The Elite Four (Japanese: 四天王 The Big Four) are four Pokémon Trainers who are regarded as the toughest in their regional Pokémon League, just short of the Pokémon League Champion. Those who challenge the Elite Four must have won all eight Badges from that region (or, for Trainers in Alola, must have completed all of their island challenge trials). To become Champion, Trainers must face all four and the current Champion consecutively without losing to any of them. Challengers who lose at any time must start their challenge from the beginning. In Paldea, the challenge is named the Elite Test, and is part of the greater Champion Assessment.

One group resides at the Indigo Plateau in Kanto and are considered the best Trainers in both Kanto and Johto. Another group is located in Ever Grande City in Hoenn, while another is located on Mount Lanakila in Alola. Four more groups reside at the Pokémon Leagues in Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Paldea.

In the games, they use strong medicine items in battles. In Generation II, they use Max Potions, and from Generation III onwards, they use Full Restores. Like Gym Leaders, they typically specialize in Pokémon of a particular type. Prior to Generation V and in Paldea, the Elite Four typically progresses in level with their Pokémon in the games and must be challenged in a set order. From Generation V to Generation VII, all members of the Elite Four (except in remakes) use Pokémon of the same levels, as they can be challenged in any order. At Blueberry Academy, Crispin's Pokémon are one level lower than the others, but the Elite Four can be battled in any order.

In Generation VIII, the Pokémon League in the Galar region uses the Champion Cup tournament instead of an Elite Four.

In the core series games

Indigo Elite Four

At the Indigo Plateau — the site of the Pokémon League in Kanto and Johto — the Elite Four must be battled in a fixed order.

Generations I, III, and VII

In the Generation I games Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow (Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow in Japan), the Generation III games Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and the Generation VII games Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the Elite Four at Indigo Plateau consists of:

Generations II and IV

In the Generation II games Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal and the Generation IV games Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Elite Four at Indigo Plateau consists of:

Hoenn Elite Four

In Hoenn, the Elite Four must be battled in a fixed order. In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the Elite Four at Ever Grande City consists of:

Sinnoh Elite Four

In Sinnoh, the Elite Four must be battled in a fixed order. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl, the Elite Four at the Sinnoh Pokémon League consists of:

Unova Elite Four

In Unova, the Elite Four may be challenged in any order. In Black, White, Black 2, and White 2, the Elite Four at the Unova Pokémon League consists of:

Kalos Elite Four

In Kalos, the Elite Four may be challenged in any order. In Pokémon X and Y, the Elite Four at the Kalos Pokémon League consists of:

Alola Elite Four

In Alola, the Elite Four may be challenged in any order. All Elite Four members use Ultra Balls to store their Pokémon.

The Elite Four at the Alola Pokémon League consists of:

Paldea Elite Four

In Paldea, the Elite Four must be battled in a fixed order. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the Elite Four at the Paldea Pokémon League consists of:

Note that Larry is rematched as a Gym Leader, while Hassel is rematched as an Instructor.

BB Elite Four

In The Indigo Disk, Blueberry Academy's BB League has its own Elite Four, which can be battled in any order. Unlike other Elite Fours, the player must pass an Elite Trial in order to face each member. They also do not have to be battled in succession, because each of them is fought at a separate location around the Terarium. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the Elite Four at Blueberry Academy consists of:

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Puzzle League

Pokémon Puzzle League features its own Elite Four: Ritchie, Lorelei, Bruno, and Gary. Gary serves as the leader of the Elite Four and the Puzzle League Champion.

By defeating each of them, the player is rewarded with an Elite Medal. Playing on Hard Level, Gary is the last challenge, and on Super Hard, Mewtwo is the last challenge after the player becomes the Champion.

Ritchie

Lorelei

Bruno

Gary

Gallery

• 

  Ritchie's VS screen

• 

  Lorelei's VS screen

• 

  Bruno's VS screen

• 

  Gary's VS screen

Pokémon Trading Card Game series

In Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon Trading Card Game 2: The Invasion of Team GR!, there is a group composed of powerful four members called the Grand Masters, who are the counterpart of the Elite Four in these games. Defeating them earns the player the Legendary Cards.

