First Half

This walkthrough covers everything you need to know about how to get through the main story in the game. It shows you all of the Pokemon in each of the areas that you can catch as you play through, as well as pointing out numerous items and such. It also shows all of the important Trainer battles, such as Gym Leaders and fights against your Rival.

Please do remember that this guide is a work in progress! It was originally written for the Japanese version of HeartGold and SoulSilver, so there may be some Japanese names of things still in here, or translations or stuff like that. Some Trainer names may be unavailable until I can confirm them. Additionally, as this is work in progress, I will be adding content continually.

This guide was last updated on 4/2/2010.

If you would like to point out anything missing from this guide (other than hidden items and Apricorns), go ahead and E-mail me about it! Also, if you would like to contribute anything well written, like strategies or complete coverage on a section that you wrote yourself, contact me as well and I might decide to use it on this Walkthrough! OpeningAs soon as you fire up the game for the first time, you'll see a screen asking if you need help figuring out the controls for the game. If you're unfamiliar with them, you can just touch the bottom screen to see the controls, otherwise just select the bottom option and you'll be set to begin.

Afterwards, you'll see Prof. Oak and he'll release a Marill while telling you about the world of Pokemon. After more dialogue, he'll ask you whether you're a boy or a girl, and you'll see the two Trainers (boy or girl) on the bottom screen of your DS.

Select whichever of the two you want to play as. There isn't a significant difference if you play as a boy or a girl, so it's mostly a matter of preference. You'll then be asked your name, so choose your name from the bottom screen. You can only enter up to 7 characters for a name.

Finally, Oak will shrink you down into normal size and you will actually get to begin playing the game! New Bark TownYou start up in the top floor of your house. You have a Wii and everything. If you check your PC, you will find that you have some mail from Lyra (if you're playing as a male Trainer; it will be from Ethan if you're playing as a female Trainer). Walk down the stairs and your mom will talk to you. She'll tell you that Professor Elm next door was looking for you, and will then put icons on the bottom screen of your DS. They're your basic menu options. You can either touch the bottom screen or press X to access it and use your control pad to navigate.

When you leave your house, a Marill will walk over to you, then you'll see Lyra in the house next door and the Marill will run over towards her. After that, head on over to Prof. Elm's Lab, which is just to the west.

Inside, you'll walk over to Prof. Elm and he'll jabber on for awhile before he gets some mail on his PC. It's from Mr. Pokemon about an Egg he found, so he wants you to take your Pokemon and go pick it up from him. Cool!

When Prof. Elm is done talking, save your game if you want to, then walk on over to the three Poke Balls in the direction he's looking to pick your starting Pokemon!

Pick whichever Pokemon you want to start with and then hit A. Afterwards, you'll see the Pokemon you chose beside you and you'll be asked if you want to give it a nickname. Go ahead and give it one if you'd like to, but keep in mind that you can't change it until around the time you'll be getting your third Gym Badge (about 5 or so hours through the game). Important!Save your game before approaching the table and picking which Pokemon you want if you are looking to have your starting Pokemon be of a certain nature or gender! Which starting Pokemon should I choose?This is a good question that is asked by a lot of players. The Pokemon that you choose as your starter Pokemon does make a bit of an impact on your playthrough, because you are going to be likely to use that Pokemon in your team throughout the game. But which one is the best of these three to choose? Here are my opinions on the three starter Pokemon! Chikorita -L16-> -L32-> Chikorita is a bit difficult to raise successfully due to its lack of offensive moves and difficulty against the first few Gyms. It has good defensive stats and Meganium ends up being a bit well-rounded (though underwhelming), emphasizing still on those defensive stats.

Unfortunately Razor Leaf is going to have to get you by until Chikorita learns Magical Leaf at level 22 (as a Bayleef), and that's about it for useful Grass-type moves. It can still learn some other attacking moves, but you're going to be wanting to use your Chikorita and its evolutions to inflict status on your opponent's Pokemon, to set up things like Light Screen and Reflect (it can learn them both!), and to stay alive in the fight. Petal Dance, which is learned by Meganium at level 32, is alright for attacking with, but prevents you from switching and confuses you afterwards.

