Hey all! This is a guide showing you what Pokemon can be caught in what area, in chronological order of beating the game! Alongside the generic list of Pokemon I’ve also put in my own opinions and recommendations should you be unsure of what to add to your team! Lastly, I won’t cover how to get all the Legendary Pokemon as there is a beautiful guide on that already that can be found ">here

Enjoy!

Route 101

Gift Pokemon - Treecko (Grass), Torchic (Fire, Fighting), or Mudkip (Water, Ground)

Any starter will help you out greatly during your adventure. Of the three Mudkip is considered the easiest option as its eventual typing gives it only one weakness. Torchic is the most offensive of the three but will need some team support to counter some of its weaknesses. Treecko will struggle early on due to its poor moveset. Once you get Leaf Blade around level 30 it will finally become useful.

Wild Pokemon - Wurmple (Bug, Flying/Poison), Poochyena (Dark), and Zigzagoon (Normal)

None of these are particularly powerful. Wurmple has two possible evolutions but they are determined by chance so you might have to catch a couple to get the one you want. I would recommend catching a Zigzagoon for later on. It has the ability Pick-Up which allows it to find items after almost every battle, and they can range from regular potions to rare candies if you’re lucky.

Oldale Town

There are no Pokemon available here!

Route 103

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Zigzagoon (Normal), and Wingull (Water, Flying)

In the grass you will find one new face, namely Wingull. At this point in the game it’s not a bad option for your team if your starter is Torchic or Treecko as it covers some of their weaknesses. Still, it will be fairly underwhelming later on and I recommend getting a better water type.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

This feature will become available to you once you get 5 gym badges. At that point neither Wingull or its evolution Pelipper are worth your time. Tentacool however is a solid water type with a good defensive typing and stats. If you don’t have a better one by now I would recommend using it as the TM for Sludge Bomb (a powerful Poison type attack) becomes available after the 5th badge as well.

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Water, Dark) (Super Rod)

You will see this list of pokemon frequently throughout this guide. You will get the Old Rod around your 2nd gym badge, the Good Rod after your 5th gym badge and the Super Rod around your 7th gym badge. As I mentioned earlier, Tentacool is a personal recommendation of mine. Magikarp will start out weak but after it evolves into Gyarados it will become a powerhouse on your team. Only, it won’t be a Water powerhouse as Water attacks are based off his Special Attack stat, which is fairly low. Wailmer has a lot of HP but struggles in power and speed, but you’ll need to catch one if you want access to some of the rarest pokemon in the region. Lastly, Sharpedo is a glass cannon. It hits really hard and is really fast but it has paper thin defenses. If this is your first experience playing through this game I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Route 102

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Wurmple (Bug, Flying/Poison), Zigzagoon (Normal), Lotad (Water, Grass), Seedot (Grass, Dark), Ralts (Psychic)

We see a couple new faces! Lotad is a fantastic addition for your team if you chose Torchic, as it has both the typings of the other starters. It will become tanky in the future and evolves into its next stage as early as level 14. If you’re planning on using one, definitely keep the Nature Power attack on it as depending on the battlefield that can turn into powerful attacks like Earthquake. Seedot is kind of like Lotad’s counterpart. I personally find it a bit less useful because its typing and movepool are both worse than Lotad’s. If you chose Mudkip it will be a bit better because you won’t have two water types on your team, but I would wait for a better grass type coming up, especially because Seedot’s encounter rate is 1%! Lastly, Ralts is one of the best pokemon in this game, period. It learns its first offensive move at level 6 so you’ll have to switch train it until that point, but once it gets Confusion it’s set to destroy all your opponents. It evolves fairly early (level 20, and then level 30) and gets some good coverage moves by TM.

Surfing - Marill (Water), Goldeen (Water)

Two new water types, but neither of them is particularly powerful. I wouldn’t recommend using these two.

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Corphish (Water, Dark) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Corphish is yet another new water type you can find. It will evolve into a Water/Dark type and is not a terrible choice. It’s mostly offensive but it kind of lacks the speed needed for it to really shine.

Petalburg City

Surfing - Marill (Water)

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Corphish (Water, Dark) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

These are all repeats, nothing new here.

Route 104

Wild Pokemon - Wurmple (Bug, Flying/Poison), Marill (Water), Poochyena (Dark), Wingull (Water, Flying), Taillow (Normal, Flying)

There’s only one new pokemon on this route, but it’s a good one! Taillow is really fast and hits really hard. You won’t find another good flying type for a long time so I would 100% recommend using one.

