Vermilion City Part II

Vermilion City Part II

Diglett and the Illusive Dugtrio!

-- Vermilion City --

Standing on the docks watching the ship sail away almost makes you wish you were on her, eh?  But as we are not, and we have been very successful, there is a long list of things that we need to do!  But first we need to leave the dock, so head off and, when you reach the shore instead of heading west (left) head east (right), and enter Route 11.

-- Route 11 --

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- Area Pokemon -

(Key: Pokedex # - Name / Acquisition Method)

096 - Drowzee / Normal
130 - Gyarados / Fishing (Super Rod)
116 - Horsea / Fishing (Good Rod)
098 - Krabby / Fishing (Good/Super Rod)
129 - Magikarp / Fishing (Old/Good Rod)
027 - Sandshrew / Normal
079 - Slowpoke / Fishing (Super Rod)
021 - Spearow / Normal
072 - Tentacool / Surf

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Okay this is one of those side-trips to eliminate an area just so it is done.  That cave, by the way, that we just ran past is Diglett's Cave, and we will be going in there in a bit, but there is no need to go in now...  So keep going east and you will see that there are trainers ahead.

Remember before when we discussed using the trainers to level our team?  Well hopefully you remembered that, and you have been alternating your team members in the battles to uniformly distribute the XP -- you have, right?  Well continue to do that with the trainers ahead -- the idea is that we want to get our entire team to Level 25 as painlessly as we can, which means using the trainers when we can!

Ahead you will fight Youngster Eddie, who has a Level 21 Ekans worth 279 XP and $336.  On the grass above where you fight him is a treasure ball with an Awakening -- get that now.  OK, now check your team to see if you need to put a different Pokemon in the number one slot -- especially if one of them is really under-level compared to the others...  We have a Gym Battle coming soon and we need to be ready!

Our next battle is with Youngster Dillon, who has a Level 19 Sandshrew worth  378 XP, and a Level 19 Zubat worth 219 XP and $304.  When I finished this battle it leveled my two lagging Pokemon (my Starter and my Pidge) to 23, which means my entire team is now Level 23.  Yours should be about the same if you have been following this guide.  This is great progress we are making!

Below Dillon is a patrolling trainer, Youngster Dave, who you can aggro from the path.  Dave has a pair of  Level 18 Nidoran-M worth 454 XP each, and $288.  Continue further east to see the next few trainers now!

Engineer Braxton is waiting on the center path, and he has a Level 21 Magnemite worth 400 XP and $1008.  On the path below him is Gamer Jasper, who has a Level 18 Bellsprout worth 324 XP, and a Level 18 Oddish worth 300 XP and $1296.  That battle should take one of your team to Level 24. 

In the tall grass above is a treasure ball with an X-Defend in it -- grab that and then head to the northeast corner for another battle.  If you leveled a Pokemon put a different one in the lead position before this battle.

Gamer Darian has a Level 18 Growlithe worth 351 XP, and a Level 18 Vulpix worth 243 XP and $1296.  This battle should have raised another of your team to Level 24, so swap another one in to level.

Now we should go ahead and trash the tall grass to scare up a Drowzee to catch, since we do not have one of those yet.  Once you catch that head over to the water and use your Old Rod to catch a Magikarp now too, that way we have covered the Pokemon for this area that we can, that we did not have -- it is all part of the mop-up to get us current to our present capability.

With any luck you should have managed to level another team member while capturing the Drowzee, which means half of your team is now at Level 24!

Along the bottom path is Engineer Bernie with a pair of Level 18 Magnemite worth 342 XP each, and a Level 18 Magneton worth 621 XP and $864. 

Back on task, continue east and you will encounter a patrolling trainer -- Youngster Yasu -- with a pair of Level 17 Rattata worth 207 XP each, and a Level 17 Raticate worth 421 XP and $272.

You likely need to heal so on the way back to the Pokecenter follow the bottom path west and battle Gamer Hugo, who has a Level 18 Poliwag worth 148 XP, and a Level 18 Horsea worth 319 XP and $1296.