I personally do not recommend picking Chikorita unless you're looking for a challenge. Newer players should stay away from it. Sorry, Chikorita.Cyndaquil -L14-> -L36-> Cyndaquil is a pretty solid choice and does well against the first few Gyms. It is very swift with its high Speed, and it has really nice Sp. Atk to boot. It learns Smokescreen at level 6 in HGSS, allowing it to debilitate your opponent's Pokemon by lowering their accuracy, and it keeps it up by learning a lot of good attacking moves. Ember is learned at level 10, Flame Wheel level 20 (as a Quilava), Lava Plume at level 35, and Flamethrower at level 42 (as a Typhlosion).

Cyndaquil and its evolutions learn pretty much everything they need to learn in order to fight just by leveling up. You can supplement your Cyndaquil by teaching it a variety of TMs, like Focus Blast, Fire Blast, Rock Tomb, or Sunny Day.

I definitely recommend Cyndaquil to the newer players or the players that want an easier ride through the game. You just need to make sure that you have a Pokemon that can deal with annoying Rock-types and Water-types, because they're Cyndaquil's bane.Totodile -L18-> -L30-> Totodile is an interesting Pokemon to use. It has a lot of Attack and Defense power, which is very welcome early on, and it learns some fairly decent moves. Early on, it learns Water Gun at level 6, then the rather useless Rage shortly afterward at level 8, followed by Bite at 13 and Ice Fang at 21 (as a Croconaw). After that, it learns a lot of offensive moves and moves that really help kick it into gear.

Aqua Tail, Super Power, and Crunch are just a few moves that it will learn later on as a Feraligatr. It has an awesome amount of diversity compared to Cyndaquil and Chikorita, learning a lot of different moves. It's a shame that it doesn't learn Aqua Tail or Superpower until much later, but it can make up for it by learning plenty of other TM moves.

It certainly has a lot more Attack than Sp. Atk, so Surf isn't quite as good, but it's still alright and you'll likely appreciate it. Feraligatr makes a pretty awesome fighter later on and is a bit more versatile than Typhlosion.The Pokemon that you choose as your starter Pokemon will be solid and strong regardless of which you choose, and any of the three of them are excellent choices. Really, it's just a matter of your preferences as to which you pick.After that, Elm will tell you that you can heal your Pokemon whenever you want by checking out the PC behind him. Just hit A next to it and select Yes and you'll heal your Pokemon! As you leave, Prof. Elm's aide will give you 5 Potions to help you out if you find yourself in a pinch. Try to save these and just heal up at Elm's PC or the Pokemon Center in Cherrygrove City instead, but it's ok to use them if you are about to lose a fight or something.

When you exit the building, Lyra will be outside with her Marill. She'll say some stuff, and will then head off with her Marill.

At this point, you can't leave town just yet. You'll need to go back to your house and talk to your mom so she'll give you the Pokegear! She'll ask if you know how to use it, but regardless of what you answer, she'll explain it anyway.

And that's that, you've got your Pokemon, you've got your Pokegear, you're all set for an adventure! Just as you're about to leave town, though, Elm pops out from his lab and gives you his Phone Number for your Pokegear. Now you'll finally be able to leave! Route 29{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_enc_table" width="100%" Enc. Rate: 25 EXP: 15 ~ 31 EXP: 16 ~ 24 EXP: 16 ~ 32 EXP: 16 ~ 33 There are a lot of hills and ledges that are one-way ledges on this route, so just try and climb up rather than down. It's not too tricky, but just remember you need to be heading north. There is a building you can enter about halfway through the route on the northern side, but there's nothing really of interest for you there at the moment.
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="7"|Route 29
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Wild Pokemon
 * Type(s)
 * Level(s)
 * Morn.
 * Day
 * Night
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Pidgey
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|55%
 * align="middle"|55%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Sentret
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 2 ~ 3
 * align="middle"|35%
 * align="middle"|40%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Rattata
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 2, 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|5%
 * align="middle"|15%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Hoothoot
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|85%
 * }

Proceed through the route, hugging the northern wall and then gradually making your way west, fighting all of the wild Pokemon that you run into. They shouldn't be too tough, though make sure you run back and heal if things are getting bad (try not to waste your Potion).

