- Mauville City looks veeeery different from the previous incarnations of the Hoenn games. After a quick cut scene with Wally you’ll be free to roam the area. We’ll start by heading left; check behind the first map you see to find a hidden X Speed, beside a bike rack.

- Continue west to find a line of stores. The first is the Crooner’s Cafe. A Move Tutor in here wants to teach a special move to either Keldeo or Meloetta, two pokemon you almost certainly will not have. (Legendaries, yo.) Speak to the woman behind the counter for TM48, Round. 

- Next up is a closed store. The man out front will give you Treecko, Torchic, and Mudkip Dolls. The passage to the west of here leads to Route 117, which we’ll explore in another article.

-  A short ways north and to your right is a Ribbon store. These things are expensive, and not very useful to you right now. To the left is a store showcasing mirrors, as well as references to some legendaries. Maybe later…?

- Next in the row is a store for trading Poke Miles, aka a measure of the distance you’ve travelled so far in the game. You probably won’t have enough Poke Miles to buy anything worthwhile yet, and if you ever do buy anything, make sure it’s something you can’t otherwise get in a store (so, like, Rare Candies and PP Ups).

Wally begs his uncle to let him take the Mauville Gym Challenge, shortly before battling May. He loses so badly.
Wally begs his uncle to let him take the Mauville Gym Challenge,
shortly before battling May. He loses so badly.
- The final stall on this side of Mauville deals in Reflexology, or massages. Hand a pokemon over for a massage and they’ll be friendlier towards your trainer, which can help for increasing certain attacks or evolving certain pokemon. You can get one massage per day.

- Take a right at the end of the corridor. You’ll find the local Pokemon Gym, and Wally’s standing out front. He’ll challenge you to a battle, and you’ll have to fight him before you can enter the Gym. Defeating him will also earn you HM06, Rock Smash, from Wally’s uncle. You’ll need this to proceed further north.

Pokemon Trainer Wally
  • Ralts, level 17
Reward: $680, HM06

Piece of cake, even if your pokemon are weak to psychic. Physical attacks (especially dark-type) will decimate the Ralts.

- Continue with the tour before entering the Gym by heading east. Ignore the northern path and you’ll come to TV Hoenn, a TV station. This is where BuzzNav reports are produced. You can sit in the anchor’s chair for a bit of fun.

- Head all the way east, until the path turns you back south. The first store on your left allows you to partake in Battle Tests. You’ll also receive a Vs. Recorder for recording your matches as soon as you enter the store.

- Next up is the Inverse Battle Shop. Here you can battle with all pokemon types reversed. Where water-type moves would be super effective against fire-type pokemon, for example, they’re not effective at all - and fire-type moves are super effective against water-type pokemon. It’s a weird switcheroo that can earn you points for prizes if you manage to wrap your head around the changes.

Mauville City's inner courtyard.
- Down the path and on your left, next to the path out to Route 118, you’ll find Rydel’s Cycles. Rydel will offer to lend you one of two bikes: either a Mach Bike, which allows you to speed up significantly, or an Acro Bike, which runs more slowly but can be used to bounce up narrow paths. Both will allow you to move more quickly than mere walking. You can return to the shop to switch Bikes whenever you like.

- Further down the hall and on your left you’ll find several Move Tutors. The first teaches ultimate moves to the final forms of starter pokemon. Come back here once you’re done evolving. The second teaches Battle Combo moves, which can only be used with pokemon that are extremely friendly with their trainer. The third… well, you met him a while ago in a cafe.

- Round the corner and head east. You’re almost back to the entrance of Mauville. The final store along the way is the Mauville Food Court. Here you can order meals and battle the trainers that show up while you're waiting for your food. You need to survive a set number of rounds to get your meal, during which time you can't reassemble your team or use items outside battle. (Though you do heal between battles.) The faster you complete each battle, the more overall battles you'll have. A decent way to rack up experience, and you'll make the money you spent back pretty quickly. You'll also win items for completing the gauntlet. You can get meals here once per day.

- The last place to check out on the ground floor is the central courtyard. Behind the Square Tower monument is a hidden X Defense. Speak to the man with the backpack here for a Globe, then pop into the Pokemon Center and Poke Mart to pick up the usual healing essentials. An odd man standing in front of the map in the Pokemon Center will give you the Speed Power Lv. 1 O-Power if you agree to his weird statements. You can use O-Powers via the PSS to grant your pokemon overarching bonuses, and you can come back and talk to this guy again to earn more. Speak to the girl in the rear of the Poke Mart and she’ll give you TM58, Sky Drop.

- All done? Not yet. Return to the interior of Mauville and check the corners of the hallways. You’ll find stairs leading up to the roof. In the far north of this area you’ll find a woman who will give you a Poke Toy if pressed enough (northeast corner), and on the opposite side of the roof (northwest corner) is a man who will sell you a Metronome for $1,000. Travel the southern path and some odd man will rush up and give you a Nugget for no reason. Last, you can find a Max Repel hidden beneath the eastern electrical tower and a Luxury Ball beneath the western electrical tower.

- That’s all for Mauville. Yeesh. Which means… you have a Gym to challenge.

Return Trip

- After beating the game (I think you have to beat the game, anyway) you can find Wattson in the courtyard. He'll give you access to Mauville Hills, via the two elevators along the northern corridor of Mauville City, which further allows you to access New Mauville. We'll explore both in this article.

- There are three Bike lovers, spread throughout Hoenn, to whom you can show off Rydel's Bikes. If you display the proper Bikes to all three people, then speak to Rydel, he'll allow you to keep the Mach and Acro Bikes without having to return to him for switching. These people are in the following locations:
  • On Route 111. Put the Mach Bike in your inventory and head to the northern half of the desert on Route 111. Near the exit you'll find a dirt ramp leading up onto the cliffs surrounding the desert. Speak to the Hex Maniac up here to impress her with your machness.
  • On Route 119. Put the Acro Bike in your inventory and look for a spot to Surf to the east of the Weather Institute. Surf north, then use Waterfall to climb, y'know, the waterfall. You'll find a series of rails leading around a central island. You'll find the potential Bike buyer, a Bird Keeper, in the top-left corner of this circuit of rails.
  • At the Battle Resort. Head east from the Pokemon Center, along the beach. There's a dude on a bike out here. He's the last customer.
Part Eleven: Mauville City Gym

Main Walkthrough Page