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Pokemon League
Victory Road
Victory Road is the final route before your encounter with the Pokemon League. Below, you can find an image that traces out the fastest path through the area. The area is full of trainers and without repel you are likely to hemorrhage HP from the plethora of wild Pokemon. So, make it through fast and then, if necessary, other items can be a side objective.
The Pokemon League
After working through Victory Road, your final task before reaching post-game content is the Pokemon League, which is composed of the Elite Four followed by the reigning champion. All of the members of the Elite Four, their Pokemon, and strategies to beat them can be found in our Pokemon Ruby Elite Four Guide, as well as below. So, if you're having trouble make sure to check that out! Once the Elite Four is defeated, though, the post game content awaits!
Elite Four #1 - Sidney
#1 Mightyena
Type:
Lv: 46
Ability: Intimidate
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Crunch
Take Down 
Sand-Attack 
Roar
#2 Cacturne
Type: 
Lv: 46
Ability: Sand Veil
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Faint Attack
Needle Arm
Cotton Spore
Leech Seed
#3 Shiftry
Type:
Lv: 48
Ability: Chlorophyll
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Fake Out
Extrasensory 
Double Team
Swagger
#4 Sharpedo
Type: 
Lv: 48
Ability: Rough Skin
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Surf
Crunch
Slash
Swagger
#5 Absol
Type:
Lv: 49
Ability: Pressure
Hold Item: Sitrus Berry
Moves:
Swords Dance
Slash
Aerial Ace 
Snatch
Strategy
Sidney is the first member of the Elite Four and specializes in Dark-type Pokemon. He has 3 Pokemon with secondary typings, which you can take advantage of. By this point, you should have the tools to fight Grass and Water-type Pokemon, which means that Cacturne, Shiftry, and Sharpedo should be relatively easy.
For Mightyena and Absol, we recommend using a Bug or Fighting-type Pokemon. Be warned, though, that all Elite Four members will use potions and that Absol is carrying a Sitrus Berry, which he will use to heal if not one-shot KO’d. Mightyena has the move Roar, which may make switching to your properly typed Pokemon difficult. Make sure your team has a variety of moves on each Pokemon so that this is less of an issue.
Elite Four #2 - Phoebe
#1 Dusclops
Type:
Lv: 48
Ability: Pressure
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Curse ???-type
Confuse Ray
Future Sight
Shadow Punch
#2 Banette
Type:
Lv: 49
Ability: Insomnia
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Spite
Will-O-Wisp 
Shadow Ball
Faint Attack
#3 Banette
Type:
Lv: 49
Ability: Insomnia
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Toxic 
Skill Swap
Shadow Ball
Psychic
#4 Sableye
Type:
Lv: 50
Ability: Keen Eye
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Faint Attack
Shadow Ball
Psychic
Attract
#5 Dusclops
Type:
Lv: 51
Ability: Pressure
Hold Item: Sitrus Berry
Moves:
Confuse Ray
Shadow Ball
Ice Beam 
Earthquake
Strategy
Ghost-type Pokemon are universally weak to Dark-type moves, but this presents a bit of a problem against Sableye. Sableye will have no special means of one-shotting it because of its typing, so try to respect it and bring out your best. Otherwise, you may be surprised since his level 51 Duskclops has Ice Beam and Earthquake, both powerful moves in their own right against a variety of Pokemon. The other 3 Pokemon have a bunch of status-effect moves, but you can prepare for this by having your Pokemon hold berries before the fight and bringing healing items in abundance.
