Opelucid City

Stepping through the gate house you find yourself in Opelucid City, the location of our seventh Gym Battle as well as a great place to explore! So why not do that first?

As you take your first steps into the city to explore you are stopped by Iris, who it turns out is the Opelucid City Gym Leader Drayden's granddaughter – or maybe not... She suggests that prior to doing battle with Drayden you explore Route 9 – something to think about, but first let's do the city!

The Pokemon Center is right ahead so go in, heal, re-supply, and save.

Have a chat with the different trainers here then head outside and chat up the trainers in the street to learn a little about the city. On the second floor of the building behind the Center is a bloke who wants to see a Tympole - bear that in mind so that when you have him you can bring it to show him.

Behind that house is formerly the Rotation Battle House, which has been replaced by the PWT these days, and upstairs there is a group of young trainers playing a mimic game and you can play too! Want to know how to keep a silly trainer busy? Go upstairs and play their game. And play... And play... And when you get tired? Leave!

In the building on the left side of the city is a group of trainers who talk about props, and one of them will gift you with a Gift Box! Basically he will gift you with a different prop each day, so you might want to remember to visit him each day if you like props.

In the center of the town next to the Pokemon Center is Drayden's house – upstairs is a trainer who will gift you with a Float Stone, while the trainer on the other side of the table gifts you with a Ring Target. That pretty much wraps up our city exploration, leaving exploring Route 9 and having a Gym Battle... So let's head to the west gate and Route 9 now...

Route 9

As you enter Route 9 you should celebrate the fact that you have once again reached a new area with new Pokemon to add to your collection!

A Note on Catching: The process of collecting each of the Pokemon that appear in each area may seem like a lot of work, and while it is true that you do not absolutely have to obtain each, in a few cases you will actually need some of them later to complete quests like show me a Pokemon types as well as in-game trades, plus if you are going to complete your dex – and you want to do that – collecting them as you can is really a good idea. Sure, it adds hours to the game, but hey, you Gotta Catch 'Em All!

If you have been following the guide, at this point you should only need to collect a Garbador, a Muk, a Pawniard, and a Reuniclus -- but before you get to collecting them you will need to deal with the trainers here and collect the odd items from Treasure Balls and hidden spots, so go do that now!

As you exit the gate you will see your first trainer above by the vending machines – Roughneck Chance has a Level 43 Scraggy and pays $1032.

Biker Zeke has a Level 43 Pawniard and pays $1376.

Biker Phillip has a Level 43 Skorupi and pays $1376.

Hooligans Jim & Cas have Level 42 Krookodile and Drapion who they bring out for a doubles battle, and pay you $2688.

Nearby the pair is a Treasure Ball with an HP Up, and in the road behind you there is another Treasure Ball with a Quick Ball.

Head back to the gate and then south into the grass patch for a Treasure Ball with an Elixir. In the back area of the patch down the stairs is a Treasure Ball with an Iron in it. Above and to the left of the pit is a path behind the trees with a Treasure Ball that has a Nugget. Following your Dowser will lead you to a Dark Gem,

Roughneck Reese has a Level 43 Krokorok and pays $1032.

With that last battle and those items under your belt, it is time to collect any of the outstanding Pokemon left that you did not get while doing all this - so get to it! The hardest ones will likely be the Reuniclus and Muk considering that they are very rare (they have a 5% appearance rate), so you may need to exercise a lot more patience than usually is required. Consider this a chance to level a bit since you can get very good XP off of the Audinos you will see a lot of!

Once you have completed that part - and congratulations on doing that by the way - it is time to head up to Shopping Mall Nine.

Shopping Mall Nine

When you chat with the first trainer inside you learn that Meds are sold on the first floor, Mail and TM's on the second, and stat and battle items on the third floor. A Lady on the left asks you to buy a Hyper Potion for her as she is having trouble figuring out what is where – she gives you the money – and you can buy that at the nearby counter. When you give it to her she gifts you with an Energy Root for your efforts!

