Rustboro City

Your friendly guide to Rustboro City in Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire! Learn about the Pokémon trade, key routes, and prepare for the upcoming Gym challenge.

Alright, welcome to Rustboro City! It's a pretty important spot early on, especially with the first Gym Leader, Roxanne, waiting for you. Before we dive straight into the Gym, there are a couple of things you should check out around town and nearby routes.

Pokémon Trade:

First off, there's a neat little trade you can make. Head into the house just to the east of the Pokémon Gym. Inside, you'll find a kid who's a bit embarrassed about his Makuhita's nickname. He's willing to trade you his Makuhita for your Slakoth. This is a pretty good deal for you, as Makuhita is a solid Fighting-type Pokémon, even though you can catch them later. Definitely consider making this trade!

Preparing for the Gym:

After the trade, you'll want to head west and then north a bit. From there, you have a couple of options: you can go north onto Route 115 or east onto Route 116. Route 116 is generally the better choice for leveling up your Pokémon before you tackle the Rustboro Gym, especially if you started with Torchic. If you're using Torchic and haven't picked up a Wingull or Shroomish yet, you'll definitely want Torchic to reach Level 16. That's when it evolves into Combusken, which is a Fire/Fighting type and will be super helpful against Roxanne's Rock-type Pokémon.