Introduction 

Hey all! One of the most common questions I see on the Discord is “can I get help with getting 7500 points on Master Mode?” or “how can I get 7500 points on Master Mode?”, so I thought a brief guide on Master Mode tips and tricks was in order. There are a few things I would recommend for everyone trying for 7500, and I promise once you get used to it, it’s very doable! Throughout this document, I’ll be referring to the February 8, 2021 - February 14, 2021 Champion Stadium as an example, but everything I say here is applicable every week! 

It’s also worth mentioning that while some of the units I’m highlighting here are from the Gacha 5* pool, it is totally reasonable to complete a 7500 point Master Mode attempt with only free to play units! This guide is more focused on how to set up and plan for Master Mode itself than giving detailed plans on specific battles.

General Tips 

Master Mode is, by most counts, the hardest content in the game. It is truly challenging and can be daunting to start, but it’s ultimately nothing terribly new. Everything you know from regular and hard Champion Stadium battles, Battle Villa fights, and even Full Force Battles applies here. The Hard Champion Stadium and Master Mode both have Round-Specific effects; for instance, status effects may be more effective round 1, or the move gauge may fill more quickly on round 3. These are things to keep in mind when building teams for Master Mode, as are good general practices like striker/support synergy and turn denial, for which there are many guides available.  As such, I won’t reiterate what others have explained so effectively in the past. Please consult #game-guides in the Discord if something I mention doesn’t ring a bell; I promise all the resources I used to get this far are there for you to utilize as well!

Unlike most fights, Master Mode battles have a unique twist: the extra parameters the player has to add to increase difficulty. Often, it’s best to take either a lot of options that buff your opponent’s offense or a lot of options that buff your opponent’s defense, but rarely is it best to take a mix of both (and don’t worry - I’ll explain that in more detail later!). Additionally, certain Master Mode parameters are universally good options to take. For example, the 50 point “Physical Shield”and “Special Shield” are negated by landing a critical hit; as such, they’re essentially a free 100 points on any team! I also recommend freebies such as “No Stat Reduction (100 points)” or “No Status Conditions (50 points)” unless your specific team relies on those for damage. Finally, “Ally Move Gauge -2 (300 points)” is usually a good option; most good teams are fast enough to function with only 4 bars, so make sure to try that out!

The Thought Process 

Every Champion Stadium has 5 fights. Generally, I break these down into two categories: battles where I have a strong striker who is super effective, and battles where I do not. For the battles where I have a strong super effective striker, I make use of highly offensive teams to knock out my opponents as quickly as possible. On the battles where I do not have a super effective striker I feel comfortable using, I generally break it down into two strategies: either an offensive team using an Ex striker, similar to the super effective striker teams but with the benefit of targeting all 3 opponents with a single sync, or a defensive, stall based team. I’ll go into more depth on each of those options further on, so buckle up!

The Strategies 

Like I said before, I break battles into “I have a super effective striker I’m comfortable using” and “I do not have a super effective striker I’m comfortable using”. In this example, Lance was weak to Steel, Lorelei was weak to  Grass, Bruno was weak to Ground, Agatha was weak to Dark, and Blue was weak to Rock. You’ll notice I only used a striker that was super effective once - and that’s intentional! There are many strategies for battles where you lack a super effective striker, so that should not discourage you!

Option 1: Super Effective Striker

Super Effective Strikers are a Powerful and Traditional Tool for Many Fights!

This is the easiest option to think about for new players and it can be highly effective; in fact, it’s probably the most popular method for batting the regular and hard Champion Stadiums. It’s also very useful in Master Mode. In my example, I recognized Steven to be a very strong option versus a Steel-Weak Bruno, so I opted for him. I could also have chosen to use Olivia versus Blue or Brendon versus Lorelei, among others, but chose to highlight a variety of options here instead. 

Now, let’s take a look at the most important thing: the extra parameters.

For hyper-offensive teams like this, the primary goal is to KO your opponent as quickly as

possible, so you’ll want to avoid any parameters that make your opponent more likely to survive. You’ll see that, in addition to the shields and other universal options I mentioned earlier, you should take parameters such as “Enemy Attack/Defense Up” or “Power Up on Hit” because those do not reduce the amount of damage you deal, letting you kill your foe as quickly as possible. Some parameters, such as Strength 1, do increase bulk as well, but it’s pretty negligible in the grand scheme of things. Finally, I’ve found two hidden gems: “Allied Healing -5 (100 points)” and “Enemy Sync Buff  5 (100 points)”. The enemy is taken out before they get to sync, which allows us to take these two fairly scary parameters. Since we’re killing so quickly, we’re not really taking enough damage (nor do we have enough time) to heal, and since the enemy is taken out before they get to sync, they never get the sync buff.

