Unova Elite Four
The Unova Elite Four is considered to be one of the toughest in the world, with all four Elites boasting a victory rate of above 90% and over four years experience in their respective positions. They all utilise wildly diverse battle styles, which requires the challenger to be flexible in order to triumph over all of them. This diversity, combined with the leniency of the Unovan Battle Code and the fact that each Elite pushes it to its limits, renders them a brutal and uncompromising set of opponents. Alder’s long reign as Champion is mostly attributed to the success of the Elite Four; because so few could surpass them, Alder was rarely forced to defend his title.
Shauntal
Shauntal is famous in the battle industry for her adaptability. Having trained with many different type specialists all over the world, she has learnt to perfect defensive, offensive and status-led plays, able either to sweep or to play the long game depending on her opponent’s weaknesses. Of the four Elites, she has the widest choice of pokémon to assemble her team from, bearing eleven highly-trained ghosts capable of changing strategies whenever an initial plan fails. Her unpredictability stumps challengers who prefer to plan their plays in advance (Cheren failed to beat her for this exact reason) but can sometimes leave her exposed. When she chooses the wrong strategy and has to swap, she becomes vulnerable.
Most Notable Pokémon
Cofagrigus - Mostly used in longer plays, this is one of her most iconic partners. Typically, it will obscure the field with Haze, then proceed to extend and retract its long, shadow-like arms so that the foe can only see dark shapes moving within the fog. As the opponent’s paranoia builds, the cofagrigus may inflict them with poison or burns, trip them with low-lying Dark Pulses, or wear them down with broad swathes of Ominous Wind (never Shadow Ball or other projectiles, as they would reveal the cofagrigus’s location within the fog). In recent years, Shauntal has combined the Haze Strategy with use of Double Team, so as to make it even harder for the opponent to track the cofagrigus’s position.
Although rarely used offensively due to its slowness, Shauntal’s cofagrigus has been known to seize hold of smaller opponents, trap them inside itself and use Curse, forcing them to share in the self-inflicted damage. This is extremely painful. Shauntal’s first use of this strategy provoked a heated debate as to whether it should be banned or not, but it was eventually declared to be legal.
Chandelure - It compensates for its lack of dodging ability with a masterful, hair-trigger command of Protect. Moreover, it will often use Fire Spin to shroud itself in a fire vortex, as this activates its Flash Fire ability and prevents opponents from getting too close. Because both Fire Spin and Protect are difficult to maintain over long periods, it is somewhat of a firework pokémon, powerful for a time but quick to burn out. It boasts an array of hard-hitting special moves, but is most well known for its explosive use of Inferno. If the foe can survive the first few minutes on the field with this pokémon, it becomes far easier to take down. But making it through the first onslaught is no easy feat.
Froslass - Trained to be fast above all else, Shauntal’s frosslass is known for her relentlessness. Her moves lack the power of the chandelure’s, but by summoning repeated, unceasing hail, wrestling the opponent back with Icy Wind and even mentally restraining them with Telekinesis, she wears foes out by use of fairly simple, low-effort techniques. If that fails, she drags them down with Destiny Bond. Because of her perceived viciousness, commentators have taken to calling her ‘Ice Queen’, though her real name is Dysnomia.
Marshal
Marshal is the most conventional trainer of the four. His style is not particularly different from that of most fighting-type specialists - a practical, head-on approach that prizes high damage above all else. Nevertheless, he provides an earthy balance to his deceptive colleagues and has the most classically powerful team, always using the same six in official matches. Having been in the position for seven years, he is the longest-serving member of the Unova Elite Four.
Most Notable Pokémon
Mienshao - Revered for her speed, reflexes and preference to trip up opponents by slapping them hard in the ankles, she attacks in a way typical of the species. The one atypical technique she uses is the evoking of sunlight on the battlefield. As Marshal spent much of his early life training abroad in hot countries, his pokémon are perfectly used to fighting at full capacity in searing heat. The same cannot be said for most of his opponents’ teams.
Sawk - Marshal’s sawk has been trained extensively to fight with his feet. As a sawk’s toes are almost as dexterous as its fingers, Marshal’s can wrench opponents to the floor after kicking them and hold them there while stamping down with the other foot. As Marshal’s sawk used to be wild, training him to attack using non-melee methods is difficult, so he mostly fights hand-to-hand. Some would expect this to be a limitation, but his reflexes are so formidably quick that it is anything but.
