Pokémon X and Y/Route 7

East of Camphrier Town is Riviére Walk, the longest route in the entire Kalos region. Despite this title, it is really straightforward to traverse, being almost completely flat without any obstacles in the main path. The river running by it creates a breathtaking landscape that attracts many artists. With the Pokémon Day Care, Berry Fields and Battle Chateau accessible on the route, this is one area you will find yourself returning to very often.

Opening a path

Now that you have received the Poké Flute, you can now awaken the Snorlax blocking the bridge to the rest of Route 7. You will be asked whether to wake up the Snorlax. Stock up on Potions and Poké Balls at Camphrier Town before you do so, as well as Great Ball if you have a lot of money to spend. Once you do, save you game, then talk to the man again and wake Snorlax up!

#143 Snorlax

Snorlax is no joke. A fully-evolved Pokémon encountered so early on, it will be a challenging foe if your team isn't high-leveled enough. Snorlax is resilient to special attacks, with a high HP and Special Defense, so use physical attacks to wear it down. Its physical attacks are also hard-hitting, so you don't want the battle to drag out too long. Catching Snorlax will net you a powerhouse that can carry your team for a long time, but it is no easy task due to its relatively low catch rate and great power. If you have a team member that has it, False Swipe is very useful for keeping Snorlax at minimum health. There's no need to worry if you accidentally faint it, since you get another chance to catch a Snorlax later, but it won't be as comparatively strong by that point the game. If you do manage to catch Snorlax, you'll get a very beefy and tough addition to your team. Snorlax's special bulk is excellent, complemented by abilities that increase its longevity against certain attacks. Its physical attacks also hit very hard, learning Chip Away and Body Slam at level 17 and 25 respectively, and it can use a wide range of TMs to cover specific threats. Snorlax is very slow and doesn't have high physical defense, so watch out for anything it can't reliably tank, especially Fighting-type attacks.

No matter if you defeat or catch Snorlax, the path west will be cleared after the battle is over. After witnessing a short conversation between the owners of Shabboneau Castle and Parfum Palace, you are now free to explore the rest of Route 7.

Attractions and amenities

There's a few areas of interest on Route 7. Immediately south of the east entrance is a gate that leads to the Berry Fields, where you can grow berries instead of foraging them from berry trees. You can check it out now, but you can't do much since the range of berries available to you now is pretty limited.

After the bridge where the Snorlax rested is the Kalos region's Pokémon Day Care, which Tierno and Trevor will introduce you to as you get near it. You can leave up to two of your Pokémon at the day care, which will take care of them for you. Your Pokémon in the day care will gain an experience point with every step you take, so the day care can be used to raise Pokémon. Note that Pokémon trained in this way will be weaker due to the lack of effort values, and that you have no control over the moves they learn while leveling-up, so simply carrying a Pokémon around with the Exp. Share active is a better choice.

The Pokémon Day Care has another purpose, one that many players will definitely use a lot. If the two Pokémon you leave at the day care are of opposite genders and compatible with each other, you have a chance of creating Pokémon offspring. You will first receive a Pokémon egg, which will hatch after you take enough steps. The long but straightforward layout of Route 7 is helpful for any breeding endeavors, since you can travel across it back-and-forth to rack up steps. Pokémon breeding has many uses, from obtaining Pokémon not found in the wild to optimizing a Pokémon's stats. More details about breeding can be read up here.

Lastly, there's the Battle Chateau, a battle facility to test your skills. Here, you can battle against other trainers to earn points and ascend up trainer ranks. It can be used to train your Pokémon as well as to get money quickly, as the trainers here pay a lot upon defeat. If you are rich as well and are at a high enough rank, you can also purchase writs to cause special effects to happen. Doing the Battle Chateau is entirely optional, but it is a fun challenge nevertheless. You might even get matched up against gym leaders or Pokémon League members that you've defeated.

A walk by the river

Back on the east side of the wooden bridge, there is a narrow path to the north. Go to the end of it to get a Heal Ball, a Poké Ball that completely heals the captured Pokémon. It's pretty pointless since Pokémon Centers are never too far away, but there's nothing wrong with a free extra Poké Ball. Head left. As long as you stay on the path, you won't have to worry about any wild Pokémon, since they reside in the flowerbeds south of the route. However, you will bump into some trainers.

• Artist Georgia
  • Smeargle (Lv. 16)
  • 896

• Artist Mona and Paolo
  • Smeargle (Lv. 16)
  • Smeargle (Lv. 16)
  • 1792

• Artist Pierre
  • Smeargle (Lv. 16)
  • 896

Like any other route, there are some items here for you to collect. There is a clear path south the flowerbed Artist Mona and Paolo are standing in. Go down that path to get an X Sp. Def. As you approach the stairs, go down and left into the flowers to obtain a PP Up.

