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Surf opens up a lot of new areas compared to other HMs.

Once you’ve humbled Cheren at the base of Twist Mountain (after acquiring the 6th gym badge), you’ll receive HM03 - Surf . At this point, the world’s your oyster… so to speak. Now you can cross unobstructed bodies of water, greatly expanding the areas you can explore.

So do you remember any suspicious areas of water during your adventure? Well, it doesn’t really matter because we’ll guide you towards the most important ones!

Striaton City

Remember the pretty park on the west side of town? Surf towards the north-west corner to find a man who will give you a Big Pearl for curing his loneliness.

While you’re here, Surf to the north-east corner of the park and use your Dowsing Machine to find a hidden Zinc .

Route 3

There’s a large body of water near the south part of this route. Along the north side of this water, there’s a Full Heal waiting to be snagged.

On the left is some land you can walk on, with lots of grass, a Max Ether , hidden Rare Candy (just past the stairs), Pokemon Breeder and a HP Up .

Since you’re here, you may recall some water preventing you from exploring Wellspring Cave , to the north-west of this route. If you’re in an exploring mood, head to the “Wellspring Cave (Part 2)” page further ahead in this section.

Pinwheel Forest

Head for the inner part of the forest, past the Nurse. Follow the road until you pass the double bridges going across the river. A few paces up, there’s a gap in the fence. Head on through the gap and down the narrow stairs into the grass, then run all the way right.

There are two paths here. Going up will lead you towards the Legendary Pokemon "Virizion" IconVirizion . However, you must have encountered "Cobalion" IconCobalion in Mistralton Cave (covered later in this section) or the way will be blocked.

Legendary Pokemon: Virizion

You must have encountered Cobalion before Virizion will appear here.

Pokemon Level Type
"Virizion" IconVirizion 42 Grass/Fighting

If you caught Cobalion, catching Virizion is a similar affair. The only difference is that Virizion knows Giga Drain, which restores its HP, while doing damage. A Pokemon that takes reduced damage from Grass moves would be good here to limit Giga’s Drain effectiveness.

Going down, meanwhile, will lead you towards a couple of items; of note, TM22 Solarbeam amongst a patch of grass towards the right. You can also find a place to the left where you can Surf onto the river and follow it left for a Silverpowder .

Dritfveil City

This visit will be quick, but crucial for certain Water-type Pokemon. Fly to Driftveil City and head directly right from the Pokemon Centre, then plunge straight into the water. On the other side is a handy Water Stone and a pretty lighthouse.

Route 6

Leave Driftveil to the north-west, back into Route 6. Run towards the first wooden bridge, then Surf north to find TM84 Poison Jab . Dip back into the water again and continue north to the second wooden bridge. Then walk around to the right, until you reach the third wooden bridge above.

Again, Surf north, but this time land on the right, where a Silk Scarf lies. Backtrack to the bridge and follow the route left like normal, past the Season Research Lab, till you reach the resthouse on the right. From here, walk right through the narrow, grassy path.

This cave is pretty big, so it has a whole page to itself in our guide.

At the very end of the path, once you’ve gone past the rocks in the water, Surf into the water below and make your way right. Eventually you’ll reach land again and a cave inviting you to enter to the right: Mistralton Cave , which we’ll cover later on in this section.

Lostlorn Forest

Best visited once you have HM Waterfall from Route 18 (tackled in the next couple of pages). As soon as you enter the forest, there’s a bridge spanning some water. Surf into the water on the right, then use Waterfall to propel yourself up the waterfall.

At the very top, grab the Rare Candy amongst the grass, then Surf over the stream above and use your Dowsing Machine to locate a hidden Protein .

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Pokemon Company International
  • Platforms,
    DS
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    30 May 2011
  • Last Updated
    21 February 2021
  • Guide Author
    Daniel Chaviers

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How to become the greatest trainer Unova has ever known with our highly-detailed walkthrough of the main story and beyond. Pokemon trainers and collectors alike will appreciate our extensive lists of Pokemon and item location, ensuring nothing important goes under the Poke Radar!

Version 1.3

  • Concise & easy to understand explanations of advanced stat building systems - learn to raise a prize Pokémon.
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  • How to collect the various new Pokémon (including Legendary Pokémon)!
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  • Hidden secrets explained
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  • Encounter rates for every area of the game.
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  • Postgame areas explainned.
  • Expanded Training and Battling segments.

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