I'd recommend reaching level 6 before entering Cherrygrove City to the west. Cherrygrove CityUpon arriving in Cherrygrove City, an old man called the Guide Gent will approach you and then show you around town. He'll show you the Pokemon Center, the Poke Mart, and the ocean. However, he runs pretty fast (pretty good for his old age!), so he gives you a set of Running Shoes after he's shown you around town. Now you can run by holding in B! You can also tap the little shoes on the bottom screen to make it so you run automatically, without having to hold in B. Pretty handy!

You can heal up your Pokemon in the Pokemon Center if it is low on HP. I'd recommend doing that before heading north, to Route 30.

In the Poke Mart, you can buy a Potion for $300, an Antidote for $100, and a Parlyz Heal for $200. You can't buy Poke Balls just yet, though.

As you try leave town to Route 30 to the north, you'll be stopped by the energetic old man again. He'll give you the Map Card for your Pokegear, allowing you to view the map of Johto when you use your Pokegear. You can zoom in and make notes on locations if you have the desire to, though the notes probably won't do you that much good now.

Now head on north to Route 30! Route 30{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_enc_table" width="100%" Enc. Rate: 25 EXP: 15 ~ 31 10% EXP: 23 30% EXP: 22 ~ 30 0% 0% EXP: 22 ~ 29 50% 35% EXP: 41 0% 0% EXP: 40 10% 15% EXP: 15 0% EXP: 24 ~ 33 60% EXP: 24 ~ 32 You can find a Potion near the entrance to the route, on the eastern side.
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="7"|Route 30
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Wild Pokemon
 * Type(s)
 * Level(s)
 * Morn.
 * Day
 * Night
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Pidgey
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2, 4
 * align="middle"|40%
 * align="middle"|50%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Ledyba
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 3
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Caterpie
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 3 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|50%
 * align="middle"|35%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Weedle
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 3 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Metapod
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 4
 * align="middle"|10%
 * align="middle"|15%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Kakuna
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Spinarak
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|30%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Hoothoot
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 3 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|30%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Rattata
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 3 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|40%
 * }

As you try head north through Route 30, you'll be stopped by a guy in a house, who will tell you some stuff and will give you the Apricorn Box. That lets you store up to 99 of the Apricorn, which can be found by shaking down some of those funny looking sphere-like trees (like the one near the guy's house, which contains a Grn Apricorn).

Past the house a bit, if you try head west, you'll notice that Trainers are blocking your path. Unfortunately, they don't play the cool battle music like they did back in the original Gold and Silver. Oh well.

Take the eastern path instead and follow it along until you find a little house (with an Apricorn nearby it, that contains a Pnk Apricorn). That's Mr. Pokemon's house, and that's who you're looking for!

Inside of Mr. Pokemon's house, you'll see Mr. Pokemon with Professor Oak. After a little bit of talking, he'll give you the Mystery Egg, which is what you came here for in the first place. Then he heals up your Pokemon, and then Prof. Oak comes over to talk to you. He looks at your starter Pokemon and comments on it and stuff, then comes back to you and gives you the Pokedex. Sweet! It'll appear as the top-right icon on the bottom screen.

After giving you the Pokedex, he has to go back to his Radio Show in Goldenrod City, but he gives you his Phone Number for your Pokegear before he leaves. How nice, now you can bug Oak as much as you want.

As soon as you leave the house, Prof. Elm will call and tell you that something terrible has happened and that you should get back to his lab right away! When the phone call is over, just press B a few times to leave the Pokegear screen in case you haven't figured that out already. Cherrygrove CityMake your way back to Cherrygrove City, but make sure that you heal your Pokemon up at the Pokemon Center first! Maybe buy a Potion if you don't feel confident in your combat skills (or if you used your first one up already), because you have a fight waiting for you!

As you try leave Cherrygrove City, that guy with the red hair that you saw lurking outside of Elm's Lab earlier (you might not have noticed him) will bump into you and then challenge you to a fight with a Pokemon that might look a little familiar to you if you took some time choosing your Pokemon... What a really cool intro to the fight! He shouldn't be that difficult, but he'll be harder than any of the wild Pokemon you've run into. You should be at least level 6 before taking him on, but level 7 is recommended. If you started with Cyndaquil, try use SmokeScreen first, then Leer, then finish him off with Tackle.