Surfing - Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod, Super Rod)

Petalburg Woods

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Taillow (Normal, Flying), Wurmple (Bug, Flying/Poison), Silcoon (Bug, Flying), Cascoon (Bug, Poison), Slakoth (Normal), Shroomish (Grass, Fighting)

Two new faces! Slakoth is a pure Normal type with possibly one of the worst abilities in the game, only allowing it to attack once every two turns, but once it reaches its final evolution it will have such high stats that it really doesn’t matter. If you’re experienced in Pokemon I would recommend it as it requires you to pay close attention to what’s happening on the battlefield. Shroomish is arguably the best grass type in the game. If you didn’t catch either Lotad or Seedot, now is the time to pick this mushroom up. It will become a Grass/Fighting type once it evolves with one of the highest Attack stats in the game. Universal recommendation!

Rustboro City

Trade - Seedot (Grass, Dark)

In the house next to the gym, there will be someone willing to trade you their Seedot for your Ralts. This is a terrible trade that you should only do if you want to complete the pokedex, as Seedot is quite rare.

Route 116

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Taillow (Normal, Flying), Abra (Psychic), Whismur (Normal), Skitty (Normal), Nincada (Bug, Ground/Flying/Ghost)

A lot of new pokemon show up here. Abra is a great psychic type that is even more powerful than Ralts, however it requires you to trade it to a friend to get its final evolution. It’s also paper thin and only knows the move teleport, which basically means you only get one chance to throw a pokeball at it. Skitty is a Normal type that evolves through a Moon Stone, and it’s universally seen as a bad pokemon. Hard pass on that one. Nincada is interesting as it starts as a Bug/Ground type, but then evolves into a Bug/Flying type at level 20. Its evolution hits hard and is very, very, very fast but has a poor movepool. However, if you evolve Nincada while having a maximum of 5 Pokemon in your party, you will gain a free new Pokemon named Shedinja. Shedinja is a Bug/Ghost pokemon, and has 1 HP. Yes you read that right, 1 HP. It would easily be the worst pokemon in the game if it weren’t for its ability, which only allows attacks that are super effective to hit it. This basically means that any Fire, Flying, Rock, Dark or Ghost attack will instantly knock it out, but any other attack has no effect on it. Only experienced players should use Shedinja as it can be one of the worst or one of the best in the game depending on how you use it. I’ll get to Whismur in one second …

Rusturf Tunnel

Wild Pokemon - Whismur (Normal)

This cave is infested with Whismur. It’s a normal type with really high offensive stats but low stats in everything else. It’s not a terrible option for your team but it will need some good TMs to work well.

Dewford Town

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Nothing new here.

Route 106

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Route 107

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Granite Cave

Wild Pokemon - Zubat (Poison, Flying), Abra (Psychic), Makuhita (Fighting), Geodude (Rock, Ground), Aron (Steel, Rock), Sableye (Dark, Ghost)

Lots of new encounters. Zubat is back for vengeance, but he’s actually not bad. It gets Bite and Wing Attack early on and is really strong in this upcoming gym battle. Its final evolution is available in this game and it’s really strong. Makuhita is a Fighting type with a lot of HP and a lot of Attack. It’ll be a decent member of your team for now but near the end of the game its power kind of drops. Geodude is also here and he’s as bad as ever. A lot of weaknesses and too slow to work well. Aron is, like Geodude, really slow, however the Steel typing makes it much better and much more defensive. It won’t evolve for a long time but once it does it’ll be worth it. Sableye is unique in that it’s the only pokemon in this game without a weakness. It’s also immune to the gym in Dewford so catching one is recommended.

Rock Smash - Geodude (Rock, Ground), Nosepass (Rock)

After getting 3 badges you’ll be able to smash through certain rocks. This can cause Pokemon to spawn and in this cave you’ll find Nosepass. It’s a very defensive Rock type with hardly any offensive presence. Not recommended.

