Pokemon Light Platinum features two regions, Zhery and Lauren, each with its own League, Elite 4 and Champion. In addition, outside of the game’s storyline, it also features a World Championship, a much harder competition than the Elite 4, and with a very special Leader as the final opponent.

The total number of battles ascends to 33: the 8 Gym Leaders, Elite 4 and Champion of Zhery, the 8 Gym Leaders, Elite 4 and Champion from Lauren, and the 7 rounds included in the World Championship. If you’re ready, let’s begin.

ZHERY REGION

ZHERY LEAGUE

First Gym: Inhore Town

Gym Leader: Jessica

This Gym focuses on the Bug type. Jessica, the leader, uses a team of 4 Pokemon: lv18 Skorupi, lv18 Whirlipede, lv20 Ariados, all three Bug-Poison dual-type, and lv22 Vespiquen, Bug-Flying dual-type.

This Gym poses no threat at all. The levels aren’t high, and the choices are high. Before even reaching the Gym, you can get a starter from each of the first 3 generations, so just pick one of the Fire type, be it Charmander (Charizard can be useful due to its Flying type later on), Cyndaquil or Torchic (Blaziken can be a good choice as a Fighting type Pokemon). If you don’t want to use any starters, you can always find a Growlithe on your way to the Gym.

Second Gym: Esmerald City

Gym Leader: Esmeralda

Better not say anything about the names. The specialty here are Grass type Pokemon. Esmeralda’s team consists again of 4 Pokemon: lv25 Ivysaur, Grass-Poison dual-type, lv26 Jumpluff, Grass-Flying dual-type, lv26 Servine, pure Grass type, and lv27 Torterra, Grass-Ground dual-type.

The levels aren’t that high once again. Also, Fire is again the main weakness of the team. As an alternate choice, you can also use a Flying type Pokemon, easy to find in the initial routes of the game. Be careful with letting Esmeralda attack, she likes to use powder attacks.

Third Gym: Seanport City

Gym Leader: Lucas

The Water Gym of the region is here. Lucas uses 4 Pokemon: lv32 Octillery, pure Water type, lv33 Tentacruel, Water-Poison dual-type, lv34 Gyarados, Water-Flying dual-type, and lv35 Kingdra, Water-Dragon dual-type.

The Fire Pokemon we used so much up until Esmerald City should get a rest here. The first choice you could think about  is one of the Grass starters you picked at the start of the game. Not that good choice. Octillery knows Aurora Beam to specifically kill Grass types. Also, Grass isn’t super-effective against Tentacruel, Gyarados or Kingdra, so better forget about it. The choice here would be an Electric type Pokemon. Elekid, obtainable at the start, Pichu, Shinx or Blitzle, any of them should be used. Keep in mind that Kingdra’s only weakness is Dragon.

Fourth Gym: Dardusk City

Gym Leader: Thomas

The only non-elemental Gym in all Zhery. Ghost is the specialty here. Thomas is also the last Leader to use a team of 4 Pokemon: lv35 Drifblim, Ghost-Flying dual-type, lv37 Mismagius, lv38 Dusknoir, both pure Ghost type, and lv40 Gengar, Ghost-Poison dual-type.

Ghost’s major weakness is itself, so it can be a double-edged weapon to use Ghost type Pokemon in here. Furthermore, neither Sableye nor Spiritomb are yet available to catch to bypass any weakness. The best choice would be a Dark type Pokemon. You can try to catch Murkrow, evolve a Corphish you found earlier or, the very best choice, use the Zorua you found in Esmerald City.

Fifth Gym: Groment City

Gym Leader: Atlas

The second half of the Zhery League starts with this Gym, specializing in Ground type Pokemon. Atlas is also the first Leader to use 5 Pokemon: lv43 Camerupt, Fire-Ground dual-type, lv44 Claydol, Ground-Psychic dual-type, lv44 Excadrill, Ground-Steel dual-type, lv45 Krookodile, Ground-Dark dual-type, and lv45 Rampardos, pure Rock type.

