Route 42 Gold & Silver · Johto route

Map of Route 42 in Pokémon Gold and Silver — Route 42 (in-game map)

Route 42 runs east from Ecruteak City to Mahogany Town, with Mt. Mortar rising along its northern edge. Two ponds split the route into sections, so without Surf you have to detour through Mt. Mortar's caves to get from one end to the other. A small island between the ponds holds three Apricorn trees behind a small Cut tree.

Wild Pokémon: 10
Items: 6
Trainers: 3
Needs: Surf, Cut

Connects to: Ecruteak City · Mahogany Town · Mt. Mortar

Where Route 42 is on the Johto map Route 42 on the Johto map

Wild Pokémon

Tall grass encounter rate 10%
Pokémon	Type	Lv.	Morning	Day	Night
Mareep	Electric	13–15	G 30%S 50%	G 30%S 50%	G 30%S 50%
Spearow	NormalFlying	14–16	G 30%S 40%	G 30%S 40%	–
Zubat	PoisonFlying	14–16	–	–	G 30%S 40%
Mankey Gold	Fighting	15	30%	30%	30%
Flaaffy	Electric	15–17	10%	10%	10%

Surfing encounter rate 4%
Pokémon	Type	Lv.	Chance
Goldeen	Water	15–20	90%
Seaking	Water	20	10%

Fishing
Rod	Pokémon	Lv.	Morning & day	Night
Old Rod	Magikarp	10	85%	85%
Old Rod	Goldeen	10	15%	15%
Good Rod	Goldeen	20	65%	65%
Good Rod	Magikarp	20	35%	35%
Super Rod	Goldeen	40	70%	70%
	Magikarp	40	20%	20%
	Seaking	40	10%	10%

Headbutt trees

Common trees
Pokémon	Type	Lv.	Chance
Spearow	NormalFlying	10	80%
Aipom	Normal	10	20%

Rare trees
Pokémon	Type	Lv.	Chance
Spearow	NormalFlying	10	50%
Heracross	BugFighting	10	30%
Aipom	Normal	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, Old Rod 70/15/15, Good Rod 35/35/20/10, Super Rod 40/30/20/10). Where Gold and Silver differ, a cell shows both (G and S); a version tag means the Pokémon only appears in that version here. Version exclusives · Where to find every Pokémon.

Trainers

Trainer	Pokémon	Prize
FisherChris	Qwilfish 18 Phone rematches (2) Rematch 1 · ₽230Qwilfish 23 Rematch 2 · ₽340Goldeen 32 Goldeen 32 Qwilfish 34	₽180
HikerBenjamin	Diglett 14 Geodude 14 Dugtrio 16	₽128
PokéManiacShane	Nidorina 16 Nidorino 16	₽240

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
Ultra Ball	Item ball
Super Potion	Item ball
Max Potion	Hidden
Pnk Apricorn	Apricorn tree Grows back every day
Grn Apricorn	Apricorn tree Grows back every day
Ylw Apricorn	Apricorn tree Grows back every day

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

Tips

Pick the Pnk, Grn and Ylw Apricorns each day and take them to Kurt in Azalea Town to have them made into special Poké Balls.
In Pokémon Gold, Mankey appears in the grass here (up to 30% at any time of day); it is not found here in Silver.
Mareep is common at any time of day (up to 50%), and Flaaffy turns up occasionally (up to 10%).
Spearow appears in the morning and during the day; at night it is replaced by Zubat.
Fisher Chris will swap phone numbers after you beat him and can call for rematches later in the game.
The Ultra Ball sits by Mt. Mortar's western entrance and needs no HM; the Super Potion and a hidden Max Potion need Surf.

Walkthrough: Part 8: Lake of Rage, the Rocket Hideout and Pryce

FAQ

How do you get to Mahogany Town in Pokémon Gold and Silver?

Head east from Ecruteak City along Route 42. Surf across the ponds, or, if you do not have Surf yet, go through Mt. Mortar's caves to reach the eastern side.

Where are the Apricorn trees on Route 42?

Three trees (Pnk, Grn and Ylw Apricorn) stand on the land between the two ponds. Use Cut to clear the small tree that blocks the way to them.

Where do you catch Mankey in Pokémon Gold?

Route 42's tall grass has Mankey at any time of day in Gold. Silver players have to trade for it.

What Pokémon are on Route 42 at night?

At night you will find Mareep, Zubat, Flaaffy and, in Gold only, Mankey. Spearow only shows up in the morning and during the day.

What Pokémon can you catch in Route 42 in Gold and Silver?

10 species: Mareep, Spearow, Zubat, Mankey, Flaaffy, Goldeen, Seaking, Magikarp, Aipom, Heracross. Gold only: Mankey. Silver only: Magikarp, Goldeen, Seaking.

Sources & picture credits

Guide text is original retrogameindex writing, checked against Bulbapedia and the game data. Wild Pokémon and encounter chances for both versions and all three times of day, fishing, Headbutt and Rock Smash tables, items, trainers, gifts, trades and shops come from the pret/pokegold decompilation (pret/pokegold ef0201d8da). Maps and sprites © Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK, archived from the Bulbagarden Archives; the Johto and Kanto maps are drawn from the game’s own Pokégear graphics (listed on the image gallery).