It’s always useful to know your enemy, so learning about each of the Elite Four’s teams is useful when playing Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. When you figure out what you’ll be facing, the Pokémon League challenge will be a breeze!
Before You Enter the Pokémon League
Unlike in previous main series titles, you don’t battle the Elite Four right away. You first must pass an interview during which Rika will ask you a few questions. If you answer them correctly, you can move on to battling the Elite Four—starting with Rika. Afterward, you battle Poppy, then Larry, then Hassel, and finally Geeta.
Also unlike in previous main series titles, you cannot face the Pokémon League again after defeating them once. This prevents you from using the Elite Four and Champion to farm experience and money.
Another thing to keep in mind is that none of the Elite Four teams will have held items. Therefore, if you have Pokémon that know moves that focus on items, such as Knock Off and Thief, you may want to adjust your strategies.
Rika’s Team
Rika is an Elite Four trainer that specializes in Ground-type Pokémon. She leads with her Whiscash and saves her Clodsire for last. Also, when she Terastallizes her Clodsire, it becomes Ground-type.
| Pokémon | Level | Type | Ability | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whiscash (Lead) | 57 | Water/Ground | Oblivious | -Muddy Water -Earth Power -Blizzard -Future Sight |
| Camerupt | 57 | Fire/Ground | Magma Armor | -Earth Power -Fire Blast -Flash Cannon -Yawn |
| Donphan | 57 | Ground | Sturdy | -Earthquake -Stone Edge -Poison Jab -Iron Head |
| Dugtrio | 57 | Ground | Sand Veil | -Earthquake -Rock Slide -Sucker Punch -Sandstorm |
| Clodsire (Last) | 58 | Poison/Ground (Ground after Terastallizing) | Water Absorb | -Earthquake -Liquidation -Toxic -Protect |
Tips for Defeating Rika
You should lead with a Pokémon that knows a damage-dealing Grass-type move to hard-counter Rika’s Whiscash. However, be wary of using a slow pure Grass-type Pokémon, as Whiscash’s Blizzard can hit pretty hard.
Once Whiscash goes down, send in a Water-type Pokémon. Rika’s next three pocket monsters won’t have any counters for Water-type threats.
At the end of the battle, when Rika sends out Clodsire, don’t use a Water-type attack, as Clodsire has Water Absorb as its ability. Instead, use Ice-type moves to defeat Clodsire. Don’t bother using Ground-type attacks, as Rika immediately Terastallizes Clodsire into a pure Ground-type, which makes it lose its Poison-typing and weakness to Ground-type moves.
Poppy’s Team
Poppy is an Elite Four trainer that specializes in Steel-type Pokémon. She leads with her Copperajah and saves her Tinkaton for last. Also, when she Terastallizes her Tinkaton, it becomes Steel-type.
| Pokémon | Level | Type | Ability | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Copperajah (Lead) | 58 | Steel | Sheer Force | -High Horsepower -Play Rough -Heavy Slam -Stealth Rock |
| Magnezone | 58 | Electric/Steel | Sturdy | -Discharge -Flash Cannon -Light Screen -Tri Attack |
| Bronzong | 58 | Steel/Psychic | Levitate | -Iron Head -Earthquake -Zen Headbutt -Rock Blast |
| Corviknight | 58 | Flying/Steel | Pressure | -Brave Bird -Iron Head -Body Press -Iron Defense |
| Tinkaton (Last) | 59 | Fairy/Steel (Steel after Terastallizing) | Mold Breaker | -Play Rough -Gigaton Hammer -Brick Break -Stone Edge |
Tips for Defeating Poppy
It would be ideal to lead with a Ground-type Pokémon, as this is a great counter for Copperajah (and many of Poppy’s other Pokémon). You want to avoid using Fire-types against the majority of foes, as most of Poppy’s team have Rock or Ground-type moves. However, there is one exception.
The only member of Poppy’s team that doesn’t get wrecked by Ground-type attacks is her Corviknight. To take down this armored avian, it would be best to use Fire or Electric-type attacks.
Poppy’s last party member is arguably the strongest, as Tinkaton Terastallizes into a Steel-type and knows the mighty Gigaton Hammer. Gigaton Hammer is a physical move that has a huge 160 base power and 100 accuracy. Thankfully, the user needs to recharge after using it.
With that said, Tinkaton can dish out a ton of damage with this move. You either want to knock Tinkaton out in one turn before it can act or send in a Pokémon with a high Defense stat that resists Steel-type attacks.
Larry’s Team
Larry is an Elite Four trainer that specializes in Flying-type Pokémon (unlike in his appearance as a Gym Leader who uses Normal-type Pokémon). He leads with his Tropius and saves his Flamigo for last. Also, when he Terastallizes his Flamigo, it becomes Flying-type.
| Pokémon | Level | Type | Ability | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tropius (Lead) | 59 | Grass/Flying | Chlorophyll | -Air Slash -Solar Beam -Dragon Pulse -Sunny Day |
| Oricorio (Pom-Pom Style) | 59 | Electric/Flying | Dancer | -Revelation Dance -Teeter Dance -Icy Wind -Air Slash |
| Altaria | 59 | Dragon/Flying | Natural Cure | -Moonblast -Flamethrower -Dragon Pulse -Ice Beam |
| Staraptor | 59 | Normal/Flying | Intimidate | -Facade -Brave Bird -Close Combat -Thief |
| Flamigo (Last) | 60 | Flying/Fighting (Flying after Terastallizing) | Scrappy | -Brave Bird -Close Combat -Liquidation -Throat Chop |
Tips for Defeating Larry
You’ve beaten Larry before, so doing it again won’t be that hard. If you want to immediately destroy Larry’s lead Pokémon, try using a pocket monster that knows an Ice-type attack. On a related note, every member of Larry’s team fares poorly against Ice-type moves.
