FAQ/Walkthrough by Drayano

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    FAQ/Walkthrough by Drayano

    Version: 2.20 | Updated: 03/06/11 | Search Guide | Bookmark Guide

    Table of Contents

    1. FAQ Info
    2. Version History
    3. Introduction
    4. Additions and Changes
      1. Seasons
      2. Experience System
      3. Other Additions / Changes
    5. Version Differences
    6. General Tips
    7. Main Game Walkthrough
      1. Nuvema Town
      2. Route 1
      3. Accumula Town
      4. Route 2
      5. Dreamyard
      6. Striaton City (2)
      7. Striaton Gym
      8. Striaton City (3)
      9. Dreamyard (2)
      10. Striaton City (4)
      11. Route 3
      12. Wellspring Cave
      13. Route 3 (2)
      14. Nacrene City
      15. Nacrene Gym
      16. Nacrene City (2)
      17. Pinwheel Forest (Outside)
      18. Pinwheel Forest (Inside)
      19. Skyarrow Bridge
      20. Castelia City
      21. Castelia Gym
      22. Route 4
      23. Desert Resort (Entrance)
      24. Desert Resort (Main)
      25. Nimbasa City
      26. Route 16
      27. Lostlorn Forest
      28. Nimbasa Gym
      29. Route 5
      30. Driftveil Drawbridge
      31. Driftveil City
      32. Cold Storage
      33. Driftveil Gym
      34. Route 6
      35. Chargestone Cave
      36. Mistralton City
      37. Route 7
      38. Celestial Tower
      39. Mistralton Gym
      40. Twist Mountain (Entrance)
      41. Surfing for Treasure
      42. Mistralton Cave
      43. Pinwheel Forest (2)
      44. Wellspring Cave (2)
      45. Route 1 (2)
      46. Route 17
      47. Route 18
      48. P2 Laboratory
      49. Twist Mountain
      50. Icirrus City
      51. Route 8
      52. Moor of Icirrus
      53. Icirrus Gym
      54. Dragonspiral Tower
      55. Relic Castle
      56. Tubeline Bridge
      57. Route 9
      58. Opelucid City
      59. Opelucid Gym
      60. Route 10
      61. Route 7 (2)
      62. Victory Road
      63. Pokemon League
      64. *Spoiler*'s Castle
    8. Post Game Walkthrough
      1. Nuvema Town (2)
      2. Route 18 (2)
      3. Dreamyard (3)
      4. Relic Castle (2)
      5. Relic Castle Depths
      6. Cold Storage (2)
      7. Chargestone Cave (2)
      8. The Royal Unova
      9. Challenger's Cave
      10. Route 11
      11. Village Bridge
      12. Route 12
      13. Lacunosa Town
      14. Route 13
      15. Giant Chasm
      16. Undella Town
      17. Undella Bay
      18. Undersea Ruins
      19. Route 14
      20. Abundant Shrine
      21. Black City / White Forest
      22. Route 15
      23. Marvelous Bridge
      24. Pokemon League (2)
    9. Post-Game Content
      1. Swarming Pokemon
      2. Victory Road's Final Fight
      3. Final Fight in Nuvema
      4. The Battle Subway
      5. The Dream World
    10. Special Events
      1. Zorua and Celebi
      2. Zoroark and the Crown Beasts
      3. The Lock Capsule
      4. Victini and Liberty Island
      5. Keldeo and Secret Sword
      6. Meloetta and Relic Song
      7. Genesect and the Drives
    11. Challenges
      1. Nuzlocke Challenge
      2. No/Minimal EXP Challenge
      3. Mono-Type Challenge
    12. Credits

    Main Game Walkthrough (Continued)

    Route 4

    Trainer Pokemon: Basculin L18, Basculin L18 | Basculin L16, Basculin L16, Basculin L16 | Tympole L18, Tympole L18 | Roggenrola L17, Roggenrola L17, Timburr L17 | Timburr L19 | Darumaka L19 | Cottonee L19 | Petilil L18 | Blitzle L19 | Roggenrola L18, Timburr L18 | Timburr L19 | Pidove L19

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    SandileGround/DarkSand40%Level 29
    DarumakaFireSand40%Level 35
    ScraggyDark/FightingSand20%Level 39
    HippopotasGroundSand40%Level 34
    FrillishWater/GhostSurf100%Level 40
    AlomomolaWaterDark Water ~ Surf95%N/A
    JellicentWater/GhostDark Water ~ Surf5%N/A
    KrabbyWaterFish65%Level 28
    ClamperlWaterFish30%Trade w/Deepseatooth/scale
    RelicanthWater/RockDark Water ~ Fish60%N/A
    LuvdiscWaterDark Water ~ Fish30%N/A
    KinglerWaterDark Water ~ Fish5%N/A
    HuntailWaterDark Water ~ Fish (Black)5%N/A
    GorebyssWaterDark Water ~ Fish (White)5%N/A

    Go straight ahead and you will see Cheren; a bit of dialogue and then you'll be launched into a fight with him.

    • Rival Cheren
    • Rewards: $2200
    PidoveLv. 20Normal/Flying
    Pansage/Pansear/PanpourLv. 20Fire/Water/Grass
    Pignite/Dewott/ServineLv. 22(Fire/Fighting)/Water/Grass
    • This battle is a bit weird as it is fought in sandstorm weather; sandstorm weather causes all non Rock, Steel and Ground-type Pokemon to take 1/16 HP damage each turn. In addition, all Rock Pokemon gain a x1.5 boost to their special defense stat.
    • Cheren, like Bianca, also now has two new Pokemon, with two new additions. The first is a Pidove, which we have seen a dozen times now; knock it out like any other one. The second is a monkey Cheren will have the remaining monkey, which results in him having the monkey that is the same type as your starter. Hence, if you chose Tepig, he'll have Pansage, if you chose Oshawott he'll have Pansear and if you chose Snivy he'll have Panpour. His starter and Purrloin have also evolved, but otherwise it's all the same.
    • Also, his starter has a Sitrus Berry attached, which will heal 25% of its health when it falls into low HP.

