Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl: How to Beat Cynthia at the Pokemon League

Those who want to be the greatest in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will have to compete against a slew of formidable Pokemon Trainers. They must first defeat all eight of Sinnoh's gym leaders, which is no simple task. They'll next have to survive the perils of Victory Road before facing the Elite Four, a group of veteran trainers. Even after that, though, there is still one major obstacle to overcome: players must defeat Cynthia, Sinnoh's reigning Pokemon Champion.

Cynthia appears several times during Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, but she is revealed to be the regional champion only after the players have defeated the Elite Four. However, looking over her team, it's simple to see how she achieved the title, as it's chock-full of powerful Pokemon with excellent type coverage. As a result, anyone trying to defeat Cynthia and usurp her title will have their work cut out for them.

How to Prepare for Cynthia

The fact that the encounter with Cynthia occurs immediately after the players have defeated the Elite Four adds to the difficulty of preparing for it. This means that the team that the players put together to defeat Aaron, Bertha, Flint, and Lucian must also be capable of defeating Cynthia. Players should, of course, bring lots of healing supplies with them so that they can recover HP during and between combat. Given that the game's strongest techniques have lower PP than others, a few Ethers should be included as well. Unfortunately, PP-restoring goods such as Potions and Revives cannot be purchased, so players will need to have found and saved a few along the way.

Cynthia, unlike the Elite Four before her, has no clear type preference, with her six Pokemon representing a total of nine distinct types. Thankfully, the fact that all but one of them are dual-type Pokemon makes it a little simpler to strike weakness. Milotic and Gastrodon shouldn't be too difficult to deal with if players have a Pokemon with a strong grass-type attack in their team, while Garchomp and Roserade may be dealt with ice-type techniques. Fire-type attacks can also easily defeat the latter, which will come in helpful against Lucario. Spiritomb's only major weakness is Fairy-type attacks, though players may just take it down with brute force if necessary.

Palkia and Dialga should be the player's go-to Pokemon for ice-type attacks because they can both learn Blizzard with TM14, which can be found at Lake Acuity or purchased at the Department Store in Veilstone City. Those who choose Infernape as their starter should already be immune to fire-type attacks, but Rapidash is a capable stand-in for everyone else. Dazzling Gleam can be learned by Haunter / Gengar with TM21, which can be found in Team Galactic HQ or the Department Store. Surf may also be used to learn Giga Drain, which is available on Route 209 and can be learned by both Pokemon. Players can use one of the Grass Knot TMs (TM86) they received after defeating Gardenia if they don't plan on taking a Haunter / Gengar or a designated grass-type specialist. It can be learned by all three starters, as well as Kadabra / Alakazam.

How to Beat Cynthia

Champion Cynthia (₱13,464)
Spiritomb (Lvl. 61)	Dark Pulse
	Psychic
	Shadow Ball
	Sucker Punch
Lucario (Lvl. 63)	Aura Sphere
	Dragon Pulse
	Flash Canon
	Nasty Plot
Roserade (Lvl. 60)	Dazzling Gleam
	Energy Ball
	Shadow Ball
	Sludge Bomb
Gastrodon (Lvl. 60)	Earthquake
	Scald
	Rock Tomb
	Sludge Bomb
Milotic (Lvl. 63)	Ice Beam
	Mirror Coat
	Recover
	Scald
Garchomp (Lvl 66)	Dragon Claw
	Earthquake
	Poison Jab
	Swords Dance

Cynthia will begin with Spiritomb, therefore players should choose a Pokemon that knows Dazzling Gleam or another strong Fairy-type move as their first Pokemon. They'll want to try to take it out in a single strike if at all possible because if they don't, Cynthia will withdraw it and Lucario will be thrown out. Players should switch to their fire-type attacker at this point, though if they have a Gastrodon with them for the Elite Four, this is also a good option because it can take out Lucario with Earth Power. If Roserade appears next, players can either use their fire-type attacker or switch to Palkia / Dialga and use Blizzard or another powerful ice-type attack like Ice Beam to deal with it.

Players should switch to their grass-type attacker and go to town on Gastrodon and Milotic, who commonly appear next. Due to its ability to utilize Rest to restore HP, the latter can be a pain to deal with, but at 357 pounds, Grass Knot should hit with 100 attack power, which should be enough to take it out in a single hit. If players haven't defeated it yet, Spiritomb will appear next, followed by Cynthia's final and most powerful Pokemon, Garchomp. Fortunately, because of its nature, ice-type attacks will do four times as much damage to it, so Palkia and Dialga should be able to take care of it fast with Blizzard.

What to Do After You've Defeated Cynthia

Professor Rowan will appear after players defeat Cynthia and register the player's Pokemon in the hall of fame. After the credits have finished, players will be transported back to Twinleaf town, where they will find a message from their adversary instructing them to board a ship in Snowpoint City. Players will be transported to a new island where they will be able to combat powerful trainers, albeit this is just one of many post-game features in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. The three Lake Guardians can also be caught, and players can strive towards completing their Pokedex, which will unlock the National Dex and the Ramanas Park area, where even more Legendary Pokemon can be found.