Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: How to beat all gym leaders and the Elite Four

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl has some truly challenging battles when it comes to Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and finally the reigning Champion. You'll need to take advantage of each Pokémon's strengths and weaknesses to come out on top. To help you strategize, here's a list of each gym leader or Elite Four member's Pokémon, along with suggestions for the best team to defeat them.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl All Gym leaders and how to beat them

As with all Pokémon games, there are a grand total of eight Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl gym leaders, and each one tends to gravitate around a specific type of Pokémon. Here are the Pokémon they'll throw out, along with tips for beating them.

I highly recommend your party be between Level 10 and Level 14 during this fight. Piplup and Turtwig can make quick work of any opponent here with their respective Water or Grass attacks. If you get Chimchar up to Level 14 and evolved into Monferno before fighting Roark, this monkey will learn a Fighting move that will also be deadly to the gym leader's team.

You can come back and fight Roark again after you've become the Champion, have seen all Pokémon in the Sinnoh region, and have talked to Professor Rowan. Here are the Pokémon he'll use at that time.

You're going to want your Pokémon to be between Level 15 and Level 18 to make quick work of this team. To make things go more smoothly, I recommend having Zubat or Drifloon in your party so you can use their Poison and Flying attacks.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Gardenia again. Here are the Pokémon she'll use at that time.

When you get here, things will go better if your Pokémon are between Level 20 and Level 23 (or higher). Additionally, having Staravia or Machop on your side will make beating this team a whole lot easier as long as you use their Flying and Fighting attacks.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Gardenia again. Here are the Pokémon she'll use at that time.

Try to get your team members between at least Level 20 and Level 23 for an easier battle. Roselia, Roserade, and Luxray can be really helpful during this battle due to the effectiveness of Grass and Electric attacks.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Crasher Wake again. Here are the Pokémon he'll use at that time.

You'll want your team to be between Level 25 and Level 27 (or higher) before going into this battle. Golbat or Crobat will be especially helpful here with their Dark attacks.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Fantina again. Here are the Pokémon she'll use at that time.

Get your team between Level 28 and Level 32 at least to make quick work of this team. Monferno, Infernape, Gastrodon, and Rapidash will be especially helpful during this fight with their respective Fire and Ground attacks.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Byron again. Here are the Pokémon he'll use at that time.

Get your team between Level 32 and Level 35 to make Candice easier for you. The battle will quickly be won if you have Lucario as your Fighting type, Staraptor as your Flying type, and a powerful Fire-type like Infernape, Rapidash or Houndoom.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Candice again. Here are the Pokémon she'll use at that time.

Volkner has the most variety of any Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl gym leader. Make sure your team is at least between Level 38 and Level 43 for this fight. You'll want a decent Fighting-type like Lucario or Machoke for that Ambipom fight. Octillery can be taken down Turtwig, Roserade, Luxray, or Raichu thanks to their Grass and Electric attacks. The rest can get taken down with a strong Ground-type like Gastrodon, Rhyhorn, Rhyperior, or Hippowdon.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Volkner again. Here are the Pokémon he'll use at that time.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl How to beat the Elite Four & the Champion

Now you've traveled around Sinnoh and taught those gym leaders who was boss, but you're not at the top next. You'll need to defeat Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl's Elite Four and the reigning Champion to beat the game and prove you're the very best. You won't be able to heal between battles, so stock up on plenty of healing items before initiating this string of battles. Your opponents will use Full Heals and other healing items, so prepare yourself for a long battle. To make things easier, have at least 10 of each of these, if possible:

• Max Potions
• Full Restores
• Max Elixirs
• Max Revive
• Sacred Ash

The best team is a varied one that's catered specifically to defeating each opponent's Pokémon types. Make sure your team is at least between Level 55 and Level 60 before starting the first battle.

Several different Pokémon can help you beat them, but in my opinion, the ideal team is Infernape, Gyarados, Luxray, Gengar, Staraptor, and Garchomp. This group gives you Fire, Fighting, Water, Flying, Electric, Dark, Ground, and Dragon attacks to really mess up your opponents quickly. Lucarioor another powerful Fighting type can also be a good option here.

Make sure you have a decent Fighting and Fire Pokémon on your team to make quick work of this battle. If you chose Infernape, he'll be your superstar here. Otherwise, make sure to have a good Flying type like Staraptor and perhaps an Electric type like Luxray.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Aaron again. Here are the Pokémon he'll use at that time.

You can actually battle the Elite Four three times during the course of your game. Here are the Pokémon Aaron uses in the second rematch.

If you have a Torterra or an Empoleon, it will make quick work out of these guys. Otherwise, a good Water type like Gyarados and Floatzel will hit hard along with a good Grass type like Roserade.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Bertha again. Here are the Pokémon she'll use at that time.

You can actually battle the Elite Four three times during the course of your game. Here are the Pokémon Bertha uses in the second rematch.

Once again, Empoleon's Water attacks are a great choice for this fight if you have it. If you don't, a Gyarados will be good here. You'll also want to use Ground attacks provided by a powerful Pokémon like Garchomp or Mamoswine.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Flint again. Here are the Pokémon he'll use at that time.

You can actually battle the Elite Four three times during the course of your game. Here are the Pokémon Flint uses in the second rematch.

You'll want a Dark, Fighting, or Ghost type for this battle. I suggest bringing Gengar; just be aware that his weakness is Ghost, so don't put him in halfway through a fight. You can make these battles easier by making Gengar put them to sleep via Hypnosis and then wailing on them with Ghost-type attacks.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Lucian again. Here are the Pokémon he'll use at that time.

You can actually battle the Elite Four three times during the course of your game. Here are the Pokémon Lucian uses in the second rematch.

Cynthia has a very good mix of Pokémon types, making her the most challenging opponent, indeed. The Fairy-type category didn't exist when the original Diamond and Pearl released. If you can bring one into this fight, it will be the only weakness that Spiritomb has.

Infernape and Torterra are the best evolutions from any starters during this battle as Fire and Grass are repeat weaknesses. You'll also want Staraptor or Gryarados's Flying attacks, Gengar's Psychic attacks, and Garchomp's Dragon attacks will be strong against Cynthia's Garchomp. Luxray will make quick work of Milotic with its Electric attacks. Remember to keep the type system in mind and have plenty of heals to keep yourself afloat.

Down the road, you can come back and fight Cynthia again. Here are the Pokémon she'll use at that time.

You can actually battle the Elite Four three times during the course of your game. Here are the Pokémon Cynthia uses in the second rematch.

The best there ever was

Woo! You've done it! Paying attention to Pokémon's weaknesses and ensuring your team is leveled up sufficiently goes a long way, huh? Congrats, Champ!