Quick Links
At the end of everyPokémongame lies theultimate challengefor any trainer: The Elite Four. They represent the cream of the crop – thevery best Pokémon trainersin a particular region. In the past, the Elite Four have caused many young children legitimate despair. Even though they’re easier now, Paldea’s champions can still pose quite a challenge for the unprepared.
RELATED:Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Tips For Completing The Pokédex
How can a humble trainer overcome this four-pronged barrage inPokemon Scarlet & Violet? There’s no easy answer. Players must learn the Elite Four – their types,what strategies work against them, and most importantly, how much training is needed to rise above them. Now sit back and take a deep breath; this guide is here to help on all of those fronts.
Train, Train, Train
If you’re struggling with the Elite Four, there’sno substitute for cold, hard grinding. You could always train the old-fashioned way – by seeking out trainer battles and random encounters for hours on end – but there’s a better method.
In Pokémon, “Chansey Farming” is a technique often used by competitive players to quickly train Pokémon up from level 1. So far, this is the fastest andmost reliable methodfound for efficiently gaining XP in Scarlet & Violet.
In the same vein,make sure you have enough moneyto buy plenty ofhealing items. The Elite Four will not heal your Pokémon for you, but they will give you the chance to do it yourself between battles.
RELATED:Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: XP Training Guide
Champion Assessment Interview
Upon entering the Elite Four building, you’ll beinterviewed. Most of the questions in this interview are open-ended and do not have a right or wrong answer. However, there are two questions which do seem to be important.
At one point, Rika will askwhich gym leader was the most troublesomeduring your gym challenge. You may answer freely, as long as you correctly match the chosen name to that gym leader’s type, as well as the town they’re from. All of this information can be found in this ranking ofPaldean gym leaders, but here’s a quick answer:Grusha, the Ice-type gym leader from Glaseado Gym.Lastly, Rika will ask “Do you like Pokémon?“If you answer “No,” you will immediately fail the interview, which seems fair enough.
Defeating Rika’s Ground-Type Team
After the interview, it’s time for thefirst battleof the Elite Four. Rika is aGround-type trainer, and her team consists of the following Pokémon:
Taking a look at the Ground-type, its mainweaknesses are Ice, Grass, and Water. All Ground types are completelyimmune to Electric-type damage, so Pokémon like Bellibolt are unfortunately out. Note that its Water/Ground typing makesWhiscash quadruple weak to Grass. Similarly, Fire/Ground givesCamerupt a quadruple weakness to Water.
Do not use Water-typemoves against Clodsire; its Water Absorb ability makes it completely immune. Thankfully,Clodsire’s Tera transformation removes its Poison typing, making it vulnerable to Grass. We also recommend bringing someAntidotes or Full Healsto counteract Clodsire’s love of the moveToxic.
RELATED:Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: How To Get League Points
Defeating Poppy’s Steel-Type Team
Next up is Poppy, theSteel-type champion. Here are her Pokémon:
Steel is one of the most defensively sound types in Pokémon, with a whole litany of resistances. Note itsthree major weaknesses: Fire, Ground, and Fighting. Of the three, Fire is the most reliable option against Poppy.
Bronzong’s abilityLevitatemakes it completely immune to Ground-type damage, and its Psychic typing negates Steel’s weakness to Fighting. It’s the same story with Corviknight – the Flying type protects it from Ground- and Fighting-type damage.Tinkaton’s transformation makes it a pure Steel type, but watch out for its moveGigaton Hammer,which has an extremely impressive base power of 160.
RELATED:Pokemon Scarlet & Violet: All Pokemon In The Pokedex
Defeating Larry’s Flying-Type Team
In addition to being a gym leader, theExceptional Everymanworks as a Paldean Champion, utilizing the Flying type. Here’s his team:
Larry’s first three Pokémon are equipped with secondary types whichnegate Electric-type damage. This is unfortunate, considering Electric is the most notable weakness of the Flying type. If you’re struggling with this fight, we highly recommend grabbingIce PunchorIce Beamfrom the TM Machine at any Pokémon Center. Ice is a good offensive type, and it’s particularly useful here. In fact, bothTropiusandAltariahave a devastatingquadruple weakness to Ice.
Other than the cheeky Sunny Day/Solar Beam set up on his Tropius, Larry does not use any gimmicks. He has decent Pokémon withgood coverage. Do enough damage, and he will be defeated.
Defeating Hassel’s Dragon-Type Team
Bring along a Fairy type, and this fight is no hassle. Here are the Dragon types you’ll be facing:
While Dragons are certainly fearsome, it’s very possible tosweep his entire teamwith apowerful Fairy type. Tinkaton is an outstanding Pokémon to have during this fight because of its typing. Incidentally,Steel/Fairyis arguably the greatest type combination of all time. Tinkaton can make short work of every Pokémon on this list, even Dragalge. Though Dragalge can normally threaten Fairy-types withPoison, Tinkaton’sSteel typing makes it immune.
If you do not have a Tinkaton, theIce movesthat worked so well against Larry will still work here.Dragonitself is another option, but be wary of actually bringing a Dragon-type Pokémon into this fight.
RELATED:Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Best Dragon-Type Pokémon, Ranked
Defeating Geeta’s All-Star Team
Finally, we have the Top Champion herself, Geeta. Geeta does not rely on any one type, therefore her team hasno specific weakness. Rather, challengers must tackle each of her Pokémon on a case-by-case basis. Her team is as follows:
Despite not having any one particular weakness to exploit, all of Geeta’s Pokémon are well within reason to knock out for a skilled trainer. Note that three of her Pokémon have aFire weakness(Gogoat, Avalugg, and Kingambit), three of them have aFighting weakness(Avalugg, Kingambit, and Glimmora), and two of them have aGhost/Dark/Bug weakness(Espathra and Veluza).
If you happened to pick Fuecoco as your starter Pokémon, you picked well for this particular fight.Skeledirge is a fantastic choicehere, as it can set up for an unstoppable sweep withTorch Song, then switch over to Hex to deal with Veluza and/or Glimmora.
NEXT:Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Gen 9 Starter Evolutions: Who’s The Best?
