Pokémon can be a challenge for those starting in the games, but when you have a lot of time playing and learning the in-depths of the Pokémon mechanics, the main games can be really easy. So, many of those pro-players decide to take the competitive way in their craving for emotions. But, there’s a challenge even bigger than competitive battles, named Pokémon Renegade Platinum. 

Pokémon Renegade Platinum is a ROM-hack with Pokémon Platinum as its base game. However, it doesn’t change the game’s main mechanics or the story; instead, Renegade Platinum is known for being one of the hardest (if not the hardest) Pokémon fan games. 

Pokémon Renegade Platinum just exists to create a real challenge to the player. Still, it also has all that a Gen 4 lover wants: Pokémon with different types, the Fairy-type inclusion, (almost) infinite TM to teach to your Pokémon, Poké Radar at the start of the game, and even the new chances to find a shiny Pokémon (but only if you want). 

This Pokémon Renegade Platinum guide is oriented only to the battles, as the game doesn’t change much from the original one. However, we have a lot of hard battles to cover, so let’s get into it! 

Prologue: Getting Your Starter

As usual, you’ll get your starter after the classic intro with your rival (who I will call Barry, for guide purposes), the lake, and Professor Rowan about running into tall grass without Pokémon. After the intro, you can choose between three Pokémon: 

• Our first choice has to be Turtwig, which will evolve into Torterra, a Grass/Ground-type Pokémon, and, honestly, one of the best starters ever. Its type combination is very good against all the adventure. 
• But you can also choose Chimchar, which will evolve into Infernape. A classic quick sweeper with a lot of great attacks, being a Fire/Fighting-type. The game will be a bit harder with it, but everything will be easier as soon as it evolves. 
• And also Piplup, which will evolve into Empoleon. Its double type (Water/Steel-type) is really helpful. Empoleon is a big wall, it is hard to get it down, and it is probably your safest choice because of its defenses. 

After choosing your starter, your mother will give you an Eevee. I recommend you evolve Eevee into something to cover your starter’s weaknesses, or even into an Espeon or Umbreon, which also are great options to have. This election can be completely up to you, but I don’t recommend evolving Eevee into the same type as your starter because you’ll need a balanced team to confront this game properly. 

Lastly, you’ll get all the starters from Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn in the Pokémon Centers of Jubilife City, Floaroma Town, and Oreburgh City, respectively. With them, you’ll be able to build an efficient team that can help you in the early stages of the game.

Now, let’s talk about the first big battles you’ll have to face. Barry will appear through all the adventure, and the battles against him can be a big pain, so I will talk about them too. 

Barry (First Battle)

This first battle will not be hard if you have been battling with your Pokémon. However, I recommend maintaining your Pokémon within the same levels; the more experience you grind, the better. Barry will wait for you on Route 203 with the following team:

• Starly, Level 10.
• Munchlax, Level 10.
• Piplup, Chimchar, or Turtwig (Depending on which starter you chose), Level 11

This will be the easiest battle you’ll have against Barry, and it will be enough if you grind some experience to be better than him.

First Gym: Roark, Oreburgh City’s Gym Leader

In Oreburgh City, you’ll find your first Gym challenge against Roark, a Rock-type trainer. But, even when the game is really hard, the game itself gives you some tools to face the battles. So, before facing Roark, you have to consider the following:

• You can get a Tyrouge from an egg that a cowgirl gives to you. Use the Tyrogue if you picked up Chimchar, and you haven’t evolved to Monferno yet, as Chimchar will be at a clear disadvantage against Roark. 
• You can get a Spheal through trading in Oreburgh City too, and also, you should use the Water or Grass-type starters that you can get in the Pokémon Centers if you choose Chimchar as your starter. 
• Also, you can find Steven Stone in a house near the Oreburgh Mine; he will give you a Beldum; I strongly recommend using it in your team. 

After preparing yourself, it’s time to confront Roark. This will be his team (including level caps): 

Nosepass, Level Cap 15

Held Item: Smooth Rock

Ability: Sturdy

Moves: Stealth Rock, Thunder Wave, Sandstorm, Shock Wave. 

Roark will start with Nosepass, and its first move will be Thunder Wave. Secondly, it will use Stealth Rock. Don’t let it do it since it will hurt your team a lot. One way to prevent it is using a Roselia with Sleep Powder (You can catch a Budew in Route 204). Grass-type attacks are effective against it. 

Bonsly, Level Cap 15

Held Item: Rindo Berry

Ability: Rock Head

Moves: Stealth Rock, Brick Break, Rollout, Defense Curl

Bonsly is way easier to counter. It also has Stealth Rock, but a powerful Water-type attack will be enough to sweep it out; it is a baby Pokémon, after all. 

Geodude, Level Cap 15

Held Item: Expert Belt

Ability: Rock Head

Moves: Bulldoze, Rock Tomb, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch. 

Geodude is the reason why you have to have a Fighting-type Pokémon before confronting Roark, as it has Fire Punch to counter Grass-type, Thunder Punch to counter Water-type, and Bulldoze to get rid of the Fire-types. Tyrogue, as well as Machop, are great options against it. 

Onix, Level Cap 15

Held Item: Muscle Band

Ability: Rock Head

Moves: Stealth Rock, Rock Tomb, Bulldoze, Sandstorm. 

Onix will be in the field only to annoy you with Sandstorm. So don’t let your Grass-types in the field against it; instead, use a Water-type Pokémon. Then, sweep it out as soon as possible as it has Stealth Rock which will deal a lot of damage that we want to avoid. 

Larvitar, Level  Cap 15

Held Item: Fire Orb.

Ability: Guts. 

Moves: Rock Tomb, Bulldoze, Bite, Protect. 

Larvitar will use its Fire Orb and its ability to get a decent amount of damage, but it isn’t a problem as it is another baby Pokémon. Fighting-type attacks will be enough to get rid of Larvitar. 

Cranidos, Level Cap 16

Held Item: Sitrus Berry

Ability: Rock Head

Moves: Zen Headbutt, Rock Tomb, Thunder Punch, Scary Face. 

You’ll have a chance to sleep Cranidos out as it is fairly slow. Use Sleep Powder with it. Cranidos will use Scary Face to compensate for his bad Speed stat. Be careful with this one, as it has Zen Headbutt against your Poison-types (Like Roselia or Bulbasaur, so, if you have the opportunity, use Turtwig instead), and against your Fighting-types like Tyrogue or Machop. 

It can also get rid of your Water-types with Thunder Punch, so be aware of that. Lastly, Rock Tomb will be its option when it can do effective damage against your Pokémon. It tends to fail, so you can use those opportunities in your favor. 

Our next destination after this battle is the beautiful Eterna City, where Gardenia is waiting for us. In our way, we will find some difficult battles that I want to highlight; the one against Commander Mars and the one against Cheryl because we actually have to battle against her in this version.  

Commander Mars

We will meet Team Galatic in Jubilife City, and then we will find them again in the Valley Windworks. A little kid will ask us for help as her father has been kidnapped by Team Galactic in the Valley Windworks’ facilities. After managing to get into the building, you’ll have to battle against Commander Mars. 

