The Best and Worst Elite Fours in Pokemon

[@JPRPokeTrainer98]

Happy JPR Friday!! Which Elite Four is your favorite?

[@Quadraxis1]

Grimsley is my favorite

[@npcmcishark7379]

Probably Kanto, but that might just be because I just reread the manga... otherwise Unova, both in terms of teams for non-rematches and characters

[@mazharsiddiqi7288]

My favorite Elite Four member is Flint in Platinum But favorite group is B2W2 Unova Elite Four

[@ImyIsStillHere]

Kalos, why? Because of their cool stained glass rooms and their banger music. I don't care if their easy, we have these things called mono type nuzlockes to sort that out.

[@CamKoudo]

Region wise I love Hoenn for nostalgia reasons and creepy ghost girl cameo in ORAS :D Not to mention they actually use Mega Evolution in the rematch!

[@paulitics6931]

Malva was so weird to me. I never knew if she was joking or not when she said she was in team flare because they just never expand on it.

[@FTChomp9980]

Malva had so much story potential especially since she was a first for Elite 4 to be part of a evil team but we didn't get anything out of it. Her character design is still very good!

[@charteon9092]

@@FTChomp9980 honestly it probably would have been in Pokémon z

[@wikiuser92]

She does play a role during the post-game.

[@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917]

​@@FTChomp9980 Koga was a part of Team Rocket.

[@liannabunny7775]

@@ashblossomandjoyoussprung.9917In the Manga

[@joychowdhury9270]

Coincidently there just so happens to be 4 types left remaining without an Elite 4 specialist. Here's hoping Gen 10 gives us a Grass, Electric, Normal & Fairy quartet.

[@bulborb8756]

yeah it's strange how those types haven't had an Elite Four specialist yet, I mean they had a few chances for a Fairy user in the E4 and it didn't happen, but oh well, hopefully Normal, Grass, Electric and Fairy get their time to shine (but I'd imagine a Fairy member could be obnoxious since there are a number of annoying fairy types out there like clefable and grimmsnarl)

[@CaptainObliviousV]

I personally count Bede as the first fairy E4 member. Galar may not have an actual E4, but the tournament plays out in the same gauntlet format as gens 1-4 & 9. Only wierd part is that Bede only uses four Pokémon despite literally every other major character at that point in the game using at least 5.

[@eastsidereviews727]

Electric is the odd one to me for not having an Elite Four member. Feels like it should've happened a few times.

[@Dingus_Mcbingused]

personally i'd rather the elite four and champion have a diverse and well thought out team with coverage and items and decent ev spreads they're supposed to be the best of the best it'd make sense if they had a strong balanced team

[@diseasedrat8813]

@@bulborb8756 especially Tinkaton or Klefki lol

[@CaptainObliviousV]

Arguably one of the biggest crimes here is that Bruno still has an Onix in the Johto games. Disregarding that there are even more fighting types now, Steelix was literally introduced in the same gen! “But Steelix is Jasmine’s ace!” Hasn’t stopped other E4s from using gym leader aces before or after; Onix is literally Brock’s ace, they’ve been doing this since the start.

[@luisvelez1952]

Bruno has an Onix cause of the animate but in Johto he should have evolved them to Steelix

[@nesradub360]

Another Example: Kingdra is Juan's ace in Emerald, but that didn't stop Drake from using one. Same with Morty and Karen with Gengar, Giovanni and Blue with Rhydon (except in FRLG), Gardenia and Cynthia with Roserade in all Sinnoh games, etc.

[@luisvelez1952]

@@nesradub360 so it doesn’t matter if more than one trainer has the same Pokémon. Lance should have a Kingdra, an Alakazam and Ampharos in his team.

[@nesradub360]

@@luisvelez1952 Alakazam makes no sense for Lance, but Kingdra and Ampharos both do. He has a Seadra in Let's Go and a Kingdra in his FR/LG Rematch.

[@luisvelez1952]

@@nesradub360 I said Alakazam cause Lance fights Team Rocket and they have a lot of Poison Pokémon to counter.

[@mariemely3769]

My favorite is the unova elite four. Their battle theme rocks and their personalities are so interesting especially Caitlin and Grimsley. Fun fact: For those to hadn’t noticed, their type specialties all counter each other. Marshal is strong against Grimsley, Grimsley is strong against Shauntal, Shauntal is strong against Caitlin, and Caitlin is strong against Marshal.

[@nellewoodruff6337]

Always thought that was so neat. Felt like a very cohesive squad despite all their unique styles

[@benniemorris4872]

Elite four members Marshal, Shauntal and Grimsley never appeared in the Best Wishes Series of the Pokémon anime.

[@kurlyb4121]

This looks great and all until people realize Grimsley is also good against Caitlin.

[@darryltorres7302]

@@kurlyb4121 and that Marshal is also bad against Shauntal.

[@Redster3]

Alder the Champion in Black & White should also be added as a counter towards Grimsley, Caitlin, and Marshal respectively since his specialty was Bug being super-effective against Grimsley’s and Caitlin’s teams while resisting Marshal’s team. Furthermore, he would neutral against Shauntal. This was prior before his retirement, abdicating his position to Iris.

[@lipika2841]

To me, Kanto Elite 4 kinda specialize in 2 types- Lorelei: Ice, Water Bruno: Fighting, Rock Agatha: Poison, Ghost Lance: Flying, Dragon Unova's maybe my favorite, with Sinnoh & Paldea not too far behind, though the competition isn't stiff when it comes to E4.

[@zdude0127]

When it comes to Bruno, they should have replaced the second Onix with a Golem. That way it's still rock and fighting for Bruno.

