Welcome to the Endgame itself, the gauntlet that either crushes your dreams or makes them a reality.
In the olden days of yore, you had to fight them in a predetermined order, one after another. There are no PCs, Pokémon Centers, or PokéMarts in between each trainer. You are allowed to save and use items on your Pokémon in between each fight, and that’s it. Once you step through the door, it shuts behind you, and it won’t open until you vanquish your foes. However, in recent games, you are allowed to choose the order that you wish to fight them in, and their levels don’t jump around too much, making the fights easier to prepare for. Traditionally, each member usually specializes in one specific type, and the Champion typically has a mix.
Northeast Corridor: Malva - Fire
Southeast Corridor: Siebold - Water
Northwest Corridor: Wikstrom - Steel
Southwest Corridor: Drasna - Dragon
They’ve all got really weird names (seriously, who’d name their kid “Wikstrom”?), but they’re all really tough and masters of their respective types. Fortunately for us, their quasi-religious devotion to their one specific type easily becomes their undoing, allowing the player to exploit that weakness completely. All you really need is one strong counter to each type, and you’re pretty much set. Of course, you could just train your team to a high enough level and fight them head-on, but why make it hard on yourself? Here’s the team that I used, and their levels:
Azathoth’s Team
Lv. 63 Yveltal
Lv. 58 Dragonite
Lv. 63 Greninja
Lv. 63 Gengar@Gengarite
Lv. 63 Charizard@Charizardite-Y
Lv. 63 Gogoat@Miracle Seed
As you can see, my team has a variety of different types that can exploit numerous Pokémon’s vulnerabilities. Here they are, a few levels later:
J’s Team
Lv. 64 Greninja
Surf
Ice Beam
Dark Pulse
Grass Knot
Lv. 65 Charizard@Charizardite-X
Swords Dance
Flare Blitz
Dragon Claw
Earthquake
Lv. 64 Gardevoir
Psychic
Moonblast
Thunderbolt
Focus Blast
Lv. 66 Pangoro
Power-up Punch
Hammer Arm
Crunch
Poison Jab
These levels are a rough estimate, as it has been a long time since I have fought the Elite Four and having it not be a blowout win. As you can see by the attacks on this set, I opted for Pokémon with good type coverage that can hit a lot of different types super-effectively. Compared to Azathoth, I sacrificed two slots on my team for HM users, as I find moves like Fly to be ineffective in the long run. By concentrating on only four of the six possible slots, I was able to focus more on them and make sure they were in optimal shape for the final showdown.
I’ll be using my team as examples, but you’re absolutely free to do this however you want. Similar typing would be good, though, since I pretty much breezed through the Elite Four with this team, even though they were pretty much all a lower level than those I faced. I’m actually pretty sure they were all lower than I just listed, too, and they just gained some levels by crushing the Elite Four under their type-advantaged heel.
Preparation
I’d recommend buying a lot of Max Potions and Revives beforehand. Like I said, there’s no way to heal or buy items once you begin the onslaught, so the items will have to pick up the slack and last until the end. You don’t have to drain your wallet, but make sure you buy plenty. It’s always better to have a surplus.
Let the Games Begin
You’re free to go about his any way you want, I’m just letting you know what worked for me. I started with the Fire-type trainer, Malva.
Malva
Lv. 63 Pyroar
Lv. 63 Torkoal
Lv. 63 Talonflame
Lv. 65 Chandelure
The Fire Queen’s Pokémon are all weak to both Rock and Water-type attacks, so I sent out Greninja first. I pretty much just spammed Surf the entire battle and OHKOed each of them.
Yeah, pretty much what Azathoth said. I also had a Greninja at this point, and it was invaluable during the fight. If you didn’t start with Greninja, basically any Water-type Pokémon will work for this fight. Some of my personal favorites are Gyarados, Clawitzer, and Starmie, who all have similar utility and great type coverage for this fight.
