Optimizing Elite 4 runs with Amulet Coin

[Cleveland]

NOTE: This thread will not rehash overall Elite 4 team strategy as covered in Midou’s thread and Rygar’s thread. Refer to those for threads for more details on that. In short, the following pokes are highly recommended:

-Houndoom with Early Bird ability with Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, Taunt, Nasty Plot
-Electrode with Explosion OR Cryogonal with Ice Beam, Explosion
-Heracross (high ATK) with Moxie ability, holding Choice Scarf, with Brick Break, Close Combat & Stone Edge
-Salamence with Moxie ability, holding Choice Scarf, with Dragon Claw & Outrage
-Weavile with Ice Punch, Night Slash, Swords Dance

Spoiler: Other good options

-Ambipom/Ninjask/Crobat/Persian/Scyther with U-Turn
-Ninetales with Drought ability with Flamethrower
-Infernape with max speed, Close Combat, Taunt, Swords Dance, Protect
-Gyarados with Moxie ability, holding Leftovers, with Waterfall, Iron Head, Taunt, Dragon Dance
-Gyarados with Moxie ability holding Choice Scarf
-Starmie with Analytic ability holding Choice Specs with coverage moves
-Cloyster with Skill Link ability holding Focus Sash with Shell Smash, Icicle Spear, Rock Blast, Ice Shard
-Magmortar with Flamethrower
-Blaziken with Speed Boost ability with Protect, Swords Dance, Brick Break
-High ATK Salamence with Moxie ability with Dragon Dance, Dragon Claw, Outrage
-Tyranitar with Dragon Dance
-Dragonite with Dragon Dance
-Glaceon holding Choice Scarf

There are other good pokes as well, read through this thread for additional suggestions.

Hey All,

I’m creating this thread to share with you all the method I’ve come up with to optimize Elite 4 runs: Maximizing Pd earnings while maintaining efficiency using Amulet Coin. If you aren’t aware, Amulet Coin doubles the Pd earned if the holder is involved in the battle for at least one turn.

Spoiler: Ultimate Efficiency Method

Houndoom with Early Bird ability, Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, Taunt, Nasty Plot
Heracross (high ATK) with Moxie ability, Choice Scarf, Brick Break, Close Combat, Stone Edge, Megahorn
Electrode with Explosion, Thunderbolt, Volt Switch
Salamence with Moxie ability, Choice Scarf, Dragon Claw, Outrage
Weavile with Ice Punch, Night Slash, Swords Dance

Lisa (Grass)
Houndoom holding Amulet Coin
-Flamethrower everything

Cameron (Psychic)
Houndoom holding Amulet Coin
-Nasty Plot on Exeggutor, then Dark Pulse everything until...
-Flamethrower on Metagross

Joey (Normal)
Houndoom holding Amulet Coin
-Nasty Plot until Ambipom faints you
Heracross holding Choice Scarf
-Sweep with Brick Break

Note: You're simply sacrificing Houndoom to start. Brick Break is recommended over Close Combat because it makes the battle go significantly faster (less prompts). In the highly unlikely scenario that Chansey tanks and uses Toxic, just use an antidote to cure the poison.

Samuel (Dragon)
Electrode holding Amulet Coin
-Explosion right away
Salamence holding Choice Scarf
-Dragon Claw everything

Note: You're simply sacrificing Electrode here, but doing some damage to Garchomp first to ensure Salamence can sweep.

Samuel (Dragon) Alternate Option
Cryogonal holding Amulet Coin
-Ice Beam until Kingdra, then Explosion
Salamence holding Choice Scarf
-Outrage everything

Note: This alternate option is slightly more efficient than Electrode, though requires a bit more thinking. It also saves health for your Salamence, which is my favorite part. If you accidentally click Ice Beam on Kingdra, no problem, just use Explosion next. Also, you'll want a Cryogonal with a good speed IV to ensure you're never outsped.

Alexa (Champion)

Weavile holding Amulet Coin
-Swords Dance 3x, then Night Slash on Froslass & Arcanine
-Ice Punch everyone else

Note: Weavile is so smooth against the champ, particularly since it cannot be frozen. If things get weird you always have Sala & Hera for cleanups.

Spoiler: 4 poke method

In this method, only 4 pokes are needed:

Houndoom with Flamethrower, Dark Pulse, Taunt, Nasty Plot
Infernape with max speed, Close Combat, Taunt, Swords Dance, Protect
Salamence with Moxie, Choice Scarf, Dragon Claw, Outrage
Gyarados with Moxie, Leftovers, Waterfall, Stone Edge, Taunt, Dragon Dance

The other 2 spots can be whatever you want. I've been using a Choice Specs Starmie with coverage and then a poke holding EXP share for training.


