1. Littleroot Town & Route 101

After setting the clock in your room and interacting with your PC (grab that Potion!), head downstairs to meet your Mom. Next, visit your rival's house next door (May or Brendan) and head upstairs to meet them. Finally, walk north into Route 101 to find Prof. Birch being chased by a Zigzagoon.

Starter Selection

When you rescue Prof. Birch on Route 101, you'll be prompted to choose your starter Pokémon from his bag. Your choice significantly impacts the difficulty of the early and late game. Here is a breakdown of each starter:

Gym Puzzle: Line of Sight Maze

What is the puzzle: The Rustboro Gym features a basic path divided by stone barriers. There are no switches or traps, but trainers stand in key pathways.

How to solve: You can bypass the first two trainers (Josh and Tommy) by walking through the outer left or right pathways. However, Hiker Marc stands directly in front of Roxanne and cannot be bypassed, so you must defeat him to proceed.

Starter	Type	Pros	Cons
Treecko	Grass	Very fast. Easily sweeps the 1st Gym (Rock) and the 8th Gym (Water). Sceptile's Leaf Blade is incredibly strong.	Struggles heavily in the mid-game against the 3rd (Electric/Steel), 4th (Fire), and 6th (Flying) Gyms.
Torchic	Fire	Evolves into the powerful Fire/Fighting type. Dominates the 5th (Normal) Gym and is great against the Elite Four's Dark and Ice members.	Has a tough time against the 1st Gym unless you evolve it to Combusken (Lv. 16) for Double Kick. Weak against the abundant Water routes late-game.
Mudkip	Water	Widely considered the best starter for Hoenn. Its evolution (Swampert) becomes Water/Ground, making it immune to Electric attacks. Dominates the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Gyms effortlessly.	Has a massive 4x weakness to Grass. You must be very careful when battling your Rival's Grovyle/Sceptile.

Route 101 Wild Encounters:

Pokémon	Type
Poochyena (Lv. 2-3)	Dark
Wurmple (Lv. 2-3)	Bug
Zigzagoon (Lv. 2-3)	Normal

Rival Battle (Route 103): After reaching Oldale Town, head north to Route 103 to battle your rival. They have the starter weak to yours at Lv. 5.

Route 103 Wild Encounters (Grass):

Pokémon	Type
Poochyena	Dark
Zigzagoon	Normal
Wingull	Water/Flying

2. Route 102 & Petalburg City

After receiving the Pokédex and Poké Balls in Littleroot Town, head west from Oldale Town to Route 102.

Route 102 Wild Encounters:

Pokémon	Type	Notes
Wurmple	Bug	Common
Poochyena	Dark	Common
Zigzagoon	Normal	Common
Lotad	Water/Grass	Common
Seedot	Grass	Rare (1%)
Ralts	Psychic	Rare (4%)

Route 102 Trainers:

Trainer Name	Pokémon (Lv)	Type	Strong Against	Weak Against (2x/4x)	Less Effective (0.5x/0.25x/0x)
Youngster Calvin	Poochyena (Lv. 5)	Dark	Ghost, Psychic	Fighting 2x, Bug 2x	Psychic 0x, Ghost 0.5x, Dark 0.5x
Bug Catcher Rick	Wurmple (Lv. 4)	Bug	Grass, Fighting, Ground	Fire 2x, Flying 2x, Rock 2x	Grass 0.5x, Fighting 0.5x, Ground 0.5x
Bug Catcher Rick	Wurmple (Lv. 4)	Bug	Grass, Fighting, Ground	Fire 2x, Flying 2x, Rock 2x	Grass 0.5x, Fighting 0.5x, Ground 0.5x
Youngster Allen	Zigzagoon (Lv. 4)	Normal	Ghost (Immune)	Fighting 2x	Ghost 0x
Youngster Allen	Taillow (Lv. 3)	Normal/Flying	Grass, Bug, Ghost (Immune), Ground (Immune)	Electric 2x, Ice 2x, Rock 2x	Ground 0x, Ghost 0x, Grass 0.5x, Bug 0.5x
Lass Tiana	Zigzagoon (Lv. 4)	Normal	Ghost (Immune)	Fighting 2x	Ghost 0x
Lass Tiana	Shroomish (Lv. 4)	Grass	Water, Ground, Rock	Fire 2x, Ice 2x, Poison 2x, Flying 2x, Bug 2x	Water 0.5x, Grass 0.5x, Electric 0.5x, Ground 0.5x

Petalburg City Checklist:

Visit the Gym to talk to your father, Norman.
Help Wally catch a Ralts (this is an automatic tutorial).
Meet Scott as you exit the city to the west.

3. Route 104 & Petalburg Woods

Route 104 leads up to Petalburg Woods and then continues on the other side to Rustboro City.

Route 104 Trainers:

Trainer	Pokémon (Lv)	Type	Strong Against	Weak Against (2x/4x)	Less Effective (0.5x/0.25x/0x)
Lady Cindy	Zigzagoon (Lv. 7)	Normal	Ghost (Immune)	Fighting 2x	Ghost 0x
Youngster Billy	Seedot (Lv. 5)	Grass	Water, Ground, Rock	Fire 2x, Ice 2x, Poison 2x, Flying 2x, Bug 2x	Water 0.5x, Grass 0.5x, Electric 0.5x, Ground 0.5x
Youngster Billy	Taillow (Lv. 7)	Normal/Flying	Grass, Bug, Ghost (Immune), Ground (Immune)	Electric 2x, Ice 2x, Rock 2x	Ground 0x, Ghost 0x, Grass 0.5x, Bug 0.5x
Fisherman Darian	Marill (Lv. 9)	Water	Fire, Ground, Rock	Electric 2x, Grass 2x	Steel 0.5x, Fire 0.5x, Water 0.5x, Ice 0.5x
Rich Boy Winston	Zigzagoon (Lv. 7)	Normal	Ghost (Immune)	Fighting 2x	Ghost 0x
Lass Haley	Lotad (Lv. 6)	Water/Grass	Ground, Rock, Water	Flying 2x, Bug 2x, Poison 2x	Water 0.25x, Ground 0.5x, Steel 0.5x
Lass Haley	Shroomish (Lv. 6)	Grass	Water, Ground, Rock	Fire 2x, Ice 2x, Poison 2x, Flying 2x, Bug 2x	Water 0.5x, Grass 0.5x, Electric 0.5x, Ground 0.5x

