Gate

Lookout stations are prominent features of routes in the Pokémon world. They are usually placed at junctions between different routes, or placed between a route and a city. They serve to separate two areas, and also to guard the corresponding route, which is why an Officer (Or simply a person or people in Generation VI) usually resides inside. Upon speaking to the Officer (Or person), they may offer words of advice or information about the route or city that the lookout station guards.

Unlike other buildings, the player can often ride their bicycle through these buildings to guarantee fast transportation.

In Generation I, certain lookout stations 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 lookout stations 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 lookout stations all led to Saffron City.

Practical use

The lookout stations, however, also have a practical use within the games' programming. As a player moves from route to city, the maps must be loaded for each. While this is easy when a city connects to relatively few routes, places like Saffron City and Jubilife City, which connect to many different areas, would need to load multiple maps, potentially slowing down the game or even crashing it. The programmers, realizing this, broke up the overworld with these gatehouses to assure crash-free gameplay.

List of lookout stations

Connecting areas		Region	Notes
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.
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 31	Violet City	Johto
Route 35	Goldenrod City	Johto	Officer will give away a Spearow with mail to deliver.
Route 38	Ecruteak City	Johto
Route 42	Ecruteak City	Johto
Route 43	Mahogany Town	Johto	Only lookout station within a town.
Route 46	Route 29	Johto
Route 110	Slateport City	Hoenn	Entrance to Seaside Cycling Road.
Route 110	Mauville City	Hoenn	Entrance to Seaside Cycling Road.
Route 114	Route 115	Hoenn	Meteor Falls; serves similar purpose.
Route 116	Verdanturf Town	Hoenn	Rusturf Tunnel; serves similar purpose.
Route 203	Oreburgh City	Sinnoh	Oreburgh Gate; serves similar purpose.
Route 206	Eterna City	Sinnoh	Cycling Road.
Route 208	Hearthome City	Sinnoh
Route 209	Hearthome City	Sinnoh
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
Route 222	Sunyshore City	Sinnoh
Route 225	Fight Area	Sinnoh
Route 226	Route 228	Sinnoh

Trivia

• Hoenn is the only region to have no physical lookout stations (though Meteor Falls and Rusturf Tunnel serve a similar purpose by breaking up the overworld). This may be due to the fact that Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire did not push the Game Boy Advance to its furthest limits.
• Sinnoh has the most lookout stations, and players cannot ride their bike in any of them, likely due to fears that the speed of the bike in fourth gear would manage to freeze the game. These fears were not unfounded, as the tweaking glitch was eventually discovered. In addition, each one contained a map of Sinnoh showing the player's current location. This was a useful way to plan your course through cities connecting to multiple routes.

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