Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen/Route 8

File:Pokemon FR&LG Route 8.png

Route 8 usually leads directly to Saffron City, but once again, the direct passage ahead of you is blocked, forcing you to find an alternate way. No problem. Just go into the small cottage in the northwest and you will discover an underground passage that leads to Route 7, which in turn connects to Celadon City. But before you can get there, you need to fight a bunch of trainers that block your way.

To limit trainer battles to one, take on the easternmost girl, then go along the trees out of the sight of the old man, head across the field with Cut, time the bike riders to skip them, and continue along the ledges. Head far north all the way to the house on the east side to avoid the last trainer.

If you decide to take on the rest of Route 8's trainers, be aware that the game's first Double Battle is among them. While the battle itself isn't very difficult, later Double Battles may not be as forgiving. It's a good idea to get into the habit of keeping the first two Pokemon on your team as fully healed as possible.

Pokemon found

FireRed	Level	Encounter Rate	LeafGreen	Level	Encounter Rate
Pidgey	18-20	30%	Pidgey	18-20	30%
Meowth	18-20	30%	Meowth	18-20	30%
Ekans	17-19	20%	Sandshrew	17-19	20%
Growlithe	15-18	20%	Vulpix	15-18	20%

New Pokemon

#58 Growlithe

#37 Vulpix

If you're playing FireRed, the first Fire Pokemon you encounter in the wild is Growlithe. While his stats are better than those of Vulpix, his moveset is much worse. Growlithe does not get Flamethrower until level 49, 20 levels later than Vulpix, and not at all if you evolve it earlier. For him to really shine, you're going to have to spend some TMs. If you didn't pick Charmander as your starter, you should catch one to give you an edge for the next Gym in Celadon City.

If you're playing LeafGreen, the first Fire Pokemon you encounter in the wild is Vulpix. Vulpix gets the great move Flamethrower at level 29, 5 levels sooner than Charmeleon. In addition, due to how its moveset is organized, you can use a Fire Stone to Evolve 12 levels sooner than you would a Growlithe, and still get all its moves. If you didn't pick Charmander as your starter, you should catch one to give you an edge for the next Gym in Celadon City.

Trainers

	Name	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Money
1	Julia	Clefairy 22	Clefairy 22				352
2	Rich	Growlithe 24	Vulpix 24				1728
3	File:Pokemon FRLG SuperNerd.pngGlenn	Grimer 22	Grimer 22	Muk 22			528
4	Eli & Anne	Clefairy 22	Jigglypuff 22				528
5	Paige	Nidoran♀ 23	Nidorina 23				368
6	File:Pokemon FRLG SuperNerd.pngLeslie	Koffing 26					624
7	Andrea	Meowth 24	Meowth 24	Meowth 24			384
8	Megan	Pidgey 19	Rattata 19	Nidoran♂ 19	Meowth 19	Pikachu 19	304
9	Jaren	Grimer 24	Grimer 24				480
10	Ricardo	Koffing 22	Koffing 22	Grimer 23			460
11	Stan	Poliwag 22	Poliwag 22	Poliwhirl 22			1584
12	File:Pokemon FRLG SuperNerd.pngAidan	Voltorb 20	Koffing 20	Voltorb 20	Magnemite 20		480

Items

• Rawst Berry: hidden in an empty grass patch in the top right corner.
• Lum Berry: hidden in an empty grass patch in the top left corner.
• Leppa Berry: hidden in an empty grass patch in the lower right corner.