Part 2: Route 19

Main Walkthrough

Welcome to Floccesy Town. Your team likely sustained some damage on Route 19, so heal up at the Pokémon Center near the town entrance. Check the house to the immediate right of the Pokémon Center for an old man with a Potion, then follow Alder to the north end of town.

Alder notices that you have two Town Maps. Tell him what's up and he'll reveal that Hugh is now training on nearby Route 20. You'd best give him his Map before you start on on training with Alder. Head past Alder and walk east to find Route 20.

Route 20 Pokémon

  • Patrat - Common, Tall Grass, All Seasons 
  • Pidove - Common (rare during Summer), Tall Grass, All Seasons
  • Purrloin - Uncommon, Tall Grass, All Seasons
  • Sewaddle - Common, Tall Grass, All Seasons
  • Sunkern - Rare (common during Summer), Tall Grass, All Seasons

When you enter Route 20 and head east you'll see a bridge. Beside it is a girl and a boy. The boy will immediately challenge you to a battle if you cross his line of sight, which is necessary to get across the bridge, so be ready for a battle.

Youngster Terrell

  • Patrat, level 4

Reward: 64 P

If you beat Hugh, there's no reason you can't flatten Terrell. Sweep his Patrat away and continue along the eastern bridge and north, towards the grass. Another trainer here will challenge you.

Lass Isabel

  • Purrloin, level 4

Reward: 64 P

Another easy win. Continue north to find a Parlyz Heal in the tall grass, and just beyond that a third trainer who wants to challenge you.

Youngster Petey

  • Patrat, level 4

Reward: 64 P

Hopefully all your battles won't be so easy. Spend some time in the grass here, levelling up your Pokémon and catching more for your Pokédex. Ultimately your best choices for new recruits are Sewaddle and Pidove, though the choice is, as ever, yours.

Beyond the grass is a Hiker who won't let you continue east without a gym badge, which you'll earn back in Aspertia City. Ignore him for now and check the rocks to the north. The one on the left hides a Poké Ball. Backtrack, then take the bridge to the west. Further west is a cliff you can jump off to reach Floccesy Town - and a Poké Ball, if you're playing during Autumn - and north is your next destination, the aptly-named Floccesy Ranch. Check the thin path stretching west of the Ranch's entrance to find a hidden Potion, then head through the gates.

Return Trip

You'll be returning to Route 20 in the immediate future, and there's even more to explore if you come back during Autumn. Many of the items you can't reach now (such as that item sitting tantalizingly close to the path when you first get onto Route 20) become available when fallen leaves begin to pile up. If you want to make the most of the area, either wait until Autumn (unlikely) or set your Nintendo DS' internal calendar to an Autumn month, such as September or October.

There are several sections of Route 20 that you can only reach with the HM move Surf. We'll explore when we come back to Route 20.

Much later in the game - as in, after you've become the Champion of Unova - you can return to Floccesy Town and find Alder in his school, as before. This time, though, he'll be eager to fight you, and if you agree you'll be facing a fellow Champion.

Pokémon Trainer Alder

  • Accelgor, level 60
  • Escavalier, level 60
  • Bouffalant, level 60
  • Conkeldurr, level 60
  • Braviary, level 60
  • Volcarona, level 62
Reward: 12,400 P

The Champion of Black and White, Alder hasn't lost much steam since he stepped down. His Pokémon are all quite powerful, and can put the hurt on you if your team is underlevelled:
  • Accelgor isn't incredibly strong, but it's very fast. Starting the fight with a Fire- or Flying-type is likely safest, especially if you've sent out something that can outpace the little bug.
  • Escavalier hits hard but is quite slow. A Fire-type move will roast it easily.
  • Bouffalant is a jack-of-all-trades toughie. Make sure any Fighting-types you deploy are fast. If you can't use a Fighting-type you may want to either burn or paralyze the Bouffalant to stymie its physical attacks.
  • Conkeldurr is incredibly strong and can wipe your team. Psychic-type moves will chew through its poor Special Defense.
  • Braviary is a mix of strong and fast, but compared to some of Alder's other Pokémon it's nothing special. An Ice- or Rock-type move will wipe it out - just watch out not to use those types of Pokémon, as it knows Superpower, a deadly Fighting-type move.
  • Volcarona is arguably the most dangerous member of Alder's team, largely thanks to its buffing move Quiver Dance, but its moves cover fewer weaknesses than the rest. A strong Rock-type move will obliterate this powerhouse - just make sure you take it down in one or two moves.
Alder's Pokémon use a mix of moves, so it's tough to predict what you'll see on any given turn. That said, Bug- and Fighting-type moves are good bets. Protect against those - and just generally be above level 60, which is very likely by the time you come calling - and you shouldn't have a ton of trouble with Alder.

Once you defeat Alder a young man named Benga will storm in, challenge you to a fight, and then storm off again. Alder will explain that Benga was speaking of a training facility in the southeast of Unova where you can go to challenge his grandson, along with a bunch of other trainers. In Black 2 the facility is the Black Tower, located in Black City, while in White 2 it's the White Treehollow, located in White Forest. Articles for another time.


Part 4: Floccesy Ranch

Main Walkthrough