Route 109

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Slateport City

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Route 110

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Wingull (Water, Flying), Plusle (Electric), Minun (Electric), Gulpin (Poison), Electrike (Electric), Oddish (Grass, Poison)

Oh boy, a lot to go over. Plusle and Minun are just bad. Plain bad. Low offensive power and low defensive power, wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. Oddish isn’t terrible, it’s quite bulky, but because it evolves through evolution stones it’ll take a long time before getting its final evolution. Normally I’d say Oddish is good but in this game it’s not worth it. Gulpin is the Muk of this generation. It’s got a lot of HP and some decent bulk, but offensively it struggles. If you really want to use a Poison type for whatever reason, it’s not terrible but it’ll require a lot of effort to train up. Lastly, Electrike is fantastic. It’s a fast electric type that hits really hard. Basically what an electric type should be. It actually gets decent coverage in both Bite and Flamethrower so long term it’s useful as well.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Mauville City

There are no Pokemon available here!

Route 117

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Marill (Water), Oddish (Grass, Poison), Seedot (Grass, Dark), Illumise (Bug), Volbeat (Bug)

Illumise and Volbeat are both really bad. They’ve got no upsides, literally none. Don’t use them.

Surfing - Goldeen (Water), Marill (Water)

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Corphish (Water, Dark) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Verdanturf Town

There are no Pokemon available here!

Route 111

Wild Pokemon - Trapinch (Ground, Dragon), Sandshrew (Ground), Baltoy (Ground, Psychic), Cacnea (Grass, Dark)

This is the desert area of the game. Trapinch is absurdly powerful but really thin and it takes a long time to evolve. Once you do evolve it however it turns into a Ground/Dragon type and it’s definitely one of the better Pokemon in the game. Sandshrew is pure Ground type and is unfortunately not nearly as good as the others in this area, pass on this one. Baltoy is a Ground/Psychic type that focuses mainly on defense. You’ll be surprised by how useful it can be so if you’re more of a defensive player you might want to look into this one. Lastly, Cacnea is a forgotten Grass/Dark type that is mediocre in battle. You’ll be better off with a Treecko, a Lotad or a Shroomish.

Rock Smash - Geodude (Rock, Ground)

Surfing - Marill (Water), Goldeen (Water)

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Barboach (Water, Ground) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Finally a new Pokemon in the water. Barboach is a Water/Ground type, which if you remember Mudkip, is a really good typing. It’s somewhat mediocre in battle, getting outclassed by Mudkip in pretty much every way, but it’s a good alternative. It gets some powerful moves like Earthquake fairly early on.

Mirage Tower

Wild Pokemon - Trapinch (Ground, Dragon), Sandshrew (Ground)

Gift Pokemon - Lileep (Rock, Grass) (Root Fossil), or Anorith (Rock, Bug) (Claw Fossil)

At the top of this tower you’ll find two fossils. You can only get one so choose carefully. Lileep is a defensive Rock/Grass type and Anorith is a slow offensive Rock/Bug type. Neither are that great in this game and they don’t evolve until level 40. You’ll have to revive the fossil in Rustboro City before getting to use them in battle.

Route 112

Wild Pokemon - Marill (Water), Numel (Fire, Ground)

Numel is one of the best Fire types in the game. It only has two weaknesses and hits surprisingly hard. It gets really powerful attacks so definitely look into this one if you need a fire type on your team.

Fiery Path

Wild Pokemon - Numel (Fire, Ground), Slugma (Fire, Rock), Torkoal (Fire), Machop (Fighting), Koffing (Poison), Grimer (Poison)

Slugma is bad. It evolves super late and has no good stats. Torkoal is slightly better as it’s a lot more defensive but it lacks the firepower that Numel has (no pun intended). Machop is a pure fighting type that, like Abra, requires a trade to obtain his final evolution. If you’re unable to trade your Machop then Makuhita is a better choice. Machop’s final evolution outshines Makuhita’s evolution so if you know you can trade it, it’s worth it. Koffing and Grimer are both Poison types, with Koffing focusing more on physical defense and Grimer focusing more on special defence. Koffing trades its lower HP and Attack stat for an ability that grants it only one weakness (Psychic) instead of the two (Psychic, Ground) that Grimer has. Both are equally good so use the one that fits best on your team.

Route 113

Wild Pokemon - Slugma (Fire, Rock), Spinda (Normal), Skarmory (Steel, Flying)

Spinda is bad. It has low stats and a poor typing. Skarmory however is a really good flying type. The steel type takes away almost all of flying’s weaknesses, giving it only a weakness to Fire and Electric. It’s got a lot of defense and its own unique move Steel Wing.

Fallarbor Town

There are no Pokemon available here!

