MAGMA ROCK AND HEATRAN
Remember that island in the northeastern part of Sinnoh that you always saw on your map, but were never able to go to? Well, we’re finally going to head out there. Talk to the sailor in the southwestern part of Snowpoint. You’ll be taken to the harbor at the Fight Area, where you’ll find your buddy waiting for you. He hasn’t lost sight of his ambitions, it seems- he’s here to prove himself as the best pokemon trainer ever and find a treasure deep within the island’s volcano. He just never lets his bubble get burst, does he?
It isn’t long, however, before you two bump into a fiery-haired youth named Buck. Buck is also here to look for the legendary treasure, and he isn’t about to let your pal get to it first. Off they go!
The Fight Area is a lot like any other city in Sinnoh: there are some residences, a few berry plantations, a Pokemon Center, and a Pokemart. You’ll also be able to use Fly to get back here from now on. The big thing here is the Battle Tower, which you can visit later.
From the Fight Area, you can either head north along Route 225 or east via Route 230, fighting off trainers and unseen-in-Sinnoh-until-now wild pokemon along the way. If you take the northbound route, you’ll wind up making a brief pit stop at the Survival Area. Going eastward will require a poke with Surf to sail across the shore, dropping you off near the Resort Area. (A quick note: The Survival Area has a Pokemart, while the Resort Area does not.)
From either resting point, you’ll be able to head towards Stark Mountain. Make sure you have pokemon in your party that can use Surf, Rock Climb, Rock Smash, and Strength before setting off. From the Survival Area, head eastward through Route 226. Use Rock Climb to scale up and down the hills and Surf to cross the small pond along the way. (You can stop at the little house in the middle of the lake to get a Pokedex upgrade that allows multi-language Pokedex displays.) At the end of the path, turn north onto Route 227. If you’re coming in from the Resort Area, head up to Route 228, where a sandstorm is brewing. You’ll need both your bike and Rock Smash in order to maneuver through the dust cloud. After reaching the end of the route, turn westward to reach the endpoint of Route 226, then veer immediately northwards onto Route 227. No matter which way you come in, you’ll need your bike to ramp-jump over some of the rocks in your way. Before you enter the cave in the mountain, you’ll encounter your buddy and Crasher Wake having a discussion. After they leave, you can enter the house nearby, where you’ll find a bed for resting your pokemon, as well as a rather creepy old lady. Once you’re all healed up, step on out and head on up to Stark Mountain. You’ll run into Buck once more along the way.
When you enter the inside of Stark Mountain, you’ll find your path blocked by some boulders that need Strength to be pushed. One will even need to be pushed all the way down the hill. Be careful when shoving these rocks around, as sometimes it’s possible to move one in such a way that you’ll be unable to progress. (If that happens, you’ll need to exit and re-enter Stark Mountain to reset the boulders’ positions.) You’ll see your rival sitting just outside the passage to the next area of Stark Mountain, whining about how Buck gave him a beatdown. Pal, I hate to break it to you, but this whole pokemon trainer thing just doesn’t seem like your calling in life, y’know?
(One side note: several wild pokemon here, such as Camerupt and Magcargo, have a chance of having the Magma Armor ability. If you have a pokemon with Magma Armor in your active party, it cuts down the amount of steps needed to hatch eggs in half. Be sure to capture one of these guys if you’re planning on doing serious pokemon breeding!)
In the second section, you’ll meet Buck yet again. He’ll brag about totally trashing your friend (it’s not like that’s a huge accomplishment), and ask you to tag along, because “strong trainers gotta stick together!” Uh-huh, whatever. Anyhow, Buck’s got a Claydol under his command. Claydol’s not the best pokemon for dealing with the denizens of the volcano, but it’s certainly far from useless. It’s got a pretty sturdy defense, and its Psychic-type attacks can dish out some decent damage. Plus, like all the other CPU trainers you’ve partnered with, he’ll heal your pokemon to full health after each battle.
Your goal is a small passage located on a high ledge in the northern part of this area. To reach it, you’ll need to maneuver through a maze of twisting passageways, both high and low. You may see some walls that could be scaled with Rock Climb, however, with Buck tagging along, you’re unable to utilize the skill. You can still use Strength and Rock Smash, though, and you’ll need both of those to clear a path and reach the exit. If the random enemy encounters start to get to you, put your highest-level pokemon in the lead spot of your party, then make generous use of Repel sprays.
Once you reach the end, Buck will step up and claim the mountain’s treasure, the Magma Rock as his own. He’ll then take off, leaving you to fend for yourself from that point on. ...Buck, you might be a better trainer than our buddy, but you’re still kind of a jerk.
