Chapter 21: Routes 35 to 37, the National Park and Silver on Route 37

With the Plain Badge in your case the roads north of Goldenrod open: Route 35 and the National Park, then Route 36 with its odd tree. Once the tree is gone you walk on to Route 37, where Silver is waiting. That scene is the end of this chapter, and it closes several Goldenrod jobs for good.

Main quest in this chapter: get past the odd tree on Route 36 (Crystal waters it), then walk north on Route 37 and meet Silver.

Do these first, they close at Silver’s scene: Goh and the Lopunny owner, the Purugly girl’s “act” and Mary’s secret photos (all in Goldenrod), plus the National Park offer from Will and Karen to teach them a lesson. The Plain Badge also removes Prof. Rowan’s Chimchar (Chapter 20).

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.

Browse all hidden items

Walkthrough

Route 35 and the National Park. Take the north gatehouse out of Goldenrod. Route 35 has several small errands: the Shuckle juice-maker wants a Jigglypuff, a hungry Pidgey carries a letter that is finished in Ecruteak City later, a Battle Girl’s Granbull learns “Dog Fangs”, and a heartbroken boy sends you to a couple in the National Park. In the National Park itself, the mother and the puppy-love kids have a two-ending story, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays the officer in either gatehouse runs the Bug-Catching Contest. Will and Karen (the ex-Elite Four) stand on the west side of the park until Silver’s scene on Route 37 and offer a Double Battle at Lv. 90.

Opens up:

Route 35: the Shuckle juice-maker wants a Jigglypuff (→ 2 Lum Berries)
Route 35: the Pidgey with a letter (starts a chain in Ecruteak City)
Route 35: Granbull kid "Dog Fangs" (→ Dragon Scale)
National Park → Route 35: "the girl on a date with an old man" (→ 3 Heart Mail)
Route 36 gatehouse → National Park: the mother and the "puppy love" (two endings)
National Park: the Bug-Catching Contest
Route 35 / Route 36 / National Park: small extras

Technical source (script files and flags)

guide/10 q-0270 to q-0274, q-0278, q-0279 (script files 240 Route 35, the National Park files, 243 Route 36 gatehouse). Routes 35 and 36 open with the Plain Badge (guide/10 q-0274, q-0275). The Will and Karen offer in the park lasts ‘from the Plain Badge until Silver’s scene on Route 37’ (guide/10 q-0279).

Route 36 and the odd tree. The tree at the junction west of the Violet City gatehouse blocks the road to Ecruteak. After the Plain Badge Crystal and Gold wait just south of it: talk to Crystal, she waters the tree with the Squirt Bottle and it turns into a Sudowoodo that runs off. Do this before your first visit inside the Pokéathlon Dome. If you carry a Rock Incense, the little girl Lily and her uncle ask about it later, which also deals with the second, unmasked Sudowoodo on the route. An Ace Trainer in the Violet City gatehouse has a runaway Dragonair story that you can only finish in Blackthorn City.

Opens up:

Route 36: the odd tree (after the Plain Badge)
Route 36: Lily's uncle and the Sudowoodo (Rock Incense → $10,000 + Power Lens)
Route 36 gatehouse → Blackthorn City: the runaway Dragonair Trainer (→ Play Rough tutor)

Technical source (script files and flags)

guide/10 q-0275 (script file 243 Route 36, script 14 L634-L1217; flags 551, 463), q-0276 (Rock Incense after the odd-tree scene), q-0277 (Violet gatehouse Ace Trainer; finished in Blackthorn City). Known issue: do the tree scene before the first Pokéathlon Dome visit (guide/10 q-0275 notes).

