Chapter 15: Into Johto: Route 26, Route 27 and New Bark Town

Johto begins. The guard at the north end of Route 26 no longer turns you back, and the road leads south and then east to New Bark Town, where Prof. Elm waits for the Pokédexes you carry.

Main quest in this chapter: follow Route 26 and Route 27 to New Bark Town and give the Pokédexes to Prof. Elm in his lab. Gold, the boy who is just setting out, challenges you to a race for the eight Johto Badges.

Before you go further: Johto has its own Badge order (Zephyr, Hive, Plain, Fog, Storm, Mineral, Glacier, Rising). Your eight Kanto Badges are enough for Surf, Cut, Strength, Fly, Whirlpool and Waterfall; Rock Climb needs the Rising 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.

• Route 26 — 2 spots
• Route 27 — 2 spots
• New Bark Town — 1 spot

Browse all hidden items

Walkthrough

Route 26. Walk out of the reception gate to the south. The guard at the north end of Route 26 (“Up ahead is the Johto region…”) only stops you until Oak’s errand has started. Two houses stand by the road: the weekday siblings’ house (the item quiz) with a man and his Phanpy a little way south-east of its door, and the house at the north end of the route (the old man who sells rest).

Opens up:

• Route 26: the Phanpy trainer's Nugget (sell for $30,000 or give for TM41)
• Route 26: the item quiz in the weekday siblings' house (→ TM43)
• Route 26: the old man's paid rest (unlocks Focus Sash sales)

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 218 (Route 26: coord script 5 at the north end needs var 0x408b = 1, Oak sets 2 @3591 in file 738); guide/07 q-0187, q-0188, q-0189 (files 218 script 7, 220 script 2, 219).

Route 27 and Tohjo Falls. On Route 27 a short scene plays: a Mew nuzzles you, Goh barges in and fights you for it, and Eusine realises that the “Suicune” he was chasing was not the real one. Near the west end, the guard post just south of the two Tohjo Falls entrances registers you as the Champion; the guard there has a letter for a girl in Ecruteak. A musician stands about 40 steps east of the guard post. With the Earth Badge (Waterfall) and Surf you can also reach the hidden room in Tohjo Falls, where a Black Belt waits for a battle.

Opens up:

• Route 27 → Ecruteak City: the outpost guard's letter to Momo (before the Mineral Badge) Missable
• Route 27: the musician's song or battle (→ Soothe Bell)
• Tohjo Falls: the hermit in the hidden room (→ TM52)

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 221 (Route 27: coord script 2 at var 0x408b = 2, Mew/Goh/Eusine scene @1951-@2337, SetVar 0x408b = 3 @2337; guard registration @1564-@1630, musician script 7); file 114 (Tohjo Falls hidden room, script 5); file 146 L2402 (Waterfall needs CheckBadge 7 = Earth Badge).

New Bark Town and Prof. Elm. At the east end of Route 27 you reach New Bark Town. Gold is about to set out with his Cyndaquil. Go into Prof. Elm’s lab and hand over the Pokédex: Elm is amazed that the Champion delivered it in person, gives Gold his Pokédex (the other two are kept for promising new Trainers), registers his phone number in your Pokégear and thanks you with a gift. Gold challenges you to see who collects all eight Johto Badges first.

In the New Bark Town Guesthouse, a woman with a Luxray asks a three-question quiz about the Pokémon next to her.

Opens up:

• New Bark Town Guesthouse: the Sinnoh traveller's quiz (→ Shinx)

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 839 (New Bark: coord scripts on var 0x408b = 3 and 4, SetVar 0x408b = 4 @273) and 840 (Elm’s lab: script 18 @2002-@3391 delivers the Pokedex, Gold’s race challenge @2222-@2273, phone number @2575, gift item 426 @2633, SetVar 0x408b = 5 @3391); guide/07 q-0180 (file 841 script 12).

Quests in this chapter

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

Route 26: the Phanpy trainer’s Nugget (sell for $30,000 or give for TM41)

Route 26 Side quest

Where: Route 26, a man next to his Phanpy, about 10 steps south and 10 steps east of the weekday siblings’ house door.

Who gets it / when: carry a Nugget.

How it works: he wants a Nugget to train his Phanpy’s treasure-sniffing:

Choice	Result
“Sure, I’ll sell it to you”	$30,000
“You want it that much? Have it”	TM41 Torment. He never actually takes the Nugget: you keep it
“Let me think about it”	nothing; ask again later

Notes: one trade only.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 218 (script 7, L930, L1522–L1580; flag 1111; item 368; only the “sell” branch L1535 has TakeItem 92, the “have it” branch L1551 doesn’t (hack finding)). Phanpy man ≈917,375 (siblings’ house door ≈907,365).

Route 26: the item quiz in the weekday siblings’ house (→ TM43)

Route 26 Side quest

Where: the house on Route 26 where the weekday siblings’ mother lives (the notebook on the table lists which sibling stands where on each day).

How it works: five questions; she tells you only at the end whether you got any wrong. Retry as often as you like.

