Postwick Town

The game opens with a man named Rose introducing you to the world of Pokemon inside a gigantic stadium. Here you'll see an exhibition match between the current Galar champion, Leon, and a man named Raihan. As it turns out, you're actually inside your home watching the match from a screen. Here you'll be introduced to your rival Hop who happens to be the brother of Champion Leon.

After the opening cutscenes play, head all the way to the right in your house to pick up your Bag. You'll also get some basic playing instructions here. Head outside and meet up with Hop. Afterward, head east into the town of Postwick. The house to the right is Hop's, so go inside. Speak with Hop and his mom, then head north onto Route 1.

Simply head straight ahead on this route. You won't be able to enter the tall grass for now as you don't have a Pokemon to protect you. Ahead is the town of Wedgehurst where you will be introduced to Champion Leon. He'll bring with him three starters for you to choose from.

Choosing a Starter

Galar's starters are: the Grass-type Grookey, the Fire-type Scorbunny, and the Water-type Sobble. As always, the choice is entirely yours. Like the past few generations, Hop will choose whichever type is weak to your starter. If you chose Grookey, he'll choose Sobble. If you chose Scorbunny, he'll choose Grookey. If you chose Sobble, he'll choose Scorbunny.

After choosing a starter and eating some barbeque, you'll be ready for your first Pokemon battle against Hop. Unlike rival battles in this past, Hop will actually have two Pokemon. A Lv. 3 Wooloo and whichever Lv. 5 starter he chose. Defeating his Wooloo will enable you to level up and learn a STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) move for your starter that will be super effective against Hop's, making the battle quite an easy win.

Afterward, you'll be healed and told about the Pokedex. Begin heading west towards your house, but you'll be quickly stopped and find that the gate near your home was broken open by a Wooloo. You'll need to follow Hop into the Slumbering Weald.

Slumbering Weald

Enter the wooded area. Here you'll encounter your first wild Pokemon in the tall grass. You won't be able to catch any yet, but you can defeat them to gain experience. Speak to Hop to heal if you need and head west through this area. Follow Hop into the fog until he gets lost.

Here the title legendary will appear to battle you. Your moves won't affect it and you can't run away. Keep trying to attack and eventually the fog will get too thick and the legendary beast will run. Leon will come to the rescue and reprimand you a bit. Back at your house, speak to your mom and tell her that you're leaving on a grand adventure. She'll give you some cash and 5 Pokeballs.

Research Lab

Head back onto Route 1 and Hop will point out our next destination: the Pokemon Reasearch Lab. You can now venture into the tall grass and catch wild Pokemon if you'd like. If you've never played before: the best strategy to catch a Pokemon is to weaken it until it's health bar is red and then toss a Pokeball.

You'll find a Potion in an item ball between patches of tall grass and 2 Paralyze Heals a little further up the route. Head into Wedgehurst when you're finished on Route 1. Head east until you get to the Pokemon Research Lab that Hop pointed out before. Leon will lead you in.

Inside the lab, you'll meet the professor's assistant Sonia and her Pokemon Yamper. Sonia will give you the Pokedex. She'll advise that you speak to her grandmother on Route 2 as well. Exit the building and a man will give you a Potion out of the blue. Head north to meet up with Hop once again.

He'll bring you into the Pokemon Center. Heal your Pokemon while you're here. Exit the building and head all the way west. To the left of the botique (clothing shop) you'll find a Poke Doll in an item ball. Afterward, continue north to speak to Hop once again. Make your way onto Route 2, but be sure to grab the hidden Revive on the rock next to the entrance of the route before you do.

Route 2

You'll once again meet up with Hop and then Leon will provide you with 20 Poke Balls. Follow the path of this route, battling or catching new Pokemon if you'd like, until you run into your first trainer battle. It'll be Youngster Jake and his Lv. 6 Skwovet. It shouldn't be a problem for your starter at this point.

After the battle, take the upper path to find 2 Potions. Go right along the upper edge and you'll find 3 Poke Balls as well. There's another trainer, Lass Lauren, that can be avoided if you take the tall grass behind her. You'll find a third trainer, Youngster Benjamin, before the bridge leading to the end of the route.