A battle between the group

Attempt to go up the stairs to trigger an event. You will be joined by Tierno, Trevor and Calum/Serena, who suggests doing a Multi Battle. You will be allied with Calum/Serena, and you both must battle Tierno and Trevor in a double battle format. You control one of your own Pokémon while Calum/Serena fights by your side. Calum/Serena will always have a Fletchling with Quick Attack, Peck and Growl, as well as the evolved form of their chosen starter. If you chose Chespin as your starter, they will have a Braizen with Ember and Scratch. If you chose Fennekin back in Aquacorde Town, Calum/Serena will have a Frogadier with Bubble and Quick Attack. If Froakie is your starter, your partner will have a Quilladin with Vine Whip and Bite for this battle.

Pokémon Trainer Trevor and Pokémon Trainer Tierno

• Pikachu (Lv. 14)
  • Thunder Shock
  • Quick Attack
• Flabébé (Lv. 14)
  • Vine Whip
  • Fairy Wind
  • Tackle
• Corphish (Lv. 16)
  • Vice Grip
  • Swords Dance
• 3000

Pikachu and Flabébé are Trevor's Pokémon while Tierno only has Corphish. You should start by focusing your attention on Corphish, since it is higher-leveled, and because defeating it will take Tierno out of the battle, leaving you with only one target. Corphish is unchanged from the last time you fought it, and Trevor's Pokémon should not give you any trouble. With Calum/Serena's help, you can easily defeat both of their Pokémon without having any casualties of your own.

Into the Connecting Cave

After the battle, you can continue forward. Up the stairs is a bench and a Photo Spot, which lets you take a photo of yourself in front of the Battle Chateau. Beside the Photo Spot is one of the two entrances to Connecting Cave. However, this entrance leads to a dead end, since a huge gap is in your way. Instead, head south and search for the other entrance to the south. You can use Cut to access a path leading to some Silver Powder, which increases the power of Bug-type moves when held. South of the alternate entrance to Connecting Cave is a patch of grass with a tree that drops Persim Berries and a Tiny Mushroom on the ground. Now that you've collected everything, venture into the southern entrance of the Connecting Cave...

Pokémon found

	X	Y
Yellow Flowers
Flabébé (Yellow Flower)	Average	Average
Flabébé (Orange Flower)	Very Rare	Very Rare
Flabébé (White Flower)	Very Rare	Very Rare
Smeargle	Rare	Rare
Volbeat	Rare	Rare
Illumise	Rare	Rare
Roselia	Rare	Rare
Ducklett	Rare	Rare
Spritzee	Unavailable	Rare
Swirlix	Rare	Unavailable
Croagunk	Very Rare	Very Rare
Purple Flowers
Flabébé (Blue Flower)	Average	Average
Flabébé (Orange Flower)	Very Rare	Very Rare
Flabébé (White Flower)	Very Rare	Very Rare
Smeargle	Rare	Rare
Volbeat	Rare	Rare
Illumise	Rare	Rare
Roselia	Rare	Rare
Ducklett	Rare	Rare
Spritzee	Unavailable	Rare
Swirlix	Rare	Unavailable
Croagunk	Very Rare	Very Rare
Tall Grass
Croagunk	Average	Average
Smeargle	Rare	Rare
Volbeat	Rare	Rare
Illumise	Rare	Rare
Roselia	Rare	Rare
Ducklett	Rare	Rare
Spritzee	Unavailable	Rare
Swirlix	Rare	Unavailable
Flabébé (Yellow Flower)	Very Rare	Very Rare
Flabébé (Orange Flower	Very Rare	Very Rare
Hordes
Hoppip	Common	Common
Psyduck	Average	Average
Roselia	Rare	Rare

#187 Hoppip	#235 Smeargle
#313 Volbeat and #314 Illumise
#453 Croagunk	#580 Ducklett
#682 Spritzee	#684 Swirlix

Items

• Heal Ball: At the end of a narrow path near the wooden bridge.
• X Sp. Def: On a short grass path south of Artists Mona and Paolo.
• PP Up: On the bottom-left of the flowerbed before the stairs.
• Silver Powder: At the end of a path behind a thorny bush north of the southern entrance to Connecting Cave.
• Persim Berry: Drops regularly from the berry tree in the area south of the Connecting Cave.
• Tiny Mushroom: At the bottom-left corner of the grass patch south of the Connecting Cave.