She will have a Zubat, a Bronzor, a Yanma (Level 18), and a Purugly (Level 19). 

Zubat, Bronzor, and Yanma can’t defend themselves from effective attacks, yet, the real problem is Purugly. 

It has Fake Out, Hypnosis, Facade, and Feint Attack, so don’t try to burn or paralyze it. Instead, go for the damage from your most powerful Pokémon. Also, avoid using a Psychic-type; I recommend using a Fighting-type instead. 

Cheryl

After Valley Windworks, we will find Cheryl. She’s looking for a guardian who can give her some protection through the mysterious Eterna Forest, but first, she will test you to see if you are strong enough to work as her companion. 

Her team is Drifloon, Makuhita, Wailmer (Level 19), and Chansey (Level 20). 

Drifloon can sweep your team out if Ominous Wind buff it out. Don’t let a Ghost-type in the field against it; it is way better if you have an Electric-type attack in your team. If you don’t have it, go for a Dark-type attack like Bite. 

Makuhita can be easy as it can’t protect itself from Flying-type attacks, and Wailmer suffers from the same problem against Electric-types. 

Lastly, Chansey can be severely annoying because of its constant healing, so I recommend sleeping it with Sleep Powder. Also, it will try to counter your Grass-type with Ice Beam, so be careful and be sure your Grass-type is faster than it. Another way to confront it is through Fighting-types, but it will take you a lot as Chansey has a lot of Defense. 

Second Gym: Gardenia, Eterna City’s Gym Leader

Gardenia has an interesting and heavy team with some cool strategies that will be hard to cover up. But I recommend being prepared with a Pokémon with Sleep Powder (which will be your best move in this playthrough), some Psychic-types (That Beldum from Steven is ideal here), and level up your team to higher levels than Level 25. 

This is Gardenia’s Team: 

Bellossom, Level 25

Held Item: Wide Lens

Ability: Chlorophyll

Moves: Grass Knot, Teeter Dance, Dazzling Gleam, Stun Spore. 

Bellossom will be Gardenia’s Lead, and it will try to paralyze your Pokémon with Stun Spore. It is really tanky, but Special attacks can do a lot of damage to it; think on moves like Sludge or Flamethrower. 

Tangela, Level 25

Held Item: Coba Berry.

Ability: Chlorophyll.

Moves: Grass Knot, Shock Wave, Ancient Power, Stun Spore. 

Tangela will do the same as Bellossom, but, in this time, it also will attack you with Ancient Power. Do the same as you did before, but be careful with your Fire-type attacker, as it will use Ancient Power to get it down. Instead, go for an Ice or Poison-type attack. 

Cherrim, Level 25

Held Item: Focus Sash.

Ability: Flower Gift.

Moves: Grass Knot, Sunny Day, Weather Ball, Morning Sun. 

Cherrim has an interesting moveset, with Sunny Day and Weather Ball. Cherrim will change its form when Sun is up. Therefore, Weather Ball will change into a Fire-type attack. Don’t let your Grass or Bug-types in the field and sweep it up with your own Fire-types (which will have a buff from the sunny weather), and sweep it out. 

Grotle, Level 25

Held Item: Leftovers.

Ability: Overgrow.

Moves: Seed Bomb, Protect, Leech Seed, Bulldoze. 

As well as Tangela, Grotle’s strat is to get rid of your Fire-types with Bulldoze. So try to get it down as soon as possible with a Flying-type attack to avoid using Leech Seed on you. It will be ideal if you have a Pokémon with a Fire-type attack for this one, as it is highly dangerous to use a Fire-type Pokémon in the field against Grotle. 

Grotle is chunky, and it will constantly be healing itself up with the Leftovers, so if you have Knock Off, don’t hesitate to use it against Grotle. 

Breloom, Level 25

Held Item: Muscle Band. 

Ability: Technician. 

Moves: Bullet Seed, Mach Punch, Thunder Punch, Spore. 

Breloom is a big threat. Be sure not to use a Flying-type Pokémon against it (unless you are 100% sure you will sweep it with one attack), as it has Thunder Punch. Mach Punch will also give it a great advantage by attacking first, and it will use Spore to sleep you down. 

At least, Breloom doesn’t have anything to protect itself from Poison-types; There’s where you have a big chance against it. 

Roserade, Level 26

Held Item: Sitrus Berry.

Ability: Technician.

Moves: Magical Leaf, Sludge, Dazzling Gleam, Extrasensory. 

Roserade is a big problem. It has Magical Leaf to deal an astounding amount of damage with STAB, Sludge to get rid of your own Grass-types, Dazzling Gleam to mess get your Fighting-types down, and Extrasensory to protect itself from Poison-types. Obviously, it has a big flaw against Fire-types, so care about your Fire-types before facing Roserade. Then, attack it with Physical attacks. Roserade is really fast too, remember that. 

This battle is really hard, but it can be easier if you level up your Pokémon. So to have an interesting challenge while avoiding the game to get easier, get up to Level 30. 

Our next destination is Hearthome City, as Fantina has an interesting challenge for us. But first, you have to pass through some stops before getting there. 

First of all, you have to clean Eterna City from Team Galatic, rescuing the Bike Shop owner in the process. 

Commander Jupiter 

From here until Fantina, the game relaxes a bit, and you’ll get a lot of sites where you can level your Pokémon up, like in the Team Galatic Eterna Building. 

Commander Jupiter’s battle isn’t hard at all; she starts up with Golbat, Sableye, Tangela (Level 26), and her most powerful Pokémon is Skuntank (Level 27). 

While the first three are intuitive to get down, Skuntank can be problematic. Skuntank’s moveset is Poison Jab, Night Slash, Focus Energy, and Torment. Unfortunately, Fairy-type attacks aren’t an option, so you should try to get it down with a Fighting-type attack. 

Professor Rowan’s helper

(Dawn/Lucas from now on). 

Renegade Platinum offers you a new rival to take into account, which is Dawn/Lucas. You’ll find them on Route 207. 

Dawn has a Piloswine, Clefable, Lopunny (Level 29), and the starter that’s weak against yours (Level 30). 

In this battle onwards, Lucas will replace Dawn’s Clefable and Loppuny with Granbull and Lickilicky.

Their team is easy to sweep out with Fighting-types, but the starter is the potential problem, as they can learn something to counter their main weakness. 

Grotle can have Sand Tomb, Monferno can have Grass Knot, and Prinplup can have Icy Wind. So be careful and prepare a strategy to beat them. 

Side Note: Dawn/Lucas will have the same team from now on, so I won’t cover their battles anymore. Anyway, the battles against Dawn/Lucas are way easier than the battles against Barry, so if you follow up your own strategy and know to detect his flaws, you’ll be fine. 

Elite Four Aaron

Suddenly, just before entering Hearthome City, Aaron will challenge you in a battle after healing your Pokémon. The levels aren’t bad, but the team is unbalanced because it is highly exposed to the Fire-type. 

Aaron has Dustox, Beautifly, Venomoth, Scizor (Level 31), and Drapion (Level 32). 

All of them can fall with a strong Flamethrower by (you should have it by now if you are going to use it) a Charizard. Drapion is the only problem, but a Ground-type attack can be enough. It will use Swords Dance and probably will handle the first hit, so be careful and go with a tanky Pokémon against it. 

