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Though every generation ofPokemongames hasits own unique story, the overall goal for players always remains the same. As well as attempting to catch as many different Pokemon as possible, they must defeat eight powerful gym leaders, before then heading off to the Pokemon League with the hopes of becoming a Pokemon Champion. Standing in their way, however, is a quartet of incredibly powerful trainers who are fittingly known asthe Elite Four.
RELATED:Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Get Through Victory Road
Pokemon Brilliant Diamond&Shining Pearlare no different in this regard, with Aaron, Bertha, Flint, and Lucian each specializing in a different type of Pokemon. Building a team capable of defeating all four as well as the reigning Pokemon Champion can be incredibly difficult, as players will need to account and plan for 26 different Pokemon in total. Thankfully, healing items are allowed between battles, though even with them, players really are in for a tough old slog.
Updated July 04, 2025, by Tom Bowen:As is now something of a tradition for Pokemon games, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl allow players to battle the Elite Four as many times as they like after beating Cynthia. Much like the gym leaders before them, the four elite trainers will even update their teams between battles, with each one having access to three different lineups for players to overcome. This guide has been updated to include information about each member of the Elite Four’s updated teams for both the first and second rematches, as well as some ideas as to how players can set up their own teams in order to have the best chances of beating them. It also contains a quick comparison between each member of the Elite Four’s BDSP teams and the ones that they used in the original Gen 4 games.
How to Prepare for the Elite Four
Preparing for the Elite Four inBrilliant Diamond&Shining Pearlis considerably more difficult than setting up for a gym battle, as players will need to take on all four of the powerful trainers in a row without being able to fully heal their Pokemon in between (though they can and should use items to replenish HP before each battle). Worse still, they’ll have to face off with the Sinnoh Pokemon League’s defending champion straight after, meaning that players will need to defeat 26 different Pokemon in total. Needless to say, it’s far from easy.
Though it is possible to defeat the Elite Four with a team of Pokemon around level 50, it becomes a far more manageable task with a team in the mid-sixties, so those who’d rather avoid having to use countless curative items during and between the four battles may want to spend some time leveling up on Victory Road before challenging Aaron. Even if players do have a well-leveled team, it’s still worth stocking up on every variety of healing item at the Pokemart inside.
When it comes to which Pokemon to actually take in with them, players should attempt to ensure that they have coverage for every element, as they’re definitely going to need each one at some point.Gastrodonis a great pick in this regard, as it can cover rock (Ancient Powder), ground (Earthquake), water (Scald), and poison (Sludge Bomb) surprisingly well and is also very easy to find. For those who don’t have one, they can be found on Route 224 at Level 52 or 53.
Naturally, players will also want to take theirstarter Pokemonalong with them, as it will probably be their strongest Pokemon having been with them since the very beginning of their journey.Palkia/Dialgacan also be incredibly useful against the Elite Four, particularly if players have maxed out the friendship stat and hadthe Move Tutor on Route 210teach it Draco Meteor. Aura Sphere can also come in handy, as too can Flash Cannon (Dialga) and Surf (Palkia).
Depending on their starter Pokemon, players may want to bring Pokemon that cover the other two types along with them, though providing they have grass, fire, andwater-type movessomewhere within their team, this isn’t really essential. Any remaining spaces should be taken up by the likes ofKadabraandHaunter, while a strong flying-type likeTogekisscan make defeating Aaron a lot easier. Obviously, if players have somebody they can trade with, the evolved forms of the first two would be better. It’s also a good idea to have one Pokemon with access to Charm, as this can make Earthquake users a lot more manageable.
Night Slash
X-Scissor
Aaron specializes inbug-typePokemon, but also has decent coverage for poison and flying-types as well. Infernape can therefore come in pretty useful during this fight, though, likeother fire-type Pokemon, may come unstuck against the two Earthquake users. If and when this happens, players can switch out to their flying-type or have their Charm user nerf Aaron’s Pokemon’s Attack stat, allowing players to heal up their fire-type attacker and throw them back in the ring. A Draco Meteor from a well-leveled Palkia or Dialga can also be pretty effective against all of Aaron’s Pokemon if push really comes to shove.
Ice Beam
Rest
Bertha specializes in rock andground-typePokemon, meaning she also has several Earthquake users in her team. This is bad news for Infernape users, although if they’re able to have another Pokemon lower their opponent’s Attack stat with Charm, Infernape’sfighting-type movesshould make quick work of most of Bertha’s team. To a certain extent, players can just rely on out-speeding them for the most part, but Golem’s Sturdy ability all but guarantees that players will be facing at least one Earthquake. Torterra and Empoleon are perhaps better suited for the task for this reason, so those who chose Turtwig or Piplup at the start of the game should have a slightly easier time of things.
