Route 13: Lumiose Badlands Pokémon
  • Dugtrio - Common, Dirt
  • Gible - Uncommon, Dirt
  • Graveller - Common, Rock Smash
  • Slugma - Uncommon, Rock Smash
  • Trapinch - Common, Dirt
Four Badges down, four to go. With western Kalos under your belt, you're now off to the east to see what challenges await. Problem is, you have to go through the north of Lumiose City to get any further, and there's still a blackout gripping the streets. Perhaps a trip to Route 13, south of Coumarine City, will provide you with some answers to this problem.

Head south from the Coumarine City Gym to find the gate to Route 13. Sycamore's assistants will intercept you on the way out and upgrade your Pokedex to the Mountain Kalos Pokedex. Beyond them you'll find a vast area filled with dirt, and rather than being attacked by Pokémon at random they will appear as dirt trails and chase you around. Avoid or engage them as you see fit.

In addition to the underground Pokémon you'll also have to deal with gusting wind. Not only will the wind slow your progress through Route 13, it will also kick you off of the area's many grinding bars if it's blowing when you hit a divot in the bar. Wait for the wind to die down a bit before you try to cross any grinding bars. (And if this annoying you too much, feel free to just skip most of this area and proceed to the Kalos Power Plant. When you finish up there the wind in Route 13 will become a non-issue.)


Route 13's first half is a wide-open expanse, so we'll proceed via bullet point until the path narrows:
  • Look a short ways west of the path from the entrance, before it disappears. There's a hidden Nest Ball nearby. There are no obvious landmarks, so use your Dowsing Machine to find it.
  • Head west of the entrance to find a grinding bar. Cross it, then cross the next one to the north. You'll find a solitary rock with a PP Up attached. There's a smashable rock near the PP Up, behind which you'll find a winding path to TM57 Charge Beam. A rock along the way to the TM contains a Hyper Potion.
  • Head back the way you came. The grinding bar to the south of the PP Up will bring you to a breakable rock, behind which is a Burn Heal. You can jump down a ledge here to access the second half of the Route, but we'll head back east first. Once you cross the grinding bar back to the main section of Route 13, check the rock just south of the bar to find a Heat Rock. East of here and hidden in the dirt is a Star Piece that you won't find without the Dowsing Machine.
  • Go east from the entrance to Route 13. Across a grinding bar you'll find a Smooth Rock. Hop down the ledge near the Smooth Rock and follow the eastern periphery of Route 13 to the south. You'll keep running into small buildings with a connection to the Kalos Power Plant. Near the third such building to the south you'll find a Flame Plate.
  • Start making your way west. Attached to a rock to the west of the third building is an X Accuracy.
  • If you head back east from the Heat Rock grinding bar, as well as a little ways south, you'll find a Guard Spec. in the middle of nowhere. The Dowsing Machine is practically compulsory for finding it. If you keep going east and south from here, near one of the metal bridges and in a rock, is an X Accuracy. Northwest of this rock is a Guard Spec., hidden in the dirt and basically impossible to find without the Dowsing Machine.

Make your way down the grinding rails to the southwest. The exit to Lumiose City is in the south, but it's blocked and inaccessible until you deal with the Kalos Power Plant. Head west from here and you'll see a Scientist. South of him is a grinding bar, and if you ride it around it'll take you to a Sun Stone.

Team Flare Grunt
  • Houndoom, level 31
  • Golbat, level 33
Reward: 1,320 P

After beating the Grunt and listening to his jabbering, check the large rock to your right to find the Power Plant Pass. You can use this Pass to enter the Power Plant to the north.


Kalos Power Plant

Walk down the long hallway and you'll find a Grunt inside the first area.

Team Flare Grunt
  • Scraggy, level 32
  • Croagunk, level 32
Reward: 1,280 P

The room to the right is full of people, one of whom will sell you Fresh Waters for 300 P. On the right side of the room is a Zap Plate, wedged between some computer consoles Head back into the hall and head north and you'll run into another Grunt. The rest of the path through the Power Plant is populated solely by trainers, so get ready to fight. If you have solid Fighting- and Psychic-type moves you'll demolish the Grunts blocking your way.

Team Flare Grunt
  • Croagunk, level 31
  • Golbat, level 33
Reward: 1,320 P

Team Flare Grunt
  • Mightyena, level 34
Reward: 1,360 P

Team Flare Grunt
  • Scraggy, level 32
  • Golbat, level 32
Reward: 1,280 P

Team Flare Grunt
  • Golbat, level 32
  • Mightyena, level 32
Reward: 1,280 P

Team Flare Grunt
  • Swalot, level 34
Reward: 1,360 P

Team Flare Grunt
  • Liepard, level 31
  • Swalot, level 33
Reward: 1,320 P


Team Flare Grunt
  • Croagunk, level 31
  • Scraggy, level 31
  • Liepard, level 31
Reward: 1,240 P

At the end of the path you'll find a pair of upper-tier Team Flare members. Battle!

Team Flare Admin
  • Houndoom, level 36
Reward: 2,880 P


Team Flare Aliana
  • Mightyena, level 38
Reward: 5,320 P

Aliana's Mightyena is a more durable, but ultimately less dangerous, version of the Houndoom you just beat. It's good at slowing you down and chomping Psychic-types, and that's about it.

After the battle, some... um... interesting characters will show up and fully restore your team, as well as two Full Restores. Gee, thanks? Well, at least you can now enter Lumiose City...


... but first, return to the room with the captives that you passed earlier. The guy near the door will give you TM43 Flame Charge, the female Scientist will give you a Magnet, and the shyster with the expensive Fresh Waters lower them to $100 a pop. Now you can go to the city.

Make sure you enter Lumiose City through Route 13's southern exit! Not only can you find a Rare Candy and a hidden Stardust on a small path east of the exit, you won't be able to enter the northern sections of Lumiose City until you go through here.


What About The Locked Doors?

With the Power Plant Pass in hand you'd think that you could use it to enter the three locked doors on the east side of Route 13. Alas, no, you can't, and you never can. These doors cannot be opened in Pokémon X and Y, regardless of when you check them or what items you've collected. Sorry!