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Once players have defeated Opal in Ballonlea, they will need to face off against the Circhester’s gym leader. However, like Stow-on-Side’s gym, players who havePokemon Shieldwill be battling a different gym leader than the one inPokemon Sword.
InPokemon Sword, Circhester’s gym specializes in the Rock-type. InPokemon Shield, the gym uses Ice-type Pokemon instead. Instead of battling Gordie,Pokemon Shieldplayers will fight Melony. At this point in the game, players should have Pokemon around level 45, meaning Melony shouldn’t be too much of a challenge if players remember their type matchups.
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Preparing for Melony’s Gym Battle
Ice-type Pokemon are weak to Fire, Steel, Fighting, and Rock-type. They are strong against Grass, Flying, Dragon, and Ground-type.
If players chose Scorbunny, having it for this gym will put them at an advantage. If not, there are plenty of Fire-type Pokemon to catch in the Wild Area such as Vulpix and Growlithe. For dual Fire-type Pokemon, the Galar Mines are home to Rock/Fire-type Rolycoly and Carkol, with the latter evolving into Coalossal at level 34.
Those who bought theSword & ShieldDLC pack canfarm for Max Mushrooms on the Isle of Armor. Feeding Max Soup to Cinderace or Coalossal will allow it to Gigantamax. In addition to Max Soup, Isle of Armor is home to Steel and Rock-type Pokemon along Challenge Road or in Potbottom Desert.
Fighting-type Pokemon are also useful in this gym and will serve well against Melony’s signature Pokemon, Lapras. The Fighting-type Pancham and Normal/Fighting-type Stufful can be found in theWild Areaoutside Motostoke.If players want the Fighting/Steel-type Lucario, they can evolve Riolu, which can be caught duringSnowy Weatherin Giant’s Cap.
Some other recommended Pokemon for Circhester Gym are Boldore (Rock-type) and Crustle (Bug/Rock-type).
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Melony’s Gym Challenge and Battle
The Gym Challenge itself is split into three different stages and is relatively easy despite being difficult to see the map. The best way to navigate this gym is tolisten closelyandwalk slowly. There are gym trainers stationed on platforms, sodefeat them to gain some experience and money.
There’s only one trainer in thefirst area, and they will send out a level 38 Snom. Their Pokemon only knows Powder Snow and Struggle Bug, and it is an Ice/Bug-type to boot. A good Rock or Fire-type move will send it packing.
In thesecond area, there is a trainer with a Cloyster and another trainer with a Beartic.
Cloyster is level 38 and is Water/Ice-type. Fire-type moves aren’t going to deal Super Effective damage, but a good Electric or Grass-type move will. Players can also use a Fighting-type Pokemon to take it out instead.
As for Beartic, defeat it using powerful moves that target its weakness. Unlike Snom and Cloyster, Beartic is not a dual Ice-type Pokemon, so players can send out Fire-types against this one.
There’s one last trainer in thethird area,and she uses an Avalugg. This Pokemon has incredibly high Defense, so players should avoid using moves that deal Physical damage unless they want to slowly chip away at its health.
Once players have completed the Gym Challenge and entered the stadium, they will face off against Melony. Here is what her team looks like:
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Shell Armor
Icy Wind, Ice Beam, Surf, Sing
Melony’s Pokemon are females, so if players likeusing moves such as Attract or Captivate, they can use them on all of her Pokemon.
She’ll start by sending Frosmoth. Fortunately, this Pokemon isn’t too fast, and its 4x weaknesses to Fire-type make it easy to take out. Use a move like Flamethrower or Fire Fang, and it should go down in one hit. In addition to Fire-type,Frosmoth also has a 4x weakness to Rock-typemoves. So if trainers are lacking a Fire-type Pokemon, or are saving their Fire-types for Melony’s other Pokemon, use a Rock-type move instead.
Next is Melony’s Galarian Darmanitan. Its Defense and Special Defense aren’t that great, but it’s a bit faster than Frosmoth.Darmanitan will enter Zen Mod once it’s down to half-HP. Unlike regular Darmanitan, Galarian Darmanitan will gain a boost in its Speed and Attack. Use a physical or special move that targets its weakness to take it down.
Eiscue is the next Pokemon on the list, and it can be a bit frustrating if players forget about its Ice Face ability. This workssimilar to Mimikyu’s Disguise ability. However, if Eiscue is hit with a Special Attack, the Ice Face ability won’t work. So use Special moves to avoid wasting a turn. Be warned that once Eiscue enters its Noice Face form, it will be much faster. Furthermore, if Eiscue usesHailwhile in its Noice Face form, its Ice Face ability will be restoredat the end of the turn.
Finally,Melony will send out her Lapras. This Lapras is capable of Gigantamaxing and using its G-max Move: G-Max Resonance. Melony will Gigantamax Lapras as soon as it’s sent out, so Dynamax/Gigantamax and hit it with a hard Fighting, Electric, or Grass-type move. If Lapras has the chance to use G-Max Resonance, it will trigger Aurora Veil. The effects of Aurora Veil will reduce the damage of physical and special moves dealt to Lapras. Unlike the regular move Aurora Veil, it does not need to be hailing for the effects of G-Max Resonance to occur.
After Melony has been defeated, she willgive players the Ice Badge. This will let Pokemon up to level 80 obey their trainers. In addition, players will also be able to catch Pokemon up to level 50.
Pokemon SwordandPokemon Shieldare available now on Nintendo Switch.
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