Champion Cynthia (Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum)

If you want a battle to really test your Pokemon battling skills, look no farther then this powerhouse of a Champion.

Cynthia (Japanese: シロナ Shirona) is a character and boss fight in Pokemon Diamond & Pearl, its enhanced version Pokemon Platinum and it's remakes Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. She is the Champion of the Sinnoh region's Pokémon League. She is the fifth and final boss of the Pokemon League and is overall the twenty-sixth and final boss of all five games.

She is known as one of the hardest Pokémon trainers in the whole franchise and also known as the hardest Champion in the whole game. Even though she's an awesome character, her Champion battle is hated by masses. This page will focus only on her infamous battles in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Why Her Battles Suck

Most of Cynthia's Pokémon are hard to obtain or have less to no weaknesses whatsoever. They have very high stats as well.
Cynthia's battle in Diamond and Pearl is much tough as most of her Pokémon range from Level 60 to 68. In Platinum however the Level range is dropped from Level 58 to 62 but still the difficulty is not changed.
Her team is extremely powerful with tons of coverage moves:
1. Her first Pokemon is a Spiritomb with one of the best typing combinations ever. She has ABSOLUTELY NO WEAKNESS whatsoever until Generation 6 due to the inclusion of the Fairy-type. Her moveset consists of:
  - Dark Pulse: A powerful Dark-type Special Move which also causes the foe to flinch. It does super effective damage to those Ghost types doing neutral damage to it, as well as coverage for Psychic-types.
  - Shadow Ball: A powerful Ghost-type move that may also lower the opponent's Special Defense and is a cove-rife for Ghost and Psychic-types.
  - Psychic: A powerful Psychic-type move that also reduces the opponent's Special Defense, and is a coverage for Fighting and Poison-types.
  - Embargo (in Diamond and Pearl only): A Dark-type Status move that does not allow the opponent to use items for 2-5 turns.
  - Silver Wind (in Platinum only): A Bug-type Specie move which not only is a threat for Torterra (or any other Grass-type Pokemon) as well as Dark and Psychic-types, but also may eventually raise all the user's stats.
2. Her second Pokémon is a Milotic which has a really high Special Defense and a good HP and Special Attack. Her moves consist of:
  - Surf: The most powerful HM Water-type Special move and is a coverage for Fire, Rock and Ground-typed, but Milotic does STAB damage with it.
  - Aqua Ring (in Diamond and Pearl only):An annoying Water-Type Status move that heals the opponent at the end of each turn and yes it gets annoying real quick.
  - Dragon Pulse (in Platinum only): A powerful Dragon-type Special move which is really good at countering other dragons.
  - Mirror Coat: A Psychic-type Special Move which counters special attacks on it and does damage to the opponent doing 2x base power damage, as well as being a threat for Poison and Fighting-types.
  - Ice Beam: The biggest nightmare to every Grass, Ground, Flying and Dragon-type Pokémon, Water type's biggest enemy. If you think you can use Torterra to tackle her think again because she will outspeed it no matter what and Torterra has 4x weakness to Ice combined with a not-so-impressive Special Defense.
3. Her third Pokemon is Gastrodon in Diamond and Peal and Togekiss in Platinum. Gastrodon is the least threatening of her Pokemon due to her Average stats however nonetheless, she has a pro typing which only gives her a weakness to Grass. Her moveset consists of:
  - Muddy Water: A powerful Water-type Special move that reduces accuracy of the opponent and is a threat for Fire, Rock and Ground-type. However since it has 85 base accuracy, it may miss if the player is lucky.
  - Earthquake: One of the best attacking moves and the best Ground type move which destroys everything in it's way, and its a Ground-type, so Rock, Fire, Steal and Electric-types are not save.
  - Stone Edge: A powerful Rock-type move which not only has the advantage for Fire, Flying, Bug and Ice-type Pokemon, but has an increased critical hit ratio.
  - Sludge Bomb: A powerful Poison move that is for coverage against Grass-type,s and may also poison the opponent. However if the player has a Roserade or a Torterra, they will neutral damage.
4. In Platinum, Gastrodon replaces Togekiss which luckily does not have the super-annoying Serene Grace ability but the lackluster Hustle which reduces accuracy in exchange for increased attack. Not to mention, his Special Attack is quite high and his moveset consist of two moves that do not miss:
  - Aura Sphere: One of the best Fighting moves that ignores all accuracy and evasion stats (similar to Aerial Ace and Shock Wave but more powerful that it). It is threatening to Rock types which have really bad Special Defenses, Ice types, Steel-types like Empoleon and Magnezone users and Normal-types.
  - Shock Wave: An Electric-type move that also never misses. It is threatening to all those Water-type Pokemon that are using Ice moves to tackle him, and Flying-type Pokemon.
  - Air Slash: A Flying-type special move which is a huge threat to Grass (like Torterra users), Fighting (like Inferrnape users) and Bug-types. Not to mention, it also has a chance of causing the opponent to flinch.
