Best Battle Tower Team with 100-Win Streak

This is a guide for the best team to use in the Battle Tower, based on Kuroko-sama's team with a 100-win streak in the Battle Tower in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP). Learn the basics of the team and how you too can sweep the Battle Tower with a strong team.

Battle Tower Guides
Battle Tower Guide	Best Battle Tower Singles Team
Best Battle Tower Doubles Team	Master Class Guide & Best Teams

Best Battle Tower Team

Pokemon	Ability	Item	Attacks
Cloyster	Skill Link	Life Orb	・Icicle Spear ・Rock Blast ・Razor Shell ・Shell Smash
Nature / EVs	Adamant 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Final Stats	125 HP / 161 Atk / 201 Def / 65 SpD / 121 Spe
Gyarados	Intimidate	Wacan Berry	・Waterfall ・Ice Fang ・Thrash ・Dragon Dance
Nature / EVs	Jolly 4 HP / 252 Atk / 252 Spe
Final Stats	171 HP / 177 Atk / 99 Def / 120 SpD / 146 Spe
Tyranitar	Sand Stream	Lum Berry	・Rock Slide ・Crunch ・Earthquake ・Dragon Dance
Nature / EVs	Adamant 252 Atk / 4 SpD / 252 Spe
Final Stats	175 HP / 204 Atk / 130 Def / 121 SpD / 113 Spe

Atk/SpA values are omitted where irrelevant.

This is the team used by Kuroko to achieve a win streak of 100 in the Battle Tower. Kuroko has been gracious enough to give permission for Game8 to use their team in this guide, so please give credit to the original creator when sharing this team setup with others.
▶︎Kuroko's Twitter Account (Japanese)
▶︎Kuroko's Youtube Channel (Japanese)
▶︎Kuroko's Team Explanation Video (Japanese)

Use Cloyster as Your Lead Attacker

Cloyster
Cloyster's Strengths
Cloyster's Skill Link Ability increases its damage output considerably.
It can easily beat Tower Tycoon Palmer in the 21st match.
Its moves have good type coverage.

Cloyster's Skill Link Ability and its access to Shell Smash makes it a very powerful Physical Attacker. It also boasts a very high Defense stat, so if you are up against a physical attacker, you can comfortably set up a Shell Smash.

Recommended Held Item

This Cloyster should ideally be equipped with a Focus Sash, but it is difficult to get as you must purchase it from the Exchange Corner at the Battle Tower for 15BP. So our Cloyster will have a Life Orb, which you can find at Stark Mountain.

Gyarados as a Secondary Attacker

Gyarados
Gyarados' Strengths
Its Intimidate Ability lets you reliably set up Dragon Dance.
Gyarados has a decent Special Defense stat.
Its moves have good type coverage.
Easy to sweep after setting up Dragon Dance.

Gyarados is able to set up Dragon Dance even in disadvantageous situations thanks to its Intimidate Ability as well as its high Special Defense.

Recommended Held Item

The recommended Held Item for Gyarados is the Wacan Berry, which reduces the damage from a super-effective Electric-type attack. Increasing Gyarados' survivability will increase its odds of setting up Dragon Dance, letting it sweep effectively.

Use Tyranitar to Finish Games

Tyranitar
Tyranitar's Strengths
Sand Stream can break an opponent's Focus Sash.
Tyranitar is very durable and almost never loses one-on-one.
Easy to sweep after setting up Dragon Dance.
Wide movepool allows it to deal at least neutral damage to most opponents.

Tyranitar, being a Rock-type Pokemon, gains a 1.5x increase to its Special Defense in a Sandstorm, which it naturally sets up. This added Special Defense bulk can let you reliably set up Dragon Dance. But beware of Fighting-type Moves, as Tyranitar is 4x weak to them.

Recommended Held Item

Lum Berry helps cure Status conditions, which can give Tyranitar a hard time.