First of all, why the hell is he using a Rampardos? Well, makes no difference, Rock shares many weaknesses with Ground, and even has a bigger number of them. Anyway, the Water starter you chose earlier will be the star protagonist in this show. Don’t want to use starters? Then go fishing, or some are even in the wild, like Poliwag, with no water nearby. Your Grass type starter can also have a role in here, but Camerupt and Excadrill are there to make you forget about it. Excadrill and Krookodile are real powerhouses here, and Claydol can cause some trouble with its Hyper Beam (Zoroark, I owe you a big one for defeating this guy).

Sixth Gym: Serenity City

Gym Leader: Rayner

This Gym focuses on Electric type Pokemon. Rayner, the leader, uses 5 Pokemon: lv46 Ampharos, lv46 Manectric, lv47 Luxray, lv47 Zebstrika and lv48 Electivire, all of them pure Electric type.

The Electric type has only one weakness: Ground. Also, Ground has a resistance against Electric. So, no other choice but a Ground type Pokemon to use here. The mines in Groment are full of them, as is the desert and the mountains. As an alternate choice, there’s Swampert, if you chose Mudkip as your Gen. III starter. Dual-types like Swampert can come in handy against the E4, keep this in mind since we’re getting close to it.

Seventh Gym: Snowce City

Gym Leader: Sophia

A city completely covered in snow… Snowy routes around it… Of course, this Gym couldn’t focus in anything else but Ice. Sophia uses 5 Pokemon: lv51 Piloswine, Ground-Ice dual-type, lv52 Lapras, lv52 Walrein, Water-Ice both of them, lv53 Abomasnow, Ice-Grass dual-type, and lv54 Froslass, Ice-Ghost dual-type.

Usually, Ice calls for Fire. But Fire hasn’t got that much power here. Piloswine, Froslass and Abomasnow, specially Abomasnow, can be dealt with Fire. Watch out for Piloswine’s Ground attacks, since it’s super effective against Fire. Charizard, being a Fire-Flying dual-type, avoids this weakness. For Lapras and Walrein, better use Electric, since Grass would be weak against Ice. If you want to try something different, go with Fighting.

Eighth Gym: Drakebreath City

Gym Leader: Wesley

The last Leader in the Zhery League. Of course, a Dragon Gym. Wesley’s team is rather formidable: lv58 Kingdra, Water-Dragon dual-type, lv60 Flygon, lv61 Garchomp, both of them Ground-Dragon, lv63 Haxorus, pure Dragon type, and lv64 Dragonite, Dragon-Flying dual-type.

As happened in Dardusk City, the main weakness of Dragon is Dragon itself. Once again, the double-edge sword of using the same type as your opponent. Nothing stops you from going for it, maybe with Dratini, maybe with Kingdra, maybe with the almighty Giratina. An easier way would be to use an Ice type Pokemon. Except Kingdra, who has no weakness except for Dragon, and Haxorus, who receives x2 damage, Garchomp, Flygon and Dragonite receive x4 damage from Ice. Getting an Ice Pokemon is easy on your way to Snowce City. At the start of the game, where the Safari Zone is, there’s also an Ice Zone, to catch an Ice type from the get-go.

ELITE FOUR & CHAMPION

 These are the five greatest trainers of the region. They’re fought in an specific order, and you cannot go to the Center to heal up your party, so better go prepared with Potions, Revive, Full Restore and Ether. I must say that it’s not that necessary if your Pokemon are well prepared. Expert players will assume I mean IV training. No, that’s not necessary neither. You only need a decent level (60-65 and above), a good moveset, a wide array of Pokemon types and attacks and, to play a minimal strategy, hold items.

