Chapter 10: Surf to Cinnabar Island and the Volcano Badge
With Surf, the Soul Badge and Route 19 open again, the sea road leads south to Cinnabar Island. Its Gym is hidden in a restaurant and its lab is where the next story beat happens.
Main quest in this chapter: find Blaine’s Gym (the riddle restaurant), win the Volcano Badge, then go into the Detrick lab and watch Mewtwo break out. Do not skip the lab: until that scene has played, Sabrina in Pokémon Tower only says she is “deep in her training”, so the next chapter cannot start.
The Volcano Badge also changes the Viridian Forest: the flower woman’s Spearow errand ends (it closes for good), and for Pikachu starters the Pidgeot loan appears instead. That loan closes again at the Earth Badge.
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.
Walkthrough
Section titled “Walkthrough”Surfing south. Between Fuchsia and Cinnabar the sea road runs over Route 19 and Route 20 and past the Seafoam Islands. Their deepest chamber has a researcher, ice walls and Articuno: a Magcargo or Moltres leading your party melts the ice; Articuno is a Lv. 90 fight where no Balls can be thrown (a catch is only possible after the last Hall of Fame), and beating it makes the researcher give you TM14 Blizzard, the only one in the game. Route 21 runs north from Cinnabar to Pallet Town’s shore: a Trainer with a Lairon and a wild Lv. 60 Mr. Mime are waiting there for the Iron Head tutor.
Technical source (script files and flags)
guide/05 q-0128 (script file 195 scripts 2, 3, 10; flag 1500 ice, 1483 researcher), q-0122 (script file 957 scripts 4-6). Route 19 reopens at the Soul Badge scene (806 L1977-L1993) and is closed between the Rainbow and Soul Badge scenes (853 L3174, 806 L1977). UNVERIFIED: whether Route 21 from Pallet Town reaches Cinnabar before the Soul Badge (Surf only comes with the Soul Badge trial, and the Soul Badge scene sets the Cinnabar story flags, so the intended order is Soul Badge first).
Cinnabar Island: the hidden Gym. There is no Gym building: the restaurant on the east side that refuses outsiders is the Gym. Blue is arguing with the staff inside; the owner is out playing riddles with Amber in front of the lab. Fetch him, then answer the owner’s three riddles (any answer works; Blue or Green/Red covers wrong ones). The owner is Blaine, and the secret door in the back opens.
Technical source (script files and flags)
guide/05 q-0123 (script files 905 scripts 1, 3, 812 script 1, 15; the Soul Badge scene sets flags 1214/1216/1222/1590 and var 0x40ae, 806 L1993-L2011), q-0125 (812 script 19), q-0126 (812 scripts 20, 21; the man and the Egg are removed at the end of the League HQ round 1 Moltres scene, file 196 L1642-L1650), q-0127 (812 scripts 12-14).
The Volcano Badge. Battle Blaine. He gives you the Volcano Badge, TM38 Fire Blast and his number. From now on the Viridian Forest flower woman says the Spearow are already gone, so her Spearow errand is closed for good, and Pikachu starters can lend her a Pidgeot instead.
- Viridian Forest: lend her a Pidgeot (Pikachu starters only) Pikachu only Missable
Technical source (script files and flags)
script file 15 (GiveBadge 6 @1387). File 115 script 11 L603: CheckBadge 6 (Volcano) set -> L2225, where a non-Pikachu starter (flag 1288 clear) or an Earth Badge (CheckBadge 7 @2247) or the game-clear flag 2404 sends her to ‘the Spearow were chased off’ (L2307); only Pikachu starters with the Volcano Badge, the Parcel/Blue flag 410, no Earth Badge and no 2404 get the loan request (L2277). Independently re-read in this pass.
The Detrick lab. With the Volcano Badge the guard lets you into the lab in the north of the island. A researcher says the monster has gone berserk and Dr. Fuji sealed the building behind emergency shutters: the computers inside toggle the doors in a puzzle (the quest lists the working route). At the back of the lab Mewtwo breaks out, Dr. Fuji dies and Blaine’s staff mourn Amber. This scene is required before Sabrina’s tower trial.
Technical source (script files and flags)
guide/05 q-0124 (script files 812 script 8, 852 scripts 3-9, 12; back-room trigger needs var 0x40AF = 0 and sets it to 1 @2626). File 17 L3237: Sabrina in Pokémon Tower sends you away while var 0x40AF = 0 (‘deep in her training’) and needs the Volcano Badge (file 17 L1383 CheckBadge 6).
Quests in this chapter
Section titled “Quests in this chapter”Open the ones you want; tick Done to hide them. Filters at the top apply to this whole page.