In the anime

Main series

The Sinnoh Elite Four in the anime

In the Pokémon anime, Ash and his friends infrequently meet Elite Four members, who then impart them with battle strategies. Liko also frequently encountered members of the Paldea region during her Pokémon journey.

In An Elite Meet and Greet!, Lucian revealed that when a Trainer wins their respective region's League Conference, they can participate in the Champion League, fighting the members of that region's Elite Four, and, if victorious against them, the regional Champion as well. It has also been shown that an Elite Four member can challenge the Champion for their title.

In Pokémon Journeys: The Series, some members of the Elite Four from around the world (such as Lance, Flint, and Drasna), were shown participating in the World Coronation Series.

In Pokémon Horizons: The Series, all members of Paldea's Elite Four participated in the Elite Four Tag Battle, an event organized by Naranja Academy with Terastal Training students.

Kanto Elite Four

In Kanto, Ash has met the entire original Elite Four roster:

Hoenn Elite Four

In Hoenn, Ash has met only one Elite Four member:

• Only Drake appeared in Vanity Affair, where he invited Ash and his friends to his boat, where he had a battle with Ash. He reappeared in Looking Out for Number Two!, where he was shown to have become a treasure hunter in addition to his Elite Four duties.

Sinnoh Elite Four

In Sinnoh, Ash has also met the entire Elite Four roster:

Unova Elite Four

In Unova, Ash has also met only one Elite Four member:

Kalos Elite Four

Wikstrom and Drasna; two members of the Kalos Elite Four

In Kalos, the entire Elite Four roster has appeared, with Ash having met three of them. Unlike the games, all members of the Elite Four of Kalos have at least one Pokémon capable of Mega Evolving:

• Siebold appeared in Mega Evolution Special I, where he used his Mega Blastoise to battle Alain and his Mega Charizard X.
• Wikstrom first appeared in a cameo in Diancie and the Cocoon of Destruction, in which he was seen battling Diantha, using his Mega Scizor against her Mega Gardevoir. He made his main series debut in Searching for Chivalry!, in which Ash met him for the first time when he visited the Castle of Chivalry in order to train with his Farfetch'd.
• Malva debuted in Cloudy Fate, Bright Future! in a video transmission. Ash didn't meet her until A League of His Own!, where he was interviewed by her. Like in the games, she's featured as a member of Team Flare, but ends up opposing Lysandre when his big plan is put into action.
• Drasna appeared in The Future is Now, Thanks to Strategy! and Taking Two For The Team!. She battled Ash in a World Coronation Series match at the Lumiose Conference stadium and ultimately lost, marking the first time Ash has defeated an Elite Four member.

Alola Elite Four

In Alola, Ash has met the entire Elite Four rosters from both the Sun and Moon and Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon paired versions, though none of them presented themselves as such, because the Alola League was not established until The Dealer of Destruction! in the anime:

Paldea Elite Four

Penny with some of Paldea's Elite Four

In Paldea, every member of the Elite Four has appeared:

Artwork

Pokémon Origins

Only the members of the Kanto Elite Four made brief appearances in File 4: Charizard. Red was shown defeating all four members, allowing him to move on to face the Pokémon League Champion, Blue.

Pokémon Generations

The members of the Kanto Elite Four made brief appearances in The Challenger. Blue was shown defeating all four members, allowing him to become the Pokémon League Champion. Later in the episode, Red was revealed to have defeated them as well, since he was seen about to challenge Blue.

Lance reappeared again more prominent in The Lake of Rage. He teams up with Ethan to battle Team Rocket in the Lake of Rage's incident.

Malva appeared in The Beauty Eternal, where she was seen on a billboard. She is the only member of the Kalos's Elite Four to appear in this series.

Pokémon Evolutions

Only Malva appeared in The Visionary.

