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Sunyshore City is one of the last major cities that players will visit inPokemon Brilliant Diamond&Shining Pearland home to the games' eighth and final gym leader, Volkner. Volkner is by far the strongest of Sinnoh’s gym leaders and hiselectric-type Pokemonhave the potential to cause players some real problems if they walk into his gym unprepared. By this point in the games though, players should have acquired more than enough Pokemon to cause Volkner some rather serious issues of his own.
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With the right Pokemon at their disposal, players should have very little trouble beating Volkner and earning their Beacon Badge. There is the small matter of tracking him down first though, as when players first arrive in the city, the disillusioned trainer is nowhere to be found. Thankfully, it’s simply a case of heading over to the lighthouse in the southeast part of the city, which will prompt Volkner to return to the gym and allow players to challenge him.
Updated July 06, 2025 by Tom Bowen:Given that he is the final gym leader that players will square off against in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, it should come as little surprise to learn that Volkner is one of the toughest. His unorthodox team of Pokemon can be very tricky to plan for, as too can the team he puts out during the rematch battle a little later on. With this in mind, this guide has been updated to include information about his second team as well as some ideas on how to set up to beat Volkner in the rematch.
How to Prepare for the Sunyshore City Gym
Those who opted forBrilliant Diamondrather thanShining Pearlare in luck, as Dialga is an excellent choice for the Sunyshore City Gym. Even if players haven’t leveled it up sincecatching it, its powerful Special Attack stat and all-around bulkiness make it practically invincible when up against Volkner’s four Pokemon. Roar of Time can take each of them out in a single hit, and although there is a one-turn recharge after each use, none of Volkner’s team really have the firepower to make these free hits count.
Thanks to Palkia’s dragon-typing, it’s resistant to electric-type moves, meaning that it too can do a pretty decent job in the Sunyshore City Gym. Those who prefer to take a non-legendary approach can instead use Infernape or Machoke for the majority of the heavy lifting, while also being sure to bring along a ground-type attacker to deal with Raichu and Luxray. Torterra can work well in this regard, but, for those who opted for a differentstarter Pokemon, Steelix can also do the job well and can be found on the Iron Island.
How to Get to Volkner
Thankfully, the gym puzzle at the Sunyshore City Gym is quite a bit simpler to figure out thanthe one that came before it. Players simply need to step on the colored buttons to make the gears rotate, which in turn will open up a path that leads to the gym’s leader, Volkner. In the first room, it’s simply a case of stepping on the green button on the right side of the gym once and then walking over to the one on the opposite side. This one will also need to be pressed a single time, after which players will be able to reach the door at the back of the room.
The second room is a bit more complicated, though still fairly easy to figure out when compared tothe Snowpoint City Gym. Players should step on the blue button three times and then follow the path on the left-hand side of the gym. After defeating the School Kid, they’ll need to step on the blue button once, followed by the green one, which will allow them to cross over to the platform on the right side. They’ll then have to take out another trainer before they can head up the stairs, which will lead them to the door of the final room.
Here, players will need to battle another guitarist and should then make their way to the red button on the right-hand side. Pressing it once will allow them to reach the red button on the opposite side, which in turn will open up a new pathway along the left-hand wall. Once they’ve taken out the next couple of trainers, players should step on the green button twice and then the blue button once, which will allow them to reach the stairs on the right side of the room. These will take players back towards the door, where stepping once on the red switch on the right side will open up a direct path to Volkner.
How to Beat Volkner
Those using Dialga can pretty much do whatever they like, though the easiest way to ensure victory is to use Roar of Time every other turn. The only thing that players might need to watch out for is Raichu using Nuzzle, or, in the event that players use a contact attack like Slash, its Static ability. For whatever reason, Dialga seems a lot more prone toParalysisthan certain other Pokemon, so players should be sure to heal it straight away in the event that it does get paralyzed. Other than that though, it’s simply a case of making sure that Dialga doesn’t get knocked out, which probably won’t come close to happening.
Using other Pokemon will call for a somewhat more cautious approach, particularly against Luxray. As mentioned above, Torterra is an excellent counter for Luxray thanks to its immunity to electric-type attacks, while moves like Earthquake or Bulldoze allow it to pack a real punch when it goes on the offensive. Players will need to watch out forLuxray’s Ice Fang attackthough and will definitely want to switch it out when Volkner uses Octillery to avoid being wiped out by Aurora Beam.
How to Beat Volkner’s Rematch Team
Volkner usually leads with Pelipper, which, unlike the rest of his team, is immune to ground-type attacks. As such, players should lead with an electric-type of their own, withRaichu(evolvePikachu) andLuxray(catch and evolve Luxioin the Grand Underground) both providing solid options. Neither will be all that useful moving forward, however, so players will need to bring a dominating ground-type Pokemon with them to sub in after Pelipper has been defeated, if not two or three of them.
Rather than pure ground-types, however, players should be looking to bring ground/water-type Pokemon due to the fact that many of Volkner’s team have access to water and ice-type attacks. As in the original battle with Volkner,Quagsire(catch on Route 212 or in the Great Marsh) is once again an excellent choice here, thoughGastrodon(catch on Route 230) andSwampert(catch and evolve Mudkipin the Grand Underground) can also get the job done if needed.