Seafoam Islands: the ice walls, Articuno and the researcher (TM14 Blizzard)
Section titled “Seafoam Islands: the ice walls, Articuno and the researcher (TM14 Blizzard)”TM14 Blizzard is only available until the League HQ investigation's Team Rocket scene in the Seafoam Islands. The ice needs a Magcargo or Moltres leading your party. Articuno is Lv. 90.
Where: the deepest chamber of the Seafoam Islands (reached from B4F). A researcher stands just inside the entrance. Further north, three ice blocks close the passage, and Articuno sits a few steps behind them.
Who gets it / when: any time you can reach the bottom of the Seafoam Islands.
How it works:
- The ice: “Ordinary means won’t move it.” Talk to the ice with a Magcargo or a Moltres as your first healthy party Pokémon and it melts away for good. Nothing else works.
- Before the final Hall of Fame (the one after you beat Giovanni at League HQ, not your first entry; see The Hall of Fame: what your two entries unlock): talk to Articuno. You fight a Lv. 90 Articuno in a battle where no Balls can be thrown (Timid, Snow Warning, Sheer Cold / Blizzard / Freeze-Dry / Air Slash). Losing whites you out.
- Win and it asks “Catch it?”. Say Yes and the researcher runs up and begs you to spare Articuno, because catching it could wake Kyogre. “Stop trying to catch Articuno?” No only makes him plead again; Yes gets you TM14 Blizzard. After that Articuno just sits there until the final Hall of Fame. Answering No to “Catch it?” does nothing and you can fight it again.
- After the final Hall of Fame: talk to Articuno → “Catch Articuno?” → a wild Lv. 90 Articuno you can catch. Once it’s caught, knocked out or run from, it’s gone. Reward: TM14 Blizzard (the only one in the game) before the final Hall of Fame; Articuno after it. The researcher also teaches Ice Shard for free: to players who spared Articuno, and to everyone after the League HQ investigation’s Team Rocket scene here (next entry).
Notes: TM14 is missable. Get it before the Team Rocket scene in the Seafoam Islands during the League HQ investigation (next entry). That scene removes Articuno; it only comes back after Lance’s visit to your home, and by then only the catch battle is left, so TM14 can no longer be obtained. Until that scene, Articuno is there for everyone. (The Route 3 painter’s Ralts scene would also remove it, but nothing in the game triggers that scene; see Known issues.)
Technical source (script files and flags)
script file 195 (scripts 2, 3, 10; L2007–L2128 ice, flag 1500; L2289–L2996 researcher, flag 1483; L2672 wild Articuno, flag 1368; tutor L2453–L2921; the no-Ball/catch split checks flag 2261 at L297, set only by the final Hall of Fame, file 822 @2458, not by the first entry, flag 2404). The Team Rocket scene hides Articuno (HidePerson, flag 1368, @957; permanent, see the engine note in the errata); only Lance’s visit clears 1368 (file 842 L2177, needs 2261). File 175 L1145 (Route 3 Ralts scene, script 16) also sets 1368 but is never triggered (hack finding D-1423); file 115 L5744 is the early Viridian Forest Eevee rescue (hack finding D-1422 for the missable TM14). Positions: researcher ≈33,54; ice ≈32–34,38; Articuno ≈33,33.
Route 21: break the wild Mr. Mime’s barrier (unlocks Iron Head)
Section titled “Route 21: break the wild Mr. Mime’s barrier (unlocks Iron Head)”Needs Surf. The wild Mr. Mime is Lv. 60.
Where: the northern part of Route 21, the stretch south of Pallet Town, about a third of the way down: a Trainer and his Lairon standing next to a wild Mr. Mime.
How it works:
- Talk to the Trainer. He orders his Lairon to Iron Head the Mr. Mime’s barrier, and fails.
- Talk to the Mr. Mime and answer Yes to “Battle Mr. Mime?”: a wild Lv. 60 Mr. Mime. You can catch it. Knocking it out or running away also counts.
- Talk to the Trainer again. Reward: he teaches Iron Head for 1 Nest Ball a time (details on the Move tutors page). Before you beat the Mr. Mime he only talks about the barrier.
Notes: losing the battle whites you out; Mr. Mime stays and you can try again. Once it’s caught, knocked out or fled from, it’s gone for good.
Technical source (script files and flags)
script file 957 (scripts 4–6; L583, L695, L551; flags 770, 771; only a loss, CheckBattleWon = 0, skips SetFlag 771); file 114 also sets 771 (@320, @646), but only in the Celebi time-travel version of the hermit scene (script 2, trainer 700), not in the ordinary TM52 battle (script 5, trainer 275). Positions: Trainer ≈1038,439, Lairon ≈1039,439, Mr. Mime ≈1040,439.
