DPP DPP Gym Leaders Guide, Part 1 [Done]

Introduction​

Pokemon Diamond, Pokemon Pearl, and Pokemon Platinum all have one thing in common—many people have stated that DPP had many strong Gym Leaders, which might have given you some problems. This guide's purpose is to give you advice on how to take on these Gym Leaders, revealing their weaknesses and showing you how to exploit them, and handling their strengths. Using the tips and tricks listed here should give you a better shot at success.

Gym Leader One - Roark; Rock-type

​

Team: Geodude (Level 12), Onix (Level 12), and Cranidos (Level 14);



What to watch out for: Definitely Cranidos, which packs a punch, especially seeing as how it's bulky enough to take a hit and fast enough to get a Leer off. Stealth Rock also hurts if Geodude or Onix manage to set it up;

Good selections: All the starters work. Budew (Route 204), Machop (Route 207), and Geodude or Onix (Oreburgh Mine) all work nicely as well;

Protips: Rock Smash is super effective against Rock-types, so slap it on one of your Pokemon and watch it work. Also, training your starter to its second stage is a good call—the increased stats are a cushion versus the dangerous Cranidos, while Monferno's access to Mach Punch can be a lifesaver;

Overall difficulty: 4. Roark is not exactly going to sweep you, but he can definitely be annoying if you bring the wrong Pokemon or don't train your team enough.

Gym Leader Two - Gardenia; Grass-type

​

Team: Turtwig (Level 20), Cherrim (Level 20), and Roserade (Level 22);



What to watch out for: Turtwig throws up Reflect, which can make pushing past the other two Pokemon a real challenge. Cherrim's Leech Seed and Roserade's habit of spread status are also annoying to say the least;

Good selections: Flying-types like Staravia, Golbat, and Drifloon resist Grass and can hit Gardenia's team super effectively. Monferno and Gastly or Haunter can also work well;

Protips: None in particular, though just make sure you always carry Super Potions and Full Heals;

Overall Difficulty: 3. While Gardenia's team will definitely annoy you, it won't actually threaten you.

Gym Leader Three - Fantina; Ghost-type

​

Team: Duskull (Level 24), Haunter (Level 24), and Mismagius (Level 26);



What to watch out for: Well, Mismagius. Psybeam, Magical Leaf, and Shadow Ball's coverage and damage output as well as the chance to confuse one of your Pokemon are all threatening. Haunter has Sucker Punch, a confusion-causing move, and a sleep-inducing move. Duskull can burn one of your Pokemon or deal a ton of damage with Future Sight. Honestly, this entire gym is the worst kind of funhouse—Ghost-types are terrible;

Good selections: Pokemon with Bite—Luxio, Buizel, Golbat, Gyarados, and Grotle—all deal super effective damage, and you should run at least one of the aforementioned Pokemon. If, however, you do not have one, just bring hard hitters that aren't by chance weak to Psychic. Oh, and remember a ton of Super Potions or Revives;

Protips: If playing Platinum, get the Eevee from Bebe, run outside for a while until it gets dark, then feed it a Rare Candy. Fantina can do nothing to Umbreon. The only sad part is that it's kind of hard to get any more mileage out of it beyond this one gym...

Overall Difficulty: 8. This is the one gym to grind and overprepare for. Do not—under any circumstances—underestimate that Mismagius.

