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 usually resides inside. Upon speaking to the Officer, 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
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.
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