Cinnabar Island: finding the hidden Gym (the riddle restaurant)
Section titled “Cinnabar Island: finding the hidden Gym (the riddle restaurant)”Do first: Fuchsia Gym: the fake Kogas and the ninja bell (the Soul Badge trial).
Where: Cinnabar Island. There’s no Gym building: the “restaurant that won’t serve out-of-town visitors” is the Gym in disguise. Its door is on the east side of the island, a few steps north-east of the old man with the Fire-type quiz. (The side door on the west, just north of the Pokémon Center, leads into a separate room of the same building, the fossil scientist’s, not the restaurant.)
Who gets it / when: on your first visit (story; you need it for the Volcano Badge).
Cinnabar at a glance: the Pokémon Center is in the south-west corner. The lab is in the north, with the lava edge to its east. The restaurant is on the east side, and the fossil scientist’s door is on the west side, north of the Pokémon Center.
How it works:
- In the restaurant, Blue is arguing with the staff. Talk to the waiter. He says the owner went out to play riddles with the little girl from the lab.
- Go outside to the lab door in the north of the island. A man is telling riddles to a girl, Amber, just in front of it. Talk to him: watch the scene, and he heads back to the restaurant.
- Back in the restaurant, talk to Blue, who is standing in front of the owner at the back of the room. The owner asks three riddles. Any answer works: if you guess wrong, Blue or Green/Red supplies the right one (bathtub, a toupee, the Cinnabar Gym).
- The owner is Blaine. His assistant opens the secret door in the back wall to the Cinnabar Gym. Reward: access to the Gym. Blaine gives the Volcano Badge and TM38 Fire Blast, and registers his number.
Notes: a man outside the restaurant, a few steps west of its door, also spots that Blaine owns it. The Gym’s sparring partner (Sp. Atk EVs for a Chesto Berry) works like the others (Gym sparring partners).
Technical source (script files and flags)
script files 905 (scripts 1, 3; L1264–L3716; flags 1213, 1214, 1216, 1217, 1222), 812 (script 1, flag 1213), 15 (L1303–L1695). File 806 L1999–L2011 sets the starting flags. The riddles start from Blue (object 13, script 1, at ≈38,4); the owner at ≈38,3 has no talk script. Positions: restaurant door ≈1048,499 (leads to the restaurant entrance at 37,10); side door ≈1029,493 (leads to the fossil room entrance at 4,8, warp data of zones 57/412); waiter ≈39,3 or ≈41,5 depending on the scene; lab door ≈1037,484; man outside ≈1043,497; secret door ≈39,3.
Cinnabar Island: the Fire-type quiz (unlocks Heat Wave)
Section titled “Cinnabar Island: the Fire-type quiz (unlocks Heat Wave)”Where: an old man in the middle of the east side of the island, a few steps south-west of the restaurant door.
How it works: answer Yes to “do you like Fire-type Pokémon?”, then four questions:
| # | Question | Answer | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How many Fire-type Pokémon are native to Kanto? | 12 | 1st |
| 2 | How many types is Fire super effective against? | 4 | 2nd |
| 3 | How many types does Fire resist? | 6 | 4th |
| 4 | How many weaknesses does Fire have? | 3 | 1st |
Reward: from then on he teaches Heat Wave for 1 Level Ball a time.
Notes: a wrong answer ends the quiz (“Nope. Think about it some more.”). Talk to him again to restart from question 1; there’s no penalty.
Technical source (script files and flags)
script file 812 (script 19, L3741–L4118; flag 1627; tutor L3572). Position ≈1044,501.
Cinnabar Island: small extras
Section titled “Cinnabar Island: small extras”- S.S. Anne painter (with a Smeargle, south-west of the lab door): thanks you for saving the S.S. Anne and gives 5 King’s Rocks (once). He’s only there if the ship didn’t sink (S.S. Anne: defuse the bomb), or after the Celebi trip at the Ilex Forest shrine has undone the sinking.
- Sailor Leroy (just south-west of the Pokémon Center door): can’t find the Cinnabar Gym and challenges you instead. Kingler, Drapion and Kecleon, all Lv. 58. Win for a Flame Plate (once).
- The graffiti couple (a few steps north-east of the Pokémon Center door): they want to carve their names into the rock. “Stop them from scribbling all over the scenic spot?” Yes → Double Battle, Camper Rusty and Youngster Bowie (Hypno 57, Lucario 58 / Sceptile 58, Skarmory 57), no item. No → they carve it, and that choice sticks. Losing the battle also lets them carve their names, for good.
