Phase 9 Hoenn route manual
Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Champion Guide
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire Champion guide: Ever Grande City, Victory Road, Wally, Elite Four teams, Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, Drake, and Steven counters.
Catch checklist
Obtainable Pokemon
New Pokemon you can realistically add during this phase of the original Ruby/Sapphire route.
#0305 Lairon steelrock Ruby & Sapphire Victory Road Cave encounter 
#0294 Loudred normal Ruby & Sapphire Victory Road Cave encounter 
#0297 Hariyama fighting Ruby & Sapphire Victory Road Cave encounter 
#0307 Meditite fightingpsychic Ruby & Sapphire Victory Road Cave encounter 
#0042 Golbat poison Ruby & Sapphire Victory Road Cave encounter 
#0303 Mawile steel Ruby only Victory Road Cave encounter 
#0302 Sableye darkghost Sapphire only Victory Road Cave encounter 
#0340 Whiscash waterground Ruby & Sapphire Victory Road water Fishing or Surf encounter 
#0320 Wailmer water Ruby & Sapphire Ever Grande approach Fishing encounter 
#0319 Sharpedo waterdark Ruby & Sapphire Ever Grande approach Super Rod Sootopolis to Hall of Fame. This phase covers Ever Grande City, Victory Road, the final Wally battle, Elite Four prep, Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, Drake, and Champion Steven.
Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire optimal walkthrough
Ever Grande City -> Pokemon League Champion Steven.
Route Map
You are done with badges. The rest is team quality, HM routing, and League matchup planning.
Ever Grande City
Use Waterfall to climb into Ever Grande City. Heal at the Pokemon Center before entering Victory Road. Stock up on Hyper Potions, Full Restores, Revives if your rules allow them, Escape Ropes, and status healing.
Victory Road requires multiple HMs. Bring Surf, Waterfall, Strength, Rock Smash, and Flash if you want cleaner navigation. If your main team cannot carry all of them, bring a utility Pokemon and swap before the League.
Victory Road
Victory Road is the final dungeon and one of the biggest resource drains in Ruby/Sapphire. Trainers are stronger, wild encounters are annoying, and the cave expects you to understand the HM puzzle language the game has been teaching all run.
Wild Pokemon
Victory Road 1F
| Pokemon | Versions | Method & Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Golbat
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 25% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Hariyama
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 25% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Lairon
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 10% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Loudred
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 10% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Makuhita
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 10% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Zubat
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 10% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Aron
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 5% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Whismur
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 5% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Wild Pokemon
Victory Road Lower Floors
| Pokemon | Versions | Method & Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Golbat
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 35% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Hariyama
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 35% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Mawile
|
Ruby only | Cave walking 35% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Sableye
|
Sapphire only | Cave walking 35% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Lairon
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 15% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Medicham
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 10-15% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Meditite
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Cave walking 5% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Graveler
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Rock Smash 70% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Geodude
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Rock Smash 30% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Barboach
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Super Rod 80% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
|
Whiscash
|
Ruby & Sapphire | Super Rod 20% | Available in the listed area during this phase. |
Wally challenges you near the exit. His team is much stronger than the Ralts he used in Mauville. Treat him like a real boss: heal before the fight and keep an answer ready for Gardevoir.
Final Team Shape
A comfortable League team usually wants:
- One strong Water type with Surf and possibly Ice Beam.
- One Electric or Grass attacker for Water and Flying coverage.
- One Fighting or Ground attacker for Sidney, Glacia, Aggron, and Metagross.
- One answer to Ghosts that is not Normal or Fighting.
- One Ice move for Drake’s Dragons.
- Enough bulk to survive Steven’s Metagross.
Elite Four And Champion Teams
Ruby and Sapphire use the same Pokemon League lineup. The version split is over by this point; Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, Drake, and Champion Steven have the same teams in both games.
Elite Four 1 - Dark
Sidney
Fighting and Bug coverage are the clean answers. Sharpedo is frail, Absol is the crit risk, and Mightyena can soften physical attackers with Intimidate.
Elite Four 2 - Ghost
Phoebe
Normal and Fighting attacks do nothing here. Bring Dark or Ghost coverage, keep status healing ready, and use strong neutral special damage into Sableye.
Elite Four 3 - Ice
Glacia
Half the team is Water/Ice, so Electric coverage matters as much as Fighting. Save enough damage for Walrein, because it is the bulky closer.
Elite Four 4 - Dragon
Drake
This is the Ice Beam check. A bulky Water type with Ice Beam can carry the fight; without Ice, you need Rock coverage and careful Salamence counterplay.
Champion - Steel core
Steven Stone
Steven is not pure Steel. Use Fire for Skarmory and Metagross, Water for Claydol/Aggron/Armaldo, Fighting for Aggron and Cradily, and save a real answer for Metagross.
Sidney Strategy
Sidney is the easiest member if you bring Fighting coverage. Mightyena can lower Attack with Intimidate, Cacturne and Shiftry dislike Fighting and Bug moves, and Sharpedo is frail despite hitting hard. Absol is the crit-risk Pokemon. Do not let it sit in front of something fragile.
Phoebe Strategy
Phoebe punishes Normal and Fighting attacks because Ghost types ignore them. Dark coverage is the easiest plan. Sableye has no weaknesses in Gen 3, so use your strongest neutral special damage if you do not have a clean answer.
Bring status healing. Ghost fights often become annoying through confusion, Curse-style chip, and defensive stalling.
Glacia Strategy
Glacia is Ice-themed but half her team is Water/Ice. Electric attacks are strong into Sealeo and Walrein, Fighting hits Ice targets well, and Rock can help if you have it. Walrein is the bulky closer; do not let it slowly drain your best attacker before Drake.
Drake Strategy
Drake is the Ice Beam test. A Water type with Ice Beam can carry this fight. Without Ice, use Rock coverage, bulky Water, and careful switching. Salamence is the ace and should be treated like a Champion-level threat.
Champion Steven Strategy
Steven’s team is not pure Steel. It mixes Steel, Rock, Ground, Psychic, Grass, and Bug coverage through Skarmory, Cradily, Claydol, Armaldo, Aggron, and Metagross.
Fire handles Skarmory and Metagross but struggles into Rock/Ground targets. Water handles Claydol, Aggron, and Armaldo. Fighting helps into Aggron and Cradily. Ground is strong into Metagross and Aggron. Electric is mostly for Skarmory.
Metagross Lv. 58 is the final wall. Save a healthy Ground, Fire, or bulky Water answer for it. Do not spend your Metagross plan on Skarmory unless you have a backup.
Must-Grab Items (Phase 9 Master List)
| Item | Location | Why You Want It |
|---|---|---|
| League healing supplies | Pokemon League Mart | No shopping once the challenge starts |
| Victory Road pickups | Victory Road | Final TMs/items before League |
| Ice Beam TM if obtained | Abandoned Ship/Game Corner options depending route | Best Drake prep |
| Hall of Fame entry | Champion Steven | Main story complete |
Phase 9 Checklist
- Teach Waterfall and reach Ever Grande City.
- Bring the required Victory Road HMs or a utility Pokemon.
- Heal before fighting Wally near the Victory Road exit.
- Build a League team with answers to Dark, Ghost, Ice, Dragon, and Steven's Steel core.
- Stock up before entering the Elite Four.
- Defeat Sidney, Phoebe, Glacia, and Drake.
- Save a real answer for Steven's Metagross.
- Defeat Steven and enter the Hall of Fame.
Dex quick links
