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Oreburgh City is one of the first major locations that players visit inPokemon Brilliant Diamond&Shining Pearland is home to the first of Sinnoh’s eight gyms. Its leader, Roark, isn’t around when players first arrive in Oreburgh though, so they’ll need to explore the Oreburgh Mine in order to make him show up. Thankfully, however, this is a relatively short excursion that shouldn’t take more than a few minutes providing players have the right Pokemon.
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How challenging the Oreburgh City Gym will be for players really depends onwhich starter Pokemon they chose. Those who picked Turtwig or Piplup should be able to breeze through the gym without needing to give it too much thought, but anyone who opted for Chimchar will either need to do quite a bit of grinding or catch a second Pokemon who is better suited to tackling Roark’s rock-type Pokemon. With the right planning though, this needn’t take too long.
Updated June 25, 2025 by Tom Bowen:After players have completed the main story andunlocked the National Dex, Roark will show up and challenge them to a rematch. Once this happens, they’ll be able to return to the gym in Oreburgh City, where they’ll be faced with a team that’s a lot more challenging than the one they defeated earlier on in the games; both in terms of the Pokemon that Roark uses and the levels that they’re at. This guide has been updated to include information about the rock-type gym leader’s new team as well as a basic strategy for beating Roark in the rematch.
How to Prepare for the Oreburgh City Gym
As mentioned above, players who picked Turtwig or Piplup at the start of the game really won’t need to do too much prep work before tackling the Oreburgh City Gym. Assuming they haven’t been shying away from trainer battles, their starters should be around level 14 by this point in the game, which, thanks totheir type effectiveness, should enable them to wipe the floor with Roark and the other two trainers found in the gym.
For those who chose Chimchar, things are not so straightforward, but there are a few viable options. The first, and arguably the most sensible of these is to head north from Oreburgh City and catch a Machop in the long grass near the entrance to Route 207. If they do this before exploring the Oreburgh Mine and use the Machop in each of the trainer battles there, they should be able to get it to around level 12 by the time they leave, which will be more than enough to breeze throughBrilliant Diamond&Shining Pearl’s first gym.
Alternatively, players can level up their Chimchar to level 12 so that it learns the fighting-type move, Power-Up Punch. This will be super effective against all of the Pokemon that players face in the Oreburgh City Gym. Without STAB (same type attack bonus), however, it won’t be enough to bring them down with a single hit. With this in mind, players will probably need to reach level 16 so that Chimchar evolves to really ensure that they have enough firepower to emerge victorious.
How to Get to Roark
The layout of the Oreburgh City gym is incredibly simple, with players simply needing to walk straight forward to reach Roark. Taking the most direct route to him does mean walking past two trainers though, so those who are in a hurry may want to use the ladders at the sides of the gym to bypass these extra battles. Given that they provide a decent amount of experience points, however, they should generally be viewed as a good way to get in some last-minute leveling. If needed, players can always leave the gym between battles to heal at the nearbyPokemon Centeranyway.
How to Beat Roark
Roark’s first two Pokemon really shouldn’t cause too much trouble if players are attacking with water, grass, or fighting-type moves. As neither of them possesses the sturdy ability, both should go down in a single hit. Roark’s Cranidos is a little tougher and can dish out some decent damage with Headbutt. Providing players have a few potions to hand and a backup Pokemon waiting in the wings, even Cranidos shouldn’t put up too much of a fight. For those struggling though, they can always return to the Oreburgh Mine to gain a few extra levels if needed.
How to Beat Roark’s Rematch Team
Roark’s rematch team is considerably stronger than his first lineup, though still suffers from some of the same glaring weaknesses. A strong fighting/steel-type Pokemon likeLucario(evolveRiolu) should therefore have very little trouble dealing with all of his Pokemon, though players may want to bring agrass-type PokemonlikeVenusaur(evolveBulbasaur) along to deal with Relicanth a little faster. Relicanth’s Choice Band does make Head Smash considerably more dangerous, but, thanks to its low speed, it will be acting second in most situations.
ForBrilliant Diamondplayers who don’t mind losing STAB on fighting-type attacks,Dialgacan also be used instead of Lucario, with Flash Cannon (use against Armaldo, Aerodactly, and Rampardos) and Aura Sphere (use against Tyranitar, Relicanth, and Probopass) being solid picks for dishing out damage.Palkiais well suited to this battle as well thanks to all but one of Roark’s rematch team being weak to water. The only one that isn’t, Relicanth, can instead be dealt with using either a ground (Earth Power) or fighting-type (Aura Sphere) attack.
