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Pastoria City can be found to the south ofthe Sinnoh regionand sits on the edge of a giant swamp that’s said to be home to many rare Pokemon. BeforeBrilliant Diamond&Shining Pearlplayers can actually explore the Great Marsh, however, they’ll first need to pay a visit to the city’s gym and its incredibly over the top leader, Crasher Wake.
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Crasher and the rest of the trainers at the Pastoria City Gym specialize mainly inwater-type Pokemon, meaning that players may need to make a few changes to their team before heading inside. By taking any half-decent electric or grass-type Pokemon in with them though, they really shouldn’t have too much trouble beating Crasher and getting their hands on the Fen Badge; assuming, that is, that they can actually reach him first.
Updated July 02, 2025 by Tom Bowen:When players first battle Crasher Wake, they’ll find themselves up against a team with some pretty glaring weaknesses. When they return to Pastoria City’s gym afterunlocking the National Dex, however, they’ll instead be faced with a much more balanced and much more powerful team. Where once players could sweep through using any half-decent grass or electric-type Pokemon, they’ll now need to consider the attacks they’ll be facing as well as the order of Crasher’s team. This guide has therefore been updated to provide information about how to beat the Crasher Wake rematch as well as details about his revised team.
How to Prepare for the Pastoria City Gym
Players who chose Turtwig as theirstarter Pokemoncan once expect an easy ride in Pastoria City, as its grass-type attacks will have no trouble tearing through all of the Pokemon at the city’s gym. Those who chose Piplup can also get away with using brute force if their level is high enough, especially if they’ve already reached level 36 and evolved their Prinplup into an Empoleon. Sadly, however, those who chose Chimchar as their starter are once again going to have to rely on other members of their team.
Those who picked up a Machop forthe Oreburgh City gymcan get away with using the fierce little fighting type again this time around, though they’ll need to have evolved it into Machoke and reached at least level thirty. Alternatively, players may want to consider picking up an electric-type Pokemon for the occasion, withLuxio being a pretty solid choice. Players can find its unevolved form Shinx on routes 202, 203, and 204, as well as in the Grand Underground, where Luxio itself can also be found. A level 25 Luxio will almost certainly be up for the job, though, players may want to get it to level 30 so that it evolves into a Luxray just to be on the safe side.
How to Get to Crasher Wake
To get to Crasher Wake, players will need to use the many colored switches in order to raise and lower the gym’s water levels. The first of these is anorangeswitch and can be found by following the path around to the left. After pressing it, players will need to continue following the path up some stairs until they find themselves on a platform directly in front of Crasher Wake. They’ll then need to push the nearbygreenswitch before heading back down the stairs. If they now walk to the left, they’ll soon come to ablueswitch that’s being guarded by a trainer called Sailor Damian.
With the water level now raised to its highest level, players should head south across the wooden planks and then continue on to the right. If they didn’t fight him earlier, they’ll need to take care of Tuber Jacky before they can pass by. Not long after this, players will need to compete in another trainer battle, after which they should head north and hit thegreenswitch near the fisherman. This will lower the water level again, allowing players to head south via the nearby stairs and press theorangeswitch at the bottom of the screen. From here, players simply need to head north, follow the path around, and then hit anotherblueswitch once they’ve defeated Sailor Samson.
How to Beat Crasher Wake
Unlike some of the other gym leaders inBrilliant Diamond&Shining Pearl, there’s an argument to be made that Crasher Wake actually leads with his strongest Pokemon. Granted, Floatzel is a few levels higher, but Gyarados is the one that players will really need to watch out for. Like other gym battles, Crasher will heal his Pokemon if their HP falls too low, althoughunlike Maylene before him, he only has Super Potions at his disposal. Providing players aren’t at a type disadvantage and can take care of Gyarados without losing too many of their team though, the battle should end up being a fairly smooth one.
How to Beat Crasher Wake’s Rematch Team
Though all of Crasher Wake’s updated team are weak to grass-type attacks, four of them have access to ice-type moves, making a pure grass-type attacker a risky option. This risk is further amplified by the fact that four of Crasher’s team have the Swift Swim ability, which will allow them to move much faster once Politoed’s Drizzle ability has made it rain. For this reason,Abomasnow(catch in Mt. Coronet) is an excellent counter, as not only is it resistant to ice-type attacks, but its Snow Warning ability will also change the weather and revert Crasher’s team to their default speeds.
Alternatively, players could opt for a strong electric / flying-type Pokemon likeZapdos(catch at Ramanas Park) orRotom(Fan Form), with both able to dish out some decent damage while also withstanding Gyarados' powerful Earthquake attack. Both Pokemon should be able to handle Politoed, Gyarados, Huntail, and Floatzel, and, providing they have at least one damage-dealing flying-type move, Ludicolo as well. For Kingdra, players should bring a fairy-type likeTogekiss(evolveTogepi), whose secondary typing and access to grass-type attacks like Solar Beam and Grass Knot can also come in handy against other members of Crasher’s team if needed.
