Pokémon Destiny - 

With the Bicycle now firmly in your inventory, you can head south from Eternia and onto Route 206 via Bicycle Road. Biking is the only way to traverse this place, and as you speed along, you'll be forced to battle various bikers -- eight cyclist-trainers in all, in fact -- in order to procee easily. The eight cyclists on the road will provide you with very little trouble. Since they are all titled "Cyclist" you can simply look at the chart above and see what Pokemon they'll throw at you. Interestingly, you'll run into two separate cyclist-trainers wielding Pikachus, the enduring icon of the Pokemon franchise. Since this is your first time encountering said Pokemon, you'll be happy to know that it will be added to your Pokedex once the first battle ends.

Once at the south end of the route, you can go into the building you find. Talk to the people there -- one will give you a Flag for your bike to add to your inventory (more on these later). Before continuing southward, however, look to your right. You'll see some saplings blocking a pathway to the area below the route above. In fact, to continue along with our walkthrough, you'll need to have very specific Pokemon with you. Cut, Flash and Rock Smash are all necessary here, so have the Pokemon with you that have those skills (Cut and Flash we have on our Kricketune, while our Onix has Rock Smash). Use Cut to get through the saplings and then work your way northward underneath the road above.

There's only one trainer down here, Hiker Theodore, who's packing two powerful Onix. Otherwise, there's items to be found. On your right after cutting through the saplings, there's an obscured item on your right behind another sapling. Cut through the sapling to grab the PP Up that sits there. Then, go forward and left, directly under the overpass, where in a gap you will find a Burn Heal. Further left and north from there, you can find a couple of berry bushes, where two Rawst Berries can be found (in fact, two Razz Berries can also be found to the left of the bike route exit before cutting down the saplings). Due right from there is a Super Repel. And finally, after you defeat Hiker Theodore, go forward and to the left, where the final item in the area, the Poison Barb, can be found.

We're not yet done here. In the northeast corner of this area below the actual route, you may have noticed a cave entrance. This will be our destination before long, but first, we want to direct you to a secret second entrance into the Wayward Cave, where more items can be garnered that you'd otherwise miss entirely. Head to the northeast entrance, but don't go in. Instead, head slightly to the south until you're able to bear westward underneath the bicycle bridge above. On the left side of the overpass, begin pressing northward. While you won't see your character, you'll be able to press into a secret alternate entrance into the cave.

To reach Mt. Coronet, you must head south of the bike route leading away from Eterna City. This will lead to the northern end of Route 207, a place we already explored. It's easy enough to get through without fighting any of the admittedly-weak Pokemon in the area, since you can head to the route and then swing eastward without running into any tall grass (you will run into Camper Anthony and Picnicker Lauren in tandem, as well as Hiker Justin en route, however, so be ready for a pair of trainer battle). Since the only engagement-inducing geography in the area, grass, is located in an area you should have already explored much earlier in the game (if you're following this guide), you can simply swing right towards Mt. Coronet in the east.

When you arrive at the entrance to Mt. Coronet, you'll automatically run into Dawn, the professor's assistant. She'll ask you to pick a hand, but don't ponder your choice too much, as it really doesn't matter in the end. She'll hand over both the Vs. Seeker and Dowsing Machine for you to use before leaving you with some encouraging words. However, it's not all fun and games on Route 207. While you can dodge the fray completely and duck into Mt. Coronet immediately, there are some trainers that will want to challenge you in the area to the west and south; naturally, you should embrace their offers and take them all out.

Since you already fought the trainers en route to Mt. Coronet's entrance, there will only be three others to fight. First, head rightward from the previous battle (grabbing a Super Potion en route) and fight Hiker Justin. His level sixteen Geodude and level eighteen Bronzor will stand in your way. When he's defeated, don't go into Mt. Coronet yet. Instead, backtrack until you see a bridge heading south over a chasm. Walk around so you can access that bridge. Take on Youngster Austin and his trio of moderate Pokemon as you walk towards the stairs leading up to the bridge. Then, go up the stairs, head left and fight Hiker Kevin (he has three Geodudes and an Onix). Southward over the bridge, you can find Revive. Then, go back over the bridge and head rightward, to fight Battle Girl Helen and her Meditite/Machop combo.

