How to Select the Best Pokémon to Beat the Elite Four in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Co-authored by Ishrak

Last Updated: July 31, 2023

So you’ve made it to The Pokémon League of Sinnoh and defeated your rival for the final time. Now all that stands between you and the Pokémon champion is the Elite Four! With so many possibilities, it’s tough to choose which Pokémon to take into battle. This guide will analyze the lineups of the Elite Four to help you exploit their weaknesses and give you the edge you need to prevail.

Steps

Download Article

1
Analyze the weaknesses of your opponents. Each member of the Elite Four specializes in a certain Pokémon type. Aaron prioritizes Bug type, Bertha prefers Ground type, Flint likes Fire type, and Lucian excels in Psychic type.
- Since you cannot change lineups between fights with the Elite Four, you will need to bring a powerful, but diverse lineup.
2
Pick a Flying or Fire type to fight Aaron. Unfortunately, no single Pokémon fits both so you’ll have to pick one. If you started the game with Chimchar, his evolved form will take you through the bulk of the fight. Here is a list of Aaron’s Pokémon and their potential weaknesses:
- Dustox: Bug/Poison. Weak to Flying, Ground, Rock, Fire, or Psychic
- Heracross: Bug/Fight. Weak to Flying [4x Effectiveness], Fire, Psychic
- Vespiquen: Bug/Flying. Weak to Flying, Rock [4x Effectiveness], Fire, Electric, Ice
- Beautifly: Bug/Flying. Weak to Flying, Rock [4x Effectiveness], Fire, Electric, Ice
- Drapion: Dark/Poison. Weak to Ground
Advertisement
3
Pick a Grass type to fight Bertha. All of her Pokémon share a weakness to it. Torterra is especially good if you started the game with a turtwig. Here is a list of Bertha’s Pokémon and their weaknesses:
- Quagsire: Ground/Water. Weak to Grass [4x Effectiveness]
- Hippowdon: Ground. Weak to Grass, Water, Ice
- Sudowoodo: Rock. Weak to Fighting, Ground, Steel, Grass, Water
- Whiscash: Ground/Water. Weak to Grass [4x Effectiveness]
- Golem: Rock/Ground. Weak to Fighting, Ground, Steel, Grass [4x Effectiveness], Water [4x Effectiveness], Ice
4
Pick a Water or Ground type to fight Flint. A Gastrodon is perfect here. If you started the game with Piplup, the evolved form will get you through most of this fight as well. Here is a list of Flint’s Pokémon with weaknesses:
- Rapidash: Fire. Weak to Ground, Rock, Water
- Infernape: Fire/Fight. Weak to Flying, Ground, Water, Psychic
- Steelix: Steel/Ground. Weak to Fighting, Ground, Fire, Water
- Lopunny: Normal. Weak to Fighting
- Drifblim: Ghost/Flying. Weak to Rock, Ghost, Electric, Ice, Dark
5
Pick a Dark, Fighting, or Ghost type against Lucian. Fighting has good defense against Psychic, but may lose usefulness beyond this fight. Strong dark attacks can work through this fight very quickly. A Spiritomb will do very well, but there are many options.
- Mr. Mime: Psychic. Weak to Bug, Dark, Ghost
- Girafarig: Normal/Psychic. Weak to Bug, Dark
- Medicham: Psychic/Fight. Weak to Flying, Ghost
- Alakazam: Psychic. Weak to Bug, Dark, Ghost
- Bronzong: Steel/Psychic. Weak to Fire, Ground Note: Bronzong will have the ability Levitate (causes user to be unaffected by ground types)
6
Round out your lineup to take on Cynthia. Cynthia is the Pokémon Champion that immediately follows the Elite Four. A Togekiss is a good choice to beat her Spiritomb. Otherwise fill in the gaps from your choices for the Elite Four to create a well rounded team.
- Spiritomb: Ghost/Dark. No weaknesses. Just don't use any normal moves.
- Garchomp: Dragon/Ground. Weak to Ice [4x Effectiveness], Dragon
- Gastrodon: Water/Ground. Weak to Grass [4x Effectiveness]
- Milotic: Water. Weak to Grass, Electric
- Roserade: Grass/Poison. Weak to Flying, Fire, Psychic, Ice
- Lucario: Steel/Fight. Weak to Fighting, Ground, Fire
Moves like Surf, Thunderbolt, Ice Beam, Flamethrower, and Earthquake can be super effective against the Elite Four's Pokémon when used in the correct situation. They can also give your Pokémon more diverse attack type options. Moves that cause status effects (Toxic, Thunder Wave, and Sleep Powder) as well as moves that raise your Attack and/or Speed (Swords Dance and Dragon Dance) can also be very helpful.
Unique Pokémon like Palkia or Dialga will always be a strong choice, but if you don’t have access to them or don’t want to use them for a challenge, there are many options for a well rounded team. Sensible switching to exploit differences in the fight will be key. Good luck!