Lisa (Grass)
Houndoom holding Amulet Coin
-Flamethrower everything

Cameron (Psychic)
Houndoom holding Amulet Coin
-Taunt & Nasty Plot on Exeggutor, then Dark Pulse everything until...
-Flamethrower on Metagross

Joey (Normal)
Infernape holding Amulet Coin
-Protect, Close Combat on Ambipom
-Taunt & Swords Dance on Chansey, then Close Combat everything

Samuel (Dragon)
Infernape holding Amulet Coin
-Close Combat or Flamethrower once then Taunt/Swords Dance until Garchomp faints you
Salamence holding Choice Scarf
-Dragon Claw everything

Note: You're simply sacrificing Infernape here, but doing some damage to Garchomp first to ensure Salamence can sweep.

Alexa (Champion)

Houndoom holding Amulet Coin
-Taunt/Nasty Plot until Froslass faints you
Gyarados holding Leftovers
-Dragon Dance, Stone Edge on Froslass
-Waterfall on Arcanine
-Taunt & Dragon Dance on Blissey, then Waterfall everything

Note: Sacrifice Houndoom right away, do not faint Froslass with them. After bringing in Gyarados, make sure to not get setup by Destiny Bond; use additional Dragon Dance if needed. Make sure to have used at least 2 Dragon Dance's total before fainting Blissey; this ensures your Gyarados can Waterfall everything to victory and avoid getting Dragon Dance spam swept by Alexa's Gyarados. If things get weird and you have terrible luck (suffer multiple hits from Froslass due to Stone Edge missing, extremespeed from Arcanine, sucker punch from Zoroark, etc) that leads to your Gyarados fainting, you should be able to finish the battle off with Salamence/Starmie. With your Gyarados holding Leftovers though this rarely happens. If your health is low heading into Blissey, you can just continue using Dragon Dance if you want to continue healing via Leftovers. I do recommend having some Ice Heals just in case you get frozen by Froslass.

Spoiler: U Turn method

The method in a nutshell: leading each Elite 4 battle with a fast poke (holding Amulet Coin) that knows U-Turn. Use U-Turn to start the battle, switch to your sweeper, and complete the sweep. Here is the full list of pokes that can learn U-Turn. Good news is there are plenty of viable options. However, to ensure you go first against each Elite 4 trainer, you will want to use a poke with at least 110 base speed. Crobat is a guarantee to work. Ambipom hits harder than Crobat and is still fast enough that it should always work provided it has a good speed IV. Persian is a low budget option. Max speed Infernape or Scyther is worth a mention because they hit the hardest, but they will be outsped by Froslass. Anything slower is not worth using for this method. UPDATE: Ambipom is absolutely amazing for this method. A Fake Out + U-Turn combo can faint Breloom (from 1st battle), Exeggutor (from 2nd battle) and Ambipom (from 3rd battle), allowing for clean switches and sweeps.

Your poke of choice with U-Turn (holding Amulet Coin) will now be the 5th essential member of your Elite 4 team. The 6th and final member of your team will likely be a poke holding EXP share that you’re leveling during these runs. However, if your goal is merely to earn as much money as fast as possible, your 6th poke should be Electrode with Explosion and Volt Switch. Explosion move can be used on Garchomp to make the Dragon battle much easier. Having it know Volt Switch as well helps to serve as backup incase something happens to your U-Turn poke.

Lets go through each battle step by step using this method. Remember to make sure your lead/U-Turn/Volt Switch poke is holding Amulet Coin!

Grass battle: Faint Breloom with U-Turn, switch to Ninetales, complete sweep.*
Psychic battle: Faint Exeggutor with U-Turn, switch to Ninetales, complete sweep.
Normal battle: Faint Ambipom with U-Turn (or Volt Switch), switch to Heracross, complete sweep.**
Dragon battle: Lead with U-Turn, switch to Salamence, complete sweep. OR - Lead with Electrode, use Explosion, bring in Salamence for sweep. ***
Champion battle: Lead with U-Turn (or Volt Switch) switch to poke of choice, win battle.****

