Floccesy Ranch

Wild Pokemon

When you first enter the Ranch you will find that it is deserted. Above are some buildings you cannot enter, and to the left is the first Tall Grass patch where you can find Azurill, Mareep, Pidove, Psyduck, Riolu, and Lillipup Pokemon.

Even if you do not plan on having them on your Team – and many are Normal-type you likely do not want – you do need to capture one of each for your Pokedex so do that now. Mareep on the other hand is the first Electric-type you will have encountered, and you could do worse than adding that to your Team, even if just until you find a replacement that you like better... The same can be said for Riolu, who is a Fighting-type. Once you have a Pidove you may want to store your Patrat.

After you have obtained the Pokemon from the patch, head to the left side of the zone towards the paddock in the middle left, where you will find your mate Hufh, who seriously wants a rematch. After you battle him – and take $800 off of him – you hand over the map and pass on the message from his sister.

As this is a friendly rivalry and not the pitted nastiness that existed in previous games, he is happily appreciative, which is cool. Ideally what you want to do is head into this fight with your Team around Level 8, so that none of them end up too far over Level 9, which is the target level we are seeking for the First Gym Battle, which is coming up soon.

After you defeat Hugh you give him the Town Map, and then a pair of Trainers turn up who are the owners of the Ranch – and the Owner's wife also happens to be a Pokemon Nurse, so she can heal your Team for you! The Owner's wife gifts you with a Potion and then asks if you happened to see their missing Pokemon, a Herdier, causing Hugh to panic and run off in search of it. Hugh has a thing about missing Pokemon, the backstory for which will be revealed as your Adventure plays out.

Talk to the Owner's wife and get your Team healed up, then follow after Hugh to the left and up, where he will stop you and gift you with a Paralyze Heal. Ignore the Trainer on the left and continue to follow the path to the right (not down), and you will find a Trainer here you can talk to to engage in a Trainer Battle. This is Youngster Kenny, and he has a Level 6 Patrat and a Level 6 Psyduck. Beating him wins you $96 and a nice chunk of XP.

South of Youngster Kenny is a clearing with a Treasure Ball that contains an X Attack you can grab before heading back up and following the path to the right again, and as you head down you will hear the Herdier barking. Hugh catches up and you split up to search. To the right in the middle of the Tall Grass patch is a Treasure Ball with a Potion, and if you head south, right and up, you will finally encounter the Team Plasma Grunt before he can make good his plan to steal another Pokemon!

Rescue of the Herdier from the Team Plasma Grunt

Team Plasma Grunt Encounter

When you confront the Grunt he asks you if you know who Team Plasma is? If you say yes he then gives you TM21 Frustration – if you say no he tells you who Team Plasma is and then gives you the move. Hugh has gone for the Owner and the Grunt does not want to battle you, and instead runs away!

At this point the Owner appears, the Herdier is happy to see his master, and you and Hugh get thanked for your help. The Owner wonders out loud about Hugh's reaction and then leaves with his Pokemon, at which point we are free to head back along the path. There are actually a few things we want to do here before we head back to Alder for the training he offers us...

Follow the path down and left, using the ledge to get back to the main path leading up and then talk to the Trainer we ignored before, who turns out to be Janitor Orville, who has a Level 6 Lillipup and Level 6 Mareep. Beating Orville earns you some nice XP and $240.

After the battle is over return to where the Owner and his wife are standing and have her heal your Team, then head back to the left and down to find Lass Molly who wants a battle and has a Level 6 Purrloin and a Level 6 Sewaddle for you to beat. In addition to some nice XP you win $96 for your efforts.

To the right in a narrow lane is a Treasure Ball that contains a Pokeball – speaking of which, chances are that by now your supply of those is pretty low, so it would be a good idea to hit up the Pokemon Center on our way out and resupply those. When you do that, be sure to buy them in stacks of 10, since doing so gains you a free Premium Pokeball as a reward for bulk purchases.

We have done all that there is to do for this side-quest, so it is time to return to town and speak with Alder now.