Head on over to Hop early on in Route 2 and he’ll suggest filling out your team a bit more, then Leon will show up and offer to teach you how to do so. If you’ve already caught some Pokémon, Leon will mention that your mum gave you them; otherwise, he will show you how to catch Pokémon by using his Rookidee to catch a wild Wooloo. Either way, he’ll give you 20 Poké Balls to work with, in addition to whatever you had left from the 5 you silently got from your mum, meaning you could have up to 25 at this point.
As Leon suggested, the Pokémon on the route are particularly eager for a Trainer to catch them, especially for your first visit, which means you should have no trouble throwing Poké Balls at them without weakening them. Later on, you’ll want to weaken Pokémon before throwing Poké Balls at them to improve your odds.
| Encounters in the area | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Random Encounter | ||||
| Pokémon | Types | Level | Rarity | |
 |
Blipbug | 4–6 | 40% | |
 |
Rookidee | 4–6 | 25% | |
 |
Seedot | 4–6 | Sw: 20% | |
 |
Lotad | 4–6 | Sh: 20% | |
 |
Purrloin | 4–6 | 10% | |
 |
Hoothoot | 4–6 | 5% | |
| Overworld Encounter | ||||
| Pokémon | Types | Level | Rarity | |
 |
Skwovet | 5–7 | 38% | |
|
Rookidee | 5–7 | 30% | |
 |
Nickit | 5–7 | 15% | |
 |
Chewtle | 5–7 | 10% | |
 |
Yamper | 5–7 | 5% | |
 |
Galarian Zigzagoon | 5–7 | 2% | |
There are a few patches of grass to walk through after getting the 20 Poké Balls from Leon. You can now buy them freely at the Poké Mart as well, so don’t be shy using them to catch Pokémon you want to catch. There are quite a few new ones in the area.
Down the way a bit, you’ll run into your first Trainer battle that isn’t your rival. If you cross paths with a Trainer, they’ll challenge you to a battle. Some of them are avoidable, but most aren’t, so be ready for them.
360Trainer Jake uses a Skwovet that shouldn’t be too tough for you to take down, especially for your starter Pokémon.
Past Jake, you’ll find a fork in the road. Take the upper path to reach 2 Potions. There’s also a red sign there. Reading the sign will show you various Trainer Tips that may help you throughout your journey. This one in particular talks a bit about Exp. Points — often referred to as just EXP throughout this guide. You can also jump down the ledge to get back on the main path.
Just a bit past that is another fork in the road. Go into the grass and wrap around it to pick up 3 Poké Balls, then jump down the ledge and keep going forward. You can avoid Lass Lauren by walking through the grass above her, but you might as well fight her.
Further down the path you’ll have one more Trainer to fight before you arrive at Magnolia’s house and it’s Youngster Benjamin. He has two Pokémon on his team, the first of which is a Blipbug that will lower your Special Attack with Struggle Bug. Keep Dark-types like Purrloin and Nickit away from it, and Grookey may have trouble with it as well. He also has a Nickit, which Blipbug will do great against if you happened to pick one up earlier.
Before going to Magnolia’s house, head to the left towards the water. There should be a fishing spot above the bench. You can press A when you’re near a fishing spot to cast your fishing rod into the water to get a chance at catching a Pokémon on the line, allowing you to battle it. You get the fishing rod right from the outset of the game, so you can do this immediately.
| Encounters in the area | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fishing | ||||
| Pokémon | Types | Level | Rarity | |
 |
Magikarp | 4–6 | 80% | |
|
Chewtle | 4–6 | 15% | |
 |
Arrokuda | 4–6 | 5% | |
These will respawn after a few seconds so you can try again if you don’t get what you’re looking for.
To the right, past the patch of grass and in by the dirt, is a hidden Repel you can pick up. It prevents low-level wild Pokémon from jumping out at you for a bit.
Approach the gate and you’ll find Hop, as well as Leon talking with Magnolia about the Dynamax phenomenon.
After a bit of discussion, Hop will ask Magnolia to persuade Leon to endorse the two of you, and then Magnolia will suggest the two of you battle outside.