Elite Four #3 - Glacia
#1 Glalie
Type:
Lv: 50
Ability: Inner Focus
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Hail
Light Screen
Ice Beam
Crunch
#2 Sealeo
Type:
Lv: 50
Ability: Thick Fat
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Surf
Ice Ball
Hail
Body Slam
#3 Sealeo
Type:
Lv: 52
Ability: Thick Fat
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Hail
Blizzard
Dive
Attract
#4 Glalie
Type:
Lv: 52
Ability: Inner Focus
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Hail
Ice Beam
Shadow Ball
Crunch
#5 Walrein
Type:
Lv: 53
Ability: Thick Fat
Hold Item: Sitrus Berry
Moves:
Blizzard
Surf
Body Slam
Sheer Cold
Strategy
The biggest weakness of the Ice-type is fire-based moves. But if you bring that in expecting an easy win, you’ll be disappointed by the plethora of water Pokemon in this fight. To counter this, try bringing in Electric or Fighting type pokemon. Fighting is great against Ice and neutral against Water, so no matter what the second type is, you will continue to take advantage of the squishiness of the type itself. If you go this route, beware of Glalie’s crunch since this will decimate any fighting pokemon.
As always, the final Pokemon has a sitrus berry, and Glacia won’t hesitate to use potions or other healing items.
Elite Four #4 - Drake
#1 Shelgon
Type:
Lv: 52
Ability: Rock Head
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Dragon Claw
Rock Tomb 
Protect
Crunch
#2 Altaria
Type:
Lv: 54
Ability: Natural Cure
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Take Down
DragonBreath
Dragon Dance
Refresh
#3 Flygon
Type:
Lv: 53
Ability: Levitate
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Flamethrower
Crunch
DragonBreath
Sand-Attack
#4 Flygon
Type:
Lv: 53
Ability: Levitate
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Fly
Dig
DragonBreath
Sandstorm
#5 Salamence
Type:
Lv: 55
Ability: Intimidate
Hold Item: Sitrus Berry
Moves:
Flamethrower
Dragon Claw
Crunch
Fly
Strategy
This final Elite Four member specializes in Dragon-type Pokemon, so Ice-type moves or Pokemon will be a natural counter. Be warned, though, that Flygon and his signature Pokemon Salamence both have Fire-type moves. Otherwise, a non-dragon pokemon with dragon moves can use Dragon’s natural affinity against itself. This fight is something of a brawl, with many of his Pokemon relying on moves like dig, fly, or sand-attack to buy time before moving in for a devastating move.
Pokemon League Champion - Steven
#1 Skarmory
Type:
Lv: 57
Ability: Keen Eye
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Steel Wing
Toxic
Aerial Ace
Spikes
#2 Claydol
Type:
Lv: 55
Ability: Levitate
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Earthquake
AncientPower
Light Screen
Reflect
#3 Aggron
Type:
Lv: 56
Ability: Sturdy
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
Earthquake
Dragon Claw
Thunder
SolarBeam
#4 Cradily
Type:
Lv: 56
Ability: Suction Cups
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
AncientPower
Confuse Ray
Sludge Bomb
Giga Drain
#5 Armaldo
Type:
Lv: 56
Ability: Battle Armor
Hold Item: N/A
Moves:
AncientPower
Slash
Aerial Ace
Water Pulse
#6 Metagross
Type:
Lv: 58
Ability: Clear Body
Hold Item: Sitrus Berry
Moves:
Meteor Mash
Earthquake
Psychic
Hyper Beam
Strategy
Steven is the champion of the Pokemon League and the effective final boss of the game, so make sure you’re properly prepared and healed before taking him on. His Pokemon are, as per tradition, varied in their typing and specialties. But, he has a disproportionate number of Rock-type and Steel-type Pokemon in his team, so you can take advantage of this by bringing a strong Fighting-type. Be scared of his Claydol for the devastation he can bring onto an unsuspecting Fighting-type, though.
Take time to make sure you’re bringing in your best Pokemon when you knock out one of his. Other types you should have include ground and fire since the plethora of Steel-type Pokemon make fire an ideal backup. A good Ghost-type will also help you against Claydol and Metagross, and negate the power of the Hyper Beam he brings in with his final Pokemon. If you manage to defeat Steven, you will be the Pokemon League Champion! Congratulations!
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