Route 104 (South & North) Wild Encounters:

Pokémon	Type
Poochyena	Dark
Wurmple	Bug
Marill	Water
Taillow	Normal/Flying
Wingull	Water/Flying

Petalburg Woods Wild Encounters:

Pokémon	Type	Notes
Poochyena	Dark	Common
Wurmple	Bug	Common
Zigzagoon	Normal	Common
Silcoon	Bug	Uncommon
Cascoon	Bug	Uncommon
Taillow	Normal/Flying	Uncommon
Shroomish	Grass	Rare (15%)
Slakoth	Normal	Very Rare (5%)

Team Aqua Encounter: Inside Petalburg Woods, you will defend a Devon Researcher from a Team Aqua Grunt (Poochyena Lv. 9). After winning, you'll receive a Great Ball.

Items to Pick Up:

Oran & Pecha Berries: Route 104 South.
Parlyz Heal, Ether, Great Ball: Inside Petalburg Woods.
Wailmer Pail: Talk to the women in the Flower Shop (Route 104 North).
TM09 (Bullet Seed): Given by a boy outside the Flower Shop.

4. Rustboro City & The 1st Gym

Welcome to Rustboro City! Before challenging the gym, there are a few useful items to grab.

Rustboro City Checklist:

HM01 (Cut): Go to the Cutter's House next to the Pokémon Center.
Quick Claw: Talk to the teacher inside the Pokémon Trainer's School.
Trade: In a house near the Gym, you can trade a Slakoth for a Makuhita (great for the Gym!).

Gym Leader: Roxanne (Rock-Type)

Roxanne specializes in Rock-types. Use Water or Grass moves if you picked Mudkip or Treecko. If you picked Torchic, either evolve it to Combusken (Lv. 16) for Double Kick, use the traded Makuhita, or catch a Marill/Shroomish/Lotad.

Trainer	Pokémon (Lv)	Type	Strong Against	Weak Against (2x/4x)	Less Effective (0.5x/0.25x/0x)
Youngster Josh	Geodude (Lv. 10)	Rock/Ground	Fire, Flying, Bug, Poison, Electric (Immune)	Water 4x, Grass 4x, Fighting 2x, Ground 2x, Steel 2x, Ice 2x	Electric 0x, Poison 0.25x, Normal 0.5x, Fire 0.5x, Rock 0.5x, Flying 0.5x
Youngster Tommy	Geodude (Lv. 10)	Rock/Ground	Fire, Flying, Bug, Poison, Electric (Immune)	Water 4x, Grass 4x, Fighting 2x, Ground 2x, Steel 2x, Ice 2x	Electric 0x, Poison 0.25x, Normal 0.5x, Fire 0.5x, Rock 0.5x, Flying 0.5x
Hiker Marc	Geodude (Lv. 8)	Rock/Ground	Fire, Flying, Bug, Poison, Electric (Immune)	Water 4x, Grass 4x, Fighting 2x, Ground 2x, Steel 2x, Ice 2x	Electric 0x, Poison 0.25x, Normal 0.5x, Fire 0.5x, Rock 0.5x, Flying 0.5x
Hiker Marc	Geodude (Lv. 8)	Rock/Ground	Fire, Flying, Bug, Poison, Electric (Immune)	Water 4x, Grass 4x, Fighting 2x, Ground 2x, Steel 2x, Ice 2x	Electric 0x, Poison 0.25x, Normal 0.5x, Fire 0.5x, Rock 0.5x, Flying 0.5x

Leader Roxanne's Pokémon Matchups & Counters

Pokémon (Level)	Type	Strong Against	Weak Against (2x/4x)	Less Effective (0.5x/0.25x/0x)	Top Recommended Counters
Geodude (Lv. 12) x2	Rock/Ground	Fire, Flying, Bug, Poison, Electric (Immune)	Water 4x, Grass 4x, Fighting 2x, Ground 2x, Steel 2x, Ice 2x	Electric 0x, Poison 0.25x, Normal 0.5x, Fire 0.5x, Rock 0.5x, Flying 0.5x	Mudkip, Treecko, Lotad/Lombre, Shroomish
Nosepass (Lv. 15)	Rock	Fire, Flying, Bug, Ice	Water 2x, Grass 2x, Fighting 2x, Ground 2x, Steel 2x	Normal 0.5x, Flying 0.5x, Poison 0.5x, Fire 0.5x	Mudkip (Water Gun), Makuhita (Trade in Rustboro), Shroomish

Top Pokémon to have for this Gym: Mudkip (Water Gun destroys them), Treecko (Absorb makes it easy), or the traded Makuhita (Fighting moves deal double damage and resist rock).

Rewards for Beating Roxanne:

The Stone Badge (Increases Attack, allows use of HM01 Cut outside battle).
TM39 (Rock Tomb): Lowers the opponent's Speed stat.

With the Stone Badge secured, your next objective is to rescue Mr. Briney's Peeko in the Rusturf Tunnel!

Part 1: The Journey Begins