Chapter 1: The First Badge

You start in Pallet Town. Professor Oak has asked you and Blue to try for the Viridian Gym Leader job, and the road to it runs through Viridian Forest to Pewter City and your first Badge.

Main quest in this chapter: choose your starter, reach Viridian City, take Oak’s Parcel back to Pallet Town, beat Blue on Route 22, cross Viridian Forest, then win the Boulder Badge from Brock in Pewter City.

Three things in this chapter can be lost for good, so do them before you move on: the Pallet Town send-off gifts (before you walk into Viridian), the Viridian Academy exchange students (before you leave Viridian northward; the challenge cannot actually be started in a normal game, see the quest) and the Pewter Pokémon Center’s Elite Four Bruno (before Mt. Moon).

Hidden items along the way

Optional stops in this chapter’s locations. Some spots may need a return visit; check the location notes for access limitations.

Open a location for item names, directions and available screenshots.

• Pewter City — 3 spots

Browse all hidden items

Walkthrough

Pallet Town. Pick your starter in Professor Oak’s lab. Then talk to Mom at home (she gives you the Running Shoes) and get the Town Map from Daisy before you leave town. Each starter has a send-off gift waiting in town: Pikachu from the man with the Eevee, Charmander from the man by the south fence, Bulbasaur from the Poliwag in your own kitchen.

Opens up:

• Pallet Town: send-off gifts (one per starter, before Viridian) Missable

Technical source (script files and flags)

guide/01-pallet-to-pewter.md#pallet-town-send-off-gifts-one-per-starter-before-viridian; script files 733, 736, 738, 842 (starter, Running Shoes, Town Map, gift NPC scripts)

Route 1. Head north. Green (Red if you are a girl) shows you how to catch a Pokémon. When the scene is over, the three Viridian thief quests are armed, one per starter.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 168 (Route 1 tutorial scene sets the thief quest flags, @586-@626); guide quests q-0003..q-0005. Tester said these open after the parcel: REFUTED, nothing in the Viridian thief scripts checks the parcel.

Viridian City. Walking in from Route 1 plays Blue’s scene beside the Pokémon Center: he gives you his number and heads for the Indigo Plateau. This closes the Pallet Town send-off gifts for good. From here on the town is yours. Your starter’s thief quest, the would-be professor’s quiz (Exp. Share) and the Pokémon Academy are open now (but its exchange-student challenge cannot be started, see the quest).

Opens up:

• Viridian City: the would-be professor's quiz
• Viridian City: the Meowth thief (Charmander starters only) Charmander only
• Viridian City: the Pikachu thief (Bulbasaur starters only) Bulbasaur only
• Viridian City: the Mankey thief (Pikachu starters only) Pikachu only
• Viridian City: Pokémon Academy exchange students (missable early) Missable

Warning: doing this closes these for good. Finish them first.

• Pallet Town: send-off gifts (one per starter, before Viridian) Missable

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 739 (coord script 14 on the only way into town; Blue’s scene L3274-L3335 sets 0x4075=1 and hides the gift NPCs); guide q-0001 source notes (collision check: no way round the trigger). Quests: 744 (quiz), 739 (thieves), 859 (Academy).

The parcel. The clerk in the Viridian Poké Mart asks you to carry a parcel from Johto to Professor Oak. Take it back to Pallet Town; Oak thanks you with an Apricorn Box. You need that box to leave Viridian northward.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 740 (clerk gives item 484 Oak’s Parcel, L134-L182), 738 L1536-L1677 (Oak takes the parcel, gives item 468 Apricorn Box); 739 coord script 16 (north exit of Viridian: no Apricorn Box -> turned back, L3453/L4965). Tester said a Mew scene plays on the trip: NOT FOUND. The only Mew scenes on Route 1 (168 scripts 6 and 16) belong to the late Mew hunt (var 0x409C = 11) and are not part of this trip.

Route 22. Walk west from Viridian to the end of Route 22. Blue is stuck at the League guard (you need eight Badges to enter) and challenges you; beat him. You can’t go north out of Viridian until you have done this.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 212 (script 6: Blue L478-L529, sets 0x4076=1); 739 coord script 16 sends you back while 0x4076 = 0 (L3409, ‘Blue says he’s going to challenge the Pokémon League’)

Leaving Viridian northward. With the parcel delivered and Blue beaten, the road north opens. This closes the Academy’s exchange students (Steven and Cynthia leave the classroom). Head north onto Route 2: fake police block the road to Pewter, so go through the gatehouse into Viridian Forest.

Warning: doing this closes these for good. Finish them first.

• Viridian City: Pokémon Academy exchange students (missable early) Missable

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 212 L1880-L1947 (Blue event, with the Apricorn Box in the bag) and 738 L1651-L1655 (parcel, if Blue is done) both set flags 1057 and 1244 (students gone), whichever comes second; 739 coord script 16 requires var 0x4076 = 1 and item 468 to pass. Route 2 police: zone 10 objects at 1050-1051,193 (hide flag 1873, see chapter 5).

Viridian Forest, south end. The man in the south gatehouse offers $20,000 to bring back his runaway Snubbull; the Snubbull is playing with a Pidgey in the middle of the forest. The flower-garden woman on the east side gives you 2 Honey for scaring off the Spearow flock, and the Honey tree in the south-west spreads it for a weekday Bug Pokémon.