    Defeating Cheren will make him leave - though not before a Xtransceiver call - allowing us to explore this route in more detail. The desert is large and composed of two main parts. We'll handle the smaller part to begin with (Route 4) then take a quick detour for convenience and then do the rest of the desert.

    In addition, the Wild Pokemon in the desert are totally new. Sandile in particular can be an incredibly good Pokemon; if you want to use one, I would recommend you try to catch one that has Moxie as its ability; Moxie causes a Pokemon's attack stat to rise if it knocks out an opponent, which can help an incredible amount in trainer battles. It can be a bit slow at first, but once it learns Dig and Crunch (or you give it the Dig TM we'll get shortly) it can be an incredible force, and once it evolves it is almost unstoppable. It reaches its final evolution at 40, which in this game is pretty good. It's a Pokemon I'd highly recommend.

    As for Darumaka, it is also a very good Pokemon. While it doesn't evolve into Darmanitan until 35, with its 90 base attack and Hustle it is more than enough to match opponents blow for blow. It begins with Fire Fang, which is decently powerful, then gets Fire Punch and Thrash in the 20s, which can really solidify it as a member of your team. It only keeps getting better as it grows and eventually evolves, as Darmanitan has an incredible base 140 attack! Add that to Darmanitan's ability - Sheer Force - which causes any moves with a secondary effect to have their secondary effect removed but get a 1.3 power boost - such as Flare Blitz (which has a 10% burn chance now) or Rock Slide - and you will have one hell of a power machine. To put it into perspective, Flare Blitz - which Darumaka learns at 33 - is 120 x 1.3 x 1.5 = 234 power! Adding a Charcoal or Flame Plate equip would boost it even further to 280. That off such a high attack base is insane. It can really pay off, although try not to get one with a -Atk nature. One more thing; as it is designated as a Dream World ability, you cannot catch a Darumaka, evolve it and expect to get the Zen Mode ability. I'd say Sheer Force is better anyway though.

    Lastly, we have Scraggy. The amount I can say for this thing is limited as I have never actually touched it, but judging from the times I've fought it and its evolution (Scrafty) it has a good movepool, decent offense and pretty good defenses, although they are pretty slow. What is worth noting is their ability to get the move Hi Jump Kick, which now has an insane 130 power, not taking STAB into account. Even with its relatively subpar attack stat compared to some monsters in Generation V, it'll be doing a boatload. It also gets Crunch to support its other STAB, and surprisingly enough Head Smash too. It also gets Shed Skin and Moxie, both of which are good abilities. The only real downside is that Scraggy evolves quite late considering it's a one stage evolution (though it's a lot better than some particular ones...) but otherwise it's worth a shot if you need a Fighting-type, Dark-type or both.

    Returning to the route; pick up the X ACCUARCY to the left in the sand, then go up. In this house there is a woman who will heal you when you talk to her; make a trip to her whenever you're running low on health. Over to the left, you'll see a bunch of traffic cones and some steps; go down them and fight the two fishermen down here. They both use Basculin exclusively. You can also examine the tile two steps right and two steps down of the bottom fisherman to locate a PEARL. Go back up the steps and head north. Rather than going straight ahead by the lady, take a path right and into a small enclosed part. The centre square one space from the top contains a hidden ULTRA BALL. Pick up the GREAT BALL on the opposite side and then fight the lady. Go up a bit, take the path right and pick up the HYPER POTION in the sand, then go back around and fight the builder, whose two Sturdy Roggenrola are probably going to annoy you. I hate that ability so much >_>;

    Afterwards, take the path around and get on the platform in front of the two houses and check the centre spot two squares away from the left wall for a hidden BURN HEAL. You can also check the small space to the right of the houses and examine the last tile before the rock for a hidden ETHER. Go back down and fight the last worker, then go up the other stairs and pick up the TM41, TORMENT.

    Head back to the main road now, healing if necessary, and head north. The builder by the barricades who was previously blocking you (if you happened to check this route out before we got the Insect Badge) will now let you pass, so let us do so. You can find a BURN HEAL to the right, and a guy with a Darumaka right next to it.

    From here, move to the far left wall and pick up the ETHER, then fight the female trainer you should see walking up and down slightly to the right. After demolishing her Cottonee, fight another of the same type of trainer to the top right. Beat her Petilil, then pick up the SUPER POTION and fight the guy above. Check a corner to the top right for a hidden HYPER POTION (as always, use the itemfinder to locate stuff if needed) then head straight left onto a road. There's a constantly turning builder here; fight his Roggenrola and Timburr off, then continue left. There's one last builder to fight. He also has a Timburr; rather similar to the Machop of old, eh? There's a house to the left; go inside and talk to the guy on the right to get the ever valuable TM28, DIG which may take two turns but in-game it is valuable, especially for the 80 base power the move has. If you have a Sandile that doesn't know it yet, it's a move I'd recommend.

    That covers everything for now; to the north is the Desert Resort, which we'll visit soon enough. Head back to the part with several backpack wearing trainers and head north. Beat the guy with a Pidove and continue north.

    In the gatehouse you'll find Cheren and Prof. Juniper; you'll talk a bit, then Prof. Juniper will give you ten ULTRA BALLS! She's quite a generous professor, I must say. Once they leave, head out the gatehouse to the north.

    NIMBASA CITY: We're not properly covering this place just yet, so this is just a very short stop. Go forward and you'll see a guy being attacked by Plasma grunts. Defeat the Lv. 18 Watchog and Lv. 18 Trubbish you'll end up fighting and the grunts will run off. The guy will give you what is quite possibly the best item in the game, the BICYCLE, as thanks, meaning our movement speed is that much better. Bianca will also show up, talk to you for a second then leave. I'd recommend setting the bicycle to Y (you can set multiple items to Y now, for the record). You will use the bike a lot, I promise. Anyway, next up on the list to tackle is the Desert Resort. Go back into Route 4, head left when you can and go north past where we got Dig. You'll enter the beginnings of the Desert Resort that way.

