Gym Leader Koga

Koga's Poison-types are tough! Learn the best Psychic and Ground-type counters to defeat Gym Leader Koga in Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee.

Alright, you're about to face off against Koga, the ninja master himself! He's really leaned into his Poison-type Pokémon, so if you want to avoid a nasty defeat, you'll want to bring your best Psychic and Ground-type Pokémon to this rematch. Let's get you prepped!

Stats / Weaknesses:

• Tentacruel — Level 56, Water/Poison. Weak to Psychic, Electric, Ground.
• Venomoth — Level 56, Bug/Poison. Weak to Fire, Flying, Psychic, Rock.
• Golbat — Level 56, Poison/Flying. Weak to Electric, Rock, Ice, Psychic.
• Muk — Level 57, Poison. Weak to Ground, Psychic.
• Weezing — Level 56, Poison. Weak to Ground, Psychic.

Strategy:

• Koga's first Pokémon is Tentacruel. Don't lead with your Ground-types here! This jellyfish can hit hard with Hydro Pump and Sludge Bomb (that's STAB for you!), use Mega Drain to heal itself by draining your HP, and Toxic to badly poison your team. Your best bet here is a Psychic or Electric-type.
• Next up, Koga might send out Venomoth. It's packing Bug Buzz and Sludge Bomb for STAB, Psychic to mess with Fighting and Poison-types, and Mega Drain to recover health against Rock and Ground-types. However, it's pretty vulnerable to Fire, Flying, and Psychic-types.
• You should be pretty familiar with Golbat by now. This one can use Fly to dodge your attacks for a turn before hitting you with STAB moves. It also has U-Turn to deal damage and switch out, Leech Life to steal your HP, and Crunch for other coverage. Electric or Rock-types will do great against it.
• Koga's ace in the hole is Muk. It can use Sludge Bomb for STAB, Mega Drain to annoy Ground-types, Dark Pulse to punish your Psychic-types, and Moonblast to counter Fighting and Dragon-types. Stick with Ground or Psychic-types here, or if you want to be really safe, a Steel-type can wall it.
• Finally, you'll face Weezing. It's got Sludge Bomb for STAB, Toxic to start a nasty countdown on your Pokémon, Fire Blast to melt Steel-types, and Thunder to surprise Water and Flying-types. Ground and Psychic-types are your safest bet to take this one down.