How to Beat Elite Four Flint in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

As the Fire Type Elite Four member, Flint only has two Fire Types. His biggest threat is his level 61 Infernape, but many Pokémon and strategies can counter it effectively. Water Type moves will cover a majority of his team's weaknesses.

Flint's Team

• Steelix Lvl 57 - With the highest Defense in the game apart from Shuckle, Steelix is best fought with Special Attacks. Its Ability Sheer Force works in combination with its Life Orb to do additional damage without the recoil effect of the item. It is a Steel/Ground Type and has no super-effective moves for Fire Types, so a Flamethrower can easily take it out.
• Lopunny Lvl 57 - What Lopunny lacks in Attack, they make up for with High Jump Kick and Mirror Coat. Hitting this Pokémon with Physical Attacks will avoid Mirror Coat, but its Ability Cute Charm can cause contact moves to make the player's Pokémon immobilized by love. Fighting Type moves are super effective, but it's best to make sure it won't survive the hit.
• Rapidash Lvl 58 - With its high Speed and Wide Lens, Rapidash will often try to go for a much higher accuracy Hypnosis. It has Flame Charge, which will increase its Speed on hit and Poison Jab and Iron Tail. Rapidash is fairly easy to fight against and can be prepped for by giving a Pokémon a Chesto Berry to wake it up and attack in the first turn.
• Drifblim Lvl 58 - Although this Pokémon has no offensive moves, it is a threat that should be taken care of as quickly as possible. It has the Ability Unburden and carries a Sitrus Berry. Unburden will double its Speed when its item is used, and Sitrus Berry procs when it reaches 50 percent of its HP to heal 25 percent of its health. It will use Minimize to increase its Evasiveness which makes moves that are incapable of missing very valuable for the fight. It has Will O Wisp to inflict the Burn status effect, which will lower the Attack stat of a Pokémon and Strength Sap to recover HP and lower a Pokémon's Attack. Finally, it has Baton Pass, which will pass on all of its stat changes to any Pokémon it switches into like its Evasiveness and doubled Speed.
• Infernape Lvl 61 - The biggest threat of Flint's team, Infernape can be even deadlier if Drifblim boosts its stats. Focus Sash will keep it alive at one HP if brought down from full HP but can always be taken care of with things like Stealth Rock. The Iron Fist Ability will increase the damage of its Punch moves and use both Fire and Thunder Punch whenever it's super effective. It has Close Combat and Mach Punch and high Speed, making it able to deal massive damage even when close to being Knocked Out.

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Teams

Apart from two of his Pokémon, WaterTypes will serve well in the battle against Flint. Ground Types are a safe bet but will need to have a Rock Type move for fighting against the Drifblim. Flint's Infernape and Steelix both carry Electric Type moves, but this won't matter with the right team setup.

Water Types

• Empoleon - With Surf or Scald, this Pokémon can take out four of Flint's Pokémon for super effective damage. Empoleon has a high Special Attack and can take out Steelix easily because of it. Against Drifblim, it can use Ice Beam, and if Driflblim sets up any of its Minimizes, it can use Roar to force it to switch out and get rid of its stat increases. It can learn Brick Break to fight against Lopunny or use Earthquake to avoid making contact in fear of Cute Charm. A Physical Empoleon can set up with Swords Dance for powerful Waterfalls that even Steelix won't be able to tank.
• Gyradaos - As long as players try to avoid ever being with by a Thunder Fang or Thunder Punch, Gyarados alone can take out Flint's team. Dragon Dance will make it outspeed every Pokémon, and if it is in the front of the team, putting a Chesto Berry on Gyarados will safely let it increase its stats. Waterfall works for anything super effective against it, and Crunch or Stone Edge can easily take out Drifblim. It can learn Flamethrower for the Steelix and Earthquake for a contactless Physical move against Lopunny.
• Milotic - The Ability Marvel Scale increases Milotic's Defense whenever it is inflicted with a status ailment, making Flame Orb and Rest very useful in keeping it alive. As a high Special Attacker, Milotic can take Steelix out with ease. It struggles against Lopunny but has Ice Beam to hit Drifblim and Surf or Scald to hit everything else. If Drifblim increases its Evasiveness, it can use Psych Up to copy those stat changes for itself.

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• Pelipper - While struggling against Lopunny, Pelipper can deal with every other Flint team member with ease. The Drizzle Ability will cause it to rain, weakening Fire-Type moves, and powers up Water Type moves by 50 percent. Surf or Scald cleans up the team, and Hurricane can one-shot Lopunny depending on how much Special Attack that player's Pelipper has. Ice Beam will hit Drifblim for super effective damage, and if it is set up with Minimize, Pelipper can learn Shock Wave, a move that never misses. If there are no Stealth Rocks and Infernape's Focus Sash is not broken, Pelipper is not safe as Infernape will take it out with one Thunder Punch.
• Bibarel - Capable of setting up with both Amnesia and Curse, Bibarel can tank hits while dealing lots of damage thanks to its Ability, Simple. The waterfall will hit everything for super effective damage except for the Drifblim and Lopunny. For Drifblim, it can learn Crunch, and for Lopunny, it can learn Superpower. Without setup, Bibarel can still use Taunt against Drifblim to cause it to either Struggle or switch out because all of its moves are Status moves.
• Gastrodon - Water/Ground is one of the best typings in the game, let alone against Flint. Gastrodon's natural bulkiness with middling stats gives it a good HP pool, several Resistances, and immunity to Electric Type moves. Earth Power and Surf/Scald work well against every Flint team member, with Earthquake being perfect against Lopunny. Ice Beam or Stone Edge do well against the Drifblim but may require some extra damage to take it out. A Never Melt Ice will power up the Pokémon's Ice Beam and maybe the difference between a two-hit KO and a three-hit KO.

Generally Good Pokémon

• Garchomp - This Pokémon can learn Special Attacks for the Steelix, Brick Break for the Lopunny, and a fast Crunch or Stone Edge for the Drifblim. Earthquake is its best option for everything else. Compared to much other Ground Type Pokémon, Garchomp has the best Speed with plenty of setup moves, Stealth Rock for Infernape, and Roar to get rid of Drifblim's stat changes.

For more Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl guides, check out How to Beat Elite Four Bertha in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl on Pro Game Guides.