Welcome to Saffron City

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Welcome to Saffron City

The Team Rocket Invasion

The first thing you need to be aware of is that all is not well here in Saffron City!  The second largest city in the region, Saffron is home to the Silph Company,

Your first stop in town is the Pokecenter, where you will heal and save, and then have a chat with the trainers that are here.  From them you learn why Team Rocket is here, and you get a sense of the general hopelessness that pervades the City.

-- Mr. Psychic's House --

Before we take on Team Rocket at the Silph Company there are a few odds and ends we want to take care of first, starting with a visit to Mr. Psychic at his house down the street.  Head there now and chat him up, and he will gift you TM29, Psychic. 

-- Pokemon Trainer Fan Club --

Our next stop is to the northeast part of the city, to a building that holds the Pokemon Trainer Fan Club.  Chat up the trainers here to add an entry to the Fame Checker, then exit the building and head down the street to the Poke Mart.

You can go ahead and sell any nuggets you have, as well as any other items you have that you do not need.  This shop has some items for sale you may want to pick up a few of, including Hyper Potions, which restore 200 HP, Full Heals, which correct any and all status issues of your Pokemon.  They also have Max Repels here, and it is an idea to have 5 or so of those on hand.

Now head around to the north road and you will see that Sabrina's Gym is blocked by a Rocket Thug.  Curiously there is another Gym next door that is not blocked!

-- Fighting Dojo --

This is the old Gym -- the new one replaced it, and after the Gym was moved next door, this one was turned into a Fighting Dojo where trainers of a particular type could meet and work out together.  We want to pop in here, as it is an opportunity for us to both pick up a few extra XP prior to the showdown with Team Rocket, and also to get some experience against Fighting Types.

Black Belt Hideki has a Level 32 Machop worth 603 XP, and a Level 32 Machoke worth 1000 XP and $768.

Take a quick look at your Pokemon before you proceed.  You probably have at least one in your team that is Level 42, so that should be the level we choose as our base-level for the team.  So use your other Pokemon here and distribute the XP with an eye towards getting everyone to Level 42 (or whatever your highest level is) before raising it more.

Black Belt Mike has a pair of Level 31 Mankey worth 490 XP each, and a  Level 31 Primeape worth 988 XP and $744.

Black Belt Hitoshi has a Level 31 Machop worth 583 XP, a Level 31 Mankey worth 490 XP, and a Level 31 Primeape worth 988 XP and $744.

Black Belt Aaron has a Level 36 Primeape worth 1149 XP and $864.

We are now ready to face the Dojo Sensei, so go ahead and do that!

Black Belt Koichi has a Level 37 Hitmonlee worth 1101 XP, and a Level 37 Hitmonchan worth 1110 XP and $888.

After you beat Koichi you are permitted to step beyond and choose one of the Poke Balls that sits on the floor behind him.  The left one contains a Hitmonlee, the right one a Hitmonchan.  You must decide based upon your own personal likes -- there is a difference between these two, but the difference is slight, and one is not better than the other in any general sense.

I chose Hitmonchan.

After you have chosen, leave the Dojo with your head held high -- you have faced the best of the best of the Karate Trainers and you have beaten them.  Your new Pokemon is the proof of this!  Good on ya mate!

To the west and southwest are two buildings whose doors are blocked by Rocket Thugs, and there is a large building full of glass windows in the center of town -- that would be Silph Co. -- that is also guarded by Rocket Thugs.  Now, BEFORE you go to the large building, be aware that once you beat the leader of Team Rocket there, all of the Rocket Thugs will vacate the town.

It would be a shame to allow that to happen without first having the opportunity to talk to them all, so go do that now.  You will get some funny utterings, and a few will clue you in on the plans that Team Rocket has for Silph Company.  Once you have talked to all of them, head back to the Pokecenter, heal and save, check your kit to verify that it is properly topped off, and then head for Silph Company.

-- Silph Company --

The Silph Company

The first thing you need to be aware of is that you CAN skip a lot of the battles if you want to.  But why would you want to?!  I sure do not want to, so I will walk you through the building battle by battle before we do in the Leader of Team Rocket, right then?  Excellent!

- First Floor -

Walk past the sleeping guard at the front door to enter the building, and you will see that the Lobby is empty.  On the walls are paintings of Pokemon, and there is a left as well as a set of stairs in the read of the Lobby.  Ignoring the lift, we head to the stairs, and we see a sign on the wall that reads "Silph Co. Head Office, 1F" that tells us what is up ahead!