Third Gym: Fantina, Hearthome City’s Gym Leader. 

Fantina comes with a great challenge. For this battle, I recommend having your Pokémon at more than Level 35 if you don’t want to have problems against Fantina. Also, Shadow Ball is such a great advantage for this Gym. If you can have a Pokémon with a Dark-type attack, it can perform greatly here. 

This is Fantina’s team: 

Drifblim, Level 32. 

Held Item: Starf Berry. 

Ability: Unburden. 

Moves: Shadow Ball, Air Slash, Baton Pass, Calm Mind. 

Keeping Drifblim alive can be an error as it will buff itself with Calm Mind and therefore use Baton Pass to get out of the field easily. Instead, sweep it out with your strongest attack or find a way to impact him with an Electric-type attack. 

Dusclops, Level 32

Held Item: Leftovers. 

Ability: Pressure. 

Moves: Shadow Punch, Will-O-Wisp, Protect, Pain Split. 

Dusclops has the typical Will-O-Wisp + Pain Split strat where it waits to get hit and then recovers his life with Pain Split + Leftovers while dealing you an annoying amount of damage for free. But, it has a flaw; it will always use Will-O-Wisp as its first move, and it is fairly slow, so you have a big opportunity to get rid of Dusclops without any problem. 

Bannette, Level 32

Held Item: Muscle Band. 

Ability: Insomnia. 

Moves: Shadow Claw, Will-O-Wisp, Sucker Punch, Disable. 

Bannette will burn you and then disable your moves with Disable. Be careful with its Shadow Claw since it is really strong. Nonetheless, Bannette is a sweeper, which means its Defense is bad, so you can attack it with pretty much any strong attack you have, and it will fall. 

Spiritomb, Level 32

Held Item: Zoom Lens. 

Ability: Pressure. 

Moves: Shadow Ball, Will-O-Wisp, Dark Pulse, Disable. 

Spiritomb has pretty much the same strategy as Bannette, but now you can get rid of Spiritomb easily with Dazzling Gleam or any other Fairy-type move you have. 

Gengar, Level 32

Held Item: Wise Glasses. 

Ability: Levitate. 

Moves: Shadow Ball, Will-O-Wisp, Sludge Bomb, Dazzling Gleam. 

Gengar has a great moveset and ability to protect itself from any source of effective damage; it can avoid Ground-types with Levitate and counter his Dark-type weakness with Dazzling Gleam. 

But Gengar can’t protect itself from Psychic-type; if you have something like Psychic, don’t hesitate and sweep this one out. 

Mismagius, Level 33

Held Item: Sitrus Berry. 

Ability: Levitate. 

Moves: Shadow Ball, Power Gem, Calm Mind, Dazzling Gleam. 

Mismagius is a bit of a letdown compared with Gengar. It has the same moveset but with Power Gem. Don’t let it use Calm Mind and go with your strongest attack. Be careful with Power Gem as it can cleanse your Fire-type. Dazzling Gleam is to protect itself from Dark-types, and he’s not slow at all, so it can hit you if your Pokémon has the same level as it. 

That’s all about Fantina. The battle isn’t hard at all, mostly because you will have a lot of battles to get some experience. Our next destination is the wonderful Veilstone City, but first, you have to have some battles against Barry and against Team Galactic. 

Barry (Second Battle)

Barry offers a slightly harder battle than Fantina because of his Snorlax, which is a big threat. Barry’s team is Staravia, Heracross, Snorlax (Level 32), and his starter (Level 33). 

It is obvious his starter will have something to counter their weakness, be aware of that. The biggest problem in this team, as I said before, is Snorlax, which has Body Slam, Yawn, Amnesia, and Rock Slide. Nonetheless, if Snorlax feels like it doesn’t have any chance to do anything else, it will spam Body Slam. So go with your best shot and, if you have it, take it down with a Fighting-type attacker. If you have a Ghost-type Pokémon, it will use Rock Slide. 

After this battle, you’ll have to pass through the Pokémon Mansion and several routes to take a look at Solaceon Town and the Solaceon Ruins, but you’ll end up in Veilstone City as the way to go is pretty straightforward. 

Fourth Gym: Marlene, Veilstone City’s Gym Leader

Now it’s time to face Marlene; she has an interesting team with some competitive-worthy strategies. Let’s see it: 

Medicham, Level 38

Held Item: Sitrus Berry. 

Ability: Pure Power. 

Moves: High Jump Kick, Zen Headbutt, Ice Punch, Fake Out. 

Medicham will counter its Flying-type weakness with Ice Punch, so it’s better if you think about attacking it with Psychic. 

Machamp, Level 38

Held Item: Toxic Orb. 

Ability: Guts. 

Moves: Close Combat, Payback, Thunder Punch, Protect. 

In its first turn, it will use Protect only to get its Toxic Orb + Guts active. Afterward, it will spam Close Combat and Thunder Punch until it gets you down. Also, it will use its advantage if it gets hit first to use Payback, deal a lot of damage, and counter its Psychic-type weakness. So go with your bulkiest Pokémon, try to handle its attacks, and strike it with your best shot once you have the opportunity to do it. 

Toxicroak, Level 38

Held Item: Big Root. 

Ability: Dry Skin. 

Moves: Drain Punch, Poison Jab, Ice Punch, Sucker Punch. 

Ice Punch is to cover its Flying-type flaw, while Sucker Punch covers itself from Psychic-types. But it has a major flaw; Ground-types. So go for it, no mercy. 

Infernape, Level 38

Held Item: Life Orb. 

Ability: Iron Fist. 

Moves: Close Combat, Rock Slide, Fire Punch, Mach Punch. 

Infernape suffers from the same as Toxicroak, it is weak against Ground-type attacks, and it can’t cover itself from them. 

Gallade, Level 38

Held Item: Light Clay. 

Ability: Steadfast. 

Moves: Drain Punch, Zen Headbutt, Light Screen, Reflect. 

Gallade is in Maylene’s team to set some Light Screens and Reflect, which will last at least 8 turns thanks to the Light Clay. So don’t let it use them, and sweep it out as soon as possible. Go for it with your strongest attack, and hope for faint it out with a turn; otherwise, Lucario will be a big pain. 

Lucario, Level 39

Held Item: Focus Sash. 

Ability: Adaptability. 

Moves: Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon, Dark Pulse, Agility. 

Burn this one down with a Fire-type attack. If Gallade sets Reflect or Light Screen up successfully, then be patient, don’t stop hitting Lucario with Fire-type attacks. If you have Brick Break, don’t think twice and use it. Lucario can’t cover itself from Fire-type attacks, so you have an advantage there. 

When it goes to the field, it will first use Agility to be faster than your Pokémon. 

This battle is hard but not impossible. Reserving your best Pokémon towards the end will give you the victory; just be careful with Gallade and Lucario. 

Our next destination is Pastoria City, where Crasher Wake has a team full of sweepers and annoying Pokémon. Still, first, before entering Pastoria City, you’ll have to fight against Barry for the third time. 