Noe hit the Pokecenter, heal and save.  At this point all but two of your team should be Level 24 -- so head back to Route 11 and continue east to the southeast corner below the gatehouse, where you will find Gamer Dirk with his Level 18 Voltorb worth 396 XP, and his Level 18 Voltorb worth 342 XP and $1296.  That battle will have leveled another team member to 24, so you now only have one left to level.

In the grass on a narrow path beside the gatehouse is a treasure ball with a Great Ball inside it -- grab that and then walk above to the other side of the gatehouse, where you will see a brown boulder.  Stand next to the boulder, facing it, and hit the action button to find an Escape Rope hidden here -- sweet!

You should only have one Pokemon on your team that is not Level 24 -- put that one in the lead position and troll the grass for battles, and quickly level it to 24 to get that out of the way now!  Done?  Excellent!  Head to the gatehouse entrance now.

Enter the gatehouse and use the stairs to go to the second level -- there is a young boy trainer here looking to trade his Nidorino for a Nidorina --  you already have this evolution line covered, so there is no need to make this trade.  Seated at the table in the back you see one of Professor Oak's Lab Assistants -- go talk to him now.  If you have gathered data on a minimum of 30 Pokemon he is authorized to give you a new Key Item -- the Item Finder -- and as you have, you get it.

This is one of the items that we needed to get in order to finish off some of the odds and ends that we left hanging earlier -- so getting this is not optional!  Head upstairs and get it!  Now open your bag and move to the Key Items pocket, select the Item Finder, and register it so you can quickly activate it.  Excellent!  Finally, before you leave look through one of the binoculars at the windows.  Hmmm...

If you exit the gatehouse on the east side, a short ways along blocking the path is that large Pokemon you were shown a photo of on the S.S. Anne!  It is a Snorlax!  You cannot wake it up at the moment, which means you cannot pass by this path, so return to the gatehouse, exit to the west, and go all the way back to the Pokecenter in town, heal and save.  We have done everything that we came to do on Route 11, and it is time to wrap up the unmanaged tasks!

-- Back to Cerulean City --

This is one of those instances where a lot has come together all at once, and because of that we have to do a little backtracking to take care of small bits of opportunity that we could not avail ourselves of before!  As this requires a bit preparation though, let us see to that now...

After you heal and save use the PC, and pick two of your least needed team members and store them in the A-Team box.  Once you have done that, withdraw the Farfetch'd you traded for, and the Abra we caught back in Cerulean City on Route 24 or 25.

The Farfetch'd is going to be your HM Mule... Instead of teaching HM's to our team members, who I am sure you will agree are better off having effective moves, we will instead teach them to this Darfetch'd, and then only drag it out when we need it.  Trust me, this makes sense!  And the reason you are grabbing that Abra is we have a trade opportunity coming up that requires it!

Now you have healed, you have saved, and you have the two Pokemon...  Exit the Pokecenter and then head around the corner and north as we make the return trip to Cerulean City!

-- The Underground Tunnel --

The Entrance to the Underground Tunnel

After you go down the stairs, stop.  Trigger your Item Finder in the center of the red zone.  If it fails to find anything AND you have obtained the Vs. Seeker (you should have done so if you are following this guide) then it is temporarily bugged.  Do not worry about it, it will fix itself later -- I do not know what causes this bug, but it does auto-correct eventually. 

If your game does not bug, then use the Item Finder to locate the Antidote, Awakening, Paralyze Heal, a Potion, an Ice Heal, and a Burn Heal down here.  Once you have all of those, exit the tunnel via the north entrance and continue our journey!

Teach HM01 Cut to Farfetch'd and then use him to cut the tree so we can enter the city at the top of the Route.

-- Cerulean City Again --

First things first -- go to the shop and restock any kit you used up -- there are items you can only get here so check those especially.  Now head to the top of the city and over the bridge to Route 24 -- at the top of the route turn right go a bit and use your Item Finder -- follow the arrow to the Pecha Berry.

