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Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Alfornada Gym – Psychic Badge Guide

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Alfornada Gym Guide

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet love to bring some challenging battles your way. The next Gym is a pretty big leap in challenge due to the mix of moves and Types the Trainers use. You’re also in for a Rival battle when you get there, so use this guide to get prepared. After you’ve beaten the Ghost-type Gym and the Quaking Earth Titan, the next major challenge is on the horizon. The Alfornada Gym is a Psychic-type gym, which is not only high-level, but also kind of annoying to get to. Keep reading to learn how to get there, and what you’ll face when you do.

How to reach the Alfornada Gym

The Gym is kind of hard to get via the intended route. You would normally have to going southwest from Mesagoza and Cortondo. Even though you can tackle the gyms in any order, you’ll need to at least have beaten one Titan Pokémon to get Koraidon/Miraidon’s high jump upgrade to be able to access the gym.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Alfornada Gym Secondary Path

But lucky for you, there’s a better way that doesn’t require doing as much work or backtracking. There’s actually a path to get around most of the annoying Trainers and wild encounters you can take starting from the very beginning of the game.

Start from South Province Area Four, right by your House, and then head west toward the Psychic Gym city of Alfornada. When you get to the edge of the South Province bisected by a river, just leap off the edge of the map. Head towards the West Paldean Sea via the ocean water and make your way around the outcropping of rocks on the map. There’s a small sandy patch of land that will allow you to make your way up to the rocky path above. Be careful of the level 35-45 Pokemon in the water, such as Gyrados and Cloister. Once you get up onto the upper path, just follow the path upward. You wil see a Fighting-type Trainer just ahead of the cave entrance that you need to find.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Alfornada Gym Cave Entrance

There’s an alternate path if you have it unlocked. You can start from the West Province (Area One) – Central Pokemon Center and follow the pathway to the South. Eventually, you’ll reach some cliffs on your right side that lead down to a beach.

When you’re inside the Alfornada Cavern, it’s a pretty simple process to get through. Head East through the cave, then turn South when you hit the Trainer. Head towards the Southeast towards the next Trainer, which leads to an upward path. Take the path to the West, leading you to two final Trainers: a Courier and then a Hiker. Once you’re outside of the cave, the city is dead ahead. The Trainers here use a mix of Types, but a good Ground and Water team can handle most of them. I used Donphan and Azumarill at around level 47 as my leaders, they did pretty well.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Alfornada Gym Cave Path

The Trainers and the Pokemon in the area range from levels 40-45, the same as the Gym. Bringing a good mix of types to train against the wild pokemon can be good.

How to beat the Alfornada Gym in Scarlet and Violet

If you’re wondering what types to use, you have a few options. Dark, Bug, Steel, Ghost and Fairy-type are the best options, but be careful of using Dark types, as Fairy moves are used by some Trainers.

Venomoth, Lokix and Scyther are all good Bug-Type options for the Gym. Skeledirge can be a good option as a backup if you have Dark moves on it, you Fuecoco starters lucked out there. You will want to catch Lokix from around the city if you don’t have it, it’s actually pretty good against the Gym.

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Nemona is ready and waiting for you when you arrive at Alfornada Gym, with a team that’s also getting stronger. Here are the Pokemon she uses:

  • Lycanroc – Level 42
  • Sliggoo – Level 42
  • Pawmot – Level 42
  • Starter – Level 43

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Alfornada Gym Rival Fight

Lycanroc and Pawmot are no issue if you have a good Ground-type on your team. Donphan with Earthquake was able to mop the floor with them. Swapped in Azumarill to deal with Sliggoo via Play Rough, then finished off her starter with my Skeledirge. A very easy fight with the right composition.

When you beat your rival, it’s time to take on the Gym’s Challenge. Head out of the Gym after speaking to the receptionist, and look for Dendra to the left. Dendra explains that you need to match their emotions. It’s a basic rythym game. Just press the corresponding button to the face that shows up at the top of the screen. Once that’s over, you face your first Gym battle. Emily has the following team:

  • Gothorita – Level 43 – Psychic
  • Kirilia – Level 44 –  Psychic

Dark-types will do well against both of these. Use your best Dark-type moves to finish them off before it can Fake Tears into a more powerful move. Watch out for Hypnosis, and have an Awakening on standby to bring your Pokemon out of Sleep. Repeat the process with the rhythm game again, and then you’ll face Raphael:

  • Grumpig – Level 43 – Psychic
  • Medicham – Level 43 – Fighting/Psychic
  • Indeedee – Level 43 – Psychic/Normal

Grumpig can be a bit of a tank thanks to Rest, so use your best Dark or Ghost moves to finish it. Since you didn’t get to heal before this fight, swap out when Medicham comes out to something that can tank a hit to heal your main damage dealer. Indeedee is immune to Ghost moves, so be mindful of that. Dark type moves still hit a weakness though, so use those instead. If you have Bite or Crunch, go for the flinch to do well. And once you’ve won this round, it’s time for the final battle.

Here are the Gym Leader’s Pokemon:

  • Farigiraf – Lvl 44 – Psychic/Normal
  • Gardevoir – Lvl 44 – Psychic/Fairy
  • Espathra – Lvl 44 – Psychic
  • Florges – Lvl 45 – Fairy (Psychic Tera)

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Alfornada Gym Tulip

Donphan or a similarly tanky choice with Dark type moves can be a good option here. The aforementioned Venomoth, Lokix and Scyther are all good Bug-Type options for this portion as well. Be careful of the Ghost-immune Farigiraf though. Also, Gardevoir has some scary moves. Energy Ball is a hard counter to Ground types and some others, so be watchful of that one. Espathra has Shadow Ball to counter Ghost-types, be careful of that and be ready to heal if need be. Use the free turn before Florges Tera’s to heal your injured fighter. I let Tulip take down my Skeledirge and Donphan, dealing damage where I could, before finishing Florges with Scyther and XScissor.

Once you have cleared the Psychic Gym in Scarlet and Violet, you gain 8,100 Pokédollars, as well as TM 120 Psychic.

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