Pokemon Dreams Guide: A Rom-Hack Full of Creature Comforts

Pokemon games have captivated audiences for over 25 years, and if your favorites were the older titles, you might think you’ve seen all the series has to offer. That couldn’t be further from the truth!

Pokemon Rom-hacks have come so far in terms of quality and production value. Some boast brand new regions and even new Pokemon and are a fantastic way to breathe new life into the older games. Pokemon Dreams is one of many great fan-made titles and is a perfect starting point for a journey that feels fresh but familiar. 

In this Pokemon Dreams Game Guide, I’ll be going through what to expect every step of the way. From Gym battles and puzzles all the way to the Pokemon League, I’ve got you covered! This guide aims to get you to the end credits, but plenty of side content is also detailed. If you’re ready to take the Solda region by the horns, let’s begin!

Story Synopsis

With an election looming, Pokemon Dreams puts you in the shoes of a novice Trainer in a region wrapped in a power struggle. 

On your quest to become a powerful Trainer, you’ll stumble across one of the groups vying for power, Team Coil. Forget what you know about antagonists in other Pokemon games; you may actually sympathize with Team Coil’s ideologies! However you feel, it’s clear Team Coil, and yourself won’t see eye to eye. 

Before you know it, you’ll be part of a frantic race to stop Team Coil from gathering three stones to awakening the Sky Snake Pokemon (it’s not what you think!) and overthrowing the government with it. You’ll meet many interesting characters that will support you on your adventure but will Team Coil be successful? That part is on you!

Pokemon Dreams Key Features

Pokemon Dreams is incredibly feature-rich and begs multiple playthroughs if you want to see everything. On top of the new region, Pokemon Dreams also boasts:

• Roster from Gen I to Gen VII. Reportedly over 800 Pokemon!
• Over 30 Fakemon; Fan-made Pokemon (can be mostly avoided if you wish).
• Mega Evolutions.
• System Sisters; A trio you find in the starting City to dramatically alter how the game works (like changing every battle to Doubles)  
• Pokemon moves are updated to their Gen VII versions for balance.
• Battles inside Pokemon Centers that award TM’s

Attack Your Opponents with STAB!

STAB is short for Same Type Attack Bonus and has been a feature in the Pokemon games since the beginning. This mechanic grants a substantial 50% boost in damage when an attack is the same type as the Pokemon using it (Bulbasaur and Vine Whip, for example). Be sure to take full advantage of this when you can.

The Power of Repels

One trend I notice in many Fan-made Pokemon games is how high the wild encounter rate is, and that’s no exception here. This game has enough Trainers to keep your entire team at an acceptable level without battling many wild Pokemon. Repels are almost essential in some areas if you want to beat the game in a decent time.

A Word on Spoilers

This guide aims to get you to the end of the game as smoothly as possible. To do so, I have included the names of key characters, their Pokemon, locations and some story sequences. Nobody likes spoilers, but I feel they are a necessary evil in an in-depth guide like this.

Pokemon Dreams Isn’t Linear

There are plenty of optional side areas in Pokemon Dreams. These make the Solda region feel alive, but they also make it easy to get lost. Sometimes you’ll enter one of these areas, convinced it’s the right place to be. If you find you’re just going around in circles, sometimes it’s best to fly to the last town you visited and see if there’s a hint you missed.

Pokemon Dreams Walkthrough

From here onwards is a complete guide through Pokemon Dreams from start to finish. Every location is listed in the order you’ll come across them, but as there are optional areas, your experiences may slightly differ from my own, let’s begin!

Humble Beginnings in Centralis City

Pokemon Dreams takes the odd decision of bestowing a Pokemon on you from the start, a shiny Eevee! You can evolve your buddy if you wish later on or keep them as they are.

This is a big City to throw you in right away, and you’re very limited in things to do right now. To the East, you can find the System Sisters I mentioned in the section above, but most of this area can be ignored for now as you need to head West and into the large yellow building.  

Research Lab

This is Professor Conifers Lab, and you arrive just in time for thieves to come and attempt to steal his research! This is where you choose your Starter Pokemon: Chikorita, Cyndaquil, or Totodile.

What’s The Best Starter?

Pokemon Dreams has an incredible roster of Pokemon up for grabs, so go with your favorite! I could argue for Cyndaquil being the best as you’ll crush the first Gym with it (and Typhlosion is one of the coolest Pokemon ever) but pick the one you’ll enjoy the most. 

Your First Battle

Your very first battle is a doubles battle! You and the Professor VS 2 Mystery Troop Grunts. They only have a weak Sentret and Ekans, and there’s no way you can lose. Once you’re done here and with your shiny new Pokedex in hand, head West to Route 1

Route 1

This short Route will give you an excellent refresher into Pokemon Combat. There are a few low-level Trainers and grass for basic Wild Pokemon. There’s honestly very little to say about this place, but it never hurts to snag a few easy levels early.