    • You are perfectly able to catch Pokemon from Route 5, Route 16 or the tall grass in Pinwheel Forest now. Note that if you try to go to Route 5 Bianca will pull you away to the Pokemon Musical, but after doing something with a Pokemon of your choice you can just run off and go into Route 5. You can also find a TM22, SOLARBEAM and a HYPER POTION in the long grass parts of the forest now if you so wish, as well as a hidden RARE CANDY if you so choose. I'll be covering that part properly later on when we get Surf, but if you want to go there now be my guest.

    Desert Resort (Entrance)

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    SandileGround/DarkSand40%Level 29
    DarumakaFireSand30%Level 35
    ScraggyDark/FightingSand10%Level 39
    DwebbleBug/RockSand10%Level 34

    The entrance to the Desert Resort reveals two new Pokemon. Dwebble you will have already seen before back in the Castelia Gym, but they're available to capture now. I can't really leap bounds of praise onto it since I have little clue about it, although its movepool and stats seem decent enough. The same goes for Maractus, your friendly neighbourhood cactus - I have like no clue about what it can do or how good it is. Notably it is NOT immune to sandstorm, but does get Water Absorb as a possible ability. Of course, it was resistant to Water anyway, but the health is always good. Its stats are a bit subpar though, with only special attack breaking 100...

    Anyway, just head up, left and up into the gatehouse. There are no items at all! Head out the top end into the main Desert Resort.

    Desert Resort (Main)

    Trainer Pokemon: Solosis L23 | Tranquill L23 | Solosis L23, Woobat L23 | Ducklett L24 | Darumaka L23, Blitzle L23 | Watchog L23 | Gothita L24 | Yamask L22, Munna L22 | Maractus L23

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    SandileGround/DarkSand40%Level 29
    DarumakaFireSand30%Level 35
    DwebbleBug/RockSand10%Level 34

    The same wild Pokemon appear again, except Scraggy is replaced by a Pokemon called Sigilyph. Sigilyph is very... odd looking, but statswise it's fast and decently strong and has a great movepool, encompassing Air Slash, Shadow Ball, Psychic and Ice Beam as examples. It's certainly usable, and if crazy psycho birds are your thing it may be worth a try.

    Anyway, this desert is huge, so we have a lot of ground to cover. Start by fighting the doctor right in front of you; he has a Solosis - the base form of Reuniclus - who has quite a strong special attack stat, so watch out! It also has the Magic Guard ability, which will stop any residual damage (ie Leech Seed, Sandstorm) from being dealt. After the fight, this doctor will act as a healer, much like that nurse did back in Pinwheel Forest. Talk to him and heal if at all necessary.

    Fight the backpacker a bit northwest, who has an evolved pigeon that will probably Detect constantly. Move down and then head left while hugging the southern wall. The itemfinder will react at one point; keep heading left until you see a moving Psychic. Take his Pokemon down and then examine the center spot in this alcove for a RARE CANDY.

    Continue hugging the wall and move left to get a FIRE STONE, then head up, continuously going against the wall. You'll find a ranger. Beat her to get a RAWST BERRY, then take the path up a bit further and examine the top left spot in the alcove for a hidden STARDUST. Go back down a bit and take the path left, fighting another ranger. You'll get another RAWST BERRY. Head straight down afterwards and left to get TM39, ROCK TOMB, which might be useful for some Pokemon.

    Return back to the 'corridor' with the two rangers and head straight right. You should see a backpacker shortly; he doesn't fight you though. Go north from him and collect the STARDUST in the pit, then go straight right to find BLACK GLASSES in another pit, which' will boost Dark moves by 20%. Fight the backpacker a bit right here, then go north (note the doctor is almost right below the woman you just battled.) You'll see a guy in black in a pit; talk to him for a SOFT SAND, which will boost Ground moves by 20%. Moving left, there's a FRESH WATER in a pit and a Psychic to fight. She uses a Gothita, the first form of Gothitelle. If you go straight left there's another psychic, who will use Yamask, the pre-evolution of the sarcophagus, Cofagrigus. It's a Ghost Pokemon, for the record. Back up a bit, head up and grab the SUPER POTION and fight the backpacker by here, who has the cactus.

    Bring the itemfinder out if you hadn't already, then head northwest. A couple spaces right from the towerlike building, you can find a hidden ETHER. You can also go to the very northwest to get a HEART SCALE. There's also a hidden HYPER POTION in one of the spots to the very top right.

    Go to about the center of the top half of the desert and you'll come to a staircase with five statues of some sort around it. Go down the staircase.


    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    SandileGround/DarkSand Floor50%Level 29
    YamaskGhostSand Floor50%Level 34
    • Encounter list is identical for 1F and B1F.
    • Trainer Pokemon: Sigilyph L24 | Woobat L23, Munna L23

    As with Nimbasa City, we're not going to explore this place fully yet - in fact, we aren't able to for a while. However, you can catch two Pokemon here, including the new Yamask which we saw a trainer use previously. Yamask and its evolution, Cofagrigus, have a niche in their high defense and ability named Mummy. Mummy itself does nothing, but if physical contact is made with a Pokemon then their ability is also replaced with Mummy. The effect is temporary, wearing off if the affected Pokemon switches out, but it's a fun ability all the same. They also have decent special attack, though they're not especially powerful.

    Also, the music in this place is awesome. Walk forward and attack the psychic and his crazy psycho bird. There's also another Psychic just across the sand pit; just go around it for now.

    Now, an important note about these sand pits. If you want to cross them, you must walk. NOT run, NOT bike. Walk. Also, don't touch the centre of the pit, as that will also send you down a floor. Practice by walking on the sand pit to the far left. You won't be able to descend the staircase here as a guy will block you, but you can talk to the backpacker here to get a fossil! You can either select the top option for a COVER FOSSIL which can be revived into the Water/Rock Tirtouga, or the second option for a PLUME FOSSIL, which can be revived into the Rock/Flying Archen. Both of them are good Pokemon, although Archen in particular is incredibly powerful once it gets the move Acrobatics at Level 28; it has a 112 base attack anyway, and when the user isn't holding an item Acrobatics's power is 110. Factor STAB in and you have a 112 attack (140 when it evolves !) bird with a 165 power move. The only drawback to Archen and its evolution is its ability - Defeatist - which causes its attack to drop by a certain amount when its HP drops below 50%. Acrobatics will OHKO most anything though, so you don't really need to worry about it. Both of them get great level up movepools; Tirtouga and its evolution get the Shell Smash move, which is an incredible move that raises Attack, Special Attack and Speed at the cost of its defenses. Also, as an extra note, both fossils are physically based. I'd say Archen and its evolution Archeops are the better of the two, but Water-types are pretty rare. Honestly, it's your pick.

