Entrée de la Route Victoire dans Pokémon Let's Go : tunnel de pierre entre deux statues Poké Ball, un garde au premier plan

Victory Road: The Final Test Before the Pokémon League

2066 words | Reading time: 10 minutes

Before the Elite Four, there's always one last climb. From Kanto to Kalos, Victory Road stands between the last Badge and the Pokémon League: a maze of caves or cliffs where the Trainers are seasoned, the wild Pokémon give no quarter and you only get through with the right field moves. Its Japanese name, Champion Road, says much the same thing.

Contents

Kanto's Victory Road, home of Moltres

In the far northwest of Kanto, the road ends at the Indigo Plateau, home of the Elite Four, covered in detail in our guide to the Gym Leaders and the Elite Four. In Red and Blue, Yellow and their remakes, the Trainers there show no mercy and the wild Pokémon are high-level. Moltres, the fiery member of the trio of legendary birds, has made its home there in all three original versions, and Let's Go puts it back there. Red and Blue also make it the only capture location for Machoke and Graveler.

The mood changes in Gold and Silver, Crystal and HeartGold and SoulSilver: no more Trainers or Legendaries in sight, and the only opponent who shows up is Silver, who lies in wait for the player near the exit. The remakes add a family get-together: Koga now sits on the Elite Four, so his daughter Janine, the Fuchsia City Gym Leader, comes to bring him dinner at the entrance building, every day from 4 to 6 p.m. The player can then register her number; from then on, she can also be found there in the evening, from 6 to 8 p.m., ready to pose with the player for a photo.

The other remakes each slip in their own detail. FireRed and LeafGreen house a Move Tutor there who teaches Double-Edge to a compatible Pokémon, but only once; you'll find him on the second floor, a few steps from the north exit. In both Let's Go games, a spy (Steffie Fatale in the French version) disguised as Officer Jenny, heals your team on the third floor, and hidden items come back a day after you pick them up. As for Moltres, you can only catch it after a race against the clock: you have to defeat it within five minutes to earn the right to throw Poké Balls at it.

Moltres, fiery wings spread, facing the player and Pikachu in a chamber of Victory Road in Pokémon Let's Go
In Let's Go, Moltres waits on Victory Road: you have to defeat it within five minutes before you can throw Poké Balls at it.

Hoenn: a cave that calls for up to four HMs

To reach the League in Hoenn, you have to go through this cave, which links the southern and northern halves of Ever Grande City. You'll run into Pokémon there from level 36 to level 42. Four HMs are required in Ruby and Sapphire as well as in Emerald: Waterfall and Rock Smash, on top of Strength and Surf, the only two that are still required in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

The two basement levels are pitch-dark: Flash makes getting through more comfortable there, without being essential. The rival, Wally, waits near the exit in Ruby, Sapphire and their remakes, but right at the entrance in Emerald, where you can battle him again at the end of the route once you've beaten the League. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire put him in an out-of-the-way room, with no music at all, and offer rematches with him after you enter the Hall of Fame.

Map of the second basement level of Hoenn's Victory Road in Emerald: underground lake, two waterfalls and walkways
An underground lake and waterfalls on the second basement level, in Emerald: the setting of a cave that calls for up to four HMs to get through.

Sinnoh's Victory Road and the path to the Flower Paradise

Spoiler warning: the end of this section reveals the final opponent of the Sinnoh League. In Diamond and Pearl, Platinum and Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Victory Road in Sinnoh keeps the three-level layout of the previous games, with wild Pokémon around level 42. The list of field moves grows by one compared to Hoenn: on top of the four HMs from Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald comes Rock Climb.

One corridor stays closed, however, guarded by a character who refuses to step aside. He only lets you through on two conditions: having beaten the Elite Four and then Cynthia, and having seen every species in Sinnoh, which amounts to completing the regional Pokédex. Behind him stretches Route 224, which leads to the Flower Paradise: Shaymin can be caught there by anyone holding Oak’s Letter.

This corridor is shrouded in fog, and you need Strength to make your way through. Marley, who can't get through it without help, teams up with the player; Defog clears the fog and, for as long as the partnership lasts, wild Pokémon appear in pairs for Double Battles.

Two characters in front of a stone tablet, in the middle of a field of flowers bordered by water, on Route 224
Route 224 in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl: past the guarded corridor, it leads to the Flower Paradise and Shaymin, with Oak’s Letter.

Unova: a seven-level mountain and Terrakion's Trial Chamber

In Black and White, Victory Road in Unova takes the form of a gigantic seven-level mountain. The levels aren't always connected on the inside: sometimes you slide down a rock face, or have to go back outdoors, to reach the next one. Beating the Doctor stationed along the way is like getting a makeshift Pokémon Center, since he then heals your team. As for the music, the theme grows richer with each level you clear, and battles against wild Pokémon there borrow the special-encounter theme.

