What order should you visit the Gyms in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet?

Don’t stumble into the hardest gym first

In a first for the mainline Pokemon series, Scarlet & Violet lets you challenge gym leaders in any order you want. You will unlock the ability to challenge gym leaders after visiting the academy and unlocking the Victory Road story.

As great as it sounds to carve your own path against the gym leaders, there is a small caveat here. Gym leaders are still balanced like older Pokemon games, so some will have significantly higher level Pokemon than others. You can’t skip gym leaders either, as you’ll need to defeat all eight to complete the Victory Road story. In other words, there’s no reason to skip to the hardest gym in the game when you could be leveling your party by seeking out weaker gyms first.

Some gym leaders are close enough in difficulty that they are nearly interchangeable, so you’ll be okay if you’d prefer to find the ideal gym order yourself. Also, if you select each gym leader icon on your map, you’ll find a short description that will give hints on how hard the gym will be. That said, if you absolutely want to challenge gym leaders from easiest to hardest, follow the below list.

The easiest order to defeat each gym

1 – Cortondo –  Katy will use level 14-15 bug Pokemon

2 – Artazon –  Brassius will use level 16-17 grass Pokemon

3 – Levincia – Iono will use level 23-24 electric Pokemon

4 – Cascarrafa – Kofu will use level 29-30 water Pokemon

5 – Medali – Larry will use level 35-36 normal Pokemon

6 – Montenevera – Ryme will use level 41-42 ghost Pokemon

7 – Alfornada – Tulip will use level 44-45 psychic Pokemon

8 – Glaseado – Grusha will use level 47-48 ice Pokemon

There’s your gym order, from easiest to hardest! Remember, the Victory Road storyline is only one of three quests that you unlock after visiting the academy near the start of the game. If you follow this gym order, you’ll see several objectives to advance the other two stories nearby. You are not locked into the story path that you choose to follow once the world opens to you. In fact, if you want to discover all the secrets hidden within Scarlet & Violet, you will need to complete all three quests!

In other words, follow whatever objective looks interesting to you and your party will have levels to spare challenging the gym leaders. Even if you choose to do one out of the recommended order here and there.