Question	Answer
Held item that boosts a Guts Pokémon’s damage most?	Flame Orb
Which item is single-use?	Weakness Policy
Which item makes a move’s effect last more turns?	Light Clay
Which item does Stealth Rock affect the most?	Focus Sash
Which item has no effect in battle?	Soothe Bell

Reward: TM43 Secret Power (once).

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 220 (script 2, L145–L1030; flag 1112; item 370).

Route 26: the old man’s paid rest (unlocks Focus Sash sales)

Route 26 Side quest

Where: the house at the north end of Route 26.

How it works: he charges $2,000 to rest (full heal). After your first paid rest he offers to sell Focus Sashes at $500 each (1, 5, 10 or 20). From then on he offers the sashes or a rest each time you talk to him.

Notes: his lines also mention a Weakness Policy, but that branch can’t be reached in normal play.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 219 (L162–L240 flag 1110; L333, L617, L695–L1309; item 275).

Route 27 → Ecruteak City: the outpost guard’s letter to Momo (before the Mineral Badge)

Route 27 Ecruteak City Side quest Missable

Get the letter now and give it to Momo in Ecruteak before you win the Mineral Badge in Olivine City.

Where: the guard post house on Route 27, just south of the two Tohjo Falls entrances (guard Yuichi); Momo is one of the Kimono Girls at the Ecruteak Dance Theater.

Who gets it / when: getting the letter and handing it to Momo must happen before you earn the Mineral Badge (Olivine). If she doesn’t have it by then, Yuichi only sighs about a love he never confessed, and Momo only mourns.

How it works:

1. Talk to the guard. “Headed to Johto?” → Yes. Agree to carry his letter: you get the Guard Letter.
2. Give it to Momo at the Ecruteak Dance Theater. She takes it, gives you a Heart Scale, and leaves to meet him.
3. Back at the Route 27 house, Momo is with Yuichi. Talk to him. Reward: Heart Scale (Momo) and a Lum Berry (Yuichi).

Notes: get the letter and give it to Momo before you beat the Olivine Gym; after that, an undelivered letter can’t be delivered. Once Momo has it, Yuichi’s Lum Berry can be collected any time, even after the badge. (One caveat: the Route 37 scene with Silver resets Momo’s “letter received” state. If that scene came after the delivery and before you collected the Lum Berry, the berry would be lost. In normal routing the Route 37 scene comes first.)

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 222 (script 2; CheckBadge 13, but with the badge L283 still checks flags 583/576 and gives the berry; L212–L281 gives item 452; L170 item 157; flags 576, 583), file 924 (Momo: CheckBadge 13, L3757–L4707 TakeItem 452, item 93, sets 576, clears 599). Flag 576 is cleared again by the Route 37 Silver scene.

Route 27: the musician’s song or battle (→ Soothe Bell)

Route 27 Side quest

Where: Route 27, a musician about 40 steps east of the guard post house (towards New Bark Town).

How it works: “Are you here to hear me play a song?” Yes plays a tune. No starts a battle against Guitarist Shawn (Lv. 62–65; a loss whites you out); win the first time for a Soothe Bell. Repeatable battle afterwards, no further item.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 221 (script 7; TrainerBattle 12; item 218; flag 1042). Musician ≈790,407 (guard post door ≈751,400).

Tohjo Falls: the hermit in the hidden room (→ TM52)

Tohjo Falls Side quest

Needs Surf and the Earth Badge (Waterfall). The Black Belt's team is Lv. 81-82.

Where: the hidden room in Tohjo Falls (Surf/Waterfall): its cave door is about 11 steps north and 3 steps west of the western entrance from Route 27. Inside, a Black Belt with a Hitmontop.

How it works: accept his battle: Black Belt Bruce (Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, Machamp, Lucario, Heracross, Hariyama, Lv. 81–82). A loss whites you out.

Reward: TM52 Focus Blast the first time. Rematches any time, no further item.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 114 (script 5, L883–L951; TrainerBattle 275; item 379; flag 1635).

New Bark Town Guesthouse: the Sinnoh traveller’s quiz (→ Shinx)

New Bark Town Side quest

Where: the New Bark Town Guesthouse, beside the reception desk: a woman with a Luxray, a few steps up and to the right of the entrance.

Who gets it / when: from your first visit to New Bark Town onward, including after the final Hall of Fame.

How it works: three questions about the Pokémon next to her. One wrong answer ends the round; talk to her again to retry.

Question	Answer
What is this Pokémon?	Luxray
What type is it?	Electric
What special power does it have, according to the Pokédex?	Sees through things

Then accept her offer. Reward: Shinx (Lv. 5). You need a free party slot. If yours is full, she tells you to come back, and the offer stays open.

Notes: after the gift she only mentions heading for the Indigo Plateau.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 841 (script 12, L903, L2395–L2715; flags 1833, 1961; GiveMon 403, Lv. 5). Woman ≈134,7 (guesthouse entrance ≈131,10, New Bark Town door ≈690,407).