Heal up, if need be, and then continue. I typically save before each battle so that I could give it another shot if I lose (I’m a bit of a glutton for punishment, and I like to give it a few tries before I give up), but that’s up to you.
I vote for not saving quite yet - if you are underleveled, you might want the option to be able to start over before you left for the Elite Four.
Siebold
Lv. 63 Clawitzer
Lv. 63 Gyarados
Lv. 63 Starmie
Lv. 65 Barbaracle
The Master of the Oceans has quite a fierce setup going, mainly because he uses a Gyarados. My Gogoat managed to take them all out with Leaf Blade and Horn Leech without much trouble, except for Gyarados. It is the only one that isn’t weak to Grass-type attacks. Electric would have been a much safer bet, since all four are weak to it. This is easily fixed though, since Gogoat can learn Wild Charge via TM93. Stupid me, though. I didn’t do that, and made the entire ordeal much harder on myself, and had to keep switching around and hitting until Gyarados finally fainted. Use a Pokémon with a Grass or Electric-type attack, and you’ll be all set.
I personally fought Siebold last, and I didn’t have a Pokémon with a STAB Grass or Electric-type attack, which normally would have made this battle significantly harder for me than the other fights. My Greninja knew Grass Knot, but its power is based off of the weight of the opposing Pokémon, and none of Siebold’s team is really heavy except for maybe Barbaracle.
Instead, I relied on my Gardevoir, which knew Thunderbolt. Since Gardevoir’s Special Attack stat is much higher than that of the average Pokémon, it was able to rip through most of Siebold’s team. This also eliminated the danger of Gyarados quickly. Other Pokémon, like Chesnaught, Roserade, and Venusaur will also do well against most of these Pokémon, though they should watch out for Gyarados. It knows Dragon Dance, so it can set up on you and sweep through your team if you aren’t careful. Heliolisk in particular is a great Pokémon for this fight, as its ability Dry Skin renders it immune to Water-type attacks.
Wikstrom
Lv. 63 Klefki
Lv. 63 Scizor
Lv. 63 Probopass
Lv. 65 Aegislash
The Chivalrous Knight (aka “Dork” or “NEEEERRRRDDD”) wields Steel-type Pokémon, which are very sturdy Pokémon. Klefki, Scizor, and Aegislash are all weak to Fire, though, so send out Charizard (or your Fire-type of choice) and Flamethrower them into oblivion. Probopass is a different story, though. It isn’t weak to Fire. It is, however, weak to Fighting, Ground, and Water-type attacks. Can you guess what comes next? Yep, Surf that Compass Pokémon into an early, watery grave.
This guy had me laughing out loud during the fight, yay verily. I’m assuming he’s based off of some Germanic medieval knight, seeing how this particular game is centered around medieval and European archetypes. But anyway, this guy has a bunch of great Pokémon, some of them even being used competitively. Klefki will drive you nuts with its priority status moves, thanks to Prankster. Scizor has high Attack, as does Aegislash, who is extremely dangerous if allowed to get the jump on you. Any Fire-type Pokémon, such as Charizard, Pyroar, and Delphox will roast these Pokémon.
Honestly, I just destroyed Wikstrom’s team with my Charizard. The first turn, I mega evolved and used Swords Dance. Afterward, I pretty much just blew away his entire team with a combination of Flare Blitz and Earthquake. Yawn.
Drasna
Lv. 63 Dragalgae
Lv. 63 Altaria
Lv. 63 Druddigon
Lv. 65 Noivern
Drasna, also known as “Not Lance” uses some of the worst Dragon-type Pokémon available. She doesn’t even use the good Dragons, like Salamence and Garchomp. This is the fight that gave me the most trouble, since my Dragonite was the lowest level out of all of my Pokémon and it is also weak to Dragon-type attacks. It still managed to either knock off huge chunks of health or take opponents out of the fight entirely.
