With all the hype surrounding the upcoming Gen IV Pokémon game remakes, Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, now is as good a time as any to remember the Gen IV games, and more specifically the toughest battles the player must face in them.

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Pokémon Platinum is often considered to be better and more difficult than Diamond & Pearl as it takes on the classic third-game form of being a combination of the other two with its own storyline, similar to the older generations' Crystal and Emerald versions. However, Diamond & Pearl certainly have their fair share of tough bouts too.

10 Candice Isn't As Tough A Test As She Is In Platinum But Is Still No Pushover

Candice ready to battle from Pokémon

Candice is known to be much tougher in Platinum than in Diamond & Pearl, but her Abomasnow is still a threat regardless. It can confuse its foes with Swagger and put them to sleep with Grasswhistle, while mounting overwhelming offense with Avalanche and Wood Hammer.

And while her Snover and Sneasel can be dealt with easily enough, Candice's Medicham has the potential to change the course of the battle unless it is wiped out quickly. It will often use Bulk Up several times, which can eventually give it a large enough Attack boost to start tearing through the player's team.

9 Volkner's Team Is An Unusual Assortment Of Pokémon For An Electric-Type Gym Leader

Volkner in Pokémon Journeys.

Just like with Elite Four member Flint, Volkner's team is bizarrely varied in Diamond & Pearl, before being exclusively Electric-type in Platinum. Volkner is the eighth Gym Leader who specializes in Electric-type Pokémon, but his team randomly consists of a Water-type Octillery and a Normal-type Ambipom, as well as the Electric-types of Raichu and Luxray.

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Raichu and Luxray can paralyze and frustrate, Ambipom can Baton Pass to swap out with an ally, and Octillery has a surprisingly diverse move pool. Without meticulous planning, this battle can prove to be a difficult obstacle.

8 Maylene's Lucario Can Turn The Tide Of The Battle With Its Physical Prowess

Cameron's Lucario from Pokemon

Maylene is the Fighting-type Gym Leader of Veilstone, being the third gym in Diamond & Pearl and the fourth in Platinum. Similar to several other Gym Leaders in the Sinnoh region, Maylene has one ace in her team that can be a handful all by itself -- Lucario.

Lucario's moveset is entirely physical, but using a Pokémon with substantial defense may not necessarily be enough against it, as its move Drain Punch can keep it healthy and in fighting shape for a long while.

7 All Three Of Fantina's Ghost-Types Are Threats In Their Own Right

Fantina celebrating with Nando and Zoey in the Pokemon anime

The Hearthome Gym Leader, Fantina, appears later in the Diamond & Pearl games than she does in Platinum, being the fifth leader rather than the third. This means that her team is higher leveled and consists of better Pokémon, including her three Pokémon from the anime, Mismagius, Gengar, and Drifblim.

While the three Ghost-types don't have incredible move coverage, they can still confuse and poison the player's Pokémon before unleashing powerful Ghost-type moves.

6 Flint's Bizarre Fire-Type Team Can Cause Plenty Of Problems

Flint throwing a thumbs up in the Pokemon anime

Flint is well-known in the Pokémon universe as a Fire-type expert and an Elite Four member. In Pokémon Platinum, he has a full team of Fire-types as one would expect. But, surprisingly in Diamond & Pearl, his team of five consists of just two Fire-types, Infernape and Rapidash, with the rest of the team consisting of Steelix, Drifblim, and Lopunny.

RELATED: Pokémon: 10 best Fire-Types In The Anime, Ranked

If the player hasn't researched this battle beforehand, they might only be prepared to deal with Fire-types. As a result, Steelix's bulk, Drifblim's Aftermath ability, and Loppuny's lack of weaknesses may all come as a shock to the player.

5 Teaming Up With Barry Against Mars & Jupiter Can Turn Nasty The Longer It Lasts

Teaming With Barry Versus Team Galactic Mars And Jupiter Pokemon Diamond Pearl

Mars and Jupiter can be tough enough to battle by themselves, but the double battle against them at Spear Pillar is a true test of skill. It's another battle that justifies Team Galactic's reputation as one of the toughest villain organizations throughout all of the Pokémon games.

The Galactic duo's two Bronzors can boost defense and special defense, their two Golbats can inflict troublesome status conditions, and both Purugly and Skuntank have impressive move pools with the impending threat of critical hits. If these Pokémon aren't dealt with quickly, they can cause all sorts of problems. To make things even harder, Barry can be a pretty useless ally in this battle.

4 The First Battle With Mars Is One Of The Toughest Of The Early-Game

Purugly from Pokemon looking up and growling

The early game battles with Team Galactic members, Mars and Jupiter especially, have the potential to cause problems for the player. The first battle with Mars at the Valley Windworks sees her lead with a level 14 Zubat, which really shouldn't be an issue. However, with a high flinch-rate Bite move and Toxic, it can damage the player enough to make her second Pokémon, Purugly even tougher to deal with.

Her Level 16 Purugly can Fake Out immediately and then dish out damage with its Faint Attack and Scratch moves, all while taking very little damage itself due to its bulk. This fat cat is surprisingly quick too, making it one of the toughest battles of the early game, mainly due to the lack of options available with an advantage over it.

3 Cyrus Is Even Tougher Than His Impressive Galactic Subordinates

Pokemon anime - Cyrus

While battles with Cyrus, the Team Galactic leader, are tougher and more frequent in Pokémon Platinum, that doesn't mean that his Diamond & Pearl battles are easy by any means. In the second clash with him at Spear Pillar, his four Pokémon can cause plenty of problems for any player.

RELATED: Pokémon: Every Generation, Ranked By Their Villains In The Anime

An Electric-type Pokémon with good defense could deal with his Honchcrow, Crobat, and Gyarados, and a Fighting-type would make short work of Weavile. However, if Cyrus's Pokémon are given a chance to strike with their powerful offense, it can turn the battle on its head.

2 Lucian Is As Tough As It Gets Before The Impending Showdown With The Champion

Lucian in battle with a Girafarig in Pokemon

Lucian, the fourth Elite Four member, specializes in Psychic-types and is often overlooked when it comes to tough Pokémon battles. His Mr. Mime, Medicham, Girafarig, and Alakazam can be taken down easily enough with super-effective moves, although the latter is horribly fast and will probably at least get one attack in.

However, his Bronzong is the main problem. Hard-hitting super-effective moves often won't damage it enough before it can be healed by a Sitrus Berry and a Full Restore. Meanwhile, its Earthquake and Psychic moves can easily put a dent in the player's team.

1 Cynthia Is Leveled Even Higher In Diamond & Pearl Than Platinum

Cynthia holds out her arm in the Pokemon anime

Cynthia's power as Sinnoh Champion is common knowledge, but people normally use her team in Pokémon Platinum as a reference. In actuality, her team in Diamond & Pearl is leveled higher, with the infamous Garchomp being level 66 instead of 62.

With the exception of her Milotic, her team is incredibly strong in terms of offense, meaning that the player should definitely bring Pokémon with super-effective moves. Even with this approach, her Spiritomb will halt any aggressive advances as it has phenomenal defense. Unless the player is over-leveled or overprepared, this will be the toughest battle of the game.

NEXT: Pokémon: 10 Toughest Elite Four Battles