All slain? Items acquired? Excellent! Now, backtrack and head into the cave. This is Mt. Coronet, and it's easy enough to traverse (that much we promise!) Though there are enemies within, the fighting isn't that fierce, and what's more, you'll only be in the mountain briefly. However, you may want to stick around to fight Pokemon you've yet to catch, such as Clefairy and Nosepass. Nonetheless, when you're walking through, expect to run into a blue-headed person who will talk to you at length before you continue. On the other side, you'll find Route 208. (Also, within the cave, if you want to search the static white-shaded rocks within, you'll find items on two of them -- Energy Powder and Stardust.

This is another area where fighting the local Pokemon (which, mind you, are mostly of the variety you should have already encountered). There are five more trainers in this area that you'll have to fight to continue, but they, like their brethren on Route 207, won't prove to be too difficult for you. Go rightward over the bridge and engage Hiker Robert in battle. His unique Pokemon, Nosepass, shouldn't be too much of an issue for you to combat. Then, head north over another bridge, where Black Belt Kyle and his powerful Machop will take you on. Beyond him (down some stairs to your left), grab an Ether. Then, backtrack to where you battled Hiker Robert.

Proceed over the bridge to the right of Robert, where Hiker Jonathan will be your next foe. He has a level twenty-two Onix, so no fears! Take it to him! Then, go forward and look left. Down some stairs, a Great Ball can be found, but you'll need a Rock Smash-capable Pokemon to access it. After all of that, focus your attention on the right side of the route.

Descend the stairs and go into the grass. This is the only part, albeit brief, where you'll be in mandatory danger of fighting the local Pokemon on either Route 207 or 208. Aroma Lady Hannah, packing a Combee and Roselia, will be on the other end of the grass. Be sure to head south from her location to grab the Odd Keystone from a mysterious character standing there, and then go back north to take care of Artist William and his Mime Jr./Bonsly combo (this is the last trainer in the area).

Naturally, the small house near the east side of the route is a major attraction en route to your next locale. Next to the house, you can grab a plethora of berries -- four Pinap Berries, four Bluk Berries, four Razz Berries, and four Nanab Berries - and they should provide you with a hint as to the importance of the house they grow next to. Inside the building, talk to the little girl and answer her in the affirmative to grab the Berry Searcher. Then, talk to the self-proclaimed Berry Master to receive a random berry (we acquired a Nondew Berry). You can come back and repeat this every couple of game-days. And finally, talk to the woman in the house, who will sell you four different kinds of mulch made of Pokemon poop. Nice!

Hearthome City is the location of the third gym we will come across in the game. Sadly, we won't be able to do battle with the gym leader yet. Instead, we get to explore, somewhat aimlessly, the town, grabbing items and talking to people before ultimately proceeding with our quest. As you head rightward and enter into the town, a girl named Keira will show up, chasing after her fleeing Buneary. She'll thank you for getting in her Pokemon's way and then head back to the Contest Hall, inviting you to come see her.

Thankfully, doing so isn't that much of a challenge. If you go northward into town at the first chance you get, you can talk to a boy waiting there, who will bring you straight to the Contest Hall. When you get there, you will run into Keira, who will oddly enough be with your mother! After some discussion, you'll get Tuxedo from your mother and Glitter Powder from Keira. You can also speak to the gym leader of the town to your right; after you do, she'll go off to the gym to await your challenge. Pursuing anything else in this place is up to you... we'll discuss it in the basics section of the guide, but contests don't pertain to the main game and hence won't be discussed here in the walkthrough.

As far as exploring the rest of the town, start with the orange-roofed house near the east end of town. You can get a Poffin Case within. The house directly to the right of that house will have another item for you to grab. Head inside and take the elevator to the top floor. Talk to the woman, with her Pokemon, at the table, and she'll hand over a Shell Bell Keep exploring other yet-unexplored houses to be rewarded with an Eevee to add to your arsenal of Pokemon.

Believe it or not, there are two trainers that you can battle within the town itself, which is admittedly quite rare. If you head to the Pokemon Center to heal your Pokemon while visiting Hearthome City (which you should), you'll see a cameraman and a reporter. Speak to both of them and accept their challenges to do battle with each of them individually. Reporter Kinsey will be packing a Shinx and Drifloon, both level twenty-two, while her cameraman, Cameraman Tevin, will be packing a Mime Jr. and Machop, both level twenty. Eliminate them both and heal your Pokemon once more in the center you're currently occupying before proceeding.

