Stark Mountain

Stark Mountain (Japanese: ハードマウンテン Hard Mountain) is a volcano located in the north of the Battle Zone in Sinnoh, at the end of . It is home to the Legendary Pokémon , which resides in the innermost chamber. Both and are required to pass through the mountain's caverns.
In and , the 's can be found in the entrance chamber, complaining about having been defeated by Buck. Within the main cavern, the player encounters Buck, who is hunting for the Magma Stone and decides to accompany the player to the entrance to Heatran's room. Inside, Buck takes the Magma Stone and leaves.
In , Charon takes control of Team Galactic and travels through Stark Mountain to take the Magma Stone and capture Heatran. Mars and Jupiter are both encountered in the entrance chamber, each battling the player. Within the main cavern, Buck teams up with the player, looking to protect the Magma Stone from Team Galactic. Once the player follows Charon to Heatran's room, Looker arrests Charon and takes the Magma Stone. Buck then returns the Magma Stone after he and the player accompany Looker outside.
After the events at Stark Mountain are completed, if the player speaks to Buck's grandfather in the Survival Area, he will tell them about Heatran. In Diamond and Pearl and its remakes, it is at this point that Buck returns the Magma Stone to its original location. Heatran then appears in its room, ready to be battled by the player.
==In the games==
===Geography===
====Exterior====
Stark Mountain's exterior changes between and . The road ascends in a huge contour up the mountain and, at that point, Route 227 ends and the exterior of Stark Mountain begins. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and its remakes, a huge clearing opens up that contains a large patch of tall grass. The entrance to the interior of the mountain can be found to the west.
In Pokémon Platinum, the exterior is more complex and the path winds around pools of bubbling lava. It is darker and aesthetic features have been enhanced. The large patch of tall grass is still present, but it is not as big. By going northwest, an item can be found in an indented section of track. By traveling to the northeastern corner, a path will open up. By following it, the road will lead through two pools of smoking, bubbling lava around another bend to the entrance of the interior of the mountain.
===Items===
====Exterior====
====Entrance====
====Main cavern====
In addition to any HMs listed below, and are required to reach this area.
===Partner Trainer===
In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl, Buck can be found inside the main cavern on the 's first visit. He is searching for the Magma Stone and, due to the strong Pokémon in the area, asks to team up with the player.
In Pokémon Platinum, Buck is initially encountered on after the player crosses the eastern fallen log. He asks them to investigate a bunch of goons in space suits who are up to no good at the mountain while he returns to the Pokémon Center to heal. After the player enters the main cavern of Stark Mountain, Buck returns and asks to accompany the player.
Buck is one of the Stat Trainers, specializing in the and stats. While he is with the player, all battles become Double Battles, and all Trainer battles that would otherwise be Double Battles become Multi Battles. After every battle, he will completely heal the player's party. He leaves the player once they have reached the entrance to 's room.
====Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum====
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====Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl====
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===Pokémon===
====Generation IV====
=====Exterior=====
=====Interior 1=====
=====Interior 2=====
While Buck is with the , the following Pokémon (excluding dual-slot Pokémon) will be faced in Double Battles, with Buck as the player's partner.
====Generation VIII====
=====Exterior=====
=====Interior 1=====
=====Interior 2=====
While Buck is with the , the following Pokémon will be faced in Double Battles, with Buck as the player's partner.
===Special encounters===
====Pokémon Diamond and Pearl====
A appears here after speaking to Buck's grandfather in the Survival Area. If run from, it respawns upon leaving the area.
====Pokémon Platinum, Brilliant Diamond, and Shining Pearl====
A appears here after speaking to Buck's grandfather in the Survival Area. If defeated or run from, it respawns after entering the Hall of Fame.
Platinum	Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
 	
===Trainers===
====Pokémon Diamond and Pearl====
=====Exterior=====
=====Interior=====
While Buck is with the , the following Trainers, if they would normally be faced in Double Battles, will instead be faced in Multi Battles, with Buck as the player's partner.
====Pokémon Platinum====
=====Exterior=====
=====Interior=====
======Entrance======
|
|
|
|
|
|
======Main cavern======
While Buck is with the , the following Trainers, if they would normally be faced in Double Battles, will instead be faced in Multi Battles, with Buck as the player's partner.
====Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl====
=====Exterior=====
=====Interior=====
While Buck is with the , the following Trainers, if they would normally be faced in Double Battles, will instead be faced in Multi Battles, with Buck as the player's partner.
==Layout==
Version	Exterior	Interior 1	Interior 2	Interior 3
 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	
 	 	 	 	