Route 114

Wild Pokemon - Lotad (Water, Grass), Lombre (Water, Grass), Nuzleaf (Grass, Dark), Seviper (Poison), Swablu (Normal/Dragon, Flying)

Seviper is an offensive Poison type, but it’s frail so you’ll be better off with either Koffing or Grimer from Fiery Path. Swablu is really hard to train up due to its poor stats, and its final evolution, despite being a Dragon type, isn’t all that powerful. I wouldn’t recommend it.

Rock Smash - Geodude (Rock, Ground)

Surfing - Marill (Water), Goldeen (Water)

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Barboach (Water, Ground) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Meteor Falls

Wild Pokemon - Zubat (Poison, Flying), Solrock (Rock, Psychic), Lunatone (Rock, Psychic), Golbat (Poison, Flying), Bagon (Dragon, Flying)

Solrock and Lunatone are both mediocre. They both have a lot of weaknesses and don’t hit hard enough to make up for them. There are better Rock and Psychic types out there, pass. Bagon can only be found at the very end of this cave and requires the HM waterfall to obtain, which you only get after the 8th badge. It’s one of the strongest Pokemon in the game but to fully evolve him you’ll have to level him to 50. You likely won’t get to use him at his full potential until the very end of the game.

Surfing - Zubat (Poison, Flying), Solrock (Rock, Psychic), Lunatone (Rock, Psychic), Golbat (Poison, Flying)

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Barboach (Water, Ground) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Whiscash (Water, Ground) (Super Rod)

Route 115 (easily the most forgettable route in the game )

Wild Pokemon - Taillow (Normal, Flying), Swellow (Normal, Flying), Swablu (Normal/Dragon, Flying), Wingull (Water, Flying), Jigglypuff (Normal)

Many people forget that Jigglypuff is obtainable in Hoenn. Probably because it’s not that great in battle haha. It gets some of the best Normal type attacks (Body Slam, Hyper Voice) but without a good Attack stat they won’t do much damage. Pass.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Mt. Chimney

There are no Pokemon available here!

Jagged Pass

Wild Pokemon - Numel (Fire, Ground), Machop (Fighting), Spoink (Psychic)

Spoink is one of my favorite gen 3 pokemon haha, but sadly it’s not as good in battle as some other Psychic types (Gardevoir, Alakazam, etc.). Unless you’re a Spoink fan like myself, pass on this one.

Lavaridge Town

Gift Pokemon - Wynaut (Psychic)

Wynaut quite literally is a punching bag. It relies on its massive HP to score big hits with Counter and Mirror Coat. It can only do damage when predicting correctly and it will use up a lot of healing items, I’d pass on this one unless you want a challenge.

Route 105

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Route 108

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Abandoned Ship

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Tentacruel (Water, Poison)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod, Super Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Tentacruel (Water, Poison) (Super Rod)

New Mauville

Wild Pokemon - Voltorb (Electric), Electrode (Electric), Magnemite (Electric, Steel), Magneton (Electric, Steel)

Voltorb/Electrode are weak electric types. Aside from their speed there is no reason to use them over Magnemite/Magneton. The latter have much more offensive and defensive capabilities, with a stronger moveset as well. Worth picking them up, especially with all the water routes in Hoenn.

Route 118

Wild Pokemon - Wingull (Water, Flying), Zigzagoon (Normal), Linoone (Normal), Electrike (Electric), Manectric (Electric), Kecleon (Normal/ …)

If you’re lucky then this is your first encounter with Kecleon. It’s unique in that it can change its typing, but only after getting hit by an attack. This could either work for you or against you depending on the opponent. It’s fairly bulky but it doesn’t deal a lot of damage so I wouldn’t recommend using one.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Carvanha (Water, Dark) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Sharpedo (Water, Dark) (Super Rod)

Route 119

Wild Pokemon - Zigzagoon (Normal), Linoone (Normal), Oddish (Grass, Poison), Kecleon (Normal/ ...), Tropius (Grass, Flying)

Tropius is the boss of this route, and it’s quite a letdown. It has a poor movepool and mediocre stats, not worth your time.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Carvanha (Water, Dark) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Feebas (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod, Super Rod)

I lied, Feebas is the real boss of this route. And unlike Tropius, it’s amazing. You can only fish it up in 6 pre-generated spots in the water, so if you’re unlucky you can be here for a while looking for it. It has such a weird evolution method that you could probably write a guide on that alone. It’s a water type that focuses mainly on being a tank, but it deals a lot of damage with its high Special Attack stat. If you somehow don’t have a good water type by this point in the game, definitely consider it.