Barry (Third Battle)

In this game, Barry is known for offering way harder battles than the Gym leaders themselves. This one is no exception. Barry’s team has Staraptor, Heracross, Snorlax, Azumarill or Breloom (it will be random), Arcanine (Level 41), and his starter (Level 42). 

Staraptor can fall easily with Electric or Rock-type attacks, but he’s kind of weak, so I recommend using just your strongest Special attack, and you’ll end up fainting it. 

Heracross and Arcanine aren’t a problem either; Fire and Water-types will get them down. Azumarill is harder to take down because of his big amount of HP and his Body Slam + Life Orb combo. Be careful with Play Rough too. Go for the Special attacks against it.

But if you have to face Breloom, then the thing will be slightly easier. It has Rock Tomb to counter its Fire and Flying-type and Force Palm to counter its Ice-type weakness. So, go for Psychic-types! 

Snorlax has an interesting build, Rest + Sleep Talk, which can use Crunch, Body Slam, or Rest. So, how to sweep it out of the battle? Use your strongest attack, or use a Fighting-type Pokémon against it as it doesn’t have something to hurt you badly aside from Body Slam which is always a problem. 

Lastly, Barry’s starter. Follow up the same strategy you did before, and you’ll be fine. 

Side Note: Barry will have the same team from now on, so I won’t cover him anymore since you can follow the same strategy as before to defeat Barry. 

Fifth Gym: Crasher Wake, Pastoria City’s Gym Leader. 

Wake offers us a fun battle full of sweepers and cool ruses.

This is Wake’s team: 

Quagsire, Level 43

Held Item: Rindo Berry. 

Ability: Water Absorb. 

Moves: Aqua Tail, Earthquake, Recover, Ice Punch. 

This is an example of a competitive-like Quagsire, with its natural Electric-type immunity, Earthquake to burst its opponents down, and Ice Punch to cover itself from Grass-types.  

Quagsire is fairly slow, so you can handle its damage or even get it down with only a turn, even if it has Ice Punch. Just don’t let your Electric or Grass-types in the field against it, and you’ll be fine. 

Gyarados, Level 43

Held Item: Wazcan Berry. 

Ability: Intimidate. 

Moves: Aqua Tail, Ice Fang, Crunch, Dragon Force. 

Renegade Platinum is good when it comes to balancing Pokémon teams. Wazcan Berry will weaken Electric-type attacks, but even with that, Gyarados’ x4 weakness against it and its lack of moves to protect itself from it is something you have to exploit. 

Poliwrath, Level 43

Held Item: Sitrus Berry. 

Ability: Water Absorb. 

Moves: Waterfall, Drain Punch, Ice Punch, Hypnosis. 

Try to get this one down before he lands a Hypnosis, as it will sleep you and will use Drain Punch until he’s completely healed thereafter.  

Ice Punch is for covering itself from its Flying-type weakness, so, once again, go for the Psychic-type attack! 

Ludicolo, Level 43

Held Item: Life Orb. 

Ability: Swift Swim. 

Moves: Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Energy Ball, Fake Out. 

Ludicolo’s first turn will be about using Fake Out for waiting for its Life Orb to get active. 

Hydro Pump is its strongest attack, but it tends to fail. Ice Beam protects itself from Flying-type attacks, but it doesn’t have a move to counter its Ice-type weakness, so go for it! Another great option can be Poison-types if you have them. 

Sharpedo, Level 43

Held Item: Focus Sash. 

Ability: Speed Boost. 

Moves: Waterfall, Crunch, Ice Fang, Zen Headbutt. 

Forget about hitting first against this one, unless your Pokémon are in a way higher level than Sharpedo. Zen Headbutt will counter its Fighting-type weakness, while Ice Crunch is to cover its Grass-type weakness, but it doesn’t have how to cover itself against Electric-types, so that’s your window. 

Floatzel, Level 44

Held Item: Life Orb. 

Ability: Swift Swim. 

Moves: Aqua Tail, Crunch, Ice Punch, Aqua Jet. 

Even if this is Wake’s strongest Pokémon, it has the same flaw as Sharpedo. Go for the Electric-type attack. 

Now, it’s time to head to Canalave City, where the sixth Gym is waiting for us. 

On the travel, we have to do some lore-related tasks, and in our way, we have to fight against none other than Cyrus, the Team Galactic’s leader. 

Cyrus (First Battle)

Cyrus has an interesting team, mostly based on sweepers. Cyrus has Crobat, Honchkrow, Magnezone (Level 45), and Weavile (Level 46). 

Crobat will go full offensive with Sludge Bomb, Air Slash, Giga Drain to recover some HP, and lastly, Hypnosis. As always, try to burst it down before it gets to use Hypnosis. Then, go for the Electric-type attack. Do the same against Honchkrow. Mangezone has Magnet Pull as its ability, which means you can attack it through Ground-type attacks, but be careful with your Rock-types as it has Flash Cannon. 

Lastly, Weavile, which is such a letdown considering it is his most powerful Pokémon. Go for the Fighting-type attack to take it down quickly, or try to fight it with your strongest attack. It will start using Swords Dance as soon as it hits the field, so be careful with that. 

Also, in Canalave City, you’ll have your fourth battle against Barry, and, if you want to, you can go to Iron Island and meet Riley, who will give you an egg that contains Riolu. 

Sixth Gym: Byron, Canalave City’s Gym Leader

Byron has always been a rude Gym Leader; even in the “vanilla” game, He confronts you with strong and bulky Pokémon alongside a well-prepared strategy. 

Well, this is Byron’s team: 

Bronzong, Level 52

Held Item: Light Clay. 

Ability: Levitate. 

Moves: Gyro Ball, Stealth Rock, 

Reflect, Light Screen. 

Bronzong is only intended to set some Stealth Rocks, build up a Reflect and a Light Screen, and attack you with Gyro Ball. The Stealth Rocks are intended to heavily damage your Flying and Fire-type Pokémon, so you have the opportunity to heavily damage it first with a great Fire-type attack as Bronzong is extremely slow. 

Magnezone, Level 52 

Held Item: Wise Glasses. 

Ability: Magnet Pull. 

Moves: Thunderbolt, Flash Cannon, Signal Beam, Thunder Wave. 

This one suffers from the same problem as Bronzong, but be careful as it has Magnet Pull and you be potentially stuck against it with not so many options to run away. 

Steelix, Level 52

Held Item: Muscle Band. 

Ability: Rock Head. 

Moves: Gyro Ball, Earthquake, Stone Edge, Explosion. 

Basically, Steelix will sacrifice itself to try to get one of your Pokémon down. So bring some revives before getting into this battle. Also, if it has the chance, it will attack you with Earthquake or Stone Edge, so be careful about which Pokémon is in the field when Steelix comes out. 

Forretress, Level 52

Held Item: Focus Sash.

Ability: Rock Head. 

Moves: Head Smash, Iron Head, Aqua Tail, Low Kick. 

Byron’s Forretress is built in a great way, with Aqua Tail to compensate for its Fire-type flaw and Low Kick for surprising its rivals. Nonetheless, it has a weakness against Ground-types that you can exploit to defeat it. 

Bastiodon, Level 53

Held Item: Leftovers. 

Ability: Soundproof. 

