You’re nearly halfway done with the Pokémon League! Just a few more hurdles in the way before you become the Pokémon champion. Up next, is the fire Pokémon expert, Flint.

Elite Four Flint

Flint is a passionate trainer. You can see it in the way he talks, the way he looks, and his overall personality. It’s no surprise that he took a liking towards Fire type Pokémon. This isn’t exactly the first time you’re meeting Flint. He was there in Sunyshore City asking you to reignite the flames of passion that Gym Leader Volkner had for Pokémon battles. It’s safe to say that we did just that and now we get to face the fiery passions of an Elite Four member. Let’s take a closer look at Flint’s team and what they’re capable of.

Rapidash Lv. 58

Type: Fire

Ability: Flame Body

Item: Wide Lens

Moves:

• Flame Charge
• Iron Tail
• Poison Jab
• Hypnosis

Flint will lead with Rapidash as his first Pokémon. It’s a pure Fire type so it’s weak to Water, Rock, and Ground type moves. It doesn’t exactly have great coverage so it shouldn’t be that hard to take down. It can be a little bit annoying because of all the status ailments it can inflict with Poison Jab, Hypnosis, and its ability, Flame Body. Use a strong Water type to douse the flames of this Pokémon.

Steelix Lv. 57

Type: Steel/Ground

Ability: Sheer Force

Item: Life Orb

Moves:

• Thunder Fang
• Fire Fang
• Iron Tail
• Crunch

Despite obviously being a Fire specialist, Flint’s team isn’t exactly composed of pure Fire types. Steelix is a prime example of how he deviates from his expertise. This Pokémon is weak to Fire, Water, Fighting, and Ground type moves. It has a bit of coverage from Water types thanks to Thunder Fang but apart from that, it can be easily ripped apart by any of its weaknesses. Our personal choice would be to use a Fighting type Pokémon against Flint’s Steelix since it doesn’t have any movies to counter it.

Drifblim Lv. 58

Type: Ghost/Flying

Ability: Unburden

Item: Sitrus Berry

Moves:

• Strength Sap
• Minimize
• Baton Pass
• Will-O-Wisp

Next up is Drifblim. This is a relatively easy Pokémon to beat. It doesn’t have any coverage and can easily be defeated by a Dark type move. The one thing to watch out for is it’s Minimize move. While it doesn’t deal any damage, it does increase Drifblim’s evasiveness. You gotta make sure that your Pokémon has a higher Speed than Drifblim so that you can attack first. Otherwise, it can stack up evasiveness and it can stall through Will-O-Wisp which inflicts a burn.

Lopunny Lv. 57

Type: Normal

Ability: Cute Charm

Item: Leftovers

Moves:

• Mirror Coat
• High Jump Kick
• Quick Attack
• Fire Punch

Lopunny is Flint’s second to the last Pokémon. Just like Steelix, it can easily be knocked out with a strong Fighting type Pokémon. It doesn’t have any coverage at all and seems like it’s being used to set up attraction using its ability, Cute Charm. If can be a pain if you don’t manage to knock it out with one hit since it has Leftovers, which restores a bit of health every turn.

Infernape Lv. 61

Type: Fire/Fighting

Ability: Iron Fist

Item: Focus Sash

Moves:

• Fire Punch
• Thunder Punch
• Close Combat
• Mach Punch

We’re down to Flint’s final Pokémon and it is, without a doubt, his strongest. Infernape doesn’t have a lot of coverage except for Thunder Punch. But, it’s overwhelmingly high Attack and excellent Speed make it a very potent sweeper. Plus it has the ability Iron Fist which makes all punching moves hit harder. Considering that three of its moves have Punch in their names, it’s safe to assume that Flint’s Infernape will make the best out of this ability. We recommend using a Pokémon that can use a powerful Ground type move like Earthquake to take out Flint’s ace Pokémon. 

Which Pokémon should I use?

Since Flint doesn’t use an all Fire type team, it’s better to have multiple Pokémon that can counter certain members of his team. We would recommend using mostly Fighting, Dark, and Ground type moves to easily dispatch this member of the Elite Four. A good option would be to use a Pokémon like Gyarados or Machamp. Gyarados is a Water/Flying type that can cover all of Flint’s team except for Lopunny. A move set like Waterfall, Earthquake, Crunch, and Dragon Dance on Gyarados can be enough to take out Flint. Machamp is also a solid option since it can learn moves like Earthquake, Knock Off, and several strong Fighting type moves. 

So there you have it! That’s everything you need to know about how you can beat Flint in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Be sure to check back with us again for more awesome guides on your favorite games. Have fun!