The iconic lead-up to any Elite Four and Champion, the Victory Road across various Pokemon games and generations certainly lives up to the name and challenge of the end game. While not every game has a location specifically named Victory Road, the title still maintains the legacy even in Scarlet and Violet.
With so many iterations, both as the route named as such and the final location of a mission, some Victory Roads stand taller than others. Whether from a lack of challenge or atmosphere or often both, a proper Victory Road feels like the final challenge before the final bosses of Pokemon. Among eight roads found throughout several regions, the best easily clear the worst.
8 Paldea Victory Road
A Boring Route
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
- Released
- November 18, 2022
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo, The Pokemon Company
- How Long To Beat
- 32 Hours
While the Victory Road in Paldea is more synonymous with one of the paths players can take to progress the story, the general focus on the challenges of defeating the gym leaders and facing the Elite Four still makes the lead-up to the Pokemon League essentially a victory lap for Victory Road. Despite all the focus on such a legendary title within the franchise, this newest Victory Road is one of the more lackluster routes seen.
With all the excitement and focus on the open world and varying terrains within Scarlet and Violet, the practically bare-bones Victory Road is almost shocking. A simple, somewhat curving grassy route that is perhaps as short as the first route in the game, the Paldean Victory Road is clearly missing some much-needed details and challenges.
7 Kanto Victory Road
Simple But Sweet
Pokemon Red
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- How Long To Beat
- 27 hours
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Game Boy
The first Victory Road, and also seen in several unique variations, the Kanto path to the Elite Four captures the simple but effective essence of a final environment before the boss gauntlet. Most recently redone in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, the crossover between the mainline Pokemon games and Pokemon Go, the Victory Road isn't as exciting as more recent options, but it certainly sets the bar for what a Victory Road should be.
Featuring some puzzles and twisting paths, the Victory Road captures the essence of an endgame build-up for the upcoming boss fights, along with offering rare Pokemon and even a Legendary hiding within the cave. While not as detailed as later iterations, the Kanto version of this penultimate route still offers a worthy challenge for players.
6 Sinnoh Victory Road
A Middling Remake
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
- Released
- November 19, 2021
- Developer(s)
- ILCA
- Publisher(s)
- ILCA
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch
Exactly in line with how many fans feel about the Diamond and Pearl remakes, the most recent iteration of Sinnoh's Victory Road in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl is just a translation of the original, without any modern touches or improvements.
While this iteration of this final route is identical to when it originally appeared, it still offers a fair number of puzzles and challenges for even the most prepared players, although with too many HMs and without too many rare Pokemon to entice players to search around besides for the exit. With extra rooms for post-game exploration, the Victory Road in Sinnoh marks a new era for what a Victory Road can be.
5 Kalos Victory Road
Towering Above The Region
Pokemon X and Y
- Released
- October 12, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- 3DS
Since the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A won't feature anything outside of Lumiose City, the appearance of Kalos' Victory Road remains exclusive to the 3DS games. While the Generation 6 games are certainly not known for their difficulty, the layering and environmental variety found within XY's Victory Road coupled with several puzzles makes this final route stand out easily among the rest.
Featuring towering cliffs, flooded caves, rocks for players to jump over and run between, and more ruins to explore, the climb to the heights of the Kalos region truly captures the challenge and mystique worthy of this boss build-up.
4 Hoenn Victory Road
A Cinematic Remake
Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
xperience an epic journey through a world filled with Pokémon in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Pokémon fans first enjoyed Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire when it launched in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. A whole new generation of Pokémon fans will experience the dramatic story line that unfolds in Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire.
- Released
- November 21, 2014
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo 3DS
A properly updated Road in the remakes to Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire, the Hoenn Victory Road captures a charming aesthetic alongside the variety of environments and challenges found within. With deep cave sections and plenty of famous water areas, though not too much, this path next to the Pokemon League is one of the most iconic and classic routes in the series.