Fortree City

Trade - Plusle (Electric)

In one of the houses someone will trade you their Plusle for your Volbeat. Since Plusle is quite a rare encounter on the route it’s in, it might be worth it to fill your Pokedex.

Route 120

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Mightyena (Dark), Marill (Water), Oddish (Grass, Poison), Seedot (Grass, Dark), Kecleon (Normal/ …), Absol (Dark)

Absol is this route’s boss. It’s a Dark type that hits fairly hard but that’s about it. It’s not terrible but there are so many better Dark types out there. Not recommended unless you’re emo.

Surfing - Marill (Water), Goldeen (Water)

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Barboach (Water, Ground) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Route 121

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Mightyena (Dark), Oddish (Grass, Poison), Gloom (Grass, Poison), Kecleon (Normal/ …), Wingull (Water, Flying), Shuppet (Ghost)

Shuppet is the third Ghost type we come across. It’s not that powerful so I wouldn’t recommend it.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Route 122

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Mt. Pyre

Wild Pokemon - Shuppet (Ghost), Duskull (Ghost), Wingull (Water, Flying), Vulpix (Fire), Chimecho (Psychic)

Duskull is a tanky Ghost type. It gets moves like Will-o-Wisp to cripple its opponents instead or relying on killpower alone. Not a bad addition to your team. Vulpix is a Fire type with mediocre stats. It gets Flamethrower really early so it might be worth adding to your team if you don’t have a good fire type at this point. Keep in mind that it evolves with a Fire Stone, and once it evolves it won’t learn any new moves. Lastly, Chimecho is a forgotten Psychic type that sadly gets outclassed by Gardevoir in almost every aspect. Pass on this one.

Route 123

Wild Pokemon - Poochyena (Dark), Mightyena (Dark), Oddish (Grass, Poison), Gloom (Grass, Poison), Kecleon (Normal/ …), Wingull (Water, Flying), Shuppet (Ghost)

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Lilycove City

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Staryu (Water, Psychic) (Super Rod)

Staryu can be obtained in this city, and it’s a fairly decent Water type with a lot of good coverage moves (it learns Thunderbolt for some reason!). Worth it if you’re still missing out on a Water type.

Team Magma Hideout

Wild Pokemon - Torkoal (Fire), Geodude (Rock, Ground), Graveler (Rock, Ground)

Team Aqua Hideout

Wild Pokemon - Electrode (Electric)

Route 124

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Diving - Clamperl (Water), Chinchou (Water, Electric), Relicanth (Water, Rock)

This is the first route where you can Dive down to encounter Pokemon. Clamperl is a pure Water type that has two potential evolutions, Huntail or Gorebyss. They’re both not that great in battle so I don’t recommend using them. Chinchou has a unique typing and is really bulky, so if you still need a good Electric type I would recommend using it. Lastly, Relicanth is bad in battle but like Wailmer, you’ll need to catch one if you want some of the legendary Pokemon in this game.

Mossdeep City

Gift Pokemon - Beldum (Steel, Psychic)

In one of the houses Steven will give you this Pokemon after you’ve beaten the elite four. It has a fantastic typing and is arguably the strongest non-legendary Pokemon in the game. For a Pokemon of its kind, it evolves really early as well. Really recommend using one.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Route 125

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Shoal Cave

Wild Pokemon - Zubat (Poison, Flying), Golbat (Poison, Flying), Snorunt (Ice), Spheal (Ice, Water)

Here you will find the first Ice types of this game. Snorunt is bad overall, don’t use it if you want to be successful. Spheal however is a great addition to your team as its boosted Ice attacks will do a lot of damage to one of the strongest types in the game - Dragon.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Zubat (Poison, Flying), Spheal (Ice, Water)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Route 126

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Diving - Clamperl (Water), Chinchou (Water, Electric), Relicanth (Water, Rock)

Route 127

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Route 128

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Luvdisc (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Corsola (Super Rod)

Luvdisc is one of the weakest Pokemon in the game. You should catch as many of them as you can. Why? It is the only reliable way of farming the Heart Scale item that it holds. Heart Scales allow you to use the Move Relearner in Fallarbor Town to re-teach your pokemon some moves or even get new secret moves. As for Corsola, please don’t bother with it, it’s almost as useless in battle as Luvdisc.

