Striaton City

Your guide to Striaton City in Pokémon Black and White! Learn about items, points of interest, and how to defeat Cheren to challenge the first Gym Leader.

Striaton City is a pretty modern place, with lots of tall apartment buildings and a nice park. It's where you'll find the first Gym, and things get a little more challenging here because the Gym Leader's Pokémon type is super effective against whatever starter you picked!

You can grab some useful items right away, like Oran Berries, Great Balls, and X Speed. After you beat the Gym, you'll be able to get HM01 Cut and the Pal Pad, and if you can use Surf later, you can even snag a Big Pearl and some Zinc.

When you first arrive, head north. A local will give you a heads-up that the Gym Leader isn't around, so you'll need to track them down. Your next stop is the Trainer School, just two buildings to the left. Inside, you'll find Cheren. He'll tell you the Gym Leader just left, but he's not giving up that info for free – he wants to battle you!

Trainer Battle: Cheren

Cheren is your rival, and he's always looking to test your skills. He'll send out a Purrloin at level 8. If you picked Tepig, he'll use Oshawott (Water type) at level 8. If you chose Oshawott, he'll use Snivy (Grass type) at level 8. And if you picked Snivy, he'll use Tepig (Fire type) at level 8. His starter Pokémon will be holding a berry, making this a bit tougher than your previous fights. Just make sure you've trained up your party a bit on your way here, and you should be good to go. Try not to use your own starter against his starter if you can help it!

Once you've defeated Cheren, head back to the Gym. You'll find the green-haired Gym Leader hanging out outside. You can go in now, but it's a good idea to check out the area in the top-right of town first.