*Breloom can be an issue due to it knowing Spore. Avoid this issue by fainting it with your Amulet Coin poke. Ambipom Fake Out + U-Turn faints it. Crobat Wing Attack OHKOs it.
**Ambipom can be an issue due to it knowing Acrobatics and Low Sweep. Avoid this issue by fainting it with your Amulet Coin poke. Ambipom Fake Out + U-Turn faints it. Takes 2 Wing Attacks or Cross Poisons from Crobat.
***Things can get tricky if Garchomp uses Dragon Tail. Not much advice I can give here as it comes down to luck and RNG, but if you get Dragon Tail’d just do what you can to recover from it. Electrode/Explosion option makes this battle a breeze. Remember to put Amulet Coin on it though!
****Sweeping the Champion with one poke is hard (unless you're boosting, which IMO takes too long), I usually don’t even try. What usually works well for me is using Ninetales til it faints, then using Heracross til it faints, then using Salamence to finish it. Gyarados is for cleanups and emergencies.

Question: Does my poke holding Amulet Coin need to faint a poke for it to work and get double the money?
Answer: No, your poke holding Amulet Coin only needs to be involved for at least one turn in the entire battle.

Question: How does membership bonus work with Amulet Coin?
Answer: Amulet Coin doubles the payout after the membership bonus is applied.

Question: Is more than 1 Amulet Coin needed?
Answer: No, but it does make it less tedious so you don't have to continue switching 1 Amulet Coin between multiple pokes.

Question: Why are you sacrificing Houndoom and Electrode in the Normal & Dragon battles?
Answer: Because they're holding Amulet Coin, ensuring you get double the payout. Plus, the initial damage done to Garchomp is key to the Dragon battle.

Question: What happened to using Ambipom with U-Turn? Ninetales? Choice Scarf Gyarados? Max speed Infernape?
Answer: Those methods and pokes are still great. But over time, as more players continue running more experiments, more efficient methods are discovered. The 4 poke method is just better. It's smoother, more efficient, and requires less pokes.

Fair Warning: Doing Elite 4 runs with Amulet Coin is certainly more difficult than standard Elite 4 runs. Especially if you're using EXP share while doing this. But if you're paying close attention to the battles, and generally follow these guides, it's pretty profitable

Any suggestions or comments are welcome, of course

Videos of Elite 4 runs with Amulet Coin and EXP Share:

Ultimate Efficiency method
4 poke method
Ambipom U-Turn method
Guii's run with rare pokes
Guii's run with basic pokes and minimal items
AK's run with 3 Amulet Coins

Now go get that money!

 

[AsianKid]

There are a few things I'd like to either point out or emphasize about applying this method:

1. First and foremost, don't do this if you want to level up a Pokémon anywhere near as fast. The switch method dramatically reduces the total EXP amount for the first Pokémon, assuming the rest goes smoothly. Keeping the number of switch-ins to a minimum is a must though it may be out of your control if other Pokémon have to take a hard hit following a U-Turn.

2. It will increase your chances for things to go wrong, thus prolonging the battle, and potentially losing both the EXP and Pd in the event of a loss. You have to be more attentive, and even then, you're depending on RNG which will never be consistently on your side. I would use the remaining slots for duplicates in the inevitable case that the switch-in doesn't work out. A lot has to not go wrong for things to potentially go right.

3. Keep in mind, just because you technically get more Pd per battle doesn't mean it's more efficient when taking time spent into consideration. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Amulet Coin should only be used with the primary intention of gaining Pd. Trying to also EXP share will be a time-consuming task, and for even the most experienced E4 runners, will lead to more losses - and heavy inefficiency.

In my opinion, I believe it to be a difficult task to do this well if you're not on your A-game. I'll take you through a couple (a lot) of situations where things could go wrong...

