Pokelike Hoenn Story Guide — Gen 3
Direct answer
For Hoenn Story, Mudkip is a practical opening choice; build Electric, Grass/Dark, Ice/Fairy and Fire/Fighting answers around your starter. Read abilities as well as types: Slaking halves incoming damage while skipping alternate actions, Tate & Liza have paired defensive boosts, and weather changes Magma/Aqua fights. The League ends with Steven at 93–97, so prepare beyond Wallace’s level-80 Kingdra and adjust team order and items before each League opponent.
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Start here: Hoenn / Gen 3 Classic Story
This guide covers Story → Classic → Hoenn, the Gen 3 campaign reached after Johto Story. Hoenn Battle Tower has separate progression and teams; the gyms and final Steven fight below belong to Story.
Rosters, levels, encounter windows, evolution records, items and ability behavior were read from the official public client on September 17, 2026. Counter plans are recommendations from those facts, not a claimed Wiki clear or measured win-rate ranking.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
Which Hoenn starter should you choose?
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
| Starter | Pokelike evolution levels | Practical plan |
|---|---|---|
| Mudkip | Marshtomp 16 → Swampert 36 | Practical default for Roxanne, Wattson after gaining Ground typing, and Flannery. Add Grass for Whiscash, Electric for Flying/Water opponents, and Ice/Fairy for Drake. Keep Water/Ground away from Grass damage. |
| Treecko | Grovyle 16 → Sceptile 36 | Grass helps Roxanne and later Whiscash. Catch Water coverage for Flannery and Flying/Psychic for Brawly. Do not force it through Winona or Glacia. |
| Torchic | Combusken 16 → Blaziken 36 | Fire/Fighting helps Norman, Sidney’s Grass/Dark members, Glacia and Steven’s Steel core. Obtain Water/Grass coverage before Roxanne and check the attack used. Fighting typing starts with Combusken. |
Early, middle and late capture windows
These normal encounter pools indicate eligible catches, not guaranteed offers. Random choices, level gates and special events affect what appears. The first ordinary Classic capture node on Map 1 tries to include a Grass and a Water option if those types are absent from its choices. Fill the next matchup before waiting for a perfect six-Pokémon list.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
| Maps | Useful eligible catches | What to build now |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2: Rustboro / Dewford | Lotad, Seedot, Taillow, Wingull, Ralts, Shroomish, Makuhita, Meditite, Electrike, Carvanha, Numel, Trapinch, Barboach, Snorunt, Spheal | Ralts → Kirlia 20 → Gardevoir 30; Shroomish → Breloom 23; Makuhita → Hariyama 24. Electrike → Manectric 26 and Spheal → Sealeo 32 → Walrein 44 can become endgame answers if kept and trained. |
| 3–4: Mauville / Lavaridge | Lombre, Nuzleaf, Kirlia, Vigoroth, Sableye, Mawile, Plusle, Minun, Wailmer, Corphish, Duskull | Lombre and Nuzleaf evolve at 30 here, without importing main-series stone requirements. Wailmer offers rain; Sableye offers Dark/Ghost. Preserve the Ground answer for Wattson. |
| 5–6: Petalburg / Fortree | Grovyle, Combusken, Marshtomp, Breloom, Medicham, Torkoal, Vibrava, Cacturne, Lunatone, Solrock, Absol, Bagon, Beldum | Add a missing starter role if offered. Lunatone + Solrock costs two slots and is optional. Trapinch → Vibrava 35 → Flygon 45; Numel → Camerupt 33. |
| 7–8: Mossdeep / Sootopolis | Ludicolo, Shiftry, Gardevoir, Hariyama, Manectric, Sharpedo, Camerupt, Whiscash, Dusclops, Glalie, Sealeo, Shelgon, Metang | Replace a missing specialist only if its level and attack help now. Keep physical and special damage for Tate & Liza. Carvanha → Sharpedo 30; Snorunt → Glalie 42. |
| 9: Ever Grande | Slaking, Flygon, Altaria, Claydol, Cradily, Armaldo, Milotic, Walrein, Salamence, Metagross | Patch the last gap before entering the League. A late Metagross or Salamence is not guaranteed and is not required. Prepare for Steven at 93–97, not only Wallace at 80. |
Abilities change the Hoenn plan
Hoenn Story activates abilities for both teams. Read Pokelike’s ability instead of importing one from memory: Flygon uses Strong Jaw; Claydol uses Sand Stream. Neither gets a default Levitate assumption here.
