How to beat Candice in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Snowpoint City’s Gym in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl ups the puzzle and battle difficulty. For instance, Gym Leader Candice will have more Pokémon than seen in previous gyms. As you’ll likely become frustrated with the time it takes to obtain the gym badge, just a few simple tactics should speed up this process.

How to solve the Snowpoint City Gym puzzle

When entering the gym, you’ll see massive snowballs scattered through the area. Although it isn’t said outright, your objective will be to destroy the snowballs in the center to create a forward path to Candice. The quickest way to do this is by circling the outside corners of the gym and sticking to the grids of snow parallel to the horizontal lines of snowballs.

When on the snow-covered panel, slide into a row of snowballs and continue this method two more times to finish off the remaining rows. It is possible to avoid Candice’s gym members while doing this, as each rotates their body every 15 seconds.

Once each row is destroyed, slide to the front wall of the gym and head back to the entrance. From there, you should have an open, straight shot to Candice.

Which Pokémon does Candice use?

Candice will surely provide an intense fight, with her having four Pokémon in her party, and not all of them are Ice types. In order of when they are brought out, these Pokémon are Snover (Lv. 38), Sneasel (Lv. 38), Medicham (Lv. 40), and Abomasnow (Lv. 42). Luckily, the majority of these have the same weaknesses as Pokémon of previous gym leader, Byron. This ultimately means Fighting, Fire, Rock, or Steel Pokémon should still be in your party for this fight. 

The most problematic Pokémon of the bunch is Medicham, a Fighting and Psychic-type. If your Pokémon share similar or lower levels compared to it, chances are moves like Medicham’s Brick Break and Ice Punch will end them with just one critical hit.

Best Pokémon to use against Candice in the Snowpoint City Gym

To find a dominant Fire Pokémon up to this point, you’ll need to go into the Grand Underground from Pastoria City. One of the Underground Hideaways you’ll spot is the Volcanic Cave, with multiple Magby running around and willing to fight. If caught at Level 28 or higher, trainers will see the Pokémon has learned Fire Punch, Flame Wheel, and Ember — all super effective against Candice’s Ice Pokémon. 

Maybe the perfect choice to take on almost every Pokémon in this gym is Machoke. Commonly found in Mt. Coronet, the Fighting-type obviously has a collection of attacks like Vital Throw that prove their worth in Snowpoint City. Better yet, Machoke is allowed to learn Fire Blast and Flamethrower — making him the perfect substitute for those lacking Chimchar.

Related: Where to find Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

As Medicham is unfazed by Fire and Fighting-type moves, you’ll need an Ice Pokémon of your own to land effective attacks against it. South of Snowpoint Lake, players should find a group of Ice-types out in the wild near Acuity Lakefront. The most common of them is Snover and should be at a level in the mid-30s when found. When battling Candice, be sure to use Snover’s Icy Wind and Ice Shard abilities to witness super-effective hits.