• Lisa (Grass) - Breloom can Spore upon switch-in and Drain Punch. Cacturne can Sucker Punch later on. Keep in mind only one of these attacks will need to be a critical hit for Ninetales to go down. E.g. Drain Punch crit into Sucker Punch OR Drain Punch into Sucker Punch crit (depending on IVs, a critical hit sometimes won't even be necessary).
• Cameron (Psychic) - Exeggutor can Hypnosis and Protect stall the Sun turns from Ninetales' Drought ability, which will make it almost impossible to sweep cleanly with Choice Specs Flamethrower. Reuniclus already doesn't get OHKO sometimes and will get a Psychic/Focus Blast in OR Calm Mind + Recover any damage.
  • Early Bird Houndoom may be the more consistent Amulet Coin switch-in option. But obviously not available to all trainers.
• Joey (Normal) - Ambipom can not only use Acrobatics as mentioned but also Low Sweep the Heracross, making it slower than Zangoose and Tauros later in the battle. Might even suggest a Duplicate. Sometimes I Will-O-Wisp the Ambipom with Ninetales and then set up with Gyarados in really dire situations. Oh, and Quick Attack from Zangoose usually faints your -3/-4 DEF Heracross, Ninetales usually covers for these cases.
  • Again, I reiterate that the chances of the flow chart of bad things happening will increase ten-fold. They have a snowball effect on your future battles if you decide to not use Revives (I mean, you're using the Amulet Coin to make money, not spend more on Revives). Less Pokémon = Less 'Outs' to play towards
• Samuel (Dragon)- Garchomp Dragon Tails or Stone Edges anything. Garchomp surviving a Dragon Claw as it sometimes does, no matter the ATK IV of Salamence. Salamence can faint to Rough Skin after using Dragon Claw if it has been hit by a Stone Edge (a move with an increased critical hit chance).
  • I 100% do not recommend using Amulet Coin in this situation because I don't think this can consistently go well. Garchomp is not the only problem if Salamence were to faint. If you do, I suggest having a duplicate Salamence, Starmie, or Cloyster in the reserve.
• Alexa (Champion) - Froslass can freeze with Ice Beam, SPDEF drop from Shadow Ball upon switch-in + another attack will faint most Gyaradoses. A low Gyarados can be Extremespeeded by Arcanine, Sucker Punched by Zoroark, Bounced by Gyarados at any point. Stone Edge missing has always been an issue with regular E4 runs.
  • A critical hit at any point of the run can spell trouble because if Gyarados goes down, you usually depend on the past surviving Mons to pick up the slack. On average will have fewer surviving Mons to help deal with Alexa in dire situations.

With all that said, this method of farming Pd is certainly doable. My intentions were not to paint Amulet Coin farming in E4 to be the worst idea in the world. However, as an E4 enthusiast that has seen their fair share of runs, I am not convinced this is as easy an endeavor as the post may present. Of course, I could be wrong as I've yet to obtain the Amulet Coin and test it for myself. So until then, I'll end this here and update this post later on.

 

[Cleveland]

There are a few things I'd like to either point out or emphasize about applying this method:

Glad you did! Gonna respond based on my experiences using this method so far.

1. First and foremost, don't do this if you want to level up a Pokémon anywhere near as fast. The switch method dramatically reduces the total EXP amount for the first Pokémon, assuming the rest goes smoothly. Keeping the number of switch-ins to a minimum is a must though it may be out of your control if other Pokémon have to take a hard hit following a U-Turn.

It does not affect EXP given to a poke with EXP share though, correct?

2. It will increase your chances for things to go wrong, thus prolonging the battle, and potentially losing both the EXP and Pd in the event of a loss. You have to be more attentive, and even then, you're depending on RNG which will never be consistently on your side.

This is, unfortunately, true.

3. Keep in mind, just because you technically get more Pd per battle doesn't mean it's more efficient when taking time spent into consideration. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Amulet Coin should only be used with the primary intention of gaining Pd. Trying to also EXP share will be a time-consuming task, and for even the most experienced E4 runners, will lead to more losses - and heavy inefficiency.

I haven't been able to do a ton of testing to this point (obviously), but from what I can tell it's quite easily more efficient with regards to earning money. The difference in pd gained is more than substantial enough to outweigh the occasional losses. That said, EXP share definitely makes things a bit more difficult (and time consuming).

Lisa (Grass) - Breloom can Spore upon switch-in and Drain Punch. Cacturne can Sucker Punch later on. Keep in mind only one of these attacks will need to be a critical hit for Ninetales to go down. E.g. Drain Punch crit into Sucker Punch OR Drain Punch into Sucker Punch crit (depending on IVs, a critical hit sometimes won't even be necessary).

Spore is the real issue here, and something I did not see coming. It's definitely an obstacle that happens from time to time.

Cameron (Psychic) - Exeguttor can Hypnosis and Protect stall the Sun turns from Ninetales' Drought ability, which will make it almost impossible to sweep cleanly with Choice Specs Flamethrower. Reuniclus already doesn't get OHKO sometimes and will get a Psychic/Focus Blast in OR Calm Mind + Recover any damage.

U-Turn OHKO's Exeggutor quite a bit in my experience so far. From there you basically get an effortless Ninetales sweep. I have not experienced a Hypnosis yet.

