To the Rock Tunnel

To the Rock Tunnel

The Rock Tunnel Treasures

-- Route 9 --

The only way to get from Cerulean City to the Rock Tunnel, while Route 9 does not hold any new Pokemon for us, it does have some trainers for us to battle!

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- Area Pokemon -

(Key: Pokedex # - Name / Acquisition Method)

019 - Rattata / Normal
027 - Sandshrew / Normal
021 - Spearow / Normal

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After you cut the tree and take a few steps in you will see that the path is fringed by ledges.  There is a trainer directly ahead for you to battle -- Picnicker Alicia, who has four Pokemon in her team.

Alicia starts off with a Level 18 Oddish worth 300 XP who is fond of the Sleep Powder move. Her next is a Level 18 Bellsprout worth 324 XP, then another Level 18 Oddish worth 300 XP, and finally another Level 18 Bellsprout worth 324 XP and $360.

Drop down the ledge and you will see your next battle -- Hiker Jeremy, who has a Level 20 Machop worth 376 XP, and a Level 20 Onix worth 462 XP and $720.  Those two battles likely were fought using different Pokemon, but should represent enough XP to bring both near to Level 25 if you are still balancing out the team.

A treasure ball containing TM40, Ariel Ace, is on the ground to the west of Hiker Jeremy so be sure that you pick that up!  When you reach the short grass area ahead cut up and back to the west to find Camper Chris and his Level 21 Growlithe, worth 408 XP, and a Level 21 Charmander worth 292 XP and $420.

Above Chris is Bug Catcher Brent, who has a pair of Level 19 Beedrill worth 646 XP each, and $228.  Continue to the west and then a little south by the tall grass and you will see an odd-colored boulder.  Stand beside it and hit the A Button to collect a very useful hidden Ether!

As we already have all of the Pokemon types that are available in the tall grass here, we do not need to pull any up or catch any, so backtrack to the east and our next battle, with Hiker Alan, who has a Level 21 Geodude worth 387 XP, followed by a Level 21 Onix worth 486 XP and $756.

As you are fighting these trainers it is a good idea to keep an eye on the levels of your Pokemon -- remember with our current badges we can only control them up to Level 30, so it would be a bad idea to let any of them level past 29!  At least until after our next Gym Battle that is.

Just past Alan on the ground is a treasure ball with a Burn Heal in it -- be sure to grab that, and then backtrack to the opening and enter the ledge above, head east and up through a gap in the north ledge to fight Bug Catcher Conner, who has a Level 20 Caterpie worth 226 XP, a Level 20 Venonat worth 321 XP, and a Level 20 Weedle worth 222 XP and $240.  And yes, the level of the trainer teams are going up :)

Before you head up to the next trainer, head west where Camper Drew is waiting.   Drew has a Level 19 Rattata worth 231 XP, a pair of Level 19 Sandshrew worth 378 XP, and a Level 19 Ekans worth 252 XP and $380.

If you use your Item Finder near here you will see that there is a hidden item near the trainer we battle that is above Conner, so let's go there and battle Hiker Brice first.

Brice has a pair of Level 20 Geodude worth 367 XP each, and a Level 20 Machop worth 376 XP and $720.  In the grass to the west of Brice by the wall (look for the discolored dot in the grass) you will find the hidden item you detected earlier -- a Chesto Berry!

Head east now and you will see the ledge you have to jump down to move to the next area and the next trainer battle!

Picnicker Caitlin is waiting here for you, with her Level 23 Meowth worth 339 XP and $460.  TP the east just past her is where Route 10 begins!

 -- Route 10 --

The entrance to the infamous Rock Tunnel is found off of this route, just past the Pokecenter which serves as an outpost or the brave trainers who risk the perils of this wilderness in search of unique Pokemon!

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- Area Pokemon -

(Key: Pokedex # - Name / Acquisition Method)

027 - Sandshrew / Normal
021 - Spearow / Normal
100 - Voltorb / Normal

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Tow of the Pokemon here we already have, but here is our chance to pick up one that we do not!  For Voltorb can be found on this route, and having one of those is good for our Pokedex!  Just enter the tall grass directly east of here and you should quickly manage to capture a Voltorb.  When you are done, follow the path south to the Route 10 Pokecenter, where you can heal and save.

