From Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia.
Gates (Japanese: ゲート Gate) are prominent features of routes in the Pokémon world. They are located at junctions between different routes, or placed between a route and a city.
In the games
Generation I
In Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, gates serve to separate two areas, and also to guard the corresponding route, which is why an Officer usually resides inside. Upon speaking to the Officer, they may offer words of advice or information about the route or city that the gate guards. In Generation I, certain gates contained a second floor that contained a spot where binoculars could be used to see faraway landmarks, or even certain Pokémon. This generation also contained certain gates that prohibited entry until the Officer, who claimed to be thirsty, was given a drink that could be bought at the Celadon Department Store. These gates all lead to Saffron City.
Generation II
Much like Generation I, gates serve to separate two areas. Unlike other buildings, the player can often ride their bicycle through these buildings to guarantee fast transportation. Randy, a non-player character, will give a Spearow to the player in the gate north of Goldenrod City.
Generation III
Gates were sparse in the Generation III games set in Hoenn. There are just two gates, each connected to the Seaside Cycling Road. Players may not ride bicycles as they travel away from the Cycling Road, but are forced upon their bicycle if traveling toward it. If the bicycle has not been obtained, they may not enter.
In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, gates serve the same purpose as in Generation I. Because players can now trade items attached to a Pokémon, the key item Tea was introduced to prevent the player from advancing through the Saffron gates prematurely. This served the same purpose as the drink from the original games. Professor Oak's aides will meet the player on the second floor of some gates. He will check the Pokédex, and will reward the player if he or she has caught a given number. Gates exist also in the Sevii Islands, giving access from the port to each town.
Generation IV
Much like in past generations, the gates in Generation IV serve to separate two areas. In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the player cannot ride their bicycle through these buildings, but this is possible in Pokémon Platinum and HeartGold and SoulSilver. Officers do not watch over the route, but other travelers can be found inside, as well as a map showing the player's current location.
Generation V
There are gates on several routes in Unova, each with a receptionist assigned to the gate. Unlike in previous games, each gate has an electric bulletin board and a screen on one of its walls. The bulletin board displays the current date, the weather in a few adjacent routes and towns (including what location a wind storm or thunderstorm is brewing), information about a nearby town or city, and information about where Pokémon are swarming (once the player has obtained the National Pokédex). The screen shows images from the connected location. Also in these gates there are a trash can and two chairs for a quick rest.
There are also some gates that only connect bridges that have unique designs, though these gates don't have bulletin boards and monitors. Unlike previous generations, where gates share their music with that of a near route, all the gates now share a new background music and each gate has a name (although the same name may be shared by multiple gates) that can be viewed when saving inside one or hatching an egg there.
Practical use
The gates, however, also have a practical use within the games' programming. As a player moves from route to city, the map tilesets (textures in Generation IV) must be loaded for each. While this is easy when a city connects to relatively few routes, where all can use the same tileset, areas like Saffron City and Jubilife City, which connect to many different areas, would need to load multiple tilesets/textures, potentially slowing down the game or even crashing it. The programmers, realizing this, broke up the overworld with these gates to assure crash-free gameplay, and to properly display the routes/towns/cities. In the Generation IV games, a player can use a walk through walls cheat to go from location to location without going through the gates. By doing this, the map tilesets work as normal, except for many tilesets appearing as white tiles. Some buildings seem to be invisible as well. In the Generation V games, the walk through walls cheats can be also used to change locations without using the gates; however, the tileset problem is very limited, if not absent.
List of gates
Connecting areas
|
Region
|
Notes
|
Route 1 |
Viridian City |
Kanto |
Only in Generation IV.
|
Route 5 |
Saffron City |
Kanto |
Officer requires Fresh Water, Soda Pop, or Lemonade to pass in Generation I, or Tea in Generation III.
|
Route 6 |
Saffron City |
Kanto |
Officer requires Fresh Water, Soda Pop, or Lemonade to pass in Generation I, or Tea in Generation III.
|
Route 7 |
Saffron City |
Kanto |
Officer requires Fresh Water, Soda Pop, or Lemonade to pass in Generation I, or Tea in Generation III.
|
Route 8 |
Saffron City |
Kanto |
Officer requires Fresh Water, Soda Pop, or Lemonade to pass in Generation I, or Tea in Generation III.
|
Route 11 |
Route 12 |
Kanto |
Has a second floor. Removed in Generation II.
|
Route 15 |
Fuchsia City |
Kanto |
Has a second floor.
|
Route 16 |
Celadon City |
Kanto |
Has a second floor; Cycling Road.
|
Route 18 |
Fuchsia City |
Kanto |
Has a second floor; Cycling Road.
|
Route 19 |
Fuchsia City |
Kanto |
Only in Generations II and IV.
|
Route 31 |
Violet City |
Johto |
Lyra/Ethan will give the player the Vs. Recorder in Generation IV.
|
Route 35 |
Goldenrod City |
Johto |
Officer will give away a Spearow with mail to deliver.
|
Route 36 |
Violet City |
Johto |
Generation IV only.
|
Route 38 |
Ecruteak City |
Johto |
|
Route 42 |
Ecruteak City |
Johto |
|
Route 43 |
Mahogany Town |
Johto |
First gate within a town. If the player enters the gate before defeating Team Rocket at Team Rocket HQ, they will be forced to pay $1000. If the player has less than $1000, they will not be charged.