Route 37: Silver. North of the tree Route 37 leads towards Ecruteak City. Silver is waiting on the road; after the scene the way on is open. This closes for good: Goh and the Lopunny owner, the Purugly girl’s “act” and Mary’s secret photos in Goldenrod, and the National Park offer from Will and Karen. If you still have to deliver a letter or take a berry in the Momo/Yuichi story (Chapter 15), note that this scene also resets Momo’s “letter received” state, so deliver the guard’s letter to Momo in Ecruteak after this scene.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 246 (script 6, @271 SetVar 0x4098 = 3, hides the two Silver objects and clears the hide flags 144, 461, 462); file 246 @331 clears flags 576 and 1604 (Momo’s letter state, guide/09 q-0185 note). Closes q-0254, q-0255, q-0259 per guide/09 ‘Who gets it / when’ lines and agent 3’s handoff (Route 37 scene). q-0279 Will and Karen offer: guide/10 q-0279 (‘From the Plain Badge until Silver’s scene on Route 37’).

Quests in this chapter

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

Route 35: the Shuckle juice-maker wants a Jigglypuff (→ 2 Lum Berries)

Route 35 Side quest

Where: Route 35, the man with two Shuckle, a few steps north-east of the gatehouse you come out of from Goldenrod City.

Who gets it / when: any time. One time only.

How it works:

He wants a Jigglypuff to sing his Shuckle to sleep so they can brew Berry Juice.
Talk to him with a Jigglypuff in your party. “Give him the Jigglypuff in your party?” → Yes, then pick it from the party screen.
It must be a Jigglypuff, not an Egg, and not your only Pokémon. Any other choice just gets a complaint, and you can try again.

Reward: 2 Lum Berries. The Jigglypuff is gone for good; it then stands next to him.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 240 (Route 35; script 14, L2823–L4176; flag 418). Man at ≈366,310.

Route 35: the Pidgey with a letter (starts a chain in Ecruteak City)

Route 35 Side quest

The chain is finished in Ecruteak City (Chapter 22): the Pidgey's letter goes to the writer there.

Where: Route 35, the hungry Pidgey on the east side of the route, in the northern half (about a dozen steps south-east of the north gatehouse, and 8 steps north of the Ace Trainer with a Glaceon).

Who gets it / when: any time.

How it works:

“This Pidgey seems very hungry. Feed it an Oran Berry?” → Yes. You need an Oran Berry in your Bag (it isn’t taken; the game only checks that you have one). Without one: “You don’t have enough Oran Berries!”
Pidgey recovers. “The Pidgey seems to be carrying a letter. Read it?” → Yes. The writer’s health keeps her indoors, so she can only make friends by Pidgey post. She asks you to come to Ecruteak City and tell her stories from your journey.
Pidgey flies off. If you answer No at step 2, talk to it again to read the letter.
The writer lives in Ecruteak City, in the house just east of the Pokémon Center. Until you read the letter she only says that her Pidgey hasn’t come back. For what happens there, see the Ecruteak City Pidgey letter entry below.

Reward: none here.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 240 (script 18, L1529–L4105; HasItem 155 at L1559, no TakeItem in the file; flags 1847, 1846; L4099 clears flag 1061), 925 (Ecruteak, script 15 L637–L1197 checks flag 1061). Letter text 380#44 (health keeps her indoors; no child). Pidgey at ≈375,278; writer’s house door ≈407,183 (not the Pichu house at ≈386,183).

Route 35: Granbull kid “Dog Fangs” (→ Dragon Scale)

Route 35 Side quest

Where: Route 35, the Battle Girl with a Granbull, on the east side of the route about halfway along.

Who gets it / when: any time. One time only.

How it works: “Will you play with me for a while?” → Yes, then “Can we have a Pokémon battle?” → Yes. Battle Girl Zia: Granbull, Crawdaunt, Mismagius, Zangoose, Lv. 62–65. Losing whites you out, and you can try again.

Reward: Dragon Scale.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 240 (script 17, L1492–L3372; flag 1778; trainer 783). Battle Girl at ≈371,297.

National Park → Route 35: “the girl on a date with an old man” (→ 3 Heart Mail)

National Park Route 35 Side quest

The couple in the park are hidden during the Bug-Catching Contest.

Where: starts with the heartbroken boy in the south-east corner of Route 35, about 20 steps east of the gatehouse from Goldenrod City. The couple are at the north end of the National Park, a few steps east of the sign near the north exit.

Who gets it / when: any time (the couple are hidden during the Bug-Catching Contest).