Pokémon: Paldean Winds

In Pokémon: Paldean Winds mini-series, all members of Paldea's Elite Four appeared in small cameos.

Hassel briefly debuted in Breathe Out as part of the teaching staff at Naranja Academy.

Rika, Poppy, and Larry appeared during the Naranja Academy presentation video made by Ohara, Aliquis, and Hohma in Breathe Toghther.

In the manga

Pokémon Adventures

Red, Green & Blue arc

The Kanto Elite Four, consisting of Lorelei, Bruno, Lance, and Agatha, made their debut in A Charizard...and a Champion, watching the final battle between Red and Blue.

Yellow arc

The Kanto Elite Four served as the primary antagonists for this arc, seeking to wipe out most of humanity in order to create a utopia for Pokémon. They are each said to be so powerful that the triad leaders of Team Rocket, Koga, Lt. Surge, and Sabrina, all had to begrudgingly team up with the protagonists and Blaine to take just a single one of them at their base of operations on Cerise Island.

Gold, Silver & Crystal arc

The Johto Elite Four is formed at the end of this arc, following the defeat of the Masked Man. It consists of accomplished Pokémon Trainers that were formerly part of criminal organizations, who would eventually rise as the official Elite Four of Indigo Plateau. Will, Bruno, Karen, and Koga united to train together after they were no longer being controlled.

Ruby & Sapphire arc

Hoenn Elite Four in Pokémon Adventures

The Hoenn Elite Four, consisting of Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, and Drake, made an appearance in this arc, helping to find and catch the legendary giants in order to contain the massive surge of energy created by the clash of Kyogre and Groudon alongside Steven and Wallace, their two regional Champions. It is also during the Hoenn Elite Four's appearance that the challenge of the Elite Four and Champion was mentioned as having replaced a knockout tournament to determine the best Trainer in the region.

Diamond & Pearl arc

The first Sinnoh Elite Four member to debut in the series was Flint, who made a cameo appearance in the last chapter of this arc.

Platinum arc

Aaron, Bertha, and Lucian debuted in this arc, where they were enlisted by the Pokémon Association Chairman to decode the ancient writings in Charon's memobook. Meanwhile, Flint accompanied Volkner to the Distortion World so that they could battle Giratina for their own amusement.

HeartGold & SoulSilver arc

The Johto Elite Four reappeared in this arc, where they faced Gold in various Pokéathlon events and later fought Lance's Dragonite when it went berserk.

Black & White arc

The Unova Elite Four first appeared in this arc as Black cited them during his daily pledge. However, they never appeared to the main characters as a group. Besides Caitlin, who already appeared in the Platinum arc, Grimsley met Black on Route 4, Shauntal met White aboard the Battle Subway, and Marshal met both in Nimbasa City. All four converged for the duration of the Unova League tournament that would have determined the Trainer that would challenge them. They also participated in the battle against Team Plasma and the Forces of Nature when N's Castle rose from the ground.

X & Y arc

The first Kalos Elite Four member to appear is Malva, who appeared in person in this arc. Drasna, Wikstrom, and Siebold were mentioned by Diantha during her conversation with Gurkinn and Korrina. Siebold later appeared in the Lost Hotel, cooking a meal for X and Y's friends, as a way of apologizing for his lack of participation against Team Flare. Wikstrom and Drasna later appeared in person, assisting X and Y's group in their quest to stop Team Flare. Drasna gave them information about Zygarde and Wikstrom used his Probopass to guide them to Team Flare's hideout at the Pokémon Village. Malva, bearing a searing hatred for Diantha, battled against the Kalos Champion twice over the course of the arc.

Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon arc

While never actually forming, the members comprising the Alola Elite Four appear individually throughout the arc. Hala and Olivia debuted in The Delivery of Rotom and the Girl, discussing the sightings of the guardian deities around Alola with Nanu. Kahili debuted in Defeat and the Commander of the School of Fish, coming back to Alola and speculating the Ultra Beasts were the source of the guardian deities' rage. In Shipwreck and "Oh, What Sharp Teeth You Have, Bruxish!", Acerola found an unconscious Sun and Lillie on a beach and took them to the Aether House to recuperate. Molayne debuted in Truth and the Mastermind Behind Team Skull, helping innocent civilians escape from the Ultra Beasts wreaking havoc on Ula'ula Island.

