Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, And Platinum: 10 Tips For Taking On The Elite 4

The Elite 4 can be among the toughest possible opponents to face in Pokémon. Thankfully, there are some tips to really help you out against them.

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Tough and challenging, the Elite Four are type-specialists who aren’t afraid to spam Full Restores. Trainers must battle them consecutively and defeat them if they want to get to the Champion and challenge him or her, depending on the region.

In Sinnoh, trainers must battle the Elite Four in a fixed order. Pokémon Diamond & Pearl are famous for having an unbalanced Pokédex that results in the Fire-type specialist, Flint, having only two Fire-types on his team. Other than that, though, Sinnoh’s Elite Four is quite tough and impressive, representing a true challenge before facing the absolute best Champion in the games, the fearsome Cynthia. With a proper strategy, however, the player can emerge victorious without too much trouble.

10 Train, Train, Train

The Elite Four is more challenging if the trainer’s team is underleveled. All Pokémon should be at least level 50, and that’s if one really wants a challenge. The ideal levels to challenge the Pokémon League are between 55 and 60-ish. Aaron – the first and perhaps weakest of the Sinnoh Elite Four – has three level 53 Pokémon, with his toughest being a level 57 Drapion (which ironically isn’t a Bug-type).

Trainers should grind their Pokémon to the appropriate levels on Victory Road, where the toughest trainers and fiercest Pokémon dwell. Challenging the Elite Four with unprepared Pokémon is basically masochism.

9 Heal The Party Before Going In

This goes without saying, but the Pokémon team should be healthy and ready to go before challenging the Elite Four. This is especially important because Barry will show up looking to battle as the player attempts to step into the Pokémon League.

Barry’s team, especially his Snorlax and Torterra, can be tough to beat, so the battle can become more difficult than anticipated. The player’s Pokémon can suffer some damage and there’s no Pokémon Center inside the League, which makes healing all the more important. And while on this subject…

8 Stock Up On Healing Items

All members of the Elite Four and especially Champion Cynthia will not think twice about using healing items. In fact, the Elite Four will use at least one Full Restore during their respective battles and Cynthia can use up to five. The best thing to do is imitate them.

Every player should buy at least 20 Full Restores, which heal not only HP but also status conditions. Max Revives are also recommended, especially if a Pokémon faints mid-battle. These are the two most expensive healing items in the main series games, but they are so worth it.

7 Make Sure To Have A Couple Of Useful Berries

Berries should also be part of the player’s strategy. They can be helpful in several instances, such as using a Pecha Berry to cure poisoning or a Rawst Berry for burns, status conditions that Aaron and Flint’s teams can provoke.

All Elite Four members equip their ace Pokémon with a Sitrus Berry, a powerful item that restores 25% of the user’s max health. The player should have several of these useful berries equipped on their team. They can be a real-life savior because no turn will be wasted in using a Full Restore on a low-health Pokémon.

6 Create A Balanced Team

The Elite Four mainly covers four different types: Bug for Aaron, Ground for Bertha, Fire for Flint, and Psychic for Lucian. However, most of their Pokémon are dual-type, which means that even though they’re type specialists, they still have ample coverage.

The key to beating the Elite Four, and Champion Cynthia, is diversity. A balanced team of six will ensure the battles aren’t as tough as they might seem. It’s important, however, that the team has at least one Pokémon – or at least a couple of moves – that are super effective against each of the Elite Four’s types.

5 For Aaron, Take A Strong Flying or Rock-Type

As previously mentioned, Aaron is the first opponent and his team packs quite the punch. Dustox is mainly used to either set Light Screen or Toxic, or both, so it’s best to take it out as quickly as possible with a strong Flying move. Heracross too will succumb to a level 50-ish Flying Pokémon. As for the next two, both Beautifly and Vespiquen are dual-type Bug/Flying and will easily go down with a Rock move.

Drapion is where things get trickier. It only has one weakness, to Ground, and it also knows Ice Fang, which can easily bring down any Ground-type Pokémon. If there’s no Ground type on the player’s team, it’s recommendable to teach the Rock-type a strong Ground move. As Aaron’s ace, Drapion will also hold a Sitrus Berry. In Platinum, Dustox and Beautifly get replaced with Scizor, who has a quad weakness to Fire, and Yanmega, who shares Vespiquen’s weaknesses.

4 For Bertha, Take Advantage Of The Grass-Type

Bertha, the Ground-type specialist, is next. Ground has three weaknesses, Grass, Water, and Ice. Three of her Pokémon, Whiscash, Golem, and Quagsire, have quad Grass weaknesses and no move that’s super effective against Grass-types, so they should go down easily. Quagsire knows Protect, though, which can be a nuisance. Sudowoodo and Hippowdown are pure Rock and Ground-types respectively, so Grass will also work on them.

In Platinum, Quagsire and Sudowoodo get replaced with Gliscor and Rhyperior. The latter also has a four-times Grass weakness but knows two dangerous moves, the Bug-type Megahorn and the Ice-type Avalanche. It’s best to use a Water-type against it. As for Gliscor, an Ice move will most likely OHKO it.

3 For Flint, Ground & Fighting Will Do

Next comes Flint, who in Diamond & Pearl has only two fire-types on his team. Rapidash will succumb to Ground, and both Steelix and Lopunny can be floored with a Fighting-move. As for Drifblim, it should go down with the Rock-type Pokémon or move used against Aaron. These last three get replaced in Platinum, but two of these additions, Flareon and Houndoom, can be easily dealt with using Ground.

Infernape and Magmortar are quite problematic, though. The former, a dual-type Fire/Fighting creature, is very fast and knows Thunder Punch to fight Water and Flying-types, and Mega Punch to fight Psychics, which leaves Ground as the only viable option to defeat it. Magmortar is even more of a threat because it knows Thunderbolt and Solar Beam, the latter of which is super effective against Rock and Ground. it has low defense, so a strong Physical attack should take care of it.

2 For Lucian, Dark & Ghost Are The Way To Go

Lastly, Lucian awaits his chance. A Psychic-type specialist, Lucian is the final and can be seen as the toughest opponent. In Diamond & Pearl and Platinum, he has two pure Psychic-types, Mr. Mime and Alakazam. Ghost should be used against them. In Platinum, he has a third pure Psychic, Espeon, that knows Shadow Ball to fight Ghosts and Signal Beam to fight Dark-types, which complicates things.

In D&P, Dark should work against Girafarig and Ghost against Medicham. In all three games, Lucian has a strong Bronzong, who also serves as his ace in D&P. The Ground or Ghost-type Pokémon should take care of it. In Platinum, Lucian’s ace is Gallade, an incredibly strong Pokémon with high Physical Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. Use a Ghost Pokémon, especially because it will be immune to Gallade’s Drain Punch.

1 Take Care Of The Starter Pokémon

Sinnoh’s Starters are among the best in the games. They’re not only incredibly strong and versatile but also – because of their dual-typings – overwhelmingly useful in the Championship battle. Infernape’s Fire/Fighting combo will make it useful against Aaron, Flint, and even Lucian. Empoleon’s Water/Steel will make it past Bertha and Flint. And Torterra’s Grass/Ground will make it ideal for Bertha and even Flint and Lucian if used properly.

As the first Pokémon in any Sinnoh journey, the Starters are bound to be one of, if not the strongest Pokémon in the player’s team. They should always be treated carefully and trained constantly because they’ll surely be a vital part of the Championship battle.

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