    Once you get a fossil, you can revive it by taking it to the museum in Nacrene City and talking to the receptionist on the right while you have less than six Pokemon in your party. You will get the fossil back instantly. It comes at Level 25, making it good for this point in the game. Both of them also come with some decent starting moves. The turtle (Tirtouga) also gets Solid Rock or Sturdy, both of which are great abilities. It's slow as all hell, though. Also, both evolve at Level 37.

    Go down the sand pit above you somehow (running/bike/walking to the center) to drop to B1F. From where you land, move one step in any direction and check the spot you just landed on for a hidden ELIXIR. There's also a REVIVE to the right. Head up the stairs, jump off the ledge and go down to exit the castle.

    • NOTE: If you want to get a good nature on your fossil, the easiest way is to hand the fossil off to the receptionist while six Pokemon are in your party. When she comes back she'll refuse to give it to you; deposit a Pokemon in the PC, then save in front of her and get your fossil. It'll change nature each reset. This is faster than what would happen if you have five or less in your party when you give it to her.

    DESERT RESORT: That's absolutely everything we can do in the desert for the moment. Unless you want to revive the fossil, make your way back to Nimbasa City in the north.

    Nimbasa City

    Now we're here properly, and like Castelia it's pretty big. Nowhere near the same size, but there's plenty of items to collect.

    Start by trying to enter the big building just to your left as you enter. This is the Battle Subway - the Battle Tower equivalent of this game - and as you attempt to enter a girl will come out and give you the VS. RECORDER, which will let you save recordings of Wi-Fi and Subway battles. There's nothing in the Subway itself to get, although there is a place called Anville Town that you can access by taking the brown coloured line.

    The Pokemon Center is located a bit left; heal there if necessary. For the record, there are a few TMs on sale in the secondary mart here. To the left of the Pokemon Center is a place known as the Battle Testing Facility, but it's useless until after you receive the National Dex. It allows you to test your teams against a series of five trainers (either single or double battle) and progress whether you win or lose.

    Behind those two are two buildings. Go in the left one and talk to the blue haired guy for HM04, STRENGTH. You can also talk to an old woman upstairs in the same house for a SOOTHE BELL. (You may need a relatively unhappy Pokemon for her to give it to you, but I'm not sure about that.) The Soothe Bell will be useful for Woobat or Swadloon users.

    The house next door has a blue haired guy who will give you a SUN STONE, which you will need if you're using either Cottonee or Petilil.

    The street behind has three big stadiums. Two of these are for sporting events, which you can find battles in. The one on the furthest right is for the Pokemon Musical, the replacement for contests in Black and White.

    Start by going for the far left building. At this point in time you'll probably only be able to fight one trainer. However, the special thing about these stadiums is that as you progress through the game, both the level and amount of trainers will increase. You'll be able to battle each day, and after the League the levels can get as high as 68. It makes for good training, to be sure.

    The stadium in the middle is exactly the same. It'll be a different sporting event, but the rematches and everything are identical. Basically, you'll have a hell of a lot of people to train with once you beat the League and some moving up to it, too. If you want to abuse the system, set your DS clock to 23:59, wait for it to roll over, beat them all, then rinse and repeat until you're satisfied. You'll probably only be able to fight one trainer in this one, too. For the record, the sport that is actually taking place will change depending on the time of day.

    The building on the far right houses the Pokemon Musical. As much as I detest the place, we have to do an event in it to progress. Talk to Bianca who will be waiting at the entrance and she'll bring you inside. Some guy will talk to you and give you a GOODS CASE, then ask you to pick a Pokemon. Pick any, and you'll be given a tutorial on how to dress it up. Feel free to press OK when you can without doing anything and get the hell out of this place. Or at least I would say that, but first talk to the woman in the top right for TM49, ECHOED VOICE. I apologize to anyone who wants to try the musicals, but I am absolutely clueless about them. You're on your own for the moment, although I think you can get some pretty good items for doing it.

    When you exit, you'll see a scene with Bianca and her father, where he finally accepts her journey. You'll also get to see Nimbasa's leader, Elesa. Nice music, isn't it? That's all there is for the main part of Nimbasa, but there's still a little bit we haven't explored yet. On the right side of the city by the bottom there's a rather colourful arch; go through it to end up in another part of the city.

    Go forward and you'll come across N! N asks if you are looking for Team Plasma, then takes you to the ferris wheel, saying you can get a better view from it. It's on the ferris wheel that N confesses that HE is the leader of Team Plasma, whereas Ghetsis is just a frontman to try and convince people to follow N's beliefs of separating humans and Pokemon. Afterwards, he quickly challenges you, with an interesting new cut-in.

    • Team Plasma N
    • Rewards: $2200
    • N's Pokemon have changed again, this time to reflect the desert surroundings. It's a pretty easy fight all the same, but it is quite cool how his Pokemon change every time. You'll notice the same thing happen again the next time we fight him.

    N will talk to you rather close up after the fight, then leave. If you check the bottom right corner here, you can find a hidden SUPER REPEL, and there's also an X ATTACK on the ground to the left.

    While we could take on the gym now, there's some more stuff we can do to prepare. Head out Nimbasa City to the top right. In the gatehouse, talk to the guy with the hat to receive the MACHO BRACE. Go right out the gatehouse afterwards.

    For the record, a bit later in the game you will occasionally get a trainer waiting outside the ferris wheel. If you beat them you can have a go on the wheel with them. It's EXP, I suppose. Might be a daily occurrence.