[@thatboycroi]

Agatha Just uses poison types so She's Just a harder koga

[@domenicavallone28]

I’ll never understand why: GameFreak had Lance & Agatha specialize in dragon & ghost types respectively, when there was one fully evolved pokemon of those types in gen 1. Why Bruno had TWO Onixes when he could have had Poliwrath & Primape Why Karen didn’t have a Sneasel & Tyranitar over Gengar & Vileplume Why Phoebe & Glacia specialized in a type that didn’t have enough members for a full team in Hoenn Why Aaron have Beautifuly& Dustox over Mothim & Wormadam? And Flint’s DP team… It makes 0 sense 😂

[@Meme_Team99]

Heard a KZbinr suggest that it could be a result of Ghost and dragon being rare types as they only had one evolution line in the entire game. And that since the elite four are the bosses of the end game, it would be cool for them to use types on the more rare side, ie, Dragon, ghost and even Less common Ice and fighting

[@teobaldolendario8880]

Most importantly: why the main Pokemon of a bug-type specialist like Aaron is a *not-a-bug-type Pokemon* . 😅

[@pn2294]

@@teobaldolendario8880it evolves from one

[@mistergrool3941]

Flint's DP is 100% better than his Platinum team because you can't end it in five hits with a ground or water move. I'll never understand why people apparently don't like a challenge and just want every boss trainer to have the same weakness on all of their pokemon

[@pn2294]

@@mistergrool3941 because theming and lore is more important

[@eastsidereviews727]

Im still puzzled as to why they took the option to rematch the Elite Four out of Scarlet and Violet. It just seems like an unnecessary thing to remove, cause I don't think it takes up any extra space. So why remove it? Another fun video as always!!

[@robertlupa8273]

And for once it would actually make sense that you still fight the champion at the end, despite dethroning them before because... you don't this time!

[@AlphaladZXA]

Probably deadline constraints, there's clearly alot of those in SV

[@Mario87456]

Well there is ONE Paldean Elite Four member you can rematch indefinitely actually and that’s Hassel in the Academy Ace Tournament.

[@PTp1ranha]

Well it's not really "removed" as if Scarlet/Violet is just some remaster or a past game. They had to build it from the ground up. And I guess in the process of making the game, they didn't really have the time/resources/desire to include it this time around.

[@dustymcwari4468]

The Academy Tournament replaced it I guess, though I don't know why Hassel is the only Elite you can refight, and he's the most common one to find too, at least in my playthroughs

[@wikiuser92]

I think the thing about Unova E4's type choices is that they are types that are strong against each other: Dark -> Ghost -> Psychic -> Fighting -> Dark

[@IdentifiantE.S]

Its sure !

[@k2basior]

They should've made a Grass E4 in Hoenn instead of Glacia. Also it's crazy still no Grass, Electric, Normal and Fairy E4.

[@TheGhostFart]

fairy isn't that unbelievable since it wasn't added until gen 6

[@zdude0127]

​@@TheGhostFartThat and the Elite Four skipped a gen in Galar.

[@fala5764]

One nice thing about glacia though is she is the only leader with an ohko move, with one of her walrein having sheer cold. If you're a lower level than her she can be devastating to your team with that.

[@Naito115]

​@zdude0127 the tournament does technically give an "unofficial" Elite 4 in Bede, Nessa, Bea/Allister, and Raihan, so the symbolics are there

[@goldendonut5619]

“Bringing an onix to the elite four is like you’re trying to lose!” Agreed jpr we’ve all seen the clip

[@thatman666]

How about in the Adventures manga, you fight an Elite Four member on an Onix over an acidic lake.

[@tylerpinniger9958]

Alpharad?

[@Mario87456]

I feel like the best way to fix that problem with Bruno STILL using Onix despite not being a fighting type is to give Onix a Fighting Type evolution since Game Freak for whatever reason wants him to always use Onix, in fact I don’t even know WHY they gave him an Onix in the first place (and in the Gen 1 games and it’s remakes TWO Onix) since back in Gen 1 there was enough fighting types to fill out his team as for WHATEVER reason they did not give him Primape and Poliwrath.

[@intergalactic92]

@@Mario87456it’s for lore reasons. Sometimes rule of cool takes precedence.

[@liviquail]

WHAT DID I SAY, BRADEN?

[@HoopsandHipHop]

I thought Paldea’s Elite Four had probably the coolest experience of any Elite Four out there. The interview at the beginning, and having each battle sort of overlap into the next one with characters actually interacting with one another made it way more than just a set of battles. Not to mention it features a goat design character in Rika, a literal baby, freaking Larry, and Hassel who has tons of character, which also makes for one of the coolest E4 rosters ever IMO too. Idk where I’d rank them necessarily, but I’d say they’re at least top 3 if not higher.

[@TheGhostFart]

i personally prefer how the e4 has been handled for the first 6 gens, they're supposed to be tense fights against mysterious and imposing individuals at the end of a long journey.

[@mcihay246]

​@@TheGhostFartAlthough, that tends to be the thing with Scarlet and Violet. The Elite Four are the Paldean Elite Four, and not the Scarlet and Violet Elite Four. If that makes sense. The Real Elite Four and Champion in Scarlet and Violet is Clavell, Penny, Arven, Nemona, and AI Sada/Turo.

[@Mario87456]

By this point Gamefreak should really consider giving Onix a fighting type evolution if he is not going to stop using one since otherwise there is NO good reason for him to use it.

[@thirteenfury]

And (possible spoilers) you're able to fail the interview! The interview itself is like the surprise Elite 4 member representing all the exams you took in class.

[@kripticlunar8198]

lmao i would agree if i didn’t wipe the entire thing and champion with like 2 pokémon

[@sylvelouise8388]

As often in Paldea, the best part is clearly the characters. I love how they interact with each other between battles, and how they all appeared during the story, it really helps flesh them out. Though, the absence of rematches is kind of a shame. Sure, the Academy Tournament is here for infinite trainer battles, but they finally changed how the league works to address the plot hole of the old champion still being champion even after you beat them, and then they don't even do rematches.