Joey (Normal) - Ambipom can not only use Acrobatics as mentioned but also Low Sweep the Heracross, making it slower than Zangoose and Tauros later in the battle.

Everytime Ambipom has used low sweep on me, it immediately followed with Acrobatics, fainting Hera anyway lol. But this is a good call out as I'm sure there will be scenarios where it uses low sweep without ultimately fainting Hera.

Samuel (Dragon)- Garchomp Dragon Tails or Stone Edges anything. Garchomp surviving a Dragon Claw as it sometimes does, no matter the ATK IV of Salamence. Salamence can faint to Rough Skin after using Dragon Claw if it has been hit by a Stone Edge (a move with an increased critical hit chance).

Garchomp will never survive a Dragon Claw after taking damage from U-Turn. Haven't had an issue with Stone Edge yet but a critical hit would be an issue I think.

I 100% do not recommend using Amulet Coin in this situation because I don't think this can consistently go well. Garchomp is not the only problem if Salamence were to faint. If you do, I suggest having a duplicate Salamence, Starmie, or Cloyster in the reserve.

Curious to hear your thoughts on this one again after realizing Dragon Claw will always faint Garchomp now thanks to the damage from U-Turn.

Alexa (Champion) - Froslass can freeze with Ice Beam, SPDEF drop from Shadow Ball upon switch-in + another attack will faint most Gyaradoses. A low Gyarados can be Extremespeeded by Arcanine, Sucker Punched by Zoroark, Bounced by Gyarados at any point. Stone Edge missing has always been an issue with regular E4 runs.

• A critical hit at any point of the run can spell trouble because if Gyarados goes down, you usually depend on the past surviving Mons to pick up the slack. On average will have fewer surviving Mons to help deal with Alexa in dire situations.

I agree with all this - which is why I stopped attempting to sweep the Champion a long time ago. These issues all exist regardless of amulet coin.

With all that said, this method of farming Pd is certainly doable. My intentions were not to paint Amulet Coin farming in E4 to be the worst idea in the world. However, as an E4 enthusiast that has seen their fair share of runs, I am not convinced this is as easy an endeavor as the post may present. Of course, I could be wrong as I've yet to obtain the Amulet Coin and test it for myself. So until then, I'll end this here and update this post later on.

I'm glad you responded, lots of good call outs. Overall, I did not intend to make it sound like this was easy, it's certainly more difficult to pull off than standard Elite 4 runs. I've spaced out a couple times and took losses because of it. It definitely requires paying more attention. But the increase in payouts is so large that it's unquestionably worth using Amulet Coin in Elite 4 if your primary goal is to earn as much money as fast as possible.

 

[Cleveland]

Going to update OP, but I've come up with a workaround to a couple of the obstacles faced with this method.

Obstacle 1: Breloom/Spore
Solution: Faint Breloom with your Amulet Coin poke.

Obstacle 2: Ambipom/Acrobatics/Low sweep
Solution: Faint Ambipom with your Amulet Coin poke.

I've done both these things on a handful of runs now and not only makes those battles a breeze but overall makes the entire Elite 4 run quite a bit easier. Ever since coming up with these solutions I've been winning at nearly a standard Elite 4 run rate.

cc: @AsianKid

 

[Lobonatico]

Going to update OP, but I've come up with a workaround to a couple of the obstacles faced with this method.

Obstacle 1: Breloom/Spore
Solution: Faint Breloom with your Amulet Coin poke. Crobat wing attack OHKO's it everytime. Use U-Turn on Tangrowth and sweep with Ninetales from there.

Obstacle 2: Ambipom/Acrobatics/Low sweep
Solution: Faint Ambipom with your Amulet Coin poke. Takes two Wing Attacks/Cross Poison's from Crobat. Use U-Turn on Chansey and sweep with Heracross from there.

I've done both these things on a handful of runs now and not only makes those battles a breeze but overall makes the entire Elite 4 run quite a bit easier. Ever since coming up with these solutions I've been winning at nearly a standard Elite 4 run rate.

cc: @AsianKid

Considering the additional time taken, your thoughts about your incomes from this method are doubling or do you think this is somehow little improvement?


I can't give it a try for the reason TM U-Turn is not available. Last time I saw some on mart was 900k. Y-aches!

Caught a Spe IV 27 Jumpluff yesterday, it learns U-Turn by level-up and speed base is higher than Gligar or Yanmega but atk base status of this pkm is poor. By your mentions to actually defeat the leader Breloom and Aipom with U-turner pkm I'm afraid Jumpluff can't do the job. Maybe Yanmega stab moves.