- Pokémon Center: a man inside (he grumbles that hardly anyone earns the Volcano Badge) gives TM50 Overheat if you show him a Volcano Badge (once).
- Fossil restoring: a scientist in the room behind the side door on the west of the island (just north of the Pokémon Center) restores Old Amber and the Helix, Dome, Root, Claw, Armor and Skull Fossils. He’s straight ahead at the back of the room. He needs time: come back later. The Pokémon arrives at Lv. 20.
Technical source (script files and flags)
script files 812 (scripts 12–14; L3242–L3548; flags 1584, 1742, 1747, 1748; the graffiti flag 1742 is set before the battle, @3390, and a loss whites you out, hack finding D-1420), 813 (script 6, flag 1586), 905 (script 14). The painter’s hide flag 1093 is set by the sinking (file 157 @2852) and cleared only by the Celebi trip (file 52 @4858). Positions: painter ≈1032,489; Leroy ≈1028,508; couple ≈1034,502; Pokémon Center man ≈10,7; fossil scientist ≈4,4 (side door ≈1029,493).
Cinnabar Island: the Egg in the lava (Treecko Egg; missable)
Section titled “Cinnabar Island: the Egg in the lava (Treecko Egg; missable)”The man and the Egg disappear for good during the League HQ investigation's Power Plant and Moltres scenes, long after this chapter.
Where: a man at the lava’s edge in the north-east of the island, east of the lab, with an Egg lying right beside him.
Who gets it / when: before the League HQ investigation sends you to the Power Plant (round 1, after the Silver Conference; Power Plant: Zapdos and the ecologist). That scene removes the man and the Egg for good.
How it works:
- He plans to throw the Egg into the crater to lure out Moltres and sell it. “Stop him from throwing the Egg into the lava?”
- Yes: you battle Roughneck Matsui (Electivire, Medicham and Staraptor, all Lv. 58). Win or lose, it goes on (losing doesn’t white you out).
- No: he throws it anyway.
- Either way Moltres appears, shields the Egg with its flames and drives the man off. Moltres flies away; you can’t battle it here.
- Pick up the Egg (answer Yes; you need a free party slot). Reward: a Treecko Egg.
Notes: the Egg lies in a nook you can only reach from where the man stands, so you can’t take it before the scene. Once Moltres chases him off, step into his spot and pick up the Egg. A Pokémon Center visitor later calls Moltres “a vicious bird that attacks people”.
Technical source (script files and flags)
script file 812 (scripts 20, 21; L4126, L4440, L7443–L7692, L4580; flags 1224, 1757); file 196 L1642–L1650 (Power Plant, sets 1757 and 1224). Positions: man ≈1048,489, Egg ≈1049,489. The Egg’s own script has no scene check, but its other neighbours (1049,488, 1050,489, 1049,490) are blocked, and the man (flag 1757) is only removed at the end of the scene (L7674).
Viridian Forest: lend her a Pidgeot (Pikachu starters only)
Section titled “Viridian Forest: lend her a Pidgeot (Pikachu starters only)”Pikachu starters only. Closes at the Earth Badge (Chapter 12). Do first: Cinnabar Island: finding the hidden Gym (the riddle restaurant).
Who gets it / when: Pikachu starters who have the Volcano Badge, but not the Earth Badge, and haven’t become Champion yet.
How it works: she asks to borrow a Pidgeot (her line says “Pidgeotto” first, but only a Pidgeot is accepted). Pick it from your party. You need at least one other Pokémon. It stays next to her in the forest.
Getting it back: only after you’ve entered the Hall of Fame. Talk to her with a free party slot.
Watch out: she doesn’t return your Pidgeot. She hands you a fixed loan Pokémon: a Lv. 20 Pidgeot with all IVs 31, no held item and the moves Sand Attack, Gust, Quick Attack and Whirlwind. Its OT is blank and its ID No. is 04336, so it isn’t yours either. Whatever level, moves, EVs or item your own Pidgeot had are gone (tested in an emulator).
Technical source (script files and flags)
script file 115 (L2225, L4827, L5794: ReturnLoanMon takes your Pidgeot, GiveLoanMon [6, 20, 75] gives the replacement from trade record 6; return needs game-clear flag 2404). Emulator (emu_harness.py guide0107 --case pidgeot, both ROMs): a generator Pidgeot Lv60 with Leftovers lent through the party menu is removed from the party; after 2404 the returned Pidgeot has trade record 6’s PID, Lv20, IVs 6×31, moves 28/16/98/18, no item, OT ID 0x761510F0 (ID No. 04336), an empty OT name (summary: OT blank, ID No. 04336). D-1392, D-1552.