Opens up:

• Viridian Forest: the runaway Snubbull ($20,000, one-time choice)
• Viridian Forest: the flower garden and the Spearow (missable) Missable
• Viridian Forest: the Honey tree (weekday Bug Pokémon)

Technical source (script files and flags)

guide/01-pallet-to-pewter.md q-0013, q-0014, q-0016 sources (script file 173 gatehouse, 115 forest scripts 11-16). q-0014 closes at the Volcano Badge (Cinnabar, a later chapter).

The Team Rocket scene. In the middle of the forest a Team Rocket grunt corners an Eevee. When the scene ends, you say you must hurry to the Viridian Gym for your assessment. Nurse Joy heals the Eevee, and it waits for you in the far north-east corner of the forest.

Opens up:

• Viridian Forest: the rescued Eevee (optional)

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 115 (script 21 at 46,43 is the Rocket scene; ends @3559-@3604 with the line about the Viridian Gym assessment, sets 0x40AF = 1); q-0017 script 10 (flag 411). UNVERIFIED: the exact moment the Eevee appears is taken from the guide quest text (‘after the Team Rocket Eevee story’), not re-read from the script.

Viridian Gym (optional now, story whenever you enter). The first time you walk into the Gym after the forest scene, Brock tells you the Gym Leader assessment deadline has passed, Blue becomes the Viridian Gym Leader and Brock leaves to run Misty’s assessment in Cerulean. The Gym itself stays shut until much later (Giovanni is away).

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 741 (coord script 8 at 5,7 needs var 0x40AF = 1; scene L1777-L2197 sets 0x40AF = 3 and hide flag 1003). UNVERIFIED: whether anything forces this before Pewter; nothing in Pewter, Route 2 or the forest north gatehouse checks 0x40AF.

North exit of the forest. Past the gatehouse, Route 2 continues north towards Pewter. A weak Charmander (Pikachu starters) or an abandoned Nidoran♀ with a man who wants it (other starters) wait just outside the exit. Both need something from Pewter City first: Pikachu starters must hear a Trainer in the Pewter Pokémon Center brag about his “garbage” Charmander; the others need a Friend Ball, which the warm-up Trainer in Pewter gives you after you beat him.

Opens up:

• Route 2, north of Viridian Forest: the abandoned Charmander (Pikachu starters only) Pikachu only Missable
• Route 2, north of Viridian Forest: Nidoran♀ and the Apricorn Ball maker (non-Pikachu starters) Charmander / Bulbasaur only

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 170 (scripts 3-5; Charmander needs the Pewter Pokémon Center Trainer, 751 L430; Nidoran♀ man needs item 497 Friend Ball), 748 L1582-L1641 (warm-up Trainer 124 gives Friend Ball x2). Position check: map name is just ‘Route 2’; these NPCs stand at the north-west corner of the zone the guide calls Route 2 East (1026-1032,133-136), outside the Viridian Forest north gatehouse door at 1028,138. The heading was corrected from ‘Route 2 East’.

Pewter City. Look around before the Gym: Anemone’s flower garden on the hill (Sitrus Berries for the hiker’s Hard Stone and the Sudowoodo man’s TM69), the small house in the south-west for Apricorn Balls, and the Pokémon Center, where the Elite Four’s Bruno will fight you once. Blue ambushes you on the path between the Pokémon Center and the Gym; beat him (a later Mt. Moon scene needs him). The Museum of Science has Steven, another companion you will want in Mt. Moon.

Opens up:

• Pewter City: finding Brock (the Gym Leader's errands)
• Pewter City: Sitrus Berries → Hard Stone → TM69
• Pewter City: the Apricorn Ball maker Missable
• Pewter Pokémon Center: Elite Four Bruno (one attempt, before Mt. Moon) Missable

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 748 (Anemone, hiker, Sudowoodo man, Blue’s step trigger 1045,96-98 -> var 0x407B), 754 (Apricorn Ball maker), 751 (Bruno, script 8 L612); Steven: 753/133 per q-0029 notes.

The Pewter Gym. Brock keeps leaving. Follow him from the Gym to the north-east house, then the museum (answer the siblings’ quizzes), then Anemone’s garden, and he finally battles you back at the Gym. Win the Boulder Badge, 5 TM39 Rock Tomb and Brock’s number. With the badge you can use Rock Smash.

Opens up:

• Field moves: which Badge each one needs

Technical source (script files and flags)

guide/01..02 q-0023; script files 750, 753, 754, 748. Field moves: guide/13 ‘Field moves: which Badge each one needs’ (Rock Smash = Boulder Badge).

Quests in this chapter

Open the ones you want; tick Done to hide them. Filters at the top apply to this whole page.

Pallet Town: send-off gifts (one per starter, before Viridian)

Pallet Town Side quest Missable

Closes for good the moment you walk into Viridian City.

Where: Pallet Town and your house.

