Ready to get your first gym badge? Today, we’re covering the best strategies to beat Cortondo Gym Leader Katy in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Need help to defeat Katy the Sugarbug in Cortondo?
Today, we’re covering the best strategies to do so in our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Cortondo gym guide.
If you’re aiming to collect all the gym badges in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, facing Cortondo Gym Leader Katy is your first big hurdle.
The first gym you should tackle in Scarlet and Violet is located in Cortondo towards the southern part of the small city. It’s hard to miss as it’s the big building seen in the picture above.
The gym leader here is known as Katy the Sugarbug. She’s a sweetheart sweets-maker who specializes in Bug-type Pokémon as you can guess from her name.
Players in Scarlet and Violet are lucky as Bug-type is one of the weakest types in terms of advantages/disadvantages against other types in the games. This makes this gym a pretty easy challenge, especially for players who picked Fire-type Fuecoco at the start of the game as Bug-types are weak to Fire-type moves. Grass-type Sprigatito is weak to Bug-type moves, but don’t worry; you can easily catch other Pokémon on the paths outside the city to help you defeat Katy and the other trainers at her gym.
Before Facing Cortondo Gym Leader Katy: Preparation Tips
Before you try to challenge Katy, you’ll want to make sure you have the right kind of Pokémon types with the right moves to survive her gym. You’ll also want to have a few Pokémon at level 15 or higher.
If you don’t meet these requirements, you should catch Pokémon that’ll help you against the type matchups you’ll face.
If you challenge the two optional gym trainers, you’ll face up against a total of three pure Bug-types, a Bug/Poison dual-type, and a Normal-type terastillized into a Bug-type.
For this reason, I recommend sticking with Fuecoco and its first evolution, Crocalor, or one of the flying-types you can catch like Fletchling. If you don’t have any of these Pokémon, try to make sure you have at least a Fire-type, Flying-type, or Rock-type move for dealing with the Bug-type Pokémon. For the Normal-type Pokémon, you’ll just keep the same strategy, as its terastilized form turns it into a pure Bug-type.
Gym Test
When you first arrive at the gym, you’ll run into Nemona who will give you 3x Super Potions for your big gym debut. These will come in handy if you take any damage from the opposing Pokémon during your attempts at getting the Cortondo gym badge.
After Nemona leaves, you’ll want to talk with the person at the front desk. They’ll direct you towards an area just north of the outskirts of town for a Gym Test called the Olive Roll.
The Olive Roll isn’t a tasty pastry. It’s a simple puzzle that involves rolling a giant olive from one side of a field to the other.
During the Olive Roll, you can find shortcuts by challenging the two gym trainers on the field. It’s recommended that you do this to help gain experience and money.
The first opponent you’ll face is Gym Trainer Esmeralda with a level 13 Kricketune, a pure Bug-type. It knows Tackle and most likely another couple of moves. If you’re using a Fire-type or Flying-type to take advantage of type matchups, you won’t need to worry about its moveset as you can knock it out with one or two super effective attacks.
Those are some dangerous-looking eyebrows.
The next opponent is Gym Trainer Antonio. He has a level 13 Venonat, a Bug/Poison-type. Remember your type matchups and crush this little bug.
Defeating Antonio opens up a path to place your olive directly into the goal. Do so, then return to the gym once you’re ready to take on Katy.
Here’s what you need to know when challenging Cortondo Gym Leader Katy.
Cortondo Gym Leader Katy is known for her exceptional Bug-type Pokémon.
Enter the gym and talk to the front desk to initiate the fight against Katy. She’ll introduce herself and send out her first Pokémon, a level 14 Nymble, a pure Bug-type. After Nymble, she’ll send out another pure Bug-type: a level 14 Tarantoula. Make quick work of these two and get ready for the real challenge of the gym.
Surprisingly, instead of another pure Bug-type or even a mixed Bug-type, she sounds out Teddiursa, a pure Normal-type. The catch, though, is that this Teddiursa Bug-type terastillizes right at the start of the match. This form turns it into a Bug-type with the corresponding weaknesses and strengths.
You’ve heard of bedbugs, now meet bearbugs.
If you’re using a Sprigatito or its evolution, you’ll likely be taken down in one or two hits. Be sure to use a Pokémon that’s either Fire-type, Flying-type, or Rock-type, or a Pokémon that has those types of moves. Teddiursa should go down in two or three super effective hits if you aren’t over- or under-leveled.
Perfect for the Bug-types you might have caught along the way.
After defeating Katy the Cortondo gym Leader, she’ll give you the Bug-type badge for the Cortondo gym and TM 021 Pounce. It’s a Bug-type move that’ll damage the enemy Pokémon and lower their Speed. Having the Cortondo badge also allows you to more easily catch Pokémon up to level 25 and control the ones you’ve gotten through trades.
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That does it for this Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Cortondo gym guide. If you want to read more Poké-goodness, check out our article on the cutest Pokémon in the entire series. Stay tuned for more Pokémon Scarlet and Violet guides!