Pokémon Zensho

The Kanto Elite Four members appeared in Indigo Plateau, where all of them were defeated by Satoshi, allowing him to face the Champion, Shigeru.

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!

Flint appeared in Hareta's Heart's Desire as a participant to the Pokémon League tournament, but chose to forfeit when he was overwhelmed by the power of Hareta's Regigigas. The rest of the Sinnoh Elite Four made a cameo while watching the battle.

Pocket Monsters

The Paldea Elite Four members appeared in HZM03.

Trivia

• The only types that have yet to be specialized in by any Elite Four member are Normal, Grass, and Electric.
  • Despite this, Larry of the Paldea Elite Four specializes in the Normal type in his capacity as a Gym Leader, but specializes in Flying types as an Elite Four member.
• The most common type specialization for members of the Elite Four is Dragon, with five specialists.
• Every Ghost-type Elite Four member is female.
• Bronzong is the Pokémon used most frequently by Elite Four members, being used by four of them: Will, Lucian, Caitlin, and Poppy.
  • Of these, Poppy is the only one who does not specialize in Psychic types, instead specializing in Steel types.
• In Red, Blue, and Yellow, the battles against Lorelei, Bruno, and Agatha use the standard Trainer battle theme. The battle against Lance, however, uses the usual Gym Leader battle theme.
  • In the remakes, the Gym Leader battle theme plays in the battles with all members of the Elite Four.
• In the Kanto-based games:
  • The Elite Four's specialty types are the ones that were the least common Pokémon types in Generation I.
  • Every Elite Four member has at least one Pokémon not of their specialty type in their initial battle.
• The Kalos Elite Four members are the only ones who do not have higher level Pokémon in future rematches with them in any game.
  • Additionally, they are the only ones who use just four Pokémon in rematches with them. All other Elite Four members use either five or six Pokémon during rematches.
• The Indigo, Sinnoh, and Kalos Elite Four are the only Elite Four of which all members have appeared in the anime.
  • All members of the Alola Elite Four have also appeared in the anime. However, they did not appear as Elite Four members, since the Alola Pokémon League was not established at the time.
• The Alola Elite Four is the only Elite Four with more female than male members.
• Sword and Shield are the only core series games to feature a Pokémon League but not an Elite Four. Instead, the Champion Cup takes its place.
• The Paldea Elite Four is the only Elite Four to not be able to be rematched as a group. Instead, the Elite Four and Champion can be rebattled through other means:
• The type specialties of the Paldea Elite Four are the types of the Titan Pokémon. The Stony Cliff Titan's type is filled in by Geeta, who Terastallizes her Glimmora into the Rock type.
• Prior to Generation VI, the English names of the Elite Four are puns based on their respective specialized types. From Generation VII onwards, they all possess flora-based names similar to the Pokémon Professors. The same applies to each region's Gym Leaders.
• Except for Unova, at least one Elite Four representative from each region introduced up to Generation VIII appeared in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
• The Unova Elite Four are the only Elite Four where all members have at least one type advantage over another.
• The BB League Elite Four is the only Elite Four whose members use a full team of six Pokémon for their initial battles.
• Drayton informally names parts of the Elite Four by replacing “Four” with the number of people he is referring to; i.e. “Elite One”, “Elite Two”, and “Elite Three”.

Name origin

The Japanese name of the Elite Four literally translates to the Four Heavenly Kings, a term of Buddhist origins that refers to the group of four guardian deities presiding over each of the four cardinal directions. By extension, it connotes an ensemble of four leaders in a particular field, akin to the Big Four in English.

The English translation of "the big four" had also appeared in the Japanese and Korean version of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

In other languages

See also

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