HGSS Tips and Tricks

1. Obtaining Apricorn Poké balls More Quickly
2. Speeding up Happiness-based Evolution and Beauty
3. Free Pokémon
4. HM Slaves
5. Helpful NPCs
6. • Hidden Power Man
   • IV Man
7. Daily Events and NPCs

Obtaining Apricorn Poké balls More Quickly

You can obtain Apricorn Balls from Kurt in Azalea Town more quickly by following these steps.

1. Give Kurt the Apricorn for the Poké Ball you want
2. Save in front of Kurt's house
3. Reset the clock on your DS to 23:59 and start the game immediately
4. While in-game, let the time pass to the next day (00:00)
5. Enter the house and receive the Poké Balls
6. Repeat as necessary

Speeding up Happiness-based Evolution and Beauty

Daisy Oak gives a massage to one of your Pokémon between 3 and 4 PM (15:00 to 16:00) at the rival's house in Pallet Town in Kanto. This increases the Pokémon's happiness, as well as the Beauty stat by 32.

Big Brother in Goldenrod City gives one of your Pokémon a haircut on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday in the Underground Market. Doing this increases the Pokémon's happiness, as well as the Beauty stat by 32.

Little Brother in Goldenrod City gives one of your Pokémon a haircut on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday in the Underground Market. Doing this increases the Pokémon's happiness by a lesser amount than Big Brother, as well as the Beauty stat by 32.

It takes 8 days to maximize Beauty, by which you can easily manipulate the time, making this a great way of evolving Feebas.

Free Pokémon

Primo's Pokémon

To obtain eggs containing Mareep, Wooper, and Slugma, head to Violet City and speak to Primo. Enter your Trainer ID at this website, and it will generate the passwords needed to obtain the eggs. Please note that this is the only way you can obtain a Slugma before Kanto without a Pokewalker.

Togepi

After defeating Falkner in Violet City, head to the Pokemart to pick up the Togepi egg from Elm's assistant.

Spearow

Talk to Webster at the north gate of Goldenrod City, and he will give you a Spearow nicknamed Kenya with the following:

Spearow @ Grass Mail

Nature: Hasty

IVs: 15 HP / 20 Atk / 15 Def / 20 SpA / 20 SpD / 20 Spe

Ability: Keen Eye

Moves: Leer, Fury Attack, Pursuit, Aerial Ace

Shuckle

After defeating Chuck in Cianwood City, head to the house just south of the gym. A man inside the house will give you a Shuckle nicknamed Shuckie with the following:

Shuckle @ Berry Juice

Nature: Relaxed

IVs: 15 HP / 20 Atk / 15 Def / 20 SpA / 20 SpD / 20 Spe

Ability: Gluttony

Moves: Constrict, Bide, Encore, Safeguard

Eevee

After first speaking with Bill at Ecruteak City, visit his house in the southwestern part of Goldenrod City. He will give you an Eevee.

Tyrogue

Enter Mt. Mortar through the middle entrance on Route 42. Make sure you have an empty space in your party, then defeat the Karate King. He will give you a Tyrogue.

Dratini

To obtain a Dratini with ExtremeSpeed, defeat Claire at the 8th gym, enter the Dragon's Den, and enter the hut. You will be quizzed by the elders. The answers are as follows: 1. top; 2. top; 3. bottom; 4. top; 5. middle. Exit the Dragon's Den, and speak to Claire who will give you TM 59 (Dragon Pulse). Return to the elders with an empty space in your party to receive ExtremeSpeed Dratini. Please not that if you answer any of the questions incorrectly, the Dratini you receive will not know ExtremeSpeed.

Kanto Starters

After collecting all 16 Gym badges and defeating Red at Silver Cave, head to Oak's Lab in Pallet Town. Professor Oak will allow you to choose either Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle.

Hoenn Starters

After collecting all 16 Gym badges and defeating Red at Silver Cave, head to Silph Co. in Saffron City. Steven will allow you to choose either Treeko, Torchic, or Mudkip.

HM Slaves

Sentret

Sentret is found right at the beginning of the game and learns Cut, Surf, Whirlpool, Strength, and Rock Smash.

Wooper

Wooper is found right after the first gym and learns Waterfall, Surf, Whirlpool, Strength, and Rock Smash. It also has decent stats for an in-game Pokémon, making it a valuable team player.

Helpful NPCs

Hidden Power Man

Head to the prize building adjacent to the Celadon Game Corner. A man will tell you the Hidden Power type of a Pokémon in your party. This allows you to narrow down your IVs more quickly, as most IV calculators include this feature.

IV Man

To help narrow down your Pokémon's IVs even quicker, head to the main Battle Tower, where a man will tell you several different phrases that indicate your Pokémon's best IV(s), as well as the overall total of its IVs. Many IV calculators allow you to use these phrases, so this is extremely helpful in determining IVs. First, he will indicate the range for the total amount of IVs based on the following phrases:

• 'This Pokémon's potential is decent all around.' – Total: 0-90
• 'This Pokémon's potential is above average overall.' – Total: 91-120
• 'This Pokémon has relatively superior potential overall.' – Total: 121 - 150
• 'This Pokémon has outstanding potential overall.' – Total: 151 - 186

Next, he will tell you your Pokémon's highest stat, at random if multiple IVs are the same, and give you a range for that stat based on the following phrases:

• 'It's rather decent in that regard.' – IV: 0-15
• 'It's very good in that regard.' – IV: 16-25
• 'It's fantastic in that regard.' – IV: 26-30
• 'It can't be better in that regard.' – IV: 31

MetalKid's IV Calculator is recommended for checking IVs, as it allows you not only input the Pokémon's stats, but also to input the parameters given to you by the Hidden Power man and the IV man. This helps narrowing down IVs more quickly, even at lower levels. It is especially helpful in verifying RNGed Pokémon, as most IVs will be identical.

Daily Events and NPCs

Monday

On Mondays, you can talk to Monica on Route 40. On the first visit, she will give you a Sharp Beak. Every time after that, she will give you an Alert Ribbon.

Tuesday

On Tuesdays, you can talk to Tuscany on Route 29. On the first visit, she will give you a TwistedSpoon. Every time after that, she will give you a Shock Ribbon.

Wednesday

On Wednesdays, you can talk to Wesley at the Lake of Rage. On the first visit, he will give you a Black Belt. Every time after that, he will give you a Downcast Ribbon.

Thursday

On Thursdays, you can talk to Arthur on Route 36. On the first visit, he will give you a Hard Stone. Every time after that, he will give you a Careless Ribbon.

Friday

On Friday, you can talk to Freida on Route 32. On the first visit, she will give you a Poison Barb. Every time after that, she will give you a Relax Ribbon.

Also on Fridays, you can visit the B2 of Union Cave to capture a Lapras. You can catch multiple Lapras this way.

Saturday

On Saturday, you can talk to Santos in Blackthorn. On the first visit, he will give you a Soft Sand. Every time after that, he will give you a Snooze Ribbon.

Sunday

On Sunday, you can talk to Sunny on Route 37. On the first visit, he will give you a Magnet. Every time after that, he will give you a Smile Ribbon.