How it works:

The boy on Route 35 heard that the girl he likes is on a date with an old man in the National Park. Until you’ve done step 2 he only laments.
In the National Park, talk to the rich man with the young woman: “Take a look at Uncle’s little girlfriend here. Young and pretty, isn’t she?” Answer No. He takes offence and battles you: Gentleman Mr. Benz, Tentacruel, Aggron, Cacturne, Purugly (Lv. 62–65). Losing whites you out. (“Yes” just gets a boast, and you can ask again.)
Go back to the boy and pick “She’s with an old man” (“Never mind” does nothing; ask again).

Reward: 3 Heart Mail (the present he meant for her).

Notes: the young woman calls him “my uncle”, who helped her and her mother after her father died. After the battle she recognises you as the Champion and flirts (the text changes with your gender). Once you’ve told the boy, he only sobs.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 25 (National Park, scripts 39–40, L3600–L3659; flag 1917; trainer 794), 240 (script 16, L1354–L3309; menu 46/47; flag 1718). Boy at ≈380,319; couple at ≈51,16.

Route 36 gatehouse → National Park: the mother and the “puppy love” (two endings)

Route 36 National Park Side quest

Where: the mother in the National Park gatehouse on Route 36 (just inside the Route 36 door), and two school kids with a Weepinbell and a Bellossom in the west of the National Park.

Who gets it / when: any time you meet her; she doesn’t check for a Badge. In practice you can only get here after the Plain Badge, when Routes 35 and 36 open. The quest shares its progress counter with the Goldenrod Gym chain; see Notes.

How it works:

The mother saw her son go into the National Park with a girl and asks you to catch his “puppy love” red-handed. Answer Yes. (Her son is the grade-schooler with glasses.)
Walk up to the kids in the park (their Weepinbell is courting the girl’s Bellossom). “Catch them in the act?” → Yes. They explain their Pokémon are the couple, not them. You choose:

Choice	What happens	Reward
“You’ll be great Trainers”	You promise to handle the grown-ups. Go back to the mother and explain it was a school project. Then talk to the boy again.	Sport Ball (from the boy)
“Excuses mean it’s true”	The kids battle you together: School Kids Dean and Hannah, Weepinbell and Bellossom Lv. 28 (Double Battle). Win and you march the boy back to his mother, who scolds him.	Dawn Stone (from the mother)

Notes:

The harsh ending is final: the boy and his Weepinbell leave the park and stand next to his mother in the gatehouse, and the girl sits alone with a listless Bellossom.
Losing the kids’ battle whites you out; you can try again.
The mother’s and kids’ progress is kept in the same counter as the Goldenrod Gym Multi Battle chain (Radio Tower → Gold → Norman). If you accepted her request while that chain was still running, the chain’s progress would be overwritten (Whitney restarts it from “want the Plain Badge?”). In normal play this can’t happen, because this area only opens after the Plain Badge.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 245 (Route 36 gatehouse, script 4, L655–L1076; var 0x408d 5→7→8 / 6; values 0–4 all get the request, no Badge check; script 5 L788 moves the boy and Weepinbell to (6,6)/(5,6) beside the mother when var = 6), 25 (National Park, script 1 L184–L2533, L3716–L4375, L5199–L5297; var 0x408d → 9; flag 548; trainers 784/785), 883 (Goldenrod Gym: var 0x408d 1–4). Mother at ≈7,6 in the gatehouse; kids at ≈24,56 in the park.

National Park: the Bug-Catching Contest

National Park Side quest

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only, once per day.

Where: the National Park; register with the officer in either National Park gatehouse (Route 35 or Route 36 side).

Who gets it / when: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only, once per day.

How it works: the usual HeartGold contest. You enter with one Pokémon (the lead) and 20 Sport Balls. Your other Pokémon are held for you; with a full party the PC must have space. Catch one Bug Pokémon and keep the best one. Only Sport Balls work in the park during the contest. Time runs out or you can quit early at the gate.

Reward: a prize for first, second and third place and a consolation prize for everyone else, picked by the game itself rather than by a person you talk to. Which items this hack hands out isn’t confirmed yet. If your Bag is full, the officer keeps your prize for your next visit.