[@bdf1006]

I mean they fixed this in Gen 7. In Alola you are defending your title from challengers and as Acerola states you are fighting the League again because battling is just plain fun.

[@sylvelouise8388]

Yeah, they tried to fix it in Alola and Galar, but there were still plot holes when you lose some key fights. In Alola, when you lose defending your title, you're still the champion afterwards. And even when you lose the final battle against Kukui/Hau the first time, you're still considered the first champion of Alola by other characters. And in Galar, you can lose the fights of the league tournament with no consequence.

[@braydenleaderofthetirkins1143]

“Gym Leader becoming an Elite 4 member hasn’t been done outside of Alola.” Is Koga a joke to you?

[@danemr6808]

To be fair, he was gym leader, then Elite 4, not both at the same time like Larry.

[@angeldude101]

Prior to Gen 9, I find it kind of funny that the 3 cutest Elite Four members just also happened to be the 3 cutest _ghost_ type specialists. Having not played Scarlet & Violet, I outright burst out laughing seeing Poppi α show up.

[@revalentinemashups510]

you hated the alola elite four? whaaaaaaa? that one's great! I love the aesthetic of a crystal-filled cave buried in a mountain, and i think having the E4 being a group of people you've (mosty) fought before rules. Weren't you just complaining about some of the e4 having no backstory? Heck, id even go to bat for Kahili-she's one final surprise trainer before the end.

[@youtube-kit9450]

Yeah, this seemed weirdly biased against those games. The elite four minus Kahili had lots of lore, you literally saw the journey of the elite four being born and a league being established, you had a connection to those members, Alola had great characters, their teams were great, and the aesthetics were amazing. But in this vid, for some reason he just dismissed the alolan elite 4 or took things he criticized other E4 for where Alola did great in and just used it as a bad thing here just because... they weren't original characters? Wasn't the rival being the champ a good thing? Didn't he want backstory to them, personality, flair etc.?

[@extremmefan7305]

@@youtube-kit9450 "Wasn't the rival being the champ a good thing?" I revisited the Champions video beforehand, and I think his more exact reasoning was that it was kind of expected after Blue did it back in gen 1, although he admitted it was still improving upon Hau's arc since in og SM that arc just stopped mattering as soon as the Aether Foundation entered the plot more heavily. Although I have no horse in this race, I think I also see his logic behind the argument for the E4; "it's cool that it's people we know about but it's a shame that it's people we've already fought before" is what I think he's saying. Basically boilling down to "I wish the E4 were still new characters entirely but without coming out of left field", which not many of the games really did; ORAS being the main exception cited in this vid iirc, though I recall a Lorelei encounter in Let's Go as well...? (Paldea tried but they really just came up to you after set Gym Challenges to tell you "hey, I know you're gonna try to take part in the Champion Assessment" and then leave)

[@eriktheos6022]

So the thing with Unovas types is the themes they have. Yeah I know, its still the same stick of dark, ghost, psychic and fighting but heres the thing: they all kinda represent the whole 'best of the best' thing and the four things that would make up an expert. Training the body: Fighting Training the mind: psychic Training the spirit: ghost Training the soul: dark The elite four of Unova are actually called the heavenly gods in japanese, so it kinda makes sense they would reflect that.

[@twarnold14]

I love the Alolan elite 4 music. That alone makes them memorable to me. But yeah, not being able to rechallenge the Paldean elite 4 is strange. It shouldn’t be that hard to flavor a reason for rechallenging them, even with the ace tournament. It’s just bizarre that they would remove the option.

[@FTChomp9980]

Johto had Karen she is not only a good waifu but an amazing trainer with some good statements about battling with our favorites,Sinnoh had a Ground Type Grandma,and Gen 5 had a Frontier Brain as a Psychic User.

[@Mario87456]

Unfortunately they gave her a Gengar and Vilepume for NO reason even though Tyranitar and Sneasel could have EASILY filled those spots.

[@GreatRaijin]

​@@Mario87456vileplume was originally going to be grass/dark when gen 2 was being worked on but for whatever reason, it didn't happen

[@Naito115]

​@Mario87456 she literally says good trainers try to win using their favorites. Gengar and Vileplume are likely some of her favorite Pokémon

[@NaughtWalter]

Hot take I wish there were more dual type/themed elite fours, Kanto gets criticism for its members dipping into other types but all four characters have a theme and stick with it. Even in universe trainers that are on the elite level should know that restricting yourself to one type isn't necessarily good, although he is a champion Steven also does this very well

[@TheTakato122]

Their actual theme is the Types with the least amount of Pokémon. Ice and Fighting have 5 (Total for Ice and Fully Evolved for Fighting) each and Ghost and Dragon have three each.

[@robertwolff3580]

Bruno not having Primape and Poliwrath still baffles me to this day and they didn’t fix it in either remake (ok edit they did half fix it in let’s go but he still doesn’t have primape)

[@bulborb8756]

I mean Let's Go gave him poliwrath and that's it, and I will never play Let's Go if I'm being honest

[@Mario87456]

Which is why I came to this conclusion if they won’t get rid of his Onix why not give Onix a fighting type evolution someday? Because otherwise there is NO good reason for him to use one.

[@zdude0127]

​@@bulborb8756Let's Go isn't even that bad of a game. I initially got it as a way to get my hands on Meltan and Melmetal. I was genuinely surprised with how much fun I had. I felt like I was back in elementary when I got my first Gameboy and Pokemon Yellow.

[@KuroBlitz]

You know for a fact JPR has immaculate taste for putting Karen & Rika in the thumbnail.