Now for a battle with Waitress Olwen who has a Level 43 Minccino and pays $1720.

In the room on the right back of the mall is a Treasure Ball with a Poke Doll in it, so be sure to grab that.

Waiter Lou is waiting for you at the top floor with his Level 43 Liepard and pays $1720.

The desk you will probably not want to miss visiting is the one on the middle-left-level, which in addition to selling Mail also sells Poke Balls, including the regular type, and Great, Ultra, Heal, Net, Nest, Dusk, Quick, and Timer Balls – pretty much the whole enchilada! So if you need to fill your reserves for any of those this is the place to do it.

Once you have your shopping managed well, you know what that means? It means that (assuming you have leveled up) it is time to head back to town for an epic Gym Battle and scoring your 7th Gym Badge!

Speaking on leveling, while at this point you can control Pokemon up to Level 70 (including those obtained in trades) though your team should be closer to the mid-50's at this point. There is a general rule of thumb that going into a Gym Battle with your team ten levels (or more) higher than the opposing Pokemon provides a massive advantage to you - I agree with that.

So while you are not expected to have leveled your team to anywhere near Level 70 at this point, you should be close to 60 or at least you should try to get as close to 60 as you are comfortable getting.

That being the case, if you need to do some extra leveling well then, go do that now, before you head back to town to have you a new badge!

Opelucid City Gym Battle

Thanks to previous conversations with the Professor and others we know that the Gym here is a Dragon focused Gym, and for you that means that the members of your team who are Ice or Steel types will have the advantage.

What you do NOT want to do is go in here with a Grass, Water, or Electric type and expect it not to get munched... Though to be honest, at this point your team should all be at least Level 60, so as long as you have an Ice or Steel type, they should be able to pretty much wipe out the challengers.

When you enter the Greeter greets you with the traditional Fresh Water, and then shares a few strategy Tips with you about the Pokemon you will face inside. When you get inside the spectacle of the huge Dragon Statues that serve as both lifts and maze, though if you played the previous games this should not be a big surprise to you.

As always we start with the Assistant Gym Leaders, and we begin with Veteran Lucius, who has a Level 46 Fraxure and pays $3680.

Veteran Rhona is above on the left, and has a Level 45 Fraxure and a Level 45 Druddigon, and pays $3600.

On the right is Veteran Jerry who has a Level 45 Fraxure and a Level 45 Druddigon and pays $3600.

On the next level up and on the left is Veteran Denae who sports a Rotation Trio of a Level 44 Axew, Fraxure, and Druddigon, and pays $3520.

On the right is Veteran Ron who likes Triple Battles, and sports a Level 44 Axew, Fraxure, and Druddigon, and pays $3520.

At this point the last opponent is the Gym Leader, which is up! But before you tangle with him to prove yourself and grab that 7th Gym Badge, you should probably hit the Center and heal up. Once you have done that though, head back and up and have you a battle!

The Seventh Gym Badge Battle with Gym Leader Drayden

Gym Leader Drayden Battle

Be a good idea to lead with your Ice type and avoid using any of the weak types discussed above – Drayden opens with his Level 46 Druddigon, followed by his Level 46 Flygon, and closes with his Level 48 Haxorus, and when the battle is over he pays you $5760, awards you the Legend Badge, and gifts you with TM82 Dragon Tail.

For winning this badge you can now control all Pokemon up to Level 80 whether you obtained them in trade or by capture.

If you used an Ice-type Pokemon, this battle was likely one of the smoothest you have had with a Gym Leader, but as I used an Ice-type in the guide for Black 2, this time around I thought it was a good idea to use some off-type Pokemon just to show that due in part to the compulsive fixation that the guides have for training up your team before battles and the wiggle room that exists between types, it is still possible to have a victory even when the perfect combination of types in opposition are not present.

In this case I used a Bug/Steel and a Water-type for the battle, and as you will see when you watch the video it went quite well.