    Route 16

    Trainer Pokemon: Herdier L24 | Ducklett L22, Liepard L22 | Scraggy L23 | Whirlipede L22, Whirlipede L22 | Swadloon L23 | Drilbur L23

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    GothitaPsychicGrass and Tall Grass (Black)30%Level 32
    SolosisPsychicGrass and Tall Grass (White)30%Level 32
    MinccinoNormalGrass and Tall Grass30%N/A
    TrubbishPoisonGrass and Tall Grass20%Level 36
    LiepardDarkGrass and Tall Grass20%N/A
    AudinoNormalShaking Grass85%N/A
    EmolgaElectric/FlyingShaking Grass10%N/A
    ChillaccinoNormalShaking Grass5%N/A
    PinecoBugSwarm40%Level 31

    The main reason for us moving onto Route 16 is a couple of trainers and some new Wild Pokemon. The most notable thing here is either Gothita or Solosis, depending on whether you're playing Black or White. Gothita is the first form of Gothitelle - otherwise known as gothtower, lolitower etcetera - who is an interesting Pokemon, albeit not all that good statwise. It's a little slow but has a very wide movepool off of an alright 95 special attack. It has good defenses at any rate with 70/95/110, so it'll survive a few hits. You may want to keep Fake Tears on it though, since its Special Attack IS low compared to some other heavy hitters.

    Solosis on the other hand is incredibly slow - as are its evolutions, Duosion and Reuniclus - and has a smaller movepool than the Gothita line, although that does change severely once it evolves into a Reuniclus. Solosis's big point is that it has 105 special attack, meaning it is already beating out Gothitelle for pure power! Unfortunately, the TMs that is actually learns aren't for a while later in the game, so you're stuck with psychic attacks and Hidden Power, assuming you caught it at a level less than 25, until it evolves into Reuniclus. However, it is a very good poke, which reaches a resepectable 110 HP in its final form and a great 125 Special Attack. Just let me emphasize that all three Pokemon in this line are slow! Equipping the Quick Claw may not be a bad idea.

    At any rate, both have a 490 base stat total and evolve at 32 and 41 into their next forms. Reuniclus is better than Gothitelle, but due to version exclusivity it's not like you have a choice in the matter unless you trade. They're both good Pokemon though; I'd recommend them if possible.

    There's also Minccino and Trubbish, but I know little about either of them so there's not much I can comment on. Minccino evolves into Cinccino with the help of a Shiny Stone (which we'll get in a little while, although you can catch a Wild one here. It's rare, though) and has a hell of a lot of multi hit moves when it evolves. It's actually pretty decent evolved. As for Trubbish, its evolution looks hideous, but I suppose they're alright. They don't seem particularly special to me, but eh.

    I'd fight the trainers on the main path first. The right hand side is blocked by some workers, and we won't be able to go that way for quite a while. Once you take care of the four main road trainers, push the Strength boulder in to allow you access. Permanent access, that is. Makes a nice change from the older gens. There's a trainer in here you can fight, and a TM66, PAYBACK to pick up, which might help any Dark Pokemon you have such as Scraggy. Go out the double grass part and into the part with the main grass and fight the last trainer here. If you have Cut handy, cut the tree and pick up the RARE CANDY at the end of this short path. Go back, then continue following the normal grass path and you'll find an entrance to somewhere else.

    Lostlorn Forest

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    CottoneeGrassGrass (Black)35%Sun Stone
    PetililGrassGrass (White)35%Sun Stone
    SwadloonBug/GrassGrass35%Level 20
    PidoveNormal/FlyingGrass15%Level 21
    VenipedeBug/PoisonGrass15%Level 22
    AudinoNormalShaking Grass45%N/A
    EmolgaElectric/FlyingShaking Grass10%
    PansearFireShaking Grass10%Fire Stone
    PanpourWaterShaking Grass10%Water Stone
    PansageGrassShaking Grass10%Leaf Stone
    WhimsicottGrassShaking Grass (Black)5%N/A
    LilligantGrassShaking Grass (White)5%N/A
    LeavannyBug/GrassShaking Grass5%N/A
    UnfezantNormal/FlyingShaking Grass5%N/A
    CottoneeGrassTall Grass (Black)35%Sun Stone
    PetililGrassTall Grass (White)35%Sun Stone
    SwadloonBug/GrassTall Grass35%Happiness
    TranquillNormal/FlyingTall Grass15%Level 32
    VenipedeBug/PoisonTall Grass15%Level 30
    BasculinWaterDark Water ~ Surf100%N/A
    GoldeenWaterFish70%Level 33
    BasculinWaterDark Water ~ Fish30%N/A
    GoldeenWaterDark Water ~ Fish60%Level 33
    SeakingWaterDark Water ~ Fish10%N/A

    Welcome to the Lostlorn Forest, a rather strange place. You might notice the encounter list is almost exactly the same as Pinwheel Forest, although there are some additions, most notably the presence of Leavanny and Unfezant. Catching a Leavanny here will certainly save you time with the happiness, and any Unfezant you manage to find will be pretty underlevelled considering they aren't meant to exist until Level 32. Just bare in mind that they are pretty rare.

    You can find a BIG MUSHROOM in the tree trunk directly ahead. At the top of the area you will find a backpacker who mentions some stuff about the woman inside the caravan. You can certainly try to talk to this woman, but you'll simply get a "..." out of her. It may seem like a dead end, but this is in fact where the Zoroark event takes place. Bring a crown beast (Shiny Raikou, Entei or Suicune from a specific event) here and everything will change.

    That's actually all we can do in here for now, as all the other items are up the waterfall. It's time we took on Nimbasa Gym; head back to Nimbasa City and heal if necessary. The gym is found in the same area as we battled N and rode the ferris wheel; it's the flashy purple building to the left of the ferris wheel.

    Nimbasa Gym

    Trainer Pokemon: Emolga L24, Emolga L24 | Blitzle L25 | Blitzle L24, Blitzle L24 | Emolga L25

    Talk to the gym guy to get a FRESH WATER as usual. Now, if you haven't been able to tell by the look of the gym, the design of the leader or the city's name, this time we're fighting an Electric gym. As such, having any Ground attacks at the ready would help. Or at least it should, but due to a slight problem which you'll see momentarily they won't.