[@JPRPokeTrainer98]

didn’t want to put Rika on the worst side but a man needs his clicks

[@theamazingspooderman2697]

I mean he put the original theme of pokemon anime in his intro so he already has immaculate taste

[@cobalt7248]

I know right

[@emblemblade9245]

@@JPRPokeTrainer98 I respect the hustle

[@AdminAbuse]

Touch grass

[@supersaiyantravis6962]

I think the Unova Elite 4 have to be judged on their rematches seeing as they are a rare case where the rematches are mandatory to beat the game/become champion. Those initial fights with 4 pokemon are a plot based fakeout where you think you're about to become champion and go face N, but N just had the team plasma castle go right to the pokemon league right to the champion. I would think of their first fights as something more akin to 4 bonus gym leader fights before the final encounter with the villainous team and a legendary pokemon.

[@paledesertmoth6255]

The worst gotta be Paldea, not because of the trainers i kinda like their designs and teams its the fact that they battle in a big empty shed, all the others had at least a room for each one since Red and Blue

[@danemr6808]

You say that, but the interview beforehand and the reveal of Larry are fun twists that elevate it above worst.

[@moonscorchedd]

i totally agree. they went back to the early-gen Rooms but they literally just put you in One Room, so even if the E4 has a little more personality, the battles feel like they had no personality at all

[@GhostV7x.]

The interview was honestly so dumb. It had stupid questions like “do you love Pokémon?”

[@TornaitSuperBird]

@@GhostV7x.In-universe, I wouldn't consider that to be a stupid question. It filters out the people who use their Pokémon as tools, or means to an end. Obviously the player character would take that answer for granted, but in-universe it prevents people who abuse their Pokémon from even getting close to becoming Champion.

[@GhostV7x.]

@@TornaitSuperBird wasnt talking about universe wise, but it’s kinda a pointless question in game lol, cause like why would I play the game in the first place if I didn’t enjoy pokemon .-.

[@TheJmlew11]

Not sure how Gen 5 ends with a neutral. One of the best E4’s out there

[@popnpets8022]

Dude the types are terrible not a single new one did we really need the most overused types literally every type already had atleast 2 elite four members

[@Mario87456]

Well they should have 5 Pokémon on their normal teams rather then only 4.

[@alpha-sama]

While I also adore Unova's elite 4, I must agree with the video. The limited teams of 4 mons and the lack of type diversity (especially for Caitlin and Marshall) are flaws the elite 4 has.

[@darknessknows1235]

I mean considering the dex the type diversity ain't that big a deal, and they actually do add more types later on when you challenge them in both Gen5. Besides, Psychic, Ghost, and Dark are literally one of the most goated types since their conception. It may be tiring, but it works too. So yeah, even if you don't like them, they do have things going for them

[@lyg483]

@@alpha-sama Type diversity is bs. They all go around each other so if you want to hit one by they weakness, other elite four member can hit that pkm right back.

[@prismaticwisp]

I think it’s a cool head cannon that the unova elite four were healing their mons and had to use their weaker 4 member team since they just fought N. This also makes sense why you didn’t become champion after beating N

[@Zenithal1843]

My favorite E4s are Sinnoh and Alola. Sinnoh for being the most (and only tbh) challenging E4. Alola for being the only E4 with somewhat fleshed out roles (Kahili is still cool though). Paldea’s is pretty cool but Poppy is forgettable. Kalos E4 has the best designs and themes don’t @ me.

[@nathanwalker6284]

@@jaretco6423 Not just that tho. They’re Pokémon are EV trained and have perfect IVs in BDSP as well as all having held items and even hidden abilities. Also some of the best AI in general

[@Zenithal1843]

@@jaretco6423My team definitely wasn’t. At most it was like 5 levels. Not sure how people get that far behind

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

@@Zenithal1843 umm sinnoh elite 4 is not challening at all. It;s overrated af

[@Zenithal1843]

@ They’re more challenging than any other E4 so nah they’re not.

[@kyogery8927]

The elite 4 is one of the moments in pokemon i look forward too and I have to say, Hoen Unova and Alonan are my all time favorite. I enjoyed the music, I love the looks, I dont mind them using the same pokemon or lack of pokemon. So may of not ranked super high, to me these 3 were top notch. Difficult(hoen when i was a lot younger haha) Unavoa and Alonan were just simply amazing

[@AnarchHive]

While truthfully listing all their faults, you forgot to mention the biggest pro for the Alola E4 you criticised elswhere: These character's arent one-offs, they aren't nobodies. We know these people. Most we've met several times. This is the best characterized Elite Four. We know where they live, what positions they had/have before joining the league, what their regular jobs are and a lot more stuff. We learned Kahili just came back from overseas for the league. Acerola just got in because Nanu turned down the offer. Hala was literally the guy who gave you your starter and watched your journey begin. Molayne started as a trainer together with the professor! This should have been mentioned. Also these Elite Four don't need to explain to you why they train certain types - they train them because they fit their background and characters.

[@MugenAeternum]

I do appreciate how Wikstrom van catch you off guard by approaching you instead, especially if you tend to save scum right before you talk to them to initiate the fight

[@barongeek]

I understand most of your points...EXCEPT FOR ALOLA ELIT 4 MUSIC! WDYM ITS NOT THAT GOOD!? ITS A FRIKING BANGER!

[@mihaimercenarul7467]

ngl it's not a banger at all, it''s kinda bland. It's just random noise

[@Jdudec367]

Alola had a great league really and it was not really boring, it looked cool and very league like and it was interesting how they were suspended battle arenas. It is interesting aesthetically and musically and it does not really feel AI made at all. It is more polished then most past leagues and actually has people you care about and that affect the plot. It really is not one of the worst leagues.

[@justasimplenobody2666]

"This guy gave me fits bad enough to get my gameboy taken away as a kid, and I respect him for it" 😂😂😂 Such a relatable quote, honestly how I was with Candice in gen 4 😂😂😂 And yesss so happy despite gen 4s elite 4 being very forgettable that they're still some of the best 😂 we had to have the strongest elite 4 to go with the strongest champion! 💪

[@phil2160]

I feel like Kalos' Elite 4 is so underrated

[@laxusstrauss5945]

It Isn't they just suck cause they don't have any rematch or improvement Hopefully a remake will fix them

[@phil2160]

@@laxusstrauss5945I don't care I still find them underrated

[@fightorflight2279]

"Will without a mask" is diabolical 😂

[@flappetyflippers]

To be honest, and I don't know if this is sacrilege or not. But say what you want about Galar, the gym challenge in that game was incredible. A fun new mini game concept beforehand, interesting characters, unique gigantamax pokemon for every leader (except my guy Milo), A STADIUM, and a bracket-lile tournament at the end which has always felt like the correct way to determine your champion. It is an event and it is amazing.