Before the fight, there are a few items you might want to pick up first. To the left of the house is a garden. There’s a hidden bottle of Fresh Water in the bucket on the southern side of the first patch, on the right. Follow the fence to the left and then up and you’ll find a Great Ball tucked away by some garden tools. Lastly, head to the right of her house, past the garage, and then go behind her house, towards the big tree. There’s a path back there that leads you to a special golden item ball. The golden ones indicate the item is a TM — a Technical Machine, an item that can teach your Pokémon the move contained within, so long as the Pokémon is capable of learning that move. TMs can be used an unlimited amount of times. This TM is TM57 Payback, which is a 50-power Dark-type move that does double damage if your Pokémon goes last. It’s good to put on slower Pokémon, even if they’re not Dark-type.
As you leave through the gate near the house, you’ll be called over to the battle ring to challenge Hop to a battle. Make sure your Pokémon are ready to take him on.
His starter Pokémon is capable of using its elemental move, just as yours is, so watch out if you’re not using your starter. Also be careful because its ability raises the power of its elemental move by 50% as long as it is below 1/3 its max HP, so it can surprise you by doing more damage than you expect. Your starter should have no trouble taking it down, though.
After you’ve beaten Hop, Leon will give you both the Endorsement.
A bit more dialogue will take place and then you’ll witness an object fall down from the sky near the bench. Hop investigates it and it’s a pair of Wishing Stars! He gives you one of them. Professor Magnolia will take the Wishing Stars and craft them into Dynamax Bands the following day. These two Key Items are what will eventually allow you to Dynamax your Pokémon into massive forms, but keep in mind that it can only be done in certain battlefields and not in most fights.
Leave the house once again and on your way out Hop will talk to you about the Pokémon wandering around in the tall grass and that you can avoid drawing their attention if you walk very slow and crouch down, which you can do by moving the control stick very lightly. You can also press down the left control stick to whistle at nearby Pokémon to draw their attention towards you.
Your next mission is to return to Wedgehurst Station in Wedgehurst, where Leon arrived at the beginning of the game. You’ll get different dialogue from Hop if you catch a Pokémon between here and there, but it’s completely optional and you don’t get anything extra for it.
Wedgehurst
Not much has changed in Wedgehurst. Hop will wave at you as you get closer to the station, reminding you to go there. You don’t need to worry about healing up your Pokémon just yet, as you’ll automatically receive healing soon.
At the station, Hop will see how many Pokémon you’ve caught since he told you to catch some on Route 2. Even if you have a full team, if you didn’t catch any from when you last talked to him, he’ll say you should have. Don’t take it personally, though!
He’ll also give you TM40 Swift, another Technical Machine. This one teaches a 60-power Special-based Normal-type move, Swift, that ignores any accuracy or evasion modifiers and should almost always guarantee a hit. It’s reasonably powerful for this point in the game, too, so put it on Pokémon with higher Special Attack compared to their Attack.
You’ll now need to enter the station and board the train for Motostoke. Before you can board, you’ll be interrupted by your mum and Hop’s mum. They’ll give you both a set of Camping Gear, which will allow you to camp at a camping spot or in the Wild Area to play with your Pokémon, and make curry to restore your Pokémon’s health and give them EXP.
However, your trip to Motostoke won’t quite work out the way you planned, as you’ll find yourself stuck at the Wild Area station stop instead, due to a flock of Wooloo on the tracks.
Wild Area Station Stop
Due to the Wooloo on the tracks, you’ll need to cross through the Wild Area in order to reach Motostoke. You can still return to Wedgehurst if you desire, though.
While you’re in the Wild Area Station Stop, there are a few exciting things you can pick up before exiting the building.
- Talk to the boy with red hair in the corner of the station and, if you have Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee save data on your Nintendo Switch, he will give you a free Eevee at level 10. This Eevee in particular is capable of Gigantamaxing, which is a special form of Dynamax.
- The girl next to him with the yellow hair will give you a Pikachu if you have Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu save data on your Nintendo Switch. Similar to the Eevee, this Pikachu is at level 10 and is capable of Gigantamaxing as well.
- TIP: If you don’t have either of these games but you do have friends with a physical game card of either of these games, ask if you can borrow it for a few minutes! As long as there’s some sort of save data associated with it, you’ll be able to receive the gift.
There’s also a woman near a Swinub that will give you 5 Poké Dolls if you talk to her. These will be handy in case you run into trouble in the Wild Area, so it’s a good idea to pick these up.
Once you’re ready, head outside to reach the Wild Area.