After beating him, he'll start to leave, but will then come back to pick up the Trainer Card that he dropped accidentally. Hope you caught his name on it! (Don't worry, you don't have to watch for anything; it's a joke!)

Now go and heal if you want (not necessary if you hop down the ledges back to New Bark Town) and head back to Prof. Elm's Lab! New Bark TownWhen you enter Prof. Elm's lab, you'll walk over to the policeman who's there and suspects you as the robber! Not good! Then your friend (Lyra or Ethan) will run in and will help explain things, clearing your innocence.

Now you'll be given the chance to name the red haired boy. Name him whatever you'd like, though you can leave his name blank to use the default name for him. In the Pokemon canon stuff, he is referred to as Silver, so you might want to name him that if you are a Pokemon purist. I'm just going to call him Rival for the sake of this walkthrough, though. It's a great name, after all, and you'll know exactly who I'm talking about!

After that, your friend and the policeman will leave, and then you'll give Prof. Elm the Mystery Egg you got from Mr. Pokemon. He'll be like "No way, Pokemon really make eggs! Unbelievable! I've never actually seen one!" and be all amazed by it or something. Common sense, man. But then he'll be excited that you got your Pokedex from Prof. Oak and tells you that you should embark on a journey for the badges and take the Pokemon League challenge. You know, the usual. And the best place to start is in Violet City.

But first, no hero starts a great journey without saying goodbye to his or her mom, so make your way back to your mom's house to talk to her. She'll then ask if you want her to save a portion of your money after each fight that you win. It's your choice, though if you say yes, she'll buy you stuff with that money, some of it being rather tricky to get, and since you'll probably be making enough money anyway, you might as well.

Whenever she buys something, she'll call you on your Pokegear, and you'll then be able to pick up your item(s) at any Poke Mart by talking to the man in the red suit. She buys a lot of berries, but some of the other cool items she buys for you include a Silk Scarf, Choice Scarf, and Moon Stone, as well as plenty others, so it's definitely worth it.

Now make your way out of town, now that you're embarking on an epic journey and you said goodbye to your mom. Route 29Upon entering the route, your friend will be there with his or her (I'm just going to refer to him/her as the girl, Lyra) Marill, and she will want to show you how to catch Pokemon to show off her awesomeness points. No more Dude, regrettably, to show you how to catch Pokemon like back in the days of Gold and Silver.

Lyra will fight a Rattata L2, do an attack, and then toss a Poke Ball at it. You might want to pay attention to what she's doing so you'll be able to navigate the windows, since that's exactly what you do to catch Pokemon. You didn't even need me to tell you that!

After she catches her Rattata, she'll give you some Poke Balls (5 to be exact) so you can now catch Pokemon at your leisure. Sweet! Then she'll just leave. Go ahead and catch some Pokemon if you want. Hoothoot is pretty sweet because it learns Hypnosis at level 5, which is great for putting Pokemon to sleep and helping you catch them (and good against tough Trainer fights), and it also learns Peck at level 9 (35-power move) and Uproar at level 13 (50-power move). Rattata learns Quick Attack at level 4, which will be pretty powerful until it learns Hyper Fang at level 16. It also learns Bite along the way and generally learns a ton of Normal- and Dark-type attacking moves. Pidgey hits a little harder than Hoothoot, but Hoothoot is probably better earlier on. Sentret is also an option, but it hits a little lighter than Rattata does.

On your way to Cherrygrove City, you might want to check out that building that I told you not to go to now, because there are some Pokemon there for you to catch if you so desire. Route 46{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_enc_table" width="100%" Enc. Rate: 25 EXP: 20 ~ 31 EXP: 16 ~ 24 EXP: 16 ~ 32 Totally optional to stop by, but in case you want to get yourself a Geodude, you might want to stop by this place. They're a bit of a pain to catch, and a bit dull to raise, but Rock Throw at level 11 will be pretty cool on Geodude for awhile, and after that it starts picking up some nice moves. It's just slow as molasses and can't take hits from Special-based Pokemon.
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="7"|Route 46
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Wild Pokemon
 * Type(s)
 * Level(s)
 * Morn.
 * Day
 * Night
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Geodude
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2 ~ 3
 * align="middle"|40%
 * align="middle"|40%
 * align="middle"|45%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Spearow
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2 ~ 3
 * align="middle"|35%
 * align="middle"|35%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Rattata
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 2, 4
 * align="middle"|25%
 * align="middle"|25%
 * align="middle"|55%
 * }

