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This guide will go over the complete strategy to win the Champion Cup finals and defeat Champion Leon in Pokemon Sword and Shield.
Facing the Champion Cup trainers and Champion Leon subsequently is one of the most demanding battles you have to face in Pokemon Sword and Shield. Each opponent has strengths and weaknesses that must be watched carefully.
This guide will aim to give you the best possible team for challenging this series of battles and emerging victorious. However, the trick to defeating your enemy lies in studying them thoroughly first.
Read More: How To Defeat the Elite 4 and Champion in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
Guide To Defeat Champion Cup Finals and Champion Leon in Pokemon Sword and Shield Overview
(Note: The * denotes the Gigantamax/Dynamax Pokemon on their team)
How To Defeat Fairy-Type Gym Leader Bede in Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Pokémon | Level | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Mawile | 51 | Play Rough, Iron Head, Crunch |
| Gardevoir | 51 | Dazzling Gleam, Psychic, Calm Mind, Wish |
| Rapidash | 52 | Psycho Cut, Take Down, Dazzling Gleam, Quick Attack |
| Hatterene* | 53 | Psychic, Dazzling Gleam, Calm Mind, Mystical Fire |
Bede will be the first trainer you face, right before the final round of the Champion Cup officially starts. You will notice that the entire team is comprised of Fairy-type Pokemon. Hatterene will be the Gigantamax Pokemon of this team. Use Steel and Poison type moves to decimate this team. Mawile will resist both the above mentioned types, but a Fire type move will be quick to put it down for good.
How To Defeat Water-Type Gym Leader Nessa in Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Pokémon | Level | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Golisopod | 51 | First Impression, Liquidation, Swords Dance, Shadow Claw |
| Pelipper | 51 | Roost, Air Slash, Water Pulse, Tailwind |
| Barraskewda | 52 | Liquidation, Throat Chop, Ice Fang, Drill Run |
| Seaking | 52 | Smart Strike, Megahorn, Aqua Ring, Waterfall |
| Drednaw* | 53 | Liquidation, Jaw Lock, Rock Tomb, Crunch |
Nessa will be the first official battle of the finals of the Champion Cup. Golisopod will be her opener and will likely try to use First Impression on you. Switch to something to minimize the damage dealt, or just open with a Pokemon who resists this. Pelipper is meant to help her team through its ability, Drizzle. However, this can backfire immediately, as now Thunder gets 100% accuracy. You can now use this to sweep her entire remaining team.
How To Defeat Fighting-Type Gym Leader Bea in Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Pokémon | Level | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Hawlucha | 52 | Flying Press, High Jump Kick, Bounce |
| Grapploct | 52 | Octolock, Submission, Bind, Mega Punch |
| Sirfetch’d | 53 | Leaf Blade, Slam, Brick Break, Brutal Swing |
| Falinks | 53 | No Retreat, Bulk Up, Close Combat, Rock Tomb |
| Machamp* | 54 | Cross Chop, Revenge, Fire Punch, Strength |
You will either face Bea or Allister depending on the version of the game you are playing. Regardless, both will go down to the team mentioned below. Bea’s Machamp will be her Gigantamax choice. This entire team poses little challenge since she uses pure Fighting type Pokemon (with the exception of Hawlucha). You can use any fast Flying, Psychic, or Fairy Pokemon to easily overcome this team.
How To Defeat Ghost-Type Gym Leader Allister in Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Pokémon | Level | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Dusknoir | 52 | Shadow Punch, Thunder Punch, Rock Tomb, Disable |
| Chandelure | 52 | Shadow Ball, Mystical Fire, Will-O-Wisp |
| Cursola | 53 | Hex, Strength Sap, Ancient Power, Amnesia |
| Polteageist | 53 | Shadow Ball, Protect, Nasty Plot, Giga Drain |
| Gengar* | 54 | Shadow Ball, Sludge Bomb, Dark Pulse, Hypnosis |
Allister is a more problematic opponent to deal with; however, this is mostly due to the typing he specializes in. The only good counters against Ghost type Pokemon are Dark and Ghost types. This limits your good attacking options to quite a few. However, Dragapult will outspeed this entire team and put them to sleep quite easily. Lastly, even if Gigantamax Gengar survives an attack, using Phantom Force will make it use up at least two turns.
How To Defeat Dragon-type Gym Leader Raihan in Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Pokémon | Level | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Torkoal | 53 | Lava Plume, Body Press, Solar Beam, Yawn |
| Goodra | 54 | Rain Dance, Surf, Thunder, Muddy Water |
| Turtonator | 54 | Sunny Day, Dragon Pulse, Shell Trap, Fire Blast |
| Flygon | 54 | Sandstorm, Dragon Claw, Earthquake, Crunch |
| Duraludon* | 55 | Dragon Claw, Body Press, Stone Edge, Iron Head |
You might be prepared to face a team of all Dragons; however, don’t start off with a Fairy type. Raihan opens up the battle with Torkoal. Open up with Dragapult, which will resist or be immune to all of its moves. This allows you to freely set up Dragon Dance and deal heavy damage to the rest of the team. If Dragapult goes down, you can bring out any Fairy type Pokemon to deal heavy damage to the rest. Duraludon might be an issue, being a Steel-type Pokemon. However, this adds a Fighting type weakness, which Corviknight can exploit.
