a black woman myself.

[@TheLordofMetroids]

I think you massively underestimated Raihan. Dude has actual strats and logic.

[@KingKasper69]

I brought a Lucario and it was able to demolished Duraladon with him so all I needed to handle was his Sandiconda. Sword and Shield was hella easy

[@respecthalo2963]

All new games are easy tho because xp share, you are always over leveled unless you go out of your way to be weaker, in a normal game play of new games it’s hard to lose, I honestly don’t remember rihan being hard at all even going in blind didn’t even lose a pokemon. Even the battle tower was a cake walk in swsh beat it in an hour with a rental team. Most recent hard fight was in legends. Then before that was bdsp Cynthia fight, and that was only hard because the game up to that point was beyond easy then Cynthia comes in with a legit comp team lol

[@SiyaRam-r3s]

I brought a Pangoro (Iron Fist ability) with Drain Punch TR. its enough to decimate his Duraladon

[@allthingsinvestingandfinance]

Very good video but you forgot to mention that those Claire dragonairs have shed skin ability so you can’t status them to death 😅 I Norman, Whitney, and Clair were my all time toughest gym battles besides Brock when i knew absolutely nothing about typings and went in with a charmander and a cartepie against a full rock team 😂

[@warlockceo1549]

I gotta say, really surprised that Bugsy isn't here. Second gym leader in Johto and has a very strong Pokemon in Scyther. Scyther, for those unaware, has a base stat total of 500, the same as Scizor and Kleavor. Scyther's attack is base 110 and its speed is base 105. In Gold/Silver/Crystal, Scyther only has Quick Attack, Fury Cutter and Leer. If you're bulky, it'll use Leer. If not, it's likely to spam Fury Cutter which increases in power with every usage. In Heart Gold/Soul Silver, Scyther now has U-Turn instead of Fury Cutter. While this may seem easier to deal with, it allows Scyther to get a free move on most Pokemon because of its speed, and then let Kakuna or Metapod tank the hit for it, likely dealing significant damage to even a Cyndaquil. U-Turn also has a higher initial Power stat than Fury Cutter which means it will do higher initial damage than Fury Cutter, potentially one-hitting more of your Pokemon. Oh, and it's one level higher in HGSS. It also has a Sitrus Berry which allows it to heal 25% of its HP when its HP drops below 50%. It also gains Focus Energy which will just let it get crits all day long if you give it one turn to set it up. If it thinks you're on low HP, it'll probably finish you off with Quick Attack. There are few Pokemon before this point that resist Bug or Normal and I know that I had tons of trouble with it. OH YEAH, AND BEFORE I FORGET, it has TECHNICIAN!!! This allows any move of base Power 60 or less to have an increase to their Power by 50%! This means that Quick Attack is a base 60 Power move instead of 40. Bugsy's Scyther is an absolute menace. Sure, you can beat it in one to two turns with Cyndaquil or even Quilava if you have it by that point but if you chose Totodile or Chikorita, what is your plan here? Spinarak? Hoothoot? Sentret? Bellsprout? Good luck. Get grinding.

[@HiroUey]

Cyndaquil/Quilava, Pidgey, Spearow and or Geodude. You have options for Scyther, I hate being that person but yeah, Bugsy has never been a problem for me.

[@qwertyrhoads9295]

The rest of Bugsy's team is horrendously bad.

[@aetheralmeowstic2392]

Give Bugsy a Kleavor

[@warlockceo1549]

@@qwertyrhoads9295 Which is why U-Turn is ideal.

[@darkestlight660]

​@@HiroUeyPidgey and Spearow are NOT reliable for that fight, especially on a leer + quick attack combo. Geodude is a lot of help though, as long as it doesn't get poisoned or chipped too bad, then a crit can KO it. Quilava is by far the best counter, but it too can get knocked for a loop with a quick attack crit, especially if it's after a leer

[@Omnitrixter_memes]

20:28 *Mikey Puts clair as the 3rd most difficult gym trainer.* *Me who sweeped her with a butterfree and Quagsire.* :😂

[@Davi_EEEE]

um how? I am not doubting this claim however I need info

[@Omnitrixter_memes]

@@Davi_EEEE I used a Ice Punch, Earthquake, Surfing, Strength Quagsire and a Psybeam, Stunspore, Poison powder, Confusion Butterfree to beat Clair in Pokemon Crystal, I didn't even need to switch any other of my team members.

[@ultradeduction]

id put money on the fact that you were overleveled

[@Omnitrixter_memes]

@@ultradeduction no, Both quagsire and Butterfree were level 36 and level 32 respectively

[@brightlights365]

Kind of surprised that Clay isn't on this list, his Excadrill absolutely ruined me...

[@darklordofsword]

Sabrina gets even worse in Gen1 when you remember that critical hit rates in the first three games *were calculated based on the Pokémon's speed stat! So her Alakazam was fast, hit like a truck, had no weaknesses, AND KEPT BLOODY CRITTING!!! I always got through Whitney with a Nidorina. Poison Point + double kick.

[@yasinn9492]

Man, I remember I defeated Clair's Kingdra with a Parasect with Dry Skin in HeartGold. That battle was epic.

[@Harambemojo]

Okay I’m glad to see Michael is still putting out fire list videos

[@Vivian_Does_Stuff]

28:00 yeah saw that coming, but still respect it

[@bohunk9746]

“Whitney is the hardest gym leader by far!!” Kid named Brick break Heracross:

[@syahyunana]

and brick break heracross turns out to be male: **chuckles** Im in dangers

[@narutofan657]

I started in Crystal, and Whitney made an 11 year old me cry.

