BDSP is a faithful remake of Diamond and Pearl, and the tier list is mostly the same with a few key differences. The Fire-type drought is still here — Infernape and Rapidash are your main options. Garchomp is still the best non-legendary at 600 BST. The Grand Underground adds encounters not in the original DP, giving you more team options mid-game. Cynthia is harder this time with competitive items and smarter AI, so your team needs to be ready for a real fight.

How to read this tier list
Elite Pokemon
Base Stat Total of 600+
Legendary
Story-central, catchable in-game
Mythical
Rare, event-exclusive
BST
Base Stat Total (sum of all 6 stats)
Fast with strong offense
Bulky with good offense
Very high offense, slow
Extremely bulky, low offense
High offense but fragile
Bulky support, low offense
Fast utility, momentum control

  • Garchomp, same as the originals. 600 BST, Dragon/Ground, 130 Attack, available from Gible in Wayward Cave. The Grand Underground makes it slightly easier to find strong Pokemon early, but Garchomp is still the top non-legendary. Infernape is critical since the Fire-type drought from original DP is still present.

  • Cynthia is significantly harder. She has competitive held items (Leftovers, Yache Berry on Garchomp), better movesets, and smarter AI that switches and predicts. Her Garchomp is a notorious team wiper. The rest of the game is about the same difficulty. Mandatory Exp. Share keeps your team leveled but also makes you slightly overleveled for gyms.

  • Chimchar. Same reasoning as original DP — Infernape is almost mandatory because Sinnoh has barely any Fire-types. The Grand Underground adds a few more options, but Chimchar from the start is still the most efficient choice. Piplup into Empoleon (Water/Steel) is a solid defensive second pick.

  • The Grand Underground has Pokemon Hideaways with encounters not in the original DP surface routes. Pokemon like Houndoom, Absol, and Ralts are available earlier than in the originals. It partially fixes the Fire-type problem since you can find Houndour underground. It also gives you access to evolution stones earlier. Check the Underground before assuming a Pokemon is unavailable.

  • Infernape (starter), Staraptor from Starly on Route 201, Garchomp from Gible in Wayward Cave, Gyarados from Magikarp, Lucario from Riley's egg on Iron Island, and Roserade with a Shiny Stone. Same core as original DP because the remakes didn't change the Sinnoh roster much.

  • Barely. The Grand Underground adds Houndour as a catchable Fire-type before the postgame, which helps slightly. But the surface encounters are the same as original DP — Chimchar's line and Ponyta are still your main Fire options. If you don't pick Chimchar, check the Underground for Houndour as your backup coverage.

  • Cynthia's Garchomp holds a Yache Berry (halves Ice damage once), so don't expect an Ice move to one-shot it. It also knows Swords Dance and will boost if given a free turn. Bring your own Garchomp or a fast Ice-type that can hit twice. Her Spiritomb has no weaknesses in BDSP (no Fairy type in this game's engine). Her Milotic, Roserade, and Lucario all carry competitive items too. Have a plan for each of her six.