Thicket Town

Staying true to those creature comforts, you’ll be given EXP Share the moment you reach Thicket Town. It’s optional but will make your journey through Pokemon Dreams grind-free.

Battle In the Pokemon Center?

This is a running theme in Pokemon Dreams. In the Solda Region, Pokemon Centers aren’t a sacred ground free of bloodshed. There’s always a Trainer standing by the counter, and you always get a TM for winning. Aside from the Pokemon Center battle, there isn’t much you can do here for now, and you can’t challenge the Gym because the Gym Leader is away. With this being the case, head South to Route 2.

Route 2

Pokemon Ranch (Optional)

The Pokemon Ranch is West of Route 2 and is an optional side area. Gathering as much EXP as possible is valuable, so I recommend visiting this place as there are Trainers to battle. At the entrance, there’s an elderly couple that also double as a Pokemon Centre.

The older man asks for your help to recover five Mareeps that have escaped. They are all in plain view around the area, and if you recover all of them, there’s a Return TM up for grabs. Head south to Route 3 when you’re ready.

Route 3

Team Coil are all over the area. You’ll need to battle a few of their members, but they are all quite weak. Follow the path to Mr Cutter’s house and enter the building. You’ll find Team Coil in the building harassing Mr Cutter for his Cut HM. Beat, the Thicket Town Gym Leader is also inside. You’ll be challenged by Lyre, a member of Team Coil and her Pokemon are as follows:

Team Coil Lyre

• Dratini (Dragon) LV10
• Slugma (Fire) LV11
• Seviper (Poison) LV11

Lyre has an interesting team, but nothing that should pose any problems for now. Dratini knows Thunder Wave, which causes paralysis, but it’s more of a pest than a problem.

After beating Lyra, Beat offers to teach you Cut as long as you battle him at the Thicket Town gym.

Thicket Town Gym

Thicket Town Gym specializes in Bug-Types, so you’ll have an easy time if you pick Cyndaquil as your starter. This Gym looks like a maze made of trees, but it’s less of a maze and more just walking to the trainers individually. Once you battle through them, you’ll face Beat; this is his team:

Gym Leader Beat – Bug-type

• Surskit (Bug/Water) LV13
• Pineco (Bug) LV15
• Beautifly (Bug/Flying) LV16
• Nincada (Bug/Ground) LV13

Honestly, Beat is a pushover. This may have been because I had Quilava at this point. Aside from a Surskit that likes to withdraw a lot, there was nothing noteworthy in this battle. You get the Beetle Badge and Struggle Bug TM for winning.

When ready, head North to Route 4.

Route 4

You’ll find Beat waiting to cut down a tree for you, but whilst you’re chatting, you’ll be interrupted and introduced to your Rival. He promptly challenges you with this team:

• Mareep (Electric) LV7
• Starter LV7

Yes, those levels are correct, and this is what a slaughter looks like! In Pokemon Dreams, your Rival goes through a proper ‘Anime Hero’ arc, so enjoy the easy battles whilst you can! Head North to continue through Route 4. Fun fact: a Trainer around here calls you a plebeian! Take battles when you can and keep going until you reach the edge of Verdedge City.

You’ll meet the Trainer you sat opposite during the intro, and they’ll challenge you to a battle.

PKMN Trainer

Dunsparce (Normal) LV18

Dunsparce knows Coil, which increases its attack strength along with Secret Power. It can hit hard, but with only 1 Pokemon, you should be fine. When you’re ready, head into Verdedge City.

Verdedge City

On your Adventure, you’ll come to loathe Gyms that aren’t open when you arrive, but as this one is open for business, head straight there.

Verdedge City Gym

For some reason, this is the nastiest Gym in the whole game. Getting around is a pain because the walls are ‘invisible’. Truthfully, the walls are mostly invisible, and if you look closely at each tile, the ones with the lighter boxes around the edges are the ones you can’t walk on.

When you make it to the Gym Leader (she’s the one sleeping), this is her squad:

Gym Leader Crystal – Psychic-type

• Spoink (Psychic) LV23
• Munna (Psychic) LV23
• Meowstic (Psychic) LV23
• Natu (Psychic/Flying) LV24

If getting here wasn’t annoying enough, Spoink and Munna know Confuse Ray and use it often. Dark types are superb in this Gym. If you’re lucky enough to have a Bug with U-Turn, you’ll lay waste to the entire squad as U-Turn lets you swap out to negate Confusion.

After the battle, you’ll be given the Foresight badge and Calm Mind TM.

An Optional Route

To my knowledge, heading West into Route 6 is entirely optional. I still recommend doing it for EXP, but if you’d rather skip this part, just head North.

Seis Bluff Cave (Optional)

Dropping down the rock slide gives Bulldoze TM. A Larvesta is up for grabs in a grotto on the main path. You’ll know you’re in the right place as there’s a man by the door.

The Creepy House (Optional)

You’ll stumble across a strange, unmarked house full of mist. Each room has a door on each wall, and only one lets you progress. The others will send you back to the beginning. You need to go through these doors to get through the house: Top, Right, Bottom, Left, Left and finally, Up.