Cinnabar Island: the Detrick lab lockdown (door puzzle) and Mewtwo
Section titled “Cinnabar Island: the Detrick lab lockdown (door puzzle) and Mewtwo”Do first: Cinnabar Island: finding the hidden Gym (the riddle restaurant).
Where: the lab in the north of the island.
Who gets it / when: after the Volcano Badge. Before that the guard at the door turns you away. This scene is part of the story: until it has played, Sabrina in the Pokémon Tower only says she’s “deep in her training”, so come here before you go for the Marsh Badge.
How it works:
- Walk up to the lab door and talk to the guard. A researcher runs out: “the monster in the lab has gone berserk” and Dr. Fuji has sealed the lab with emergency lockdown doors. The guard leaves and the lab is open.
- Inside, the lockdown doors (red shutters) open from computers. A manual on the wall (upper floor, a few steps south-west of the east shutter) warns that some computers control one door and some control two, and each use toggles the doors (opens a shut one, shuts an open one):
| Computer | Doors it toggles |
|---|---|
| 1F, top-right corner | the shutter on the west side of 1F |
| Upper floor, just north of the stairs | the east shutter |
| Upper floor, 8 steps east of that one | the west shutter |
| East side, past the east shutter | the west shutter and the back-room shutter (the last one on the west side) |
| Behind the west shutter | the east shutter and the inner west shutter (between the west shutter and the back-room shutter) |
The route that works (it needs the 1F shutter, the west shutter, the inner west shutter and the back-room shutter open at the same time):
- On 1F, use the computer in the top-right corner. Go through the shutter it opens and up the stairs.
- Upstairs, use the computer just north of the stairs. It opens the east shutter.
- Go through the east shutter to the computer on the east side. It opens the west shutter and the back-room shutter.
- Go back north, then through the west shutter to the computer behind it. It opens the inner west shutter (and shuts the east one again, which you no longer need).
- Go south through the inner west shutter and the back-room shutter.
Team Rocket Grunts guard the floors. 3. Walking into the back room (at the far south-west end) starts the scene. Green/Red and Blaine join you, and Dr. Fuji’s four “enhanced” Pokémon fail to stop Mewtwo. You learn what happened to Amber. Mewtwo kills Dr. Fuji and flies off. No battle. Items in the lab: Old Amber (far south-east corner), Gracidea (on the far west side, near the inner west shutter), Steel Armor (south-east, a few steps east of the desk with the R&D logs).
Notes: the R&D logs on the desk in the south-east part of the lab are four pages; say Yes to keep reading. If you’ve reached the matching step of the Mew hunt (you’ve freed the Five Island disciple; see Five Island: the Island Pilgrimage leg), reading all four makes Mew appear and flee, which moves that chain on. After the scene Blaine’s staff mourn Amber and Blaine swears revenge on Team Rocket.
Technical source (script files and flags)
script files 812 (script 8, L3032–L5081; flags 1215, 1223), 852 (scripts 3–9, 12; L541–L2902 doors, flags 315 and 317–320; L717–L2634 Mewtwo, flag 316; L2935–L3108 Mew, needs var 0x409c = 10), 15 L1669 (Gym sets 1223). The back-room trigger (script 9) needs var 0x40AF = 0 and the scene sets it to 1 (@2626); Sabrina’s Tower trial needs 0x40AF ≠ 0 (file 17 L3237). After the S.S. Anne hijack (file 156 @6600 sets 0) nothing else in Kanto before the Tower sets it (all writes scanned: the other setters are the Viridian Forest scene before the ship, the Viridian City and Victory Road triggers that need 1 or 2, Johto, Sevii and post-game scenes), so the lab scene always comes before the Tower, and Granny Mae’s trial (file 782 @5360 sets 1) can’t come first. Computers and the doors they toggle (lab map zone 71): 15,3 → 1F door ≈3,11 (flag 315); 5,36 → east door ≈26,55 (317); 13,36 → west door ≈4,55 (318); 29,66 → ≈4,55 and ≈4,73 (318, 320); 10,59 → ≈26,55 and ≈7,64 (317, 319). Manual ≈23,60; stairs arrive at 5,38; back-room trigger ≈4,90; R&D log ≈25,87; Old Amber ≈29,94, Gracidea ≈2,67, Steel Armor ≈30,86. Route: a collision search over all 32 door combinations reaches ≈4,90 only with ≈3,11, ≈4,55, ≈7,64 and ≈4,73 open.
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