  - Water Pulse: A Special Water-type move which is a threat to Rock, Ground and Fire-types (EX:Infernape) and can cause the opponent to get confused which is the most annoying status condition in the whole game.
5. Her fourth Pokémon is Lucario which is undoubtedly the if not one of the most pro Fighting Pokémon in the whole game. His movepool is quite powerful as it consists of:
  - Aura Sphere: A STAB Fighting-type move which can be a huge threat for Normal, Rock, Steel, Dark and Ice-type Pokemon.
  - Earthquake (In Diamond and Pearl only):For coverage against Fire, Electric, Rock and Steel-type Pokemon (like other Lucario users). It is also a huge threat to Empoleon and Inferrnape users if they don't outspeed him.
  - Extremespeed ( In Platinum): A Normal-type move which is basically Quick Attack with 2x base power. If both Pokémon are on low health, there's a big chance Lucario will use this move.
  - Physic (In Diamond and Pearl only): For coverage against other Fighting and Poison-type Pokémon.
  - Shadow Ball (In Platinum): For coverage against Ghost and Psychic-type Pokemon.
  - Dragon Pulse (In Diamond and Pearly only): For coverage against fellow Dragon-type Pokemon.
  - Stone Edge(In Platinum): For coverage against Fire, Bug, Ice and Flying types.
6. Her fifth and ace Pokémon is Garchomp whose name is enough to terrify all the other trainers with a versatile moveset, excellent stats, awesome typing for that generation and a Sitrus Berry which heals her once her HP goes down below 50%. In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl she has a Yache berry instead which negates damage taken from super effective Ice-Type moves. In addition she also has the Hidden Ability Rough Skin which damages your pokémon if they use move that makes contact with her. Her moveset consists of:
  - Dragon Rush: A powerful Dragon move that even allows the opponent to flinch and since Garchomp has a high chance of other Dragons, there's no chance of survival, its also a coverage for Dragon-type Pokemon as well.
  - Earthquake: For STAB Ground damage which is a coverage for Fire, Rock, Steel and Electric-type Pokemon. If you think you have Empoleon with Ice Beam to kill her due to her 4x weakness to Ice, think again.
    - Brick Break (In Diamond and Pearl only): For coverage against Ice, Dark, Rock, Steel and Normal-type Pokemon. Not only is it a huge threat to Weaville users due to it having 4x weakness to Fighting, but it also removes the effect the foe's Light Screen and Reflect.
  - Flamethrower (In Platinum only): A powerful Fire-type attack that may also leave the opponent with a burn. It is for coverage against her biggest threat Ice, as well as Grass, Bug and Steel-type Pokemon.
  - Giga Impact: An extremely powerful Normal-type move that is the physical variant of the extremely powerful Hyper Beam, however once she uses it, the next turn she needs to recharge.
  - Dragon Claw (In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl only): A Dragon move that is thankfully less hurting that Dragon Rush.
  - Swords Dance (In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl only): A move that raises Garchomp's attack stat by two stages.
  - Poison Jab (In Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl only): A strong poison-type move that not only is a threat to Grass- and Fairy-Type Pokémon, but also has a 30% chance of inflitcing poison.
7. Her last Pokemon is Roserade which out of all her Pokémon has the most weaknesses. Even though she's not much of a threat but her Special Attack is quite high and she can outspeed a lot of Pokémon. Her moveset consists of:
  - Energy Ball: A powerful Grass type Special Attack that may lower the opponent's Special Defense, as well as a coverage for Water, Rock and Ground-types.
  - Shadow Ball (In Diamond and Pearl only): A powerful Ghost-type move for coverage against Psychic types which its weak agents, as well as Ghost-type Pokemon.
  - Toxic (In Platinum): A move that badly poisons the foe.
  - Sludge Bomb: A Poison-type move and cause Roserade is a part Poison-type, gets a STAB boost, its also a threat for Grass-type Pokemon.
  - Extrasensory: A powerful Psychic move that may also cause the opponent to flinch, as well as being a threat to Fighting and Poison-type Pokemon.
Just like every other Champion, once her Pokémon's health becomes low, Cynthia will spam the infamous Full Restore which fully restores the Pokémon's health and cures every status condition.
All of Cynthia's Pokémon have moves that range from 60-150 base power.
Cynthia rematch battle after Stark Mountain in Platinum is much harder as her Pokémon now range from Level 74-78.
- This team was reused in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which is obtained after acquiring the National Pokédex.
  - An even harder team, with her Pokémon's levels ranging from 84-88 can be unlocked by defeating her post-National Pokédex team once and catching Heatran in Stark Mountain.
If you lose to Cynthia, you have to fight the Elite Four once again just like every other League Battle unless you save and decided to quit the game.

Redeeming Qualities

Cynthia is without doubt one of the best characters in the games.
Cynthia is a unique champion who did not need any Mega Evolution, Z-Move or any thing to prove her worth(Though she does use Mega Evolutions in the Battle tree).
Outside of Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, The battle with Cynthia is quite fun especially for those who love challenges.
Cynthia's battle theme is quite catchy.
At least Cynthia is better then Wallace.