New Pokmon to catchRoutes 30 and 31 contain a variety of new Pokmon (especially Crystal), so bring several Pok Balls. Bug type Pokemon are plentiful here in all versions. Caterpie appears in Gold while Weedle appears in Silver. Two new Pokmon also appear: Ledyba (morning in Silver) and Spinarak (night in Gold). Unfortunately, they are all very weak (even Butterfree and Beedrill) and will be useless in the first gym. Bellsprout, though weak at the first gym, is decent and very useful if you did not chose Chikorita as your starter. Crystal gets all of the previously mentioned Pokmon, plus three more! Gastly, Zubat and Poliwag are organized only at night and are rare but worth capturing them. Poliwag appears only on that route, Gastly and Zubat will be found in other places more easily, so do not worry if you miss those two.Route strategyAt this point, if you can, train your starter enough to evolve it to its second form. Cyndaquil will evolve into a Quilava at level 14, Chikorita will evolve into Bayleef at level 16, and Totodile will evolve into Croconaw at level 18. Most enemies here are weak to Fire and Flying-type attacks, so use this to your advantage.

Route #31

Route #30Trainer battles beginWhen you return to Route #30 after completing your errand, trainers will attack you whenever you make eye contact. As you can see from their rosters below, their Pokmon are weak, but they can wear you down. You can try to avoid them, but it's better to fight when you can: they're the best source of money and EXP in the game.One new twist is the ability to trade phone numbers with certain trainers once you've defeated them in battle (they will say phone next to their rewards). If you agree, they'll call you periodically to chat, challenge you to rematches, and most importantly, inform you of Pokmon "swarms." Without that info, it's hard to catch Pokmon like Dunsparce in the nearby Dark Cave.Catch a Bellsprout (or two)The dividing line between Route #30 and Route #31 is right about where the trainer named Don waits. To the north of him you'll find pretty much the same Pokmon you found below, but with the addition of Bellsprout and Gastly. Try to catch an extra Bellsproutnot because they're that great, but because they can be used to trade for a very useful Onix in Violet City.Run an errand and get TM 50A little later in the game, a guard in the guard house that separates Goldenrod City and Route #35 will send you to deliver a message to the guy in front of the lake, so remember where he is! Finishing this errand is the only way to get TM 50, Nightmare.Free berries from WadeAfter you beat Wade along Route 31, give him your phone number. In Crystal, he'll call from time to time, and if you go visit him immediately afterward, he may give you one of a wide variety of Berries.Trainers and itemsRoute #30 TrainersRoute #31 Trainers

Youngster Joey: 64 (phone) Rattata(lvl. 4, 48 EXP)

Youngster Mikey: 64 Pidgey(lvl. 2, 22 EXP) Rattata(lvl. 4, 48 EXP)

Bug Catcher Don: 48 Caterpie(lvl. 3, 33 EXP) Caterpie(lvl. 3, 33 EXP) Bug Catcher Wade: 32 (Phone) Caterpie(lvl. 2, 22 EXP) Weedle(lvl. 3, 33 EXP) Caterpie(lvl. 2, 22 EXP) Caterpie(lvl. 2, 22 EXP)

Items

Potion (Crystal) Bitter Berry (tree) Pok Ball TM 50 (Nightmare)

Pokmon FoundRoute #30 encounters

GoldSilverCrystal

MornDayNightMornDayNightMornDayNight

LedybaN/AN/AN/A30%N/AN/A30%N/AN/A

HoppipN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A5%5%N/A

Pidgey40%50%N/A10%50%N/A10%40%N/A

Caterpie50%35%N/AN/AN/AN/A50%50%N/A

Metapod10%15%N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A

WeedleN/AN/AN/A50%35%N/A5%5%N/A

KakunaN/AN/AN/A10%15%N/AN/AN/AN/A

HoothootN/AN/A30%N/AN/A60%N/AN/A45%

RattataN/AN/A40%N/AN/A40%N/AN/AN/A

SpinarakN/AN/A30%N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A30%

ZubatN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A5%

PoliwagN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A20%

Route #31 encounters

GoldSilverCrystal

MornDayNightMornDayNightMornDayNight

LedybaN/AN/AN/A30%N/AN/A30%N/AN/A

HoppipN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A5%5%N/A

Pidgey30%30%N/A10%30%N/A10%40%N/A

Caterpie35%35%N/AN/AN/AN/A30%30%N/A

Metapod15%15%N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A

WeedleN/AN/AN/A30%35%N/A5%5%N/A

KakunaN/AN/AN/A10%15%N/AN/AN/AN/A

Bellsprout20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%

HoothootN/AN/A10%N/AN/A40%N/AN/A10%

RattataN/AN/A40%N/AN/A40%N/AN/AN/A

SpinarakN/AN/A30%N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A30%

ZubatN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A5%

PoliwagN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A30%

GastlyN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A5%

#60 Poliwag#10 Caterpie

Poliwag are very common in Crystal, appearing at night in several overworld routes. Poliwag isn't too impressive by itself, but if you evolve it into a Poliwhirl you can then use a Water Stone or trade it with a King's Rock to get a powerful Poliwrath or Politoed. But don't evolve it too early: Each of those forms can learn two exclusive moves, but none of them are anywhere near as good as the Hydro Pump that Poliwag and Poliwhirl would learn if you didn't evolve them until much later.This Bug Pokmon reaches its highest form, Bug/Flying Butterfree, at level 10. The speedy evolution is nice, and Butterfree is useful for a while after it learns Confusion at level 10. Unfortunately, its awkward mix of types and lack of other good early moves makes it a poor long-term choice.

#13 Weedle#167 Spinarak

Like Caterpie, Weedle evolves into its final form at level 10. That Pokmon, Beedril, actually gets a handful of strong moves: Fury Attack at level 10, and Twineedle, Pursuit, and Pin Missile later on. Beedrill is hardly the game's best Bug Pokmon, but it will hold you over until you get a Scyther.Spinarak is a nocturnal Pokmon with a good variety of Poison, Normal, Bug, Ghost, and Psychic attacks. One move exclusive to this Pokmon and its evolved form (Ariados at level 22) is Spider Web, a useful technique that prevents a Pokmon from running away.

#41 Zubat#165 Ledyba

Big news for Zubat fans: Gold/Silver/Crystal introduces a third evolution for this under-appreciated Poison/Flying-type. Crobat, who evolves from a very "tamed" Golbat, doesn't have any new moves, but it can learn Fly and is much quicker than Golbat.You'll have to wake up early to catch a Ledyba. Bug/Flying type Ledyba and its evolved form Ledian are primarily defensive Pokmon, learning moves like Reflect, Safeguard, and Light Screen. They do learn a few early attacks like Comet Punch, but their Attack is too low to put them to good use.

#69 Bellsprout#92 Gastly

Bellsprout and its evolved forms, Weepinbell, and Victreebel are still among the least useful Grass Pokmon, and their one new move (Sweet Scent) isn't worth much. But if you didn't pick a Chikorita as a starter, you may find Bellsprout to be temporarily useful. They start with Vine Whip, which is good against the Gastly in Sprout Tower and great against Rock-type Pokmon in the upcoming Union Cave.Gastly is a very useful Pokmon in Gold, Silver, and Crystal. It now starts with Hypnosis, and can learn four all new moves. One of the first is Mean Look, which prevents opponents from running away. Between that, Hypnosis and its Ghost-type resistance to Normal attacks, Gastly is the perfect Pokmon for catching other wild Pokmon. But you'll have to stay up late to catch one since they only come out at night.

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