Professor Magnolia

Before the house, head to the right of the tall grass and pick up a Repel where you see a sparkle on the ground. There "sparkles" indicate a hidden item that can be found by investigating the spot (pressing 'A'). Approach Hop and you'll get to meet Professor Magnolia, grandmother of Sonia. She'll invite you in for a bit of dialogue.

Your team will be healed and Hop will be waiting to battle you outside. Before you do, head left to find a hidden bottle of Fresh Water in a pot and a Great Ball in an item ball. You can also wrap around behind the house to the right to find TM57 - Payback. Head down to battle Hop when you're ready.

This time around, he'll have a Lv. 5 Rookidee, a Lv. 6 Wooloo, and a Lv. 8 starter. After winning your battle, Champion Leon will be impressed and give you a Letter of Endorsement. Afterward, a pair of objects will fall from the sky and you'll get a Wishing Star. These will allow you to Dynamax your Pokemon. After a bit of lore, the professor will house you for the night and give you a Dynamax Band and explain the mechanic to you.

Exit the professor's house and head back to Wedgehurst. Hop will stop you along the way to give you some advice on luring or evading wild Pokemon. Just follow Route 2 all the way back to Wedgehurst and Hop will show you the way to the train station. Once there, he will give you TM40 - Swift.

Before you get on the train, each of your respective mothers will show up and give you a set of Camping Gear. On the way to Motostoke, your train will be halted and you'll be dropped off at the Wild Area instead. Speak to the woman by the station here to heal your Pokemon and then head forward towards Hop. Sonia will join you and give you a Pokemon Box Link. This is a new addition to the series that will allow you to swap Pokemon in and out of boxes even when you don't have access to a PC.

Wild Area

The Wild Area is a mainline Pokemon game's first experiment with open-world gameplay. There's not really a set path to navigate through the area. You can spend as much or as little time here as you'd like for now. There's plenty of new and returning Pokemon to catch if you'd like. The red circles indicate a Dynamax lair. There are people in high-tech uniforms that sell things throughout the Wild Area.

As you wander around, you'll find notes on the ground that better explain how the area works. There's Lake Axwell in the center of the area, so you'll need to either go left or right around that to make it through to Motostoke. Go ahead and do so when you're satisfied with exploring for the time being. Head up the giant stairs to enter the city.

Motostoke City

Motostoke is quite a large city. Head foward and Sonia will beckon you over to the Pokemon Center. She'll also give you Leon's League Card. This is a customizable résumé of sorts that you can mark with your achievements using the PC. Heal up and head out to have Sonia show you around.

Head straight for the gym and Leon will stop you when you get near the lift (elevator for us Americans). He'll give you a Charcoal and then you can take the lift up. Speak to Hop in front of Motostoke Stadium and head in the building. Here, you'll register at the front desk for the gym challenge and be awarded with a stay in a hotel for the night.

Gym Challenge Ceremony

Exit the building and a man will lead you to Budew Drop Inn to the west. Enter the hotel and Sonia will give you some lore from the Galar region. Afterward, head up to the check in desk where you'll be confronted by some Team Yell Grunts. You'll need to defeat two grunts individually and then do a double battle with Hop for the remaining two.

Male Team Yell Grunts have a Lv. 9 Galar Zigzagoon and female grunts have a Lv. 9 Nickit. They shouldn't be too difficult to defeat, and you'll be healed before the double battle. Afterward, the Team Yell leader, Marnie, will make an appearance. After some dialogue, check into the hotel to sleep for the night.

When morning comes, exit the hotel and let the man escort you to the stadium. Enter the building and speak to the front desk to get your uniform. Afterward, the Galar Gym Challenge will begin. The chairmen of the league, Rose, will introduce the gym leaders of the region. Afterward, you'll step out into the limelight to be introduced as an official challenger.

Continue to Turffield Gym

• Motostoke City
• Turffield Gym
• Hulbury Gym
• Motostoke Gym
• Stow-on-Side Gym
• Ballonlea Gym
• Circhester Gym
• Spikemuth Gym
• Hammerlocke Gym
• Champion Cup
• League Champion
• Post Game

Postwick Town

The game opens with a man named Rose introducing you to the world of Pokemon inside a gigantic stadium. Here you'll see an exhibition match between the current Galar champion, Leon, and a man named Raihan. As it turns out, you're actually inside your home watching the match from a screen. Here you'll be introduced to your rival Hop who happens to be the brother of Champion Leon.

After the opening cutscenes play, head all the way to the right in your house to pick up your Bag. You'll also get some basic playing instructions here. Head outside and meet up with Hop. Afterward, head east into the town of Postwick. The house to the right is Hop's, so go inside. Speak with Hop and his mom, then head north onto Route 1.

Simply head straight ahead on this route. You won't be able to enter the tall grass for now as you don't have a Pokemon to protect you. Ahead is the town of Wedgehurst where you will be introduced to Champion Leon. He'll bring with him three starters for you to choose from.

Choosing a Starter

Galar's starters are: the Grass-type Grookey, the Fire-type Scorbunny, and the Water-type Sobble. As always, the choice is entirely yours. Like the past few generations, Hop will choose whichever type is weak to your starter. If you chose Grookey, he'll choose Sobble. If you chose Scorbunny, he'll choose Grookey. If you chose Sobble, he'll choose Scorbunny.

After choosing a starter and eating some barbeque, you'll be ready for your first Pokemon battle against Hop. Unlike rival battles in this past, Hop will actually have two Pokemon. A Lv. 3 Wooloo and whichever Lv. 5 starter he chose. Defeating his Wooloo will enable you to level up and learn a STAB (Same Type Attack Bonus) move for your starter that will be super effective against Hop's, making the battle quite an easy win.

Afterward, you'll be healed and told about the Pokedex. Begin heading west towards your house, but you'll be quickly stopped and find that the gate near your home was broken open by a Wooloo. You'll need to follow Hop into the Slumbering Weald.

Slumbering Weald

Enter the wooded area. Here you'll encounter your first wild Pokemon in the tall grass. You won't be able to catch any yet, but you can defeat them to gain experience. Speak to Hop to heal if you need and head west through this area. Follow Hop into the fog until he gets lost.

Here the title legendary will appear to battle you. Your moves won't affect it and you can't run away. Keep trying to attack and eventually the fog will get too thick and the legendary beast will run. Leon will come to the rescue and reprimand you a bit. Back at your house, speak to your mom and tell her that you're leaving on a grand adventure. She'll give you some cash and 5 Pokeballs.

Research Lab

Head back onto Route 1 and Hop will point out our next destination: the Pokemon Reasearch Lab. You can now venture into the tall grass and catch wild Pokemon if you'd like. If you've never played before: the best strategy to catch a Pokemon is to weaken it until it's health bar is red and then toss a Pokeball.

You'll find a Potion in an item ball between patches of tall grass and 2 Paralyze Heals a little further up the route. Head into Wedgehurst when you're finished on Route 1. Head east until you get to the Pokemon Research Lab that Hop pointed out before. Leon will lead you in.

Inside the lab, you'll meet the professor's assistant Sonia and her Pokemon Yamper. Sonia will give you the Pokedex. She'll advise that you speak to her grandmother on Route 2 as well. Exit the building and a man will give you a Potion out of the blue. Head north to meet up with Hop once again.

He'll bring you into the Pokemon Center. Heal your Pokemon while you're here. Exit the building and head all the way west. To the left of the botique (clothing shop) you'll find a Poke Doll in an item ball. Afterward, continue north to speak to Hop once again. Make your way onto Route 2, but be sure to grab the hidden Revive on the rock next to the entrance of the route before you do.

Route 2

You'll once again meet up with Hop and then Leon will provide you with 20 Poke Balls. Follow the path of this route, battling or catching new Pokemon if you'd like, until you run into your first trainer battle. It'll be Youngster Jake and his Lv. 6 Skwovet. It shouldn't be a problem for your starter at this point.

After the battle, take the upper path to find 2 Potions. Go right along the upper edge and you'll find 3 Poke Balls as well. There's another trainer, Lass Lauren, that can be avoided if you take the tall grass behind her. You'll find a third trainer, Youngster Benjamin, before the bridge leading to the end of the route.

