Onwards to Mt. Moon

Onwards to Mt. Moon

It's the shoes that make you faster

-- Route 3 --

Route 3 is the path that connects Pewter City and Mt. Moon, and is also the first Route in the game that has a large number of trainers for you to battle -- previously we only found them in the Viridian Forest you will recall.  Route 3 is the only Route in Kanto that has a Pokecenter situated on it (at the end of the Route).  It may interest you to know that once you have the move Fly -- and have visited that Pokecenter, you can Fly there at will.

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- Area Pokemon -

(Key: Pokedex # - Name / Acquisition Method)

039 - Jigglypuff / Normal
056 - Mankey / Normal
029 - Nodoran F / Normal
032 - Nidoran M / Normal
016 - Pidgey / Normal
021 - Spearow / Normal

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Head towards the east side of Pewter City to exit, and as you arrive at the exit you will spot a familiar looking figure -- one of Professor Oak's Assistants!  As you marvel at running into them here, you learn that they actually came here looking for you!  They have something for you -- a special item called a pair of Running Shoes.

After you read the letter that was attached to the shoes you learn that they are from your Mom -- see I told you she was a good old woman!  The Running Shoes allow you to move much faster, but be aware that when you use them in tall grass it increases the chance for a wild Pokemon encounter.  You put the shoes on automatically -- and now is a good time to test them out!  So hold down the B Button and run back and forth for a bit to get a feel for how they work.

Now that you have that down cold, continue along Route 3 and you will see a group of trainers ahead!  This is the first Route with a significant number of trainers on it, and as such a good place to pick up some XP in larger blocks -- so have at it!  When you need to, just run back to Pewter City to heal and save now that you CAN run!

-- Trainer Battles --

Your first battle is with Lass Janice, who fields a pair of Level 9 Pidgey worth 105 XP each, and a $144 payout.   Your next bout is with Bug Catcher Coulton -- who you saw last in the Viridian Forest -- and who has a Level 10 Caterpie worth 112 XP, a Level 10 Weedle, worth 111 XP, and another Level 10 Caterpie, worth 112 XP, and a $120 payout.

Hopefully you are using these battles strategically and not collecting the XP on one Pokemon -- you should try to use trainer battles to help keep your team levels in parity and of course to increase the base level as needed.  At the moment our target base level for the team is Level 15, so bear that in mind, won't you?

Our next battle is with Youngster Ben, who fields a Level 11 Rattata worth 133 XP, and a Level 11 Ekans worth 145 XP and a $116 payout.  That is our first Ekans, so it adds a basic entry in our Pokedex.  At this point you may need to run back to the city and heal -- if so, do that, then return! 

Continue to the east and we battle Bug Catcher Greg, who has a Level 9 Weedle worth 99 XP, a Level 9 Caterpie worth 102 XP, followed by a Level 9 Kakuna worth 136 XP, and a Level 9 Metapod worth 138 XP, and a $108 payout!

Further to the east and above is Lass Sally, who fields a Level 10 Rattata worth 121 XP, and a Level 10 Nidoran F worth 126 XP and $160.  At this point you should have at a minimum two of your team at Level 15, and one at Level 14 almost to Level 15. 

Continue east and battle Bug Catcher James, who fields a Level 11 Caterpie worth 118 XP, and a Level 11 Metapod worth 169 XP and $132.  Now before you head south to the trainers in the tall grass, backtrack a dozen feet and head south, jumping down the cliff to the enclosed area and a battle with Youngster Calvin, who berates you for your lack of sartorial splendor.  Calvin fields a Level 14 Spearow, which nets you a whopping 174 XP and $224!

Now head south down the cliff and work your way back around to the entrance to the tall grass area, where you will battle Lass Robin, who will field a single Level 14 Jifggleypuff that is worth 228 XP and $224!  You did not get put to sleep did you?  Yeah, that one is a Pokemon you want to KO very quickly!

-- Catching Route 3 Pokemon --

Before we start tearing up the tall grass it would be an idea to head back to the city, hit the Pokecenter to heal and save, and then pick up some more Poke Balls if you need them.  Once you have done all that, head back to the tall grass and begin patrolling it.  There are several Pokemon that we are interested in catching here -- if we can.

If you have yet to get a Spearow this is a good place to do that, and of course the Nidoran F and M, but those are about as rare as the Pikachu was back in Viridian Forest, so you will have to be dedicated and patient I suppose.  You already have a Mankey and a Pidgey, but you do not have a Jiggleypuff, so that one should be high on the list and a priority as it may come in handy later thanks to its special ability.

Treat the hunt for the rarer Pokemon here as an opportunity to raise the rest of your part to the base level target (Level 15) and this will be a lot less painful as a pause activity, right?

IMPORTANT: Make sure that you capture a second Nidoran-F to stick in your box for later -- that way you do not have to try to capture a Nidoran-M here, which could take you literally days of trying since it is THAT rare.  Stick an extra Nidoran-F in your box, because later on you will run into a little girl who will offer to trade you her Nidoran-M for your Nidoran-F!

-- Route 4 --

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- Area Pokemon -

(Key: Pokedex # - Name / Acquisition Method)

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

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Once you have satisfied your catching and training needs, continue along the path and you will encounter an exhausted trainer standing by the tall grass patch where the path turns north towards Route 4 and Mt. Moon. 

 Note -- it would be an idea to swap the Nidoran into your team as the temp in the 6th slot, so that you can start leveling it to bring it to the base level of your team -- as this is not strictly speaking a standard box Pokemon, rather it is an A-Team Alternate due to its contact poison ability and some of the special moves it can learn later.  You will be swapping it in and out of your team as needed later in the game, so getting a jump on its levels now is a good plan...

-- Route 4 Pokecenter --

The Pokecenter in the Wilderness

We will actually cover the Pokemon for this Route after Mt. Moon as you do not have the opportunity here to catch them.  The first trainer you encounter as you enter the Route is not a fighting trainer -- he is actually a fan of Brock -- and neither is the second trainer, who is a but clumsy! 

Ahead of you is the Route 4 Pokecenter, but before you go inside, you see the three rocks in the area to the left of the Pokecenter?  If you stand facing the open space above the center of the three and hit the A Button you will discover and take a hidden Persim Berry!  Hey!  Our first berry in the game!  How about that!  GO ahead and grab that, then head inside the Pokecenter, heal and save, then use the PC to move your recent catches to their proper boxes -- an activity that you should incorporate as a regular part of your Pokecenter routine from now on. 

There is an old man sitting at the table on the right reading a newspaper who will comment upon the increase in attacks by Team Rocket, and a boy near him with advice on what to do when you have too many Pokemon.  The boy near the center of the room is mumbling about only being able to carry six Poke balls, and the bloke in the corner there in just his undershirt and slacks has a deal for you -- he wants to sell you a Magikarp for just $500!  I am surprised he is not also selling Magic Beans while he is at it...

Obviously this is not a deal we want to take -- we can catch Magikarp all day long later in our travels, so paying this joker $500 we could better  spend upon kit is just not a good idea.   As there is nobody that we need to see upstairs, it is time to exit the Pokecenter and begin our journey through the cave of Mt. Moon!