Pokémon Platinum Gym Leaders & Elite Four

Use Water, Grass, or Fighting types. Piplup or Turtwig make this easy. With Chimchar, use Mach Punch. Danger: Cranidos has very high Attack — Headbutt can KO fragile Pokémon. Don't underestimate it despite its low level.

Use Fire, Flying, or Ice types. Staravia or Ponyta (Route 206) work great. Danger: Roserade is surprisingly powerful with high Sp.Atk. It knows Grass Knot which does more damage to heavy Pokémon. Stun Spore can cripple your team.

Use Dark types. Dark options are limited this early — train a Shinx to learn Bite, or use Turtwig line (also learns Bite). Danger: Mismagius knows Shadow Ball and Psybeam. Don't use Normal or Fighting moves — they do nothing to Ghosts. A Pokémon with Pursuit can trap them.

Use Flying or Psychic types. Staravia/Staraptor is the best option. Danger: Lucario is Fighting/Steel with high Attack and Sp.Atk. It knows Drain Punch and Metal Claw. Ground and Fire are super effective against Lucario specifically. Meditite has Pure Power which doubles its Attack.

Use Electric or Grass types. Gyarados is 4× weak to Electric. Quagsire is 4× weak to Grass but immune to Electric! Danger: You NEED both Electric AND Grass coverage. Electric alone won't work because of Quagsire. Floatzel is fast with Swift Swim in rain.

Use Fire, Fighting, or Ground types. No single type beats all three. Magneton takes Ground 4×. Steelix takes Water and Fire. Bastiodon takes Fighting and Ground 4×. Danger: Bastiodon is extremely bulky. Gastrodon with Earth Power is the best all-around counter for this gym.

Use Fire or Fighting types. Infernape is the perfect counter. Abomasnow is 4× weak to Fire. Danger: Abomasnow sets up Hail with Snow Warning, damaging your team every turn. Froslass is fast and knows Shadow Ball — don't use Psychic types against it. Sneasel is 4× weak to Fighting.

Use Ground types — complete immunity to Electric. Gastrodon, Hippowdon, or Garchomp are ideal. Danger: Electivire knows Ice Punch which hits Ground types super effectively! Bring a Ground type that can survive an Ice Punch. Jolteon is extremely fast.

Use Fire or Rock types for most. Watch out: Drapion is NOT a Bug type — it's Poison/Dark, so Fire and Rock won't help. Use Ground against Drapion. Scizor is 4× weak to Fire. Heracross hits extremely hard with Close Combat.

Use Water, Grass, or Ice types. Whiscash is 4× weak to Grass. Golem and Rhyperior are 4× weak to Water and Grass. Danger: Gliscor is Ground/Flying — immune to Ground and Electric. Use Ice (4× effective) against it. Hippowdon summons Sandstorm with Sand Stream.

Use Water or Ground types. Gyarados or Gastrodon can handle most of his team. Danger: Infernape is Fire/Fighting with high Speed and Attack — use Water or Flying. Magmortar has Thunderbolt to counter Water types. Bring diverse coverage.

Use Dark, Ghost, or Bug types. Danger: Bronzong is Steel/Psychic with Levitate — very hard to damage (immune to Ground). Use Fire against it. Gallade at Lv.59 is extremely dangerous with Close Combat and Psycho Cut. Alakazam is blazing fast. Bring a bulky Dark type like Weavile or Honchkrow.

THE HARDEST CHAMPION IN ALL POKÉMON GAMES. Cynthia's team has almost no shared weaknesses. Spiritomb in Gen 4 has NO weaknesses (Fairy didn't exist). Garchomp at Lv.62 is the most feared Pokémon in Platinum — 4× weak to Ice, but it's so fast it may attack first. Bring Ice Beam on your fastest Pokémon. Togekiss with Serene Grace has 60% flinch with Air Slash. Milotic is extremely bulky with Recover. Key: You MUST have Ice coverage for Garchomp, Electric for Milotic, and Fire/Ground for Lucario. Expect to lose Pokémon in this fight even with preparation.