Essential Strategies for Navigating Victory Road Cave 3
Entering the cave will bring you to Victory Road, the final dungeon-like area of the game before you take on the best trainers in the world at the Pokemon League, which is just on the other side of the cave. However, the cave is vast, and depending on the strength of your party, you may be hard-pressed to get through it in one push (with all of the trainers in the area, and all). If you feel like you might be too weak, bring healing items and Escape Ropes with you, that way your party is never in any real danger outside of battle.
To navigate Victory Road Cave 3 effectively, primarily focus on using the correct HMs like ‘Surf’ and ‘Strength’ to access different areas, follow the linear path, and pay close attention to the placement of boulders which often need to be pushed to open new pathways; generally, heading north will lead you closer to the exit while backtracking may be necessary to reach hidden items or trainers.
As you begin, head north over the wooden bridge. On the other side, use Rock Climb to climb downward to the area below. Head to your left once down here to fight the first trainer in the area — Psychic Bryce and his three Pokemon — and then go north from him to get TM41, which will teach a Pokemon the skill Torment. Then, use Rock Climb to climb back up to the main area above, and then head eastward along the next bridge.
This will eventually lead a path northward and westward to a Max Elixir. After adding that to your inventory, backtrack towards the entrance to this room, and this time, go south. Use Strength to push your way southward, and then circle around to fight Ace Trainer Omar and his trio of Pokemon. After Omar’s Pokemon are slain, look at the rocks to your south that you need to use Strength on. Think carefully about how to do this — if you do it wrong, and the rocks are pushed out of place, you’ll need to head to the previous area and back again to reset their positions.
Additionally, the trick here is to push the loose boulders onto the round switches to open up new paths. You must open the path to ladder D on the second floor to progress through the cave.
Another feature of the watery room you may have noticed is that there are two ways out, other than where you came in (meaning, in other words, that there are three doors in and out). First take the door on the south end of the room by walking up some stairs and accessing the corridor heading leftward beyond it. Through that door, you will find yourself in a little nook of the initial area of Victory Road. You’ll be able to find some all-valuable Rare Candy there.
Tips for Overcoming Trainers and Puzzles in Victory Road
To successfully navigate Victory Road, here are some essential tips and strategies:
- Preparation: Assemble a party composed of your most powerful Pokémon. Be sure to include one that knows the Strength technique. Additionally, stock up on health power-ups.
- Water Type Pokémon: It’s crucial to bring a powerful Water type Pokémon equipped with Surf or a similar strong Water attack, as most wild Pokémon encountered in this dungeon are Ground types.
Now, let’s delve into the specific areas of Victory Road:
Victory Road First Area Walkthrough
Victory Road has three floors. The puzzles here involve using Strength to move boulders. To get through, push the boulders onto the round switches to clear the path.
For item collection on the first floor, push a rock to block one item, then leave and return to reset the rocks for the other item.
Victory Road Second Area Walkthrough
The only tricky part involves a block puzzle on the second floor due to the absence of a block to push onto the switch. However, you can solve this by going to the third floor, pushing a boulder into the hole, and jumping through to reach the second floor. Then, push the boulder onto the switch.
Victory Road Final Area Walkthrough
Follow the trail of trainers and ladders to reach the exit, which leads you to Indigo Plateau. Remember to save often as you progress.
Trainer Encounters
Throughout your journey, you will encounter various trainers, including:
- Cool Trainer Naomi with a Persian (44), Ponyta (42), Rapidash (42), Vulpix (42), Ninetales (44)
- Black Belt Daisuke
- Juggler Nelson
- Cool Trainer Caroline with various Pokémon
In summary, navigating Victory Road requires strategic preparation, efficient puzzle-solving, and effective management of Pokémon battles.
Required Moves: Strength and Rock Smash Explained for Victory Road
Victory Road Overview:
Victory Road is the final journey that one must take in order to reach the Kalos Pokémon League. It can be accessed from the gate connecting Route 21 and Route 22 by Trainers who have collected eight Badges from the Gyms of Kalos.
Required Moves:
To access everything in Victory Road, bring Pokémon that know Rock Smash, Strength, Surf, and Waterfall.
Players will need Strength, Rock Smash, and Surf to make their way through the cave. Surf, Strength, Rock Smash, and Waterfall are required to clear and fully explore the area.
Cave Exploration:
- In Cave 2, use Rock Smash and walk down the slope. Collect the hidden Ultra Ball, then move southeastward through the field of stones. Climb the stairway and hop across two more stones to reach the southeast exit.
- In the second cave, you can find an Ultra Ball on the stalagmite at the north end of the pit of stepping stones, at the end of a narrow path (requires Rock Smash).
- Additionally, TM03 (Psyshock) is located in an isolated cave accessed via the southeast exit, also requiring Rock Smash. This shows the importance of using Rock Smash to access valuable items during your journey in Victory Road.
Puzzle and Navigation:
The southwest part of the route is occupied by several large boulders scattered around. Solve the puzzle to reach an Elixir, Rare Candy, and TM22 (Solar Beam).
With Strength, the player can create a shortcut from the first cave to the second cave and grove for easier later access.
Additional Information:
When you enter Victory Road, go west to find Ace Trainer. This cave has multiple floors and is filled with wild Pokémon, but lacks trainers supposedly due to your rival defeating them all.
In Pokémon Emerald, Wally can also be rematched near the exit. Flash and Waterfall, while not required, make traversing the cave easier. It doesn’t have many puzzles to complete, but does have a variety of strong trainers and Pokémon within your path.
Furthermore, go north and use Strength to move the boulder into place in order to reach the Move Tutor’s house. This Black Belt offers to teach your Dragon-type Pokémon the ultimate attack of its type, Draco Meteor.
