Gym Leader Level: 35–36
Path to Medali
There are two main ways to get to Medali, but one of them depends on if you’ve recently taken down the Lurking Steel Titan in eastern Paldea and have visited Zapapico.
Even if you haven’t, it’s easiest to just start from Porto Marinada. Take the road going east and then when it forks either to the north or straight forward (obviously don’t take the path back to Asado Desert), keep following that path. One of the paths is a bit of a detour, crossing some bridges and taking you along Lake Casseroya (watch out as some nearby Pokémon will be high-level!), while the middle path takes you through a cavernous area that has some neat Pokémon and a few items to pick up.
Both of these roads lead you to Medali, though.
You can also reach Medali from Zapapico over by where the Lurking Steel Titan is in eastern Paldea by leaving to the northwest and following the path and the directions on the sign, although be careful not to get lost and wind up climbing Glaseado Mountain!
Medali
Medali has quite a few shops and restaurants in town, but otherwise it isn’t too remarkable, at least not until after you’ve beaten the Gym.
The Gym can be found in the northern edge of town.
You can find TM074 Reflect nestled in an alley by the ice cream stands behind the Gym, and there are some delicious Leftovers by some other food stands in the western side of town.
Medali Gym
The Medali Gym is a bit tricky, so you’ll need to pay attention to the city in order to solve the puzzle! First, make sure you’ve actually started the Gym Test in the Gym, and then you need to go to the Treasure Eatery in the east side of town, which is the big, fancy restaurant.
You’ll need to talk to the waiter with the apron at the entrance of the Treasure Eatery to place your order, but you won’t know what the secret menu item is just yet, so you’ll basically be guessing! Here’s where to find the four hints (marked with a spoiler in case you don’t want the item itself spoiled), and remember they can be found all throughout the city, not just in the Treasure Eatery, and you can battle Gym Trainers with a yellow border above their speech bubble to get a very important hint:
- While still in the Treasure Eatery, talk to the Office Worker in a suit up at the bar in the Treasure Eatery and he’ll tell you that you’ll need some lemon.
- There’s a Gym Trainer in the south corner of town. Fight him and then talk to him afterwards and he’ll tell you that you need to listen really closely to the blue bird Pokémon. That refers to the man with a Squawkabilly on his head nearby. (Screenshot of the clue here)
- Don’t know what to do with that clue? Here’s a better hint: wait near the man with a blue Squawkabilly on his head and eventually the Squawkabilly will tell you one of the ingredients… well, sort of. It’s in orange text, although it isn’t quite what it is, but it should hopefully make sense. (Screenshot of the answer here)
- There’s a Student near the northern part of town and she has a clue if you beat her in battle. Talk to her after the fight and she’ll give you a clue, telling you to look for a dark spot surrounded by stairs. (Screenshot of the clue here)
- Don’t know what to do with that clue? Here’s a better hint: press A near the dark, closed gate at the bottom of the nearby stairs leading down. (Screenshot of the answer here)
- Lastly, there’s a Student near the ice cream stands just outside of the Treasure Eatery. Beat her, and then she’ll give you another clue when you talk to her: the odd one out at one of the ice cream stands. (Screenshot of the clue here)
- What does she mean by that clue? Here’s a better hint: shop at the nearby ice cream stands and you’ll find something that doesn’t belong in an ice cream stand for sale in one of them. (Screenshot of the answer here)
If you don’t care about solving the puzzle yourself, here are the answers: Grilled rice balls, Medium serving, Extra crispy, Fire Blast style, and garnish with Lemon.
Unlike other Gyms, you’ll need to talk to the waiter again when you’re ready to challenge the Gym Leader, so you don’t even need to go back to the Gym. Just talk to him when you’re ready and you’ll be introduced to the Gym Leader.
Gym Leader Larry
6,480
Slam-
Yawn
Sucker Punch
-
Glare
Drill Run-
Hyper Drill
-
Facade
Aerial Ace
Larry specializes in Normal-type Pokémon, meaning they have just one weakness: Fighting. A lot of Pokémon can learn Fighting-type moves, even ones that aren’t part Fighting-type themselves, so it’s a good idea to bring some of those moves or Pokémon into the fight, although his main Pokémon can prove problematic for Fighting-type Pokémon in particular, so watch out.
He starts with his Komala, which has the Comatose Ability, meaning it is permanently asleep and cannot be affected by any other major status conditions. It has Yawn to put you to sleep at the end of the following turn, Sucker Punch to hit you before you get to strike, and then Slam to do some medium damage.
Dudunsparce, the evolution of Dunsparce, is a lot more of a threat by using its signature move, Hyper Drill, which is quite powerful. It also has Drill Run for Ground-type coverage and has Glare to paralyze your Pokémon.
Lastly, he uses his Staraptor, which is particularly scary. Staraptor is already a Normal/Flying-type Pokémon, so when he Terastallizes it, it becomes pure-Normal-type, losing its Flying type, but still retaining the benefits of STAB for its Flying-type move, Aerial Ace. Not only that, but due to Staraptor already being Normal-type, it gets a 2× damage multiplier for its Normal-type moves instead of the usual 1.5× for STAB, and Staraptor has pretty solid Attack as-is, meaning this thing could hurt quite a bit. It only has Facade and Aerial Ace for its moves, so any Rock- or Steel-type Pokémon will do very well against it. It has Intimidate for its Ability, which will lower your Pokémon’s Attack by one stage when Staraptor is first sent out.
Nemona Wants to Battle
If this is your fifth Gym Badge, then you won’t get a chance to breathe after the Gym Leader battle, because Nemona will congratulate you on earning your badge and will immediately challenge you to a battle afterwards. (If this isn’t your fifth Gym Badge, you’ll still have to fight her whenever you earn your fifth Gym Badge, regardless of which is it.)
-
Sand Attack
Rock Slide-
Crunch
-
Accelerock
-
Flail
Water Pulse
Dragon Pulse
Thunder Wave-
Quick Attack
-
Spark
Arm Thrust
-
Air Slash
-
Aqua Jet
-
Aqua Step
-
Quick Attack
-
Slash
Flower Trick
Lick-
Snarl
Torch Song
She’ll use a Lycanroc Lv. 36, a Goomy Lv. 36, a Pawmo Lv. 36, and then the final evolutionary stage of her starter Pokémon at Lv. 37, which will Terastallize to match its primary type on the first turn. Keep this in mind, because it will lose its secondary type.
After beating her, Geeta, who was spectating the fight, will reward you with several copies of TM171 Tera Blast, which uses the Pokémon’s higher attacking stat to determine damage and also changes it type to the user’s Tera Type while it is Terastallized.
Where to Go Next
Regardless of whether you’re following the Victory Road storyline or the recommended path, you’ll want to head to Montenevera next, which can be a bit tricky to get to and involves climbing some of Glaseado Mountain, following the path to the north of Medali.