05: The Trek to Rustboro City

05: The Trek to Rustboro City

Leaving Petalburg we instantly step on to Route 104 -- thanks to your Pickup Team you should be well found in Potions, Poke Balls, and kit.  When I arrived in Petalburg I had 6 Super Potions, a Hyper Potion, and 26 Potions, Antidotes, Repels, Escape Ropes, 3 Ultra Balls, and 7 Great Balls, all of which I had acquired through pickups.  In addition to that I had 20 Poke Balls that I bought, and some kit items to correct stat issues that I also bought, having made a mint in X-items that I could sell thanks to that cadre of loyal and helpful Zigzagoon -- how did you do?

Mr. Briney's Cottage by the Sea

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Route 104 Area Pokemon Report

-- #183 Marill (C)
-- #261 Poochyena (U)
-- #276 Taillow (U)
-- #278 Wingull (U)
-- #265 Wurmple (C)

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As you can see from the Report, there are two Pokemon that are new to us on this Route, so assuming that you have been following this guide and have the ones that you should have if you have been, now all that we need do is capture a Taillow and a Marill!  By the way, the Marill is actually a Pokemon from the previous generation Dex, which you can tell by its National Dex Number, just so you know.

Ahead on the Route is a bloke with some basic advice to weaken them before capture, and then you have a choice to make -- head north into the Tall Grass, or south, then west, then north onto the beach?  For now go ahead and walk into the Tall Grass to the north, right?

Remember -- the Gym Leader in the next town has a Level 15 Pokemon among her team, so you are not going to want to avoid any fights for now, because we need to level our team up!  Getting the team to all 15 would be great, but if you have them all at Level 13 or so you can still deal with the Gym Leader, so it is your call how high you train them.  I went to 15 just because that is how I roll!

You should quickly capture the Marill but the Taillow is going to take more effort -- which is fine!  Remember to alternate your team members so that they level closely together, and set your target level now, then stick with that plan!  You should find that it is now a lot easier to stay in the field and level without having to worry about health, but remember you have those Potions, so use them if you need to.

North of the Tall Grass is a cabin with a girl in the road in front of it.  If you talk to the girl she will tell you about who lives in the cabin.  A visit to the cabin reveals it to be empty -- at the moment.  Now head back to the entrance to the beach and down the stairs and you will encounter a young girl who though not a trainer herself, gives you useful advice about dealing with trainers.

Walking a patrol-pattern on the beach nearby you will find a trainer you can battle -- Youngster Billy, who has a Level 5 Zigzagoon worth 63 XP, followed by a Level 7 Seedot worth 111 XP and $112.

After the battle be sure to remember to check your Zigzagoon -- you should still have one in your party, and he does have the pickup ability!  It would be a shame to have him find things and you not take them, right?

Up the beach a ways is a pair of blokes who you want to say hello to; one will wax philosophically while the other will battle you!

Fisherman Darian has a Level 9 Magikarp -- not precisely what you might think of as a challenge...  Still the Magikarp may not be much in this form, but its next form after it evolves is rather interesting.  After you battle this one, which is worth 37 XP and a whopping $360 bounty, go have a look at its Dex entry (#129).  It is a first generation Pokemon, and while it is mostly harmless, it evolves into a Gyarados (#130) which is anything but harmless!

Notice that boat moored to the dock nearby?  Yeah, that will become important later, but for now just mark it in your mind and head back up to the main road.

Ahead on the path is a pair of Berry Trees, and to the west is a set of Tall Grass and an exit to the north, along with a young female trainer named Lady Cindy who has a Level 7 Zigzagoon worth 90 XP and $1400.

The dark and creepy Petalburg Woods

-- Petalburg Woods --

As you walk past the white picket fences that lead into the dark and foreboding path into the woods you feel a slight chill on your back and arms -- something is odd about this place.  You cannot put your finger on just what it is that stands out in your mind, but there you have it!

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Petalburg Woods Area Pokemon Report

-- #268 Cascoon   (U)
-- #261 Poochyena (C)
-- #276 Taillow (U)
-- #285 Shroomish (U)
-- #266 Silcoon   (U)
-- #287 Slakoth   (R)
-- #265 Wurmple (C)

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Of the seven Pokemon found here, only two are truly new to us, but we actually need to get three here.  Of the three, Slakoth is going to be the hardest to find and capture.  This is the only area in the game that I know of where it can be captured, and while its form is not exactly a great one, it evolves into a form that is actually desirable and strong...  Plus you need it for your Dex, so you may as well bite the bullet and troll one up.  Note: if you have one from another game, transferring it into this one is the way to go here, because that way you do not have to spend the time it will take to troll one up!

Now moving on, there is the two cacoon-form Pokemon that evolve out of Wurnple.  What I did not mention before when we obtained our Wurmple and evolved it into a Cascoon and then Dustox is that the Wurmple actually has what is called a split-evolution chain.

-- The Curious Case of Wurmple --

Wurmple is at its base appearance not what you might think of as a powerful Pokemon, but like many types, as it evolves it grows into a strong Pokemon with good moves in its level set.  When the Wurmple makes its first evolutionary change, that change can go two different ways depending upon a hidden value called its Personality Score. 

If the Personality Score is 4 or below, the Wurmple evolves into a Silcoon at Level 7, which then evolves into a Beautifly at Level 10.

If the Personality Score is 5 or above, the Wurmple evolves into a Cascoon at Level 7, which then evolves into a Dustox at Level 10.

Chances are very good that your first Wurmple evolved into a Dustox, like mine as that is the more common line.  The easy way to get the Beautifly is to capture a Silcoon -- but in that form the Pokemon has no offensive moves, which makes leveling a pain in the buttocks, and is the reason that there is a sign posted in the woods to remind you how to level under those conditions.