Since you must face all five trainers in succession, you’re limited to just 6 Pokemon. If you do the right choices, you can have an empty space. By the right choices, I mean having the widest possible array of types and attacks to fend off against any threat. The types and attacks you would need are, at most, seven: Water, Ground, Fighting, Fire, Electric, Ice and Dragon. Combining any of these types between them, such as Swampert being Water-Ground, Kingdra being Water-Dragon, Infernape and Blaziken being Fire-Fighting, or a lot of Water-Ice typings, can save you a spot in the team.

To serve as example, my team consisted of Swampert (Water-Ground, excellent typing against Fire), Lucario (Fighting-Steel, double resistance against Dark), Luxray (pure Electric type, little more choices here), Charizard (Fire-Flying, to avoid Ground) and Cloyster (Water-Ice, just wanted it, and then discovered its amazing Defense). As you can see, their levels (62-72), typings and hold items to power up their attacks a little allowed me to have an empty spot.

Elite Four #1: Aisey

The first obstacle in the path to glory. Aisey, as Atlas, uses Ground Pokemon: lv65 Steelix, Steel-Ground dual-type, lv65 Claydol, Ground-Psychic dual-type, lv66 Torterra, Grass-Ground dual-type, lv66 Hippowdon, pure Ground type, and lv67 Krookodile, Ground-Dark dual-type.

Like with Atlas, better use Water here. The only exception would be Torterra, but it dies easily against Ice, since it receives x4 damage.

Elite Four #2: Triton

The Elite Four version of Lucas, specializing in Water Pokemon: lv67 Blastoise, lv68 Samurott, lv69 Wailord, all three pure Water type, lv67 Gyarados, Water-Flying dual-type, and lv68 Tentacruel, Water-Poison dual-type.

As with Lucas, Electric all the way. Gyarados even gets x4 damage thanks to its Flying type, so Triton will hardly pose any harm.

Elite Four #3: Lucia

The non-elemental member of the group, Lucia focuses on Dark Pokemon: lv69 Houndoom, Dark-Fire dual-type, lv69 Honchkrow, Dark-Flying dual-type, lv70 Scrafty, Fighting-Dark dual-type, lv70 Umbreon and lv71 Absol, both pure Dark type.

Fighting is the key here, even with Scrafty. Honchkrow is the exception, better use Electric or Flying on it to ensure a nice victory.

Elite Four #4: Elizabeth

The last member pretends to be the toughest by using Steel Pokemon: lv71 Empoleon, Steel-Water dual-type, lv72 Skarmory, Steel-Flying dual type, lv72 Aggron, Steel-Rock dual-type, lv71 Bronzong and lv73 Metagross, both Steel-Psychic dual-type.

The Steel type provides few weaknesses, so sometimes its better to focus on the secondary type weaknesses. The only weaknesses for Steel are Fire, Ground and Fighting. Fire is useless against Empoleon, Ground has no effect on Skarmory and Bronzong, and Fighting has little use against Bronzong, Metagross and Skarmory. So, let’s analyze each case separately.

Empoleon has weakness against Fighting and Ground for being Steel, and against Electric for being Water. Skarmory has a weakness against Fire for being Steel, and against Electric and Ice for being Flying. Aggron has a weakness for Water, and double weakness against Fighting and Ground. Bronzong and Metagross only have weakness against Fire, although Metagross also has a weakness against Ground (Bronzong avoids this with Levitate).

Basically, use Fighting or Electric against the starter Empoleon and then stick with Fire, or keep Fighting if Aggron comes out, or keep Electric if Skarmory comes out. Also, 49 EXP for defeating Metagross? For those of you who aren't aware of it yet, the game is heavily and badly glitched.

Champion Kaohri

As the best trainer in the region, Kaohri doesn’t focus on a specific typing. Not his whole team, that is. He will also use a full team of 6 Pokemon: lv74 Charizard, Fire-Flying dual-type, lv75 Lucario, Fighting-Steel dual-type, lv75 Salamence, Dragon-Flying dual-type, lv76 Rampardos, pure Rock type, lv76 Garchomp, Dragon-Ground dual-type and lv77 Haxorus, pure Dragon type.