This is also a great place to catch Spearow, too, which make a much more offense-oriented Flying-type Pokemon than either Pidgey or Hoothoot do, at the cost of being quite a bit more frail defensively. Cherrygrove CityThe Poke Mart has a few new items and even has someone new at the register. The person on the top register will sell you Air Mail for $50 and Heal Balls for $300. There isn't really any reason you'd want Heal Balls, though, and you're better off buying Poke Balls, which are now available from the other clerk for just $200 each. Route 30Now that you can catch some Pokemon here, you might find something of interest, though I doubt it. Spinarak is an option if you're playing HeartGold or there's Ledyba if you're playing SoulSilver, but neither are really that good and each lacks good moves for a long time.

There's also a few Trainers for you to fight on the route now! After fighting some of them, they might ask you if you want to give them your number. You might as well, so that way they'll call you for rematches and stuff. None of them should be too tough or anything. They're not much stronger than the wild Pokemon you've fought in the area, but they do provide a nice amount of EXP for beating them. Switch Training your little guysThroughout the game, you'll be sure to catch a bunch of Pokemon. Some of them you may like to train up to have as permanent additions to your team, whereas others you may just want to collect or use to fill out your Pokedex.

For those Pokemon that you are interested in training, you'll often find that they don't have the greatest stats or attacks when you first catch them. If you're looking for a way to train them up, you can do something that I like to call "switch training." Basically, you have whatever Pokemon you would like to have gain some EXP in the first position of your party, preferably against Trainer fights (because slower Pokemon may be unable to run against wild Pokemon that you don't want to fight). Then, when it is sent out in the battle, you switch it for your main attacker — at this point in the game, this is most likely your starter Pokemon — and have it finish off the opposing Pokemon. That way both of those two Pokemon earn EXP, even though only one of them did the work. Repeat the cycle for each Pokemon in a Trainer's team, switching back to the switch trained Pokemon when asked to switch, then switching to your attacker again.

This does mean that whatever Pokemon you are doing the attacking with will be receiving at least one hit every turn, because the opponent will get free reign of their attacks, but usually your stronger Pokemon can take more than a few hits without worry. Make your way north, fighting any of the three Trainers en route you'd like, and you'll reach Route 31. Route 31{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_enc_table" width="100%" Enc. Rate: 25 EXP: 23 ~ 39 10% EXP: 30 30% EXP: 30 ~ 37 0% 0% EXP: 29 ~ 37 30% 35% EXP: 36 EXP: 51 0% 0% EXP: 50 10% 15% EXP: 23 0% EXP: 33 ~ 41 40% EXP: 32 ~ 40 A new Pokemon you can fight on your way to Violet City is Bellsprout. Though it won't be overly helpful against the first two Gyms (Flying- and Bug-type Pokemon), you can trade it in Violet City for an Onix, which might be of more use to you in those Gyms.
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="7"|Route 31
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Wild Pokemon
 * Type(s)
 * Level(s)
 * Morn.
 * Day
 * Night
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Pidgey
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 3, 5
 * align="middle"|30%
 * align="middle"|30%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Ledyba
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Caterpie
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 4 ~ 5
 * align="middle"|35%
 * align="middle"|35%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Weedle
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 4 ~ 5
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Bellsprout
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 3
 * align="middle"|20%
 * align="middle"|20%
 * align="middle"|20%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Metapod
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 5
 * align="middle"|15%
 * align="middle"|15%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Kakuna
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 5
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Spinarak
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 3
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|30%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Hoothoot
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 4 ~ 5
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|10%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Rattata
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 4 ~ 5
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|40%
 * }

Rather soon into the route, you'll find a cave just sitting there. That's the Dark Cave, and there's not really a whole lot you can do there now — not to mention it's really dark inside! But you can fight Zubats and Geodudes inside and there's also a Potion inside.

You can explore the Dark Cave after you've gotten TM70 (Flash) and, preferably, HM06 and the Zephyr Badge from Falkner in Violet City so you can use Rock Smash on the rocks.

Of course, there's also a Potion right outside of the cave anyway, so it's almost kind of silly going in.