So even though there are only two Pokemon that are new, we actually need to capture three Pokemon here -- a Silcoon, a Slakoth, and a Shroomish!

-- Back in the Woods --

As you venture forward you notice a sign sticking out of the ground ahead, and walk over to read it: "Trainer Tips -- Any Pokemon hat appears even once in a battle is awarded EXP Points.  To raise a weak Pokemon, put it at the left of the team list.  As soon as the battle starts, switch it out.  It will earn XP without being exposed to any harm."

To the west in the grass is Bug Catcher Lyle, who has four Level 3 Wurmple worth 34 XP each, and just $48 in prize money.

Now head east through the Tall Grass to encounter a bloke wandering around in the woods looking for hidden treasure -- and that is your first hint that there are hidden objects that you can find.  A good way to find that sort of thing is to use the action buttons on objects like stumps, rocks, boulders and the like,  as well as odd spots on the ground that look different than the regular ground.

To the south is a path -- following it will take you to the elevated area that we passed by on the first part of Route 104 that we could not reach with a trainer and a treasure ball.  Talk to the trainer to learn what you already know -- trying to capture a Pokemon that belongs to another trainer makes you a thief.

The treasure ball on the ground contains a Poke Ball -- so grab that now, then retrace your steps back to the woods.  Head back to the west and into the Tall Grass past the trainer, where you will find another treasure ball on the ground with a Paralyz Heal, so go ahead and grab that now.

A rude introduction to Team Aqua

-- An Introduction to Team Aqua --

As you work your way along the path through the woods you will encounter a trainer who is looking for Shroomish -- but just as you start to chat another trainer (a bad one) pops out!  Evidently he had been laying in wait to ambush the first trainer, but the bloke was taking too long so he decided it was time to simply attack!

The good one is called Devon Researcher, and he seems to have some research papers that the bad one is a dressed in the uniform of Team Aqua -- hey!  This is your first introduction to Team Aqua!  How about that?!

The Team Aqua Grunt wants the research papers very badly -- bad enough in fact to be willing to kill you to get to them.  As he demands them, the Researcher hides behind you!  It looks like it is up to you to deal with this miscreant.

The Team Aqua Grunt pulls out his only Pokemon -- a Level 9 Poochyena -- but that is no threat to us!  After we take it down we are rewarded with 105XP, and $180 -- and the satisfaction of protecting the weak.  The Researcher rewards you with a Great Ball -- which would likely be the first one of those we received in the game if not for our Pickup Team.  Still, not a bad reward!

After giving you the reward he takes off for Rustboro to warn the officials that Team Aqua has something planned there, and you are left to make your way out of the woods.

Further along the path you meet a trainer who has some good advice for you, and then you naturally run into yet another trainer, but this one wants to battle!

Bug Catcher James has a pair of Level 6 Nincada worth 82XP each, and $96.

Above James on the ground is a Treasure Ball with an Ether in it -- those are always good to find, as Ether will restore 10 PP (Power Points) for a given move, which is useful if you run out of PP.  A nearby sign tells you about PP as well as HP, so you may as well read it.

Past the sign is the exit from the woods, which leads to the continuation of Route 104.  To the east of the exit path are a pair of odd-looking trees that, if we had the move Cut, we could remove to enter that path.  As we do not presently have that move, we will just have to remember that is there and return when we can actually cut down the small trees!

Pretty Petal Flower Shop

-- Back on Route 104 --

As you re-enter the Route you will see to your left (west) a trainer standing near some Berry Trees.  Go over to chat with him to learn that he likes spitting seeds out of his mouth -- which is probably more information about him than you really wanted to know -- and then gives you a gift!  TM09 -- Bullet Seed!

If you open your bag to the TM and HM Pocket and highlight that TM you will see that it shoots 2 to 5 seeds in a row at an opponent.  This move can only be learned by specific Pokemon, none of which are in our party, but you can boot it up anyway just to see how that works.  Good on ya mate!  You have acquired your first TM!

Grab the berries here and then look to the north where you will see a building -- the Pretty Petal Flower Shop -- which you should now enter!

Inside you should chat up the people as they will fill you in on Berries, and one will give you the gift of a Wailmer Pail -- a Key Item that you will need later so do not forget to get it here!  The young girl in the back of the shop will give you a random berry every so often, so go ahead and talk to her whenever you are in the area, right?  She also tells you about the Berry Candy you can make from the Berry that is used in competitions, which is worth the read.

Back on 104 be sure to read the sign to learn about Double Battles -- as you are about to have your first one!

Challenge the trainer nearby, Rich Boy Winston, who has a Level 7 Zigzagoon worth 90XP and $1400.

A few steps further on the path and you run in to Lass Haley, who has a Level 6 Lotad worth 04XP, and a Level 6 Shroomish worth 82XP and $96.  The Shroomish also gives you your first taste of the move Absorb, which will suck a small amount of life away from your Pokemon!

As you move along the path towards the bridge you will see another Cut Tree with a Treasure Ball past it we cannot reach yet, and on the bridge is our first Double Battle!  Let us get to it!

Trainers Gina and Mia are twins who will battle you at the same time, using their Level 6 Seedot and Lotad, who are worth 92XP each, which is split between your two Pokemon.  You receive $144 as your reward for winning this battle, so good on ya, mate!

On the shore at the end of the bridge is Fisherman Ivan, who has a Level 5 Magikarp worth 21 XP, a Level 6 Magikarp worth 25 XP, and a Level 7 Magikarp worth 30 XP and $280. 

Don't forget to grab the nearby berries and chat up the old woman near them who will give you a bit of advice and a free berry!  All that remains is for you to walk to the end of the path and enter Rustboro City!  Well done!