Oh, that's a sickener :-o. I rarely save in the League, but if i'm really, really close to winning, but my team has the disadvantage, then i do. Like in my LeafGreen, i saved before and after Lance, the 4th, because my Rival was so hard to beat! i think i'm gettin Platinum when it's out- the 3rd elite 4 lad in Pearl sucks, he specialises in Fire, yet there are only 2 Fire Pokemon in the Sinnoh Dex, so he uses a Steel type?? At least in the new Sinnoh dex there's more of a variety..
Anyways the first time i fought Cynthia, i'd Torterra for a starter. I was down to her Roserade, whom Cynthia had already used Full Restore on (so she wouldn't do it again), and i had her health brought down to red. She killed my Torterra, but i still had Staraptor left. I picked Aerial Ace, she picked Energy Ball...
Critical hits are not nice.. I'd only saved before entering the 1st Elite 4 room...