Grimsley
Grimsley’s style is notorious for its cleverness. He is widely considered to be one of the most cunning trainers in the industry, adept at targeting blind spots, misleading the opponent and completely disorientating their pokémon. Almost all of his pokémon are trained in taunting (riling the opponent to the point that it starts blindly attacking), and several of them combine the technique with Countering to create a risky strategy known as the Offensive Taunt (or, more archaically, as Foul Play).
Grimsley is also known for being unorthodox. He would rather win savagely than lose gracefully, so is not above directing his pokémon to yank tails, poke eyes or spit in faces if it grants him the slightest advantage. Purists find him distasteful. The general public can’t get enough of him.
Most Notable Pokémon
Liepard - As his ace, his liepard features in virtually all of his matches. She is his best taunter, considered by many to be the most accomplished taunter in contemporary battle, and has been thoroughly trained in both dodging and Protect usage. She defeats foes by riling them, confusing them, paralysing them, then biting and slashing at vunerable areas such as the neck and legs. Evasion is the cornerstone of her strategy, as she can only withstand limited hits, but she is an unexpected nightmare for many challengers. People go in worrying about the hydreigon, only to discover they can’t land a single hit on the liepard.
She is also excellent at false signalling, a technique that involves ‘playing dead’, waiting until the last few seconds before being delcared unfit for battle, then launching oneself at the opponent to deliver a surprise attack. Despite the fact that he is famed for this strategy, people still fall for it. His liepard is so attuned to him that she often knows when to false signal without being instructed.
Hydreigon - Grimsley is one of few hydreigon users in the battle industry and the only one that isn’t a dragon specialist. Out of concern that people will underestimate how dangerous raising the species can be, he often doesn’t use his in televised matches. Those lucky enough to have seen her fight note how Grimsley capitalises on intimidation tactics while commanding her. He encourages her to vocalise at the beginning of matches, letting out harsh, eerie roars that set the foe on edge before the battle has even begun. Once it commences, however, the strategy simplifies: hit, and hit hard.
Absol - As absols train very much like psychic types, Grimsley’s provides a mellow contrast to the rest of his team. While not the fastest, the absol has a developed precognitive sense that allows him to sense impending attacks before they occur, and to launch his own into the foe’s path. Maintaining the focus required for precognition is no easy feat in the heat of battle, especially not while attacking, so he is careful only to strike when confident that the blow will do severe damage. Watching him battle is a surreal experience - his movements look dreamlike and out of sync, and he sometimes does things that make no sense until a few minutes later in the match. Even Grimsley is often unclear on his absol’s intentions, but he trusts him to take the best course of action, never disrupting his focus by shouting out commands.
Caitlin
Caitlin is the most recent addition to the Unova Elite Four, but her sweetly cruel style fits perfectly with the rest of the League. Owing to her contest experience and her years in the Battle Castle (a facility where elegance is esteemed), Caitlin’s pokémon are more than just fighters - they are performers. Her main strategy is to entice the foe with beautiful displays, holding back on doing proper damage so that they are lured, despite themselves, into a false sense of security. She recognises that foes fight best when they feel at risk, so makes it her strategy to appear non-offensive, to almost ‘seduce’ them into thinking she means no harm. Then, once they are at their most captivated and confused, she strikes.
Most Notable Pokémon
Gothitelle - Caitlin’s gothitelle is excellent at seduction. Her most famous technique is the Stockholm strategy; she repeatedly hurts her opponents via Thunderbolt, Shadow Ball and Psychic only to revitalise them with Heal Pulse a moment later. The sheer dissonance of the technique wears the foe down; because it is so unlike what they usually experience on the battlefield, it disorientates them, makes them confused and unsure of how to react. This leaves them vulnerable.
Sigilyph - Her sigilyph is less scheming, but every bit as cruel. She combines the use of heavy Gravity with Toxic, forcing the foe to the ground while waiting for the poison to eat away at them. She is also excellent at long-range use of Mirror Coat, favouring the technique of summoning a barrier directly in front of the foe so that their released move blows up in their face.