Time to show off what your team can do. Water against Charizard, Ground against Lucario, Fighting against Rampardos, and Ice against the three dragons. For a while, it may seem as Elizabeth was more difficult than Kaohri, and I’m still convinced she is.

Well, Kaohri is no more the Champion. The newly crowned Champion has no time to waste. A new region awaits to be pulverized.

LAUREN REGION

LAUREN LEAGUE

Even if the journey starts off again, the wild Pokemon are at lv40 in the very first city. The levels here aren’t raised that much, and basically the same team that took Zhery’s Elite Four by storm will do the same in Lauren.

First Gym: Rocavely City

Gym Leader: Rochelle

Back to basics, teams of few Pokemon, low level and minimal difficulty. Rochelle focuses on Rock Pokemon, using a team of 3 Pokemon: lv64 Armaldo, Rock-Bug dual-type, lv64 Bastiodon, Rock-Steel dual-type and lv64 Aerodactyl, Rock-Flying dual-type.

Easy, very easy. Fighting against the first two, Ice or Electric for Aerodactyl. Of course, more choices are available, but it’s not like you need them.

Second Gym: Skyner City

Gym Leader: Rebecca

Another small gym, Rebecca using only 3 Flying Pokemon: lv64 Staraptor, Normal-Flying dual-type, lv65 Honchkrow, Dark-Flying dual-type and lv66 Salamence, Dragon-Flying dual-type.

Ice has no opposition, as well as Electric. Second Gym, and we still haven’t equaled the levels of Zhery’s Elite Four. Far too easy.

Third Gym: Kosaka City

Gym Leader: Lucy

I thought I would find a Fighting Gym way before this one. Anyway, yet again, Lucy uses only 3 Pokemon: lv66 Poliwrath, Water-Fighting dual-type, lv67 Lucario, Fighting-Steel dual-type and lv68 Machamp, pure Fighting type.

Poliwrath can be dispatched with Electric, Lucario with Ground or Fighting. Machamp can be defeated either by Psychic or Flying. Good chance to use your Flying Pokemon in this battle. If you used Medicham as the Fighting for Zhery’s Elite Four, here it has one more use.

Fourth Gym: Flamerny City

Gym Leader: Luke

Halfway through Lauren, and still looking for some opposition. Weak leaders, short teams. Anyway, Luke, a Fire Pokemon user: lv68 Blaziken, Fire-Fighting dual-type, lv68 Arcanine, pure Fire type and lv70 Charizard, Fire-Flying dual-type.

Well, little else to say. Water against all since Ground doesn’t work on Charizard.

Fifth Gym: Merydian City

Gym Leader: Aizen

What a way to start the second half of the Lauren League: a Normal Pokemon Gym, and still no more than 3 Pokemon on the team. That’s what Aizen uses: lv70 Purugly, lv71 Miltank and lv72 Snorlax, all three pure Normal type.

The only way to fight Normal is with Fighting. Lucario, being Steel type, provides resistance to almost anything they can launch at you, while also providing good Fighting attacks. No difficulty at all.

Sixth Gym: Rycian City

Gym Leader: Soka

Finally, a team of 4 Pokemon for the Leader. And again, a type specialty we didn’t see before. Soka focuses in Poison: lv72 Crobat, Poison-Flying dual-type, lv73 Scolipede, Bug-Poison dual-type, lv73 Drapion, Poison-Dark dual-type and lv74 Toxicroak, Fighting-Poison dual-type.

At least, the typing is wide, and allows to bypass weaknesses. Psychic is useful, x4 damage for Toxicroak, but unuseful against Drapion. Ground can work, but not with Crobat. Electric or Ice should take Crobat out, and Fighting should do with Drapion.

