You know that feeling when a friend goes through a weird "villain arc" and suddenly starts acting like a total stranger? That's basically the vibe when you run into Kieran at Blueberry Academy. If you played through The Teal Mask, you remember him as the shy kid who was obsessed with Ogerpon. Fast forward to the Kieran team Indigo Disk showdown, and the kid has basically become a competitive VGC sweat.
He isn’t just some random trainer anymore. He’s the BB League Champion.
Honestly, it’s a bit of a shock. He traded in his timid personality for a slicked-back haircut and a team designed to ruin your day. This isn't your typical NPC battle where you can just spam a single move and win. Kieran’s team is built for Double Battles, and they actually use real-world strategies like weather control and screen-setting. If you go in under-leveled or unprepared, he will humble you.
What's Actually on Kieran’s Team?
Kieran’s lineup is a mix of heavy hitters and annoying support pieces. He leads with Politoed and Grimmsnarl. This is a classic competitive opening. The Politoed has the Drizzle ability, which immediately starts the rain. This isn't just for aesthetics; it powers up his Water-type moves and gives his next Pokémon a massive accuracy boost for certain moves.
Grimmsnarl is there to be a pest. Thanks to the Prankster ability, it gets priority on status moves. It’ll almost certainly set up Reflect or Light Screen before you can even touch it. Plus, it’s holding a Focus Sash, so you can’t even one-shot it to stop the screens from going up.
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The Full Roster Breakdown
- Politoed (Lv. 80): Drizzle user. It knows Weather Ball (which becomes Water-type and gets a rain boost), Ice Beam, and Psychic. It’s also holding a Wacan Berry to survive an Electric-type hit.
- Grimmsnarl (Lv. 81): The screen setter. It carries Reflect, Light Screen, and Spirit Break. That Focus Sash means it’s staying on the field for at least two turns.
- Dragonite (Lv. 80): This is where the rain comes in. Under the rain, Dragonite can spam Hurricane and Thunder with 100% accuracy. Both moves are usually risky, but Kieran doesn't care about the RNG here.
- Incineroar (Lv. 81): Every VGC player’s nightmare. It has Intimidate to drop your Attack stat and uses Fake Out to flinch your Pokémon on the first turn.
- Porygon-Z (Lv. 81): A literal glass cannon. It hits incredibly hard with Adaptability-boosted Tri Attack.
- Hydrapple (Lv. 82): The "boss" of the team. It Terastalizes into a Fighting-type immediately.
The Strategy: How to Shut Him Down
Most players make the mistake of trying to out-power him. You can’t really do that if he has Light Screen and Reflect up. You’ve basically got two choices: wait out the screens or bring a Pokémon with the move Brick Break or Psychic Noise to shatter them.
Since the battle is a Double Battle, you need to think about synergy.
Bring the Ogre. If you want to see some unique dialogue, bring Ogerpon to the fight. Kieran has a bit of a breakdown when he sees her. Beyond the lore, Ogerpon (specifically the Wellspring Mask form) is actually great here because she can redirect Water moves and hits like a truck.
Kill the Rain.
If you can change the weather, do it. Bring a Torkoal or a Tyranitar. If you take away his rain, his Dragonite suddenly becomes much less threatening because Hurricane and Thunder will start missing.
Target the Porygon-Z Fast.
Porygon-Z is the biggest threat to your HP bars. It’s fast and its Special Attack is through the roof. Use a strong Fighting-type move (like Close Combat or Sacred Sword) to delete it before it can start clicking Tri Attack.
The Hydrapple Problem
When Kieran sends out Hydrapple, he’s going to Tera it into a Fighting-type. This is a bit of a bait. Most people see a Dragon/Grass type and think "Ice move!" But once it shifts to Fighting, that 4x Ice weakness disappears.
Instead, pivot to Fairy, Flying, or Psychic moves.
Hydrapple has a signature move called Fickle Beam. Usually, it’s a standard 80-power move, but it has a random chance to double its power if all its heads decide to attack at once. It’s annoying, but if you’ve got a bulky Fairy-type like Flutter Mane or Sylveon, you should be able to tank it and fire back with a Moonblast.
Is He Really That Hard?
Look, compared to the Elite Four of the past, Kieran is a legitimate step up in difficulty. He’s not Cynthia-level scary if you have level 100 Pokémon, but for a casual playthrough where your team is in the low 80s, he’s a wall.
The developers clearly wanted to show his growth. He went from a kid who barely knew how to hold a Poké Ball to someone using actual held items and EV-trained stats. It’s a cool narrative touch, even if it means you have to spend ten minutes Reviving your team mid-fight.
Quick Tips for the Win
- Lead with a fast Fake Out user or something with Taunt to stop Grimmsnarl from putting up screens.
- Focus fire one slot. Don't split your damage. If you knock out one of his Pokémon early, you break his momentum.
- Watch out for Incineroar's Intimidate. If your team is all Physical attackers, you’re going to have a bad time. Bring at least one Special attacker.
- Use the Master Ball reward wisely. Once you win, you get a Master Ball. Don't waste it on a random sandwich-loving Lechonk.
Once you beat him, the story takes a pretty dark turn toward Area Zero, so make sure you're healed up. You've officially finished the BB League, but the real final boss of the DLC is still waiting in the depths of the crater.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check your team's levels; aim for Level 85+ if you aren't using a competitive strategy.
- Head to the Delibird Presents in Mesagoza and buy a Light Clay or Focus Sash for your own lead Pokémon to match his utility.
- Swap one of your moves for Brick Break—it's the easiest way to ignore his Grimmsnarl's defensive screens.