This page details how to beat the second of the Elite Four, Poppy. This is a part of the Pokémon League’s Champion Assessment and comes at the end of the Victory Road Walkthrough.

Below you’ll find information on Poppy’s Pokémon and what Pokémon you should bring in to counter hers!

Recommended Pokémon for Elite Four Poppy¶

Poppy is a master of Steel type Pokémon. So bring Fire, Fighting and Ground types.

Her Pokémon are around Level 58, but you should aim to bring Pokémon of around Level 60+ into the fight, as the Elite Four will become higher levelled as you go through the ranks.

Here are some suggestions:

• Lucario, a Fighting and Steel type. There’s a Level 75 Tera found in the underground tunnels of Dalizapa Passage that can carry you for most of the fight.
• Garchomp, a Dragon and Ground type. You can find a Level 65 Tera at Colonnade Hollow, east from Porto Marinada.
• Camerupt, a Fire and Ground type. They can be found in North Province (Area Two).
• Arcanine, a Fire type, also found around the same area.

What Pokémon does Elite Four Poppy have?¶

Copperajah¶

Copperajah is a nice simple warm up, since it’s a pure Steel type. This one can use Heavy Slam to flatten lighter foes, High Horsepower to annoy Fire-types and Play Rough to deal with Fighting-types. It can also set up Stealth Rock to damage switch ins.

Ideally, you want to KO Copperajah before it can use Stealth Rock, especially if you’re planning to switch Pokémon frequently. Despite its solid-looking appearance, Copperajah isn’t actually that bulky, so a strong super-effective Fire, Fighting or Ground attack should deal with it.

If you’re worried about taking damage, field a Ground type.

Magnezone¶

This UFO-like Pokémon can be annoying, if you have many special attackers. First, it has the Sturdy ability, preventing it from being one-shot. This gives it a chance to set up Light Screen, weakening your special moves for 5 turns.

Its other attacks are Zap Cannon (50% accuracy, but will Paralyze upon hit), Discharge and Tri Attack, nothing too special, but Zap Cannon is annoying if it lands.

Ground types will excel here, because their moves deal 4x damage and they’re immune to Zap Cannon and Discharge. Fire and Fighting are also good. If Light Screen is up, you can use Brick Break to remove its effect.

Bronzong¶

This massive bell isn’t particularly threatening, but can surprise you if you’re not careful. First, it has Levitate, so Ground moves will miss it. Its moves include Iron Head and Zen Headbutt for STAB, Earthquake to punish Fire types and Rock Blast for the same reason.

The best types to bring are Dark and Ghost. The former is immune to Zen Headbutt. However, Bronzong’s attacks don’t hurt all that much, even when they’re super-effective.

Corviknight¶

Corviknight could be a good chance to catch your breath. Be mindful that it has Pressure, doubling your PP usage. So try to avoid low PP moves unless you have to. It can use Brave Bird and Iron Head for STAB, the former dealing fairly high damage. It’s also got Body Press, for coverage, and Iron Defense to boost its Defense stat.

Fire and Electric types are super-effective, so be sure to bring one of those. It also helps if they’re a special attacker, in case Corviknight spams Iron Defense. If Light Screen is up, you may want to think twice though.

Tera Tinkaton¶

Finally, Poppy’s ace is a Tera Tinkaton that will change to a pure Steel type. It’s carrying its signature move, Gigaton Hammer, which deals massive Steel damage, but can’t be used twice in a row. Also, it’s got Play Rough for STAB, Brick Break to smash barriers and Stone Edge to beat up Fire types.

Because it changes to become a pure Steel type, Fire, Fighting and Ground are super-effective. Fire types need to be careful of Stone Edge and Fighting types won’t like being hit by STAB Play Rough. This leaves Ground as the most reliable counter.

Because Gigaton Hammer is boosted by Terastallize, something that resists Steel could also be helpful. If playing Violet, Iron Treads will resist Gigaton Hammer; it’ll take double damage from Brick Break, but it should survive. Whiscash also resists Gigaton Hammer, but its stats are so-so.

That said, Gigaton Hammer can’t be used twice in succession, so you probably don’t need to worry too much (after the first impact anyway!).