Best Grinding Spots in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire & Emerald

Level grinding has been a staple in Pokémon games since Generation I.

And the same holds true in Generation III.

In Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, there’s a 15 level difference between Pokémon in the last gym vs. the Champion’s team. And while it’s only an 8 level difference in Emerald, I’d say all three games have areas where you’ll want to grind up some levels.

Not just to defeat tough spots, but to also help your Pokémon reach Level 100. That is eventually the goal, right?

For this ranking we’ll check out some of the best spots to grind EXP in the original RSE Hoenn games.

5. Route 124 & 126 (Dive)

If you’re deeper into the story and feel like your level isn’t high enough to tackle the Sootopolis Gym, Dive to Route 124 and 126 and swim through seaweeds.

Specifically, aim to battle a ton of Clamperl, which yield lots of EXP relative to its location.

If you’re lucky, you can also beat some Relicanth which yield even more EXP.

And if you need to, you can lead with a level 31 Pokémon and use repel to avoid the Chinchou.

4. Meteor Falls (Waterfall)

Once you have access to Waterfall, then Meteor Falls has a deeper area filled with Golbat that hand out tons of EXP.

You might bump into some Lunatone/Solrock as well. While they yield less EXP, they’re still worth a fight.

You can also look for the deep room that spawns Bagon, and grind your EXP there to help evolve Bagon to Salamence.

3. Victory Road

With access to Hariyama, Golbat, Loudred, Medicham, and Lairon, Victory Road 1F and B1F has the better spawns.

Though the lowest floor has access to slightly higher levels, Sableye or Mawile are more common.

So really, I’d say hang out all around Victory Road, because there’s a lot of levels to gain here.

You can also use TMs like Psychic and Brick Break to cover most of the wild Pokémon easily.

If you’re on B1F, you can also lead with a Level 39 Pokémon and use Repel to avoid Mawile. But it’s not required since Mawile spawns at a 5% rate at Emerald, and you probably need all the EXP you can get.

2. Sky Pillar

In Ruby and Sapphire, once you beat the Pokémon League, Sky Pillar becomes accessible.

This is where you can catch Rayquaza.

This is also a good place to grind since it spawn tons of high-level evolved Pokémon like Claydol, Golbat, Banette, Dusclops, and Altaria.

But I think it’s worth running from Sableye/Mawile since they yield less EXP.

Note that in 5F, you can opt to lead with a Level 57 Pokémon so Altaria is the only one spawning. But it’s not going to show up as often given the 6% encounter rate.

1. Pokémon League

As with all the mainline games, the Pokémon League is a great place to grind your EXP out once you finish the game.

The Hoenn Pokémon League is one of the easiest Leagues to beat, so you won’t be using too many items once you get to high enough levels.

And honestly, you just need a few types to cover most of the League.

A good Fighting move, a good Dark/Ghost move, a good Ice Move, and a good Fire move (Ruby and Sapphire) or a good Grass/Electric move (Emerald).

But if you’re really pushing a team up to level 100, you can’t go wrong with the E4.