Seventh Gym: Noormeak City

Gym Leader: Kilroy

Screw you, Wesley. I was spirited up with the Sixth Gym being competitive, and you just step back in the Seventh. Kilroy moves back to use 3 Pokemon on his team: lv75 Bronzong, Steel-Psychic dual-type, lv74 Espeon and lv76 Alakazam, both pure Psychic type.

Bronzong can be killed with Fire. Espeon and Alakazam have the exact same weaknesses as you used against Thomas in Dardusk. Ghost and Dark are your priorities. Spiritomb anyone? Or Giratina? Maybe Gengar? Nah, better stick with Zoroark.

Eighth Gym: Ironnem City

Gym Leader: Stella

The last Leader. Wesley used 5 Pokemon, Stella only 3. Wesley used Dragons, Stella uses Steel. Not a bad choice, due to the great resilience of these Pokemon, but 3 is just too low. Anyway, the last team before the Elite Four: lv77 Steelix, Steel-Ground dual-type, lv77 Aggron, Steel-Rock dual-type and lv78 Metagross, Steel-Psychic dual-type.

We already faced a decent Steel trainer in Zhery, named Elizabeth, who was placed as the last Elite Four, right under the Champion. Defeating Stella is just too easy compared to the battle against Elizabeth. Fire, Fighting or Ground, any of the three will do fine, because right now not even Metagross is hard to defeat without the proper Pokemon.

ELITE FOUR & CHAMPION

The rules of he Elite Four have already been explained above. In my honest opinion, the team used here should be no different than the one which conquered Zhery. You can change the Pokemon if you want, but try to keep the typings.

Elite Four #1: Robin

The first trainer to defeat is Robin. As happened with Rochelle in the first Gym, Robin is far below what you would expect. She focuses on the Poison type, much like Soka: lv73 Venomoth, Bug-Poison dual-type, lv73 Muk, pure Poison type, lv74 Scolipede, Poison-Bug dual-type, lv74 Venusaur, Grass-Poison dual-type and lv75 Nidoqueen, Ground-Poison dual-type.

Poison only has weakness against Psychic and Ground. The first isn’t useful in the whole Elite Four, so stick up with Ground. Muk and Nidoqueen will fall for it. For Scolipede, Venomoth and Venusaur, better try Fire.

Elite Four #2: Weiss

Yet another Ground specialist. The third, if I didn’t miscount. Weiss uses almost the exact same team as Aisey, with a little bit more levels, and just one replacement, an incredibly useless one if you ask me: lv75 Claydol, Ground-Psychic dual-type, lv75 Camerupt, Fire-Ground dual-type, lv76 Steelix, Steel-Ground dual-type, lv76 Torterra, Grass-Ground dual-type and lv77 Hippowdon, pure Ground type.

What killed Aisey will kill Weiss even more. Use Ice, except with Camerupt and Steelix, or you can use Ice just against Torterra and then Water against any other foe. Not the best Ground team in existence, to be honest.

Elite Four #3: Honey

Lucia also has a counterpart in Lauren’s Elite Four as Honey. As happened with Wise, the only difference is one replacement and slightly higher levels: lv77 Sableye, Ghost-Dark dual-type, lv77 Honchkrow, Dark-Flying dual-type, lv78 Houndoom, Fire-Dark dual-type, lv78 Umbreon and lv79 Absol, both pure Dark Type.

Same as with Lucia, Fighting clears the battle in the blink of an eye. Honchkrow is an exception, Ice or Electric should bring it down. Sableye has no weaknesses, and has a resistance against Normal, Fighting and Psychic. It’s not a fearsome opponent, since its attacks aren’t powerful, nor does it have a good defense. Use anything here, maybe the most powerful Pokemon in terms of raw power in your team.

Elite Four #4: Rayne

Yet another Dragon user. Well, as the strongest Elite Four, just below the Champion, it can make sense. But Rayne’s team is far from dangerous: lv79 Kingdra, Water-Dragon dual-type, lv80 Flygon, Ground-Dragon dual-type, lv79 Altaria, lv80 Dragonite and lv81 Salamence, all three Dragon Flying dual-type.