At the north end of town, there's a patch of land known as Amity Square. This place is only accessible with certain Pokemon being in your party. Out of the Pokemon we've encountered so far, only a few are "cute enough" to participate. We were able to take a walk around the square with our Prinplup, but obviously each player will differ. When you do take a walk, however, you'll find a couple of items. At the south end of the field, TM43 can be found. Due north from there, TM45 can be found. Be sure to grab both before heading back to town, and also be sure to explore the alternate entrance into Amity Square from the northeast end of town, where two more items, an Amulet Coin and a Spooky Plate can be acquired. With those items grabbed, we're now ready to take on Fantina, Hearthome's gym leader extraordinaire.

The gym in this city is unique, as are all of the gyms you encounter around Sinnoh. Since the trainers in this gym use ghost-type Pokemon almost exclusively, the motif makes sense. The motif in question is a dark, mysterious, dreary and confusing gym that requires some minor puzzle-solving to successfully navigate. After pressing through the front door, you'll run into the gym's host. The yellow transporter to your right should be ignored, since it leads to a side of the room where the gym leader is that you can't yet access. Instead, wielding your flashlight, head through the next door into the first dark room, where some trainers will be encountered.

There are six trainers total in two rooms you encounter. To get between the rooms, you need to find the seemingly-ever-roving door that will successfully lead to the room above. If you choose the wrong door, you'll be transported back to the entrance to the gym. If this happens, simply re-traverse already-tread areas and try a different door. You can see the list of trainers on this page that you will list (all of them except the Reporter and Cameraman, who you met at the Pokemon Center). Be prepared to battle Ghost-types, preferably with Dark attacks (our Luxio came in handy here as a result).

Gym Leader Fantina, when you finally get to her, will provide you with a considerable challenge. Her three Ghost-type Pokemon are powerhouses, especially the level twenty-six Mismagius she comes at you with. Chances are, she'll heal this Pokemon twice, first with a Sitrus Berry and then with a Super Potion, so you're going to have to break out some of your own healing items to survive this battle, especially if you only have one Pokemon in your party that can inflict Dark damage. When she's defeated, she'll surrender the Relic Badge and TM65, which you will no doubt find very useful when you subsequently leave Hearthome City.

With the Relic Badge acquired, you can now leave Hearthome City. Just be sure to visit the Pokemon Center to heal your Pokemon! Our goal is to reach the entrance to Route 209, which is at the southeast corner of the city (we still can't traverse Route 212, leading southward from the southwest section of the city). When you reach the entrance to Route 209, you'll run into your friend from your hometown, who will challenge you to a battle. His lineup will vary depending on which Pokemon you chose at the beginning of the game. We chose Piplup, so we fought his Staravia, Buizel, Grotle and Ponyta. Your experience with him might change if you chose a different Pokemon, but you should still have no issue defeating him. If you got through Hearthome City's gym, he's actually less of a challenge, with weaker Pokemon.

Route 209 itself is fairly easy to traverse, and we must do just that if we're to reach the town on the other side, Solaceon Town. Start by heading to your right and shooting north through the grass. In the northeast corner of the grass, a Great Ball can be found. Then, go back to the south end of the grass and continue rightward (you'll run into the first hostile trainer on the route as you do, Pokemon Breeder Albert). Head along the pier you encounter and talk to the boy at the far end in order to get the Good Rod (simply answer the question he asks in the affirmative). You can now catch a more versatile group of water-based Pokemon when you fish; you can start in this area by capturing a Goldeen in the water. Just be prepared to catch a lot of Magikarp with this rod, still!

Once over the first bridge, head north over another bridge, left over yet another bridge, and hit up the bushes of berries you find there (in our game, we found a Leppa Berry and a Chesto Berry). Back at the vertical bridge, continue rightward, do battle with Twins Emma and Lil (they'll come at you with a Bonsly and Mime Jr.), and then talk to the girl at the far end of another pier to do battle with Poke Kid Danielle (she has a lone Pokemon to battle you with -- a well-leveled Pichu).

Continuing rightward, another trainer will be encountered, and she'll want to fight you as well. Pokemon Breeder Jennifer has three varied Pokemon, but it's what's to her right that's truly interesting. You should have an item called the Odd Keystone in your inventory -- examine the rock formation you see here and place it there when prompted to do so. This is a necessary move to ultimately proceed, so make sure to do that now. Then, go northward and examine some more berry bushes -- if you're game is at all like ours, two Razz Berries will be all yours.

Before continuing northward, head leftward and towards a staircase leading into a small dirt pit. You can find a Hyper Potion here. Stay on the west end of the route, continue north, and you'll run into more items, including an Ether and some Calcium, though you'll need you Bicycle to access all of these goods. From here, it's now a straight shot northward towards Solaceon Town. Unfortunately, you'll have to do battle with several trainers en route (but there are also some items to find as well). Cowgirl Shelley, the first trainer you'll encounter when you swing northward, will come at you with a lone Ponyta. Running around north of her will be Young Couple Ty and Sue, who have two powerful Pokemon, a Buizel and a Buneary. If you have a Pokemon in your party that can use Cut, you can grab TM47 on the east side of the route on the north end, nearly the newly-emerged tower. If you don't have a Pokemon who can use Cut right now, no worries; you can return later and take care of business at your leisure.

The Lost Tower, the tower you forced to emerge with your use of the Odd Keystone, is our next goal. But first, we recommend you go to Solaceon Town at the north end of Route 209. This will allow you to visit the town's Pokemon Center, so that you can heal your Pokemon. You should also walk around, explore and speak to everyone you meet. Near the entrance to town, you'll find a Figy Berry, two Nanab Berries and a Persim Berry. You'll also find a man running around the entrance of the town, who, once spoken to, will give you a new Poketch application called Pokemon History.

Solaceon Town's primary draw for visitors is its world-renowned Pokemon Day Care Center, a place where you can leave your Pokemon to be raised by surrogates. This place is located on the west end of the town, and you can leave up to two Pokemon with the couple there at any time. Be sure to take advantage of this service, since it's free and will result in slow-but-steady leveling and strengthening of the Pokemon left in their care. Also, be sure to leave the day care and immediately go back in. You'll find a man within that wasn't there earlier. Speak with him and he'll hand over another Poketch application, this one called Day-Care Checker.

Now, let's wrap up our preliminary activities in Solaceon Town. After speaking with everyone on the west end of town and talking to everyone you find, head to the north end of town and bear eastward. As you crawl along the north end of town, you'll be able to head back to the south at multiple locations, which will allow you to explore a series of houses on the hills that are otherwise inaccessible. Be sure to go down the cliffs in different ways so that you can visit all of the houses, and even find a lone item floating around, PP Up. This will require you to circle around to the north end of town multiple times, but it's worth it. Be absolutely certain you find the home with a mother and child, where you can earn a Seal Case and learn about seals, items that can be used on occupied Poke Balls.

At the north end of Route 209, you'll find the Lost Tower. If you're following our walkthrough, you would have put the Odd Keystone in the appropriate place during the last segment of the walkthrough. This will make this tower appear. Head on into the tower; it provides a surprisingly simplistic climb which you should undertake right away. Enter and go directly to the second floor via the staircase you encounter. On the second floor, you can do battle with a trainer, Youngster Oliver with his three varying-level Pokemon, and grab the Oval Stone above him. On the third floor, Roughneck Kirby and his level twenty-three Cleffa is all that's standing in between you and a Revive for your inventory (Pokefan Leonard will also want to do battle here, but he's not in the way of your item).

The fourth floor is the only floor where things get a little hairy. You'll be thrust into three trainer battles here; two of them will be double battles. Pokefan Rebecca has a level twenty-three Bonsly, but Belle & Pa and Young Couple Mike & Nat should be of true concern. Between the four, you'll battle a pair of Ponytas, a Murkrow and a Misdreavus, all at level nineteen. However, exploration of the floor will also net you another new technical machine in the form of TM27 on the left side of the room.

When you get to the fifth floor of the tower, the highest floor there is, you'll find a pair of elderly women. These women will be in despair about the fog covering the upper reaches of the tower, which you no doubt noticed by now make things difficult to see, but even more important, greatly reduces your accuracy during battles. However, there's nothing you can do for them yet. You'll need an HM, which we will now go get. Remember the ruins we mentioned in the last section of the walkthrough, located at the eastern end of Solaceon Town? That's where we'll be headed now.

Access the ruins the same way you accessed the houses on the cliffs on the eastern edge of tgown -- go to the north end of town, swing rightward, and voila, you'll find the cave entrance. The cave is somewhat laid out like a maze. It's easier to get out than get in because the upward-leading stairs are a dead giveaway when you're trying to get out. Getting in is a little more complicated, however. You're not in danger of getting lost, but if you follow our directions, you'll save yourself a lot of heartache. Oh, and don't expect to fight a variety of Pokemon here... only one kind exists -- Unown.