Who gets it / when: each starter gets one gift. The gifts open once you have done both of these, in either order: talk to Mom after getting your starter (she gives you the Running Shoes and offers to save your money), and get the Town Map from Daisy. The game won’t let you leave Pallet Town northward before that anyway. (Bulbasaur players: Mom’s talk alone is enough.) All gifts close for good once Blue’s scene in Viridian City has played (Blue stops you south-west of the Pokémon Center, gives you his number and leaves for Indigo Plateau). That scene plays as soon as you walk into Viridian from the Route 1 gatehouse: it sits on the only way into town, so collect your gift before you leave Pallet Town.

Starter	Who	Gift	Extra condition
Pikachu	Man with the Eevee at the north edge of town, a few steps north-west of the door to Blue’s house	Light Ball	none
Charmander	Man by the south fence, south-west of Oak’s Lab	Charcoal	none
Bulbasaur	The Poliwag in your house, 1F, by the kitchen sink in the top-left corner (next to Mr. Mime)	Poliwag, Lv. 5 (“Take Poliwag along on your journey?” → Yes)	party not full

Notes: Talking again after you get the gift, or after the Viridian scene, gives only flavour lines. The game also contains an unused Lv. 10 Poliwhirl gift for the same house that nobody in the house offers, so only the Poliwag can be obtained.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 733 (Pallet Town; Eevee man script 1 checks flags 1088, 768, 408 = Town Map; fence man script 13 checks 1804 (set at the opening), 1088, 1287, 768), 842 (house 1F: scripts 9/10 check 106, 768, 1088, 1289, flag 2285; Poliwag at 2,5; Mom’s script 2 → L6053, first talk only (flag 167 clear): L6123 clears 767, L7422 clears 768 for Bulbasaur, then L8800/L8826 → L9557 clears 768 and sets var 0x4073 = 2 if the Town Map (408) is held; later talks go to the bank menu L7253 and never reach L9557), 736 (Daisy L452: clears 768 and sets var 0x4073 = 2 at L1781 only if 767 is clear), 733 coord trigger (north exit, var 0x4073 == 0), 739 (flag 1088, Blue’s scene: coord script 14 on ≈1023–1026,266 with var 0x4075 == 0, Blue’s objects 11/12 at 1027–1028,266 (talk script 15 runs the same ending), L3274–L3335; flag 1088 is later cleared and set again only inside other Viridian scenes). Collision (MapGrid, water tiles counted as blocked): from the Route 1 gatehouse (≈1036,280) no tile north of row 266 is reachable without crossing the trigger or Blue’s tiles; the way round to the west is a pond. Emulator (guide-review-20261006/ch01/mankey_blue_en): walking around the trigger stops at that pond; stepping on it plays Blue’s scene (lines 445#13, 14, 16, 69, 17; 0x4075 → 1, 1088 set). Positions: Eevee man ≈1041,360, south-fence man ≈1041,382.

Viridian City: the would-be professor’s quiz

Viridian City Side quest

Where: the house north-west of Viridian Gym. Use its upper (north) door, just west of the woman worried about the Meowth thief; the lower door leads to the nickname man’s room. The mother says her son dreams of becoming a Pokémon Professor. Talk to the son and answer Yes to start the quiz.

How it works: he asks five questions and only tells you at the end whether one of your answers was wrong. He doesn’t say which one. You can try again at once. Answer all five correctly to get his prize: an Exp. Share (one time).

#	Question	Answer	Position in the list
1	How many Pokémon types are there?	18	2nd
2	How much damage does a type with the advantage deal?	2x	4th
3	What are the three categories of Pokémon moves?	Physical, Special, Status	1st
4	What are the core elements of a move?	Type, Power, Accuracy, Effect	4th
5	How many Badges do you need to be ranked a Senior Trainer?	8	3rd

Question 4 is the usual trap: “Type, Power, Accuracy, PP” looks right, but the game only accepts “Effect”.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 744 (script 6, L358–L849; Exp. Share = item 216, flag 1221). Door: Viridian City warp at 1034,235 leads to the son’s room (zone 497 warp 1). The English options are listed in the same order as the Chinese ones.

Viridian City: the Meowth thief (Charmander starters only)

Viridian City Side quest Charmander only

What it is: a small side quest. A resident says a Meowth keeps sneaking into people’s homes all over Viridian City to steal things, and asks you to teach it a lesson.

Who gets it: only players who chose Charmander in Oak’s lab. Viridian has one “thief” quest per starter, and each rewards you with an Apricorn Ball:

Starter	Thief	Reward
Charmander	Meowth, stealing from homes	Lure Ball
Bulbasaur	Pikachu, stealing food from the Viridian Mart	Lure Ball
Pikachu	Mankey, breaking the street lights	Fast Ball

With any other starter, the Meowth resident only says a general line about living alongside Pokémon, and the Meowth never appears.

How it works:

1. Finish the catching tutorial on Route 1. That makes the quest available.
2. Talk to the resident in the north of town, standing just east of the upper door of the house north-west of the Gym. They ask you to deal with the Meowth, and the Meowth appears.
3. The Meowth sits on the west side of town, level with the Pokémon Center and next to the Super Fang tutor. Talk to it and answer Yes to “Teach Meowth a lesson?”. It attacks first: a wild battle against a Lv. 5 Meowth. If you answer No, nothing happens and you can come back later.
4. Beat it, catch it or run away: the game only checks whether you lost. If you black out, the Meowth stays and you can try again.
5. Go back to the resident for the reward: one Lure Ball.

