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Once you’ve made it to Motostoke, it will be time to face your third Gym in Pokémon Sword and Shield. The Motostoke Gym is home to Fire-type trainers and a unique gym mission where you can catch Fire-type Pokémon. Here’s how to beat it.

The Motostoke Gym Mission

Once you’ve beaten Marnie and gained entry to the gym, you will be tasked with a unique Gym Mission. You will have to earn five points to move forward and fight the Gym Leader, Kabu. You can earn one point by knocking out Pokémon in the tall grass, and two points by catching them.

In the Gym, you will encounter a Vulpix, a Sizzlipede, and a Litwick. A trainer will fight alongside you during one of the encounters. You can knock this trainer’s Pokémon out if you want to make it easier for you to catch the wild Pokémon.

You’ll want to aim to catch at least two of the wild Pokémon here. To make this easier, you can buy TM94, which contains False Swipe, from the TM Shop at the Pokémon Center in Motostoke. This move will weaken your opponent without knocking them out.

Once you beat the mission, you can face Kabu. Kabu has a level 25 Ninetales, a level 25 Arcanine, and a level 27 Centiscortch that he will Gigantamax. All three of these Pokémon are weak to Water and Rock-type attacks, and Centiscortch takes four times the standard damage from Rock-type moves.

Pokémon Sword and Shield Motostoke Gym Leader Kabu

Top counters for the Gym

The best counters for the Motostoke Gym, then, are Rock-type Pokémon. You can catch a Rolycoly on Route 3 or a Chewtle on Route 2. Both of these learn Rock-type moves that will absolutely devastate Kabu’s Centiscortch.

You can always use Water-types as well. If you chose Sobble as your starter, it should have evolved to Drizzile by this point. Drizzile will work fine, and there are various other Water-types that you can catch in the Wild Area and by fishing. Whichever route you choose to go, make sure your Pokémon has a Water or Rock-type move.

Once you beat the Motostoke Gym, your next stop will be Stow-on-Side. There, you will face either Bae if you have Pokémon Sword or Allister if you have Pokémon Shield. Stay tuned for more Pokémon news and guides!