[@CristinaNunezTV]

6:40 what? Ronald McDonald is a member of Sinnoh's Elite Four? I'm lovin' it!

[@13CrystalHeart]

Malva deserved better, it's implied that Flare had control over the media and she was censoring their involvement, and her double agent role for Flare in the E4. Like, she keeps the region up to its strongest Trainers in the dark. But all of Kalos is wasted potential.

[@MidoriOfTheShuinsen]

"A certain fire crocodile" *laughs in literally soloing the Elite 4, Nemona, and Geeta with just Meowscarada*

[@Klnkykoala]

I am not a fan of Scarlet and Violet, I played it for 150 hours and stopped. My favorite thing in the elite four was how Rika had a cool animation for throwing her ball

[@-_MR666_-]

Agree, I liked the idea to roam around freely yet you either crush an arena or are significantly under leveled. Missed opportunities...

[@mayborneflower]

Did some research into whether or not Nemona could successfully take on the Elite Four with her 7th Gym team, and it’s about as you’ve discussed in the video. Rika and Poppy are slow enough for a lesser team to run setup against, Larry is lacking some punch aside from Staraptor and Flamigo, and Hassel is such a step above the rest that it would specifically require a speed-boosted Quaquaval Air Slash flinching till she runs dry followed by everyone else with priority moves cleaning up after. Oh, and Geeta is so pathetic that the weaker Nemona would basically be an even match for her.

[@davidperez3645]

Glacia actually does leave the elite 4!!! She can found in the Battle food court in New Mauville! I never knew that Drake or Sydney left the elite 4 though, that’s cool!

[@davidblaze2091]

In defense of Paldea, we can say that it's the first Elite Four that, along with Alola appears through the story before challenging them, so they take their time to establish them and give them a personality, instead of being a bunch of four random guays that suddently you have to beat them before challenging the Champion.

[@cloverx5]

I love how the Paldea League really feels like a team or a family cuz we actually get to see them interact. Rika's the one keeping it all together, Hassel can get very emotional and needs to be reeled in, Poppy is wild and constantly needs supervision, and Larry is just done with it and wants to go out to eat. Personality wise they may be my favorites

[@carnelianfox5010]

I’m convinced Hassel adopted Poppy after she followed Rika home from the hardware store one day.

[@mablenorman5915]

-"Its cool that larry doubles as an elite four member and a gym leader. Thats never been done except for alolas kahunas." Rip Koga, you were forgotten in a timespan of 10 minutes. 😅

[@dagothurik1815]

I feel like Kalos’ elite four both should and shouldn’t be the worst.

[@joeyteter9383]

I actually enjoyed BDSP, and loved the wildly challenging E4. I drifted from Pokémon as a teenager so didn’t play the originals, but I’m glad to have gotten the Sinnoh experience that I got

[@Oscar92839]

2:50 bruh he is cool got promoted even while old and got crobat which is my 4th favourite pokemon

[@agentepinkie5438]

I do actually agree with everything you say, I mean... Facts xD However I must say that the Alola League theme for the battles against the Elite Four is actually pretty cool! In my opinion, Hoenn, Unova, Alola and Paldea have really cool Elite Four themes. As for fav Elite Four... As a whole I'd say Hoenn out of pure nostalgia, Paldea because of how different and wholesome they are and Unova just because. And Karen is my fav Elite Four member.

[@DeathLeprecon]

Hot Take! And I know I'm in the minority on this. I hate Sinnoh's E4. On my personal tier list they're at the bottom. Their designs, personalities and DP teams are all so bad. It feels like GF forgot to make an E4 and slapped them together at the last minute. Even they're Pt teams don't redeem them for me. I never found them that challenging and just kinda walked through them. If not for Cynthia being as awesome as she is, the entire Sinnoh league would be a total wash for me.

[@DeathLeprecon]

@@jaretco6423 I agree. I think that's the real reason people think they're challenging in Gen 4. They're not really well built like Cynthia, it's just a big level difference.

[@DeathLeprecon]

@@jaretco6423 For me, Kalos is second behind Sinnoh. JPR covered a lot of my feelings on them. But they at least have good character designs and I can say something about their personalities. And Malva is a fire trainer that actually uses fire types.

[@barrybend7189]

Unova's elite 4 are also based on the character archetype of the 4 demon generals. Shauntel is death, Grimesly is greed, Marshal is Wrath and Caitlin is ironically sloth.

[@ColourizeTheStreets]

as a kid playing pokemon blue, I always assumed that the elite 4 in kanto werent bound by the same rules as gym leaders. If they had to use one type only then they really are just gym leaders by another name. The Kanto elite four use pokemon that suit their personalities while gym leaders use pokemon that align with their type preference. Bruno isnt a fighting type specialist, he is a fighting specialist and uses pokemon that a reclusive fighter in the mountains would use. He has fighting pokemon to train alongside and rock type pokemon to train against and practice moves on, like the fighter who trains alone in the mountain breaking boulders with his fists. Agatha is the witch who lives in the swamp brewing potions and pisons, summoning spirits and creating plagues and so she uses ghost and poison type pokemon. Lorelei is the oceanic scientist who studys pokemon that live in the ocean which include both water and ice types. Lance is the master of the sky, the guy who travels the world, soaring through the sky and uses pokemon that you would consider rulers of the sky which in many mythologies tend be leviathans and dragons like Gyarados and Dragonite. i also rather like the idea of the elite four not being type restricted, and being elite trainers who use pokemon that suit their personalities and lifestyle rather than having a type preference. Its also more challenging, and by that time in the game you clearly understand type matching, now you need to show you can win without relying on using one pokemon to sweep a whole team. Mono typing the elite four can make it trivial if you know what type they use, and having type advantages doesnt prove you are a better trainer or the best trainer. Beating Brock on your first try after picking Squirtle doesnt mean you are better than someone who lost to him on their fist try after picking Charmander. I would very much like to see the elite four in future games not be so restricted by type restrictions that make little sense, of course a trainer who is alowed to use any type of pokemon will beat trainers who only use one type, thats a huge advantage. If you were competing in VGC tournament and everyone had to use mono type teams except one guy, you would totally consider that an unfair advantage.

