This article gives tips on how to beat the Elite Four in Pokémon FireRed or LeafGreen. The Elite Four are the last four bosses in the game, so defeating them will earn you the title of champion. You'll also be able to unlock areas like the Prime Island, so you can capture Mewtwo.
Steps
Step 1. Set up a team of Pokémon around level 60 (better if higher)
A good team is made up of Pokémon of the type Water, Fire, Electric, Ice and Ghost or Bug, respectively (the reasons for this will be explained in the sections relating to the individual members of the Elite Four).
- To be safe, train your Pokémon up to level 65. You can use one of the unassigned seats in the team (you will have 1-3, if you choose an Ice / Water-type Pokémon and if you include the Bug / Ghost Pokémon) to bring a Pokémon of a lower level with you and give it the Share Exp.
- The challenge will become even easier if you complete the team with a strong defender (a Dratini evolved in Dragonite is the best choice, because its only weaknesses are the Ice and Dragon-type moves, while they resist Fire, Water, Electric and Grass).
Step 2. Reach the Elite Four
You will find them in the Altopiano Blu, at the end of Via Vittoria. You will need the Force move to get through the cave.
- Inside the Plateau, you'll find a Pokémon Center and a shop where you can buy items.
- Save your game before continuing and facing the Elite Four.
Step 3. Beat Lorelei
Lorelei is the first of the Elite Four and mainly uses Ice-type Pokémon. He has a Water / Ice Dewgong, Cloyster (Water / Ice), Slowbro (Water / Psychic), Jynx (Ice / Psychic) and Lapras (Water / Ice).
- For this fight you can use Zapdos and Moltres Thunder, Shock Wave and Flamethrower. If you have a Dark-type Pokémon on your team, it will be very effective against Jynx.
- Once Lorelei is defeated, a door will open that you can go through to reach Bruno. Save your game before continuing.
Step 4. Beat Bruno
Bruno is the second of the Elite Four and uses Fighting-type moves. On his team he has Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, and Machamp who are weak to Psychic-type Pokémon and two Onix that you can defeat with a Water Pokémon's Surf move.
- Don't use Flying-type Pokémon, as Hitmonchan and Machamp know the Rock Tomb move.
- Slowbro is very useful in this fight. Not only does it have a higher-than-average defense (when compared to other Psychic-type Pokémon), but it's also a Water-type, so it has an advantage against Bruno's 2 Onix.
- Save your game before continuing.
Step 5. Beat Agatha
Once Bruno is defeated, a door will open. Go through it to get to Agatha, the third member of the Elite Four. Agatha uses Poison-type Pokémon (many also Ghost-type), so your Psychic-type Pokémon will destroy them with just the Psychic move. If you have trained your team up to the recommended level, you will have no problems in this battle.
- Normal-type and Fighting-type Pokémon are useless in this battle, as many of Agatha's Pokémon are immune to moves of those types.
- Save your game before continuing.
Step 6. Defeat Lance
Once you beat Agatha, a door will open that you can go through to find Lance, the last member of the Elite Four. Lance is a master of Dragon-type Pokémon. Make sure you start the fight with your Electric-type monster and use Lightning Bolt once or twice to defeat the enemy Gyarados (which is Water / Flying-type and therefore takes quadrupled damage from Electric moves).
- Once you've taken down Gyarados, field your Ice-type Pokémon to defeat the two Dragonair and Dragonite, with either Ice Beam or Gale.
- At that point Lance will deploy Aerodactyl, a Rock / Flying-type Pokémon. You can weaken it by using Surf.
- Zapdos and Articuno are the best Pokémon for this battle.
- Save your game before continuing.
Step 7. Beat the Champion
Once you defeat Lance, a door will open that you can go through to reach the League Champion. It will be a tough fight, because your opponent has Pokémon of many different types. The best thing to do is always use a Pokémon that can take out the next enemy. With the Ice moves you can beat Venusaur, Exeggutor, Pidgeot and Rhydon; Electro moves are super effective against Charizard, Gyarados, Blastoise and Pidgeot; Water moves are useful against Arcanine, Rhydon and Charizard; use Fire to take out Exeggcutor and Venusaur.
- The Champion will use Psychic-type Alakazam as the third Pokémon. Defeat it using Earthquake.
- Once you've beaten the Champion, Professor Oak will arrive to congratulate you and accompany you to the Hall of Honor, where you will receive the title "League Champion".
Advice
- If one of your important Pokémon is defeated during a battle, field a less useful one, then use a Revive on the first one, so you can set it up again.
- Stock up on Full Refills, Max Potions and Revives from the shop in the Blue Plateau.
- Use moves like Lightning, Flamethrower, and Ice Beam instead of Fire Blast, Hyper Beam, Gale, etc. Although they are less powerful, they are more likely to strike.
- Capturing legendary birds is a great idea, as is getting a Dratini in the Rocket Casino (very expensive) or the Safari Zone (takes longer and can be frustrating) to evolve it into a Dragonite. A Dragon-type Pokémon can be very useful to you.
- One of the best points to level up (if you have the Seeker and the Share Esp.) Is in front of the Lavic Baths on Primisola; you will see two trainers with a Machop and a Machoke (one at level 37, the other at 38) and a double battle against a Primape and a Machoke (both level 39). Put Psychic or Flying type Pokémon as the first 2, assign the Share Exp. Pokémon to level up and use the Challenge Seeker. At least one of the two trainers will want to challenge you again in most cases and entering the Spa (where you can heal Pokémon by reaching the center of the water) is enough to recharge the Challenge Seeker for another series of rematches.