The community Gen 3 guide recommends reading abilities before bosses and considering paired Pokémon. Its claim that Hoenn is the only campaign with abilities is outdated: the inspected client also enables the system in later Story regions.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026) · Gen III in Normal: the Hoenn campaign
| Mechanic in this client | Decision it changes |
|---|---|
| Quick Feet: +1 Speed on entry; Iron Body: +1 Defense; Inner Focus: +1 Special Defense | Manectric’s Quick Feet is an entry speed boost here, not the main-series status-condition requirement. |
| Truant: halves incoming damage and skips alternate actions | Slaking is both a slow-action attacker and a durable wall. Norman’s closer is not automatically easy because it loses turns. |
| Lunatone / Solrock partner effects: +6 Sp. Def / +6 Def | Carry physical and special answers; attack category matters as well as super-effective typing. |
| Numel/Camerupt/Torkoal: Drought; Wailmer/Wailord/Kyogre: Drizzle; Swablu/Altaria: Cloud Nine | Your own Numel can undermine a Water-centered plan. Check weather after entry; Cloud Nine clears it. |
| Nosepass/Aron line: Sturdy; Beldum line: Tough Claws | A full-health Sturdy target can survive a lethal hit once at 1 HP. Metagross’s Tough Claws adds a 1.3× outgoing damage modifier: budget survival as well as weakness coverage. |
All eight Hoenn gyms: teams, levels and counters
These teams retain the official Story order, including unevolved members at high levels. Current Hoenn gym templates specify no held items. They are not copied from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
| Gym | Opponent team in order (Lv.) | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Roxanne — Stone Badge | Geodude 9; Nosepass 12 | Use Grass or Water attacks against Geodude and Nosepass. Torchic needs an early partner: Lotad or Wingull can fill the immediate gap. Nosepass has Sturdy, so allow for a surviving enemy at 1 HP instead of expecting a guaranteed one-hit finish. |
| 2. Brawly — Knuckle Badge | Machop 17; Meditite 18; Makuhita 20 | Ralts/Kirlia with Psychic damage or Taillow/Wingull with Flying damage covers the Fighting team. Meditite is also Psychic, so Psychic damage is neutral against it; Flying remains super-effective. Keep Rock/Steel and Dark catches out of the lead. |
| 3. Wattson — Dynamo Badge | Voltorb 25; Magneton 27; Electrike 28; Manectric 30 | Marshtomp with Ground damage offers Electric immunity and a fourfold type advantage against Magneton. Without Mudkip, develop an early Trapinch or Barboach line with a usable Ground attack. Keep Wingull/Pelipper away from the front; Fire handles Magneton but not the entire team. |
| 4. Flannery — Heat Badge | Numel 35; Slugma 36; Camerupt 38; Torkoal 40 | Numel, Camerupt and Torkoal can establish sun through Drought. Water remains the type counter, especially to Fire/Ground, but weather affects damage. Use a developed Water/Ground attacker; Wailmer with Drizzle is a possible weather alternative. Ground damage avoids relying entirely on Water. |
| 5. Norman — Balance Badge | Spinda 44; Vigoroth 46; Linoone 47; Slaking 50 | Bring Fighting damage from Breloom, Hariyama or your Torchic line, with enough HP and levels to survive Slaking. Truant skips alternate actions AND halves incoming damage here. A Fighting weakness does not erase that bulk. A healing item on a developed attacker can outperform a newly caught, underlevelled counter. |
| 6. Winona — Feather Badge | Swablu 54; Tropius 55; Pelipper 56; Skarmory 58; Altaria 60 | Electric covers Swablu, Pelipper and Skarmory; Ice is fourfold against Tropius and Altaria. Preserve the Ice attacker for the final Dragon/Flying opponent. Altaria clears weather with Cloud Nine, so keep a plan that works without your weather bonus. |
| 7. Tate & Liza — Mind Badge | Claydol 68; Xatu 69; Lunatone 70; Solrock 72 | Dark handles Claydol and Xatu, but compare attack categories for the pair: Lunatone gets +6 Special Defense with Solrock on its team; Solrock gets +6 Defense with Lunatone. Physical Dark damage targets Lunatone’s unboosted side; special Water/Grass/Dark targets Solrock’s. The partner check is team membership, not an assurance the bonus disappears when the partner faints. Claydol has Sand Stream here, not an assumed Levitate. |
| 8. Wallace — Rain Badge | Luvdisc 74; Whiscash 76; Sealeo 77; Crawdaunt 78; Kingdra 80 | Electric hits Luvdisc, Sealeo and Crawdaunt, but Whiscash is immune to Electric and fourfold weak to Grass. Kingdra is Water/Dragon: Fairy or Dragon is super-effective; Electric and Grass are neutral. Prepare an actual Fairy attack or a developed neutral-damage option instead of expecting one Electric sweep. |
Team Magma and Team Aqua: reward versus risk
Admin encounters use Map 3 for Courtney/Shelly, Map 6 for Tabitha/Matt, and Map 8 for Maxie/Archie. Inspect the roster before choosing the path. Their base reward is +4 levels with teamwide participation credit, followed by full team HP after a win; modifiers can change level gains. Losing still ends the run. A post-win heal is no help if you cannot survive the fight.