    Start by going directly forward. The puzzle of this gym involves these carts; they'll move around the magnetic tracks and you have to board and depart from them whenever they reach a station. It's a pretty easy puzzle as long as you know what you're doing.

    Jump into the first cart and it'll take you somewhere else. Follow the path around to fight a trainer. She'll send out an... Emolga. Who is part Flying. So much for Ground moves, huh? As it is, both the trainers and the leader only use Emolga and one other Electric-type, so Ground attacks are only going to be useful 50% of the time. You can at least strike Emolga with a Rock or Ice attack to hit it super effectively, though. Also, be warned. Emolga has the Static ability, which is supposed to have a 30% chance of paralyzing an opponent upon contact but often ends up being so much more. Be careful if you don't want to use a ton of healing items.

    Hit the switch above her and the magnetic track will change. Board the cart again now and it'll take you a different direction. Go and fight the trainer here. He'll use the other Pokemon this gym uses, a Blitzle. It's a pity, really. There are four non-legendary Electric lines in Unova - the Blitzle line, the Joltik (electric spider) line, the Tynamo (eel) line and Emolga - yet they only use two. It's weird.

    After beating the zebra, hit the switch to activate a track right ahead. Jump in the cart... or at least attempt to, but a trainer will hop out and fight you instead. Smash his zebras and then board the cart when it comes. This one will take you on a roller coaster ride! Get out when you can, hit the switch to the right and try to board the next cart, but again a trainer will pop out and fight. Swat her flying squirrel down then get in the cart, get taken on another roller coaster ride and pop out very near Elesa, the leader. Save if needed, then go up to her and fight.

    • Rewards: $3240, TM72 Volt Switch, Bolt Badge
    • My Team: Pignite Lv. 27, Tirtouga Lv. 26, Drilbur Lv. 28, Lilligant Lv. 27, Munna Lv. 28
    EmolgaLv. 25Electric/FlyingStaticPursuit, Quick Attack, Volt Switch, Aerial Ace
    ZebstrikaLv. 27ElectricLightningrodQuick Attack, Spark, Volt Switch, Flame Charge
    • While Elesa has three Pokemon, you might notice that two of them are identical. Doesn't give us any less to take down, but it's less to worry about at least; if you can handle one, you can handle both.
    • Elesa's signature move is Volt Switch, and anyone who has played the Gen IV games (especially HG/SS) is probably familiar with the move U-Turn. U-Turn is a 70 power, 100 accuracy move that allows the user to switch out after the attack connects; Volt Switch is exactly the same, except it is Electric-type (whereas U-Turn is Bug). In HG/SS, Bugsy mained the move, but only his Scyther had it. This time, all three of Elesa's Pokemon have it, so you can expect a lot of Pokemon switching, especially if you can't outspeed these rather fast three Pokemon.
    • As I said before, Emolga is weak to Ice and Rock, so any of those will do good against them (particularly if you have a Pignite with Rollout, just like with Burgh, although Emolga's high speed and Aerial Ace can be a problem...) They can catch you on the switch, attack with priority, never miss or switch, but they aren't all that strong on the whole. Just watch out for Static.
    • Elesa's main on the other hand is an entirely different kettle of... zebra. It's pretty strong, with 100 attack base, and very fast. It can make itself even faster with Flame Charge, a 50 power Fire move that always raises speed. It's also able to switch out just like the rest, or hit you with a pretty powerful Spark attack. It'll also pick off low HP Pokemon with Quick Attack, which will probably do more damage than it will coming from her Emolga. If you can peg it with a Ground move, this Zebra should fall pretty quickly, but otherwise just beat on it. It's not strong enough to OHKO everything and as far as things go it's pretty frail, so it shouldn't be too long before it falls. Also, though you're not likely to, do NOT hit it with an Electric attack. Lightningrod will activate and boost its special attack. While it has no special moves anyway, Lightningrod does make it totally immune to any and all Electric moves, so it'll be a waste of a turn.
    • For the record, it's worth noting that a Ground-type will still perform incredibly well even if it can't actually hit Emolga with a Ground move, due to its type giving it immunity to Volt Switch and other electrical moves, although unfortunately there is no immunity to Static. It's good all the same. A Drilbur with Rock Tomb will do great; super effective damage, the Emolga can barely do anything to it and Rock Tomb isn't contact, so Static isn't a problem. Rock Slide is even better if you happen to be 29 or higher, but it isn't needed.
    • Also, Elesa has two Hyper Potions she can use.

    Defeating Elesa will get you the Bolt Badge as well as TM72, VOLT SWITCH. It may not be the best move in-game due to it being a forced switch if you don't KO the Pokemon and therefore splitting the EXP, but it's a good move all the same. It really comes out in competitive battling, though. I think.

    Hit the switch, then take the cart. It'll take you back to the exit. Go heal at Nimbasa's center and head out to Route 5 through the top left gatehouse when you're ready.

    Route 5

    Trainer Pokemon: Herdier L26 + Herdier L26 | Munna L23 | Palpitoad L23 | Darumaka L22, Darumaka L22 | Sigilyph L23 | Blitzle L22, Blitzle L22 | Whirlipede L22, Whirlipede L22 | Pansear L21, Panpour L21, Pansage L21

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    GothitaPsychicGrass and Tall Grass (Black)30%Level 32
    SolosisPsychicGrass and Tall Grass (White)30%Level 32
    MinccinoNormalGrass and Tall Grass30%N/A
    TrubbishPoisonGrass and Tall Grass20%Level 36
    LiepardDarkGrass and Tall Grass20%N/A
    AudinoNormalShaking Grass85%N/A
    EmolgaElectric/FlyingShaking Grass10%N/A
    CinccinoNormalShaking Grass5%N/A

    Same wild Pokemon here as in Route 16, with the exception of the swarm Pokemon. Now, it's been a while since a rival battle, hasn't it? Of course, Cheren shows up almost immediately to fix that.