- Second Floor -

As we arrive on 1F we can see the stairs up across from us -- we will return to those in a bit -- and in the main hall there are areas to the south and a curious pad on the floor to the west that will teleport us to the 8th Floor if we take it.  Not just yet tho...

As we enter the area to the south we are accosted by a Rocket Thug -- battle time!

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 25 Golbat worth 915 XP, a trio of Level 25 Zubat worth 288 XP each,  and a Level 25 Raticate worth 621 XP and $800.  Heading down and west we see another Thug between a pair of drafting tables!

Team Rocket Thug has a Level 29 Cubone worth 540 XP, and a Level 29 Zubat worth 334 XP and $928.

All the way to the west we can see rooms that are sealed off by armored doors -- we will have to find another way in to those -- and to the east and south another battle opporunity.

Scientist Jerry has a Level 28 Magnemite worth 534 XP, a Level 28 Voltorb worth 618 XP, and a Level 28 Magneton worth 966 XP and $1344.

Inside the room he came from is a teleport pad -- and we take this one to the 8th Floor, where we find another Scientist to do battle with!

Scientist Parker has a Level 29 Grimer worth 558 XP, and a Level 29 Electrode worth 931 XP and $1392.

To the west is another room but it too is sealed off.  South is a small room with another pad, but it is open to the hallway further south, so we should see what there is to see there first, right?

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 28 Weezing worth 1038 XP, a Level 28 Golbat worth 1026 XP, and a Level 28 Koffing worth 684 XP and $896.

Another of those pads lies to the west, while to the east is another room -- inside is a treasure ball containing an Iron, and one of the Silph Company Engineers hiding behind a plant.  He tells you how worried he is, and then you head back into the hallway.

Take the hallway to the north and then east to face the last Grunt on this level that we can reach, effectively clearing the 8th floor.

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 26 Raticate worth 645 XP, a Level 26 Arbok worth 819 XP, a Level 26 Koffing worth 634 XP, and a Level 26 Golbat worth 952 XP and $832.

The teleport pad in the southwest corner takes you back to the teleport pad near the lift on the 2nd Floor, bear that in mind eh?  The teleport pad in the small room above will take you to the pad inside the office to the west that is sealed up.  In the office you will find another Silph Engineer in hiding.  Head back to the 2nd floor via one of the pads and then use the stairs up.

- Third Floor -

The Silph Company Third Floor

When we enter the floor you can see a teleport pad to the east, and a Grunt to the south.  We should say hello to the Grunt first!

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 28 Raticate worth 696 XP, a Level 28 Hypno worth 990 XP, and a Level 28 Raticate worth 696 XP and $896.

In the room to the south and east of him is another frightened Engineer, as well as a teleport pad.  There are two pads, one at either end, of the long hallway to the south.  The west pad leads to a storage room on the 5th floor with a treasure Ball containing TM01, Focus Punch -- so grab that now!

The pad on the east end of the hallway leads to the pad in the small office next to the Engineer we just talked with, the pad to the west of the north hall leads to the 5th floor main area, so ignore it for now.  The pad on the east end of the north hall leads to one of the sealed-off rooms on the 2nd floor inside of which is a female Engineer in hiding.

When she realizes you are not with Team Rocket, she offers to teach you the move Thunder Wave -- which honestly is not that great a move and is certainly not better than the ones your Raichu already knows, but it is your call mate.

This pretty much clears what we can on the 3rd floor, so head back to the stairs and head up now.

- Fourth Floor -

Heading south into the office here we find our next Grunt to beat upon...

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 28 Ekans worth 372 XP, a Level 28 Zubat worth 324 XP, and a Level Cubone worth 522 XP and $896.

On the desk in the back of the room here is a treasure ball containing TM41, Torment, which you should grab now.  Back in the main hallway, head west and then south to the end, where you will turn west again and encounter the next Grunt.

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 29 Machop worth 546 XP, and a Level 29 Drowzee worth 633 XP and $928.  Mind the poison gas, right?

At the end of this hall to the west is a teleport pad and a sealed door, and north is a small room with a pad.  The pad in the small room leads to a pad on the 10th floor, but as that leads to a room that is off the main area and not a sealed-off one, we can safely ignore it for now. 

The pad all the way to the west leads to a sealed room on the 10th floor that has a second pad and a frightened secretary in it.  Give her a word of comfort before taking the other pad, which leads to the sealed office on the 4th floor that has the Team Rocket Scientist in it!

Scientist Rodney has a Level 33 Electrode worth 1060 XP and $1584.

