Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were recently released on November 19 and that means players everywhere are busy beating the popular remake’s Gym Leaders. The seventh gym in the game is Snowpoint City Gym where players must defeat its ice-type Gym Leader Candice.
Snowpoint City Gym is home to a desperately difficult puzzle, making this location one of the most complicated gyms. In fact, it is easy to spend more time solving the puzzle and trying to get to Candice, than actually battling her.
Unsurprisingly, Candice fights predominantly with ice-type Pokémon. Meaning, players with moderately leveled fire-type Pokémon should easily conquer this gym and receive the Icicle Badge. Successfully beating Snowpoint City Gym unlocks the ability for players to use the Rock Climb HM in the Pokémon world, rather than only in battle. The win will also progress the story further, allowing players to travel to Lake Acuity where they will continue to face Team Galactic.
Preparing for the Snowpoint City Gym
For those who chose Chimchar as their starter Pokémon, things will be a bit easier. A level 48 Infernape is capable of obliterating all of Candice’s ice-type Pokémon without the help of healing items. That being said, it is important to prepare for the other trainers in the gym which will have players battle Pokémon who do well against fire and fight-type moves, as well as those who use water-type attacks.
For players who didn’t choose Chimchar as their starter, another option when beating Candace is Ponyta. The firey horse can be found on Route 206, 211, and 215, evolving into Rapidash at level 40. A couple of other options Candice doesn’t stand a chance against are Machoke and Graveler; both are located on Route 216. As this gym is a dizzying puzzle, it is important to bring plenty of healing items as once players are in the gym, they won’t want to leave before completing it.
Getting to Candice
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s seventh gym has players slide along sheets of ice and slam into the giant snowballs serving as obstacles on the path to Candice. Gamers must clear the giant snowballs in order to get to the Gym Leader of the Snowpoint Gym. Making it more interesting, players can only hit the snowballs from certain directions, all the while defeating several trainers along the way.
It is definitely possible to complete the puzzle without help but for those frustrated with the game, here is a helpful video for solving the puzzle.
Beating Candice
As previously mentioned, Infernape is incredibly useful against this gym as three out of four of Candice’s Pokémon are weak against fire-type moves. The other Pokémon is not weak against fire-type moves but moves like Close Combat do a lot of damage. Three of her Pokémon do have access to the move Earthquake which could be an issue for Infernape. However, due to its speed, the Pokémon primate should be able to take them out in one move with Flame Wheel.
Candice’s Pokémon include Snover, Sneasel, Abomasnow, and Medicham. Groveler or Machoke should be just fine against all of them except Medicham. Bringing along a Haunter for the battle against Medicham should do the trick. However, if Groveler or Machoke have levels in the mid-to-high forties, they should have the stamina to outlast Medicham and win. Good luck!
The Trainers
| Ace Trainer Brenna (₱2,496) |
|---|
| Snover (Lv. 39) |
| Ace Trainer Isaiah (₱2,496) |
|---|
| Quagsire (Lv. 39) |
| Ace Trainer Anton (₱2,496) |
|---|
| Snover (Lv. 39) |
| Ace Trainer Sergio (₱2,516) |
|---|
| Floatzel (Lv. 37) |
| Sneasel (Lv. 37) |
| Ace Trainer Alicia (₱2,516) |
|---|
| Sneasel (Lv. 37) |
| Tentacruel (Lv. 37) |
| Ace Trainer Savannah (₱2,516) |
|---|
| Pelipper (Lv. 35) |
| Golduck (Lv. 36) |
| Steelix (Lv. 37) |
| Leader Candice (₱5,208) | |
|---|---|
| Snover (Lv. 38) | Water Pulse |
| Mist | |
| Avalanche | |
| Razor Leaf | |
| Sneasel (Lv. 38) | Metal Claw |
| Dig | |
| Avalanche | |
| Hone Claws | |
| Medicham (Lv. 40) | Brick Break |
| Ice Punch | |
| Rock Slide | |
| Bulk Up | |
| Abomasnow (Lv. 42) | Giga Drain |
| Aurora Veil | |
| Earthquake | |
| Blizzard | |
There’s a lot to learn about this game. You might want to learn a bit about Affection bonuses. There are also tons of evolution stones and other items you need to hunt for. Pokémon swarms are back as well, adding another layer to capturing rare monsters. When you want to explore the Grand Underground, you’re going to need a lot of Digger Drills.