Why it matters: the Super Fang tutor on the west side of Viridian teaches Super Fang for one Lure Ball. This quest is an early way to get that ball.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 739 (resident script 24, Meowth script 28 → L3718, reward L5040: item 494; flags 1335/1336/1337). Oak’s lab script (file 738) sets the starter flags, and the Route 1 script (file 168, L586–L602) sets the quest flags. Positions: resident ≈1038,236; Meowth ≈1015,266.

Viridian City: the Pikachu thief (Bulbasaur starters only)

Viridian City Side quest Bulbasaur only

Where: the shop clerk standing a few steps east of the Viridian Mart door.

Who gets it / when: players who chose Bulbasaur, after the Route 1 catching tutorial. Before the quest opens, the clerk only advertises the Mart.

How it works:

1. Talk to the clerk. They say a Pikachu keeps stealing food from the Mart, and the Pikachu appears a few steps south-west of the house door just north of the Pokémon Academy.
2. Talk to the Pikachu and answer Yes to “Teach Pikachu a lesson?”. It is “wary of you” and runs off to the far northwest corner of town.
3. Follow it and talk to it again (Yes). It runs to the east edge of town, south-east of the Poké Mart (next to a street light).
4. Talk to it there, from directly north or south. This time it lunges at you: a wild battle against a Lv. 5 Pikachu. Beat it, catch it or run away.
5. Go back to the clerk for the reward.

Reward: 1 Lure Ball, which is what the Super Fang tutor on the west side of Viridian charges.

Notes: Answering No does nothing, so you can try again. If you black out, Pikachu stays where it was. If you talk to it from the wrong side at a spot, it just runs back to the northwest spot. Its chase positions aren’t saved: if you leave Viridian and come back, it is back at its first spot (tested in an emulator).

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 739 (scripts 3 and 23, flags 1334/1335/1336; the chase moves object 5 with MovePersonFacing, which a map reload undoes). Route 1 file 168 sets the quest flags. Positions: clerk ≈1046,253; Pikachu ≈1033,247, then ≈1008,235, then ≈1053,269. Emulator: emu_harness.py guide0107 --case pikachu (after the first chase and a trip to Route 1, object 5 is at 1033,247 again).

Viridian City: the Mankey thief (Pikachu starters only)

Viridian City Side quest Pikachu only

Where: the street-light keeper on the west side of town, north-west of the Pokémon Center door.

Who gets it / when: players who chose Pikachu, after the Route 1 tutorial.

How it works:

1. Talk to the keeper. A naughty Mankey keeps breaking the street lights. The Mankey appears on the east side of town, south-east of the Gym door, beside a street light (a few steps south-east of the Trainer with the Politoed).
2. Talk to it and answer Yes to “Mankey is practicing its punches on a street light. Stop it?”. It gets furious: a wild battle against a Lv. 5 Mankey. Beat it, catch it or run away.
3. Go back to the keeper.

Reward: 1 Fast Ball. The Quiver Dance tutor on Route 2 charges one Fast Ball.

Notes: Losing leaves Mankey in place, so you can try again. Blue’s scene in Viridian (he stops you south-west of the Pokémon Center and gives you his number) hides the Mankey. If it played while the quest was running, the Fast Ball would be lost. That can’t happen in normal play: the scene sits on the only way into town from Route 1, so it has always played before you can reach the keeper (see Known issues). Tested in an emulator: you can’t walk around Blue, the way round is a pond.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 739 (scripts 12 and 29, reward L5100: item 492; keeper script 29, L1571–L1619, starts the quest only with 1288, 1330 and 1335 set; 1330 and 1335 are set by the Route 1 tutorial, file 168 @586/@594; Blue scene L3339 sets flag 1330 (the Mankey’s hide flag), and the keeper then pays only if 1336 is clear). Reachability of Blue’s trigger: see the send-off gifts source above. Positions: keeper ≈1019,255; Mankey ≈1050,246.

Viridian City: Pokémon Academy exchange students (missable early)

Viridian City Side quest Missable

Cannot be started in a normal new game (suspected hack bug): the teacher only offers the challenge in a game state that Professor Oak's lab introduction switches off for good, so he only says goodbye to Steven and Cynthia. Checked in the game's code and in the emulator.

Where: the Pokémon Academy (the school building south of the northeast house).

Who gets it / when: in a normal new game the challenge cannot be started (suspected hack bug). The teacher only offers it in a game state that Professor Oak’s lab introduction switches off for good, so by the time you can reach Viridian he only says goodbye to Steven and Cynthia (“Seeing my students Steven and Cynthia…”; checked in the game’s scripts and in an emulator). The description below is what the challenge would do. Steven and Cynthia leave, and the teacher changes to Earl’s lessons, once you have both delivered Oak’s Parcel and beaten Blue on Route 22.

How it works:

1. Talk to the teacher at the front of the classroom. The Academy has two exchange students, and you’re asked to beat them for Kanto’s honour.
2. Battle both, in either order: Cynthia (Gible Lv. 5, Riolu Lv. 5, Amaura Lv. 5) and Steven (Beldum Lv. 5, Aron Lv. 5, Tinkatink Lv. 5). If you haven’t talked to the teacher, they just chat.
3. Go back to the teacher.

