How to Beat Whitney in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Battling Whitney was one of the most traumatic Pokemon experiences I had when I was a kid.

Just when I thought I was crushing it, I stepped into the Goldenrod Gym, and this pink-haired crybaby crushed my ego by sending me back to the Pokemon Center more times than I can count.

We always thought that Normal types are seemingly weak, but her monster cow proves otherwise. If you’ve been flattened by Whitney and her Miltank multiple times already, then you’re in the right place, and better yet, you can win.

With these simple yet smart strategies, I will help you beat Whitney in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver so you can earn that Plain Badge.

More guides from Pokemoncoders:

• How to Beat Mossdeep Gym in Pokemon Emerald
• How to Beat the Viridian City Challenge in Pokemon Radical Red
• What Is a STAB Move in Pokemon?

Why Whitney Is So Hard to Beat?

There is only one universal answer here — MILTANK. This cute cow is an absolute monster that can solo an entire team of six Pokemon. Its stats are absurd, and I mean, how can something so fat have that much speed?

• Stomp hits like a truck and can make your Pokemon flinch. 
• Rollout increases in damage with every hit. If you let it connect 3 times, it’s often game over.
• Milk Drink heals half of its HP.
• Scrappy allows her to hit Ghost-types, removing what would otherwise be a strong immunity counter.

It’s an unkillable wrecking ball that gets stronger as the battle drags on. At this point, Clefairy is just a side-character and an opening act.

To beat Whitney in HGSS, you need to take care of Miltank.

How to Beat Whitney in Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver

While Whitney and Miltank can be a terror for unprepared Trainers, they aren’t unbeatable. With these strategies, you can effectively counter Miltank and slow it down to guarantee your victory.

Fighting-Type Moves

This may seem like an obvious tip but it is one of the simplest ways to beat Miltank. But how can you do that when there is no Fighting type available in this stage of the game?

The answers are these two Pokemon – Heracross and Pinsir. 

Both are obtainable before the third badge and sport Fighting-type moves that are super effective against Whitney’s team. Pinsir learns Revenge at Level 18, a move where you take a hit first, but you then deal double damage in return.

Meanwhile, Heracross learns Brick Break Level 19 and counters most of the Gym Leaders in the game.

You can get Pinsir from the bug-catching contest. Heracross can be found on this tree behind Kurt’s house in Azalea Town.

Also see: 15 Best Bug-Type Pokemon in the Series

Slow Miltank Down

Even Ash and Pikachu, with their plot armor, didn’t win through conventional methods against Whitney.

Attacking head-on was pointless, they had to stop it in its tracks. In HGSS, you can do the same through status conditions.

Here are some nifty strategies you can try:

• Paralysis: Miltank’s speed is broken when paired with Stomp because it’s always at least one or two turns ahead of you.
  Paralysis can immobilize it and give it a taste of its own medicine. Flaffy is a great Pokemon you can catch in Routes 42 and 43.
  Its ability, Static (30% chance of paralyzing the target on contact), is perfect against Miltank’s intimate physical attacks.
• Intimidate: Miltank is a physical attacker, so lowering its Attack will save your Pokemon’s life. Lead with a Pokemon that sports Intimidate to lower its stat instantly by one stage.
  The best Pokemon for the job is Stantler from Routes 37 and 36 because it has Intimidate and can learn Hypnosis and Sand Attack.
  Weakened attacks, sleep, and low accuracy will make Miltank minced meat. If you want to take this a step further, you can bring two Intimidate Pokemon and switch between them until Miltank’s attack hits bare minimum.

Best Starter Against Whitney and Miltank

Whitney and Miltank are just too OP that even speedrunners put them into consideration when building a team, even when choosing their starters. The best starter against the Goldenrod Gym is Cyndaquil. 

You don’t even need to fully evolve it because Quilava at Level 20-21 can get the job done. All you need is the Fire Blast TM from the Goldenrod City Department Store. 

Then, get the Charcoal from the kid in Azalea Town, yeah, the one you helped get his Farfetch’d back in Ilex Forest. Make Quilava hold it, and it will further boost the damage of Fire-type moves by 20%. 

If your Quilava is female, then you have this in the bag because Miltank’s Attract is useless against it. 

Miltank’s Worst Nightmare

While Miltank may seem OP and unstoppable, there is one Pokemon in HGSS that you can obtain before the Goldenrod Gym that makes Miltank shiver in fear — Alakazam! 

Miltank’s weak spot is its low Special Defense, and Alakazam is arguably the best special attacker in the game. Alakazam also outspeeds Miltank, but its greatest weapon would be Focus Blast. 

Even an underleveled Alakazam equipped with this Fighting-type move can get rid of Miltank easily. The battle is already won as soon as you have an Alakazam with Focus Blast.

The challenge is actually getting it. Alakazam is obtainable in the Goldenrod Game Corner. If you reach Level 3 or 4 in the game and collect 200 Coins, you can buy a Level 15 Abra, one level shy of evolving into Kadabra. 

If you’re using an emulator, you can just trade with yourself to evolve it into Alakazam. Focus Blast TM can be bought from the Department Store. Remember, only Alakazam can learn Focus Blast, but Kadabra still can’t.

Using Cheats: Last Resort!

94000130 fffb0000
62111880 00000000
b2111880 00000000
10049f20 00000001
10049f24 00000001
1004a0a0 00000001
1004a0a4 00000001
d2000000 00000000

94000130 fcff0000
62111880 00000000
b2111880 00000000
d5000000 03840011
c0000000 00000025
d6000000 00000b74
d4000000 00000001
d2000000 00000000

92247612 00002801
12247612 00004280
D2000000 00000000
9224670A 00002101
1224670A 00002100

94000130 FCFF0000
62111880 00000000
B2111880 00000000
D5000000 03840011
C0000000 00000025
D6000000 00000B74
D4000000 00000001
D2000000 00000000

92247612 00002801
12247612 00004280
D2000000 00000000
9224670A 00002101
1224670A 00002100
D2000000 00000000

If you find beating Whitney is too overwhelming, you can use cheats as your last resort. These are the helpful HeartGold and SoulSilver cheats you can try to apply.

Conclusion

Whitney and her Miltank caused a lot of childhood nightmares, but with the right strategy, you can turn that into a satisfying revenge victory.

Whether you’re using Heracross’s brute strength, paralysis and Intimidate tactics, or Alakazam’s special attack dominance, the key is to play smart, not just hard.

She may be tough, but she’s not unbeatable. Tons of Trainers have overcome her, and now you can too. So, head back to that Gym, put your plan into motion, and earn that Plain Badge with pride. This time, you won’t be the one crying.