|
Route 46 |
Route 29 |
Johto |
|
Route 110 |
Route 110 |
Hoenn |
Entrance to Seaside Cycling Road.
|
Route 110 |
Route 110 |
Hoenn |
Entrance to Seaside Cycling Road.
|
Route 206 |
Eterna City |
Sinnoh |
Cycling Road; Rowan's aide will give players the Exp. Share after they have seen at least 35 or more Pokémon on their Pokédex.
|
Route 206 |
Route 206 |
Sinnoh |
Cycling Road
|
Route 208 |
Hearthome City |
Sinnoh |
|
Route 209 |
Hearthome City |
Sinnoh |
Blocked until the player meets Fantina (Diamond and Pearl) or until the player defeats Fantina (Pokémon Platinum)
|
Route 212 |
Hearthome City |
Sinnoh |
|
Route 213 |
Pastoria City |
Sinnoh |
|
Route 214 |
Veilstone City |
Sinnoh |
|
Route 215 |
Veilstone City |
Sinnoh |
|
Route 218 |
Jubilife City |
Sinnoh |
Fisherman will give the player an Old Rod.
|
Route 218 |
Canalave City |
Sinnoh |
Rowan's aide will upgrade the player's Pokédex so that they can see a Pokémon's forms.
|
Route 222 |
Sunyshore City |
Sinnoh |
|
Route 225 |
Fight Area |
Sinnoh |
Blocked until the player receives the National Pokédex. The person blocking it will give the player a Super Rod after receiving the National Pokédex.
|
Route 226 |
Route 228 |
Sinnoh |
|
Route 1 |
Route 17 |
Unova |
The bulletin board and screen in this gate are turned off. Called Route Gate in the game.
|
Route 2 |
Accumula Town |
Unova |
Blocked by two Plasma grunts until Ghetsis talks to the citizens and the player battles N. Called Accumula Gate in the game.
|
Route 3 |
Nacrene City |
Unova |
Called Nacrene Gate in the game.
|
Pinwheel Forest |
Skyarrow Bridge |
Unova |
Called Bridge Gate in the game.
|
Skyarrow Bridge |
Castelia City |
Unova |
Called Bridge Gate in the game. It is the only Bridge Gate in the game directly bordering a city.
|
Route 4 |
Castelia City |
Unova |
Called Castelia Gate in the game.
|
Route 4 |
Nimbasa City |
Unova |
Professor Juniper will give ten Ultra Balls to the player and another ten to Cheren in this gate. Called Nimbasa Gate in the game.
|
Desert Resort |
Unova |
It is the only gate that doesn't bring the player into a new area. Called Route Gate in the game.
|
Route 5 |
Nimbasa City |
Unova |
Bianca will not let the player go in before she shows her or him the Musical Hall. Called Nimbasa Gate in the game.
|
Route 8 |
Tubeline Bridge |
Unova |
It doesn't have a screen or bulletin board. The gate has a different design. Called Bridge Gate in the game.
|
Route 9 |
Tubeline Bridge |
Unova |
It doesn't have a screen or bulletin board. The gate has a different design. Called Bridge Gate in the game.
|
Route 9 |
Opelucid City |
Unova |
Called Opelucid Gate in the game.
|
Route 10 |
Opelucid City |
Unova |
After gaining the 8th badge, the receptionist will tell the player about an unusual storm on Route 7- meaning that either Tornadus or Thundurus is now at the route. Called Opelucid Gate in the game.
|
Route 11 |
Opelucid City |
Unova |
Blocked until the credits roll for the first time and the player receives the National Pokédex. Called Opelucid Gate in the game.
|
Route 11 |
Village Bridge |
Unova |
Called Bridge Gate in the game.
|
Route 12 |
Village Bridge |
Unova |
The receptionist at this gate has a different sprite to the rest of the receptionists in Unova; explaining that she forgot her uniform. Called Bridge Gate in the game.
|
Route 13 |
Undella Town |
Unova |
Called Undella Gate in the game.
|
Route 14 |
Black City |
Unova |
Only in Pokémon Black. Called Black Gate in the game.
|
Route 15 |
Black City |
Unova |
Only in Pokémon Black. Called Black Gate in the game.
|
Route 14 |
White Forest |
Unova |
Only in Pokémon White. Called White Gate in the game.
|
Route 15 |
White Forest |
Unova |
Only in Pokémon White. Called White Gate in the game.
|
Route 15 |
Marvelous Bridge |
Unova |
It doesn't have a screen or bulletin board. The gate has a different design. Called Bridge Gate in the game.
|
Route 16 |
Marvelous Bridge |
Unova |
It doesn't have a screen or bulletin board. The gate has a different design. Called Bridge Gate in the game.
|
Route 16 |
Nimbasa City |
Unova |
A man in the gate will give the player the Macho Brace. Called Nimbasa Gate in the game.
|
|
Trivia
- Despite having been a mechanic of the games since Generation I, these buildings as a whole did not have an official name until Generation V. "Guardhouse" and "gatehouse" were popular fanon terms to refer to these buildings when they had no official name.