Magma’s Numel/Camerupt and Groudon can bring sun; Aqua’s Kyogre can bring rain. Keep an answer to Poison and Dark support as well as the advertised Fire/Ground or Water theme. Psychic alone fails against Mightyena or Sharpedo.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
| Map / faction | Opponent team in order (Lv.) | Preparation focus |
|---|---|---|
| 3 — Magma: Courtney | Numel 26; Mightyena 28; Zangoose 27 | Water/Ground counters Numel or Camerupt; Fighting/Fairy covers Mightyena and Fighting covers Zangoose. |
| 6 — Magma: Tabitha | Numel 52; Zangoose 53; Golbat 54; Camerupt 56 | Water/Ground damage targets Numel and Camerupt; Fighting targets Zangoose. Golbat is Poison/Flying, so use Electric, Ice, Rock or Psychic rather than Ground. Numel and Camerupt can set sun; inspect weather before relying on Water damage. |
| 8 — Magma: Maxie | Mightyena 76; Zangoose 77; Crobat 78; Weezing 79; Camerupt 80; Groudon 83 | Water is fourfold against Camerupt before weather modifiers; Groudon is pure Ground. Keep Electric/Psychic coverage for Crobat and a non-Psychic answer for Mightyena. |
| 3 — Aqua: Shelly | Carvanha 26; Mightyena 28; Seviper 27 | Grass/Electric targets Carvanha; Fighting/Fairy handles Mightyena. Ground/Psychic targets Seviper, but Psychic fails into the other two Dark members. |
| 6 — Aqua: Matt | Carvanha 52; Seviper 53; Golbat 54; Sharpedo 56 | Grass/Electric targets Carvanha and Sharpedo. Use Ground/Psychic for Seviper, and Electric/Ice/Rock/Psychic for Golbat. Keep Psychic attacks away from the Dark fish. |
| 8 — Aqua: Archie | Mightyena 76; Seviper 77; Crobat 78; Muk 79; Sharpedo 80; Kyogre 83 | Kyogre is level 83 with 150 base Special Attack and rain. Preserve Grass/Electric damage and special bulk; do not lead a Fire attacker into this ending. |
A flexible six-role team for the complete run
One conditional composition is Swampert, Manectric, Gardevoir, Shiftry, Walrein and Blaziken. This is an editorial plan, not a reported clear. It assumes you find and train the missing lines: Combusken and Marshtomp can appear in Maps 5–6 pools. Your starter and one or two developed partners handle the opening while you build these roles. Avoid splitting every upgrade across six weak catches.
