Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire/Littleroot Town

Littleroot

Littleroot

Storage

Activate the computer in the corner of your room and you can withdraw a potion from your storage. This could come in handy later!

Littleroot is a small village located in southern Hoenn. At the start you will pick your name and gender and arrive in a moving truck outside your new house. Once you enter your home, your mother will ask you to set your clock in your room upstairs; the time you enter will affect several events in the game. You can read the manual next to the PC if you wish; it explains how to save your game.

Starting Off

Starting Pokémon

Ruby	Sapphire	Emerald
Treecko Torchic Mudkip

Now's a good time to meet some of the locals. Travel to your rival's house next door to meet him/her. Activate the Poké Ball in your rival's room to initiate dialogue. Now head towards Route 101. Here, you will meet Professor Birch being chased by a wild Pokémon. His bag has fallen nearby. Click and open it to find three Pokémon - Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip, in their Poké Balls.

Mudkip and Treecko are very well equipped to take out the first gym leader with ease, but Torchic will have difficulty in the first Gym battle unless it evolves. Remember that these starters are not found anywhere else in the game, which has very few Fire Pokémon but many Water and Grass Pokémon. Mudkip has a dual weakness to grass; this will make battling your rival tough (unless you teach Mudkip Ice Beam). Select one of the three Pokémon and battle the wild level 2 Poochyena (Zigzagoon in Emerald). After the battle, Professor Birch will give the Pokémon you chose to you as a gift.

Meet Your Rival

Rival's Pokémon

Your Choice	Rival's Choice
Treecko	Torchic
Torchic	Mudkip
Mudkip	Treecko

Professor Birch wants you to go meet your Rival at Route 103, north of Oldale Town. Simply head north until you reach Oldale Town, where it would be wise to heal your new Pokémon Center. Once you have done so, continue north into Route 103 where you will find your rival. Use the chart to the left to determine which Pokémon your Rival will have. His/her Pokémon will be level 5. Just keep using your basic Tackle and it should go down. If you run into trouble, use the potion you retrieved from your PC to replenish your Pokémon's hit points. Winning will net you 300.

Head back to Littleroot Town and visit Professor Birch in his lab. He will give you a Pokédex, a nifty item that records the Pokémon you've seen and caught. If you have seen a particular Pokémon you would like to catch, the Pokédex can tell you where you can find it! Your rival will also be there and will give you five Pokéballs. Now you can catch Pokémon on your own and buy additional Pokéballs from the Pokémart.

Now there is nothing left to do but to begin your journey to become a Pokémon Master! Head back north to Oldale Town. On the way out, your Mom will stop you and give you a pair of Running Shoes. Now you can hold to run in dungeons and outside at twice the speed of your walk. This will save a lot of time! When you're ready head to Route 101.

Starter Pokémon

#252 Treecko	#255 Torchic	#258 Mudkip
Treecko is a grass-based Pokémon that remains a grass type throughout it's three evolutions. While it is very strong against the first gym, there are many types that are super effective against grass, so you may encounter some difficulty throughout the game. Treecko gains a massive speed boost in its final evolution. If you take him, your rival will pick Torchic.	Torchic is a fire-type Pokémon that gains the Fighting type when it evolves into Combusken later in the game. Fire-type Pokémon are strong against many other types making Torchic and his evolutions very useful throughout the game. However, it will be difficult to take on the first gym leader alone with Torchic, making the beginning of the game more difficult than the rest. Choose Torchic and your rival will get Mudkip.	Mudkip is the middle of the ground Pokémon in this game. It is a water-based Pokémon that will gain the Ground type upon evolution. Though its type will not be super effective versus many other types, it will at least be of normal effectiveness. Mudkip will be very good against the first gym leader and fairly good against the rest. Pick Mudkip and your rival will have Treecko.