Gate

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 Generation I, 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.

Certain gates contain a second floor that features a spot where binoculars can be used to see faraway landmarks, or even certain Pokémon. In some of these, the player will usually encounter one of Professor Oak's aides. He will check the Pokédex and will reward the player if he or she has caught a given number.

There are also certain gates the player is forbidden to enter until the Officer, who claims to be thirsty, is given a drink that can be bought at the Celadon Department Store. These gates are those found on Routes 5, 6, 7 and 8 and all lead to Saffron City.

The exterior of any gate in Generation I	The interior of a regular gate in Generation I	The ground floor of a two-story gate in Generation I	The second floor of a two-story gate in Generation I

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.

At the gate leading to Route 35, to the north of Goldenrod City, is Randy, a non-player character, who will give a Spearow to the player that holds Mail to be delivered to his friend on Route 31.

The exterior of any gate in Generation II	The interior of any gate in Generation II

Generation III

Gates are sparse in the Hoenn-based Generation III games. There are only 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 FireRed and LeafGreen, gates serve the same purpose as in Generation I. The only significant change is that since players can now trade items attached to a Pokémon, the key item Tea was introduced to prevent the player from advancing through the gates surrounding Saffron City prematurely. This key item serves the same purpose as the drink from the original games. Gates exist also in the Sevii Islands, giving access from the port to each town.

Picture	Description
	The exterior of the gates at Seaside Cycling Road in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.
	The interior of the gates at Seaside Cycling Road in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald.
	The exterior of any gate in Kanto in FireRed and LeafGreen.
	The interior of a regular gate in Kanto in FireRed and LeafGreen.
	The ground floor of a two-story gate in Kanto in FireRed and LeafGreen.
	The second floor of a two-story gate in Kanto in FireRed and LeafGreen.
	The exterior of the gates at the Sevii Islands, Navel Rock and Birth Island in FireRed and LeafGreen.
	The interior of the gates at the Sevii Islands, Navel Rock and Birth Island in FireRed and LeafGreen.
	The exterior of the gates in Navel Rock and Birth Island in Emerald.
	The interior of the gates in Navel Rock and Birth Island in Emerald.

Generation IV

Much like in past generations, the gates in Generation IV serve to separate two areas. In Diamond and Pearl, the player cannot ride their bicycle through these buildings, but this limitation was lifted in Platinum and HeartGold and SoulSilver.

In the Sinnoh-based games, 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.

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the gates are similar to those in Generation II and the Officers in charge of guarding them are reinstated.

The interior of any gate in Diamond and Pearl	Lucas, an officer, and a Fisherman inside a gate in Platinum	The interior of any gate in HeartGold and SoulSilver

Generation V

Hilbert inside a gate in Black and White

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 windstorm or thunderstorm is brewing at), 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 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 also have a practical use within the games' programming. As a player moves from a route to a town or city, the map's textures (tilesets in the first three generations) must be loaded for each. While this is easy when a city connects to relatively few routes, where all can use the same tileset/texture, 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 and 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 textures work as expected, except for many of them appearing as white tiles. Some buildings seem to be invisible as well. The cheat can also be used in the Generation V games; however, the texture problem is very limited, if not completely 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.