Moves: Iron Head, Toxic, Metal Burst, Protect. 

Bastiodon is such a beast with an interesting move set. In its first turn, it will use Toxic (unless it has an advantage against your Pokémon), and then it will be protecting and attacking with Metal Burst using its slowness to return the damage you deal with it. 

This is a hard one. I recommend bringing your tankiest Pokémon out and then chipping it down through DPS using burns or poisoning. Then, when you have the opportunity to attack, do it with your best shot; it will be better to attack it with a Fire or Fighting-type attack. 

That’s all about Byron. Now, we have to travel through the marvelous Snowpoint City. Meanwhile, Team Galactic has been messing with the Lakes, so you have to travel by yourself to the three Lakes of the region to defeat the Team Galactic Commanders once again. 

Commander Saturn

Saturn’s team is built with Alakazam, Octillery, Bronzong, Rhydon (Level 52), and Toxicroak (Level 53).  

Alakazam will fall with a Bug-type attack, but be careful with your Dark-types as it has Focus Blast. Octillery has Flamethrower, but it can’t protect itself from Electric-type attacks. Bronzong will act like Byron’s Steelix and will use Explosion to try to take one of your Pokémon to the grave with it. Rhydon has Megahorn, so try to defeat it with a Fighting-type instead of a Grass-type. Lastly, Toxicroak has Cross Chop, but a great Ground-type attack will be enough to sweep it out. 

Commander Mars

Her team members are Crobat, Yanmega, Bronzong, Kangaskhan (Level 52), and Purugly (Level 53). 

Mars’ Bronzong is exactly the same as Saturn’s one. While Crobat is weak against Ice-types and Yanmega will fall with a Fire-type attack. Lastly, Kangaskhan will use Double-Edge on you, but it isn’t a big deal, and Purugly has Play Rough and Hypnosis, so go ahead with your Fighting-type and defeat those too as soon as possible. 

Now, make your travel to Snowpoint City. We are about to end this journey. 

Seventh Gym: Candice, Snowpoint City’s Gym Leader

We don’t have much time to grind some experience between Byron and Candice; that’s why the levels aren’t as high as you might think. Let’s check out Candice’s team: 

Abomasnow, Level 55

Held Item: Expert Belt. 

Ability: Snow Warning. 

Moves: Wood Hammer, Earthquake, Blizzard, Ice Shard. 

Knowing it will receive a Fire-type attack, Abomasnow is built with Earthquake. Nonetheless, if you are sure you can handle the Earthquake, or you can attack first, then go with a Fire-type attack. If you don’t want to take the risk early on in the battle, go with a Fighting-type Pokémon.

Weavile, Level 55

Held Item: Focus Sash. 

Ability: Technician. 

Moves: Crunch, Icicle Crash, Aerial Ace, Swords Dance. 

Don’t be afraid of this one. Aerial Ace tends to fail often, so go ahead with a Fighting-type attack. But be careful if it lands a Swords Dance first. 

Glaceon, Level 55

Held Item: Bright Powder. 

Ability: Snow Cloak.

Moves: Blizzard, Shadow Ball, Earth Power, Double Team. 

Glaceon will trick you up with Double Team, so, once again, go with a Fighting-type as it has Earth Power and a great Special Attack stat. Good luck fighting against this one if it does Double Team consistently. 

Walrein, Level 55

Held Item: Chople Berry. 

Ability: Thick Fat. 

Moves: Blizzard, Surf, Yawn, Aqua Ring. 

Thick Fat reduces the damage received by Fire or Ice-type attacks, and Walrein is an Ice/Water-type Pokémon, so discard attacking it with a Fire-type and, instead, go for something else, like Steel or Fighting-types. It will use Yawn; be careful with it. 

Mamoswine, Level 55

Held Item: Passho Berry. 

Ability: Thick Fat. 

Moves: Earthquake, Avalanche, Stone Edge, Ice Shard. 

Now you are in front of a fully-offensive Mamoswine who has no mercy against Fire-types. Go with your strongest attackers, Poison it if you can, even try to sleep it, but the objective is to chip it down first and then go full offensive. It can delete your team completely but don’t be afraid; you made it this far, so go and defeat it. Water, Grass, or Steel-types are a great option if you can’t do it with your Fire-type. 

Froslass, Level 56

Held Item: Life Orb. 

Ability: Levitate. 

Moves: Blizzard, Shadow Ball, Thunderbolt, Attract. 

The classical Life Orb/Thunderbolt Froslass, a great sweeper. Do you want to go carefully? Then, attack it with a Dark-type Pokémon. Are you a reckless trainer? Then go with your strongest Pokémon as Froslass isn’t capable of handling big amounts of damage; the thing is that it surely will attack first, and it also hits strongly. 

Our last Gym will be in Sunnyshore City, but first, we have to save the world. 

Team Galactic 

I will resume here as we have seen those guys’ teams before. Our destination after Snowpoint City’s Gym is the Galactic HQ in Veilstone City. We will have to fight against Cyrus for a second time. He has almost the same team but with higher levels. 

Cyrus has Crobat, Honchkrow, Houndoom, Magnezone (Level 57), and Weavile (Level 58). 

After that battle, you’ll face Commander Saturn. His team is Bronzong, Octillery, Alakazam, Rhyperior, Magmortar (Level 56), and Toxicroak (Level 57). 

These two battles are fairly easy as your team should have enough level to take them down with no problems. But if this gets complicated, I’ll give you some tips: 

• Saturn’s Bronzong will set Reflect and Light Screen if you let it do it. Try to get it down as soon as possible with your strongest Fire-type attack. Octillery can be annoying as it has Fire Blast, but it is slow, and you can sweep it out with your Grass-type. Lastly, the new team member, Magmortar, has Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, and Psychic. He will probably hit you pretty hard as it is a great attacker, so go with your bulkiest Pokémon or try to sleep it first.
• Cyrus, instead, has a way easier battle. Use the weakness of his Pokémon in your favor, and all will be great. Weavile has Aerial Ace, but as I said before, it tends to fail, so go for it.  

Now, you’ll have to go to the Spear Pillar, in Mount Coronet (sometimes abbreviated as Mt Coronet). Again, I recommend grinding some experience before continuing as you’ll need it. After the world-famous sequence with Giratina and Cyrus entering the Distortion World, you’ll fight against Commander Jupiter and Commander Mars with Barry as your helper. This battle is even easier than before as they have the same teams as before but with some slight changes, and Barry will help you. 

• Commander Mars has Crobat, Yanmega, Bronzong, Kangaskhan (Level 57), Electrivire, and Purugly (Level 58).
• Commander Jupiter has Crobat, Sableye, Bronzong, Tangrowth, Gastrodon (Level 57), and Skuntank (Level 58). 

Distorsion World and the Final Battle Against Cyrus

In the Distorsion World, you’ll battle against Cyrus twice. Both battles are back to back, but your team will be healed for the second one. The first one is a dual battle with Dialga and Palkia, while the second is a normal one against Cyrus’ team. 

First Battle

 Cyrus will use Dialga and Palkia in the first battle. 

Dialga, Level 70

Held Item: None. 

Ability: Pressure. 