Now, exit the room to head back into the large maze area. From here, you can either take the long road back to the entrance, allowing you the scale all the Rock Climb walls you missed when Buck was with you, or you can use Dig or an Escape Rope to exit immediately. Since you’ll be coming back here pretty soon, you might was well choose the latter option.
Stop by the Survival Area again. Inside one of the houses you’ll discover Buck with his grandpa. Seems like taking that Magma Rock might not have been the best idea after all, as the spirit living inside the volcano has apparently become quite agitated. Buck says he’s headed back in that direction, but you probably shouldn’t take his word for it. It’s best if you go back and investigate this matter yourself.
Head back inside Stark Mountain, following the same route you did when you were with Buck earlier. When you enter the small room where you originally found the Magma Stone, you’ll see that Heatran has awakened. And boy, is it ever pissed about its stone being taken away!
Heatran is probably the easiest of the three Level 70 Legendaries, but it’s by no means a pushover. It’s a Fire/Steel type, making it strong or immune to the vast majority of techniques. Electric attacks deal normal damage, while Fighting and Water skills will be considerably more effective. Heatran’s major weakness is Ground attacks, but be careful, because it’s quite possible to one-hit faint it with a single strong Ground skill. One important point is to never, ever use Fire skills when fighting Heatran. You might think Fire attacks would be good for getting Heatran’s HP low, but Heatran can absorb all fire attacks with its Flash Fire skill – and every attack it absorbs makes its Fire techniques even stronger!
Heatran’s attacks are primarily Fire-based. Fire Spin is fairly weak, but will prevent you from switching out the Pokemon currently in battle. Lava Plume is much stronger, and carries a risk of burning the pokemon it hits. Scary Face severely reduces your pokemon’s speed, and Heatran will use it often, so you should expect to be going second most of the time. To effectively counter and stall against Heatran, you’ll want to pick a poke that can both withstand its attacks and hit at its weaknesses. Infernape and Combusken are good choices for a combination of good offense and defense, while Water/Rock pokemon such as Relicanth, Kabutops, and Omastar work well as pure tanks.
When you’ve got Heatran’s HP almost gone, you’ll want to start with the pokeball barrage. With a bit of patience and a strong defender, Heatran will eventually be yours!
We’ve got one more Legendary left to go now- and this one’s the toughest of them all.
MAGMA ROCK AND HEATRAN
Remember that island in the northeastern part of Sinnoh that you always saw on your map, but were never able to go to? Well, we’re finally going to head out there. Talk to the sailor in the southwestern part of Snowpoint. You’ll be taken to the harbor at the Fight Area, where you’ll find your buddy waiting for you. He hasn’t lost sight of his ambitions, it seems- he’s here to prove himself as the best pokemon trainer ever and find a treasure deep within the island’s volcano. He just never lets his bubble get burst, does he?
It isn’t long, however, before you two bump into a fiery-haired youth named Buck. Buck is also here to look for the legendary treasure, and he isn’t about to let your pal get to it first. Off they go!
The Fight Area is a lot like any other city in Sinnoh: there are some residences, a few berry plantations, a Pokemon Center, and a Pokemart. You’ll also be able to use Fly to get back here from now on. The big thing here is the Battle Tower, which you can visit later.
From the Fight Area, you can either head north along Route 225 or east via Route 230, fighting off trainers and unseen-in-Sinnoh-until-now wild pokemon along the way. If you take the northbound route, you’ll wind up making a brief pit stop at the Survival Area. Going eastward will require a poke with Surf to sail across the shore, dropping you off near the Resort Area. (A quick note: The Survival Area has a Pokemart, while the Resort Area does not.)
From either resting point, you’ll be able to head towards Stark Mountain. Make sure you have pokemon in your party that can use Surf, Rock Climb, Rock Smash, and Strength before setting off. From the Survival Area, head eastward through Route 226. Use Rock Climb to scale up and down the hills and Surf to cross the small pond along the way. (You can stop at the little house in the middle of the lake to get a Pokedex upgrade that allows multi-language Pokedex displays.) At the end of the path, turn north onto Route 227. If you’re coming in from the Resort Area, head up to Route 228, where a sandstorm is brewing. You’ll need both your bike and Rock Smash in order to maneuver through the dust cloud. After reaching the end of the route, turn westward to reach the endpoint of Route 226, then veer immediately northwards onto Route 227. No matter which way you come in, you’ll need your bike to ramp-jump over some of the rocks in your way. Before you enter the cave in the mountain, you’ll encounter your buddy and Crasher Wake having a discussion. After they leave, you can enter the house nearby, where you’ll find a bed for resting your pokemon, as well as a rather creepy old lady. Once you’re all healed up, step on out and head on up to Stark Mountain. You’ll run into Buck once more along the way.