Inside the Pokecenter you will find one of Professor Oak's Lab Assistants who is waiting for you!  If you have data on 20 unique Pokemon -- and you do -- he has a special item to give you: an Everstone!
What is an Everstone you ask? Why only one of the most useful of held items for Pokemon, that is what!

When you have a cute Pokemon that you want to level, but you never want it to evolve out of its current form -- a Pikachu for instance -- by having it hold the Everstone it will never try to evolve. Now how cool is that I ask you?!

A young lad warns you that ghosts are haunting Lavender Town, and an old gentleman points out that Pokemon have opposing types.  In the corner there is a bloke who will fill you in on Nuggets -- and the fact that they are worth $5k -- so if you did not know that, now you do!  Next time you are near a store you may want to sell the Nuggets we have collected.

This pretty much concludes our business at the Pokecenter, so go ahead and leave now, and you will see some trees we can cut outside.  Standing beside one of them is our next trainer to battle: Picnicker Heidi!

She has a Level 20 Pikachu worth 351 XP, and a Level 20 Clefairy worth 291 XP.  and $400.  Her special move is Encore, which forces you to repeat whatever the last move was that you used, so be mindful of that in picking your moves!

Grab the hidden Cheri Berry in the middle of the grassy area, and then head on into the Rock Tunnel!

 -- Rock Tunnel --

The Infamous Rock Tunnel

Connecting Route 10 with Lavender Town, the Rock Tunnel is a treacherous and dark place with lots of trainers as well as wild Pokemon for you to encounter!

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- Area Pokemon -

(Key: Pokedex # - Name / Acquisition Method)

074 - Geodude / Normal
066 - Machop / Normal
056 - Mankey / Normal
095 - Onix / Normal
041 - Zubat / Normal

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As you step inside the first thing that you will want to do is execute the HM Flash on your HM Mule -- that will light up the otherwise pitch dark Tunnel.  This is a huge area in here, with a lot you can do and find, so we are going to cover the offerings here in some detail...   The video included in this section is a detailed guide to the items you can collect here, and I list the trainers, with their XP and reward values, here as usual, though not as part of the video...

Inside the Tunnel there are several Pokemon that we have not, until now, had the opportunity to capture, including Machop and Onix!  Obviously you want to catch at least one of each when you encounter them!

First the trainers!

Ahead to the east is Pokemaniac Ashton with his Level 23 Cubone, worth 427 XP, and his Level 23 Slowpoke worth 487 XP and $1104. 

Follow the eastern path that is south of Ashton until it turns north, and then use the ladder here to go down to the southeast corner of the lower level.  Head south and then west to the next battle with Pokemaniac Winston.

Winston has a Level 25 Slowpoke worth 529 XP and $1200.

Continue west then north to battle Picnicker Martha, who has a Level 22 Oddish worth 367 XP, and a Level 22 Bulbasaur worth 301 XP and $440. 

Continue along the path north, then east and north, and you will encounter Pokemaniac Steve, who has a Level 22 Charmander worth 306 XP, followed by a Level 22 Cubone worth 409 XP and $1056.

IMPORTANT:  If you chose Meowth as your HM Mule, be sure to check him every so often, as he has a special ability that allows him to pick up items as you walk -- and you will often find tha the has managed to pick up a berry or other item in your travels!  You need to take that item away from him so that he can pick up another item!

Follow the path north and east and you will run into Hiker Allen at the bottom left corner of the central rock structure, and his buddy Hiker Eric at the top right corner.

Hiker Allen has a Level 25 Geodude worth 229 XP and $900.  Hiker Eric has a Level 20 Machop worth  376 XP, and a Level 20 Onix worth 462 XP and $720.

The next ladder is in the northwest of the center block, and leads up to the northwest corner of level above.  Near by is Hiker Lenny, who has a trio of Level 19 Geodude worth 349 XP each, followed by a Level 19 Machop worth 357 XP and $684.