Fortunately, Dragons have a few other weaknesses that can be exploited. There’s the new Fairy type, though Dragalge isn’t weak to it, and Ice-type attacks. Greninja, or almost any other Water type, can most likely learn some kind of Ice-type move, if you want to avoid the hassle of being hit super-effectively. My stupid strategy also used most of my Full Restores and Revives, so you’re probably better off using Ice-type moves.
Honestly, Drasna’s Dragons aren’t even that scary. Dragalgae looks far cooler than it actually is. Its stats aren’t that dangerous, but it is fairly resilient. Druddigon is super slow and isn’t that bulky. Noivern is very fast, and can be dangerous if left alone, while Altaria is laughably pitiful. I basically did the same thing that I did versus Wikstrom - Swords Dance with Charizard, mega evolve, sweep with Earthquake and Dragon Claw. Very easy.
Of course, not everyone is using Mega Charizard-X. As Azathoth mentioned, Ice-type attacks work pretty well against these guys, too, and Fairy types are immune to Dragon-type attacks. Gardevoir is a great choice for taking on Drasna’s team, as it hits Dragalgae with a STAB Psychic and the others with a STAB Moonblast, effectively winning the battle on its own. You can also try to use Azumarill or Florges for the battle, as well, though you should watch out for Dragalgae’s STAB Poison-type attacks.
The Very Best
And here we go. The final threshold. The final battle between you and the Hall of Fame, between you and ultimate victory.
I saved here (I think I may have twice, just to be sure)
Diantha
Lv. 64 Hawlucha
Lv. 65 Tyrantrum
Lv. 65 Aurorus
Lv. 65 Gourgeist
Lv. 66 Goodra
Lv. 68 Gardevoir
Don’t even mega evolve your Pokémon until Gardevoir comes out – trust me. I’ll get to that soon. Here we go. Hawlucha is weak to Flying, Electric, Psychic, Ice, and Fairy-type attacks. So, feel free to use any of these types. I used Charizard and obliterated it with Fly.
Basically, anything faster than Hawlucha with a super-effective attack probably has a good chance of coming out on top. Just watch out for Flying Press, which hits for both Fighting-type and Flying-type coverage. An Electric type is a good choice for this fight, as it resists Flying Press and hits back hard with Thunderbolt, though Heliolisk isn’t the sturdiest of Pokémon (and also takes neutral from it, due to its weird Normal/Electric typing).
Tyrantrum goes down pretty easily with Fighting, Ground, Steel, Ice, Dragon, and Fairy-type attacks. You can pretty much take it down the same way you took down “Not-Lance.” I think I used Dragonite and hit it with either Dragon Tail or Dragon Rush, but it’s your call.
You probably have something that can hit Tyrantrum for super-effective damage. Despite the connotation of being solid as a rock, the Rock type is an extremely poor defensive typing. I just obliterated it with Charizard’s Dragon Claw, but you have tons of options. You can use the Mega Lucario you got way back when, or your own Fighting type (I had Pangoro, but it didn’t really see much action).
Aurorus has a x4 weakness to Fighting and Steel-type attacks, and a weakness to Ground, Rock, Water, and Grass-type attacks (all common types), so any of those would be a good choice. Like I did against Siebold, I sent out Gogoat and obliterated it with Leaf Blade/Horn Leech.
Again, Rock/Ice is a horrendous defensive typing, and half of all types hit it super-effectively. Just hit it with a Fighting or Steel-type attack and watch it go down.
Gourgeist faints against Flying, Ghost, Fire, Ice, and Dark-type attacks. It’s funny, because that’s half of my team right there, so there’s plenty of options. There’s Charizard, who could hit it with Flamethrower or Fly. Greninja, who could use Ice Beam, Blizzard, Dark Pulse…you name it. For fun, there’s always Gengar, who could destroy it with with Shadow Ball. Still, don’t mega evolve yet.
Gourgeist is yet another strange new X/Y addition, and it has a high Defense and HP stat, but not much else. You’ll easily outspeed it with whatever Flying or Fire-type attacks you are using, and take it out before it causes too much trouble. You can also opt to use Shadow Ball or Dark Pulse from any number of Pokémon to take advantage of its lower Special Defense stat.