  	  	  	  	 
==Music==
Games	Situation 	Song name (Japanese)	Song name (English) 	Composition 	Arrangement
 	Outside mountain (Day) 	225ばんどうろ (昼) 	Route 225 (Day) 	Go Ichinose 	Go Ichinose
 	Outside mountain (Night) 	225ばんどうろ (夜) 	Route 225 (Night) 	Go Ichinose 	Go Ichinose
 	Inside mountain 	ハードマウンテン 	Stark Mountain 	Go Ichinose 	Go Ichinose
 	When battling Mars or Jupiter 	戦闘！ギンガ団幹部 	Battle! (Team Galactic Commander)	Junichi Masuda	Junichi Masuda
 	After defeating Mars or Jupiter	ギンガ団に勝利！ 	Victory! (Team Galactic) 	Go Ichinose 	Hitomi Sato
 	When encountering Looker 	ハンサムのテーマ 	Looker's Theme 	Hitomi Sato 	Hitomi Sato
 	When battling 	戦闘！伝説のポケモン 	Battle! (Legendary Pokémon) 	Junichi Masuda	Junichi Masuda
==In animation==
===Pokémon the Series===
========
In Bucking the Treasure Trend!, Buck mentioned that he was planning on heading to Stark Mountain to find a treasure rumoured to be hidden there.
===Pokémon Generations===
Stark Mountain appeared in The Magma Stone. Buck arrived at the site too late to prevent Charon from awakening , and was soon joined by Looker, who was seeking to arrest Charon. Although Looker managed to knock Charon unconscious and Buck successfully restored the Magma Stone to its proper place, thus resealing Heatran, Charon managed to get away with the help of his two .
==In the manga==
===Pokémon Adventures===
========
After hearing talking about Team Galactic's activities at the mountain, Buck departed for the volcano, intending to protect from the villainous team. Upon reaching the volcano in Interrupting Ivysaur, he decided to call his brother Flint, who told him about the Magma Stone hidden inside the deepest part of the volcano. Having noticed a group of s following him, Buck attacked them and demanded information from them, but when he failed to get any answers from the mute Grunts, he decided to simply find the Magma Stone first. With the help of his , Buck soon found the room with the Magma Stone. Thinking that the Magma Stone was what Team Galactic was after, Buck tried to take it away, only to unwittingly unseal Heatran, which was then by Charon.
Alerted by the earthquakes caused by Heatran's awakening, Looker traveled to Stark Mountain to help Buck, and managed to interrogate Charon long enough to learn that he was collecting the Legendary Pokémon of Sinnoh in preparation for his attack on the Distortion World, where lives. Charon managed to escape soon after, while Looker and Buck only barely managed to get away thanks to the help from , although not without being severely injured.
===Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!===
Stark Mountain first appeared A Clash! Hareta vs. Charon and The Anger of Legendary Pokémon Heatran. Charon attempted to capture Heatran there, but him messing with the Magma Stone caused the to start rampaging, until Hareta succeeded in restoring the stone to its rightful place, calming Heatran down.
In Gathering of the Legendary Pokémon!, Charon returned to Stark Mountain. After his attempt to obtain had failed, he decided to settle for Heatran, only to be confronted by Looker, who arrested him and informed him that Cyrus had officially disbanded Team Galactic.
==In the TCG==
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Stark Mountain in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
==Trivia==
*While in the interior maze area, the game camera is zoomed out significantly, allowing the player to view more of the surrounding area.
*In Pokémon Platinum, s Stefan and Jasmin ask "What is time?" and "What is space?", referencing and .
*This is the only location in Sinnoh that is not a route where the player can rematch a Trainer using the Vs. Seeker, as Darien is outside and thus in an area where the Vs. Seeker can be used.
*In version 1.0.0 of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, can be battled more than once if it faints or the player runs, even reappearing right after it is caught.
==In other languages==
==Related articles==
Category:Sinnoh locations
Category:Diamond and Pearl locations
Category:Platinum locations
Category:Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl locations
Category:Mountains
Category:Caves
Category:Volcanoes
de:Kahlberg
es:Montaña Dura
fr:Mont Abrupt
it:Monte Ostile
ja:ハードマウンテン
zh:严酷山