Now, you may be asking “how on Earth can I kill before they sync??”. The best answer is quad queueing. I had never heard of it before Master Mode, so no worries if it’s new to you as well, but it’s a magical trick that my friend Spark has covered extensively here, so be sure to check that out if you’re unfamiliar or need a refresher. What it ultimately boils down to, however, is that you can sync twice before your enemy gets to sync at all, and with 0 additional Bulk, most foes - specifically the center Pokemon capable of syncing - should be taken care of by then. Focus on the center enemy Pokemon and take it out before it gets to sync and you’ll be in really good shape for the rest of the fight.

Option 2: Strong EX Striker 

Ex Strikers can decimate the Side foes while dealing considerable Damage to the Center, Too!

You’ll notice that 4 of my teams do not use a super effective striker. For example, my Cynthia is only ⅕ for her move level, making her very hard to maximize for quick kills vs Master Mode Bruno. Luckily, Dena has provided a very strong offensive alternative: EX Strikers. These are the ultimate offensive threat, capable of tearing through most opposing trios in 1-2 syncs. Similar to the super effective striker option, the parameters focus on hyper-offense; you’ll notice a lot of overlap between the parameters for Steven’s team and SS Grimsley’s.

I recognize not everyone has EX available, and you may choose to EX a

different unit; a favorite

support or tech, perhaps, and that’s perfectly alright! As I’ve highlighted here, there are many alternatives to an EX striker. However, if you’re considering EXing a striker, or want to use one you already have EX, keep this in mind: the majority of an EX striker’s damage comes from the sync move, so the best choices are “Sync Nukes”’ - Strikers with easy to activate sync move multipliers. EX Sygna Suit Grimsley is one of my favorites; his Inertia grid tile boosts sync damage as Speed increases, making him a dangerous partner for X Speed All supports like Roxanne or Skyla. Other common “Sync Nukes” have grid tiles such as Blindspot (Morty) and Haymaker (Sygna Suit Red, Steven).  Find someone with one of those tiles, buff the corresponding stat, and enjoy the ensuing destruction! Once you get your team set up, follow the quad queueing procedure outlined above and watch as the enemy melts before your very eyes! It’s just a matter of getting a couple high-damaged Sync Moves in to kill the center foe before it can sync and damage you.

As always, if you’re struggling with parameters, tweak things just a little in response to the issues you’re running up against. If you’re getting KO’d by the regular moves, you might need to reduce the offensive buffs and add some minor bulk via Strength, or flip it if your sync isn’t quite killing when you need it to. This is personally my favorite strategy because it’s pretty universal; once you find a team that works, it can be used on most stages in different weeks.  

Option 3: Stalling 

(Badly) Poison Stalling is generally an Effective Way to get past a Difficult Battle!

The third - and, in my opinion, easiest - option is stalling. It’s not a common tactic in regular battles, but it’s an extremely powerful tool for Master Mode battles. Even before attempting 7500 total point runs, you could use stall teams to get 1500 points and make the 4200 point clears so much easier. The powerful thing about Poison, Badly Poison, Trap, and other Damage over Time status effects is that they deal damage as a percentage of the target’s HP. This means that an opponent with 1,000 HP takes an equal number of turns to kill via Poison as an opponent with 10,000 HP - all those HP parameters suddenly have a very strong purpose! You can add all the extra bulk (and points!) you want and the fight doesn’t get any harder or longer. Let’s look at the Lorelei battle as an example here - I think this is the one I’m most proud of.

You’ll notice the team composition - Viola, Koga, and Liza - isn’t exactly a star studded roster. But what Master Mode battles come down to is maximizing the pairs you have. Koga can easily Badly Poison the enemy with Poison Fang, Viola is a surprisingly bulky Special Tank with HP regeneration, all-enemy Special Attack reduction with Struggle Bug, and additional stall damage with Infestation’s Trap, and Liza further boosts Special Defense with her trainer move! All this battle comes down to is living longer than your opponent, and this team makes that pretty easy versus foes using Special Attacks.  