Reward: 2 Ultra Balls, 1 Level Ball, 1 Lure Ball.

Follow-up: Cynthia also waits in Viridian Forest, about a dozen steps east of the north exit, whether or not you beat her at the Academy. Only her greeting changes. She offers a battle (Gible Lv. 9, Riolu Lv. 8, Budew Lv. 6); beat her for 5 × TM54 False Swipe. She leaves afterwards.

Notes: the Viridian Forest Cynthia (TM54 × 5) is separate and can be met normally. For the same reason the teacher’s later reset to “beat the exchange students” is not seen in play: for Bulbasaur and Charmander starters it would happen when the Nidoran♀ story with the Apricorn Ball maker ends (either answer); for Pikachu starters, after the Team Rocket scene in Viridian Forest. Cosmetic (Known issues).

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 859 (scripts 1, 9, 10; trainers 3 and 2; flags 1057/1244 end the early lessons and are set by whichever of file 738 L1651 (parcel) or file 212 L1931 (Route 22 Blue) comes second; the teacher sets flag 1218; script 1 L111 offers the challenge again once 1057 is clear, while 1244 keeps the students hidden), 115 (script 3: greeting by flag 1292 = beaten at the Academy, trainer 65, TM54 = item 381 × 5 at L1498, then L3712 sets her hide flag 1063; nothing else sets it; Cynthia ≈51,34; Team Rocket scene ending, reached from L4696/L4721: L5748 CheckFlag 1288 (Pikachu starter, set by 738 @3891) → L6969, @6973 clears 1057), 170 (@3782 and @4355 clear 1057).

Viridian Forest: the runaway Snubbull ($20,000, one-time choice)

Viridian Forest Side quest

Where: the owner stands in the south gatehouse (Route 2 side). The Snubbull is in the middle of Viridian Forest, playing with a Pidgey.

How it works:

1. Talk to the owner in the gatehouse. He offers $20,000 to bring his Snubbull back. The Snubbull just cries until you’ve talked to him.
2. Find Snubbull in the forest and talk to it: “Snubbull seems to be having a lot of fun. Take it back with you?”
3. Yes: you’re taken back to the gatehouse and paid $20,000. The owner muses about “hunger training or pain training”, and the Pidgey is left alone.
4. No: Snubbull stays with its friend for good. There’s no reward and it can’t be taken back later.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 173 (script 4; sets flag 1237), 115 (scripts 12/13, L2869; Snubbull checks flag 1237).

Viridian Forest: the flower garden and the Spearow (missable)

Viridian Forest Side quest Missable

Closes for good once you have the Volcano Badge (Cinnabar, much later).

Where: the woman by the flowers on the far east side of the forest, north-east of the south entrance (head east from the entrance, past the Trainer standing there).

Who gets it / when: before you have the Volcano Badge.

How it works: answer Yes to help scare off the Spearow. The Spearow flock attacks: a double battle against Spearow Lv. 7 (the flock’s team has three), then their leader, a wild Fearow Lv. 20. Knocking the Fearow out, catching it or running away all drive the flock off. Losing either battle means a white-out and the quest stays open.

Reward: 2 Honey (used by the Honey tree and the Mega Drain tutor below).

Missable: once you have the Volcano Badge she says the Spearow are already gone, even if you never helped. Pikachu starters get the Pidgeot loan (next entry) instead.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 115 (script 11: CheckBadge 6 (Volcano, given by Blaine in file 15) → L2225; L2318: TrainerBattle [59, 59], trainer 59 = 3 × Spearow Lv. 7; WildBattle 22 Lv. 20 at L2627, then CheckBattleWon, which counts a flee or a catch as a win; Honey = item 94 × 2 at L2760; losses → L3673 WhiteOut; flag 1062; woman ≈90,72).

Viridian Forest: the Honey tree (weekday Bug Pokémon)

Viridian Forest Side quest

Where: the glistening tree trunk in the south-west of the forest, west of the south entrance. Go to the patch of tall grass below a short wooden stairway, stand at its east edge and face the tree to the east. The Mega Drain tutor stands a few steps south-west. A man near the north exit hints about it.

How it works: check the trunk with Honey in your Bag and answer Yes to spread it (1 Honey used). A Bug Pokémon attacks right away, Lv. 15, depending on the day of the week set on your DS clock:

Day	Pokémon
Sunday	Scyther
Monday	Heracross
Tuesday	Pinsir
Wednesday	Volbeat
Thursday	Nincada
Friday	Pineco
Saturday	Yanma

Notes: repeatable as long as you have Honey. The Mega Drain tutor in the south-west corner, a few steps south-west of the tree, also charges 1 Honey.

Getting Honey early: no shop in Pallet Town, Viridian City or Pewter City sells it, and none lies on the ground there. Before Johto you can get it in two ways, both in Viridian Forest:

• 2 Honey from the woman by the flowers (the flower garden and the Spearow), once, before the Volcano Badge.
• Wild Pokémon holding Honey: Surskit (night, 4% of grass encounters) holds Honey half the time, and Combee (morning, 1%) sometimes holds it. Catch one (or use Thief) and take the item from it in the party menu.

