We’re headed back to Mt. Coronet. This time we’ll need to use the southern entrance, which can be accessed off Route 208. You’ll need both Surf and Rock Climb to get there. Before we trek back up the mountain, though, it’s a good idea to buy bucketloads of the best pokeballs you can get, namely Ultra Balls and Dusk Balls. We’re going to need a whole lot of them in the future.

If you tried to come to this place earlier, your path to the top was probably blocked by an image depicting the Legendary Trio. In its place now, however, is a massive hole in the wall. Go through the hole and up the stairs to reach the outdoors.

It looks like we’re stuck in another blizzard. Even better, the pathway up the mountain is crawling with Galactic scum. Wonderful.

MT. CORONET POKEMON

Clefairy – Levels 38-41 – Rare
Bronzong – Levels 39-41 – Rare
Snover – Levels 38-39 – Common
Abomasnow – Levels 39-40 – Common
Machoke – Levels 39-41 – Uncommon
Medicham – Levels 38-41 – Common
Golbat – Level 39 – Common
Chingling – Levels 38-41 – Rare
Graveler – Levels 38-40 – Common
Chimecho – Levels 39-41 - Rare

Catching Pokemon shouldn’t be a focus right now. You’ll want to save as many Pokeballs as possible for your upcoming showdown. Just focus on taking out wild pokes, defeating Galactic lackeys, and keeping your team healthy.

There’s a pretty twisty path through the mountain here, which leads both inside and around the mountain’s caverns. A few shortcuts can be had through the use of HM skills like Strength, but for the most part, you’re going to have to just trudge slowly up the mountain path. Eventually you’re going to come to a very bright place. It looks like a sanctuary of some sort.

You’ll fight off a couple of Galactic stragglers, then notice Cyrus, Mars, and Jupiter are here. Crap. This can’t be good.

Cyrus is releasing the power of Dialga! Or Palkia, if you’re playing the Pearl version, as we did. Sit back and watch a very impressive scene of the Legendary Pokemon displaying their true power. Everything has already been set in motion for the end of the world as we know it. Can we possibly turn things around?

You’d better believe it!

The first thing we’ll want to do is get Mars and Jupiter out of the way. As you prepare to take them on, you get some unexpected help – your longtime rival is going to join in the fray with all of his Pokemon! Things are looking up already!

Mars has her usual Golbat/Bronzor/Purugly team, while Jupiter has Bronzor, Golbat, and Skutank. As always, Purugly and Skutank are you two biggest threats. Fortunately, you’ve got some additional backup thanks to your rival joining you. His Munchlax isn’t horribly useful, so don’t worry if it falls in battle – he’ll just bring out something more effective. This fight can seem tough, but in reality, it’s a 12-against-6 battle, making it a pretty tough one to lose outright. It may take some time before the dynamic duo goes down, but they’ll fall to your combined might eventually. Don’t fret about your pokes fainting, either…

…because once those two are down for the count, your rival will heal your pokemon to full health. Wow, so he actually is useful for something! Now it’s time to put Cyrus in his place. His pokemon have grown in strength since you last saw them. Get ready for a tough fight!

Things are hardly over yet, though. Dialga/Palkia are still hanging around, and they’re pretty peeved about this whole situation. Professor and protégé arrive to tell you what to do: you’re going to need to restrain its fury – by force.

Chances are, you’re pretty exhausted from your last fight. If you don’t feel like your Pokemon are in good enough shape to withstand a full-on Dialga or Palkia assault, then by all means, just use that Master Ball you were given and save yourself a lot of frustration. If you want to try and capture them the old-fashioned way, though, you should probably try and hit them with debilitating status ailments first and foremost. Ice, Sleep and Paralyze are recommended, since conditions like Poison, Confuse, and Burn can cause damage, and we don’t want to hurt these guys more than necessary. After that, we’ll have to chip away at their HP. Using techniques that hit their weaknesses (Palkia is Water/Dragon, and Dialga is Steel/Dragon) is good to lower them below half of their HP, but after that, use less-damaging skills to get them as low on HP as possible without causing them to faint. Once you’ve got their HP low, start throwing Pokeballs! Ultra balls are a safe bet, though their fail rate for these guys is still pretty high. If you’re playing at night, you may have better luck with Dusk balls. Meanwhile, as you keep throwing your pokeballs, Palkia/Dialga will continue their assault. Keep your pokes healthy until you’ve got the master of time and space trapped!

Congratulations, you have contained the rage of one of the great pokemon and saved the world! You’d think accomplishing this feat would make you Worldwide Pokemon Champion by default, but alas, we still have one more Gym and Victory Road to conquer. Can’t a trainer ever catch a break?

By the way, now that Dialga and Palkia are out of the way, you can chase after the legendary trio themselves at the three lakes. See our sidequests guide for more info.