Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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ELITE FOUR BATTLE #4: DRAKE
Trainer's Pokémon Type: Dragon
Recommended: Rock, Ice, Dragon
Not Recommended: Fire, Grass, Electric

Shelgon, Level 52 (Dragon)
Altaria, Level 54 (Dragon/Flying)
Kingdra, Level 53 (Dragon/Water)
Flygon, Level 54 (Dragon/Ground)
Salamence, Level 55 (Dragon/Flying)
Money: $5,500

Shelgon is the pre-evolved form of Salamence, so taking it down should be straightforward. Use Ice Beam if you have it; otherwise, any strong Dragon moves will work. If neither is available, just use your strongest attacks and it will eventually go down.

Altaria is relatively easy to handle. Being Dragon/Flying, Ice Beam will score a 1-hit KO due to its 4x weakness to Ice. If you can’t get it done with Ice Beam, you’ll have to deal with Dragon Dance and Dragonbreath, which can be troublesome. If you don’t have Ice or Dragon moves, use Rock-type attacks, as Flying’s weakness to Rock will be helpful.

Kingdra is a tougher opponent. Its Water typing makes Ice moves less effective. Dragon moves will be more effective here, dealing double (or triple with STAB) damage. However, Kingdra has high Special Defense, so it might take a few hits. Use a Pokémon with a high-powered attack, as Kingdra has below-average Defense. Watch out for Surf, Dragon Dance, Smokescreen, and Body Slam. Dragon Dance boosts both Attack and Speed, which, combined with Body Slam, can be quite dangerous. Give it all you’ve got, and hope for critical hits to eventually bring it down.

Flygon can be taken down easily with Ice-type moves due to its Ground/Dragon typing. Ice Beam will knock it out in one hit. It has Dragonbreath, Flamethrower, Earthquake, and Crunch, which are a series of nasty attacks. Dragon moves will also work, but Flygon should not be too problematic.

Salamence can be challenging, but if you have a strong Ice-type Pokémon, it won’t be as difficult as it looks. An Ice Beam can knock it out in one hit. If Ice moves are unavailable, use Dragon moves to defeat it, or Rock-type moves since Salamence is also part Flying. It has Dragon Claw, Crunch, Flamethrower, and Rock Slide, and with its extremely high Attack, you won’t last long if you don’t take it down quickly. Use all your resources if you don’t have the type advantage.

After defeating Drake, you’ve defeated the Elite Four...or not. You’ll need to face the Champion as well, who should be a familiar face to Ruby and Sapphire players.