A second pad in this sealed office leads to a room in the public area of the 6th floor, so it is safe to ignore this pad and use the one we arrived in to get back to the 10th floor, and then using the other pad we came in by earlier, return to the 4th floor hallway!

We have now cleared the first 4 floors -- so if any of your team is injured, or you have used a significant amount of PP, now is a logical time to head downstairs and hit the Pokecenter for a heal and save before continuing on up...

- Fifth Floor -

As you arrive at the top of the stairs on five you will notice a pad to the east, near a Grunt.  The Grunt is actually blocking a very narrow hallway.

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 33 Hypno worth 1165 XP and $1056.

As he is blocking the hallway here -- I could not get him to attack me unless I stepped close to him -- we cannot head along that route at present, so we head instead through the nearby door into the Engineering area, and are attacked by Juggler Dalton!

Juggler Dalton has a Level 29 Kadabra worth 900 XP, and a Level 29 Mr. Mime worth 844 XP and $1160.  It was with this fight that I leveled my 5th team member to 42, and you will likely either have already done so or be close to that now.

- Pokemon Reports -

The Silph Company: Pokemon Reports

There are a total of three Pokemon Reports in this room on the desks.  You should read all three, as they have important information on them!  Now exit the office to the north and head all the way west until you encounter the Scientist here -- ignore that pad, it just leads back to the 3rd floor main area.

Scientist Beau has a Level 26 Magneton worth 987 XP, a Level 26 Magnemite worth 495 XP, a Level 26 Koffing worth 634 XP, and a Level 26 Weezing worth 963 XP and $1248.

Follow the hallway here all the way to the south to battle our next Grunt!

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 33 Arbok worth 1039 XP and $1056.

Take the pad beside him to the 9th Floor storage room -- and STOP.  Immediately take the pad back to the 5th floor, but instead of following it up, walk down (south) one square and then head east.  Mid-way down the hall here is a treasure ball with a Key Card in it.  This is mucho importanto -- you need to get this now.  D'accord!  Head back to the pad and take it to the 9th floor,  and battle the Scientist here!

Scientist Ed has a Level 28 Voltorb worth 618 XP, a Level 28 Magneton worth 966 XP, and a Level 28 Koffing worth 684 XP and $1344.

If you follow the hallway here all the way around past the stairs and lift and then south you will battle the next Grunt.

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 28 Golbat worth 1026 XP, a Level 28 Drowzee worth 612 XP.  A Level 28 Hypno worth 990 XP and $896 wraps this up with respect to the main area of the floor...  But we now have an all-areas access pass in the form of that Key Card!

See that door to the west?  Yes, open it.  Go inside and talk to the girl who is standing between the two beds in this relief area and you will sleep -- and heal your Pokemon.  Now is a good time to save as well.  Remember where this area is -- we will be returning here soon -- but for now we need to backtrack to the lift and go all the way down to the 2nd floor.

- Back on the Second Floor -

What we are going to be doing is systematically opening all of the doors from here up to the 5th floor to fully cover every area in case we missed anything!

So head to the west and open the door to the south, where you will find a Team Rocket Scientist who is pretending to be a Silph Co. Engineer to lure you in so he can attack you!

Scientist Connor has a Level 26 Grimer worth 501 XP, a Level 26 Weezing worth 963 XP (try to one-hit this one so it does not self-destruct on you), a Level 26 Koffing worth 634 XP, and a Level 26 Weezing worth 963 XP and $1248.

The pad in this room leads to the common area of the 6th floor, so ignore it and head to the door to the room above you. This is the room with the move teacher in it, so just open the door and then head for the stairs and go up.

- Back on the Third Floor -

Head into the center hallway to the south and open the door on the west side, ignoring the pad in here for the moment.  Open the next door and enter the office here, grabbing the Hyper Potion from the treasure ball in the corner.  Go confront the Scientist here.

Scientist Jose has a Level 29 Electrode worth 931 XP, and a Level 29 Weezing worth 1074 XP and $1392.

The pad in here leads to a pad on the 9th floor near a Grunt.  Go say hello to him now...

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 28 Drowzee worth 612 XP, a Level 28 Grimer worth 540 XP, and a Level 28 Machop worth 528 XP and $896.

This is actually the area near the resting spot, so go ahead and open the door below, then use the beds again to fully rest and recover your PP!  Now backtrack and take the pad back to the previous office, and take the pad that is in the outer office here, which leads to an office on the 7th floor with a surprise for you!

