Route 36 Crystal · Johto route

Map of Route 36 in Pokémon Crystal — Route 36 (in-game map)

Route 36 runs west from Violet City towards Route 35 and Route 37, with gates to the National Park and the Ruins of Alph. A strange tree blocks the path north until you deal with it, and in Crystal Suicune briefly appears here during its run across Johto.

Wild Pokémon: 9
Items: 8
Trainers: 2

Connects to: Violet City · Route 35 · Route 37 · Ruins of Alph · National Park

Where Route 36 is on the Johto map Route 36 on the Johto map

Gift and special Pokémon

Sudowoodo Lv. 20 · One-off encounter

The odd tree blocking the route. Water it with the SquirtBottle from the Goldenrod Flower Shop to battle it.

Wild Pokémon

Tall grass encounter rate 10%
Pokémon	Type	Lv.	Morning	Day	Night
Pidgey	NormalFlying	4–6	40%	70%	–
Hoothoot	NormalFlying	4–5	–	–	45%
Ledyba	BugFlying	4	30%	–	–
Spinarak	BugPoison	4	–	–	30%
Bellsprout	GrassPoison	5	20%	20%	20%
Growlithe	Fire	5	10%	10%	–
Gastly	GhostPoison	5	–	–	5%

Headbutt trees

Common trees
Pokémon	Type	Lv.	Chance
Hoothoot	NormalFlying	10	50%
Exeggcute	GrassPsychic	10	20%
Ledyba	BugFlying	10	15%
Spinarak	BugPoison	10	15%

Rare trees
Pokémon	Type	Lv.	Chance
Hoothoot	NormalFlying	10	50%
Pineco	Bug	10	30%
Exeggcute	GrassPsychic	10	20%

Teach a Pokémon Headbutt (TM02 from Ilex Forest) and use it on trees. Whether a tree is common, rare or empty depends on the tree and your Trainer ID.

Chances are the game’s encounter slots for each time of day: morning 4:00–9:59, day 10:00–17:59, night 18:00–3:59 (grass and caves 30/30/20/10/5/4/1, surfing 60/30/10). Where to find every Pokémon · Crystal vs Gold & Silver.

Trainers

Trainer	Pokémon	Prize
PsychicMark	Abra 13 Abra 13 Kadabra 15	₽120
SchoolboyAlan	Tangela 16 Phone rematches (4) Rematch 1 · ₽136Tangela 17 Yanma 17 Rematch 2 · ₽200Natu 20 Tangela 22 Quagsire 20 Yanma 25 Rematch 3 · ₽240Natu 27 Tangela 27 Quagsire 30 Yanma 30 Rematch 4 · ₽280Xatu 35 Tangela 32 Yanma 32 Quagsire 35	₽128

Prize money is the trainer class’s base payout times the level of the trainer’s last Pokémon. Trainers with phone rematches call you when they want another battle; their teams grow as you progress.

Items

Item	How	Where
Ice Berry	Berry tree Grows back every day	Route 36
TM08 Rock Smash	Gift A man on Route 36 gives it to you after you’ve dealt with the Sudowoodo blocking the road.	Route 36
Fire Stone	Gift Schoolboy Alan gives it after you register his number and he phones to say he has one; this can happen more than once.	Route 36
Hard Stone	Gift Arthur of Thursday gives it to you on a Thursday.	Route 36
Sun Stone	Gift First prize in the Bug-Catching Contest; the gate officer hands it over here if your Pack was full at the awards ceremony.	National Park gate
Everstone	Gift Second prize in the Bug-Catching Contest; the gate officer hands it over here if your Pack was full at the awards ceremony.	National Park gate
Gold Berry	Gift Third prize in the Bug-Catching Contest; the gate officer hands it over here if your Pack was full at the awards ceremony.	National Park gate
Berry	Gift Consolation prize in the Bug-Catching Contest; the gate officer hands it over here if your Pack was full at the awards ceremony.	National Park gate

Hidden items can be found with the Itemfinder from Ecruteak City.

Tips

Floria stands by the odd tree; after you win the Plain Badge, her sister at the Goldenrod Flower Shop gives you a SquirtBottle to water it.
Watering the tree starts a battle with a Lv20 Sudowoodo; catch or defeat it to open the way north to Route 37.
Once Sudowoodo is gone, the man east of it gives you TM08 Rock Smash.
Arthur appears on Thursdays and gives you a Hard Stone; register Schoolboy Alan for the chance of a Fire Stone.
In Crystal, after sightings in Cianwood City and on Route 42, Suicune appears beside the National Park gate and dashes away as you approach.
Growlithe (10%) appears in the morning and day; at night look for Hoothoot (45%), Spinarak (30%) and Gastly (5%).

Walkthrough: Part 5: Routes 35–37, Ecruteak City and Morty · Part 10: Radio Tower Takeover and Suicune at Tin Tower

FAQ

How do you get past the tree on Route 36 in Pokémon Crystal?

Win the Plain Badge, talk to Floria on Route 36, then collect the SquirtBottle at the Goldenrod Flower Shop and use it on the tree to fight Sudowoodo.

Where do you get Rock Smash in Pokémon Crystal?

From the man on Route 36 once Sudowoodo is out of the way; in Crystal it is TM08, not an HM.

When does Suicune appear on Route 36 in Pokémon Crystal?

After you have seen it in Cianwood City and then on Route 42; it waits near the National Park gate and flees when you get close.

What Pokémon can you catch in Route 36 in Pokémon Crystal?

9 species: Pidgey, Hoothoot, Ledyba, Spinarak, Bellsprout, Growlithe, Gastly, Exeggcute, Pineco.

Sources & picture credits

Guide text is original retrogameindex writing, checked against the game’s own scripts and Bulbapedia. Wild Pokémon and encounter chances for all three times of day, fishing, Headbutt and Rock Smash tables, items, trainers, gifts, trades and shops come from the pret/pokecrystal decompilation (pret/pokecrystal 3bc8daa417). Maps, sprites and the Johto and Kanto Pokégear maps are drawn by retrogameindex from the game’s own graphics in that decompilation (listed on the image gallery). Pokémon © Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK.