When you leave New Bark Town, you will encounter Lyra/Ethan. S/he tells you that you can catch wild Pokemon with Pokeballs, then tells you to follow them. They head into the grass and much hopping later, comes back to you and tells you that is how it is done. S/he then asks if they were too fast, and then says that they will try again, taking you along this time. Battle is joined and the demo of how to catch a Pokemon begins.

When catching Pokemon, it is important to get the Pokemon's HP as low as you can or inflict some status on it, like Sleep. Sometimes a hit or two is all it takes. Once its HP is low, choose Items from the battle command, choose Pokeballs and choose what Pokeball you want to use.

They then explain a bit more about the mechanics of catching a Pokemon and then give you 5 Pokeballs and depart. Now, you can catch Pokemon of your own, so take a moment to do so if you want. If not, just fight your way across Route 29, back to Cherrygrove City. While there, take a moment to stop at the Pokemon Center to refresh your Pokemon. You can now trade with other players, put Pokemon into the PC and transfer those in your PC to your Pokewalker. You should also stop by the Poke Mart as they will have been restocked on Pokeballs. Get a few more in addition to whatever Lyra/Ethan gave you. There is another person at the counter now in the Poke Mart. They sell:
Air Mail and Heal Balls.

Mail is a hold item you can give to your Pokemon and trade them to someone else to pass them a message. Heal Balls are a nice thing as they function at the same level of a Pokeball, but when they capture a Pokemon, that Pokemon is fully healed (full HP and removes any status inflicted).

Now that everything is done in Cherrygrove City, head to the north, up Route 30.

Keep to the left hand side and you will find the pair of battling trainers have cleared out. They have instead taken to watching for other trainers to battle. The first one, who lost, thinks you look weak and will challenge you to a battle. This is Youngster Joey who has a Rattata, lvl. 4. It may open with Tail Whip, a move that lowers the defense of your Pokemon. After that, it will attack with Quick Attack or Tackle. It is not a very tough Pokemon, but Quick Attack makes it dangerous to lower level Pokemon. After the battle, he will ask you if you want his number, so he can call you later if he wants to battle you again. Head up from him to reach the next trainer, Youngster Mikey. He opens with a Pidgey, lvl. 2. It has Tackle and that's about it. After that, he will use a Rattata, lvl. 4. It also has Tackle, Quick Attack and Tail Whip. It is not too hard either.

Just past them, you will see a sign offering Trainer Tips, which simply reads “No stealing other people's Pokemon! Pokeballs are to be thrown only at wild Pokemon!” Hang to the left and go upwards beside the ledge. There is a girl just through the next patch of grass who will tell you that whenever you look a trainer in the eyes, you should be ready to battle it. Keep going upwards, the next person up is a trainer, Bug Catcher Don. He opens with a Caterpie, lvl. 3. It has Tackle and String Shot, so nothing too bad. His second Pokemon is a Caterpie, lvl. 3, so exactly the same one. After that, keep going upwards and you will cross over onto Route 31.

Break to the right for a minute then resume your upwards course briefly. You will see someone standing near the entrance to a cave. They will tell you about the Dark Cave, which you need a Pokemon to light up to explore it. Head to the left to see an item ball, which contains a Potion. Keep going to the left. After you go down the stairs, you will see two people and an Apricorn Tree. The Apricorn Tree near the man gives Blk Apricorns. The man will give you a hint about how to catch wild Pokemon as when they are asleep (usually inflicted by moves like Sleep Powder, Spore and Hypnosis) they are easier to catch. The person below is Bug Catcher Wade, who will challenge you to a battle. He starts with a Caterpie, lvl 2. This is much the same with String Shot and Tackle, it is also very weak, so it should not be much of a problem. After that he will use Caterpie, lvl. 2, lvl. 2, or Weedle, lvl. 3 . The Weedle is a little different story, as it has String Shot but also Poison Sting, which can poison your Pokemon. Again, it is not too hard to take down, but try to do before it poisons your Pokemon. Wade will also offer you his phone number in case he finds some berries that he wants to share.

To the right of Wade, just past the grass on the right side is an item ball which has a Pokeball inside. Head to the left from here, as ledges block the way above, and cruise to the left and up when you reach the break in the ledge. After that is a man to the right who will tell you he found a good Pokemon in the Dark Cave, and he will use it against Falkner, who is the leader of Violet City's Gym. Head left into and through the building to reach Violet City.


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