How to Beat Chad
Chad Pines is the rival who is actually the strongest trainer in the game — and that's by design. His fights are deliberately overwhelming, the third encounter is the hardest, and crucially: you are allowed to lose.
Why he's so hard
Three things stack against you. First, every Chad Pokémon is dual-typed, so they resist more and punish predictable coverage. Second, the game's level-scaling means he's always at or above your level — you cannot simply out-grind him. Third, he opens with a hard counter to your starter and never lets up. The answer is never raw levels; it's type coverage.
The first battle counters your starter
Chad's very first fight uses the starter that beats yours: pick Grass and he brings Water, pick Fire and he brings Water/Electric, pick Water and he brings Grass. There's no way to dodge this — trade hits, accept it may be a loss, and treat it as the opening of a long rivalry rather than a wall.
Champion: Chad Pines LV 60 · 6 POKÉMON
The climactic bouts — the hardest fights in the game. Which team you face depends on your starter branch. Each card below shows his full line-up and the types that hit the most of it super-effectively (computed from the datamined teams + type chart), so you know exactly what to bring.
Chad Pines — if you chose Grass
Lv 60 · 6 mons
hits 6/6
hits 3/6
hits 2/6
hits 2/6
hits 2/6 Chad Pines — if you chose Fire
Lv 60 · 6 mons
hits 6/6hits 3/6
hits 2/6hits 2/6
hits 2/6 Chad Pines — if you chose Water
Lv 60 · 6 mons
hits 6/6hits 3/6hits 3/6hits 2/6
hits 2/6 Penultimate rival battles LV 60
Just before the finale, Chad fields these tighter three-Pokémon teams of fully-evolved threats:
Chad
Lv 60 · 3 monshits 3/3hits 2/3hits 2/3hits 2/3hits 2/3 Chad
Lv 60 · 3 monshits 3/3hits 2/3hits 2/3 A realistic plan
You won't sweep Chad with one Pokémon. Instead:
- Build for his counters above. Carry two or three attackers whose STAB matches the "best counters" for the team you'll face — those types each hit half his line-up super-effectively.
- Bring control, not just damage. Paralysis, sleep and stat drops buy turns against a team that out-levels you. A single Intimidate switch-in blunts his physical attackers.
- Use the losable fights as scouting. Earlier Chad bouts reveal his evolution line and movesets at no cost — note what hurt you and adjust.
- Don't tunnel on winning. If a scripted Chad fight is unwinnable, take your hits and move the story forward.
Teams datamined from v1.9 (trainers.dat); counters computed from the in-game type chart. Click any Pokémon to open its Pokédex entry.