Now continue east and by the next trainer use the IF again -- follow the arrows to the Elixer!  Go further east, use the IF and get the Oran Berry.  Use the IF to get the nearby Bluk Berry, and then all the way east and IF the Ether! 

Now go into Bill's House and say hello - and accept his offer to view his Rare Pokemon Collection on his PC!  Look at the database entries for Eevee, Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon now -- if you now check your Dex you will note that you have basic entries for all four just like you did for Snorlax!  How cool is that?!

-- Abra Op --

If you did not obtain an Abra when we where here the other day, well...  Now you really need to get one, because we are going to need it soon.  So if you did not get one for whatever reason, hit the Pokecenter in town and get whatever Pokemon you have that knows the move Sleep Powder, and put it in your party, then head back up to Route 24 and troll for an Abra.  When one pops up, put it to sleep and capture it, then go back to the Center and stick it in your party.

Once you have the Abra, return to town and visit the Bike Shop, where you will turn in your coupon for a nice shiny new Bicycle!  If there are ANY trainers you did not fight when we were here before, fight them now -- you can use the XP!  Once you have wrapped any remaining trainers up, it is time to make the trip back to Vermilion City...

On the way, stop off at the Pokemon Day Care Center and, using the compute there, withdraw the Magikarp you caught on Route 11 and give it to the Daycare Center bloke to raise for you. 

When you enter the underground tunnel -- IF it was bugged when you were here before, it will be unbugged NOW.  I have no idea why, but that is how it works.  So go ahead and grab the hidden items with the IF now if you did not get them before.

With that last chore done, head back to Vermilion City, hit the Pokecenter if you need to and heal, then save, hit the Shop if you need to, and top off your kit, and then head back to Route 11 and enter Diglett's  Cave!

-- Diglett's Cave --

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

- Area Pokemon -

(Key: Pokedex # - Name / Acquisition Method)

050 - Diglett / Normal
051 - Dugtrio / Normal

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Now obviously one of the things that we need to do here is to capture a Diglett!  And if we are lucky enough to encounter one -- though it is not likely -- a Dugtrio as well, as those are the only Pokemon you will encounter in the cave.

Catching a Diglett is dead simple -- they appear 95% of the time, which means pretty much every time -- and are fairly easy to catch.  If you decide to go after a Dugtrio while you are in the cave, there are a few things that you can do to make this easier on yourself...

(1) Put a Pidge as your lead party member -- you should have a Pidgeotto you can use.

(2) Once you have the Diglett do not bother fighting, just run away from the Digletts until you get a Dugtrio.

The reason you want to use a Pidgeotto is simple enough -- none of the devastating attacks that Diglett has like Earthquake or Dig will work against a Pidgeotto, whereas they will quickly kill a non-flying Pokemon.

Second, because your lead is a Flying Pokemon, it cannot be trapped in battle the way a non-flying one can.  It can be held up once, but you can escape, whereas non-flying Pokemon can find themselves trapped in the battle with no way out but to fight, which makes this take soooo much longer!

So grab your Pidgeotto and put it in the lead position if you are trying for a Dugtrio -- but be warned, they only have a 5% chance of appearing!  To illustrate for you the difficulties, it took me a full 20 minutes of trolling for a Dugtrio to get one, and that mates was pure luck!  It could have easily taken five times as long to get one -- and if you watch this sections video, you will notice that the when you do manage to pull one, it is a high level!  Level 29!

At that level catching it is almost as hard as pulling it -- and considering the pain it was to pull, it would royally suck if you ended up accidentally KO'ing it, right?  If you do not believe that I was worried when I used that third Quick Attack against it, well, I was worried -- and relieved when it took it into the red without a KO.  Even then I had to throw a few balls to catch it, and I still think that it was mostly luck that I managed that catch!

When you exit the cave at the other end, you are now back on Route 2!  Remember that area we could not get to before because we did not have cut?  Yes, that is where we are now!