How To Defeat Champion Leon in Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Pokémon | Level | Moves |
|---|---|---|
| Aegislash | 62 | King’s Shield, Shadow Ball, Sacred Sword, Flash Cannon |
| Dragapult | 62 | Shadow Ball, Flamethrower, Thunderbolt, Dragon Breath |
| Haxorus | 63 | Poison Jab, Iron Tail, Outrage, Earthquake |
| Mr. Rime | 64 | Teeter Dance, Psychic, Freeze-Dry, Thunderbolt |
| Inteleon | 64 | Snipe Shot, Dark Pulse, Mud Shot, Tearful Look |
| Charizard* | 65 | Fire Blast, Air Slash, Solar Beam, Ancient Power |
Leon will be the hardest challenge to overcome in this gauntlet for two reasons. Firstly, he is ten levels above the rest of his peers. Moreover, he is not restricted to focusing on any one type. However, the team recommended below will counter every one of Leon’s Pokemon systematically.
Charizard will be the biggest threat on this team, being the Gigantamax. However, you can drain its turns using Gastrodon and Protect simultaneously. After that, you can hit back with your own Gigantamax and clean up the battle.
Best Team To Defeat the Champion Cup and Champion Leon in Pokemon Sword and Shield
| Pokemon | Recommended Moves | Best Ability | Held Item | Nature(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cinderace | Pyro Ball, Iron Head, Swords Dance, Acrobatics | Libero | N/A | Adamant (+Atk, -SpA) or Jolly (+Spe, -SpA) |
| Dragapult | Dragon Darts, Dragon Dance, Phantom Force, Psychic Fangs | Clear Body | Focus Sash | Adamant (+Atk, -SpA) or Jolly (+Spe, -SpA) |
| Toxtricity | Boomburst, Overdrive, Thunder, Sludge Bomb | Punk Rock | Assault Vest | Modest (+SpA, -Atk) |
| Corviknight | Brave Bird, Iron head, Body Press, Bulk Up | Mirror Armor | Leftovers | Adamant (+Atk, -SpA) or Jolly (+Spe, -SpA) |
| Gardevoir | Psychic, Mooblast, Shadow Ball, Energy Ball | Trace | Choice Scarf | Modest (+SpA, -Atk) |
| Gastrodon | Earth Power, Ice Beam, Surf, Protect | Storm Drain | Sitrus Berry | Calm (+SpD, -Atk) |
How To Use The Best Team To Defeat the Champion Cup and Champion Leon in Pokemon Sword and Shield
You should follow this strategy to dismantle the Galar Champion Cup finalists and their Champion Leon:
- Cinderace holds no item to power up Acrobatics. This allows you to hit hard and fast against Bea’s team as well. Moreover, having Libero will give you a STAB (same type attack boost) on all your moves. Cinderace will also be crucial in starting off against Aegislash and Mawile (versus Leon and Bede, respectively).
- Dragapult is one of the most important parts of this team. The setup of Dragon Dance and Dragon Darts is lethal to almost any team or Pokemon you are facing in the above lineup. Psychic Fangs merely exists to help you deal extra damage against Bea if necessary. Dragapult counters almost all of Raihan’s team, alongside Allister’s team as well.
- Toxtricity is mainly covering against Nessa’s entire team. Apart from this, the Punk Rock ability further boosts the damage of Boomburst to ridiculous amounts. If you time Toxtricity right when Pelipper gets played, then Thunder can deal a lot of damage to the team.
- Corviknight is a Flying/Steel Pokemon that not only counters Bede’s entire team but also does excellently against Bea as well. Moreover, Duraludon is also a good matchup for this Pokemon.
- Gardevoir is just a good Pokemon all around. Its Psychic/Fairy typing also lends a hand to its spot on this team. Psychic will annihilate Bea’s entire team, while Moonblast is great at countering most of Raihan’s team, along with some of Allister’s team as well. Moreover, it has great type coverage, which allows it to be used against lots of trainers with great performance.
- Gastrodon is the last pick on this team and likely the most interchangeable one. The basic use of this Pokemon is to use Protect to stall turns from Gigantamax Pokemon. Along with that, it also hits Ground and Water type weaknesses. However, it likely has the most useful ability in the team by far. Storm Drain provides immense switching potential, where you can switch out your Cinderace being attacked for Gastrodon and negate all damage.
Best IVs and EVs To Train for This Team
You should try to have as high IVs as possible, of course. However, even if you don’t, this match is still winnable. You should focus on Special Attack EVs for Cinderace, Toxtricity, and Gardevoir. Meanwhile, Dragapult and Corviknight will definitely need Attack EVs. Speed EVs are great for most of your attackers (except Toxtricity) but not extremely necessary. Meanwhile, Gastrodon will prefer HP EVs to tank hits and make Gigantamax transformations run out.
Tips and Tricks To Defeat the Champion Cup and Champion Leon in Pokemon Sword and Shield
- Gastrodon’s Ability gives it great switching potential against any Water type Pokemon. These include Inteleon or any part of Nessa’s team.
- You get Eternatus through the story right before the fight with Leon. You can put that Pokemon into your team to hard counter Leon’s Charizard.
- Use Cinderace’s ability, Libero, properly to avoid super effective hits and dish back decent damage.
- Try to keep Type advantage during matchups, and you will eventually take down every opponent in your way.
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