In Johto, the Honey seller on Route 36 sells it for $200 each.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 115 (script 16, L5008). Positions: tree 41,79; Mega Drain tutor ≈35,82. Honey sources: site/src/data/items.json (item 94: gifts, shops, item balls, hidden items); personal data a/0/0/2 held items: Surskit [94, 0] (common slot, 50%), Combee [0, 94] (rare slot, 5%); Viridian Forest grass: Surskit Lv. 7 night 4%, Combee Lv. 7 morning 1%.

Viridian Forest: the rescued Eevee (optional)

Viridian Forest Side quest

Where: where Nurse Joy healed Eevee, in the far north-east corner of the forest (well east of the north exit), after the Team Rocket Eevee story on Route 2 and in the forest.

How it works: talk to the Eevee: “Eevee seems to really like you. Catch it?” → Yes.

Reward: Eevee, Lv. 5. If you say No or your party is full, it waits for you.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 115 (script 10, flag 411; Eevee ≈91,33).

Route 2, north of Viridian Forest: the abandoned Charmander (Pikachu starters only)

Route 2 Side quest Pikachu only Missable

Closes when you win the Cascade Badge in Cerulean City.

Where: a weak Charmander just outside the north exit of Viridian Forest, on the western edge of this stretch of Route 2: a couple of steps north-west of the door of the Viridian Forest north gatehouse.

Who gets it / when: Pikachu starters. It appears after the Viridian Forest Team Rocket scene. You must first hear a Trainer in the Pewter City Pokémon Center brag about dumping his “garbage” Charmander by the road. Before that, Charmander “doesn’t seem to want to be caught” and nothing happens.

How it works:

1. Talk to the Pewter Pokémon Center Trainer (only there for Pikachu starters).
2. Talk to the Charmander and say Yes to “Try to catch it?”. You carry it to the Pewter Pokémon Center and Nurse Joy heals it.
3. Its old Trainer turns up: battle Guitarist Del (Shinx Lv. 12, Swinub Lv. 11, Nidoran♂ Lv. 10). After he loses, Charmander turns on him and he runs off.
4. Talk to Charmander in the Pokémon Center: “Take it with you?” → Yes.

Reward: Charmander, Lv. 10.

Missable: do this before you win the Cascade Badge. That scene removes the roadside Charmander and the bragging Trainer. Once Charmander is in the Pewter Pokémon Center, it waits there.

Notes: Del’s battle is a scripted win-or-white-out. Taking Charmander from the Pokémon Center removes it for good.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 170 (script 3, L787, L2290; Charmander ≈1026,136; checks flag 1348), 751 (Pewter Pokémon Center scripts 10/11; the Trainer sets flag 1348 at L430), 115 (L5748 decides which Route 2 event you get). The roadside Charmander (zone 414 object 3) and the Pokémon Center Trainer (zone 475 object 12) share hide flag 1367, set by the Cascade Badge scene (758 @3887) and cleared only by 115 @6981 (Viridian Forest setup). The Pokémon Center Charmander (object 13) uses flag 1360, which 1367 doesn’t touch. The Route 3 letter Charmander (file 175, hide flag 1366) never appears, so it can’t hide this one.

Route 2, north of Viridian Forest: Nidoran♀ and the Apricorn Ball maker (non-Pikachu starters)

Route 2 Side quest Charmander / Bulbasaur only

Where: a man and an abandoned Nidoran♀ just outside the north exit of Viridian Forest, a few steps north-east of the door of the Viridian Forest north gatehouse.

Who gets it / when: Bulbasaur and Charmander starters, after the Viridian Forest Team Rocket scene.

How it works:

1. The man wants to catch the Nidoran♀ but has no ball. Have a Friend Ball in your Bag and answer Yes when asked to give him one. The game doesn’t actually take it (tested in an emulator). A Trainer in Pewter City gives you two.
2. A cutscene follows. Its former Trainer, who released it, shows up and orders it around, then decides to take it to a PC box. The game asks “Stop Nidoran♀ from being taken away?”
3. Answer Yes and battle him (Guitarist Del: Shinx Lv. 12, Swinub Lv. 11, Nidoran♂ Lv. 10). Nidoran♀ chooses to stay with the man.

Reward: no item. The man moves to the small house in the southwest of Pewter City (about 11 steps west and 5 steps south of the Pokémon Center door) and turns your Apricorns into Apricorn Balls for free from then on.

Failure: answering No lets him take Nidoran♀. You lose the Apricorn Ball service for good. The man is in Pewter but only sighs about Nidoran♀, and his mother says he’s been down.

Pikachu starters get no Nidoran♀ story, but the man is in Pewter from the start and makes Apricorn Balls anyway (Pewter City to Vermilion City).