Gym Leader Four - Maylene; Fighting-type​

​

Team: Meditite (Level 28), Machoke (Level 29), and Lucario (Level 32)



What to watch out for: Well, the Lucario has high Attack and good coverage options in Bone Rush, Metal Claw, and Drain Punch, the latter of which helps it regain health whilst also dealing decent damage. Meditite has Fake Out and coverage options of its own in Rock Tomb;

Good selections: Flying-types go without saying, as they hit Meditite and Machoke super effectively and sponge Lucario's moves well enough. Staravia or Staraptor (the latter being probably the best Pokemon to bring, as it has Intimidate for a safety net and Close Combat for Lucario, the only problem being you need to get it to Level 36), Golbat or Crobat, Drifloon or Drifblim, Gyarados (has Intimidate but no Flying-type moves), and Scyther all work for this. Psychic-types like Espeon and Alakazam also do nicely, as their sheer power hits Meditite and Lucario hard despite their neutrality to Psychic, and they don't have to fear Rock Tomb's Speed drops. Gengar can work in a similar vein if one is desperate;

Protips: This is not obvious to the neophyte, but Torterra sweeps this gym clean by virtue of Earthquake's power and its own solid bulk. Ground-types like Gastrodon, Gligar, and Gabite are probably the best answers you'll get to that Lucario, and the fact that the Earthquake is accessible via TM back in Wayward Cave (Torterra learns it naturally at Level 32 when it evolves from Grotle) makes them work well for the rest of the gym;

Overall difficulty: 5-6. While her Pokemon are individually threatening (Flying-types have to watch for Rock Tomb), the sheer number of options available that beat Maylene make her not that difficult or even annoying, unless you're doing a Nuzlocke or something.

 

ThrashNinjax

This looks finished WIP so here's what I think:

Instead of this just say "Fighting-type Gym Leader - Maylene

Mention Machoke and his Flying-type coverage in Rock Tomb and it's powerful STAB Fighting-type moves like Karate Chop and it has Focus Energy to crit you.

Mention that Staravia/Golbat or most available Flying-type Pokemon can tank 2-3 hits from Rock Tomb, also mention it's danger of lowering your speed stat.

Instead of sleep say Hypnosis and instead of Confusion just say Confuse Ray or people will be mistaken for the move Confusion: Also mention Shadow Claw is also a thread because of it's high critical hit ratio.

Also mention to never switch out in front of Duskull unless it's very dire since if you're low and you switch out it can defeat you with Pursuit, also mention Duskull has access to a priority move: Shadow Sneak and mention that overall Duskull is more annoying than it is powerful.

Mention Turtwig's access to Sunny Day and how it can activate Cherrim's ability: Flower Gift and how it raises it's Attack and Special Defense, also mention that Cherrim has Safeguard so use status moves quickly if you have to although brute power can just tear this team apart if you have status heals and a super-effective type Pokemon etc. Monferno, Staravia or Beautifly.

Mention that if you use Chimchar, you will utterly die. Evolve Chimchar into Monferno so it learns Mach Punch, then you can proceed to the gym.

Everything else looks very good, I'm impressed! After this is finished I would love to see part 2. Great Work!

If no one else has any objections then this should be good for Grammar

 

Spoiler

Introduction​

Pokemon Diamond, Pokemon Pearl, and Pokemon Platinum all have one thing in common—many people have stated that DPP had many strong Gym Leaders, which might have given you some problems. This guide's purpose is to give you advice on how to take on these Gym Leaders, revealing their weaknesses and showing you how to exploit them, and handling their strengths. Using the tips and tricks listed here should give you a better shot at success.

Gym Leader One - Roark; Rock-type

​

Team: Geodude (Level 12), Onix (Level 12), and Cranidos (Level 14);



What to watch out for: Definitely Cranidos, which packs a punch, especially seeing as how it's bulky enough to take a hit and fast enough to get a Leer off. Stealth Rock also hurts if Geodude or Onix manage to set it up;

Good selections: All the starters work. Budew (Route 204), Machop (Route 207), and Geodude or Onix (Oreburgh Mine) all work nicely as well;

Protips: Rock Smash is super effective against Rock-types, so slap it on one of your Pokemon and watch it work. Also, training your starter to its second stage is a good call—the increased stats are a cushion versus the dangerous Cranidos, while Monferno's access to Mach Punch can be a lifesaver;

Overall difficulty: 4. Roark is not exactly going to sweep you, but he can definitely be annoying if you bring the wrong Pokemon or don't train your team enough.