Use the Team Analyzer for defensive overlap and attack types you actually possess. Species typing does not guarantee the attack chosen. Inspect the move display and appropriate held-item options before relying on a counter.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
| Role | Main option | Substitute / tradeoff |
|---|---|---|
| Water/Ground anchor | Swampert | Barboach/Whiscash offers similar typing; catch Marshtomp later if you began with another starter. Keep a Grass-safe alternative. |
| Electric specialist | Manectric | Plusle or Minun from Maps 3–4 can fill Electric damage. Taking both is optional and costs two slots; neither solves Whiscash. |
| Psychic / Fairy option | Gardevoir | Early Flying damage helps Brawly if Ralts is absent. Ice plus strong neutral damage can replace some later jobs, but Ice is only neutral against Kingdra. |
| Dark with Grass utility | Shiftry | Cacturne, Mightyena or Sharpedo can supply Dark damage. Shiftry helps Whiscash; Sharpedo instead adds Water overlap. Verify attack category for Lunatone. |
| Ice specialist | Walrein | Glalie can replace Ice coverage, but Snow Warning changes weather. Preserve this slot for Winona/Drake. |
| Fire / Fighting finisher | Blaziken | Hariyama/Breloom supplies Fighting; Camerupt supplies Fire/Ground. One replacement may not cover both jobs. Fire alone is poor into Glacia’s Water members; Fighting is neutral against Metagross. |
Spend upgrades and items on the next obstacle
Before Norman, develop the attacker that must survive Slaking rather than merely filling an empty slot. After Winona, keep training Ice/Fairy and Steel-breaking answers even if Sidney looks easier. Steven’s six opponents at 93–97 are well beyond the eighth badge’s level-80 ace.
Ordinary type items give +40% damage for their type and attempt that attack type if the holder can use it. Black Belt helps Fighting, Charcoal Fire, Mystic Water Water, and Miracle Seed Grass. Magnet, Black Glasses, Pixie Plate and Never-Melt Ice become eligible in ordinary offers from Map 5; offers remain random. Swap a training item for the damage or survival item needed by the next fight.
Lucky Egg gives its holder a 30% chance of one extra level on a level-gain event and becomes eligible from Map 5. Shell Bell heals 15% of damage dealt; Leftovers restores 10% max HP each round; Assault Vest adds 50% Special Defense. Choose damage-based recovery for a reliable attacker, recurring recovery for a durable survivor, or special bulk against an immediate special threat. These are ordinary held items, not similarly named passive items.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
Before the Elite Four: prepare for all five fights
Hoenn’s League is Sidney → Phoebe → Glacia → Drake → Steven: 26 opponents at levels 78–97. The Elite Four aces are 81, 83, 85 and 86; Steven starts at 93. A team that barely beats Drake still faces a significant final level jump.
Before each opponent, a preparation screen opens even when ordinary boss previews are hidden. Inspect the lineup, drag to reorder, and select held or bag items to equip, swap or unequip. If you have Sacred Ash, use it from the bag to restore one injured or fainted member to full HP, consuming it. Preparation itself does not grant a free full-team heal. Level gains can add HP as maximum HP rises, but do not count on them to revive a fainted teammate.
Current Hoenn gym and League templates list no held items. Kanto’s rule removing non-ace items does not apply to Hoenn, so do not assume a changed Hoenn roster would be restricted to one equipped item. Abilities remain active throughout the League.
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
- Before Sidney: prepare Fighting/Fairy and a backup for Sharpedo; check HP and supplies.
- Before Phoebe: position a developed Dark attacker and save Fairy damage for Sableye.
- Before Glacia: use Fighting for the Ice/Water members; preserve your Ice specialist for Drake.
- Before Drake: bring the Ice answer forward and confirm its actual attack type.
- Before Steven: prepare separate answers for Skarmory, Cradily and the Steel core. Use remaining bag and held items; no catch window occurs inside this League sequence.