Though you have to be careful with Larry’s Staraptor and Flamigo, as they both know Close Combat—which can counter any Ice-type or Rock-type Pokémon you use. Flamigo also has the ability Scrappy, so a Ghost-type ally won’t prevent you from taking damage from Flamigo’s Fighting-type move.
Ironically, using a Flying-type of your own can be a good way to counter Staraptor’s and Flamigo’s Close Combat attacks. Although these two Pokémon hit hard, they don’t have very good defensive stats. If you can land a solid hit, they go down pretty quickly.
Hassel’s Team
Hassel is an Elite Four trainer that specializes in Dragon-type Pokémon. He leads with his Noivern and saves his Baxcalibur for last. Also, when he Terastallizes his Baxcalibur, it becomes Dragon-type.
| Pokémon | Level | Type | Ability | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noivern (Lead) | 60 | Flying/Dragon | Infiltrator | -Air Slash -Dragon Pulse -Hyper Voice -Super Fang |
| Haxorus | 60 | Dragon | Mold Breaker | -Dragon Claw -Crunch -Rock Tomb -Iron Head |
| Dragalge | 60 | Poison/Dragon | Poison Point | -Sludge Bomb -Dragon Pulse -Hydro Pump -Thunderbolt |
| Flapple | 60 | Grass/Dragon | Ripen | -Dragon Rush -Seed Bomb -Aerial Ace -Leech Seed |
| Baxcalibur (Last) | 61 | Dragon/Ice (Dragon after Terastallizing) | Thermal Exchange | -Icicle Crash -Glaive Rush -Brick Break -(no fourth move) |
Tips for Defeating Hassel
Since Hassel’s party possesses two pseudo-legendary Pokémon, it is arguably the strongest out of all the Elite Four teams. Though, his Noivern should not be underestimated either.
Specifically, this is due to his Noivern knowing Super Fang, which always cuts your HP in half if it hits. Since Noivern has the ability Infiltrator, not even using Substitute will protect you from Super Fang. As such, due to Noivern’s great Speed stat, it can always cripple your lead Pokémon—unless you move first and knock it out before it can act.
On a related note, a solid lead Pokémon for this battle is one that knows an Ice-type move. Noivern is fast but has poor defenses and a double weakness to Ice-type attacks, so a single strong one should knock it out.
Although Dragalge and Flapple have better defensive stats, they still take huge damage from Ice-type moves and can’t counter such Pokémon. Though Haxorus is a different story.
Hassel’s Haxorus takes big damage from the chilliest moves, however, it can hit back with Iron Head or Rock Tomb—both of which are super-effective against Ice-types. Even a Fairy-type Pokémon would be risky to use here, as Iron Head is also super-effective against this type. You would be better off using a Steel-type Pokémon, as it resists or is neutral to all of Haxorus’ attacks.
Finally, there’s Baxcalibur, which is dangerous thanks to Terastallizing into a pure Dragon-type and spamming Glaive Rush. However, the turn after it uses Glaive Rush, it will be very vulnerable. So use that window to take down this powerful Pokémon.
Geeta’s Team
Geeta is the Champion of the Paldean Pokémon League. As such, she can only be battled after you defeat all the members of the Elite Four. She doesn’t specialize in using a single type and has a diverse team. She leads with her Espathra and saves her Glimmora for last. Also, when she Terastallizes her Glimmora, it becomes Rock-type.
| Pokémon | Level | Type | Ability | Moves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espathra (Lead) | 61 | Psychic | Opportunist | -Lumina Crash -Dazzling Gleam -Quick Attack -Reflect |
| Gogoat | 61 | Grass | Sap Sipper | -Horn Leech -Play Rough -Zen Headbutt -Bulk Up |
| Veluza | 61 | Water/Psychic | Mold Breaker | -Aqua Jet -Liquidation -Psycho Cut -Ice Fang |
| Avalugg | 61 | Ice | Own Tempo | -Avalanche -Crunch -Earthquake -Body Press |
| Kingambit | 61 | Dark/Steel | Supreme Overlord | -Iron Head -Kowtow Cleave -Zen Headbutt -Stone Edge |
| Glimmora (Last) | 62 | Rock/Poison (Rock after Terastallizing) | Toxic Debris | -Tera Blast -Sludge Wave -Earth Power -Dazzling Gleam |
Tips for Defeating Geeta
It would be a good idea to bring a Bug-type Pokémon when you battle Geeta. Her lead Pokémon—Espathra—won’t last long against a strong insect pocket monster. However, Espathra is pretty fast and can land at least one Lumina Crash before you knock it out, which will weaken you to special attacks from the next Pokémon Geeta sends out.
Even if your lead is in decent shape after taking down Espathra, you should switch out if your Special Defense got dropped. With that said, save that strong Bug-type ally to take down Geeta’s Gogoat and Veluza, which are both weak to Bug-type attacks.
As for Geeta’s Avalugg, Kingambit, and Glimmora: you can use a Fighting-type Pokémon to devastate these three. Avalugg has no counters for Fighting-type foes, however, Kingambit knows Zen Headbutt and Glimmora knows Dazzling Gleam.
Thankfully, all of these Pokémon are relatively slow, so you can potentially outspeed them and knock them out with a strong enough Fighting-type move. As such, you would think that a Heracross would be the ideal choice to sweep Geeta’s team. For the most part, that’s true, but keep in mind that Geeta’s team has a lot of Psychic and Fairy-type attacks, to which Heracross is weak.