33: The Elite Four Battle IV -- Drake

33: The Elite Four Battle IV -- Drake

The fourth and final member of the Elite Four is Drake -- the Dragon Master.  You are probably expecting me to tell you that if you think the previous battles were tough you don't know what tough is until you face down Drake...  But the thing is that this is not actually true -- assuming that you followed my advice and made sure that you had one or more team members who have Ice Beam.  You will enjoy this set of battles if you did -- if not, well, then forget what I said above.

Drake likes Dragon-types a lot -- as you can see by the team he has assembled...  His team consists of the following Pokemon in alphabetical order (the order they are used varies):

Altaria (Level 54)
Flygon (Level 53)
Kingdra (Level 53)
Salamence (Level 55)
Shelgon (Level 52)

-- Drake's Pokemon Team --

Level 54 Altaria (Dragon/Flying)
Moves: Aerial Ace, Double-Edge, Dragonbreath, Dragon Dance

Strategy:  Obviously this opponents types are against it because they both are weak to Ice Beam, which is going to be your best friend for this battle -- but do not underestimate him because depending upon when he is called out, he can be a problem for you.  If you are relying upon stat downs as part of your strategy you should be aware that any time this Pokemon is recalled to its ball ALL of its stat issues are cleared.

With his move set, his main job is going to be damage as a set-up for the Pokemon that follows him into battle.  Now if you are already weakened when you face him, that can be a problem because he is not going to miss with Aerial Ace, and Dragonbreath is nasty.

My best advice to you is this -- if your key hitter (the team member(s) that knows Ice Beam -- is damaged going in, you may want to switch to a team member you don't care so much about and use your moves to heal-up your core hitters and restore their PP.  Then you wait for the seat-filler to get KO'd so your hitter can slide in without the opponent getting a free-shot and you start the killing.  Simpatico!

- - - - - - - - - -

Level 53 Flygon (Dragon/Ground)
Moves: Crunch, Dragonbreath, Earthquake, Flamethrower

Strategy:  While this is another of his team that is particularly weak to Ice Beam (it is a dual type whose second type is Ground) depending upon when it gets called out, you may want to not use that move on it.  If it is called in early, you are in a better position because you can use other moves that are almost as effective as Ice Beam to take it out, thus conserving your PP for the ones you really need it on...

A lot depends on what your team makeup is -- all four of his moves are nasty and all four can be disastrous to most types.  Using your Flying type here makes it immune to Earthquake, but also opens it up to attack by Flamethrower and Crunch, both of which are often particularly hurtful to Flying Types unless they are Dragon-types also.

Your best approach is to take this guy out as quickly as you can.

- - - - - - - - - -

Elite Four Battle IV - Drake

- - - - - - - - - -

Level 53 Kingdra (Dragon/Water)
Moves: Body Slam, Dragon Dance, Smokescreen, Surf

Strategy:  If you are going to have real trouble with any of your opponents it will probably be with Kingdra -- because the move that worked so well on the others -- Ice Beam -- is not going to work here.  As a Water-type Ice moves do not do as much damage or as intense damage to him.  Add to that his ability to pump up both damage and speed cumulatively with his moves and you are in trouble.

He will use Smokescreen to lower your accuracy -- obviously any guaranteed hit moves like Aerial Ace will work well here.  He is weak to Ground-type attacks, so those are a good move, but you want to kill this thing fast, because once he gets his combination moves rolling he will quickly overwhelm you with stat altering conditions and you will find yourself getting spanked.

If he gets too many in, your best move it to switch out.

- - - - - - - - - -

Level 55 Salamence (Dragon/Flying)
Moves: Crunch, Dragon Claw, Flamethrower, Rock Slide

Strategy: Just use Ice Beam and take him out quickly.  He does not have any serious long-term impact, so Drake will use him as a hammer to hurt you as much as he can for the advantage of the next Pokemon. 

The two nasty moves here for a Flying-type are Crunch and Flamethrower, though Rock Slide can be hurtful depending on the specific Pokemon.  A nice quick battle is the answer to that here.

- - - - - - - - - -

Level 52 Shelgon (Dragon)
Moves: Double-Edge, Dragon Claw, Protect, Rock Tomb

Strategy: First I should point out that this is one of the more frustrating battles, mostly because you will queue up one of you powerful attacks with its limited PP pool, and he will cast Protect and your attack will be worthless.  Yeah, it happens all the time whenever a Pokemon has that move, it is frustrating, but then again it makes beating them all the sweeter.

Now add in the fact that his other favorite attack will lower your attack speed, giving him the ability to get his move in first, and Protect is that much more frustrating because you cannot land a blow unless he lets you -- and it usually costs you dearly because his blows are not inconsequential! 

That being the case, you are going to want your stat reversal items handy for this fight -- do not let him get your attack speed slowed by countering his move -- it is the only way other than launching a blitz attack of moves that will either flinch him or paralyze/freeze him.

Those are your options. . .

After this battle ends Drake will tell you what  it is that he believes is at the heart of every good Trainer...  His sage advice...  The thing he tests every challenger for...

After he assesses you and judges you rich in that one quality, Drake unlocks the door in the north wall behind him and opens it for you.   On the other side of that door is the Pokemon League Champion -- the final battle in this long road whose destination was ultimately that room.

Before walking through the door ahead of you and entering the arena of the League Champion, pause and check your team one last time mate.  Go ahead and fully heal every member -- even if they only need 10 HP.  Go ahead and restore the PP to their moves -- regardless of how low they are.  Ideally you want to return your team to pristine condition, as if they have not fought any battles at all!

Correct any lingering status issues now, and then review your team positions to put the best member in the number one slot for the coming battles (based on types).  If you are sure that you can face down Wallace and beat him -- absolutely sure -- go ahead and save now. 

Before engaging Wallace in battle, go ahead and read Part 34 of the guide from start to finish so you know everything you need to know about the battle you are about to fight.