[@StormyStars64]

Someone mentioned how the Kanto Elite four felt like a duel type specialists explaining why they used the rarest types and the types already used by a gymleader "Ice/Water, Fighting/Rock, Dragon/Flying, Ghost/Poison"

[@jointser1008]

cope harder genwunner gen1 elite4 is mid. some of the elite4 in DP even use more than just 2 types which is because of the limited pokedex

[@timovos5371]

Okay so why are their so many types getting reused in the e4 instead of getting an electric or grass e4? For electric, it has only one weaknes with enough pokemon to play around that weaknes. Rotom, electros, lanturn, kilowattrel. Amparos is pretty bulky, jolteon is fast and hard hitting, magnezone having recistances thanks to its steel typing plus sturdy.....

[@johnbuck4395]

Unova's E4 basically had the while rock paper scissors weakness chain like starter Pokémon

[@rotzie8834]

Elite Four’s could be themed not just type. Ex: Dark Type can use ghost or poison as well. Ex: Water Type can ice. Last Ex: steel type can use rock or ground as well

[@animatingangel7946]

The Sinnoh Elite Four is really weird to me. Bland designs, 2 have bad team composition in Diamond and Pearl, and they hit you like a freight train in BDSP because it got INSANELY HARD out of nowhere. I’ve been playing Pokémon for years and that is BY FAR the WORST difficulty curve in ANY Pokémon game.

[@Mrdonjuliothewicked]

Honestly surprised gen 3 is considered one of the best considered how ridiculously easy it is to cheese every single member with a Plusle / Minun, or a Linoone.

[@afonsojacinto9170]

It’s super easy to cheese with just a Groudon that knows a powerful fire-type move, a powerful grass-type move (Solar Beam, given that Groudon’s ability immediately charges it), and Precipice Blades. Beats the entire League. Literally all by itself.

[@thohillesland]

@@afonsojacinto9170 You can cheese the elite four with a box legendary in almost every single game dude...

[@thohillesland]

You can quite easily cheese almost every single elite four in the series, its not something that is unique to gen 3

[@Mrdonjuliothewicked]

@@thohilleslandhow many elite fours can you cheese all four members and the champion with a Pokémon with a base stat around 405?

[@thohillesland]

@@Mrdonjuliothewicked Wait a moment, how does Plusle and Minun solo the Elite Four in Gen 3? sure, they have encore, but they can't boost and their only decent attacking move is thunderbolt. I know Linoone can do it with a basic belly drum set in Emerald, but only in Emerald the belly drum Linoone set cannot beat Steven in Ruby and Sapphire. But since you wanted examples, here are some. Some of these might not be able to defeat the champion by themselves, but they should at least be able to beat the Elite Four - Polywag (300 bst) in RBY - Farfetch'd (352 bst) and maybe Kadabra (400 bst) in GSC - Kadabra (400 bst) and maybe Raticate (413 bst) in FRLG - Honestly can't find any Pokemon with lower then 450 bst that can solo the elite four in DPP - Raticate (413 bst) in HGSS - Fraxure (410 bst) maybe Dewott (413) and Maybe Dwebble (325 bst) in BW

[@ChaosBuckaroo]

Unova Elite Four: we are the toughest trainers My Scrafty: I am become death

[@ViewtifulBeau]

If i could have any Elite 4 it'd be: Karen first Then Lorelei Then Lucian And finally Drake. They are my favorites. Especially Lorelei. Shoutout to Grimsley.

[@_pythian82]

I will not accept any larry slander

[@sometijng]

He's not being paid minimum wage

[@aslanege3148]

Would’ve liked to hear your opinions on Galar’s “Elite 4”. Yeah, while there isn’t an official one, it’s the same from a gameplay mechanic - you have to defeat 4 pre-determined trainers before being able to face Leon

[@TheFirstCurse1]

The Unova Elite 4 are the best. Heck they're the only ones I even remember. But they make such an impression and they're awesome.

[@Ganjau]

The OG Hoenn elite four was definitely mid as I was able to constantly beat all 5 and become the Pokemon Champion with just a single lvl:100 Blaziken on my team when I was like 9 or 10. Move set I think I remember being Blaze Kick, Overheat/Fire Blast, Sky Uppercut and I wanna say Mirror Move but something also tells me it might be Flamethrower as well. I needed a lot of 1 hit KO stuff to even have a chance

[@timmy-t-thompson]

When I saw the thumbnail it looked like Bruno was hugging Rika

[@andrewandreski2659]

My favorite thing about the E4 in Paldea is I walked in blind and yet my team had all their aces 😅

[@SegaMario]

Kalos and Sinnoh deserve big points for their type variety alone. Seriously, enough of the Psychic, Dark, Ghost and Fighting repeats already! Why not get some Fairy, Grass, Electric, Normal and Poison up in here? Though I guess Poison was basically already done, seeing as Agatha had more Poison-types than she did Ghost-types. And in a way, Lance was more a Flying-type specialist, lol.

[@SegaMario]

@@jaretco6423 Kalos deserved so much better - it was one of my favourite regions, too. No rematches (those ones where they only use like two of their Pokemon don't count), no teams of five or six, it's ridiculous.