Dragon has a weakness for Ice. Ground has a weakness for Ice. Flying has a weakness for Ice. Summarizing: the easiest team to obliterate in the whole game. Of course, they are powerful, but that’s only dangerous when they have time to make a move, and having double weakness means they won’t have the chance. Kingdra protects itself from Ice thanks to being Water. Using Dragon, its only weakness, can be a double-edged sword. Try to use something else, maybe Electric, so as to resist its Water attacks.

Champion Blake

As Kaohri, Blake uses a mixed team. I must say it’s the most balanced team in the game, a nice team to finish the gameplay. Your last 6 opponents are: lv82 Charizard, Fire-Flying dual-type, lv82 Garchomp, Dragon-Ground dual-type, lv83 Arcanine, pure Fire type, lv83 Lucario, Fighting-Steel dual-type, lv84 Zoroark, pure Dark type and lv85 Hydreigon, Dragon-Dark dual-type.

A really powerful team, in all honesty. Charizard and Arcanine can be taken down by Water, Lucario and Zoroark by Fighting and Garchomp and Hydreigon by Ice. Be careful with the stats, the Dragons have an incredible attack, while Charizard and Arcanine are really fast.

After the win, the game is technically over. A few more fights here and there will enable you to catch all the Legendaries the game includes, but that’s all. However, there’s still a big challenge awaiting: the World Championship!

POKEMON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

The format of this championship is similar to the Elite Four, but with a few tweaks. It features two more battles, a whole new level of difficulty, and also you cannot use items in between battles. This last rule will be deadly as you progress within the tournament. Be extremely careful with your team, though. Although I emerged victorious with only 5 Pokemon (Lauren Elite Four team), it was quite a close match, even with such low levels (75 at most).

First Round

The first round is a glimpse of what will come after you later on. A random trainer will use 6 Pokemon at level 60. Remember: no items to be used between rounds, so careful with the damage received and running out of Power Points to execute your attacks.

Second Round

A little step forward. Another random trainer will use 6 Pokemon at level 65. Should be as troublesome as the first round.

Third Round

Yet another random trainer, using 6 Pokemon at level 70. Things will start to get interesting from here on.

Fourth Round

Here, the trainers, although still random, are renowned trainers you have faced up until now. My opponent was Silver. The team again is random, but the levels are 80. You’re starting to get in trouble.

Fifth Round

Another randomly chosen renowned trainer stands in your way. Mine was Diamond. 6 Pokemon at level 85. That’s stronger than Blake, Lauren’s Champion. Sweat falling down your face as battles get tougher over time.

Sixth Round

The last obstacle before your fated battle. Steven dared to oppose me at this point. A full team of level 90 Pokemon. Talk about a hard time.

Seventh Round: Champion of Champions

The last battle, the toughest one, even without having to face those 6 opponents in a row beforehand. The opponent, no one else than Ash Ketchum himself. Winning against him won’t be easy, and if you want an advice, build your team for the whole championship with the goal of defeating Ash. Trust me, you will need it.

Ash’s team is the greatest: Venusaur, Grass-Poison dual-type, Charizard, Fire-Flying dual-type, Blastoise, pure Water type, Espeon, pure Psychic type, Snorlax, pure Normal type and, of course, Pikachu, pure Electric type. Levels? 100. The whole team. MASSIVE.

So, the key to win is to exploit the few weaknesses this team offers. Water for Charizard, Fire for Venusaur, Electric for Blastoise, Fighting for Snorlax and Ground for Pikachu. Espeon is the least dangerous, so feel free to use anything against it, or if you want, use Ghost or Dark against it. Want to splash Sableye or Spiritomb against it? It could be worth the try.

This is the end of the road. Every single trainer in the game has tasted defeat at the hands of your Pokemon. Did I play a role on that?