Aaron is the first member of the Elite Four in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and is the first hurdle on your way to defeating Cynthia, the Champion. In Pokémon BDSP, you will face Aaron on 3 occasions. He’ll have more or less the same Pokémon each time but at varying levels.
Our guide below details the Pokémon Aaron will use in each of the three battles and the strategy you can employ to overcome them. So, let’s get started!
How to Defeat Aaron in Pokemon BDSP?
Regarding the fighting strategy for the first battle against Aaron, you would want to have Infernape in your team, as it can devastate each of Aaron’s Pokémon aside from Drapion.
You would also want a strong Fire- and Flying-type Pokémon in your team, like Staraptor, since, apart from Drapion, all Pokémon of Aaron in the first battle are vulnerable to Fire and Flying.
Staraptor is also a good option because it resists the Bug-type attacks many of Aaron’s Pokémon use.
Heracross is one of his strongest Pokémon, so deal with it quickly using flying-type Pokémon moves as flying-type damage is 4x effective against it. However, you can’t get too carefree with flying-type Pokémon against Heracross because of its rockslide move against flying types.
Moving back to Drapion, its impressive defense and speed stats of 110 and 95 respectively, as well as the access to STAB Cross-Poison, make it hard to beat.
Your best bet against Drapion is to send out your finest Special Attacker and target its weak spots to lower its Special Defense.
Also, be sure not to use Poison, Dark, Psychic, Ghost, or Grass attacks against Drapion, as they’ll prove ineffective. Also, Drapion’s only weakness is ground-type attacks. So, have at least one good ground-type Pokémon with you.
Some of your best options for a Special Attacker against Drapion could include Magnezone, Magmortar, Palkia, Lucario, and Dialga.
How to defeat Aaron during his rematch?
Regarding the two rematches against Aaron, having the same types of Pokémon will serve you the best. However, for the second rematch, to counter the moves of Flygon, you would have a strong Ice-, Fairy-, or Dragon-type Pokémon, at your disposal as well.
You will have to prepare your team in advance as you aren’t just prepping for Aron but for battles against the Elite 4 and the champion, so keep that in mind while preparing the team you’ll be bringing to battle. Once Aaron has been defeated, go on ahead to take on Bertha.
Aaron’s Pokémon
Before we get into the strategy part it’s important to know what Pokémon Aaron has in his party in Pokémon BDSP. His party mainly consists of bug-type Pokémon.
Dustox
- Type: Bug/Poison
- Level: 53
- Weaknesses: Flying, Psychic, Fire, and Rock Type
- Moves: Toxic, Bug Buzz, Moonlight, Light Screen
Heracross
- Type: Bug/Fighting
- Level: 54
- Weaknesses: Psychic, Flying, Fire, and Fairy Type
- Moves: Earthquake, Rock Slide, Façade, Brick Break
Vespiquen
- Type: Bug/Flying
- Level: 54
- Weaknesses: Flying, Ice, Fire, and Electric Type
- Moves: Acrobatics, Attack Order, Aerial Ace, Defend Order
Beautifly
- Type: Bug/Flying
- Level: 53
- Weaknesses: Flying, Fire, Ice, and Electric Type
- Moves: Bug Buzz, Shadow Ball, Psychic, Quiver Dance
Drapion
- Type: Poison/Dark
- Level: 57
- Weaknesses: Ground
- Moves: Cross Poison, Night Slash, Earthquake, X-Scissor
Best Pokemon Team to Defeat Aaron
The best team to defeat Aaron in the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl consists of the following Pokémon.
- Infernape
- Staraptor
- Garchomp
Infernape
Infernape is one of the best Pokémon to fight against the Gym leader, Aaron. However, Infernape is only available through evolving Monferno. You can use this Pokémon against Aaron’s entire lineup except Drapion. It has some of the best abilities for the matchup, like Blaze and Iron Fist. Another option you can go with if you don’t have Infernape is Rapidash.
Staraptor
The second good option to use against Aaron is Staraptor. As you know, most of Aaron’s Pokémon are Bug-type and weak against Fire and Flying-type Pokémon. This Pokémon is also good against most of his Pokémon except the Drapion.
Staraptor has great moves like Aerial Ace, Close Combat, and Brave Bird. Using these moves, you can easily defeat most of Aaron’s lineup.
Garchomp
The third and last Pokémon that will help you defeat Drapion and another Pokémon Aaron possesses is Garchomp. Garchomp is a Dark and Ground-type Pokémon that is great to use against Drapion.
It has above-average defenses, great attacks, and speed. However, defeating Drapion is not that easy, as he will use full restores.
You should have a ground-type move ready for Drapion to defeat it without much problem. You can use moves like Bulldoze, Dragon Claw, and Earthquake against Drapion for large chunks of damage