As for the parameters, you’ll notice a lot of + Max HP and +Defense/Special Defense. Like I mentioned earlier, Damage over Time negates enemy defenses and HP buffs, making it a powerful tool to take down stronger enemies with ease. You’ll also notice “Critical Shield (150 points)” was activated; since you’re not going to be damaging foes directly, there’s no harm in reducing direct damage even further. Just avoid adding anything to boost the enemy’s damage output, such as Strength or Power Up on Hit, since those help your enemy chip into your wall, and be sure to skip “No Status Conditions”! Combine some solid Damage over Time output with a tank focused on your opponent’s primary offensive tactic - Dawn comes to mind as an excellent physical wall versus physical opponents, for instance - and you’ll be a stalling master!

Other Tips

Round Conditions can turn the tides and Enable all sorts of Creative Teams!

I alluded to this earlier, but every week’s Champion Stadium has “Round Conditions”. Some of these are pretty negligible, but others enable teams in unexpected ways. I’ll run through a few common ones that can make a huge difference for certain teams.

The “Permanent Field Effects” condition applies to all types of weather, terrains, and even Reflect or Light screen.  Maybe that’s when you use a Sandstorm team with permanent sand, or perhaps you decide to stall from behind Reflect against a particularly potent physical foe. Any terrain or weather abusers, such as N/Volkner, May/Rain, or Red/Blaine, are considerably boosted under this condition.

The “Stats Reduced Upon a KO” condition can be extremely powerful, but you get the most benefit from KOing the side opponents before taking on the stronger center Pokemon - maybe you choose to use an Ex Striker to maximize damage on the sides without sacrificing center damage.Something to note: this will not take effect if the center Pokemon has Impervious, as Will often does, not will it override the “No Stat  Reduction” effect.

The “Extra Effects Last Longer, Deal More Damage, and are More Likely to Take Effect” condition enables several unconventional teams.  At the most basic level, it boosts the odds of  status effects of occurring. This includes Flinching, Confusion, and all traditional Status (such as Poison or Burn), but also things such as a stat drop on an attacking move, such as Liquidation or Shadow Ball. It also increases the damage of these effects; for instance, Badly Poison does more damage under this condition than normal.  The pairs that benefit the most are ‘flinch lockers’ - pairs like Volker get up to 100% Flinch, setting the enemy’s Sync Counter back considerably. Even two lesser Flinch odds, such as Iron Head and Water, can lock an opponent when paired together smartly.

Overview 

In conclusion, 7500 points in Master Mode is a rewarding challenge. Getting it is no easy feat, but it is certainly manageable, especially with some thoughtful preparation. Take stock of the sync pairs you have and how to use them effectively. Even if it doesn’t seem attainable at first, a deeper look should certainly encourage you to give it a try - every sync pair in the game has a role to play if you’re patient and a little innovative. If you’re especially short on damaging sync pairs, there are a multitude of stall teams available - I’ve even seen players utilizing the Tech Nidoqueen Eggmon for stall teams!

My final tip: just be sure to plan ahead. Master Mode can be really tough, especially at first, and the best way to prepare is by thinking through each battle and getting a rough idea of what you want to do for each fight. If you’re planning on using a stall team versus Bruno, who’s usually physical, you might want to save Dawn and Torterra for that fight! Or you might plan on using Sycamore versus Lance, only to realize he’s weak to Lance’s Iron Heads! The point is, the best way to help yourself is to plan ahead before diving right in. I generally start with an idea for a couple of teams - something like “Oh! Lance is weak to Steel, I’ll bring Steven! Now Steven needs Physical support, like Hilbert, so I can’t use him with SS Grimsley for Speed… so maybe Skyla fits there, unless I need her defense versus Bruno…” - and then continue from there.  It’s also alright if what you planned doesn’t work - I’d intended to battle Bruno 2nd, but he hit too hard and I had to bump it to round  3, forcing me to restructure my remaining teams - but I slotted in a team I was confident in and made it work. Once you get the hang of it, it all seems so natural!

Ultimately, the options are truly limitless and personal preference trumps all, so I encourage everyone to experiment and explore, then focus on the strategies you enjoy. It’s only a game, after all, and games are meant to be fun. I hope this guide helps introduce you to Pokemon Master’s ultimate challenge! You’ve got this!

TL,DR; if you’re struggling with Master Mode, focus on either an extremely offensive team or an extremely defensive team and choose parameters accordingly. Beyond standard team building, taking advantage of certain Round Conditions can turn the tide of battle.