How to Defeat Whitney's Miltank in Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal

Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: September 3, 2020 Approved

Whitney, the Normal-type gym leader of Goldenrod City in Johto, is notorious among Pokémon fans for being difficult to defeat, and for good reason - her Clefairy is easy enough, but her Miltank is one tough cow. This article will show you a few different methods of defeating her Miltank without much trouble in Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal.

Method 1

Method 1 of 7:

Using Muscle the Machop

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He'll ask for Drowzee in Gold and Silver, and Abra in Crystal. Both can be found on Route 34, the route below Goldenrod City. Abra can also be bought from the Game Corner for 200 coins if you don't want to deal with it fleeing from a wild battle.
Whitney's Miltank is level 20, so you'll want to level it up high enough to stand a chance against the Miltank.

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Given that those attacks are Fighting-type attacks, they'll be super effective. It'll also be resistant to Miltank's Rollout (a Rock-type attack).

Method 2

Method 2 of 7:

Using an Accuracy-Lowering Strategy

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If you started with Cyndaquil, it'll learn Smokescreen while Pidgey can learn Sand-Attack. Both should be evolved to their second forms by the time you reach Whitney.
By lowering its accuracy, its attacks will miss more often, giving you a better chance of defeating it.
Special attacks such as Thundershock or Ember will work better than physical attacks, given Miltank's lower special defense. You can buy Thunder Punch, Fire Punch, and Ice Punch in the Goldenrod Department Store if you have any Pokémon that can learn one or more of those attacks (Abra, in particular, can learn all three and has a high special attack).

Method 3

Method 3 of 7:

Using a Curse Strategy

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Curse will cut down Gastly's HP in exchange for a curse that damages the opposing Pokémon every turn.
Stomp won't affect your Gastly, so if your Gastly is female, Miltank will have to resort to Rollout, which will be unlikely to KO your Gastly on the first turn.
Eventually, Miltank should go down to a combination of your attack damage and the damage from the curse.

Method 4

Method 4 of 7:

Using a Status-Inflicting Strategy

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1
Get a Pokémon with an attack that inflicts a status on the opposing Pokémon. By this point, you'll be able to inflict paralysis, poison, or sleep. If you started with Chikorita, it'll be able to learn Stun Spore and Poison Powder.
- Paralysis lowers a Pokémons' speed and has a 25% chance of stopping the Pokémon from making a move during a turn.
- Poison damages the opponent a bit at the end of their turn.
- Sleep makes the opponent fall asleep, preventing them from moving until they wake up.
Poison or paralysis is your best bet here, given that sleep isn't always reliable, but whichever you use is your preference.

Method 5

Method 5 of 7:

Using a Rollout Strategy

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By the time Clefairy is KO'd, Rollout should have already gone for 3 or 4 turns, making it very powerful. When Miltank comes out, it'll be hit by Rollout, and (depending on your level) should do a good amount of damage against it, if not a one-hit KO. If it misses at any point, you get flinched by Miltank's Stomp attack, or your Pokémon is immobilized by love through Attract, though, Rollout will end, making this strategy dependent on luck.

Method 6

Method 6 of 7:

Using a Wall Strategy

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Preferably, a female one, since a female one will be immune to Attract. You can trade a Bellsprout for Onix in Violet City, or catch one in Union Cave. Geodude can also be caught in Union Cave, along with Dark Cave and the bottom part of Route 46.
Both Geodude and Onix are Rock/Ground-types and have high defense, making them a good choice to use against Whitney.

Method 7

Method 7 of 7:

Using a Rage Strategy

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Rage is an attack that increases your attack power when you're hit, as long as it's used consecutively. By the time you reach Whitney, Totodile should have evolved into Croconaw.
If you get lucky, Clefairy will use Double Slap and hit you 5 times with it, increasing your attack power with each hit. By the time it's KO'd and Miltank comes out, you should hopefully have enough attack power to do a good amount of damage against Miltank. If you use a different attack, though, the attack power will reset, so be sure that you're using it constantly.

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Question

I tried everything against Whitney and she keeps using milk drink. What do I do?

Lugia2453

Top Answerer

If all else fails, try to drain her milk tank out of milk drink PP. It only has 10 PP, so once it runs out of PP, she won't be able to use it.

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Question

I have tried many times, countering Miltank's Rollout with my own Quilava's Rollout, but I always need 3 or more tries. What am I doing wrong?

Lugia2453

Top Answerer

Miltank is bulky enough to take a few good hits from a physical attack, so you're not doing anything wrong. Try inflicting some damage from another Pokemon first before using Rollout.

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Question

Could I soft reset for a female Machop so I will be immune to Miltank's Attract?

Lugia2453

Top Answerer

The in-game trade Machop will always be female, so there's no need to soft reset for it.

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Tips

You can combine one or more of these strategies if you have the Pokémon for them.

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Save before battling to avoid losing half your money if you lose to her. You can reset the game if you lose and try again or train more if necessary.

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You can also apply these strategies to HeartGold and SoulSilver, although there, the Miltank is level 19, has the Scrappy ability, allowing it to hit Gastly with Stomp, and holds a Lum Berry that cures it of status the first time you use a status-inflicting move.

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Warnings

Avoid using a Fire, Flying, or Bug-type in battle for prolonged periods, as Rollout is super effective against those types.

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If you use a male Pokémon against Miltank, it'll use Attract, making it so your Pokémon may not attack 50% of the time.

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Don't let Miltank's Rollout get too powerful, or you can expect any Pokémon that doesn't resist it to be KO'd in one hit.

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How to Defeat Whitney's Miltank in Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal

Steps

Using Muscle the Machop

Using an Accuracy-Lowering Strategy

Using a Curse Strategy

Using a Status-Inflicting Strategy

Using a Rollout Strategy

Using a Wall Strategy

Using a Rage Strategy

Community Q&A

Tips

Warnings

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