Seafloor Cavern

Wild Pokemon - Zubat (Poison, Flying), Golbat (Poison, Flying)

Surfing - Zubat (Poison, Flying), Golbat (Poison, Flying), Tentacool (Water, Poison)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod)

Route 129

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), Pelipper (Water, Flying), and Wailord (Water)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Route 130

Wild Pokemon - Wynaut (Psychic)

The chance of this island spawning are so rare that you should forget you ever read this.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Route 131

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Sky Pillar

Wild Pokemon - Golbat (Poison, Flying), Claydol (Ground, Psychic), Sableye (Dark, Ghost), Banette (Ghost), Altaria (Dragon, Flying), Rayquaza (Dragon, Flying)

Rayquaza is the main legendary Pokemon of this game, and can be found at the top of the tower after the events in Sootopolis City. Please beware that it’s level 70 upon entering battle.

Pacifidlog Town

Trade - Horsea (Water, Dragon)

An NPC will trade you their Horsea for your Bagon. It’s not a worthy trade since you’ll need to trade again to get Horsea’s final evolution.

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Sharpedo (Super Rod)

Route 132

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Sharpedo (Super Rod), and Horsea (Water, Dragon) (Super Rod)

Horsea will eventually become a Water/Dragon type and is really useful in battle. You’ll need to trade it to get its final evolution so only use one if you know you can trade it.

Route 133

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Sharpedo (Super Rod), and Horsea (Water, Dragon) (Super Rod)

Route 134

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Sharpedo (Super Rod), and Horsea (Water, Dragon) (Super Rod)

Sootopolis City

Surfing - Magikarp (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod, Super Rod), Gyarados (Super Rod)

Cave of Origin

Wild Pokemon - Zubat (Poison, Flying), Golbat (Poison, Flying), Sableye (Dark, Ghost)

Ever Grande City

Surfing - Tentacool (Water, Poison), Wingull (Water, Flying), and Pelipper (Water, Flying)

Fishing - Tentacool (Water, Poison) (Old Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Wailmer (Water) (Good Rod, Super Rod), Luvdisc (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Corsola (Super Rod)

Victory Road

Wild Pokemon - Whismur (Normal), Loudred (Normal), Zubat (Poison, Flying), Golbat (Poison, Flying), Aron (Steel, Rock), Lairon (Steel, Rock), Makuhita (Fighting), Hariyama (Fighting), Mawile (Steel), Sableye (Dark, Ghost)

The only new Pokemon in here is Mawile. It’s the counterpart to Sableye and it must be one of the weakest Steel types in existence. Hard pass.

Rock Smash - Geodude (Rock, Ground), Graveler (Rock, Ground)

Surfing - Golbat (Poison, Flying)

Fishing - Goldeen (Water) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Magikarp (Water, Flying) (Old Rod, Good Rod), Barboach (Water, Ground) (Good Rod, Super Rod), and Whiscash (Water, Ground) (Super Rod)

Desert Underpass

Wild Pokemon - Whismur (Normal), Loudred (Normal), and Ditto (Normal)

Gift Pokemon - Lileep (Rock, Grass) or Anorith (Rock, Bug)

This cave is located to the West of Fallarbor Town. In here you can catch Ditto, which is useful because Ditto allows you to breed any Pokemon, regardless of gender or egg group. You’ll also find the fossil that you didn’t choose in Mirage Tower. Go to Rustboro City to revive it!

Battle Frontier

Trade - Meowth (Normal)

In the house next to the Battle Tower is an NPC who will trade you their Meowth for your Skitty. This might be the only trade in the game that is 100% in your favor so make use of it!

Wild Pokemon - Sudowoodo (Rock)

Sudowoodo can be fought by using the Wailmer Pail on it. It will be level 40 and you will only have one chance of catching it so make use of it! It’s not that great in battle and a pure Rock type is nothing to write home about. But it’s rare so I do recommend you catch it.

Artisan Cave

Wild Pokemon - Smeargle (Normal)

This is the last place on my list. And in it you can find Smeargle. It’s not good. No good stats, no good nothing. The fact that you can choose its moves doesn’t mean anything if the Pokemon is bad. Catch one to get it over with and you’re done!

Hope this was helpful to some! Feedback is always appreciated!