-- Rival Battle --

Your best buddy and worst friend Gary is waiting for you by the desk here!  It is time for another Rival Battle!  I bet you were looking forward to this -- I know I was -- after all we have soundly beaten him every time, and despite this he is slowly learning how to battle.

Gary still does not have a full team -- which means he was probably lying to us back in the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town about the Pokemon he caught there...  Still, he sure has a mouth on him, eh?

Gary starts the battle with his Level 37 Pidgeot, which is worth 1363 XP, following it with his Level 35 Exeggcute, worth 735 XP.  His next Pokemon is his Level 35 Alakazam, worth 1395 XP, followed by his Level 38 Growlithe worth 741 XP.  His final team member is his Level 40 Blastoise, worth a whopping 1800 XP and $1440!

After having his butt thoroughly kicked by us, Gary declares that we are ready to battle Boss Rocket -- though to be honest you have to wonder what his opinion is really worth...\

As arrogant as ever, he lets you know what his immediate plans are before taking off. Thanks Gary!

Before you leave talk to the Silph Engineer standing by the wall to be given a new Pokemon - a Lapras!  How about that?!  The other pad in this room will take us to the 11th floor directly -- but we are not ready to do that just now, so ignore that and take the pad we arrived by back to the 3rd floor.

As we have cleared this level head to the stairs and up to four!

- Back to the Fourth Floor -

The Silph Company: Rest Spot

As you will recall there are some doors to open on this level, so head down the center hall to the south just before the defeated grunt and then north, where you will find a Silph Co. Engineer and two pads.  He tells you something that you already know about the doors -- useless.

The pad in the bottom left corner leads to a room on the 10th floor we will visit in the normal course of clearing that level, so ignore this for now.  The pad in the upper right corner leads to a small room on the 6th floor that is off the main area, so it is also safe to ignore!

Head south and then west to open the next door, which is a storage room with some items in it.  Grab the Full Heal from the first treasure ball, the Escape Rope from the second treasure ball, and the Max Revive from the third treasure ball.  There is an employee hiding in the back -- you can say hello if you like -- then head back to the stairs as we have cleared this floor!

- Back to the Fifth Floor -

Straight down into the large office with the Reports on the desks, then head to the door in the west wall and open it to find what I guess is another Silph Engineer in hiding?  There is an Elixir hidden in the south plant -- grab that and then head back to the main hallway.

All the way to the west is another locked door -- inside is a treasure ball with a Protein in it, a very nervous Silph Engineer, and nothing else!  Exit this room and head south down the hall to the next door, which is a now empty store room -- we are just opening the door to be able to say we did :)

Return to the stairs now.

- The Sixth Floor -

The pad near the stairs goes to the 2nd floor, so ignore it.  Instead follow the hallway south along the east wall, and at the bottom turn west to find a Grunt to battle!

Team Rocket Grunt has a pair of Level 28 Zubat worth 324 XP each, and a Level 28 Golbat worth 1026 XP and $896.  The odd thing about this guy is he yells "You traitor!" at us -- odd because we were never part of that organization so how can we be traitors to it or him?

Inside the room above is a large group of Silph Company employees being held prisoner.  Nothing we can do for them at the moment, so continue west now, and battle with the Scientist in the next hallway.

Scientist Taylor has a Level 25 Voltorb worth 550XP, a Level 25 Koffing worth 610 XP, a Level 25 Magneton worth 862 XP, a Level 25 Magnemite worth 475 XP, and a Level 25 Koffing worth 610 XP and $1200.

Open the door to the storeroom in the southwest corner to find a treasure ball with an HP UP in it, and one with an X Special in it.

By the lift is the last Gurnt to battle on this floor, so go do that now before taking the stairs to the next level!

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 29 Machop worth 546 XP, and a Level 29 Machoke worth 906 XP and $928.

- The Seventh Floor -

In the main hall by the lift is the first Gurnt to battle...

Team Rocket Grunt has a pair of Level 29 Cubone worth 540 XP each, and$928.

Open the door to the south and grab TM08, Bulk Up, from the treasure ball there, and then open the next door south to find another Grunt Battle!

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 29 Sandshrew worth 577 XP, and a Level 29 Sandslash worth 1012 XP and $928.

The pad in this room leads down to the 5th floor, so you can ignore it.  Exit the room into the north hall and take the first turn south, following that around to a small room with a treasure ball and a Scientist in it...

Scientist Joshua has a Level 29 Electrode worth 931 XP, and a Level 29 Muk worth 975 XP and $1392.