Moves: Hydro Pump, Spacial Rend, Earth Power, Aura Sphere. 

Palkia, Level 70

Held Item: None. 

Ability: Pressure.

Moves: Flash Cannon, Roar of Time, Earth Power, Aura Sphere. 

Well, the trick for this battle is rather simple; as they are new, their IVs and EVs will be at 0, which means they are rather slow and weak. I recommend having Dazzling Gleam or Moonblast (if you can have them) or any strong Dragon-type attack against them. It will be way better if you can inflict STAB damage too. 

Second Battle

Cyrus’s team is Crobat, Honchkrow, Houndoom, Gyarados, Magnezone (Level 59), and Weavile (Level 60). 

While the known ones have the same build, Gyarados has Aqua Tail, Stone Edge, Ice Fang, and Dragon Dance. It will rather use Dragon Dance first, but it doesn’t have a way to protect itself from Electric-types. Gyarados isn’t the fastest Pokémon, so it will be enough with a single Thunderbolt (or any other strong Electric-type attack).  

Magnezone has a slight change as it has Mirror Coat, which will deal twice the damage it receives if you attack it with a Special Attack, so I recommend using a Physical Attack instead to avoid the damage. 

Cyrus was defeated, and the world was saved, so you can continue with your adventure now. Our next destination is Sunnyshore City’s Gym.

Last Gym: Volkner, Sunnyshore City’s Gym Leader

This is your last stop before facing what the league has to offer. Volkner has a difficult battle, so let’s go!

Side Note: it is fair to say that if you have a Torterra, this battle will be way easier. 

Jolteon, Level 61

Held Item: Focus Sash. 

Ability: Static. 

Moves: Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Grass Knot, Thunder Wave. 

The Electric-type has only a weakness; Ground-type. So, you’ll have to think of another strategy to get Jolteon down as it has Grass Knot, and it can deal a lot of damage with it (Unless you have a Torterra). So, you have two options; going with your best attacker because Jolteon’s defenses aren’t the best ones, or sleeping it and then going with what you want. In both cases, be careful as Jolteon can outspeed any of your Pokémon. 

Raichu, Level 61

Held Item: Expert Belt. 

Ability: Static. 

Moves: Thunderbolt, Grass Knot, Focus Blast, Surf. 

Once again, both Surf and Grass Knot can make your Ground-types suffer. Sleeping or attacking it with your strongest attack can be enough. Follow the same strategy as against Jolteon. 

Rotom (Wash), Level 61

Held Item: Sitrus Berry. 

Ability: Levitate. 

Moves: Thunderbolt, Hydro Pump, Shadow Ball, Thunder Wave. 

The battle will get a bit easier against Rotom as you have a great opportunity to attack it with Grass-types. However, this specific Rotom is fairly bulky, so be aware of that. 

Rotom (Heat), Level 61 

Held Item: White Herb. 

Ability: Levitate. 

Moves: Thunderbolt, Overheat, Shadow Ball, Will-O-Wisp. 

Rotom Heat is an Electric/Fire-type, so you have a great opportunity to sweep it out with a great Ground-type attack. Nonetheless, prepare your Burn Heals as it will use Will-O-Wisp as soon as it gets to the field. 

Luxray, Level 61

Held Item: Choice Band. 

Ability: Intimidate. 

Moves: Wild Charge, Crunch, Ice Fang, Fire Fang. 

Even if it is really cool that, in this game, Luxray gets the Dark-type, it now gets into serious problems against Fighting, Bug, and Fairy-types. 

The Choice Band will limit it to only one attack; you can use that advantage to be strong than it. 

Electivire, Level 62

Held Item: Life Orb. 

Ability: Motor Drive. 

Moves: Wild Charge, Close Combat, Ice Punch, Earthquake. 

Electivire has Ice Punch to cover its weakness to the Ground-type, but I recommend attacking it through that way. 

Electivire isn’t fast at all, but it is bulky, and its defenses aren’t bad; anyway, go with your strongest attack or chip it down by sleeping, burning, or poisoning it. 

It’s done. Only one last challenge, and you’ll be there, in the Hall of Fame. Our next destination is Victory Road, a complicated place to be. I recommend grinding some more experience as the following teams will be really hard to get down. 

In your way, you’ll battle against Dawn/Lucas, and when you get to the Pokémon League, you’ll have your last battle against Barry. But, of course, those two have the same team as before, so I’m not stopping in these battles. 

For the league, I recommend having a lot of Full Restores, Revives, and your Pokémon with at least level 80 (but, if you are open to a challenge, go with Level 75 or less). 

Pokémon League

In the first round of the Pokémon League, each one of the Elite Four members and Cynthia will use a random team when they get challenged. After that, they will use a certain team. Anyway, most of the Pokémon in the teams are the same, so I will highlight what you need to win every battle. 

Elite Four Aaron

All Pokémon will be at Level 71 except for Drapion, which will be at Level 72. 

Team 1: 

• Yanmega (Bug Buzz, Hurricane, Giga Drain, Protect).
• Scizor (Bug Bite, Iron Head, Bullet Punch, U-turn).
• Heracross (Megahorn, Close Combat, Stone Edge, Night Slash). 
• Vespiquen (Attack Order, Defend Order, Heal Order, Hurricane). 
• Armaldo (X-Scissor, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Aqua Tail). 
• Drapion (Cross Poison, Night Slash, X-Scissor, Earthquake) 

Team 2: 

• Venomoth (Bug Buzz, Sludge Bomb, Double Team, Psychic).
• Scyther (Bug Bite, Aerial Ace, Quick Attack, U-turn). 
• Pinsir (Megahorn, Close Combat, Stone Edge, Earthquake).
• Forretress (Gyro Ball, Bug Bite, Drill Run, Toxic Spikes). 
• Armaldo (X-Scissor, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Aqua Tail).
• Drapion (Cross Poison, Night Slash, X-Scissor, Earthquake).

Team 3: 

• Masquerain (Hydro Pump, Bug Buzz, Hurricane, Blizzard). 
• Beautifly (Bug Buzz, Hurricane, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball). 
• Heracross (Megahorn, Close Combat, Stone Edge, Protect). 
• Scizor (Bug Bite, Iron Head, Bullet Punch, U-turn).
• Dustox (Bug Buzz, Sludge Bomb, Light Screen, Moonlight). 
• Drapion (Cross Poison, Night Slash, X-Scissor, Earthquake).

Team 4:

• Scyther (Bug Bite, Aerial Ace, Quick Attack, U-turn). 
• Yanmega (Bug Buzz, Hurricane, Psychic, Detect). 
• Pinsir (Megahorn, Close Combat, Stone Edge, Earthquake). 
• Scizor (Bug Bite, Iron Head, Bullet Punch, U-turn). 
• Flygon (Bug Buzz, Draco Meteor, Fire Blast, Earth Power). Power). 
• Drapion (Cross Poison, Night Slash, Aqua Tail, Earthquake).

Aaron has a rather simple strategy in his four possible teams. Team 1 and 4 are entirely offensive, while Team 3 has some other defensive perks like Dustox with Light Screen (Dustox also has Light Gray, so if it lands a Light Screen, it will last 8 turns). Lastly, Team 2 has Forretress, who will be in charge of setting Toxic Spikes; besides that, this team is also really offensive.  

