This guide covers everything you need to know to beat the Sunyshore City Gym Leader, Volkner, in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, a Pokemon remake for the Nintendo Switch. Read on to learn about Volkner's Pokemon team, Volkner's type specialty, recommended Pokemon to use against Volkner, and how to beat the Sunyshore City Gym.

Volkner's Pokemon Team and Types

Type and Suggested Level

Type Specialty
Suggested Level	Lv. 52 ~ Lv. 55

Volkner's Pokemon

Pokemon	Type	Ability / Item	Moves
Raichu (Lvl. 46)		Static Shuca Berry	・Nuzzle ・Volt Switch ・Surf ・Charge Beam
Ambipom (Lvl. 47)		Technician Chople Berry	・Fake Out ・Thunderbolt ・Double Hit ・Last Resort
Octillery (Lvl. 47)		Sniper Expert Belt	・Octazooka ・Focus Energy ・Aurora Beam ・Charge Beam
Luxray (Lvl. 49)		Intimidate Sitrus Berry	・Thunder Fang ・Ice Fang ・Crunch ・Iron Tail

Volkner's Sunyshore Gym Puzzle

Pulling inspiration from industrial design, the Sunyshore Gym is filled with open currents of electricity and spinning machinery. The player must spin the cogwheels in a way that will open up a path for them to get through the gym.

Gym Puzzle Solution Video

Sunyshore City Gym Puzzle Solution

How to Beat Volkner

Bring a Ground Type or Two

Electric types can be hard to handle since they only have one weakness - Ground. That being said, Volkner's team includes Pokemon like Raichu with Surf or Octillery with Octazooka and Aurora Beam that can hit Ground types back. It might be a good idea to bring more than one way to deal with his team to reliably handle the team.

Prepare for Octillery

Octillery in particular can be difficult to deal with since it has great coverage with both Charge Beam and Aurora Beam. Couple this with it's Sniper Ability and increased Critical Hit chance with Focus Energy, Octillery can deal surprising amounts of damage. A strong Electric type like Luxray might be your best bet here.

Best Team to Beat Volkner

When Starting with Turtwig

Best Team to Beat Volkner When Starting With Turtwig
Garchomp	Lucario	Torterra

For all these teams, Garchomp will be a solid choice. It's outstanding stats coupled with it's Ground moves should take care of his Electric types easily. Be wary of Octillery's Aurora Beam and Luxray's Ice Fang though.

Lucario is a great matchup for Ambipom. If you have the Steadfast Ability, you may even get a speed boost once you are flinched by Ambipom's Fake Out. It also has access to Bone Rush just in case you'll need a third Pokemon with a Ground move.

When Starting with Chimchar

Best Team to Beat Volkner When Starting With Chimchar
Garchomp	Infernape	Roserade

As previously stated, Garchomp is a solid ground type to use for this battle and is just all-around one of the best Ground-types in the game. Deal with the Electric-types swiftly with this land shark!

Infernape is here to deal with Ambipom. As always you can ramp up your Attack Stat first with Power Up Punches before going all-out against the rest of the team.

Just in case Octillery stops Infernape in it's tracks, Roserade can take over before Garchomp comes back to finish off the Luxray.

When Starting with Piplup

Best Team to Beat Volkner When Starting With Piplup
Garchomp	Lucario	Luxray

Garchomp really is one of the best choices for this battle. Even with a two-turn move like Dig, Garchomp should take care of Volkner's Electric types easily. Be wary of Octillery's Aurora Beam and Luxray's Ice Fang though.

And as mentioned above, Lucario is a great matchup for Ambipom. Both of its abilities won't mind Ambipom's Fake Out, and it also has access to Bone Rush just in case you'll need another Pokemon with Ground-type coverage.

All Volkner Battles

Previous and Next Gym Leaders

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Related Story Pages

Complete Story Walkthrough

Gym Leaders

All Gym Leader Types and Pokemon

Gym Leader Rematches

All Gym Leader Rematch Teams