[@SegaMario]

@@jaretco6423 Mfs literally just skipped right to the next generation for the sake of reaching a deadline. We'd rather the next generation have more time put into it rather than abandoning Z and rushing out SM in time for the 20th Anniversary. USUM was in some ways basically what SM should've been, even though SM did some things better, mainly with certain story elements.

[@EonNite]

In personal defense for the Alola League... I personally think the Battle Theme for them is the very best. I love how aggressive it is.

[@evawhite1144]

While I agree that most E4 aren't all that good, and that perhaps, objectively Unova's and BDSP are the best (and the rematches from ORAS), I have a soft spot for the og emerald guys. I don’t think their designs are boring (perhaps Glacia is the only boring one), but Sidney and Phoebe look cool af. And also, as someone who didn’t really like Blaziken the first time I started playing this game, and also didn't have a Breloom, and tried to run through the game with only Swampert, I'm not embarrassed to admit Sidney was hard to beat. Like his Mightyena has intimidate, if you don’t have a white herb (that's what it was called, to restore a lowered stat, right?), that's enough to cripple most physical attackers. And his ace is Absol, and a mega too in ORAS which is like, one of the coolest pokemon ever, so props for that. I still think that Sidney and Phoebe should've been the ones to appear in the anime to fight Ash instead of Drake, like I'm sorry the fact that Drske is a shirtless old man alone is enough to make him less cool than the younger characters 😅. So yeah, that's my opinion. And eventhough Glacia is like the most boring one in my opinion, she still ain't easy to beat, her Wallrein is tough, I think Blaziken is the only pokemon in the whole game with chances of one shotting all her mon, as long as it doesn’t get hit with a water move. Drake ain't that hard, except for Kingdra, all his other mon go down to one single ice beam.

[@batmanbeyond6815]

People crap a lot on Scarlet & Violet, but I really liked Paldea’s elite four. Their interactions, especially on Poppy’s end, made them feel more like a unit than the other gens I played, whose Elite Four’s just lacked that element. I will concede though that Geeta was less of a challenge than the Elite Four.

[@shinnbidan7536]

Am I the only one who found it a little odd that the developers reused a Gym Leader (Larry) as an Elite Four member, yet they had said character specialize a different type than before (unlike in Alola)? It's unique, sure, but a part of me felt like, at that point, you may as well have just used a new character.

[@thenamesilkmoon1366]

Is Larry, there's no need to ask, Larry just does his job and deserves a vacation

[@coralieboucher7736]

And to be fair, Normal and Fly aren't THAT disconnected. I mean there wasn't ANY pure flying type before Unova (Except if we count Arceus with a flying plate) and Flying is wastly paired with normal. So it's not THAT weird to me to see Larry Doing both. Even better, I do feel ti's align with the thematic of him feeling better using Normal types but the Elite 4 forcing him to play flyings mons. Because doing a full team without a Flying normal would be easier with Normal type than with Flying type. Practically a quarter of Flying pokemon are also Normal, while Monotype Normal are more than Flying Normal.

[@PeruvianPotato]

Well normal/flying is a pretty common type pairing so it's not too far of a stretch to see Larry specialize with both

[@cgumby]

I liked it, it's nice seeing recurring characters and it left more of a mark than another new character on top of the other twenty

[@shironeko1843]

Marshal in Black & White gave me nightmares!

[@amberknight7301]

Fun fact, Rika doesn't have a single Pokemon with a BST over 500. That is truly disappointing.

[@MetroidPrime35]

Wow a Wyoming shoutout. I'm actually more surprised how often this does happen. Most people forget we exist, even with how prominent we are on the map.

[@gabrielevalentini4438]

Ngl Rika gave my all-time favorite (Karen) a good run for her money... In Italian (my language) she speaks with a heavy Roman accent, which is extremely funny to read and also a pretty cool and accurate adaptation of the original. That's why I'm here, hoping to see her appear in the anime😂

[@Firescizor]

Wow. I was kinda disappointed with the harsh criticism on Alola's League. It honestly feels like one of the freshest takes on a Pokémon League in the franchise, I love it. The fact you got to face Hala and Olivia in your travels makes them familiar faces, but also leaves you with this feeling of unease, since you know this is not the willy-nilly Island Trials play, they're using their real teams and full strength and knowledge against you. Since Nanu couldn't be bored to join the E4 (which is extremely on character, btw), Acerola, another familiar face as a Trial Captain that you interact a lot with during the Aether House plot (and also knowing she belongs to nobility), makes for an amazing alternative foe. Finally, while being the most uninteristing E4 member, Kahili is not at all a random guy or girl that is strong, she is the daughter of the owner of the Hano Grand Resort, which ties her back to a very distinguishable place in the region, where you can find her afterwards! She also appears during USUM when you acquire the Flying Z-Stone. Honestly, my biggest gripe with this line-up is the fact they choose Hala to be switched with Molayne in USUM, which might just be the worse choice to be taken out since he's probably "the returning face" in the E4 that hits the hardest to see there. But I digress. Banger theme also! It surprised me when you said their theme was not good, because I really enjoy it! It's not slow, doesn't have crazy build ups, it hits you in the face with amazing energy and rhythm, which makes it very comparable to the Gen 5 E4 theme, another banger! So yeah, these are my two cents about the Alola League. Probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite E4!