Aaron offers a straightforward battle; use his Pokémon weaknesses to your advantage, and you’ll be able to win! 

Elite Four Bertha

All of Bertha’s Pokémon will be at Level 72, except for Rhyperior, which will be at Level 73. 

Team 1: 

• Hippowdon (Earthquake, Crunch, Stealth Rock, Slack Off). 
• Whiscash (Aqua Tail, Earthquake, Bounce, Dragon Dance). 
• Gliscor (Earthquake, Wing Attack, Protect, Roost). 
• Golem (Earthquake, Stone Edge, Thunder Punch, Explosion). 
• Donphan (Earthquake, Play Rough, Head Smash, Superpower). 
• Rhyperior (Earthquake, Stone Edge, Megahorn, Ice Punch). 

Team 2:

• Hippowdon (Earthquake, Crunch, Stealth Rock, Slack Off). 
• Sudowoodo (Head Smash, Wood Hammer, Sucker Punch, Hammer Arm). 
• Gliscor (Earthquake, X-Scissor, Protect, Roost). 
• Torterra (Earthquake, Wood Hammer, Stone Edge, Leech Seed). 
• Camerupt (Overheat, Earth Power, Yawn, Explosion). 
• Rhyperior (Earthquake, Stone Edge, Megahorn, Thunder Punch). 

Team 3: 

• Tyranitar (Stone Edge, Crunch, Earthquake, Thunder Punch). 
• Swampert (Earthquake, Aqua Tail, Rest, Sleep Talk). 
• Dugtrio (Earthquake, Stone Edge, Night Slash, Aerial Ace). 
• Mamoswine (Earthquake, Icicle Crash, Stone Edge, Ice Shard). 
• Claydol (Earthquake, Psychic, Reflect, Light Screen). 
• Rhyperior (Earthquake, Stone Edge, Megahorn, Fire Punch). 

Team 4: 

• Tyranitar (Stone Edge, Crunch, Earthquake, Fire Punch). 
• Quagsire (Earthquake, Aqua Tail, Yawn, Recover). 
• Mamoswine (Earthquake, Icicle Crash, Stone Edge, Ice Shard). 
• Dugtrio (Earthquake, Stone Edge, Night Slash, Aerial Ace).
• Torterra (Earthquake, Wood Hammer, Stone Edge, Leech Seed). 
• Rhyperior (Earthquake, Stone Edge, Megahorn, Ice Punch). 

Bertha continues with the same objective as Aaron; having a fully offensive team. Team 1 and Team 2 have Golem and Camerupt, respectively. Both have Focus Sash and will try to use Explosion in its first turn only to drag your Pokémon down with them. Team 1 and 2 also have Hippowdon, which will be Bertha’s lead and will set Stealth Rocks in the field. Unfortunately, it’s hard to sweep Hippowdon in one turn, so you’ll most likely be with some passive damage every time you switch a Pokémon. 

Team 2 is the most threatening one as it has Torterra, Gliscor, Hippowdon, and Rhyperior, which are fully offensive problems. Also, Torterra will set Leech Seed unless you sweep it in one turn. Team 3 is the easiest one to fight against as it has Tyranitar as its lead, and there are no entry hazard setters.

Elite Four Flint

All of Flint’s Pokémon will have Level 73 except for Magmortar, which will have Level 74. 

Team 1: 

• Ninetales (Overheat, Solar Beam, Moonblast, Confuse Ray, and Drought as its ability). 
• Houndoom (Fire Blast, Dark Pulse, Solar Beam, Sludge Bomb). 
• Flareon (Flare Blitz, Play Rough, Wild Charge, Close Combat). 
• Rapidash (Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Megahorn, Drill Run). 
• Infernape (Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Thunder Punch, Grass Knot). 
• Magmortar (Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Solar Beam). 

Team 2: 

• Rapidash (Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Megahorn, Sunny Day). 
• Lopunny (High Jump Kick, Mega Kick, Blaze Kick, Sunny Day). 
• Drifblim (Shadow Ball, Hurricane, Flamethrower, Will-O-Wisp). 
• Steelix (Iron Tail, Earthquake, Fire Fang, Crunch). 
• Infernape (Flare Blitz, Close Combat, Thunder Punch, Gunk Shot). 
• Magmortar (Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Solar Beam). 

Team 3:

• Ninetales (Overheat, Solar Beam, Moonblast, Confuse Ray, and Drought as its ability). 
• Arcanine (Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Crunch, Extreme Speed). 
• Magcargo (Fire Blast, Earth Power, Power Gem, Solar Beam). 
• Lopunny (High Jump Kick, Mega Kick, Blaze Kick, Fake Out). 
• Charizard (Fire Blast, Dragon Pulse, Hurricane, Solar Beam). 
• Magmortar (Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Solar Beam). 

Team 4:

• Torkoal (Fire Blast, Earth Power, Stealth Rock, Solar Beam, and Drought as its ability). 
• Houndoom (Fire Blast, Dark Pulse, Solar Beam, Sludge Bomb). 
• Arcanine (Flare Blitz, Wild Charge, Crunch, Extreme Speed). 
• Drifblim (Shadow Ball, Hurricane, Flamethrower, Will-O-Wisp). 
• Typhlosion (Eruption, Extrasensory, Earth Power, Solar Beam). 
• Magmortar (Fire Blast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere, Solar Beam). 

Flint’s teams are way different from each other, but they all have the same strategy; a weather setter as a lead (with Drought or with Sunny Day) that sets harsh sunlight and then spamming Solar Beam. 

While in Team 1, 2, and 4 is hard to counter this strategy, and you’ll have to handle at least a Solar Beam from Ninetales, in Team 3 is easier to counter this strat if you have a move that changes the weather in your favor. You can take advantage of the fact that only Flint’s lead can set harsh sunlight, and therefore the weather conditions can be controlled by you. 

Once you get Flint’s lead Pokémon down, you can faint the rest with ease. Thus, Flint has the easiest battle of all the Elite Four. One last thing to heed; Teams 2 and 4 have Drifblim, which will use Will-O-Wisp as soon as it gets into the field.

Elite Four Lucian

All of Lucian’s Pokémon will have Level 74 except for Gallade, which will have Level 75. 

Team 1: 

• Mr. Mime (Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Reflect, Light Screen, and Light Clay as its held item). 
• Espeon (Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Aura Sphere, Power Gem). 
• Bronzong (Zen Headbutt, Gyro Ball, Reflect, Light Screen). 
• Alakazam (Psychic, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball, Aura Sphere). 
• Metagross (Zen Headbutt, Meteor Mash, Earthquake, Explosion). 
• Gallade (Psycho Cut, Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Night Slash). 

Team 2:

• Espeon (Psychic, Aura Sphere, Reflect, Light Screen, and Light Clay as its held item). 
• Girafarig (Psychic, Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball, Earthquake). 
• Medicham (Zen Headbutt, High Jump Kick, Thunder Punch, Ice Punch). 
• Starmie (Psychic, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt). 
• Exeggutor (Psychic, Giga Drain, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed). 
• Gallade (Psycho Cut, Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Night Slash). 

