How to beat Candice in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

The upbeat Candice can freeze your story progress with her Ice-type team unless you're prepared for the frigid encounter.

Note: This guide is for the gym leader battle, not the rematch.

Her Team

Candice switches up the gym leader format thus far, bringing in four Pokémon to fight you:

• Snover - Level 38
  • Moves: Mist, Razor Leaf, Water Pulse, and Avalanche
  • Ability: Snow Warning
  • Item: Icy Rock
• Sneasel - Level 38
  • Moves: Metal Claw, Hone Claws, Dig, and Avalanche
  • Ability: Pickpocjet
  • Item: Chople Berry
• Medicham - Level 40
  • Moves: Ice Punch, Bulk Up, Brick Break, Rock Slide
  • Ability: Pure Power
  • Item: Expert Belt
• Abomasnow - Level 42
  • Moves: Aurora Veil, Giga Drain, Earthquake, Blizzard
  • Ability: Snow Warning
  • Item: Sitrus Berry

To our knowledge, Candice will use up to two Full Restores when her Pokémon are low.

Related: How to beat Byron in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

Strategy

Candice leads off with a Snover with an Icy Rock (which will activate Hail for eight turns) and will likely end with an Abomasnow with the same ability. Expect to spend the whole fight taking chip damage from Hail unless you can overwrite it with another weather type.

Sneasel can be threatening if you're not prepared for its diverse move set. Dig will deal with Fire and Steel-type Pokémon and Metal Claw can take down Fairy and Rock-type Pokémon. And with Sneasel's high Speed stat, it's very likely to go first.

On top of all that, it has a Chople Berry to drastically lower a super-effective Fighting-type attack, which will likely let it survive one despite its four-times weakness to the type.

Luckily, Sneasel is also very frail, so if you have a Fire, Rock, Bug, Steel, Fire, or Fairy-type move on a Pokémon it can't KO easily, then you should be able to one-shot it.

Medicham is surprising Pokémon for Candice to have considering that it's not an Ice-type Pokémon. Between its ability Pure Power and its Expert Belt, Medicham will do some extreme damage given the chance—especially if it can get a Bulk Up or two off. Take it out fast with a Flying, Ghost, or Fairy-type move.

Abomasnow boasts seven different weaknesses, including a four-times weakness to Fire. It's also as slow as a snail. Bring out your heaviest hitter with a type-effective move and wipe it out quickly before it can get an Aurora Veil off to buff its defenses and go on a rampage.

If you want to use a terrifying Sneasel yourself, go check out Best Nature for Sneasel and Weavile in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on Pro Game Guides!