    • Rival Cheren
    • Rewards: $2600
    Pansage/Pansear/PanpourLv. 24Fire/Water/Grass
    TranquillLv. 24Normal/Flying
    Pignite/Dewott/ServineLv. 26(Fire/Fighting)/Water/Grass
    • This is our fifth battle with Cheren, and his team hasn't changed at all from last time with the exception of the levels (although his Pidove has now evolved). Beat him down exactly the same as always. It's easy enough. His starter has a Sitrus Berry, as always.

    After defeating him, Elesa will somehow appear from the left and bring you over. You'll meet a fiery red-haired guy named Alder, whose hair is rather similar to that of Goku from Dragonball Z. I do wish I hadn't stopped watching halfway through the Buu saga as a kid :/ Anyway, Alder will set you and Cheren up in a double battle against two kids. You're healed first, but it's an easy fight anyway. Cheren may not be too much use though, since Take Down from these dogs will do a number as usual. They also both have a Sitrus Berry.

    After the fight, Elesa and Cheren will go to the left of the route. Before we follow them, go back right and then up into the grass. There's a backpacker here as well as a GREAT BALL. There's also one to the far left next to a REVIVE. There's also a ZINC on the other side of the tall grass.

    Jump off the ledge and fight the remaining trainers, then head left afterwards. The guitarist will give you an ELECTRIC GUITAR accessory for defeating him, too. There's also a HYPER POTION to pick up if you go to the far right of the route and slide below the fence and follow the path.

    Note that the woman in the caravan is a chef who wants ingredients, and is willing to part with quite a lot of money for some of them. The items she wants, and the amount you can get for them are as follows:

    Item NameSelling Price
    Big Mushroom$5000
    Castelia Cone$2000
    Lucky Egg*$200
    Old Gateau$4000
    Rare Candy*$10000
    Shoal Salt$7000
    • Unless you're insane, don't sell the starred items; they're too useful to part with. The only possible exception is the Rare Candy, but I still wouldn't recommend it.

    On the left side of the route, Elesa will get the drawbridge down for you in a pretty nice cutscene, allowing us to cross to the next city. Go ahead and cross the drawbridge.

    Driftveil Drawbridge

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    DucklettWater/FlyingBridge Spots100%Level 35

    Only one Wild Pokemon on this bridge, and nothing else, though I quite like the music, as minimalistic as it is. There are three people on the bridge who just talk, but there is one notable thing; sometimes when you're crossing the bridge you will hear the sound of flapping wings. After that you should be able to find a dark spot somewhere on the bridge. The flapping wing sound will continue and get louder the closer you are to this spot. If you step in this spot, one of two things will happen. You'll either pick up a wing of some sort, which can increase the EV of a particular stat by one (there's seven wings, the last one being useless aside from being sold for money.) The other thing is that a Wild Ducklett - the duck - may appear. It's a decent Water-type and can learn both Surf and Fly, which solves the majority of HM woes in the game. Strangely enough it doesn't evolve until 35, but it's decent all the same. Might be worth picking up if you need a Water or Flying.

    Keep going until you reach the exit on the left.

    Driftveil City

    Trainer Pokemon: Basculin L27 + Krokorok L27 + Zebstrika L27

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    FrillishWater/GhostSurf100%Level 40
    AlomomolaWaterDark Water ~ Surf95%N/A
    KrabbyWaterFish65%Level 28
    ChinchouWater/ElectricFish30%Level 27
    ChinchouWater/ElectricDark Water ~ Fish60%Level 27
    LuvdiscWaterDark Water ~ Fish30%N/A
    KinglerWaterDark Water ~ Fish5%N/A
    LanturnWater/ElectricDark Water ~ Fish5%N/A

    If you go left you'll see Cheren talking to the gym leader of Driftveil, Clay. He'll tell you that Team Plasma have taken residence up in the Frozen Warehouse, which is where we'll be visiting next. He'll ask you for help, then leave.

    From where we are, the house closest to you has nothing important in it. The one to the left has a guy who will teach Grass Pledge, Fire Pledge or Water Pledge to your starters. It's a 50 power, 100% acc special move, which probably won't be too useful at this point in the game. Interestingly it can make 'combination attacks' with the others, but since you're unlikely to have the other two starters for the other Pledge moves it's pretty pointless.

    Go behind those two houses and check the far right one. An old man inside will give you a SHELL BELL, which will regenerate some of your HP each time you attack and hit. The kid in here is willing to make a trade; if you can give him a Minccino, he'll give you a Level 25 Basculin with a Sitrus Berry. I think the Basculin is the form that is opposite to what you usually find on your version, but you can find the opposite stripe Basculin easily enough anyway. You can fight this kid later on after the league and he'll have trained the Pokemon you traded him though, which is pretty cool.

    The street behind that has the Pokemon Center; heal up and then we can continue our excursion. The house to the left has a girl who wants to see a certain move; if you have a Pokemon with that move in your party then she'll give you a HEART SCALE. You can do this each day, with a different move being picked each time.

    Afterwards, head into the big building just below (you can enter from the back). This is the Driftveil Market, and has some interesting stuff. There's a hidden HEART SCALE located in the bottom right tile from the blonde woman near the bottom of a room. You can also talk to the guy in black on the right; if there's a Pokemon in your party that is at Level 30 or over, he'll give you the EXPERT BELT, an item that boosts the power of super effective moves by 1.2. It's good on something with a lot of type coverage.

    You're also able to buy MooMoo Milk from the top left stall, either in packs of one or twelve. MooMoo Milk heals 100 HP, making it a cheap and effective item. You can also buy herb medicine from the bottom right stall; as always, it's cheap but bitter and will reduce your Pokemon's happiness. On the note about money, any of those feathers you picked up from the bridge will sell for $1500 each, so it may be worth a sale if you're low on money at all, although that is pretty unlikely.

    You may notice an item ball on the left side of the market; go out the market and to the left side of the building, then enter where you would assume an entrance is (in the center of this wall, so about midway up.) You can get a BIG PEARL by doing so.

    Talk to the guy riding the bike by this wall. If you say yes twice, you'll enter your first 3-on-3 battle! Black players will get a Rotation Battle, while White players will get a Triple Battle.