 

[Cleveland]

Considering the additional time taken, your thoughts about your incomes from this method are doubling or do you think this is somehow little improvement?

Yes you receive double the money. The difference is immediately notable.

I can't give it a try for the reason TM U-Turn is not available. Last time I saw some on mart was 900k. Y-aches!

Caught a Spe IV 27 Jumpluff yesterday, it learns U-Turn by level-up and speed base is higher than Gligar or Yanmega but atk base status of this pkm is poor. By your mentions to actually defeat the leader Breloom and Aipom with U-turner pkm I'm afraid Jumpluff can't do the job. Maybe Yanmega stab moves.

Keep in mind, you don't have to use U-Turn. You can just do a normal switch too. U-Turn just helps because it does some damage along the way. It also OHKOs Exeggutor from the Psychic battle which makes that particular battle an effortless sweep.

UPDATE: U-Turn is no longer the most efficient method. See OP for details.

 

[AsianKid]

Here's what I do to consistently complete an 8–10-minute E4 run w/ Amulet -

Team: Houndoom, Heracross, Salamence, Gyarados, Electrode, lvl 2 Rattata**

**Any low-level Pokémon will suffice

Lisa (Grass)
Houndoom @Amulet Coin
- Flamethrower
- Nasty Plot
- Taunt (90 BP from BT)
- Dark Pulse (optional)

Desc: Just Flamethrower everything.

Cameron (Psychic)
Houndoom @Amulet Coin

Desc: Taunt Exeggutor to prevent Hypnosis/Leech Seed, Nasty Plot, Flamethrower everything. Dark Pulse makes it a guarantee OHKO on Reuniclus. (Ninetales is still a viable option for those that do not have Houndooom - may run into trouble since it cannot learn Taunt and will not have Choice Specs to OHKO everything.)

Joey (Normal)
Rattata @Amulet Coin
Heracross @Choice Scarf
- Close Combat
- Stone Edge (recommended)
- Night Slash (optional)
- Megahorn (optional)

Desc: Give Amulet Coin to Rattata or some <lvl 10 Pokémon. Just attack and have it faint to Ambipom's attack. Switch to Moxie Heracross and sweep. Use Houndoom if Quick Attack Zangoose faints Heracross, per usual.

Samuel (Dragon)
Electrode @Amulet Coin
- Explosion
Salamence @Choice Scarf
- Dragon Claw

Desc: Give Amulet Coin to Electrode. Explosion on Salamence to avoid Dragon Tail and Stone Edge shenanigans as well as inflict non-OHKO damage. Bring in Moxie Salamence (no matter the ATK IV) and sweep with Dragon Claw.

Alexa (Champion)
Gyarados @Amulet Coin
- Dragon Dance
- Waterfall
- Stone Edge
- Taunt/Ice Fang

Desc: Give Amulet Coin to Gyarados. Do as you normally would, just have no Leftover recovery to fall back on. It's the risk you take when running Amulet Coin.

But yeah, these are my initial ways I've thought to circumvent the issues that come with U-Turn or Fake Out, or just directly switching in general. Have to build up the muscle memory to constantly switch the Amulet Coin around - did someone say multiple Amulet Coins?

To quicken my times, I have my Gyarados, Electrode, and lvl 2 Rattata hold no items in preparation for the Amulet Coin they'll eventually hold. I'll link some sample runs in a bit.

If you want to be extra greedy and remove a slot for EXP Share training. I'd recommend replacing the low-level Pokémon slot and just doing the Normal battle without an Amulet Coin and just Heracross sweep.

 

[Cleveland]

But yeah, these are my initial ways I've thought to circumvent the issues that come with U-Turn or Fake Out, or just directly switching in general. Have to build up the muscle memory to constantly switch the Amulet Coin around - did someone say multiple Amulet Coins?

Interesting ones. I particularly like the Electrode explosion one. That turns the toughest battle into a breeze. I might start doing that myself.

For the rest, I personally just wouldn't like to take the time switching items around, wasting a spot with a Rattata, or boosting with Gyarados.

Last night I started leading with a max speed Ambipom holding Amulet Coin and have not lost a battle since then (10+ runs). Fake Out + U-Turn is a really nice combo and faints Breloom, Exegg and sometimes Ambipom, allowing for a clean switch and sweep. The trick is to faint the poke with U-Turn.