When you enter the inside of Stark Mountain, you’ll find your path blocked by some boulders that need Strength to be pushed. One will even need to be pushed all the way down the hill. Be careful when shoving these rocks around, as sometimes it’s possible to move one in such a way that you’ll be unable to progress. (If that happens, you’ll need to exit and re-enter Stark Mountain to reset the boulders’ positions.) You’ll see your rival sitting just outside the passage to the next area of Stark Mountain, whining about how Buck gave him a beatdown. Pal, I hate to break it to you, but this whole pokemon trainer thing just doesn’t seem like your calling in life, y’know?
(One side note: several wild pokemon here, such as Camerupt and Magcargo, have a chance of having the Magma Armor ability. If you have a pokemon with Magma Armor in your active party, it cuts down the amount of steps needed to hatch eggs in half. Be sure to capture one of these guys if you’re planning on doing serious pokemon breeding!)
In the second section, you’ll meet Buck yet again. He’ll brag about totally trashing your friend (it’s not like that’s a huge accomplishment), and ask you to tag along, because “strong trainers gotta stick together!” Uh-huh, whatever. Anyhow, Buck’s got a Claydol under his command. Claydol’s not the best pokemon for dealing with the denizens of the volcano, but it’s certainly far from useless. It’s got a pretty sturdy defense, and its Psychic-type attacks can dish out some decent damage. Plus, like all the other CPU trainers you’ve partnered with, he’ll heal your pokemon to full health after each battle.
Your goal is a small passage located on a high ledge in the northern part of this area. To reach it, you’ll need to maneuver through a maze of twisting passageways, both high and low. You may see some walls that could be scaled with Rock Climb, however, with Buck tagging along, you’re unable to utilize the skill. You can still use Strength and Rock Smash, though, and you’ll need both of those to clear a path and reach the exit. If the random enemy encounters start to get to you, put your highest-level pokemon in the lead spot of your party, then make generous use of Repel sprays.
Once you reach the end, Buck will step up and claim the mountain’s treasure, the Magma Rock as his own. He’ll then take off, leaving you to fend for yourself from that point on. ...Buck, you might be a better trainer than our buddy, but you’re still kind of a jerk.
Now, exit the room to head back into the large maze area. From here, you can either take the long road back to the entrance, allowing you the scale all the Rock Climb walls you missed when Buck was with you, or you can use Dig or an Escape Rope to exit immediately. Since you’ll be coming back here pretty soon, you might was well choose the latter option.
Stop by the Survival Area again. Inside one of the houses you’ll discover Buck with his grandpa. Seems like taking that Magma Rock might not have been the best idea after all, as the spirit living inside the volcano has apparently become quite agitated. Buck says he’s headed back in that direction, but you probably shouldn’t take his word for it. It’s best if you go back and investigate this matter yourself.
Head back inside Stark Mountain, following the same route you did when you were with Buck earlier. When you enter the small room where you originally found the Magma Stone, you’ll see that Heatran has awakened. And boy, is it ever pissed about its stone being taken away!
Heatran is probably the easiest of the three Level 70 Legendaries, but it’s by no means a pushover. It’s a Fire/Steel type, making it strong or immune to the vast majority of techniques. Electric attacks deal normal damage, while Fighting and Water skills will be considerably more effective. Heatran’s major weakness is Ground attacks, but be careful, because it’s quite possible to one-hit faint it with a single strong Ground skill. One important point is to never, ever use Fire skills when fighting Heatran. You might think Fire attacks would be good for getting Heatran’s HP low, but Heatran can absorb all fire attacks with its Flash Fire skill – and every attack it absorbs makes its Fire techniques even stronger!
Heatran’s attacks are primarily Fire-based. Fire Spin is fairly weak, but will prevent you from switching out the Pokemon currently in battle. Lava Plume is much stronger, and carries a risk of burning the pokemon it hits. Scary Face severely reduces your pokemon’s speed, and Heatran will use it often, so you should expect to be going second most of the time. To effectively counter and stall against Heatran, you’ll want to pick a poke that can both withstand its attacks and hit at its weaknesses. Infernape and Combusken are good choices for a combination of good offense and defense, while Water/Rock pokemon such as Relicanth, Kabutops, and Omastar work well as pure tanks.
When you’ve got Heatran’s HP almost gone, you’ll want to start with the pokeball barrage. With a bit of patience and a strong defender, Heatran will eventually be yours!
We’ve got one more Legendary left to go now- and this one’s the toughest of them all.