[@greenjay7471]

Some other counters to Whitney that should be mentioned for anyone that struggles with her are Heracross, who can be obtained after you teach a Pokémon headbutt in the Ilex Forest, Geodude in dark cave (also good for Bugsy and Falkner), and Bayleaf, if you aren’t one of those people who complain about type weaknesses without knowing how game mechanics actually work (it is a really bulky Pokémon that can challenge half of the Johto gym leader’s aces and win, including Clair’s Kingdra). Of course, Whitney’s fight is still incredibly difficult if you don’t know what you are doing, but the games are a test of knowledge.

[@theyellowferret5125]

Finally, somebody else who appreciates Meganium! I think I might cry. 😢

[@איתןשי]

Don't forget the Game Corner Dratini and Dragon Rage which 2HKO's Miltank or forces it into Milk Drink

[@RFDN0]

For Heracross, you need to backtrack to get it. It also is a low encounter pokemon, and you likely do not find it in a blind playthough. It literally took me years to learn where it appeared in gen 2. Geodude is a viable option, but unless you specifically catch a female one, the attract flinch issue still is an issue. I have done a bayleaf run. A big issue is that bayleaf does not resist either attack, and you don't get access to options to stall the battle and make decent progress. Damage output was not noticeably useful to the other starters. There are significantly better grass type pokemon for gen 2 just because of access to leech seed.

[@wesleyoldham4222]

It's a huge honor seeing my dad on this list.

[@lightgx0551]

True

[@matthewwasser5621]

I had the player guide for the gen 2 games and their remakes. Those guides said, before going to Goldenrod City to take care of team rocket, go through Ice Cave and catch a Jynx. Put it in the first spot of your team while battling through the radio tower. By the time you defeat team rocked your Jynx should be strong enough to single handedly defeat the Blackthorn gym.

[@CharlesMilloy]

This was a really, fun and entertaining video to watch. I do wish that during sabrina's analysis you mentioned Alpharad's struggles with her and the use of perish song

[@kingillager]

If we're talking about "hardest" gym leaders I feel like there is one more fitting that category 💀

[@KingAero7]

Relax man 💀

[@liamdavey2273]

We do not mention HER at all costs!

[@IsleofPigsStudios]

Then again, Maylene in BDSP was a nightmare to beat (at least for me who chose Piplup), so it makes sense. (Ok they’re probably referring to Whitney and that forsaken cow.)

[@JustJayFR_official]

@@IsleofPigsStudiosthey’re referring to flannery In one of his videos, he called her mommy a bunch of time

[@JordanMendoza-uh9ct]

We don’t talk about those twi

[@Triobros1098]

“You and your opulent dress MUST FALL! No wait…”😂😂😂

[@tyrantneptune3202]

Some additional tips acquired from my 20+ years of experience in Pokemon Candice - Use a Pokemon with Oder Sleuth, etc. I strongly recommend Houndoom in a Platinum run. Tate/Liza - You can fish up Sharpedo in Mossdeep City, which hit hard and faster than their mons with Crunch. Lenora - Throh is exceptionally bulky, Sawk's Low Sweep can hit hard and lower Watchog's speed, also having a higher base speed stat than it Elesa - Sandile/Krokorok with Rock Tomb, or Drilbur with Rock Throw/Slide, are probably your best options; Krokorok is undoubtedly better, having two excellent abilities in Moxie and Intimidate (to lower the power of Aerial Ace, Flame Charge, and Stomp) Raihan - Nothing really to add. Flygon or Garchomp are solid but risky; or you can just cheese the fight with an Urshifu Fantina - Your best Dark-type option in Platinum is Umbreon; you get Eevee in Hearthome, so just run around with a Soothe Bell until you've walked enough steps, then evolve it at night. Norman - Machamp is undoubtedly your strongest option, there are also the likes of Lairon and Golem for strong defensive choices Clair - Jynx is surprisingly strong, and has a good Speed stat, and can hit hard with Ice Punch in GSC. In HGSS, you will need to teach it Blizzard (inaccurate) or Ice Beam (only at the Game Corner or post-game Seafoam Island), as it doesn't learn ANY special ice attacks other than Powder Snow. Sabrina - Again, nothing much to add. Snorlax remains the best choice, along with Tauros Drayden/Iris - A Krookodile with Foul Play, or Zoroark in B2W2, can be very effective if they use Dragon Dance Juan - Again, Oder Sleuth is key here against Kingdra. Leech Seed can also slowly whittle it away along with Toxic (note that he has 3 full restores, though). Taunt can also potentially help Iono - Sandile is helpful here, resisting Mismagius's Hex and being immune to Charge Beam. Whitney - Muscle the Machop, of course. Onix is good, but Rocky the Onix is always Male, so avoid him. Finally, a female Heracross with Brick Break (lv19) can also work wonders, despite not resisting Rollout, though does share Miltank's high base stat total, being 10 points higher. Hope this helps!

[@Venemofthe888]

You can use lucario with foresight and aura sphere for candice and it's easily available too

[@tyrantneptune3202]

@@Venemofthe888 Ooh yeah, good one!

[@elitovon2833]

25:58 alpharad got absolutely humbled and lost all but two Pokémon in his first Nuzlocke

[@SableJem]

Though Alpharad was HEAVILY underleveled there. He would have had an easier time if he leveled his pokemon.

[@awakenedfurmissile4617]

I find the Nidoran's you get in the next route over Whitney to be very useful against her. Both of them having Double Kick when you get them, Gen 4 Poison Point being a good counter to her Stomp even if she has a Lum Berry and the Female's defense + gender make the fight much easier, still a pain in the ass but it's a much easier pain in the ass