Best Strategy to Beat Koga in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen
Koga is the fifth Gym Leader (considering the challenge level order) that players will have to beat in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen, a Poison-type user specialized in causing Poisoning and reducing the accuracy of their rivals, while slowly draining their HP and turning combat into a battle of attrition.
Unprepared players will soon notice this vicious foe is more than they can bite off, so this guide will help them compose a decent strategy with the best counters, combat tips, and additional information on the Gym’s puzzle and trainers.
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Fuschia City Gym Puzzle Explained
Travel to Fuschia City to find the Poison-type Gym next to the Pokemon Center. It’s a pretty straightforward route, so there’s no chance of missing it. Once there, enter the Gym and talk to the Clerk near the Rhydon Statue to receive an important clue: The path ahead is covered in invisible walls.
As for the right path to reach Koga, the Gym Leader, it starts on the right side, then follows the line of sight of all the trainers in that zone, then makes a small turn on the top left corner. Here’s a full video showcasing the path:
Plus, there are a few trainers players will have to deal with, so let’s break it down real quick:
- Juggler Shawn: Lv. 34 Drowzee, Lv. 34 Hypno
- Tamer Phil: Lv. 34 Arbok, Lv. 34 Sandslash
- Juggler Kayden: Lv. 38 Hypno
- Tamer Edgar: Lv. 33 Arbok, Lv. 33 Arbok, Lv. 33 Sandslash
- Juggler Nate: Lv. 34 Drowzee, Lv. 34 Kadabra
- Juggler Kirk: Lv. 31 Drowzee, Lv. 31 Drowzee, Lv. 31 Drowzee, Lv. 31 Kadabra
Trainers don’t pose too much of an issue, although for a Poison-type Gym, it can be confusing that the trainers inside use Psychic, and Ground-type Pokemon.
The best strategy in this case is to alternate with a good Ground-type Pokemon (Dugtrio, Nidoking) and a Pokemon that knows Bite, like Gyarados, Blastoise, or Nidoqueen (can also learn Crunch). With that, you got the first encounters pretty much covered.
It is not necessary to beat all trainers in the Gym, though it is recommended to gain more EXP and PokeDollars. Consider doing a thorough sweep on the Gym Minions before facing Koga.
How to Beat Poison-type Gym Leader Koga in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen
|
1st Pokemon |
2nd Pokemon |
3rd Pokemon |
4th Pokemon |
|---|---|---|---|
Koffing Lv. 37 A: Levitate Sludge Selfdestruct Toxic Smokescreen |
Koffing Lv. 37 A: Levitate Sludge Selfdestruct Toxic Smokescreen |
Koffing Lv. 39 A: Sticky Hold Sludge Minimize Toxic Acid Armor |
Koffing Lv. 43 A: Levitate Toxic Smokescreen Tackle Sludge |
- Recommended Pokemon Team Level (Average): 40+
- Recommended Counters: Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Kadabra (or Alakazam), Hypno, Snorlax, Graveler (or Golem), Onyx, Rhydon
Koga is a specialist in using Poison-type Pokemon, and, unlike most Bikers and Team Rocket Grunts players might have faced so far, he actually has a pretty decent strategy and has been programmed to become quite annoying.
For starters, most of Koga’s team is immune to Ground-type Moves (Levitate), so that eliminates one of their major counters right off the bat. That doesn’t mean Nidoking or Nidoqueen (if players have two of the strongest Pokemon in the game) are useless here. On the contrary, they’re perfect for a battle against Koga.
Both Nidoking and Nidoqueen are bulky physical attackers and are Poison/Ground-types. That means they will take little to no damage from Koga’s attacks (except for Selfdestruct and Tackle from Koffing and Wheezing. Plus, they cannot be poisoned with Toxic.
If you notice Koga is using a Hyper Potion on a nearly weakened Koffing, he’s about to use Self-Destruct
.
Toxic is a vicious move, which carries a unique effect: The poison DoT becomes stronger with every turn, draining more and more HP as the battle continues. That’s where Koga’s Smokescreen + Selfdestruct strategy comes into play.
Koga will use Koffing to reduce the accuracy of your main attackers (Nidoking, for example), forcing players to switch them out for squishier, vulnerable to poison-type opponents. Then, it will use Toxic and more Smokescreen, and when Koga feels like the right moment is on, it will order Koffing to self-destruct and take down one of your party members with it.
He will repeat this strategy twice in a row, so Koffing is a priority target right from the bat. Eliminating them is a must before Koga drains the strength of your team.
Now, with Muk, Koga will use a similar strategy: First, he will use Minimize and Acid Armor to make Muk into a tanky, nearly impossible-to-hit target. Then, he will command Muk to go into the offensive using Toxic and Sludge, while spamming healing with Hyper Potions.
By the time players can notice it, they will have one or two Pokemon left, and Muk will still be alive and kicking, and that’s really bad for the overall strategy.
GameRant Quiz
Easy (15s)Medium (10s)Hard (5s)
Koga’s supply of Hyper Potions is endless. And it can be quite annoying to deal with while your Pokemon are on the losing end. But two can play the same game: Bring healing items as well!
Players must rely on sure-hit, powerful Psychic-type moves like Psychic (Hypno, Kadabra), and Rock-type moves they can teach Nidoking or Nidoqueen (Rock Tomb, Rock Slide) to blast Koffing away fast.
If players have Venusaur, they can use it to somewhat tank most of Koga’s moves, but in time to go to the offensive, it will lack the power to sweep his team. Blastoise and Charizard will fall to Toxic real fast, although they might be able to take down a couple of Koga’s Pokemon with them.
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Now, Rhydon, that’s a massive and bulky Physical Attacker, that can blast Koga’s Pokemon one after the other using Take Down, or Rock Blast. Horn Drill might be unreliable in this case, due to its low accuracy (with only one Smokescreen ACC down, it will be useless).
After beating Koga, he will give players the Soulbadge, which allows Pokemon to use Surf outside of battle. Now, players can finally set course for Cinnamon Island (but first, they need to beat Sabrina and defeat Team Rocket in Sylph. Co. They will also obtain the TM 06 – Toxic, one of the most useful Poison-type Moves in the game.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen
- Released
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September 7, 2004
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Mild Fantasy Violence, Simulated Gambling
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