The treasure ball contains a Calcium.  Once you have that work your way back out to the main hallway and to the west you will see a foyer with a Grunt and a locked room that is occupied.

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 26 Raticate worth 645 XP, a Level 26 Zubat worth 300 XP, a Level 26 Golbat worth 952 XP, and a Level 26 Rattata worth 316 XP and $832.

The locked room contains three Silph Company employees.  One of them knows what it is that Team Rocket has come here to take - the Master Ball!  That concludes our work on this floor, so head for the stairs now!

- The Eighth Floor -

The Silph Company: Engineer in Hiding

We have actually cleared most of this due to the pads, but head down the center hallway then west and up to unlock the door here, just to be complete in our door-unlocking!  Having done that small task, head for the stairs up to the next level!

- The Ninth Floor -

Open the door to the south and the door below that, then return to the main hall and head west and south, then west again to the beds where we can rest.  Now is a good time to save as well.

Now backtrack to the stairs and head up to the next level!

- The Tenth Floor -

Head south into the room here and open the sealed door, then head back into the main hall and west to do battle with the Scientist in the large room here.

Scientist Travis has a Level 29 Magnemite worth 552 XP and a Level 29 Koffing worth 708 XP and $1392.

South of him is a small storage room with a Grunt and three treasure balls in it...

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 33 Machoke worth 1032 XP and $1056.

The first treasure ball has a Carbos in it, the second a Rare Candy, and the third an Ultra Ball!  This concludes our adventuring on this floor, so head to the stairs up.

- The Eleventh Floor -

In the long east corridor that runs north and south is a Grunt...

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 25 Rattata worth 304 XP, a Level 25 Zubat worth 288 XP, a Level 25 Ekans worth 331 XP, and a pair of Level 25 Rattata worth 304 XP each, and $800.

At the end of this hall is a treasure ball with a Zinc in it -- so grab that and backtrack to the main hallway now.  As you may recall the area that we actually want to go to is reached through the second pad in the room that we fought Gary in that you reach by using the pad in the first office on the 3rd floor...

Before we go for the final battle in is probably a good idea to check your kit to see if you need anything, and then duck outside and hit the Pokecenter to heal and save, and the Mart to re-supply anything you might need.  Once all of that is out of the way, it is time to head to the final battle!

-- The Battle with Boss Rocket --

In the hallway outside is a Grunt that is the final guard..

Team Rocket Grunt has a Level 32 Cubone wirth 595 XP, a Level 32 Drowzee worth 699 XP, and a Level 32 Marowak worth 849 XP and $1024.

As we unlock the door and enter the President's Office we are confronted by Giovanni -- or Boss Rocket as he is also known -- who warns us to mind our own business.  Too bad we suck at doing that, eh?  And the battle begins!

Giovanni's first offering is his Level 37 Nidorino-M worth 934 XP.  Next he sends out his Level 37 Rhyhorn worth 1069 XP, then his Level 41 Nidoqueen worth 1704 XP.  Finally he sends out his Level 35 Kangaskhan, which is worth 1312 XP and $4100.

After you defeat Boss Rocket he gives a short speech and then runs away with all of his henchmen.  The President of Silph Company is very grateful to you for rescuing them in their hour of need, and in a gesture meant to communicate his relief, gives you a gift: the Master Ball that Team Rocket was trying to get from him!

-- The Master Ball --

The Silph Company: Master Ball

You should be aware that there is only ONE of these in the entire game.  The Master Ball is a special Poke Ball that when used will capture whatever you throw it at, without fail.  It is a guaranteed capture -- it cannot fail!

That being the case you want to think long and hard before you use this.  Make sure that the Pokemon that you use it on is one you would have a near impossible time capturing any other way...  A lot of trainers hold on to this to use on one of the legendary Pokemon in the game -- but personally I think that is a waste, since you can -- if you are using the correct Pokemon and are patient -- catch even the most elusive of legendary Pokemon with regular balls.

No, I keep mine in reserve in case I ever run into a Shiny Pokemon, because it really hurts to run into one of those and fail to capture it!  Shiny Pokemon are much rarer than the legendary Pokemon, and for most trainers, more desirable to boot!  In the 10 plus years that I have been playing these games I have only run across perhaps a dozen Shiny Pokemon, and of that 12, only caught 7 of them.  Those stats encompass thousands of hours of play, so that should say something about their rarity.

Now that you have completed this part of the game, go ahead and retreat to the Pokecenter to heal and save, check your kit for anything you need to replace, and, now that we are rested and ready, head for the Gym!