Gym Leader Level: 16–17
Path to Artazon
To get to Artazon, you’ll want to head out of the east gate of Mesagoza, through South Province (Area Three). If you’ve already headed that way, perhaps while searching for the Stony Cliff Titan, you can also just fly to the Pokémon Center about halfway through.
This one is a bit less obvious, and there are actually multiple ways to get to Artazon: you can follow the numerous signposts along the way, you can go on a bit of a detour and approach Artazon from the south, or you can just follow the main road that goes to the Pokémon Center and try not to deviate too much. Using the map above, you can follow the path shown in the dotted line and you’ll get there; if you haven’t already fought the Stony Cliff Titan, you’ll need to first make it to the starting Pokémon Center, but you can easily follow the road to get there.
If you haven’t already fought the Stony Cliff Titan, it’s strongly recommended to fight it along the way, because it’s at a slightly lower level than the Gym Leader and also gives your Koraidon/Miraidon the ability to dash faster, which speeds up everything by a lot.
Artazon
Artazon is a nice city with lots of buildings, shops, and even a hedge maze. You can just jump over the hedge maze if you feel like cheating, though. There are quite a few places in town, but the place you’ll want to hit up is the Gym, in the southern part of town by the pool.
In the hedge maze, at one of the dead ends, you can find TM026 Poison Tail, which might come in handy for the upcoming Gym. There’s also TM043 Fling north of the hedge maze, by a person near a sculpture.
Artazon Gym
In order to take on the Gym Leader, you must first clear the Gym Test, which involves tracking down a bunch of Sunflora. After accepting the Gym Test challenge, leave the Gym and head over to where the map suggests you to go, which should be a little fenced-in area. Talk to the person there and you’ll be tasked with rounding up 10 Sunflora.
There are far more than 10 Sunflora on the loose, though, don’t worry, so just look through the city and you’ll find a few. There are several right near the fenced-in area, and there are a few along the center part of town. Some of the Sunflora may even battle you, although they aren’t that strong, so don’t worry. After you’ve found them all, you’ll be able to take on the Gym Leader, Brassius.
Gym Leader Brassius
3,060
Mega Drain-
Sleep Powder
Tackle-
Razor Leaf
Rock Throw-
Trailblaze
Brassius specializes in Grass-type Pokémon, though thankfully most of his shouldn’t be too tricky. Flying-, Fire-, and Bug-type Pokémon and/or moves are recommended against him, or Ice, if you happen to have that, but he does have a counter in store for Pokémon of those types, so beware.
He leads with his Petilil, which knows Sleep Powder and Mega Drain. Being put to sleep with Sleep Powder is a pain, so try to take it out quickly before it has a chance to use that, or use Awakenings or Chesto Berries if you fall asleep.
His Smoliv shouldn’t be a problem at all, as it only knows Tackle and Razor Leaf, neither of which are exceptionally strong, nor is Smoliv. It’s just there for you to take out with pretty much any attack.
His main threat is his Sudowoodo. Yes, a Sudowoodo! Despite looking like a tree, Sudowoodo has always been just a pure-Rock-type—a fake! However, thanks to the power of Terastallization, Sudowoodo can finally live its dreams and become a pure-Grass-type Pokémon! Brassius will Terastallize it on the first turn, so while choosing your move and Pokémon to use, remember that it is a Grass-type, not a Rock-type. However, it does pack a Rock-type move, Rock Throw, which is a bit scary because that is able to counter all of Sudowoodo’s weaknesses—Fire, Flying, Bug, and even Ice! It also has Sturdy for its Ability, meaning you won’t be able to knock it out in one hit. Lastly, it also has the Grass-type move Trailblaze, which does damage and raises its Speed by one stage, kind of like Flame Charge.
After you’ve beaten Brassius, he’ll give you a badge and TM020 Trailblaze, which, as I just mentioned, raises the user’s Speed by one stage after using it in addition to doing damage.
Where to Go Next
If you’re following the Victory Road storyline, your next destination is the Levincia Gym to the north, although you’ll need to take a detour along the beach if you’ve only focused on Victory Road. If you’re following the recommended order, you’ll want to return back to western Paldea to take on the Open Sky Titan.