Notes: during the contest most of the park’s usual visitors (the couples, Will and Karen, the Charm tutor) are hidden.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 242, 245 (gatehouses; weekday checks at file 242 L205–L1492), 151 (common contest script: registration L253–L612, judging L832–L1268; flag 2727 = entered today).

Route 35 / Route 36 / National Park: small extras

Route 35 Route 36 National Park Side quest

A mixed entry. The Will and Karen Double Battle (Lv. 90) in the National Park is only offered until Silver's scene on Route 37, and answering No closes it at once. Will and Karen are Lv. 90.

National Park, Charm tutor: the woman in the north-west of the park, about ten steps south of the north exit. She teaches Charm for a Nugget (listed in the tutor table).
National Park, Will and Karen: on the west side of the park, straight across from the east entrance. From the Plain Badge until Silver’s scene on Route 37, the two ex-Elite Four stand here and mock you for coming to the “number one date spot” alone. “Teach them a lesson?” → Yes starts a Double Battle against Rocket Elites Will and Karen (six Pokémon each, Lv. 90). Losing whites you out. Winning gives nothing but their parting shots. Answering No closes the offer for good: afterwards they only say they’re League-certified and you’d need evidence, and they never offer the battle again.
National Park, date couples (optional Double Battles, no reward): Rich Boy Alan & Lady Olivia (about ten steps north of the south entrance), Veteran Wilbur & Veteran Nancy (west side, east of the puppy-love kids), Karate King Ming & Aroma Lady Connie (just south of the east entrance), Ace Trainers Everett & Penny (middle of the park’s north half). Lv. 62–65. One win each.
National Park, Bugsy: about 17 steps west of the east entrance. After your final Hall of Fame entry, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, Bugsy offers a photo.
Route 35, Ace Trainer Marshal (the man with a Glaceon, east side of the route): Single or Double Battle on request, Lv. 81–82, repeatable, no reward.
Route 36, Arthur (Thursdays): a few steps north of the gatehouse door that leads south to the Ruins of Alph. The weekday brother gives a Hard Stone. If you’ve met all seven siblings he gives your lead Pokémon a ribbon instead; the gift ends normally from rc8 (on rc7 and earlier its message stayed on screen until you walked away or pressed X; known issue).
Route 36, Honey seller (the man with two Combee, a few steps west of the Violet City gatehouse): sells Honey, 1/3/5/10 for $200/$600/$1,000/$2,000.
Pokéathlon Dome: the usual HeartGold Pokéathlon. Three fans each give a Rare Candy once your records pass their goal: the old woman on 1F for 1,000 total jumps, the man on 1F for 2,001 total tackles, the man outside the Dome for 1,000 total dashes.

Technical source (script files and flags)

Charm tutor: file 25 script 41 (≈32,25). Will and Karen: file 25 scripts 7–8, trainers 786/787, flags 730, 1604, 1620 (≈27,39); No → L2620 sets flag 1620, after which script 7 jumps to L2574 (91#129 / #130 lines). Date couples: file 25 scripts 9–10, 30–33, 36–37 (Alan & Olivia ≈40,77; Wilbur & Nancy ≈39,56; Ming & Connie ≈72,45; Everett & Penny ≈48,33). Bugsy: file 25 script 27, flag 648 (≈58,39). Marshal: file 240 script 15 (≈373,286). Arthur: file 243 script 2 (≈431,244); ribbon freeze D-1331. Honey seller: file 243 script 12 (≈443,244). Pokéathlon fans: files 122 L1343–L2363, 123 scripts 22–23.

Route 36: the odd tree (after the Plain Badge)

Route 36 Main quest

Where: Route 36, the odd tree at the junction west of the Violet City gatehouse.

Who gets it / when: story. Nothing moves the tree before the Plain Badge. After it, Crystal and Gold (with Bayleef and Quilava) wait just south of the tree.

How it works: talk to Crystal. She got a Squirt Bottle from Ms. Saki at the Goldenrod Flower Shop and waters the tree. It turns out to be a Sudowoodo, which runs off. The way north to Ecruteak City (and east to Violet City) is open.