Gym Leader Two - Gardenia; Grass-type

​

Team: Turtwig (Level 20), Cherrim (Level 20), and Roserade (Level 22);



What to watch out for: Turtwig throws up Reflect, which can make pushing past the other two Pokemon a real challenge. Cherrim's Leech Seed and Roserade's habit of spread status are also annoying to say the least;

Good selections: Flying-types like Staravia, Golbat, and Drifloon resist Grass and can hit Gardenia's team super effectively. Monferno and Gastly or Haunter can also work well;

Protips: None in particular, though just make sure you always carry Super Potions and Full Heals;

Overall Difficulty: 3. While Gardenia's team will definitely annoy you, it won't actually threaten you.

Gym Leader Three - Fantina; Ghost-type

​

Team: Duskull (Level 24), Haunter (Level 24), and Mismagius (Level 26);



What to watch out for: Well, Mismagius. Psybeam, Magical Leaf, and Shadow Ball's coverage and damage output as well as the chance to confuse one of your Pokemon are all threatening. Haunter has Sucker Punch, a confusion-causing move, and a sleep-inducing move. Duskull can burn one of your Pokemon or deal a ton of damage with Future Sight. Honestly, this entire gym is the worst kind of funhouse—Ghost-types are terrible;

Good selections: Pokemon with Bite—Luxio, Buizel, Golbat, Gyarados, and Grotle—all deal super effective damage, and you should run at least one of the aforementioned Pokemon. If, however, you do not have one, just bring hard hitters that aren't by chance weak to Psychic. Oh, and remember a ton of Super Potions or Revives;

Protips: If playing Platinum, get the Eevee from Bebe, run outside for a while until it gets dark, then feed it a Rare Candy. Fantina can do nothing to Umbreon. The only sad part is that it's kind of hard to get any more mileage out of it beyond this one gym...

Overall Difficulty: 8. This is the one gym to grind and overprepare for. Do not—under any circumstances—underestimate that Mismagius.

Gym Leader Four - Maylene; Fighting-type​

​

Team: Meditite (Level 28), Machoke (Level 29), and Lucario (Level 32)



What to watch out for: Well, the Lucario has high Attack and good coverage options in Bone Rush, Metal Claw, and Drain Punch, the latter of which helps it regain health whilst also dealing decent damage. Meditite has Fake Out and coverage options of its own in Rock Tomb;

Good selections: Flying-types go without saying, as they hit Meditite and Machoke super effectively and sponge Lucario's moves well enough. Staravia or Staraptor (the latter being probably the best Pokemon to bring, as it has Intimidate for a safety net and Close Combat for Lucario, the only problem being you need to get it to Level 36), Golbat or Crobat, Drifloon or Drifblim, Gyarados (has Intimidate but no Flying-type moves), and Scyther all work for this. Psychic-types like Espeon and Alakazam also do nicely, as their sheer power hits Meditite and Lucario hard despite their neutrality to Psychic, and they don't have to fear Rock Tomb's Speed drops. Gengar can work in a similar vein if one is desperate;

Protips: This is not obvious to the neophyte, but Torterra sweeps this gym clean by virtue of Earthquake's power and its own solid bulk. Ground-types like Gastrodon, Gligar, and Gabite are probably the best answers you'll get to that Lucario, and the fact that the Earthquake is accessible via TM back in Wayward Cave (Torterra learns it naturally at Level 32 when it evolves from Grotle) makes them work well for the rest of the gym;

Overall difficulty: 5-6. While her Pokemon are individually threatening (Flying-types have to watch for Rock Tomb), the sheer number of options available that beat Maylene make her not that difficult or even annoying, unless you're doing a Nuzlocke or something.

added quite a bit of formatting to make this nice & implemented

 

Looks great! ThrashNinjax Feel free to start part 2 when ready!