Mach Punch
Thunder Punch
Despite supposedly being afire-typespecialist, only two of Flint’s team are actuallyfire-type Pokemon. The rest are a complete mishmash of different types, meaning that players will need to switch things up quite a bit throughout the battle. If they have one, players can use a water-type Pokemon to take care of Rapidash and Infernape, and should be sure to give it a Chesto berry to hold to counter Rapidash’s Hypnosis. Astrong fighting-type Pokemonshould be able to take care of Lopunny and Steelix, while Driflim can be countered with Haunter / Gengar if players brought one along with them. If not, players can deal with Drifblim using brute force, though this will take a while due to Flint having two Full Restores and Drifblim constantly using Strength Sap.
Payback
Trick Room
Lucian specializes inpsychic-typePokemon, so players should lead with their Haunter / Gengar if they brought one along. Alternatively, Palkia or Dialga isn’t a bad shout either, as neither is too badly affected bypsychic-type attacks. The biggest threat in Lucian’s team is undoubtedly Alakazam, which will repeatedly use Nasty Plot to increase its Special Attack stat if left unchecked. This can make surviving a Psychic cast incredibly difficult, so players should hit it hard straight away, even if this means using something like Roar of Time and missing the next turn. Bronzong can also be a little tricky due to its high level and its high defenses, though its added weakness tofire-type attacksdoes open up a few additional options for players to exploit. After taking it down, players can move on tothe final battle with the Champion.
How to Prepare for the Elite Four Rematches
Though their teams grow stronger with each rematch, the underlying strategy for defeating the Elite Four remains very much the same. If anything, things are a little easier the second time around due to players having access to a much wider pool of powerful Pokemon; both in terms ofLegendariesand those found in the Grand Underground afterunlocking the National Dex. The second rematch will almost certainly push players to their absolute limits, however, especially as they’ll still need to defeat Cynthia straight after using the same six Pokemon.
A team of Legendary and Mythical Pokemon should be able to get away with using brute force, but those looking to take a more strategic approach should once again focus ontype-coverage. An electric/flying-type likeRotom(Fan form) will come in handy against quite a few of the Pokemon that players will come up against, whileGarchomp(evolveGible) provides an excellent dragon/ground-type option.
Bringing the final evolutions of all 3gen 4 starter Pokemon(catch in the grand underground) isn’t a bad idea, butCharizard(evolveCharmander),Poliwrath(evolve Poliwhirl using aWater Stone), andAbomasnow(catch in Mt. Coronet) arguably provide more useful type combinations for the battles ahead. For the final slot, players should bring a strong psychic-type likeAlakazam(evolveAbra) or a powerful ghost-type likeGengar(evolve through trading) to round out the team.
How Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl’s Elite Four Compares to the Original Games'
Aaron
Aaron’s initial team is identical to the one he uses inPokemon Diamond&Pearl, both in terms of the Pokemon themselves and their actual levels. Where things differ is in the Held Item department, with all five of Aaron’s Pokemon now having items rather than just one. His Heracross no longer has access to Bug or Dark-type attacks now either, with the likes of Megahorn and Night Slash making way for powerful moves like Earthquake and Rock Slide.
Bertha
Like Aaron before her, Bertha’s team composition remains largely unchanged. However, her team’s move sets have been tweaked quite a bit to make them much trickier to counter, with Quagsire now better able to deal with Grass-types and Hippowdon having far fewer counters thanks to the addition of Ice Fang. It also has Rest now too, allowing it to heal up more easily mid-battle.
Flint
Once again, very little has changed when it comes to Flint’s starting team, with his Pokemon and their levels exactly the same as they were in the original games. Steelix’s Life Orb can make a noticeable difference though, as it boosts the attack power of its moves by a massive 30%. His best Pokemon, Infernape, is arguably a little weaker though, as exchanging Earthquake for Close Combat makes it far less effective against Electric-types.
Lucian
WithBrilliant Diamond&Shining Pearlbeing remakes, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Lucian’s team also remains largely the same. His team have a lot more Psychic attacks this time though, which makes sense given his specialty. Light Screen and Trick Room make Girafarig a lot more challenging in the more recent titles, though Medicham having access to Zen Headbutt does very little to address its glaring vulnerability to Fairy-type attackers.