Reward: the road.

Notes:

You don’t need the Squirt Bottle yourself; Crystal does it. Using Cut on the tree does nothing.
An unmasked Sudowoodo stands further west on Route 36, about a dozen steps east of Lily and her uncle by the National Park gate. It’s already there from the Plain Badge, before the tree scene (a quirk; see Known issues). It won’t budge until you do the Rock Incense quest below.
To be safe, do this scene before your first visit inside the Pokéathlon Dome (see Known issues).

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 243 (Route 36, script 14, L634–L1217; flags 551, 463), 883 (Goldenrod Gym L617–L621 clears flags 111 and 551). Tree at ≈415,246; the second Sudowoodo at ≈392,235 (object 20) is hidden only by flag 111, which the Plain Badge clears (file 883 L617) and only the Rock Incense quest sets (file 243 L3814).

Route 36: Lily’s uncle and the Sudowoodo (Rock Incense → $10,000 + Power Lens)

Route 36 Side quest

Needs a Rock Incense (from the girl at the Ruins of Alph, or an item ball in Diglett's Cave). Do first: Route 36: the odd tree (after the Plain Badge).

Where: Route 36, the man and the little girl Lily, a few steps north-east of the National Park gatehouse door. The Sudowoodo stands about a dozen steps east of them.

Who gets it / when: after the odd-tree scene, with a Rock Incense in your Bag (from the girl at the Ruins of Alph, or an item ball in Diglett’s Cave).

How it works:

The uncle boasts he’s an expert catcher; Lily wants him to catch the Sudowoodo from the odd tree.
Talk to him while carrying the Rock Incense. The Sudowoodo is drawn to its scent and walks over, and Lily thinks her uncle called it.
He admits he can’t catch Pokémon and begs you to sell him the Rock Incense so Sudowoodo will stay. You can’t really refuse: “No” just repeats the question.

Reward: $10,000 and a Power Lens. The Sudowoodo stays with Lily (it’s not catchable).

Technical source (script files and flags)

script file 243 (script 21, L2127–L3824; item 315; flags 137, 111). Uncle at ≈379,235; Sudowoodo at ≈392,235.

Route 36 gatehouse → Blackthorn City: the runaway Dragonair Trainer (→ Play Rough tutor)

Route 36 Blackthorn City Side quest

You can only finish it in Blackthorn City (Chapter 27).

Where: the Violet City–Route 36 gatehouse, the Ace Trainer near the west door. His parents live in Blackthorn City. The Move Deleter’s door is the westmost door in the row with the Poké Mart and Pokémon Center; the parents’ door is about ten steps north of it, on the west side of town (not the Move Deleter’s room).

Who gets it / when: any time; you need to reach Blackthorn City to finish it.

How it works:

Talk to him: he’s the Dragonair user you beat in the underground battles in Kanto. He left Blackthorn almost three years ago, has won hardly any Badges and is too ashamed to go home.
In Blackthorn City, go into his parents’ house and talk to the father (a few steps straight ahead from the door). He tells you their son left to train with his Dragonair and never came back.
Return to the gatehouse and talk to him. “Convince him to go home?” → Yes. He goes home.
Back in Blackthorn, his father thanks you.

Reward: his father offers to teach Play Rough (free, any time you ask). From rc8 he teaches Play Rough. On rc7 and earlier the move he actually taught was Flail (a hack bug; see Known issues).

Notes: if you haven’t talked to his father yet, he only tells his story.

Technical source (script files and flags)

script files 862 (gatehouse, script 3, L181–L674; flags 391, 390, 513), 944 (Blackthorn Move Tutor house, script 8, L463–L481 and L787–L1001). Ace Trainer at ≈3,6 in the gatehouse. The parent at ≈37,5 is the father (626#54 我和孩子他妈, “his mother and I”). His room is reached from Blackthorn door ≈660,165; the Move Deleter’s room is door ≈658,176. The tutor teaches move 175 (Flail) instead of Play Rough: decision D-1305.

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