    Rotation battles are an interesting type of 3-on-3 battle. While they do have three Pokemon out at once, they aren't actually 3-on-3. Rather, one Pokemon fights another singular Pokemon from the opposing team at any one time, and you are able to 'rotate' using buttons in the same menu as you pick a move to swap the Pokemon that is at the front. The opponent will rotate his clockwise almost every turn, which can help with prediction. Note that rotation does not use up a move! Rotation and the attack will go off in the same turn, so for maximum effectiveness you need to predict what Pokemon will appear next and use a move accordingly. Rotation battles are pretty fun.
    Triple battles on the other hand are literally 3 vs 3; all three Pokemon and all three of your opponents Pokemon will be able to attack in the same turn. It works very similarly to a double battle, but the main catch is that not every Pokemon can attack every other Pokemon. A Pokemon in the centre can attack any of the three opponents, while one on the left can only attack the opposing left or centre Pokemon and the one on the right can only attack the opposing right or centre Pokemon. There are however some moves that can hit any Pokemon, most notably any Flying-type move. Also, the battlefield size doesn't change for these (it does for triple battles), so the sprites barely fit on the field. Poor things. ;_;

    Once you beat what can be a surprisingly tough fight, we're done with Driftveil. Heal up if you got badly injured, then head down south. For the record, Black players will get mostly rotation battles, whereas White players will generally get triple battles. There is only one exception in either game.

    Cold Storage

    Trainer Pokemon: Whirlipede L24, Karrablast L24 | Joltik L24, Dwebble L24 | Pansage L24, Timburr L24 | Pansear L24, Timburr L24 | Panpour L24, Timburr L24 | Gurdurr L24 | Vanillite L24, Timburr L24 | Timburr L23, Timburr L23, Vanillite L23 | Watchog L23, Scraggy L23 | Liepard L24 | Trubbish L24 | Sandile L23, Watchog L23

    PokemonTypeLocationEncounter RateEvolution Method
    HerdierNormalGrass + Tall Grass35%Level 32
    VanilliteIceGrass + Tall Grass30%Level 35
    MinccinoNormalGrass + Tall Grass20%N/A
    TimburrFightingGrass + Tall Grass15%Level 25
    AudinoNormalShaking Grass90%N/A
    StoutlandNormalShaking Grass5%N/A
    CinccinoNormalShaking Grass5%N/A
    • These Pokemon are only outside.

    The outside of the Cold Storage has some interesting Pokemon. Well, I say some, but in reality there's only one here that is important. Vanillite is the somewhat well known ice cream Pokemon, and the earliest AND best Ice-type you will find in the game. Its evolutions are a bit high (35, then 47) but you'll find no better Ice-type; we'll see two more later but one dies to any physical move and the other just sucks. If you want an Ice-type, Vanillite is a very good choice. It gets Ice Beam by level too. The only annoying thing with the line is that their movepool is very, very limited; Ice attacks and Flash Cannon are basically all they can use. All the same, it's a good line.

    Start by going right. Fight the youngster and then head right and fight the other youngster. Both of them will use Pokemon that you probably haven't seen before; Joltik in particular is anotable one. It's the first form of the electric spider and it is damn cute, as well as being the current smallest Pokemon in existence. The fan art with it in is beautiful ;-;

    Continue over to the right and bust out the itemfinder to get a HYPER POTION, then return left and go down the gap between the buildings and talk to the worker to get a ROCKY HELMET. This is an interesting item; if a Pokemon is holding it and contact is made, it deals 1/8 HP damage to the user. This is especially powerful paired with the Rough Skin or Iron Barbs ability. It's a useful item, for sure.

    Go back left and then down when you can. Check the bin here for a PP UP, then get into the grass and head right. Pick up the ETHER and continue further right. You'll find a worker to battle in this clearing with tall grass. After beating him, bust out the itemfinder again and use it to locate a DIVE BALL' a bit to the bottom-right of the worker. You should also pick up the PROTEIN'' in the tall grass.

    That takes care of all the items; head to the far bottom left now. Cheren will arrive and talk to you a bit, then wait. First, go through the grass to the left here and pick up the HEART SCALE. Return back and enter the building.

    Inside, you will see why it's called the Frozen Warehouse. Start by going up and moving as far left as you can before sliding on the ice; slide up, then right then down to get TM55, SCALD. Scald is an excellent new move; it is 80 power, 100 accuracy and has an incredible 30% chance of burning. Any Water-types you have will appreciate this move. Only Water Pokemon can learn Scald with two exceptions - Mew, who learns all TMs, and surprisingly enough Emboar, the final evolution of Tepig. Tepig and Choabuu cannot learn it though.

    Slide up, left, up, right and fight the worker, then slide right and go up the steps. Fight another worker then move right onto the ice (doesn't matter from where). Slide up, left and down to reach the next part. Continue, go up the steps and fight another worker; this one has Timburr's evolution. Keep going, down the stairs and fight another worker. They really like their Timburr, don't they? Pick up the ICE HEAL then go up right over the ice. Fight yet another worker, then pick up the HYPER POTION to the right. Continue following the path and you will see one container with the lid open; go towards it and Cheren will appear. Answer his question and then head inside to find a sage and eight Plasma grunts! They'll come towards you. Cheren will take four, and it's up to us to fight the other four.

    Just talk to the four ones on the right side to battle them. After all four are defeated, Clay and some workers will come in and arrest the grunts and sage. Once you get free movement again, pick up the NEVERMELTICE, then go out of this container. Go around and up the steps just north, and move down. Slide down the ice on the left side, then go right and step off. Pick up the NET BALL, then go down the steps and out the warehouse.

    That leaves us ready to do Driftveil Gym. Heal up at the center, then head in. The gym is found in the top right of the city.

    Although, when you arrive there, you'll find Ghetsis and a ton of Plasma grunts in front of the gym, facing Clay and his captured Plasma members. Clay will hand them over, then all of the Plasma grunts will disappear. Clay will go back into the gym, and Cheren leaves to the left. Now, let's do the gym!