[@timurtheking]

i agree, alola league is nice - only non familiar face is the weird golf lady, wish she got replaced by molayne instead

[@SERMareep2007]

He hates gen 7

[@youtube-kit9450]

Yeah, it really felt like that when hearing about Alola's elite 4 considering he criticized stuff about them that he wanted in other elite 4, dismissed things they did well just to harp on other bad stuff, and just in general that one felt super biased.@@SERMareep2007

[@fenixrises9854]

Fun fact: when looking at typing alone, Scrafty is good against 3/4 of both the Unova Elite Four (both versions since the types never change) and the USUM Elite Four so if you catch one during your play through then you’re good for the Elite Four besides Marshall and Kahili

[@jamesw2831]

I actually think Lucian has the most drip because that maroon suit with the purple shirt? Come on now

[@MewsHeart151]

Missed opportunity but scarlet and violet elite fours battle room looks like it could be used as maybe a hologram room😑why not just have the room themed to each member before each battle,could have made it funny if they made comments or something but go with plain yelling to the next member to come out...

[@extremmefan7305]

When I first saw that room I was like "ok but is it at least going to change COLOR based on your type, or...", and then it stayed the same bright cyan the whole way through and I was disappointed.

[@lullabene]

I actually really like the Alola elite four battle theme. Yes, movepool wise they are definitely lackluster, but at least I can hear a banger while I'm at it.

[@איתןשי]

Everyone always forgets about USUM when mentioning the Alola E4... Molayne is a BEAST if you are not prepared for him with his Metagross and Sturdy Magnezone, while Kahili's team will almost always outspeed you if you stick with Alola Pokemon like many trainers like to do

[@mariothane8754]

Geeta: “I’m utterly incapable of holding back.” Brings out a Gogoat.

[@sometijng]

The only thing it does is bullying tinkaton

[@animax5312]

Will had a backstory in the manga of being an adopted kid with Karen

[@marsmitsi]

the sinnoh e4 + champ being universally regarded as some of the most difficult battles in the base games always makes me giggle. pearl's league is the first i had ever beaten and the moment the game said i defeated cynthia i cried for HOURS because it was my first time beating a champion. before that the closest i got was drake's last pokemon in ruby. i was 5 when i lost that copy of ruby, and i want to say 8 when i beat cynthia in pearl? i think back on it often :3

[@indianalicona6155]

To speak on the Scarlet and Violet league some more, The Decision to not include rematchs hurts more when coupled with the fact that elite four theme looped after the first few notes due to a bug in the already bug and glitched filled games on release. So if you played and beat the games quickly, you missed out!

[@Dr_GlitterSparkles]

Fr

[@deggyG]

Well, the four battles (Bede, Nessa, Bea/Alister, and Raihan) are mean to serve as the elite four battles before the champion in Galar

[@tvb5509]

The Unova Four were themed into two dark and two light types.

[@extremmefan7305]

I think the intent of the Elite Four only having four Pokemon in generations 5 and 6 was to double up on the number's imagery, since four also means "death" over in Japan. Yet, it works better in Unova imo because despite the number disadvantage, they're still rather strong. Kalos E4 is a joke through and through aside from the occasional hiccup against Siebold.

[@BreezyLime767]

13:06 POPPI!?!? FROM XENOBLADE 2!?!?

[@MAAASP]

LETS GOOO ANOTHER JPR VIDEO

[@moonlight2870]

In gen 1 it appears like each elite 4 member has 2 types. Lorelai is psychic and ice, Bruno is rock and fighting, Agatha is poison and ghost and Lance is flying and dragon.

[@sammywoj7924]

Thats because NONE of them specialize in a type that has enough Pokémon to fill a team back then. Lance and Agatha would’ve been stuck on one pokemon each otherwise

[@Naito115]

​@sammywoj7924 it would be funny if Lorelei and Bruno get confused on which Pokémon is in the ball they're about to throw while Lance an Agatha just filled up their team with 1 single Pokémon that gets copy-pasted 4 times

[@Oscar92839]

8:42 and it is her villa and marshal left the chat

[@iamlordapollo]

Will always struck me as more of Lorelei's successor than Sabrina. They look very similar, and his team is basically a spiritual successor to hers that leans more into the psychic side than the ice side because he learned from his masters mistakes that ice is a terrible type and psychic is awesome

[@derdork3233]

Paldeas gym leaders all tera'd to their own type it was so boring. I steamrolled through most of them. Sometimes i forgot the type advantages and just used brute force. Elite four also.

[@asaka616]

It baffles me that 9 gens in the games are inconsistent in whether you can rematch elite four members, they have sparse movesets and repeating types. ghost is in half of the games that have an elite four. Only 3 games don't have a Dragon elite four. Fighting is used in 4 games. There are four types that have never had an elite four member represent their typing. Normal (Larry doesn't count), Electric, Grass and Fairy.

[@terryliliana]

if this was manga elite 4, about half would actually be allied with the villains. yeah, adventures reaaaaaaally overuses that trope.

[@BeIlG]

How are you not going to GO IN on Paldea for having the most basic empty back stock room in target to battle THEM ALL in. That is so beyond basic and such an absolute shop for the finale. It made the whole game end feel EMPTY. It feels like such a cop out. Also with bringing larry back instead of having another elite 4. It is BAD. Alola was at least memorable to me. Also making the champion change on loop was amazing. Also z moves sucked but at least here you know it will at least cripple you by taking out one mon.

[@johnny6187]

lol unova neutral... what does that even mean when youre rating something?

[@lukejensen1222]

Is it even a question that Gen 5 has the best elite four in every way. Best elite four battle theme, best members, (I mean come on classics like Grimsly, Shantaul, and platinum’s grown up Kaitlin) cannot be beat, best “presentation” of any elite four, (Scarlet and Violet’s is literally just 1 room),and the final battle with N’ and Ghetsis at the end whooo boy nothing quite like it. Also it’s the first elite four that you can fight in any order so that’s pretty cool. Also the best typing of any elite four with the psychic dark fighting triangle with a sister type of those being ghost is definitely the best typing of any elite four. I would say that there is nothing in Pokémon that dominates the other games as much as how much Gen 5’s elite four beats the other game’s elite four.

[@SargeWolf010]

Lance is a flying user, Agatha is female upgraded Koga/Sabrina, and Bruno is Fighting Gym upgrade..?🤦‍♂️