Community Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

My team is a Torterra at level 72, a Machoke and Sneasel at level 49, a Crobat and Medicham at level 48, and a Steelix at level 47. I still can't defeat the Elite Four. Do you have any advice?

Community Answer

Train the rest of your team. Your Torterra is at a much higher level than the rest. Training the other Pokemon will fill the gap. You can also change some Pokemon on your team for an advantage against some of the E4, but try for a balanced team capable of OHKOing the E4. Good Luck!

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 7 Helpful 31
Question

My Infernape is level 61, Dialga and Unix are at level 51, Steelix is level 45, Floatzel is level 42 and Haunter is level 46. Why can't I defeat the Elite Four?

Community Answer

Your Floatzel is under-leveled, and you should teach it stronger water moves.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 5 Helpful 17
Question

How do I beat the Rapidash?

Community Answer

Rapidash is weak to Rock, Water, and Ground types. Try using Pokémon that can exploit these weaknesses.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 10 Helpful 31

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Tips

It is a good idea to purchase a large amount of Revives, Max Revives, Potions of all kinds, and PP restoratives before heading to fight the Elite four since you can't go back and visit the Pokémon Center or PokéMart between battles. You might think what you have with you, or just a few more of these is enough; but remember, you are dealing with the Elite Four and you will need more than you realize. It may help to buy items at Celestial Town, since prices there are cheaper.

Thanks
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
If taking advantage of type weaknesses isn’t cutting it, try leveling up your Pokémon. More levels means more power. You can use a Lucky Egg to help level them faster.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
You cannot save in front of Cynthia; if you wish to save your progress before fighting her, you must save in front of Lucian.

Thanks
Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

Show More Tips

Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

Always save your money, or get your Pokémon to hold a prize money booster like an Amulet Coin, so you can buy a lot of full restores and max potions. I'd also buy a PP restorer so you can restore the PP of the moves that are most effective against your opponents (fire for Aaron, water for Flint, etc.).
Amulet Coin is a great start, but try doubling up on your winnings by equipping another Pokémon with a Luck Incense. Ensure both holders fight during a battle and the monetary reward will be awesome, especially when battling Gentlemen, Rich Kids, Gym Leaders, or the Elite Four.
Make sure you have a lot of Leppa Berries, as by the time you reach Cynthia, the one-hit KO moves will have your PP down next to nothing.
A good place to train your Pokémon before the Elite Four is Victory Road, as there are a range of different types there.
Make sure you at least have 6 max revives, 12 revives, and 3 super potions, and that all of your Pokémon are at 54+.
I prefer taking a Torterra to kill Bertha and some Pokémon of Cynthia and Flint, and a Staraptor to kill Aaron.

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

If you lose to any member of the Elite Four you will lose half of your money and you will have to start over and battle them all again. Save your game!

Thanks
Helpful 34 Not Helpful 2
Pokémon can get frustrating if you play for long periods of time. Take a break!

Thanks
Helpful 133 Not Helpful 41