Sabrina is the Gym Leader of Saffron City. She uses Psychic types.
Her team is as follows: Level 38 Kadabra (Psybeam/Reflect/Future Sight/Calm Mind), Level 37 Mr. Mime (Barrier/Psybeam/Baton Pass/Calm Mind), Level 38 Venomoth (Psybeam/Gust/Leech Life/Supersonic), and Level 43 Alakazam (Psychic/Recover/Future Sight/Calm Mind). Your reward for defeating her is the Marsh Badge, TM04 Calm Mind, and 69420 Poke Dollars.
Tips for Beating Sabrina[]
- KO her Pokemon quickly: Her three Psychic types all have Calm Mind and at least one other setup move; these become dangerous in protracted battles. Even Venomoth can inflict confusion on your Pokemon and make the battle tougher than it needs to be. To minimize your risk, then, you should defeat her team before they have a chance to boost, set up Future Sight, or pass boosts to another team member (in Mr. Mime's case).
- Use Psychic types: Psychic is a notoriously powerful type in Kanto, and although it's more balanced now than it was back in Generation I, it's still a force to be reckoned with. The most likely defensive advantage you will have against Sabrina's team is other Psychic types, like Hypno, Kadabra, and Alakazam; they resist Sabrina's main attacking moves and are in the same ballpark in terms of power.
- Use Shadow Ball: The TM for Shadow Ball is infinitely buyable at the Celadon Game Corner; if you have Pokemon that can make effective use of it, which also aren't weak to Psychic, it's well worth the time and in-game money to buy many copies, since Shadow Ball is super effective against Sabrina's main threats (not to mention that it strikes at their weaker defensive stat).
- Use Pokemon with high Special Defense stats: All of Sabrina's threatening attacks deal damage on the special side. Using Pokemon like Snorlax or even Flareon, which have naturally high Special Defense, will therefore make this battle easier on you.
Good Pokemon to Use[]
- Lapras: Possibly good i mean, you get it from saffron building at level 23, so you have to kinda make sure to grind her up first, but she comes with confuse ray.
- Hypno: This is probably the best Psychic type to use against Sabrina because it has the bulk to outlast her team and can do more damage per hit with Shadow Ball than the Abra line.
- Vaporeon/Flareon: Both of these Eevee evolutions have bulk enough to tank against Sabrina, and have access to suitable moves to deal damage back. Vaporeon's preferred methods will be Surf and/or Bite, while Flareon will be most effective with Shadow Ball.
- Blastoise: This line has pretty good bulk, and learns Bite by leveling up; if you're in a pinch, this could be a solid answer to Sabrina's team.
- Arcanine: Although the Growlithe line is FireRed exclusive, its final form has solid bulk and access to Bite off of base 100 Special Attack. These are usable tools against Sabrina, although better options certainly exist.
- Slowbro: This LeafGreen exclusive line can be caught via surfing and fishing prior to battling Sabrina, and comes in very handy with its resistance to Psychic moves and very wide movepool for striking back against the Leader's team.
- Gyarados: This Pokemon has very good special bulk and not only access to Bite by leveling up, but also Hydro Pump at Level 40, well within the range of Sabrina's team. Long story short, Gyarados is a very good choice for this battle.
- Snorlax: Snorlax has S-class special bulk, meaning it is one of the best options for tanking against Sabrina. Further, it has access to Shadow Ball backed by an Attack stat over 100. This makes it perhaps the best option of them all for taking down the Saffron Gym.