Head along west to find a Poke Ball and a Bug Catcher waiting for you right before the entrance to Violet City. Dark Cave{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_enc_table" width="100%" Enc. Rate: 10 EXP: 20 ~ 41 EXP: 15 ~ 30 EXP: 71 Again, nothing really of importance in here, unless you really want that freebie Potion or a Zubat.
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="7"|Dark Cave (Main Room)
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Wild Pokemon
 * Type(s)
 * Level(s)
 * Morn.
 * Day
 * Night
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Geodude
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|60%
 * align="middle"|60%
 * align="middle"|60%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Zubat
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 2 ~ 4
 * align="middle"|39%
 * align="middle"|39%
 * align="middle"|39%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Dunsparce
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 4
 * align="middle"|1%
 * align="middle"|1%
 * align="middle"|1%
 * }

You can come back here after beating the Sprout Tower and teaching TM70 (Flash) to one of your Pokemon. Use Flash to light up the cave.

Better yet, though, if you want that elusive Dunsparce, you can come back after beating Falkner and getting HM06 (Rock Smash) to the west of the city, then use Rock Smash to break the rocks inside the cave. There's a much better chance of running into Dunsparce that way! Violet City{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_items_table tableborder" width="100%" Given to you by Lyra or Ethan on your way into the city. On the southwest part of town, just to the south of the Poke Mart. Immediately as you enter the building leading into Violet City, your friend, Lyra (or Ethan) will show up with her Marill and will give you the Vs. Recorder. Similar to the one in Pokemon Platinum, it lets you record fights with Trainers that you battle online or in the Battle Frontier. Pokemon Trade: OnixThe boy in the house just to the west of the Pokemon Center will trade you an Onix for that Bellsprout you just caught on Route 31 (or you can catch a higher level one south on Route 32). It will be at the same level as the Bellsprout was.
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Items at Violet City
 * - class="row1"
 * align="middle" width="28"|
 * Vs. Recorder
 * - class="row2"
 * align="middle" width="28"|
 * Ylw Apricorn
 * }

That may come in handy against the upcoming Violet Gym, but you will want to keep your Onix away from the Bellsprouts the Monks use in the Sprout Tower. Onix's Screech and Rock Throw attacks are very helpful against Falkner.

Just remember that, because it is a traded Pokemon, it will gain EXP faster, though may disobey you once it hits around level 10 until you get your badge.

Inside of the Trainer's School, which is the larger looking building (not a tower) just to the north of the Pokemon Center, you can find out about a bunch of different Pokemon stuff.

The Gym is located on the west side of town, but you won't be able to get far in it at all until after you've cleared the Sprout Tower, which is located on the northeastern side of town. It's that big tower across the bridge.

Before entering Sprout Tower, you may want to check out Route 32, which is to the southwest of Violet City, as there are some useful Pokemon there. Route 32{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_enc_table" width="100%" Enc. Rate: 25 EXP: 72 EXP: 32 ~ 48 5% 10% 0% EXP: 35 30% 30% 30% EXP: 50 EXP: 63 EXP: 30 EXP: 44 You won't be able to proceed any south on Route 32, but one nice thing is that there is now a patch of grass at the very entrance in the route, so you don't have to wait around to catch a Mareep. The downside is that Mareep doesn't learn Thundershock until level 10, so you'll need to level it up to that level before it will do any good against Falkner. (Though that Flying-type resistance and Static ability helps!)
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="7"|Route 32
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Wild Pokemon
 * Type(s)
 * Level(s)
 * Morn.
 * Day
 * Night
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Bellsprout
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 6
 * align="middle"|30%
 * align="middle"|30%
 * align="middle"|20%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Rattata
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 4, 6
 * align="middle"|35%
 * align="middle"|40%
 * align="middle"|30%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Ekans
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 4
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Mareep
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 6
 * align="middle"|20%
 * align="middle"|20%
 * align="middle"|10%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Hoppip
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 6
 * align="middle"|10%
 * align="middle"|10%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Zubat
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 4
 * align="middle"|5%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|5%
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Wooper
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 6
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|35%
 * }