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 170 (scripts 4/5, L3021, L3881; script 4 only checks HasItem 497 (Friend Ball), no script in the file takes it, D-1399, emulator emu_harness.py hackbugs --case friendball; man and Nidoran♀ ≈1031–1032,133; flag 1349 = Apricorn service: Yes → L4359 clears it, No → L3778 leaves it set; both clear 1057, the man’s hide flag in Pewter; Del’s line 314#62 “I’m no Breeder”), 748 (L1619: the Pewter warm-up Trainer gives Friend Ball × 2), 754 (east room of the map named “Pewter Northeast house”, entered from the southwest city door at 1037,111; Pewter City: the Apricorn Ball maker).

Pewter City: finding Brock (the Gym Leader’s errands)

Pewter City Main quest

Where: Pewter Gym, then the house in the northeast of town (about 21 steps east and 5 steps north of the Gym door), then the Museum of Science, then Anemone’s flower garden on the hill.

Who gets it / when: everyone. This is required for the Boulder Badge. Players get stuck because Brock keeps leaving.

How it works:

1. (Optional) In the northeast house, the woman says her Nidoran♂ keeps throwing up and asks you to fetch Brock.

2. Talk to Brock in the Gym. He hurries off to that northeast house. If you did step 1, you pass on the message. If not, he says he just heard about it himself.

3. Northeast house: talk to Brock while he treats Nidoran♂. He then leaves “to go back to the Gym”.

4. The Gym guide now says Brock took his little brother and sister to the museum.

5. Museum: talk to Brock. He asks you to keep his siblings busy. Answer both quizzes:

   Brother (fossil quiz): a wrong answer doesn’t stop the quiz. You still hear every question and are told at the end (“that doesn’t sound right”). Retry at once.

   #	Question	Answer (position)
   1	Fewest type weaknesses?	Anorith (2nd)
   2	How many Fossil Pokémon are not Rock types?	0 (1st)
   3	Highest base Defense?	Bastiodon (4th)
   4	Which is not a Fossil Pokémon?	Relicanth (3rd)

   Sister (“my big brother’s acting weird”):

   #	Question	Answer (position)
   1	What is he secretly writing?	Cheesy love lines (3rd)
   2	Why does he keep spacing out?	He’s in love (3rd)
   3	What do we mean in his life?	A loving family (2nd)
   4	Why is he acting so strange?	Because of love (4th)

   Like her brother, she asks every question even after a wrong answer and only tells you at the end (“My woman’s intuition tells me that’s not right”). Retry at once. Declining her (“How can you refuse…”) just ends the talk.

6. Talk to Brock again. He thanks you and leaves. The siblings go back to the Gym and mention a “goddess”.

7. Walk up to Anemone’s garden, about 16 steps east of the Pokémon Center door. The cutscene starts when you walk onto the path 4 steps south of Anemone: Brock is hitting on Anemone, you step in, and he heads back to the Gym.

8. Gym: Brock finally battles you. Losing whites you out; you can try again.

Reward: the Boulder Badge (story), 5 × TM39 Rock Tomb and Brock’s phone number. The treated Nidoran♂ has no reward.

Technical source (script files and flags)

files 750 (Gym, L485/L850; the win gives item 366 = TM39 ×5 at L604), 754 (script 1, script 3), 753 (scripts 16, 17, 20; L3143, L3543, L4622 sets 1315 and clears 1316), 748 (script 27, L4562 clears 1322). Step 1 sets flag 1321. The Nidoran♂ room is the west half (local 4,8) of the shared “Pewter Northeast house” map, entered from the city door at 1068,87; the garden cutscene is the step trigger at 1064–1065,111, var 0x4082 = 1 (Pewter events: Gym door 1047,92, Anemone 1064,107, Pokémon Center door 1048,106).

Pewter City: Sitrus Berries → Hard Stone → TM69

Pewter City Side quest

Where: a hiker standing just south-west of the Pewter Poké Mart door, and a man with a Sudowoodo on the east side of town (east of the Mart).

How it works:

1. Anemone’s flower garden on the hill, east of the Pokémon Center, gives 2 Sitrus Berries, Berry Pots and the Squirt Bottle. Answer Yes when she asks if you like growing things; No only gets a teasing line, and you can ask again.
2. The hiker wants 3 Sitrus Berries, but he only lets you hand them over when you have at least 10 in your Bag (with fewer he just asks and leaves it there). Say Yes: he takes 3 and gives you 2 Hard Stones.
3. Give a Hard Stone to the Sudowoodo owner (Yes). He gives you TM69 Rock Polish.

Notes: any Hard Stone works for step 3. There are other sources, e.g. Route 36. Both are one-time.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 748 (scripts 10, 15, 18; flags 1306, 1308; Anemone’s question is line 453#25, gifts at L673–L736: Berry Pots 470, Squirt Bottle 477, Sitrus Berry 158 × 2; hiker HasItem 158, 10 at L856 → L2309, TakeItem 158, 3 and Hard Stone 238 × 2 at L4186–L4213; Sudowoodo man TakeItem 238 and TM69 = item 396 at L2792–L2807). Positions: hiker ≈1058,98; Sudowoodo man ≈1077,102; Anemone ≈1064,107.

Pewter City: the Apricorn Ball maker

Pewter City Side quest Missable

Pikachu starters meet the Apricorn Ball maker here from the start. With other starters he only moves here after you save Nidoran♀ on Route 2.

Continues Route 2, north of Viridian Forest: Nidoran♀ and the Apricorn Ball maker.

