Re: Can you beat a Sage in a duel in ROM?
Like @JonaO703 said, it can be done. But it can take a while.
One strategy I use is to duel one of them repeatedly for as long as I can. Sometimes, I get lucky and beat them on the 2nd or 3rd try. Other times, it might 5 or 6 attempts. And sometimes, I won't beat them on a visit. Beating them is the only way to get a couple of the wands and the crystal zoomers for the collection that I have found. So just keep at it, you will win one eventually!! 😃
One other thing I have noticed in my game, is that the Sages also show up out in my worlds. L. Fabia and Simeon tend to be used a lot for joggers and walkbys in my game. Morgyn never seems to show up anywhere outside of Magic HQ. I may be completely wrong, but when I battle them away from Magic AHQ, it seems to me that my sim beats them more often. So, you might give that a try if you see one on the street.
Hope this helps.