Professor Magnolia

Before the house, head to the right of the tall grass and pick up a Repel where you see a sparkle on the ground. There "sparkles" indicate a hidden item that can be found by investigating the spot (pressing 'A'). Approach Hop and you'll get to meet Professor Magnolia, grandmother of Sonia. She'll invite you in for a bit of dialogue.

Your team will be healed and Hop will be waiting to battle you outside. Before you do, head left to find a hidden bottle of Fresh Water in a pot and a Great Ball in an item ball. You can also wrap around behind the house to the right to find TM57 - Payback. Head down to battle Hop when you're ready.

This time around, he'll have a Lv. 5 Rookidee, a Lv. 6 Wooloo, and a Lv. 8 starter. After winning your battle, Champion Leon will be impressed and give you a Letter of Endorsement. Afterward, a pair of objects will fall from the sky and you'll get a Wishing Star. These will allow you to Dynamax your Pokemon. After a bit of lore, the professor will house you for the night and give you a Dynamax Band and explain the mechanic to you.

Exit the professor's house and head back to Wedgehurst. Hop will stop you along the way to give you some advice on luring or evading wild Pokemon. Just follow Route 2 all the way back to Wedgehurst and Hop will show you the way to the train station. Once there, he will give you TM40 - Swift.

Before you get on the train, each of your respective mothers will show up and give you a set of Camping Gear. On the way to Motostoke, your train will be halted and you'll be dropped off at the Wild Area instead. Speak to the woman by the station here to heal your Pokemon and then head forward towards Hop. Sonia will join you and give you a Pokemon Box Link. This is a new addition to the series that will allow you to swap Pokemon in and out of boxes even when you don't have access to a PC.

Wild Area

The Wild Area is a mainline Pokemon game's first experiment with open-world gameplay. There's not really a set path to navigate through the area. You can spend as much or as little time here as you'd like for now. There's plenty of new and returning Pokemon to catch if you'd like. The red circles indicate a Dynamax lair. There are people in high-tech uniforms that sell things throughout the Wild Area.

As you wander around, you'll find notes on the ground that better explain how the area works. There's Lake Axwell in the center of the area, so you'll need to either go left or right around that to make it through to Motostoke. Go ahead and do so when you're satisfied with exploring for the time being. Head up the giant stairs to enter the city.

Motostoke City

Motostoke is quite a large city. Head foward and Sonia will beckon you over to the Pokemon Center. She'll also give you Leon's League Card. This is a customizable résumé of sorts that you can mark with your achievements using the PC. Heal up and head out to have Sonia show you around.

Head straight for the gym and Leon will stop you when you get near the lift (elevator for us Americans). He'll give you a Charcoal and then you can take the lift up. Speak to Hop in front of Motostoke Stadium and head in the building. Here, you'll register at the front desk for the gym challenge and be awarded with a stay in a hotel for the night.

Gym Challenge Ceremony

Exit the building and a man will lead you to Budew Drop Inn to the west. Enter the hotel and Sonia will give you some lore from the Galar region. Afterward, head up to the check in desk where you'll be confronted by some Team Yell Grunts. You'll need to defeat two grunts individually and then do a double battle with Hop for the remaining two.

Male Team Yell Grunts have a Lv. 9 Galar Zigzagoon and female grunts have a Lv. 9 Nickit. They shouldn't be too difficult to defeat, and you'll be healed before the double battle. Afterward, the Team Yell leader, Marnie, will make an appearance. After some dialogue, check into the hotel to sleep for the night.

When morning comes, exit the hotel and let the man escort you to the stadium. Enter the building and speak to the front desk to get your uniform. Afterward, the Galar Gym Challenge will begin. The chairmen of the league, Rose, will introduce the gym leaders of the region. Afterward, you'll step out into the limelight to be introduced as an official challenger.

Continue to Turffield Gym

• Motostoke City
• Turffield Gym
• Hulbury Gym
• Motostoke Gym
• Stow-on-Side Gym
• Ballonlea Gym
• Circhester Gym
• Spikemuth Gym
• Hammerlocke Gym
• Champion Cup
• League Champion
• Post Game