Victory Road serves as the ultimate test of strength in Roria Unbound before you can challenge the Elite Four and the reigning champion at the Royal League. Unlike traditional labyrinthine cave routes seen in older adventure titles, Roria Unbound presents Victory Road as a structured, high-stakes gauntlet of seven consecutive trainer battles.
This walkthrough covers how to unlock the gate, key items located in the Encounter Plaza, strict battle rules to expect, and detailed breakdowns of the trainer rosters observed in player runs.
Entrance Requirements and the Dynamax Band
Before reaching Victory Road, you must complete the main gym progression. ReCreatives Games structured the story so that access to the Royal League gate requires all eight gym badges.
- Badge Verification: Traveling via Route 18 from Port Deacon Hill leads to the league checkpoint. The gatekeeper verifies and stamps your trainer card once all eight badges are secured.
- The Dynamax Band: Just before you step into the staging grounds, Tess intercepts you. She gifts you her grandfather's Dynamax Band, noting that he was once a champion himself. This grants you the ability to Dynamax your Pokémon during battle throughout the gauntlet.
- Point of No Return Warning: Officials warn challengers that once you advance past the gates, you cannot turn back unless your entire team is wiped out in defeat.
Exploring the Encounter Plaza
Passing the initial gatekeeper brings you into the Encounter Plaza, an open staging area preceding the battle corridor. You can freely prepare here before initiating the gauntlet:
- Pokémon Center: A full-service Pokémon Center sits directly ahead. Make sure your team is rested, movesets are adjusted, and held items are equipped before speaking to the escort.
- TM26 (Earthquake): Surfing across the water feature in the plaza leads to an NPC and an item ball containing TM26 (Earthquake), a staple physical Ground-type attack.
- Wild Encounters: The plaza features wild patches (yielding encounters such as Swellow), allowing trainers to catch species or claim Pokédex milestone rewards before fighting.
When your party setup is finalized, speak to the league attendant at the far end of the plaza. Confirming you are ready escorts you directly onto the Victory Road battlefield.
Victory Road Gauntlet Rules
Victory Road enforces specific competition mechanics designed to push endgame teams:
- Bag Lock in Battle: You cannot access your item bag to use potions, revives, or battle boosters once a match begins. Held items function normally.
- Mandatory Battles: You must defeat seven distinct trainers in sequential order; none of the battles can be skipped.
- Automatic Recovery: Observations from gameplay playthroughs confirm that your team's HP and PP are automatically restored to full after each battle concludes.
- Competitive Stats: Opposing Pokémon feature competitive builds, including maximum IVs, optimized EV spreads, held items like Flame Orbs and Focus Sashes, and Mega Evolutions.
The 7 Victory Road Trainers
The gauntlet puts your type coverage to the test. Below is the roster of seven trainers documented during playthroughs.
| Trainer | Notable Pokémon | Key Threats & Strategies |
|---|---|---|
| Fighting Specialist | Kommo-o (Lv 92), Mega Lucario, Conkeldurr, Blaziken | High physical burst. Kommo-o opens with Clanging Scales/Boomburst. Conkeldurr runs Flame Orb with Guts. Use fast Flying, Fairy, or Psychic counters. |
| Bug Catcher | Volcarona, Mega Scizor, Golisopod, Pheromosa | Quiver Dance Volcarona and Mega Scizor hit hard. Pheromosa carries a Focus Sash to survive lethal hits. Prioritize Fire and Rock moves. |
| Lass Jesse | Delcatty, Togekiss, Mega Gardevoir, Lopunny | A rematch with Jesse from Route 2. Delcatty opens with Fake Out. Mega Gardevoir and Togekiss pack heavy Fairy damage. Steel and Poison coverage are essential. |
| Punk Guy Damien | Grimmsnarl, Obstagoon, Toxtricity, Pangoro | Opens with Grimmsnarl dual-screen utility. Obstagoon carries a Flame Orb and Knock Off. Bring strong Ground coverage for Toxtricity and Fairy/Fighting moves for Dark types. |
| Rising Star Jack | Dragon-type Core, Cinderace, Corviknight, Mega Salamence | High offensive pace featuring Mega Salamence. Cinderace hits hard with Fire-type speed. Dragon, Ice, and Fairy moves handle the primary sweepers. |
| Student Marcus | Mega Alakazam, Metagross, Porygon-Z, Steel-type core | Fast Special Attack from Mega Alakazam with Focus Blast coverage. Metagross carries Ice Punch. High-speed Ghost, Dark, and Ground moves counter his roster. |
| Cool Boy Timothy | Azumarill, Maushold, Tinkaton, Pikachu (Lv 93) | Azumarill runs Belly Drum setup. Tinkaton brings Mold Breaker utility. Timothy closes with a high-level Pikachu. Electric, Ground, and Fire moves clear this final squad. |
Battle Strategies and Preparation Tips
1. Optimize Physical and Special Setup Sweepers
Because your bag cannot be accessed mid-battle, relying on in-battle revives is impossible. Fast offensive sweepers capable of boosting their stats on turn one offer the cleanest route through each four-Pokémon team. Setups such as Swords Dance paired with multi-hit moves (like Scale Shot while holding Loaded Dice) or Quiver Dance allow you to outspeed Mega Evolutions.
2. Prepare Diverse Fairy and Steel Coverage
Several trainers in the later half of the gauntlet feature strong Fairy, Dark, and Dragon compositions. Having reliable Steel-type moves (such as Iron Head or Flash Cannon) and Ground-type coverage (such as Earthquake from TM26) protects your team against threats like Togekiss, Mega Gardevoir, Tinkaton, and Toxtricity.
3. Leverage Sidestep Mechanics
Playthrough footage shows that the game's defensive sidestep maneuver can be timed against predictable high-damage moves like Double-Edge, Close Combat, or Focus Blast, allowing your Pokémon to negate incoming burst and retaliate with super-effective hits.
Once you knock out Cool Boy Timothy's final Pokémon, the Victory Road gauntlet concludes, leaving your team healed and prepared to challenge the Elite Four.