Stealing your formatting here:

Lisa (Grass)
Amibpom @Amulet Coin
- Fake Out + U-Turn (faints Breloom)
Ninetales @Choice Specs
-Flamethrower sweep the rest

Note: Both Ambi and Ninetales take no damage here.

Cameron (Psychic)
Amibpom @Amulet Coin
-U-Turn faints Exegg
Ninetales @Choice Specs
-Flamethrower sweep the rest

Note: Both Ambi and Ninetales take no damage here unless Reuniclus tanks.

Joey (Normal)
Amibpom @Amulet Coin
- Fake Out + U-Turn (faints Ambipom)
Heracross @Choice Scarf
- Close Combat sweep the rest

Note: Sometimes Fake Out + U-Turn won't faint Ambipom. You have to use your judgment based on how much health Ambipom has after taking Fake Out damage. If you think U-Turn won't faint it, use a less powerful move (such as Pursuit), take a little damage, then finish it off with U-Turn.

Samuel (Dragon)
Amibpom @Amulet Coin
- Fake Out + U-Turn
Salamence @Choice Scarf
- Dragon Claw

Note: Ambipom won't faint Garchomp but it will do a good chunk of damage. As always, just pray on Garchomp's RNG. I will be trying the Electrode explosion idea, though including Electrode will be for money runs only as it removes the EXP share slot.

Alexa (Champion)
Amibpom @Amulet Coin
- U-Turn
Ninetales @Choice Specs
-Flamethrower til it faints to Arcanine
Heracross @Choice Scarf
- Close Combat til it faints to Gyarados
Salamence @Choice Scarf
- Outrage to victory

Note: This is how I've been doing the Champion battle for quite some time now. I find it the easiest and fastest way to win this battle.
Warning - Froslass is immune to Fake Out.

UPDATE: U-Turn is no longer the most efficient method. See OP for details.

 

[thunderclap]

Note: Sometimes Fake Out + U-Turn won't faint Ambipom. You have to use your judgment based on how much health Ambipom has after taking Fake Out damage. If you think U-Turn won't faint it, use a less powerful move (such as Pursuit), take a little damage, then finish it off with U-Turn.

Joey (Normal)
Amibpom @Amulet Coin
- Fake Out + U-Turn (faints Ambipom)
Heracross @Choice Scarf
- Close Combat sweep the rest

Fake Out + Covet kills Ambipom every time (with Technician ability). Bit of a risk to switch your Heracross in after and get Toxic'd by Chansey, but regardless Hera will usually still sweep Joey before it dies.

 

[Cleveland]

Fake Out + Covet kills Ambipom every time (with Technician ability). Bit of a risk to switch your Heracross in after and get Toxic'd by Chansey, but regardless Hera will usually still sweep Joey before it dies.

This is true; I stopped using Covet recently to avoid this. Fainting Ambi with U-Turn just makes things smoother plus keeps Hera alive for the next two battles, which for me is important.

UPDATE: U-Turn is no longer the most efficient method. See OP for details.

 

[GuiiHenrique]

As E4 pokes have Items and Natures, I considered that currently leveling and farming Money is not for beginners, so I decided to use some pokes that are hard to get.

There's not much to explain.

Normal Battle: Protect should always be used at the beginning to protect a possible Fake Out. Swords Dance is to guarantee OHKO on Chansey and not suffer from Toxic.

• Note: Ninjask HP/DEF tanka Ambipom's Acrobatics just fine.

Dragon Battle: Salamence Band can lose in Speed to the NPC's Salamence and that's why Glaceon Scarf is on the team.

• Edit: I prefer not to use Amulet Coin here because of Dragon Tail.

Champion Battle: Protect should always be used early on to guarantee spd for Weavile and prevent Froslass from being faster. Weavile tanks 3 moves from Froslass, but watch out for Shadow Ball which can lower SPDEF. With 2 Swords Weavile is defeated in Gyarados, if that happens, just use Magmortar with Tbolt that solves.

• Note: It is possible to make Ninjask be defeated by Froslass and then just use any poke you prefer.

Other good options: Blaziken as Passer might work. Starmie Specs, Jynx Scarf, and Tyranitar also help. My wish is Garchomp and Haxorus as well as Freeze-Dry in Glaceon.

__________________________________________________________

Bonus: When BT rank wasn't bugged, I was always asked what team I used in regular mode. Well it was basically that same team, just swap the item from Ninjask to Focus Sash and add Electivire to the team.



No need to copy this team, just follow this idea. I haven't had any problems with this team yet. Good luck.