The fifth level hides the Trial Chamber, a small cave that is home to Terrakion. As with Virizion, you must first have encountered Cobalion before going in; a boulder you have to move with Strength then blocks the way, and it's by talking to the Legendary that you trigger the battle. Cheren also ends up settling on the mountain for good: on the sixth level, he accepts one battle a day. But first, with the Elite Four beaten and the National Pokédex in hand, you have to go talk to him on Route 5.

🔥 Want to keep the adventure going after Moltres and Terrakion? Explore our Legendary Pokémon collection.

3D overview of Victory Road in Black and White: a huge terraced mountain dotted with cave entrances
In Black and White, Victory Road becomes a gigantic seven-level mountain that you climb sometimes underground, sometimes in the open air.

A second Victory Road in Black 2 and White 2

Spoiler warning: this section hints at how Black and White ends. With Black 2 and White 2, the caves of the old road can no longer be visited, since Route 10 no longer gives access to them: you now approach the Unova League from Route 23, via a completely redesigned route. Forest, mountain and caves blend together there, before the new path rejoins the old one on its top level, at the doorstep of the League. Terrakion, deprived of its cave, had to move to a different encounter spot.

Just before the Badge check, N waits to give the player an HM, and this road is also the way to the ruins of N's Castle. Past the first cave, the route splits depending on the version: a forest in White 2, an open-air climb in Black 2, though the other area is still within reach.

On the first floor, the Veterans team up for Double Battles. Hugh, for his part, waits for the player in the last cave, the one that borders the remains of the old road, for a one-time battle. The music hasn't changed since Black and White, except for one detail: the sound of the wind you could hear in it has gone quiet.

Map of the Victory Road entrance in Black 2 and White 2: a walkway bearing the emblems of the eight Badges, ruins and rocks
Black 2 and White 2 completely redesign Victory Road, now approached from Route 23: here is its entrance, lined with the emblems of the eight Badges.

Kalos and its mountain of medieval ruins

Exclusive to X and Y, Victory Road in Kalos serves as the final gateway to the League: past the Badge check at the entrance, plenty of Trainers and tough wild Pokémon share eight areas, four caves and four open-air sections, which you can get through with just Surf and Strength.

Outside, certain shadows give away a threat: getting close to them makes a flying Pokémon dive straight at the player. Between the second and third caves, the rival, Calem or Serena depending on which character you play, demands a battle; winning earns you 6,100 Pokédollars and two Max Revives.

The mountainsides are dotted with medieval ruins, like the ones you can visit in France, the country Kalos is based on. That setting makes it a close cousin of Unova's new route, the one in Black 2 and White 2.

Victory Road at a glance

Feature Detail
Role Last stretch before the Pokémon League and its Elite Four
Regions Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova (two layouts) and Kalos
Japanese name Champion Road
Resident Legendaries Moltres in Kanto, Terrakion in Black and White
Field moves Four HMs in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, five moves in Sinnoh, two in Kalos
Rivals encountered Silver, Wally, Hugh, Calem or Serena
After the League Route 224 and Shaymin in Sinnoh, Cheren every day in Unova
On screen Pokémon Origins, episode PO04

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How do you catch Moltres on Victory Road in Let's Go?
    First you have to beat it, and fast: you have five minutes to knock it out, after which you can try to catch it. In Red, Blue and Yellow, it already lives on this same road.
  • Which HMs do you need to get through Hoenn's Victory Road?
    Four in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald: Waterfall, Rock Smash, Strength and Surf. Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire only need Strength and Surf. Flash helps in the dark basement levels but is optional.
  • How do you reach Route 224 from Sinnoh's Victory Road?
    You have to have won the Sinnoh League once and have seen every species in the regional Pokédex. The character blocking the corridor then steps aside, and Marley accompanies the player through the fog-covered area.
  • Where do you find Terrakion in Black and White?
    In the Trial Chamber, on the fifth level of Victory Road. It only opens after you've encountered Cobalion, and you have to push a boulder with Strength to reach it.
  • Why does Unova have two Victory Roads?
    Because Black 2 and White 2 close off Route 10 and, with it, access to the Black and White mountain. A new route starts from Route 23 and joins the old one on its top level, just before the League.

In short

From one generation to the next, Victory Road keeps the same role as the ultimate test: making sure a Trainer is ready before letting them take on their region's elite. Pokémon Origins even gave it a cameo: it's the route Red takes to reach the Indigo Plateau in "File 4: Charizard," the series' PO04.

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