Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Elite Four best team

If you’ve been a Pokémon fan for a while now, you would know how every Pokémon game has the final challenge of beating the Elite Four. After clearing this final milestone, you become the Pokémon Champion. With that said, it’s no surprise to see Pokémon Scarlet and Violet following the same tradition, featuring four of the most elite Pokémon trainers in all of Paldea.

If you are struggling to defeat the Elite Four, we are here to tell you exactly how you need to structure your team and why. To take on the Elite Four, there are a few things you need to keep in mind, so let’s first look at who we are up against. Read this article to learn how to use the Elite Fours’ weaknesses against them!

Who are the Elite Four in Pokémon Scarlet And Violet?

The Elite Four, in Paldea, are four very strong Pokémon Trainers with well-trained Pokémon, ranging between levels 57 and 61. These four Trainers usually specialize in a particular elemental type, sometimes including a complementary dual type. These are the type specializations of each member of the Elite Four:

• Rika (Ground)
• Poppy (Steel)
• Larry (Flying)
• Hassle (Dragon)

Even if you already know who the Elite Four are, we recommend you give this a read since its likely to have some crucial information you might not have noticed. We are going to discuss each member of the Elite Four in some detail to see their type weaknesses.

Rika (Ground)

The first of the Elite Four, Rika, specializes in Ground-type Pokémon. Her Pokémon might look scary at first, but if you’ve come prepared, you will know that 2 out of 5 of her Pokémon (namely Whiscash and Camerupt) have an X4 weakness that you can exploit.

We recommend Water, Ground, or ice moves to get super effective hits. Water-type attacks are the best pick out of these instead of Grass-type attacks since Rika’s ace, Clodsire has a few poison-type moves that are super effective against Grass types. That said, Quaquavel or Gyarados are great picks for your team against Rika. Check out this chart to understand all this easily:

Poppy (Steel)

The second on the Elite Four is a cute little kid, Poppy, who specializes in Steel type, and her ace, Tinkaton Terastallized into Steel type. Here, Fire-type is a great choice since Ground- and Fighting-type moves will be ineffective towards Bronzong and Corviknight. With that said, Fire-type Pokémon like Arcanine, Skeledirge, Armarouge, and Ceruledge are solid picks against Poppy.

Larry (Flying)

Surprise! Larry is also on The Elite Four, but he’s using Flying type this time. Knowing that, we are better off sticking with Rock and Ice–type Pokémon for this battle. This is because, even though Electric is a viable option, we will face lesser resistance with Ice and Rock types to Larry’s attacks. 

Pokémon like Baxcalibur or Gllimmora would do great here, where Bellibolt would be an excellent counter to Flamigo. Look at this chart to see for yourself:

Hassel (Dragon)

The Academy’s art teacher, Hassle, is a dragon master who Terastallizes his ace into Dragon type. Naturally, Dragon-type would be a good option here since Dragon-type is weak when put against itself. Good Pokémon choices for you in this battle are Baxcalibur, Garchomp, or Hydreigon. It’s important to note that the combo of Ice and Fairy can also do wonders here, so Tinkaton is a good option.

Best Pokémon team against the Elite Four

Now that you know all the Pokémon of the Elite Four and their weaknesses, it almost feels too easy to form the best team to counter them. That being said, since Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a very big game, many Pokémon combinations can be put together to pit against the Elite Four.

We have put together one such team that we believe to be the best of these teams, considering the Pokémon type advantage; with these Pokémon, you can easily wipe out all the members of the Elite Four. Of course, we advise you to consider this and mainly focus on the type advantage. Look at the best team we put together:

Gyarados

The Water and Flying-type Gyarados is an excellent choice for fighting Rika. It can take out almost all of Rika’s Ground-type Pokémon with just Rain Dance and Dragon Dance. Note that it may be vulnerable to attacks like Rock Slide or Stone Edge, so be quick with your attacks.

Baxcalibur

The Ice and Dragon-type Baxcalibur is another excellent pick for the battle with both Larry’s Flying-type Pokémon and Hassle’s Dragon-type Pokémon – two birds with one stone. While it is not the easiest to obtain and train, it will go a long way in countering multiple types of Pokémon.

Armarouge

The Fire and Psychic-type Armarouge is a powerful special attacker that is a must-have type for Poppy’s Steel-type Pokémon team. This is mainly because of its attack Armour Cannon, which is very lethal against Poppy’s Pokémon. An alternative to Armarouge could be Arcanine, which will deal with Poppy similarly.

Tinkaton

This Fairy and Steel-type Pokémon Tinkaton is a perfect pick for Hassel’s Dragon-type Pokémon in case Baxcalibur faints. After all, Baxcalibur is also weak to Dragon type moves. A Tinkaton with the moves; Stone Edge, Play Rough, and Gigaton Hammer is a nightmare for almost any Dragon-type trainer, including Hassle. You can also check on alternatives for Tinkaton, like Sylveon, since Tinkaton is weak to Ground-type.

Clodsire

Having a Poison and Ground-type Clodsire on your team can seriously come in clutch. Having the attacks Earthquake and Stone Edge at hand can put a lot of different elemental types in danger, making Clodsire the ultimate all-rounder. Plus, you can’t go wrong with moves like Toxic to poison your enemies.

Final evolution of your starter Pokémon

This shouldn’t come as a surprise, but the sixth Pokémon on your team is none other than your starter Pokémon in its final evolution. This is because all three starters evolve into fine dual types (Skeledirge is Fire and Ghost-type, Quaqaval is Water and Fighting-type, Meowscarada is Grass and Dark-type) that are strong against either Rika’s Ground-type or Poppy’s Steel-type Pokémon. Every starter Pokémon also comes with very high base-stats, making them capable of going head-to-head with any Elite Four member’s Pokémon.

Tips To Defeat The Elite Four

It is crucial to mention here that to beat the Elite Four, you will need to buy a lot of Potions, Revives, and Ethers to refill your Pokémon’s HP and CP after each battle. Also, it is advised that you sufficiently level up your Pokémon before taking on the Elite Four; Lvl 65 is a safe place to be. 

Lastly, remember that you can make your Pokémon stronger by handing them Battle Items like Quick Claw. Therefore, make sure your Pokémon are holding something helpful before stepping into battle.

Now that you know all the weaknesses of the Elite Four, we’re sure it will be a piece of cake for you. Now the Pokémon League is done and dusted, you’ll need to know how to get to Area Zero in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. And if you’re wanting to do some high-level raids, you’ll need to know how to unlock Tera Raid star levels in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, too.