 

[Cleveland]

As E4 pokes have Items and Natures, I considered that currently leveling and farming Money is not for beginners, so I decided to use some pokes that are hard to get.

There's not much to explain.

Normal Battle: Protect should always be used at the beginning to protect a possible Fake Out. Swords Dance is to guarantee OHKO on Chansey and not suffer from Toxic.

• Note: Ninjask HP/DEF tanka Ambipom's Acrobatics just fine.

Dragon Battle: Salamence Band can lose in Speed to the NPC's Salamence and that's why Glaceon Scarf is on the team.

• Edit: I prefer not to use Amulet Coin here because of Dragon Tail.

Champion Battle: Protect should always be used early on to guarantee spd for Weavile and prevent Froslass from being faster. Weavile tanks 3 moves from Froslass, but watch out for Shadow Ball which can lower SPDEF. With 2 Swords Weavile is defeated in Gyarados, if that happens, just use Magmortar with Tbolt that solves.

• Note: It is possible to make Ninjask be defeated by Froslass and then just use any poke you prefer.

Other good options: Blaziken as Passer might work. Starmie Specs, Jynx Scarf, and Tyranitar also help. My wish is Garchomp and Haxorus as well as Freeze-Dry in Glaceon.

__________________________________________________________

Bonus: When BT rank wasn't bugged, I was always asked what team I used in regular mode. Well it was basically that same team, just swap the item from Ninjask to Focus Sash and add Electivire to the team.



No need to copy this team, just follow this idea. I haven't had any problems with this team yet. Good luck.

Thanks for sharing! It's always fun seeing different nuances in strategy.

Very cool pokes as well.

This makes me want to put my own video together. Perhaps I'll do that in the coming days.

Good stuff man.

 

[Jinji]

Sorry to distract, but what Pokémon is that in your Prepare for Battle screen @GuiiHenrique ?

 

[Isguros]

Sorry to distract, but what Pokémon is that in your Prepare for Battle screen @GuiiHenrique ?

Greninja

 

[Jinji]

Greninja

A Gold Greninja? But no such thing exists! Damn, it looks super-cool though ^^

 

[GuiiHenrique]

A Gold Greninja? But no such thing exists! Damn, it looks super-cool though ^^

It's a Greninja "Break"... a Pokémon TCG edition.

 

[Lobonatico]

A Gold Greninja? But no such thing exists! Damn, it looks super-cool though ^^

You can find this art here and also other similar promos by looking for XY BreakPoint ¹ ² ³

 

[Jinji]

Heh, I see ^^

 

[AsianKid]

Here's what my "normal" E4 runs look like (ignore the white slide). It's on the riskier side and I acquired 2 additional Amulet Coins for convenience's sake.**

**It's not A-OK to make alt accounts with the purpose of transferring Amulet Coins. Trust me, the System will know.

I opt to use Explosion on Electrode twice, and thus, Revive Electrode for the next battle with Samuel (Dragon). It's a net positive when considering the cost of Revive (1,500 pd) versus the additional Pd from defeating Samuel w/ Amulet Coin (~5,000 pd). Sometimes I get lazy and do Joey (Normal) without the Explosion on Ambipom.

Gyarados does its best to fend for itself but sometimes I end up losing at Alexa (Champion). But at the end of the day, I care more about the volume of runs I can do than getting a successful run; 100 wins was quite some time ago.

 

[Grivin]

Thanks for the guide, here's what i did inspired by what cleve wrote
Pokemon List:
1 Crobat with amulet coin | uturn, bravebird, roost, taunt
2 Ninetales with choice Specs | flamethrower with drought ability
3 Heracross with choice Scarf | closecombat with moxie ability
4 Salamence with choice Scarf | dragonclaw with moxie ability
5 gyarados phys band | waterfall, dragon dance, EQ, stone edge
6 Any pokemon with expshare

1st battle
crobat bravebird>uturn>swipe with ninetales

2nd battle
crobat uturn(repeat until egg died)>swipe with ninetales

3rd battle
crobat bravebird (kill ambipom)>taunt chansey and use roost to heal>swipe with hera

4th battle
crobat bravebird and kill garchomp, bravebird on haxorus (crobat died)>cloyster shellsmash and swipe with icycle spear

revive crobat

5th battle
crobat taunt frosslass>bravebird and suicide(make sure crobat died here)> change into gyarados, dragondance x2 > wipe the rest with waterfall

ps:
- u turn on crobat is not mandatory, its just convinient to kill exe+switch, could always be done manually