Head all the way south to find Hiker Oliver, who has a pair of Level 20 Onix worth 462 XP each, and a Level 20 Geodude worth 367 XP and $720.

To the east and a bit north you will find Hiker Lucas standing near the ladder down.  Lucas has a Level 21 Geodude worth 387 XP and a Level 21 Graveler worth 603 XP and 756.  After you defeat him take the ladder down to the level below, where you will find yourself in the Center area.

Head west to the adjacent hallway and battle Picnicker Sofia, who has a Level 21 Jigglypuff worth 342 XP, a Level 21 Pidgey worth 247 XP, and a Level 21 Meowth worth 310 XP and $420.  Head south and west from here for your next trainer.

Here you will find a trainer who is willing to teach the move ' Rock Slide' to one of your Pokemon - but be aware that he will only do this ONE time.  Pick the Pokemon you want to learn the move carefully, and if you do not have that Pokemon with you do not use this opportunity up!  I decided that I wanted my Graveler, Hitman, to know this move, so I had it taught to him...

Hitman is a permanent member of my A-Team, and a Rock/Ground Type, so it only makes sense for him to know this move.  Once you learn the move -- or not -- head east and then north back up the corridor past Sofia to the large area above, where you will encounter a Hiker to the west.

Hiker  Dudley to the west in the opening to the next passage.  Dudders has a pair of Level 21 Geodude worth 387 XP each, and a Level 21Graveler worth 603 XP and $756. Above Dudders near the ladder leading back up is Pokemaniac Cooper, who wants your Pokedex for himself!

Cooper leads with his trio of Level 20 Slowpoke, worth a nice 423 XP each, and $960.  Cooper is the final trainer for us to battle on this level of the Rock Tunnel, and when you go up the ladder nearby you will find yourself near the southeast corner of the level, with a few trainers left for us to battle here before we reach the exit!

Our first battle is with Picnicker Leah, who is standing directly south of the ladder.  She has a Level 22 Bellsprout worth 396 XP, and a Level 22 Clefairy worth 319 XP and $440.  Her Clefairy can be very frustrating to fight, because of Sing, but mostly because of her move, Minimize, which can make her hard to hit.

Across the corridor is Picnicker Arianna and her Level 19 Pidgey, worth 223 XP, Level 19 Bellsprout, worth 342 XP, and a pair of Level 19 Rattata worth 231 XP each, and $380.

The final trainer in the Rock Tunnel is Picnicker Dana, who is to the west on the way to the exit.  She has a Level 20 Meowth worth 295 XP, a Level 20 Oddish worth 333 XP, and a Level 20 Pidgey worth 235 XP and $400.

The exit nearby leads to the continuation of Route 10, but before we use that we have some other things to do first!

One thing I want to stress is Level management -- I hope that you have been paying attention to the levels of your team, and making sure that none of them rose much beyond Level 28...  Our next Gym Battle features Pokemon that are between Levels 28 and 29, but remember that we have to take care of the AGL's as well as the Gym Leader, and we can only control Pokemon up to Level 30 until we get that next badge!  So it is very important that you not over-level your Pokemon, otherwise you could end up in a situation in which they refuse to obey your instructions.

Be sure to check Meowth frequently and grab the items that he collects for you, as you never know what he will pick up, and he can not pick up a new item if he is already holding one!

-- Rock Tunnel Treasures Mini Guide --

At the entrance use your mule to cast Flash, then head to the east for the first treasure, Repel.  If you get lost of confused at any point, consult the video for this section!  Follow the path around to the ladder and to the next level.

Head south then west all the way to the end of the hall, where you will find a treasure ball with a Revive in it.  Follow the north and east path to the next ladder and use it.

Head all the way down to the south then east to the next treasure ball, which contains an Escape Rope -- always a nice piece of kit to own.  Take the nearby ladder to the north now.

Head south and west to the hallway, then follow it all the way to the north to grab the item from the next treasure ball, a Max Ether!  Head to the south, west, and north to the next ladder now.

The final treasure ball is to the far north of the adjacent chamber, and contains a Pearl!  Once you have that, head to the exit and leave the Rock Tunnel!