On the first floor, head down the stairs in the northeast corner. On the second floor, talk to the man you encounter and then access the third floor via the staircase in the southwest corner. On this floor, you'll encounter the only trainer in the ruins. Ruin Maniac Karl will have two Geodudes (of levels nineteen and twenty-one) as well as a level twenty-one Bronzor. To get to the fourth floor after your battle, use the stairs in the northeast corner. Then, use the northwest corner staircase you encounter to get to the sixth floor. Proceed to another staircase on the southwest end of this room to reach the location you've been searching for. It's here that you will encounter four items -- a Nugget, a Mind Plate, some Odd Incense and, most importantly, HM05. The HM will allow you to use Defog.

With these items in your inventory, you can then backtrack back to town. Now that you have HM05, and thus the power to use Defog, you can travel back to the Lost Tower south of Solaceon Town. Climb the tower like you did earlier (though now, you'll have no trainers to deal with). When you reach the topmost floor, speak to the pair of old women once more, but only after you use Defog on the top floor to lift the foggy veil. Talking to each woman individually once the fog has disappeared will net you a pair of items -- a Cleanse Tag and a Spell Tag. Nice!

Exploring Route 210, which is located to the north of Solaceon Town, is going to be a limited affair for the time being. While Route 210 is one of the most extensive routes in the entire game, we'll only get to explore the extreme southern end of it right now. In case you're unaware of what's blocking your path northward, well... you'll find out soon enough.

Head northward and look to your right. You'll see some berry bushes there -- for our particular game, we acquired two Aspear Berries, a Razz Berry and a Pinap Berry here. Then, direct your attention to the middle part of the path, and to the area to your left. You'll see pathways where the Bicycle must be used to continue. Go into the tall grasses to your left and use your bike there first. This will bring you across Rancher Marco (who has a level twenty-four Ponyta) and Twins Teri & Tia (with a Pikachu and Clefairy, both level twenty-one), but it's what's beyond them that's important. You'll find a Super Repel being guarded by Pokemon Breeder Kahlil and his Elekid-Happiny duo. After grabbing it, backtrack to the bike path in the middle of the route leading north.

After using your Bicycle to get over this primary bike ramp, head to your right on the thin rectangular platform you find yourself on and go down the staircase. This will lead you to a woman who, when you talk to her, will hand over a new technical machine, TM51. After grabbing that, take the staircase on your left and proceed northward. Another combination of Pokemon trainers, Belle & Pa Eva & Matt will intercept you an come at you with their Ponyta and Rapidash, both at level twenty-four.

Beyond their location, there's little else to do. After defeating Pokemon Breeder Amber and her Magpy and Togepi of varying levels, you can try to proceed north through the rest of Route 210. This is where you'll run into some Psyducks who are in the way of your path northward, and can't seem to be moved. Don't worry, this is an in-game obstacle that we will remove later. In the meantime, explore the house to the right of the blocked pathway. It's in here that you can purchase the unique healing item called Moomoo Milk, and you can also do battle with three more fairly powerful trainers here as well. Waitress Kati is toting only one Pokemon, a level twenty-five Clefairy. Collector Edwin and Collector Fernando aren't quite as easy, however. Edwin has a level twenty-five Munchlax, while Fernando has a level twenty-five Heracross. Both of these Pokemon are unique and almost certainly haven't been encountered yet, so be sure to fight both collectors before proceeding.

Route 210 has some interesting Pokemon to catch, including Scythers and Noctowls. So if you're interested in these (or any other) Pokemon on this route, take your time and catch them before proceeding. To proceed, you can swing right at the top of Route 210 (as far as you can go along it for now, anyway), which will lead seamlessly to Route 215. You'll instantly be struck with torrential downpours when you enter the route, but this is all part of the fun in this area. The rain makes water-based attacks stronger, but don't ignore the negative impact of such a downpour either (such as its affect on fire).

Head rightward here, and go up the staircase you encounter. Take the bridge leftward to another staircase that leads back down to the grass below. It's here that you will run into Ruin Maniac Calvin and his Bronzor-Shieldon combo. When he's slain, head beyond him to grab a Super Repel for your inventory, and then proceed with the pathway heading in, generally, a rightward direction. Talk to the next man you encounter (on the mountainous path) and he'll automatically hand over TM66 (be sure to grab the Max Ether the running man is running around en route). Then, go north along the bridge, west along the adjoining bridge, and then down once again to a new grassy area below.

Go under the horizontal bridge you just crossed over and fight Black Belt Derek with his level twenty-five Croagunk and Black Belt Gregory in the tall grasses underneath. His trio of Machop shouldn't prove to be too much of a hassle for you to take out; if you have a Pokemon with the Cut skill in your "current six" Pokemon, you can continue rightward by cutting through a sapling and grabbing the Fist Plate there. Then backtrack under the bridges and proceed further to your right.