Sporting a surprisingly cinematic battle against rival Wally at the end of this massive cave, and several locations making full use of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire's DexNav, this most recent iteration of Hoenn's Victory Road perfectly combines the new with the old, with some flair to boot.
3 Alola Victory Road
The Summit Of The Region
Pokemon Sun and Moon
The Sun and Moon, the winner of Ludum Dare 29, is a platformer with a unique mechanic: you can dive into the ground. Momentum is conserved but gravity is reversed, letting you fling yourself high into the air or deep beneath the surface. The goal is always straightforward - collect the three orbs in the level and jump into the wormhole - but spikes, endless drops and impossible heights make this more and more difficult.
Dive into the ground - This unique mechanic preserves your momentum, letting you use the level itself to overcome a huge range of challenges.
Conquer over 150 levels - Run, jump and dive your way through levels spanning from easy to brutally difficult. You'll need to both master the controls as well as think outside the box.
Non-linear level unlock system - Explore the game in whatever order best suits you.
Achieve Time Goals - Three tiers of medals provide an additional challenge for even the easiest levels.
Minimalistic graphics - Straight-to-the-point graphics help you focus on the gameplay.
- Released
- November 18, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Platform(s)
- 3DS
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
One of the most interesting Victory Roads throughout Pokemon games, the Alolan Victory Road is the most recently built route compared to far more ancient paths in previous and future games. As the Alolan Pokemon League has only just been implemented in the reason within the game's story, there's plenty of unique spins to the usually foreboding treks.
With the mountain featuring the Road being the tallest in the region, plenty of caves and snowy routes snake in and out of the entire area, offering some of the only Ice types in the entire game. The height and atmosphere of Victory Road are easily felt thanks to frequent elevators and cliffside views into foggy depths below.
2 BW Victory Road
A Road In Perfect Destruction
Pokemon Black and White
New Legendary Pokémon, new heroes, a surprising new region, plus new ways for players to have fun and communicate locally are just a few of the innovative and exciting gameplay features offered by Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version, exclusively for the Nintendo DS family of portable systems.
Redefining the Pokémon series, Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version offer fans and newcomers alike a completely new adventure to discover and enjoy - and for the first time ever in the series, the two games feature their own individual areas to explore. Set in the Unova region, which is located far away from the Kanto and Johto regions Pokémon fans will be familiar with, both games also feature all-new action-packed locations, such as the bustling urban environment of Castelia City.
In Pokémon Black Version and Pokémon White Version the player is tasked with completing two quests. One is to complete the Unova Pokédex by finding and catching every Pokémon in the region – however, in order to fully complete the Unova Pokédex, players will need to trade Pokémon between both versions. The other is to become the Pokémon League Champion by battling with wild Pokémon and other Trainers in the region. Players will train their Pokémon with the ultimate goal of taking on the Elite Four and the Unova Champion!
- Released
- March 6, 2011
- Developer(s)
- Game Freak
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo DS
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
Perhaps the epitome of what a Victory Road in Pokemon looks and operates like, the Victory Road in Black and White's Unova features rocky cliffs, caves with plenty of battles, and an array of rare and powerful Pokemon. With the entire puzzle challenge aspect of this Victory Road being showcased right as players walk up to it, this route is both simplistic and wonderfully detailed.
While scaling the cliffs is often the bane of many player's trip to the Pokemon League, the overall challenge present in this rocky route perfectly summarizes the tone of the Unova games, especially with pseudo-legendary Pokemon lurking in the dark.
1 BW2 Victory Road
A Road Updated
The sequel to Black and White, the creatively titled Black 2 and White 2's updated Victory Road combines the strong elements from the first iteration with the additional intriguing details and lore of the evolving story found in both sets of games.
With two iconic parts of this Road, few other variants hardly compare. Since the initial version found in BW was destroyed in a landslide, and the ruins of N's Castle from the climax of the original can be found within the depths of the cave section of the Road, this Unovan Victory Road is easily the champion of them all.
7 Most Wasted Pokemon In Team Rocket's Team
It would be an understatement to say that Team Rocket didn't use the following Pokemon to their fullest potential...