If you were thinking that, having beaten Drayden and obtained your 7th Gym Badge, you were ready to move on to the next Adventure well, no, sorry sunshine, you are not quite done yet with Drayden...

Before we get to that, leave the Gym and head back to the Pokemon Center and heal your team up, and then re-supply if you need to, but make it a point of saving the game as you are about to advance the main story and, as you just got a badge, well, saving is a good idea...

In the street outside to the left of the Pokemon Center you will encounter Drayden, who then leads you to his house and, once you are inside, tells you the story about the Legendary Zekrom and Reshiram, and how they were once a single Pokemon that was split into two, and about the twin brothers who were seeking truth and ideals, and that is why the single Legendary Pokemon split into two. But that is not where the story ends it seems, as he tells you about another Legendary Pokemon named Kyurem, that also came into existence at about the same time.

Drayden then tells you about a treasure that was passed down through the generations in his family, an item called the DNA Splicers, and a connection to the Dragonspiral Tower.

It develops that what has Drayden worried is the possibility that there may actually be more very powerful Legendary Pokemon from that era, and that may be what is behind the situation with Team Plasma...

Team Plasma Attacks

Just as the story is getting interesting there is a massive Boom! The earth (and the building) shake, and you run outside with Drayden to investigate. As you watch slack-jawed the Team Plasma Frigate sails into view – in the sky! Whoa! Before you can say “Look out they are attacking!” it deploys a special weapon and Begins shooting ice at the town! Opelucid is literally covered in ice, and even Drayden's toughest Pokemon cannot break it.

At this point Zinzolin, the leader of Team Plasma shows up and recognizes Drayden – and you – and then he demands the DNA Splicers that Drayden is keeping safe. As he only can, Drayden refuses, and Zin tells him pretty much that was what he was expecting. The Plasma crew departs and Drayden asks you to help drive Plasma out of the city.

Drayden is bracing a pair in front of the Pokemon Center and asks you to take out the others, so being aware that you will slide on the ice if you step on it, avoid the ice and make your way to the Grunt above, who leads with his Level 44 Watchog, followed by his Level 44 Muk and pays you $1760.

The Pokemon Grunt to the north standing in front of the old battle house has a Level 44 Golbat and a Level 44 Garbodor and pays you $1760.

The Grunt that is south of the Gym has a Level 44 Seviper and a Level 44 Weezing, and pays you $1760.

After that battle go talk to Drayden again and he warns you that Zin is the only one left and that something is happening near the Gym... When you get there who should be waiting but Zin!

Zinzolin opens the battle with his Level 46 Cryogonal, and follows that with another Level 46 Cryogonal, and closes with his Level 48 Weavile, after which he pays you $8640.

After you beat him he warns you that his plans to get the DNA Splicers is not abandoned, even if it means covering the world in ice. Drayden arrives after the battle to thank you, and heal your team. He goes into his house and returns, and gives you the DNA Splicers! He thinks you might be a safer guardian, but just as that is about to be said, the Shadow Triad appears and steals them!

They have actually left town on Route 11, so chase after them there and you will find the first still in the city, standing at the gate!

Team Plasma Shadow has a Level 46 Pawniard, followed by another Level 46 Pawniard, and closes with his Level 48 Absol, paying you $8640, and reveals that he was just there to keep you occupied while the others escaped. As the encounter ends you get a call from Hugh and Cheren, and they tell you that they are on the way having seen the ship over the city. Drayden arrives and so does Cheren, and Cheren tells you that Team Plasma is likley hiding in Humilau City, then Cheren tells you that he and Hugh will go looking for Team Plasma and asks you to help.

Depending upon how much damage your team took, you may want to hit the Center and heal up, but once you are ready, use Fly to go back to Undella Town, since the only way to get to Humilau is via the Marine Tube. As you approach you get a call from Hugh, who asks you to hurry. Head into the Tube and make your way through, the trainer in pink has TM42 Facade for you.