Head up the next staircase you encounter. The bridge affixed to the stairs lead southward to a dead end, but a Hyper Potion can be found, and this is an item you'll certainly want to grab before proceeding eastward. Under the bridge to another dead end, you can find two Pecha Berries and two Bluk Berries; otherwise, descend the stairs on the north end of the high platform and proceed to your east (as is the common theme here). Black Belt Nathaniel will be your next enemy -- Cut can again be used to access TM34 in an alcove created by surrounding trees, and a Full Heal can be found tucked in another corner (Cut, however, isn't needed to acquire the latter). Finally, as you approach Veilstone City to the east, your final competition in Ace Trainer Maya and Ace Trainer Dennis are all that stands in the way of you and temporary, town-found safety. Take out their Pokemon (expect this to be a long and difficult fight), and then go east into Veilstone City. Be sure to grab the HP Up, Wiki Berry and Mako Berry en route!

If you've been anxiously wondering when you'd acquire your fourth badge (and chances are, you've been wondering just that), well, Veilstone City is the place we're going to do that. After some initial exploration and item gathering, in fact, we'll get on acquiring your Cobble Badge so we can move on. Though the game has been fairly badly paced up to this point, we promise things get more normalized and, for all of those badge hunters out there, more exciting from here on out.

Start by working your way all the way into the southwest corner of town. This is the junction by which the Veilstone City Gym can be found, but we don't want to go there yet. Instead, for now, just talk to the bald man you find near the staircase there to grab TM63. The buildings to the east of the gym are interesting, as well. Pokemon can get massages (and hence increase their like of you) at one building, while in the other, talking to the house's occupants will net you a Coin Case for your inventory.

The Coin Case isn't just an unnecessary item in the greater scheme of things. The two buildings lining the south end of the city, which make up the Game Corner, are where players can play some minigames and trade in coins won (which are held in your Coin Case) for various prizes. Naturally, this isn't a mandatory part of the game, but it is a pleasant distraction. Definitely check it out and waste some time, but don't get too carried away -- coins necessary to play games and win prizes cost money. Nothing is free these days!

There are several other buildings in town (such as a Team Galactic warehouse, as well as another HQ for the evil organization), but none can yet be accessed. Instead, the only other building you should set your sights on (other than the Pokemon Center, where you should heal your Pokemon and battle the duo found there) is the department store near the north end of town. This five story building has, quite literally, everything you need, from your run-of-the-mill healing items and Poke Balls to more exotic, even abstract items. You've probably avoided spending much money on just about anything up to this point (except, perhaps, Poke Balls), but feel free to spend money here. This is exactly the kind of place you've been saving up for the entire game. And if you talk to everyone within, you'll acquire a few items as well, including a Chimchar Mask, a Poketch application called Counter, and a Sticky Barb.

Before we head towards the town's gym, so we can earn our fourth badge, there are a few more items we should find. In the northwest corner of the town, near the Galactic building, you should be able to find a Star Piece. At the northeast corner of the city, near the entrance to the enemy facility, you can find a Rare Candy. And be absolutely sure you find the man giving away a free Porygon in town, since you can add this free Pokemon to your stash of residuals.

When you're ready for a gym battle, and when you're ready to acquire your third badge, head to the gym. The makeup of our party heading into this fight was Machoke, Luxray, Staravia, Onix, Prinplup, and Kricketune -- essentially, a well-balanced team made up of well-known, familiar, early-game Pokemon that we've managed to strengthen. Make up your team and then save your game, as always, before trying your luck at the gym.

Once inside the gym, you'll notice that four henchmen stand in between you and the gym leader. Of course, this is preferred since they will provide more exercises that will gain your Pokemon experience. All are "Black Belts" and all come at you with relatively identical Pokemon -- Machokes, Machops, and Meditites. When they are taken care of, you can then head through the pseudo-maze of obstructions (by heading on the right and left side of the room and pushing the corresponding obstructions in and out of the way so that a path through the middle is ultimately made). It is at the north end of the room that Gym Leader Maylene can be found. Her trio of Pokemon, a level twenty-eight Meditite, a level twenty-nine Machoke, and a level thirty-two Lucario are a significant challenge (especially the later, all-new Pokemon). We recommend sticking with Psychic and Flying attacks (so, for instance, our Staravia used Wing Attack), as this will provide you with your best shot at winning. When Maylene's Pokemon are knocked out, the Cobble Badge is all yours. So too is TM60.