Wooper is also a pretty darn good Pokemon to catch here. Though it will be awful in the Sprout Tower, it learns some nice moves early on. It can hit with Water Gun right away, then grow into Mud Shot and Mud Bomb. Not too shabby, really. Sprout Tower{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" class="walk_enc_table" width="100%" Enc. Rate: 5 EXP: 24 ~ 48 EXP: 40 ~ 81 Make your way up the tower, fighting the Sages and their Bellsprouts and catching whatever Pokemon here you want. Keep your Water-types and Rock-types away from these things, because Razor Leaf will hit them fairly hard!
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="7"|Sprout Tower
 * - class="header"
 * colspan="2"|Wild Pokemon
 * Type(s)
 * Level(s)
 * Morn.
 * Day
 * Night
 * - class="row1"
 * width="32"|
 * Rattata
 * align="middle"|
 * Lv. 3 ~ 6
 * align="middle"|100%
 * align="middle"|100%
 * align="middle"|15%
 * - class="row2"
 * width="32"|
 * Gastly
 * align="middle"|/
 * Lv. 3 ~ 6
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|0%
 * align="middle"|85%
 * }

One of the sages at the end has a Hoothoot waiting for you, which may catch you off-guard at first (though it isn't that big of a deal).

After you get to the top, you'll see your red haired Rival up there talking to the master elder guy. He just beat him in a fight, got the TM he wanted, and used an Escape Rope to get out of there. What a jerk! Now it's your turn to take on the Elder though, for the TM you want. (There's an Escape Rope on the other side of him that you don't want to forget!) His Pokemon are at a much higher level than what you've been fighting, so it'll be a good challenge for you. Watch out for that Hoothoot, because it has good defenses and can put you to sleep!

After beating Elder Li, he'll give you TM70 (Flash). You can teach that to your Pokemon to light up the Dark Cave you ran across earlier, but it's not really worth it just yet. It's not a great move, but it can be handy lowering accuracy if you feel like teaching it to someone. Just don't count on it being a permanent addition to any moveset.

Now might be a good time to use that Escape Rope you just picked up from the side of the Elder. You didn't pick it up? What? Well now's a good time to pick it up and use it! Violet GymAfter you've beaten Elder Li in the Sprout Tower, you'll be able to take the lift in the Violet Gym to elevate you way up to a few Trainers and the Gym Leader, Falkner. You can walk across the clear tiles on the side if you feel like dodging one or both of the Trainers, but why would you want to do that? Miss out on valuable experience points? Come on! I can't get into the Gym!Unlike the original Gold and Silver, you MUST visit Sprout Tower and beat the Elder on the top floor in order to get into the Gym. Go and do that if you are wondering why you can't get in. Before fighting the Gym Leader, you might want to go back and heal your Pokemon if they aren't up to the battle. Might as well have them in prime form. Then talk to Falkner to begin your first Gym Battle! Pidgey can annoy you with Sand-Attack, which is certainly annoying. Try to switch the affected Pokemon out when Falkner switches for his Pidgeotto, which is at level 13. Level 13 is actually pretty tough for this point in the game. They did a good job at making Falkner a bit more of a challenge, since he used to use only a level 7 Pidgey and a level 9 Pidgeotto.

Pidgeotto likes to use Tackle, which isn't too strong normally, but Pidgeotto's rather high level may make it a bit painful nonetheless. It also has Roost in its arsenal, which heals its HP and restores it by 50% of its max. Don't underestimate that, because it can use it whenever it likes to heal its HP back!

If you're having trouble beating Falkner, go catch a Mareep to the southwest of town on Route 32, level it up a few levels, and then just send it out against Pidgeotto. Hopefully Static will activate when Pidgeotto uses Tackle, paralyzing it, cutting its Speed by 75% and hopefully preventing it from using Roost due to paralysis. Mareep doesn't even need to know Thundershock (learned at level 10) to be useful.

Either that or have the Onix you got in a trade earlier use Screech against the Pidgeotto to soften up its defenses for your main Pokemon to finish it off with. After beating Falkner, he'll give you the Zephyr Badge, let you use Rock Smash outside of battle, will let traded Pokemon up to level 20 obey you without question, and even give you that annoying Roost move in the form of TM51. That's a nice move to teach your Hoothoot or Pidgey if you plan on using it, though you may also wish to save it for other, more useful Pokemon. (Hoothoot is a good option though, due to its already high defenses and the fact that it can use Hypnosis.)