It’s said that Mount Coronet is where everything began in Sinnoh. What lies at the top of the mountain, far above the hustle and bustle of the world below? We’re going to find out.
In order to access Mount Coronet, we’ll need to take Route 211 from either Eterna City or Celestic Town. Previously, we couldn’t climb the mountain thanks to the boulders in our way, but a little Strength will fix that.
ROUTE 211 CAVE BASEMENT POKEMON
Machoke – Levels 31-32 – Rare
Graveler – Level 31 – Uncommon
Golbat – Levels 30-32 – Common
Clefairy – Levels 30-32 – Uncommon
Meditite – Levels 30-32 – Common
Chingling – Levels 30-32 – Rare
Some very cool pokemon to be had here. You’ve seen most of these guys already, but if you passed them up before, you can snag them here at a higher level. Clefairy’s a longtime pokemon favorite who makes his first appearance here. If you didn’t catch and raise a Cleffa, you now have another opportunity to obtain the pink fluffball.
It’s foggy in here, so you may want to use Defog. It’s not necessary, but again, it is helpful both in finding your way and fighting wild pokemon. Head north, collecting items strewn about the cavern as you see fit. You’ll reach a flight of stairs that will take you up to the first floor again. From here, you can reach route 216.
ROUTE 216 POKEMON
Sneasel – Levels 32-34 – Common
Meditite – Levels 32-34 – Common
Snover – Levels 33-34 – Common
Machoke – Level 33 – Uncommon
Graveler – Levels 33-34 – Rare
Finally, we encounter some wild Ice types! Sneasel’s a dual Ice/Dark type with a lot of speed behind it, and Snover’s a mutant pine-tree with the power to create snowstorms at will. Snover’s interesting, but Sneasel’s really the one to get. If you’d rather not worry about trying to catch pokemon now, you can wait until you’re closer to Snowpoint City.
Above: Battle in the snow. Dramatic
The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s snowing. Thanks to the snow drifts, you can’t ride your bike in most places here. On top of that, the snow blows around in battle, damaging non-Ice pokemon for a few HP every turn. Making your life even more miserable are a bunch of trainers who have nothing better to do than stand around in the cold looking for other trainers to harass. You can take either the high road (crossing bridges) or the low road (slogging through snow), but both lead westward to a small lodge. If you want you (and you probably will) you can hop into the bed and press A for a refreshing, healing snooze.
Alas, we’re not through with our wintry wanderings just yet. We’ve still got Route 217 to handle.
ROUTE 217 POKEMON
Sneasel – Levels 34-36 - Common
Machoke – Levels 35-37 - Uncommon
Meditite – Level 35 - Rare
Medicham – Levels 35-36 - Common
Snover – Levels 34-36 – Common
Medicham can cause many a headache to an unprepared trainer. It’s the evolution of Meditite, and has a good mix of Psychic and Fighting skills to annoy the daylights out of you. On top of that, it gets an attack bonus from its Pure Power ability. Ghost skills will knock the wind out of it, but even then, it can put a lot of hurt on you if you don’t keep on your toes.
Remember how much fun wading through the snow was on route 216? Guess what, it just got even better! Not only does the blizzard increase in intensity, obscuring your vision, but the blowing snow will impede your speed, making you an easy target for enemy trainers to sneak up on. The only thing you can do is just keep pressing north, keeping your team as healthy as possible.
There’s an important item here that’s easy to miss: HM08, Rock Climb. It’s over on the western side of the Route, so keep your eyes peeled for pokeballs sitting cold and lonely in the snow. Getting this now will save you a lot of headaches later.
When you emerge from the snowstorm, you’ll be close to Lake Acuity and Snowpoint City.
