How to Beat Commander Saturn (Galactic HQ)

This guide covers everything you need to know to beat Commander Saturn at Galactic HQ in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. Read on to learn about Commander Saturn's Pokemon team on your second encounter, Commander Saturn's type specialty, recommended Pokemon to use against Commander Saturn.

Commander Saturn Second Encounter

Type and Suggested Level

Type Specialty
Suggested Level	Lv. 45 ~ Lv. 50

Commander Saturn' Pokemon

Pokemon	Type	Ability / Item	Moves
Kadabra (Lvl. 38)		Inner Focus Damp Rock	・Kinesis ・Reflect ・Psychic ・Rain Dance
Bronzor (Lvl. 38)		Levitate	・Confuse Ray ・Payback ・Gyro Ball ・Extrasensory
Toxicroak (Lvl. 40)		Dry Skin	・Mud-Slap ・Toxic ・Thief ・Brick Break

How to Beat Commander Saturn

KO Kadabra and Bronzor with Dark-type Moves

If you managed to catch yourself a Shinx early in the game, it should have evolved into Luxray by the time you reach this battle. Use Luxray's Bite Attack to quickly KO Saturn's Kadabra and Bronzor.

Luxray also learns Crunch at level 56, while Luxio learns it at level 48. Crunch is a superior Dark-type move to Bite.

Beat Toxicroak with a Super-effective Move

After defeating his first two Pokemon, Commander Saturn will send out his signature Pokemon, Toxicroak. Hitting it with a super-effective Psychic-type move will KO it with minimal effort.

A Pokemon with a Ground-type move would also be really good in this battle. This would be a great match for Garchomp if you managed to get a Gible from the Wayward Cave if you do not have Jirachi in your party. It learns Bulldoze at level 18, which would be very useful against Toxicroak.

Staraptor is a Good Alternative

Staraptor

If neither Jirachi or Gabite are available, Staraptor is a perfectly viable Pokemon for this battle, as it can easily KO Toxicroak with a super-effective Flying-type move.

Best Team to Beat Commander Saturn

When Starting with Turtwig

Best Team to Beat Commander Saturn Starting With Turtwig
Luxray	Jirachi	Torterra

Luxray's Bite or Crunch will do massive chunks of damage against Commander Saturn's Kadabra and Bronzor. Both Pokemon will fail to deal meaningful damage to Luxray, giving us the choice to either keep it in the active position to fight against Toxicroak or switch out to a Pokemon that can better handle Toxicroak.

Jirachi learns Psychic at level 42. This move will prove very useful for this battle, as it can potentially take out Toxicroak in one go.

Our Torterra can work as an alternative if Jirachi is not in our party, being able to threaten Commander Saturn's Toxicroak with a powerful Earthquake.

When Starting with Chimchar

Best Team to Beat Commander Saturn Starting With Chimchar
Luxray	Infernape	Jirachi

Again, Luxray's Bite or Crunch will be useful against Saturn's first two Pokemon.

Our Infernape can also step in to fight against Commander Saturn's Bronzor. Do note however, that if Kadabra successfully sets up Rain Dance, damage from Fire-type moves will be less effective.

Jirachi's Psychic (which it learns at level 42) will work very well against Commander Saturn's Toxicroak.

When Starting with Piplup

Best Team to Beat Commander Saturn Starting With Piplup
Luxray	Garchomp	Jirachi

Luxray is also a good pick for this battle if you chose Piplup as your starter. Its Bite or Crunch attack can comfortably handle Commander Saturn's first two Pokemon.

Garchomp's Bulldoze will prove effective against Toxicroak who is weak to Ground.

Finally, Jirachi's Psychic can close out the match and knock out Commander Saturn's Toxicroak.

All Commander Saturn Battles

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Complete Story Walkthrough

Main Story Walkthrough

Important Battles

Post Game Content

Post Game Content Guide