Elite Four and Steven: exact Story teams and counter plan
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
| Battle | Opponent team in order (Lv.) | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Sidney | Mightyena 78; Cacturne 79; Shiftry 80; Sharpedo 80; Absol 81 | Fighting or Fairy hits every Dark member super-effectively; Bug is especially strong into Cacturne and Shiftry. Fire helps those two but is poor into Sharpedo. Mightyena’s Intimidate lowers opposing Attack on entry: compare a special Fairy option against a physical Fighting lead. |
| Phoebe | Dusclops 81; Banette 82; Banette 82; Sableye 83; Dusclops 83 | Dark hits Dusclops and Banette super-effectively. Normal/Fighting fails against Ghost. Sableye’s Dark/Ghost typing cancels the usual Dark weakness; Fairy is super-effective. Banette’s Cursed Body can force the attacker to use Struggle, so retain a second capable attacker. |
| Glacia | Glalie 82; Sealeo 83; Glalie 83; Sealeo 84; Walrein 85 | Fighting is super-effective throughout. Fire is strong into Glalie but neutral into Sealeo/Walrein because of Water typing; Electric/Grass helps those Water members. Glalie brings hail; the Spheal line’s Iron Body boosts Defense, making attack category relevant. |
| Drake | Shelgon 83; Altaria 83; Flygon 84; Flygon 85; Salamence 86 | Ice is fourfold against Altaria, both Flygon and Salamence, and twofold against Shelgon. Fairy also helps. Altaria clears weather, Flygon uses Strong Jaw and Salamence’s Moxie rewards knockouts: avoid feeding it weak sacrifices. |
| Steven | Skarmory 93; Cradily 94; Claydol 94; Armaldo 95; Aggron 96; Metagross 97 | Skarmory is weak to Fire/Electric and immune to Ground. Cradily is weak to Fighting/Ice/Bug/Steel, not Water/Grass. Water handles Claydol and Armaldo by type. Aggron takes fourfold Fighting/Ground damage, but Sturdy can leave 1 HP. Metagross is weak to Fire/Ground/Ghost/Dark; Fighting is neutral. Preserve a developed finisher and backup for its Tough Claws damage pressure. |
If your Hoenn run keeps stalling
Sources: Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
- Roxanne: add an offered Water/Grass partner before another random catch.
- Norman: compare your main attacker’s level, HP, attack type and item; Truant’s damage reduction means super-effective damage alone may not finish Slaking.
- Tate & Liza: compare physical versus special damage as well as typing.
- Wallace: keep Electric off Whiscash; Grass is not super-effective against Kingdra.
- Steven: identify the exact stopping point. Skarmory, Cradily, Aggron and Metagross cannot all be solved by “bring Fighting.” Plan resources for the 93–97 ending.
- Use Items and Team Building below for equipment and replacement decisions. Kanto and Johto are separate Story guides; Battle Tower has its own progression.
Source boundary
What the source does not prove
- This dated public-client inspection is not a full Wiki playthrough or a guaranteed-clear team.
- Capture pools and item eligibility are conditional; random offers, attacks and special modes change the usable plan.
- Type-based tactics are recommendations: abilities, weather, levels, attack categories and equipment affect outcomes.
Practical next step
Apply this to your next decision.
Check your team’s matchupsKeep planning
Related pages
Evidence used on this page
Sources
Pokelike official client — Hoenn Story teams, abilities and progression (September 17, 2026)
- Publisher
- Pokelike
- Source type
- pokelike official
- Accessed
- September 17, 2026
- Applicable version
- Not stated
- Used on this page
- Story rosters, levels, encounter/evolution windows, ordinary items, ability effects, admin rewards and actual League preparation behavior.
- Important boundary
- Dated code inspection; not a completed clear, guaranteed random offer or measured strategy result.
Registry details
General supports
- Hoenn Story gym, Magma/Aqua and League rosters, levels and order
- Selected encounter pools, evolution levels and ordinary item effects
- Ability behavior, per-opponent League preparation and admin rewards
General limitations
- Public code inspection is not a completed run or a win-rate trial.
- Random capture and item offers are not guaranteed.
Gen III in Normal: the Hoenn campaign
- Publisher
- Pokelike-guide.fr
- Source type
- competitor site
- Accessed
- September 17, 2026
- Applicable version
- Not stated
- Used on this page
- Attributed advice to inspect abilities and consider paired Pokémon.
- Important boundary
- Not proof of a Wiki clear. Outdated exclusivity claim is corrected by current code.
Registry details
General supports
- Attributed recommendation to inspect abilities and consider partner pairs
General limitations
- Its claim that Hoenn alone has abilities conflicts with current later-region code.
- No Wiki playthrough or controlled comparison is established.
Pokémon types & type chart
- Publisher
- The Pokémon Company
- Source type
- pokemon official
- Accessed
- August 27, 2026
- Applicable version
- Not stated
- Used on this page
- General type matchup reasoning applied to the client’s actual opponent types.
- Important boundary
- Does not supply Pokelike rosters, abilities, moves, availability or tested clear results.
Registry details
General supports
- The standard 18 Pokémon types
- The official current-series type effectiveness chart
- The general role of attacking and defending types
General limitations
- The page explicitly notes that type affinity can differ by game
- It does not confirm any Pokelike-specific type chart variation