All Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen gym leaders and counters

Figuring out the best way to deal with Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen‘s gym leaders is a bit like solving a puzzle. They each have a specific set of weaknesses you need to build around, so it’s a good idea to plan ahead and make sure you’ve captured and trained at least one Pokémon that can deal with them. Or, at least, to not have a team that’s completely weak against that gym leader’s primary type. Consider keeping our Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen type chart handy if you need a quick refresher on what’s weak against what.

Below, we list all Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen gym leaders, their rosters, and the best ways to counter them.

All Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen gym leaders

There are eight gym leaders in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and unlike in Scarlet and Violet, you have to face them in a specific order. There’s no way to skip around, so you’ll need to plan ahead and make sure you have at least one Pokémon with a type advantage over the gym leader’s team. Or at least make sure you’re not sending out Pokémon that are weak to that gym leader’s specialty.

Pewter City gym leader (Brock) Pokémon and weaknesses

Brock specializes in rock-type Pokémon, which have high defense, but low speed.

If you chose Squirtle or Bulbasaur, you’re in good shape for this fight already. If you picked Charmander, though, you’ve got two options. One is leveling Charmander up to 12 so it learns Metal Claw, which is a solid way to bring Onix down. The other is catching a Manky in the little patch of grass on Route 22, just west of Viridian City.

Defeating Brock earns you the Boulder Badge, which lets you use the HM05 (Flash) outside of battle, lighting up dark areas in caves like the upcoming Mt. Moon. And you also get TM39 (Rock Tomb).

Cerulean City gym leader (Misty) Pokémon and weaknesses

Misty’s specialty is water-type Pokémon, and while her star Pokémon is also psychic-type, it doesn’t know any psychic-type moves.

Any grass Pokémon will work just fine here — Bulbasaur, if you picked it, or Oddish or Bellsprout, depending on which version you’re playing. If you caught Pikachu in Viridian Forest, you can also send them out.

Defeating Misty earns you the Cascade Badge, which lets you use HM01 (Cut) outside of battle to remove small trees blocking the path. Misty also gives you TM03 (Water Pulse).

Vermillion City gym leader (Lt. Surge) Pokémon and weaknesses

Lt. Surge’s team is pure electric, which means it’s fast — and also has one glaring big weakness.

If you send out Geodude, Graveler, or Diglett, Lt. Surge’s team can only use Sonicboom and Quick Attack to deal damage. Meanwhile, you can use Dig or Magnitude to quickly take them down.

Defeating Lt. Surge earns you the Thunder Badge, which lets you use HM02 (Fly) outside of battle, so you can travel to any town or city you’ve previously visited. You also get TM34 (Shock Wave).

Celadon City gym leader (Erika) Pokémon and weaknesses

Erika’s thing is grass-type Pokémon, and since this is still the early-days Pokedex, that means most of her team is also poison-type.

Flying, fire, and psychic will quickly take care of Victreebel and Vileplume, and fire and flying are just as effective against Tangela, even if psychic isn’t.

Defeating Erika earns you the Rainbow Badge, which lets you use HM04 (Strength) outside of battle to move large boulders around. You get TM19 (Giga Drain) as well.

Fuschia City gym leader (Koga) Pokémon and weaknesses

Koga is a poison-type specialist, but his Pokémon’s abilities mean you’ll have to think beyond just ground-types to counter him.

All of Koga’s Pokémon except Muk have the levitate ability, which makes ground-type moves ineffective. If you want a type advantage, you’ll have to go for a psychic Pokémon like Kadabra or Hypno.

Once you defeat Koga, you get the Soul Badge, which lets you use HM03 (Surf) outside of battle to travel on water, and you get TM06 (Toxic) as well.

Saffron City gym leader (Sabrina) Pokémon and weaknesses

Psychic Pokémon are Sabrina’s favorites, which poses a bit of a problem for you. They don’t have many easy-to-exploit weaknesses.

You have no access to dark-type Pokémon yet, though Pokémon that know Bite or Crunch can still inflict dark-type damage. Bug Pokémon are also effective against psychic-types, though FireRed and LeafGreen don’t have all that many bug-type moves. Those that do know bug-type moves like Beedrill are also poison-type, which Sabrina’s team is strong against. So your best bet is using Haunter, a ghost Pokémon. Venomoth is the exception. As a bug-and-poison-type, it’s weak to rock, fire, flying, and, ironically, psychic.

Sabrina gives you the Marsh Badge when you defeat her, which lets you use HM06 (Rock Smash) to break brittle rocks outside of battle. She also hands over TM04 (Calm Mind).

Cinnabar Island gym leader (Blaine) Pokémon and weaknesses

Blaine acts like a hotshot, but evidently forgets that fire-type Pokémon are loaded with weaknesses.

Any strong water Pokémon — Golduck, Blastoise, Poliwrath, Slowbro, Dewgong — can take down Blaine’s entire team without much fuss. Rock-type and ground-type Pokémon are also strong choices if you don’t have any water-types available.

Blaine gives you the Volcano Badge after you win, so you can use HM07 (Waterfall) to swim up waterfalls outside of battle. You get TM50 (Overheat), too.

Viridian City gym leader (Giovanni) Pokémon and weaknesses

The last big challenge before the Elite Four is Giovanni, who returns home to the Viridian City gym after you defeat Blaine. Giovanni is a ground-type specialist, though all his Pokémon except one have additional types you can exploit.

Water-type Pokémon are your best bet here, since all the available grass-type Pokémon except Tangela also have poison-type, which would be weak to Giovanni’s ground-type moves.

Giovanni gives you the Earth Badge after you win and TM26 (Earthquake).