Pokémon Crystal/Facing Falkner

The Violet City Gym

Enter the gym when you are ready. The trainers in this gym use flying types, and are lead by Falkner, who is "The Elegant Master of Flying Pokemon" according to the sign outside of the gym.

Gym Tips

Notably rock type Pokémon will have an advantage, and grass type Pokémon will have a disadvantage. If you have trouble, Rickey the Onyx, even at level 5, can easily take hits thanks to it's type advantage. However it will do so slowly since it will not know any super effective moves.

There are three trainers in this gym who must be battled sequentially, but not necessarily consecutively. You can leave at any point and return with all your progress retained, so it's easy to visit a Pokémon center between battles if needed.

If you chose Cyndaquil then at level 12 it will learn ember, its first fire type move. Though it's not strong against flying types, it is a relatively powerful move for this part of the game.

Bird Keeper Abe

Head forward to be challenged by Bird Keeper Abe. Abe uses a single level 9 male Spearow, which knows peck.

Beat him to gain 55 exp and 216.

Bird Keeper Rod

Next up is Bird Keeper Rod. Rod starts out with a level 7 male Pidgey that knows Tackle. He follows this with an identical Pidgey.

Defeat him for 168.

Gym Leader Falkner

Heal up if needed before you face Falkner.

Falkner starts out by sending out a level 7 male Pidgey. Defeat it for 82 exp.

His next Pokémon is his ace, a level 9 male Pidgeotto. This is the evolved form of Pidgey and is a bit more powerful. Defeat it for 217 exp.

Beating Falkner gives you the Zephyrbadge, which raises the attack power of Pokémon. It also enables the use of the utility HM move Flash.

Further rewards for beating Falkner include TM31, which is a consumable item that teaches a Pokémon the move Mud-Slap. Finally, the battle gives the player a cool 900.

Leaving the Gym

Leave the Gym to receive a call from Professor Elm, who reports a curious discovery about the Pokémon Egg. He has sent his assistant to the Violet City Pokémon center for you to meet.

Head into the Pokémon Center, and be sure to first deposit one Pokémon in the PC if you currently have a full team of 6. Talk to the assistant by the counter, and the assistant will offer a Pokemon egg. The game doesn't force you to accept, so you can say no for some humorous dialogue. However accepting is only to your benefit, so talk to him to receive a Pokémon Egg. Once the egg has been accepted, the assistant will run off. Heal up if needed, then head to Sprout Tower.

Questions

• Falkner inherited his team from his father, and is the weakest Gym Leader. Is this a coincidence, or are these character traits related?
• Professor Elm sends his assistant to give the player character an Pokémon egg since he believes the egg must be around active Pokémon to hatch. Is this similar to real natural phenomena?