Where: the small house in the southwest of town, about 11 steps west and 5 steps south of the Pokémon Center door.

Who gets it / when: Bulbasaur and Charmander starters who saved Nidoran♀ on Route 2. Pikachu starters find him here from the start, with no Nidoran♀ story (“I learned to make Apricorn Balls from Mr. Kurt”).

How it works: talk to him with Apricorns in your Bag. He takes one, and the ball is ready about a day later. Then talk to him again to collect it. It’s free.

Notes:

• He and Kurt in Azalea share the same “ball in progress” slot, so only one of them can be making a ball at a time. His balls also count toward Kurt’s ball counter. Reaching 10 balls has no effect that we could find.
• The service ends for good once you’ve been through the Slowpoke Well event in Johto. After that he says he’s putting ball-making aside to spend time with Nidoran♀.
• If you let its former Trainer take Nidoran♀, he just mopes and never makes balls.

Technical source (script files and flags)

file 754 (script 4, L697, L829, L840); flags 415 (file 60, Slowpoke Well), 2722 and 0x413b (file 871). Saved Nidoran♀ = flag 1349 clear. Ball in progress = flag 2722, 10-ball counter = var 0x413b, which sets flag 295 at 10 (no script checks 295). Service ends when flag 415 is set. The room is the east half (local 36,8) of the shared “Pewter Northeast house” map, entered from the city door at 1037,111, not from the northeast door (warp anchors checked).

Pewter Pokémon Center: Elite Four Bruno (one attempt, before Mt. Moon)

Pewter City Side quest Missable

One try only, and he leaves once the Mt. Moon roadblock story ends (Chapter 2).

Where: Bruno and his Hitmonchan stand about 12 steps straight north of the Pokémon Center entrance.

How it works: answer Yes to “Challenge Bruno?”. His team is Lv. 87–88: Hitmontop, Machamp, Steelix, Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan and Infernape.

Notes: you get one try. The game marks him as done before the battle, and losing doesn’t white you out. Win or lose, afterwards he only praises your spirit. He leaves once the Mt. Moon roadblock story ends. There’s no item reward.

Technical source (script files and flags)

file 751 (script 8, L612). “Done” flag 1328 is set before the battle; he is hidden by flag 1311. Position 7,7 (door 8,19).

Field moves: which Badge each one needs

Main quest

A reference for the whole game: which Badge each field move (Rock Smash, Cut, Strength, Surf, Fly, Whirlpool, Waterfall, Rock Climb) needs. In this hack you do not need a Pokémon that knows the move.

Where: anywhere you meet an obstacle, and in the party menu. The hack changed the original Badge requirements to its own Badge order.

How it works: examining an obstacle offers the move only if you have the Badge. Without it you only get the description (“This tree looks like it can be cut down!”); at the water nothing happens at all. Moves you pick from a Pokémon’s party menu (Fly, Flash and the rest) check the same Badges.

Move	Badge needed
Rock Smash	Boulder Badge (Brock)
Cut	Cascade Badge (Misty)
Strength	Thunder Badge (Lt. Surge)
Surf	Rainbow Badge (Erika)
Fly	Marsh Badge (Sabrina)
Whirlpool	Volcano Badge (Blaine)
Waterfall	Earth Badge (Giovanni)
Rock Climb	Rising Badge (Clair)
Flash, Headbutt	no Badge

Notes:

• You don’t need a Pokémon that knows the move when you examine an obstacle or the water. With the right Badge, the game uses your first healthy Pokémon, whatever its moves. The party menu still only shows moves a Pokémon knows, so Fly and Flash do need a Pokémon that knows them. HM-free obstacle use is an intended v4 feature. The precise behavior above was checked in the game code; every obstacle and party-menu path has not been replayed (see the behavior note).
• Surf and Rock Climb can’t be used while someone is walking with you.
• Tested in an emulator: at the Lake of Rage shore the Surf question appears with the Rainbow Badge as your only Badge, and nothing happens with no Badges.

Technical source (script files and flags)

emulator (Chinese ROM, 2026-10-06, work/build/harness/guide-review-20261006/ch13/surf_*: badge 3 only → bank 209#14; no badges → no message). Script file 146 (CheckBadge 1 Cut L105, 0 Rock Smash L674, 2 Strength L1327, 15 Rock Climb L1873, 7 Waterfall L2402, 6 Whirlpool L2559; Surf script 5 and Headbutt script 15 have none). Badge ids from the GiveBadge scenes: 0 Boulder (file 750), 1 Cascade (758), 2 Thunder (776), 3 Rainbow (853), 4 Marsh (826), 6 Volcano (15), 7 Earth (741 L2863), 15 Rising (112). Party-menu checks: arm9 field-move table 0x020FB5D0 (Cut 1, Fly 4, Surf 3, Strength 2, Rock Smash 0, Waterfall 7, Rock Climb 15, Whirlpool 6; Flash check 0x0206773C has no Badge test). Water prompt: ov1 0x021E65E4 (Badge 3 only). GetPartySlotWithMove (cmd 141, 0x0204C8D4) ignores the move and returns the first healthy party slot (ov1 0x02205200 → arm9 0x02053500), D-1428.