Goodra comes in and then goes right back out with the same strategy you used against “Not-Lance” and Tyrantrum. It’s weak to Ice, Dragon, and Fairy-type attacks, so any of those would work. It does have a very high Special Defense stat, though, so don’t expect it to go down with one hit, unless you exploit its lower Defense stat.
Goodra is probably one of the more deadly Pokémon on this team, and for good reason. It's Special Defense is through the roof, and it has a wide variety of attacks at its disposal. Your best bet is to use a physical attack that hits it super-effectively, like Dragon Claw or Ice Shard.
Now comes the hardest part – Gardevoir. “What’s the big deal?” you ask. “Just send out Gengar and kill it. Stop complaining, you’re a terrible trainer.” Well, hurtful reader, it would be that easy if Diantha didn’t mega evolve it. Yeah, bet you take back all those insults now, huh? No? Alright...
Initially, I mega evolved my Gengar at the same time she mega evolved her Gardevoir. Of course, Mega Gengar was faster, so I hit it with Shadow Ball right from the get go. I watch as the health bar drops like a Lv. 2 Pidgey hit with a nuclear-powered Hyper Beam.
And then it stops.
In the red.
It’s still alive.
Then it hits Mega Gengar with Psychic and there goes my heavy hitter. I tried attacking it and reviving Gengar, but Diantha used Full Restore, so I pretty much had no hope after that, since a level 63 regular Gengar is slower than a level 68 Mega Gardevoir.
Actually, in terms of base stats, normal Gengar is still much faster than Mega Gardevoir, but Azathoth’s team likely isn’t effort value optimized (I know my in-game team never is).
Fast forward a bit – all of my Pokémon faint, I drop my money in a panic, pass out, and wake up in the hospital. I turn the game off and back on (this is why I save) and I’m right in front of her again.
But I’m ready this time.
I fight my way through (no use explaining all that again, since I just did), and she sends out her Gardevoir. I send out Gengar. Again, I mega evolve it, but instead of going straight for Shadow Ball, I use Hypnosis. Hypnosis only has 60% Accuracy, so I had to cross my fingers, but it worked. Mega Gardevoir falls asleep – passes right the hell out. Instead of using Shadow Ball now – and risk another turn for Diantha to use a Full Restore – I hit her with Hex. Hex’s base power is 65, but it doubles to 130 if the target is affected by a major status condition, such as poison, paralysis, burn, and sleep.
The entire reason my Pangoro knows Poison Jab is to take out Fairies. Too bad he’s super slow and won’t be doing any Fairy-slaying anytime soon (especially against Mega Gardevoir).
I don’t remember having this much trouble with Diantha. Due to the overall incredible coverage that my team had in terms of super-effectiveness, I was able to hit her entire team for super-effective damage. I basically swept through her team, again, with Mega Charizard-X. Boosting moves are very powerful tools that you can take advantage of. Another favorite is Dragon Dance, which can be used by Gyarados for a mean sweeper with great coverage.
With a +2 Attack, Mega Charizard was able to rip the Champion’s team a new one. Tyrantrum went down to Dragon Claw, Aurorus to Earthquake, Gourgeist to Flare Blitz, Goodra to Dragon Claw, and Mega Gardevoir to, yet again, Flare Blitz. Fun times, folks.
I hope this helped somewhat. Obviously, your team and your experience will be different, but knowing just a bit about what you’re walking into could help you prepare. I didn’t do anything with EVs or IVs. I kind of just bull-rushed my way through.
You don't have to have competitive knowledge to take the Elite Four by storm. All you need to do is play intelligently. The computer is extremely predictable, and you can take advantage of this by switching strategically to a Pokémon that resists the attacking type. If you are having difficulty, please, reach out to us, and we'll be able to help you get through it with minimal frustration.
Good luck, and may Arceus be with you.
Azathoth/J
No comments:
Post a Comment