Team 3:

• Hypno (Psychic, Hypnosis, Reflect, Light Screen, and Light Clay as its held item). 
• Slowbro (Psychic, Scald, Flamethrower, Slack Off). 
• Gardevoir (Psychic, Moonblast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere). 
• Jynx (Psycho Boost, Blizzard, Petal Dance, Fake Out). 
• Bronzong (Psychic, Flash Cannon, Earthquake, Hypnosis). 
• Gallade (Psycho Cut, Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Night Slash). 

Team 4:

• Alakazam (Psychic, Aura Sphere, Thunder Wave, Counter). 
• Gardevoir (Psychic, Moonblast, Thunderbolt, Aura Sphere). 
• Exeggutor (Psychic, Giga Drain, Sleep Powder, Leech Seed). 
• Starmie (Psychic, Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Thunderbolt). 
• Metagross (Zen Headbutt, Meteor Mash, Earthquake, Explosion). 
• Gallade (Psycho Cut, Close Combat, Leaf Blade, Night Slash). 

Lucian’s teams have a clear objective, being extremely annoying. 

Team 1, 2, and 3 have wall setters as their leads, and all of the wall setters have Light Clay as their held item, which means the walls will last at least 8 turns. Therefore, you have to go fully aggressive against those wall setters; otherwise, the battle can get really complicated. Of course, it will be better if you have Brick Break, but I prefer to get that specific Pokémon down instead of including Brick Break as one of my moves as there are many better Fighting-type moves in the game. 

Team 4 is way easier as it doesn’t have a wall setter, but it has Exeggutor, which will chip you down through Sleep Powders and Leech Seeds. 

Be careful with Metagross; it has Meteor Mash and Explosion; it can complicate a fairly easy battle. 

Champion Cynthia

Finally, the last battle. Cynthia against you. All his four teams can be a big nightmare as they are fully competitive teams. All of her Pokémon will be at Level 77 except for Garchomp, which will be at Level 78. Good Luck. 

Team 1: 

• Spiritomb (Dark Pulse, Will-O-Wisp, Confuse Ray, Rest). 
• Roserade (Leaf Storm, Sludge Bomb, Dazzling Gleam, Sleep Powder). 
• Togekiss (Air Slash, Thunder Wave, Roost, Moonblast). 
• Lucario (High Jump Kick, Meteor Mash, Extreme Speed, Ice Punch). 
• Milotic (Surf, Ice Beam, Recover, Hypnosis). 
• Garchomp (Earthquake, Outrage, Stone Edge, Swords Dance). 

Team 2: 

• Milotic (Scald, Ice Beam, Light Screen, Recover). 
• Spiritomb (Dark Pulse, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Hypnosis). 
• Ampharos (Thunderbolt, Dragon Pulse, Focus Blast, Flash Cannon). 
• Staraptor (Brave Bird, Double Edge, Close Combat, U-turn). 
• Lucario (Aura Sphere, Flash Cannon, Dark Pulse, Vacuum Wave). 
• Garchomp (Earthquake, Outrage, Stone Edge, Swords Dance). 

Team 3: 

• Togekiss (Moonblast, Light Screen, Reflect, Tailwind, and Light Clay as its held item). 
• Milotic (Scald, Ice Beam, Recover, Protect). 
• Spiritomb (Dark Pulse, Calm Mind, Rest, Sleep Talk). 
• Lucario (High Jump Kick, Meteor Mash, Bullet Punch, Stone Edge). 
• Glaceon (Blizzard, Earth Power, Extrasensory, Shadow Ball). 
• Garchomp (Earthquake, Outrage, Stone Edge, Swords Dance). 

Team 4: 

• Clefable (Moonblast, Soft-boiled, Light Screen, Reflect, and Light Gray as its item). 
• Roserade (Energy Ball, Sludge Bomb, Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam). 
• Mismagius (Shadow Ball, Moonblast, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave). 
• Lopunny (High Jump Kick, Mega Kick, Ice Punch, Fake Out). 
• Milotic (Hydro Pump, Ice Beam, Rest, Sleep Talk). 
• Garchomp (Earthquake, Outrage, Stone Edge, Swords Dance). 

I will break the teams down to show the strategies behind the four teams as they have slightly different strategies from each other. 

Team 1’s objective is to take advantage of status to be chipping down your team. First, Spiritomb will burn and confuse your Pokémon; then, it will recover its HP with Rest + Lum Berry. Next, Roserade will make your Pokémon sleep while Togekiss will paralyze them. Then, the rest of the team is more of an offensive one, with Milotic, Lucario, and Garchomp with full offensive moves. Milotic has Hypnosis, so be careful with that. The best way to counter this strategy is by using berries and heals or getting its status setters down as soon as possible, which is hard as Togekiss and Roserade are fast. 

Team 2 is way more straightforward; they will directly attack you. Milotic has Light Screen + Recover, so it will park into the field for a long time. Be careful with its Ice Beam. The rest of the team has fully offensive moves. Spiritomb is really slow, but the rest can get you in 1 to 2 turns. Go with your bulkiest ones, try to get their speed down, or directly use status moves and then attack. 

Team 3 looks like the easiest one, but it is more defense-dedicated than the previous ones. Togekiss with Light Screen + Reflect + Light Clay is its lead, and then it has Milotic with Recover + Protect and Spiritomb with Rest + Sleep Talk. With all of that, Team 3 has offensive options that come through Glaceon, Lucario, and the threatening Garchomp. 

Team 4 is almost the same as Team 3 but with different Pokémon; Clefable is its lead, and it is an almost perfect wall setter as it can use Light Screen + Reflect + Light Clay and has access to Soft-Boiled, which means it will root in the field for a long time. However, it has Fairy-type now, so consider attacking it through its weaknesses. Roserade is fully offensive, and Mismagius has Thunder Wave as it is fairly slow and needs some advantage. Lopunny is the team’s weakest link, while Milotic will also try to get into the field for the most time with Rest + Sleep Talk. 

Lastly, I will talk about Garchomp, Cynthia’s most powerful Pokémon. It has a Yache Berry as its item; this Berry will lessen the damage taken from the first effective Ice-type attack, preventing Garchomp from falling in one turn. It also has Stone Edge, which can sweep your Ice-type Pokémon, and Swords Dance to enhance its Attack.

It will be great if you have a Water-type Pokémon with Ice Beam or any other Ice-type attack to take it down. Don’t be afraid of this one; if you have a bulky and properly trained Pokémon, then Garchomp will not be an issue. 

FAQs

Pokemon Renegage Platinum Guide: Conclusion

If you made it this far, congratulations. This game is way harder than it looks, but you managed to complete it. There’s not much more to do; legendary hunting and some post-game events to finish, but you did a big challenge; be proud of yourself!

Pokémon Renegade Platinum was done for having a good challenge as the games have become easier. This game achieves its objective perfectly; a great combination of high difficulty while being extremely fun! 

Recommended Reads:

• Pokemon Yellow Guide
• Pokemon Gaia Game Guide: Your Companion for One of the Best Fan-made Pokemon Games
• Pokemon Uranium Guide: Put Your Hazmat Suit On; We’re Going to Tandor!