As you adventure through Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, you'll take on eight gym battles and collect badges from them before you can face the Elite Four and the Champion. These are a tough bunch to battle, and there's no stopping to retreat to a Pokémon Center between them, either.
In this guide, we explain how to beat the Elite Four and the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia, in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Read More: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: Type Chart, Strengths and Weaknesses of All Pokémon
How To Beat the Elite Four
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+ 2After you have finally collected all your gym badges from the eight gyms across Sinnoh, your next task in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is to take on the Elite Four. This is no easy task at all. You'll need to ensure you have a strong party of varying Pokémon, or extremely strong Pokémon.
Below, we have introduced each of the Elite Four and their Pokémon that you'll need to counter.
Elite Four's Aaron
Aaron is the first of the Elite Four, and his team features a wealth of strong bug-type Pokémon. Having a strong fire-type in your party will help out against him substantially.
Below, we have listed Aaron's Pokémon, their type, approximate level, and weaknesses:
| Pokemon | Type | Approximate Level | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dustox | Bug, Poison | 53 | Flying, Fire, Psychic, Rock |
| Beautifly | Bug, Flying | 53 | Flying, Fire, Ice, Electric |
| Vespiquen | Bug, Flying | 54 | Flying, Fire, Ice, Electric |
| Heracross | Bug, Fighting | 54 | Flying, Fire, Psychic, Fairy |
| Drapion | Poison, Dark | 57 | Ground |
Elite Four's Bertha
Bertha is the second of the Elite Four that you'll face. Her team will be made up of multiple types of Pokémon, but primarily you'll want to focus on countering ground and rock-types.
Below, we have listed Bertha's Pokémon, their type, approximate level, and weaknesses:
| Pokemon | Type | Approximate Level | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quagsire | Water, Ground | 55 | Grass |
| Whiscash | Water, Ground | 55 | Grass |
| Sudowoodo | Rock | 56 | Grass, Water, Steel, Ground, Fighting |
| Golem | Rock, Ground | 56 | Ground, Grass, Water, Steel, Ice, Fighting |
| Hippowdon | Ground | 59 | Grass, Water, Ice |
Elite Four's Flint
Flint is the third, and next, Elite Four you will need to defeat. Flint is rather troublesome with his strong mixture of both fire and steel-types. For those with a water-type, you'll want to utilise them the most in this battle.
Below, we have listed Flint's Pokémon, their type, approximate level, and weaknesses:
| Pokemon | Type | Approximate Level | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapidash | Fire | 58 | Ground, Rock, Water |
| Steelix | Steel, Ground | 57 | Ground, Water, Fire, Fighting |
| Lopunny | Normal | 57 | Fighting |
| Drifblim | Ghost, Flying | 58 | Rock, Ice, Ghost, Dark, Electric |
| Infernape | Fire, Fighting | 61 | Ground, Water, Flying, Psychic |
Elite Four's Lucian
Lucian is the fourth member of the Elite Four that you'll need to take on before moving onto the Champion. Lucian boasts an awfully strong team of psychic-type Pokémon that can be tricky to counter. For this battle, you'll want to make the most of your bug, ghost, and dark-type Pokémon.
Below, we have listed Lucian's Pokémon, their type, approximate level, and weaknesses:
| Pokemon | Type | Approximate Level | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mr. Mime | Psychic, Fairy | 59 | Steel, Ghost, Poison |
| Girafarig | Normal, Psychic | 59 | Bug, Dark |
| Medicham | Fighting, Psychic | 60 | Ghost, Flying, Fairy |
| Alakazam | Psychic | 60 | Bug, Ghost, Dark |
| Bronzong | Steel, Psychic | 63 | Ground, Fire, Dark, Ghost |
How To Beat the Sinnoh Champion, Cynthia
click to enlarge + 2Last, but not least, is the illusive Cynthia. You will have encountered the Champion around Sinnoh as she gently helps you out here and there. She has a mixed team that are notoriously tough to counter, especially her Lucario. We recommend making sure your Pokémon out-level here, and making the most of their weaknesses, outlined below.
Below, we have listed Cynthia's Pokémon, their type, approximate level, and weaknesses:
| Pokemon | Type | Approximate Level | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spiritomb | Ghost, Dark | 61 | Fairy |
| Roserade | Grass, Poison | 60 | Fire, Ice, Flying, Psychic |
| Gastrodon | Water, Ground | 60 | Grass |
| Lucario | Fighting, Steel | 63 | Ground, Fire, Fighting |
| Milotic | Water | 63 | Grass, Electric |
| Garchomp | Dragon, Ground | 66 | Ice, Dragon, Fairy |
With this in hand, and your Pokémon levelled appropriately, you should take your place as the League Champion in no time at all. After successfully doing this, we recommend looking at how to unlock the National Pokédex and then trying to capture all the legendary Pokémon in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
For more articles like this, take a look at our Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Guides page.