Battle Tower Team Strategy

Only Set Up Cloyster When Needed

A Cloyster without a Focus Sash can't always set up because there is no guarantee that it will always survive an attack. For this reason, a Cloyster equipped with a Life Orb can comfortably attack without the need for Shell Smash.

Setting up a Shell Smash should only be done if Cloyster is facing off against a Physical Attacker. If the opponent is a Special Attacker, Cloyster runs the risk of getting one-hit KO'd. Discerning what type of attack a Pokemon is capable is key to playing this Cloyster.

If Cloyster Faints, Switch Accordingly

It is difficult to beat 3 Pokemon with Cloyster alone without using Shell Smash. You can let Cloyster get knocked out after taking out 1-2 opposing Pokemon, letting Gyarados or Tyranitar switch in for free. It is important to know which Pokemon to switch in, depending on what the opponent has on the field.

Gyarados or Tyranitar Can Set Up Easily

Unlike a Cloyster with no Focus Sash, Gyarados and Tyranitar are more durable Pokemon. Their high defensive stats allows them to ignore type weaknesses to some degree and use Dragon Dance as a reliable strategy. On top of that, they are strong offensive Pokemon, so even if you don't use Dragon Dance, you can still deliver offensively so there's no need to force it when unneeded.

There's always a chance that you'll survive an attack with low HP and get hit with a priority finishing move, so in general, you'll do better in the Battle Tower by setting up with one strong Pokemon rather than switching out repeatedly. Since you'll be running the Battle Tower many times if you're aiming for 100 wins, this strategy is also better for finishing each battle quickly and allowing you more time to try, try again.

Battle Tower Pokemon to Watch Out For

List of Pokemon to Watch Out For
Starmie	Kangaskhan	Quagsire

The moves used by opponents in the remade Battle Tower have aspects of luck heavily factored in. These include strategies like Double Team, Sand-Attack, and Quick Claw + Sheer Cold or Fissure that need specific setups to avoid. For this reason, it's nigh-impossible to create a team which will win 100% of the time.

Since luck will be your only ally in dealing with those opponents, those shown below are those which disregard the luck aspects and fight fairly, with advice on how to counter them.

Starmie

Starmie

This Pokemon has a wide move pool, with access to Thunderbolt which threatens both Cloyster and Gyarados. If your Cloyster doesn't have Focus Sash, it can easily be taken out in the first hit, leading to a numbers disadvantage.

Tyranitar is a good match up for Starmie because it can set up a Dragon Dance after withstanding one Water-type move and either Psychic or Thunderbolt thanks to Sandstorm's Special Defense buff. Switch it in at a good time to take a non-Water attack and survive the Water attack on the next turn – just be careful as you can't handle a critical hit on top of that.

Kangaskhan

Kangaskhan

Some Kangaskhan in the Battle Tower have both Thunderbolt and Drain Punch, seemingly just to destroy the very team in this guide. These moves can faint or nearly-faint all three of your Pokemon.

The best thing you can do is to try to survive Drain Punch with Tyranitar, Dragon Dance into a Crunch, after which you'll get KO'd for a free switch into Gyarados and use Waterfall. It's an extremely tight maneuver but it can work, depending on what other Pokemon the opponent brings to the table.

Quagsire with Water Absorb

Quagsire

Quagsire nullifies Gyarados' primary weapon Waterfall with its Ability. After so many battles, it's easy to accidentally try to Waterfall a Quagsire for neutral damage while completely forgetting about Water Absorb, turning the battle to your opponent's advantage in an instant. These Pokemon also sometimes have Rock Slide, so be wary of that and react accordingly.

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Battle Tower Guide

Battle Tower Related Guides

Best Battle Tower Team with 100-Win Streak	Battle Tower Master Class Guide
Best Battle Tower Doubles Team	How to Get BP (Battle Points)
How to Beat Tower Tycoon Palmer

Battle Tower Pokemon by Alphabet

A	B	C	D
E	F	G	H
I	J	K	L
M	N	O	P
Q	R	S	T
U	V	W	X
Y		Z

All Battle Tower Pokemon