03: Route 1

03: Route 1

Route 1 is the major north-south route out of town, and its entrance can be found in the northeast side.

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Route 1 Area Pokemon Report

Dex No.     Pokemon Rarity   Season   Capture Note
#010/504   Patrat                  (C)        All         Grass
#012/506   Lillipup                 (C)        All         Grass
#013/507   Herdier                 (U)        All        Grass (Past Water)
#037/531   Audino                 (C)        All         Shaking Grass
#056/550   Basculin               (C)        All          Surf/Surf Spots
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Note:  At the start of each new section where there are wild Pokemon you will see the Pokemon Report (like the one above).  This lists the Unova Dex Number, the National Dex Number, name, rarity, the season that the Pokemon is active in, and the method required for trolling it up.  Because you will be using this guide after you complete the story mode and obtain the National Dex to finish that off, the Report often contains Pokemon that you actually cannot obtain during the story run -- only after you have the National Dex.  I list them here anyway so that you have the complete list to assist you later when you are filling in your Dex.

Capturing Pokemon Explained

After leaving the Lab your Mum is waiting for you outside -- she has a present for each of you in the form of a Region Map that shows all of the towns, routes, and special areas.  This is of particular value to you mate, you will use it a lot -- so tell your Mum thanks!

You follow Bianca and Cheren to the start of Route 1, where Bianca and Cheren are waiting for you.  As you approach Cheren tells you that Bianca wants to symbolically begin your journey with all of you taking that first step onto Route 1 together -- that actually sounds pretty cool, doesn't it?

After you take your first step together, you take the next twenty or so and arrive at the tall grass where the Professor is waiting for you.  After the greetings are over, the Professor provides you with a practical demonstration of the capture of a Pokemon -- trolling the tall grass to scare one up, battling it to weaken it, and then finally, using a Poke Ball to capture it and make it your own!

I should point out that while some Pokemon do have to be weakened -- mostly Legendary ones -- for the most part whether or not you capture one is purely luck.  99% of the time I capture them without bothering to weaken them or apply a stat down to them, I just start the battle by throwing a ball.  You can do it either way, though statistically I think my way uses up more balls.  I am just saying.

Professor Juniper gifts each of you with 5 Poke Balls, and then tells you that she will wait for you in the next town ahead -- which if you check your map you will see is actually Accumula Town!  Before you can even take a step to follow the Prof Bianca announces that she has an idea...

A contest between you three to see who can capture the most Pokemon on the way to the next town!  Whoever has the most Pokemon when you reach Accumula Town is the winner. 

-- The Grasses of Unova --

One of the differences between this and the previous generation of games is in the grass -- specifically there are two types of grass that can be found on some routes -- normal tall grass (or 'short' tall grass) and high tall grass (or 'tall-tall' grass).  When both are present, the taller of the tall grass contains higher level wild Pokemon, and the two grasses can contain different Pokemon types even though they are in the same place, on the same route.  Often to obtain a specific Pokemon you have to go to one or the other types of grass.

multiple-opponent battles can be encountered in the second type of grass, and in addition you can encounter special spots in the grass that contain 'shaking' grass.  The shaking grass is the only place you can obtain certain Pokemon -- that is indicated in the Pokemon Report for that area, so check that.  The shaking grass areas are a random spawn -- which means that they may not be there or in that spot when you come back.

The special shaking grass spots are part of a spawn system in the game, and there are similar spots on the other types of ground and water -- specifically you can encounter dark patches of water, dust clouds in caves, and shadows in caves, on bridges, and in other areas -- each of these special spots (including shaking grass) can contain an item, or a harder to find Pokemon.  As a general rule when you see one of these spots it should be exploited.

Wild Double Battles are possible in the special plots -- and if you have one, and you want to capture one of the Pokemon in it, you will need to KO the other first, otherwise you cannot capture. 

-- Back on the Route --

You can troll the tall grass here and the next patch ahead for wild encounters to capture some Pokemon -- if you end up needing yours healed, remember that your Mom can heal them -- simply return to your house and talk to your Mum to have her heal our team!

At a minimum you should be able to capture a Lillipup and a Patrat even if you lose a ball or two but try not to waste balls right? 

Just past the first patch of tall grass is a boy who confirms that the tall grass is where you want to be for wild encounters --  and in the next patch of grass on the right is a girl who will ask after your Pokemon's HP and then gift you with a healing Potion! 

Make sure you save after each capture -- that way if you lose too many balls you can load up and start over.  Once you have captured your two new types of Pokemon and added them to your team you may want to level your entire team to Level 7 or 8 now to save some time...  At least level your starter until they get their first Level Move -- which is Ember in the case of Tepig, which unlocks at Level 7.

Past the first patch on the left is a water section of the route -- but you cannot go there yet, you need the HM for Surf first. 

If you decide to level your team up you may notice that the higher you are above the Pokemon you battle the less XP you acquire for winning.  That is not an accident!  Each Pokemon you battle has a base level of XP it can give, but the amount of that you get has everything to do with the level of the Pokemon you are using for the battle.  An opponent that has a base XP rate of say 200 may only give up 15 XP to you if you are four levels higher than it, but it may give you the entire 200 XP if you were four levels below it.  Those numbers are just an example, not the actual ratio -- just to give you an idea of how it works in this generation.

Past the third patch of tall grass Cheren and Bianca are waiting for you -- so once you have captured the Pokemon you want to, and leveled your team up if you plan to, hook back up with them and continue the journey!

-- The Contest Results --

When you hook back up with Cheren and Bianca she will ask if you want to compare numbers -- you do and you probably win too.  Either way it leads to Cheren giving you a mini-tute on your Dex and then the XT rings!  Yeah, it turns out that it not only functions as an external comm device, it works as the in-game camera phone as well...

The person calling is of course Professor Juniper -- and you now have your first four-way call!  How about that?

The Professor tells you that she is in front of the Pokemon Center in town and urges you to hurry up so she can show you around town.  Well?  What are you waiting for?! Hurry up!