By now you should have your pkmn in the late teens or early 20’s. When you do, you’re ready to take her on. Before that, make sure you stock up on some healing items and stat-up items (if you feel the need to do so). X-Defend and X-Attack could come in handy if you feel that your pkmn are under leveled. There are also a few notable items here that you might want to obtain. If you go to the house to the left of the Pokecenter, a woman will give you an item based on what answer you give her. If you say Tepig, you get Charcoal. If you tell her Snivy, you’ll obtain a Miracle seed. Lastly, if you choose Oshawott, you’ll be given a Mystic Water. Each item boosts the power of the respected Pokemon’s elemental attacks. Again, you’ll want as much power as you can get for this next gym fight, so having this item equipped could turn the tides of the battle.
Some other things to consider are pkmn to use that are available at this point in the game. By now you should have your starter and quite a few pokes that are located in/around Wellspring Cave and also in Pinwheel Forest. Lillipup, Drilbur, Sawk and Throh, and your starter would be your best bet at this point seeing as they’re the most durable and have the best stats/moves. Patrat could also be useful if it’s leveled high enough. It’s also suggested to have a few of your pkmn evolved; notably your starter and Lillipup. This should only take a short period of time with Audino and pkmn in Pinwheel Forest roaming about.

Now, it’s finally time for the gym battle! Lenora uses two rather strong normal type Pokemon. This battle can either be easy or relatively difficult depending on your team. If you chose Tepig as your starter and evolved it, this should be a piece of cake. Pignite’s fighting moves are more than enough to take down Lenora’s duo. If you don’t have Tepig, then hopefully you’ve managed to catch a Sawk or Throh during your travels through Pinwheel Forest, as they are decent fighting types overall at this point in the game. If you don’t have either of those luxuries, then the only thing you can rely on is Rock Smash, which is also obtained in Pinwheel Forest. Do whatever you can to make this fight as easy as possible, because Lenora can be quite tricky.

Finally, let’s discuss the actual battle. Lenora uses two Pokemon; Herdier and Watchog. Herdier is first in line. I love this little pup – I know I’ve mentioned it somewhere before, but Lillipup is my favorite “initial Pokemon” out of all of the previous games (Pokes like Rattata, Pidgey, Sentret, etc. all fall under this category). It’s aesthetically pleasing AND strong, which is somewhat rare these days in the series. Defensively, Lenora’s Herdier can hold her own. Offensively, however, she’s a different story. Herdier learns Take Down, one of the strongest normal abilities, at a very young age. Combined with Normal type STAB and you’ve got something fierce. Using pokes like Purrloin and Blitzle will bring almost immediate death, so it’s important to use a teammate who is both high level and evolved in order to take more than one or two hits. This would be a good time to use an X-Defend if you think you need it, that way you can at least heal up and prepare for another hit (assuming you survive the first one). The recoil will prove to be somewhat helpful to take off a tad of health, but one shouldn’t rely on it. Once Herdier is down, it’s time for Watchog. Now, Lenora’s Watchog isn’t necessarily powerful (only slightly more than Herdier), she’s pretty darn quick. She’ll more than likely attack first with Retaliate. This move only has 60 base power, but it doubles if a previous pkmn (in this case, Herdier) was just KOed, raising its power to 120 not including Normal type STAB. It’s basically a Take Down without the recoil. This will destroy your team if you’re not careful. Your best bet is to attack swiftly and play defensively; never leaving yourself open or relying on Retaliate taking out all but a sliver of health. I found this difficult without a fighting type Pokemon in hand, even with Rock Smash, so do your best to play it safe. Don’t be stingy on the healing items. Use them to keep your pokes above 40% health at all times!

After you defeat Lenora, you’ll obtain the Basic Badge and a shiny new TM. Good for you! Heal up, restock on items, and continue on through Pinwheel Forest towards Castelia City!