The Path to Ho-Oh

The Path to Ho-Oh

Capturing Ho-Oh

As you exit the Dragon's Den Cave you get a call from the Professor -- he has something that he wants you to see, so you should pay him a visit now!  Fly to New Bark Town and enter the Lab, where you will be greeted by Lyra, who is happy that you collected the 8 Johto Badges!  The Professor is also pleased -- so pleased in fact that he gives you a Master Ball!  If you are not aware, the Master Ball is a guaranteed catch item -- no matter what the health is it catches what you throw it at without fail.  I suggest that you save that and use it on one of the roaming legendary Pokemon, because two of them can end up being un-catchable if you kill them.

The Prof mentions that the Kimono Girls are looking for you... Ruh Roh Relroy!  From the way Lyra is talking I think she likes you mate.  The Prof tells us that the Kimono Girls are awaiting us at the Ecruteak Theater, so that is clearly our next stop!

-- Back to Ecruteak --

If you need to. heal and restock your kit, then save before heading to the Theater.  As you arrive you encounter your Rival, who it seems has lost his battle with the Kimono Girls!  So here is the cast:

-- Zuki, who we met in Violet City, and she has a Level 38 Umbreon.
-- Naoko, who we met in the Ilex Forest, and she has a Level 38 Espeon.
-- Miki, who we met in Ecruteak, and she has a Level 38 Flareon.
-- Sayo, who we met in the Ice Cave, and she has a Level 38 Jolteon.
-- Kuni, who we met in the Goldenrod Tunnel, and who has a Level 38 Vaporeon.

This was a tough series of fights against a good set of Pokemon so you should feel good about whipping their butts!  For winning you are rewarded with the Key Item, Clear Bell, which is the final item needed to summon Ho-Oh!  Excellent!  And what do you know?!  He has arrived!

Hit the Center to heal and save, resupply any kit you used at the Mart, then head to the Tower to join the Kimono Girls.  Head into the Barrier Station of the Bell Tower and talk to the guard inside on the right and he will note that you have the Ecruteak Gym Badge and allow you to pass.  Run through the underground passage and exit onto the Bellchime Trail -- one of the more beautiful areas of the game! 

At the end of the trail is the Tower, and inside there is another guard.  As you approach he goes to block you and then realizes that you are in possession of the Key Item required to gain admittance to the Tower itself, and he allows you to pass.  Now you might be thinking -- that wasn't too hard!  Well, that also was not the challenge for this quest, LOL!

Go up the ladder, cross to the other side of the level, and climb another ladder, and you find yourself at the start of a maze.  To get through the maze, follow these steps:

(1) Go left and grab the Full Heal;
(2) Go right twice, then up, left past the pillar all the way to the other side;
(3) Go right (2 jumps) then a little up and another jump right;
(4) Go down and then right (2 jumps) then up the ladder.
(5) Go down and left, then down and left again;
(6) Go down (2 hops) and grab the Ultra Ball;
(7) Go right then down, then left and down (2 hops), and grab the PP Up;
(8) Go left (2 Hops) and up and left (3 Hops), then down;
(9) Right (2 Hops) then down, left (2 Hops), and down again, and left (2 Hops);
(10) Grab the Escape Rope and then go to the top of the platform and right (2 Hops);
(11) Go up past the pillar and then left (2 Hops), then up the nearby ladder!
(12) Go right (2 Hops) and then down, left (1 Hop) and down (3 Hops);
(13) Now follow the right-hand path --on your characters left side but right to you -- (4 Hops).
(14) Go up the ladder to the next level;
(15) Grab the Max Potion and then head right over the bridge and up;
(16) Take a left on the top bridge and grab the Full Heal, then down (2 Hops) and take the ladder up;
(17) Go up and right (5 Hops) -- mind you avoid the teleporter -- and grab the Max Revive;
(18) Go down (5 Hops) then left and down and take the teleporter pad;
(19) Go down and take the teleporter, then head left and grab the HP Up;
(20) Continue left and down to the next teleporter, then up and left, grabbing the Full Restore;
(21) Head back to the right and use the teleporter;
(22) Go around the pillar and use the ladder to go up;
(23) Go around the pillar and down crossing the board to the ladder and head up!

You are not on top of the tower, and facing you are the five Kimono Girls -- the Clear Bell is deployed, the Kimono Girls dance, and the bells ring on the Tower, summoning Ho-Oh!  I probably do not have to say this, but now would be a good time to save your game...

Walk forward and engage Ho-Oh -- you have a choice here, taking the easy route or the more difficult one.  Easy is using your Master Ball -- but personally I would hold on to that to use on one of the at-risk legendary ones.  The more difficult way is to work his health down then capture him with regular or Ultra Balls.  That is what I prefer.  At Level 45 he is not real easy to accidentally kill -- but be conservative just the same.

Some helpful advice: do NOT allow your lead Pokemon to faint, because if it does, the fight is over.  If you have Ultra Balls, use those first, as they have a slightly better chance of catching him.  If you burn through all of your balls, it is better to just re-load the game from your save.

It took me 45 minutes of throwing balls, and I burned through all of my Ultra Balls and most of my Great Balls to catch him -- and while this is one of the more frustrating aspects of he games, getting a legendary down to a sliver of health and then getting failure after failure until you are hip-deep in broken balls -- but then, that is also what makes the capture more satisfying, right?

Now that we have Ho-Oh it is time to head back to town using Fly and heal and save.  Be absolutely sure that you save mate. 

The time has come to head onto the Glory Road, so before we do that, take a good hard look at your team!  Are they leveled enough?  Are they all at the same level?  Do you need to do a bit of leveling still?  If you do, then do, because once we start down this road, there is no sense in turning back!  So go train up your team mate, and when you are ready, hit the next section!