Need help fighting Gym Leader Gardenia? This page has strategies and tips to deal with the Grass-type master.
Gardenia is the second Gym Leader, waiting to be challenged at the end of the Eterna City Gym. You might not expect Grass-types to pose much of a challenge, but you’d be unwise to underestimate her.
Gym Leader Gardenia¶
(1 of 2) Gardenia specializes in Grass-types.
Gardenia specializes in Grass-types. (left), She even has Turtwig, the Grass starter! (right)
Similar to Roark, Gardenia starts off fairly easy, with two unevolved Grass-types: 
Cherubi and 
Turtwig. You can easily mop the floor with them using solid Fire, Flying, Bug, Ice or Poison-types (although you’re unlikely to have any Ice-types right now).
Chimchar users clearly have a big advantage, but there are plenty of viable Pokémon you can pick up, like 
Ponyta from Route 211 or you can evolve a 
Starly into 
Staravia. If you’re patient, you can also find 
Scyther or 
Pinsir as a rare spawn in the Grand Underground (eg. Grassland Cave).
Of note, Cherubi can use Safeguard to protect its team from status conditions, but they’re not that vital here. Meanwhile, Turtwig, can set up Reflect to weaken your physical moves, which will be annoying if you rely on those.
(1 of 2) Roserade’s Sitrus Berry will restore some HP when low.
Roserade’s Sitrus Berry will restore some HP when low. (left), Being hit by Stun Spore can be fatal. (right)
Roserade, Gardenia’s final Pokémon, is a massive step up. This is the final evolution of 
Budew, completely skipped 
Roselia. Since it’s also a Poison-type, Roserade takes neutral damage from Bug, but receives double damage from Psychic.
Besides being a powerhouse, Roserade is fast and can use Stun Spore to paralyze your Pokémon, further slowing them down. You can counteract this by letting your Pokémon hold a Cheri Berry from Floaroma Town. Lastly, be wary of its Sitrus Berry, which automatically restores some HP.
Right now, the only really good options are Fire or Flying. For good measure, we suggest having multiple back up options. Ponyta can deal some hefty damage with Flame Charge, while boosting its Speed. Otherwise, you could fight fire with fire and chuck Scyther/Pinsir at it.
After the Fight¶
Mow down Gardenia and you’ll receive her Forest Badge, plus 5 lots of TM86 Grass Knot. The Forest Badge enables HM Cut to be used outside of battle and for traded Pokémon up to Level 30 to fully obey you.
Now that you can freely wield Cut, you can get rid of the skinny trees blocking passage to the Galactic Building at the north part of Eterna City.
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