For doing this, you get a Twisted Spoon which powers up Psychic-type moves, a Pokedoll and Dream Eater TM. Once you’re done, heading East will take you back to Verdedge City.

From Verdedge City, head North to Route 5.

Route 5

You’ll hear some commotion at the base of the steps into Mt. Oren, and a Team Coil Grunt will run down them after getting their butts kicked. Guess who it is, Your Rival!

Naturally, he challenges you to a battle. This is his team:

Rival

• Flaaffy (Electric) LV24
• Starter LV25
• Eevee (Normal) LV22
• Riolu (Fighting) LV22

Your Rival is a jerk and doesn’t heal your Pokémon after your fight. If you’re a cheapskate, you can wander back to the Pokemon Centre and back before going in.

Mt. Oren

I mentioned the importance of Repels at the start; if you don’t want to live in this place, I strongly recommend using some here. Each floor in Mt. Oren is small and straightforward, but they are all full of trainers. 

Eventually, you’ll find a ladder with Three guys standing around it. Sounds like Oren and Team Coil are battling on the floor above, but if your team is hurt, go South to Montanore Town first to heal up.

You’ll find a small gauntlet of Team Coil Trainers to battle up the ladder. If you don’t mind the walk, you can return to the Pokemon Centre whenever you wish. Of note, one Team Coil Peon has a LV23 Gyarados (Water/Flying) that knows Thrash. It hits fast and does a lot of damage. Fortunately, it’s their only Pokemon.

Once you’ve cleared the gauntlet, you’ll arrive just in time to see your Rival and Calvin getting beaten in battle. You’ll then be challenged by one of the Team Coil leaders, Anaconda.

Coil Admin Anaconda

• Luxio (Electric) LV25
• Noctowl (Normal/Flying) LV25
• Tangela (Grass) LV25
• Spritzee (Fairy) LV25

Even after winning, Anaconda reminds you that they got the Sapphire they were after anyway and warns you not to get involved in the future.

Montanore Town

There’s a ton of great stuff packed into this quaint mining town! Make sure you chat with all the residents as there’s some excellent stuff up for grabs. There’s a Hiker West of the Gym that sells drinks. These are superb healing items early-mid game and are much cheaper than the equivalent Potions.

Need Evolution Stones?

Be sure to visit the Stone Emporium right next to the Gym. The counter at the back sells just about every Evolution Stone that has ever existed in the Pokemon games. Remember this place if you need to evolve your Pokemon in the future.

Montanore Town Gym

As long as you took care of the Team Coil gauntlet and Anaconda, the Gym will be open. It’s a Rock-type Gym, and there are no puzzles. Simply deal with the Trainers and head to the Gym Leader. Her Pokemon are as follows:

Gym Leader Oren – Rock-type

• Boldore (Rock) LV26
• Alolan Golem (Rock/Electric) LV27
• Minior (Rock/Flying) LV26
• Lycanroc (Rock) LV26

Honestly, this one is easy if you have Water and Grass options. Alolan Golem’s Electric attacks make it a little scary if you’re relying on Water-types, but if you’ve been battling trainers as they show up, you should be at a substantially higher level than your opponent here.

You get the Ore Badge and Rock Tomb TM for winning.

Make sure you speak to your Rival outside, as Oren has ordered you both bikes for helping out against Team Coil.

The Journey to Cycling Road

Head South down the mountainside when you’re ready. You need to go ALL the way back to Thicket Town on your bike. Fortunately, it’s mostly a straight line South.

You’ll stumble across your Rival arguing with his Ma in Thicket Town. It’s actually pretty touching as far as Pokemon goes. Anyway, he wants to prove he’s strong enough to be a proper Pokemon trainer and challenges you to a battle in front of his family. This is what he has:

Rival

• Flaaffy (Electric) LV28
• Starter LV28
• Sylveon (Fairy) LV26
• Lucario (Fighting/Steel) LV26

Don’t feel bad about winning; your Rivals Ma lets him spread his wings all the same. He heads East, and that’s where you should go too. Head East to Centralis City and then South to Cycling Road.

Cycling Road

This is an old school Cycling Road, and it’s much faster going South than North. There are plenty of trainers down here for free exp.

Eccoh City

Want a Porygon?

If you want your very own virtual Pokemon, there’s a lady in a house just South of the Pokémon Center who will trade one for a Skiploom.

Head to the city centre to listen to Herbert’s speech. Afterwards, Herbert notes the increase in Team Coil activity, leaves to tend to the Gym and Professor Conifer challenges you to a battle!

Professor Conifer

• Nubbug (Bug/Ice) LV27 (Fakemon)
• Delibird (Ice/Flying) LV28
• Bayleef (Grass) LV29

Considering the Trainer in the Pokemon Center is stronger, it’s clear that Professor Conifer isn’t really a Trainer. You should overpower him easily, even without a type advantage. After the fight, Conifer says he wants to help fight Team Coil and gives you HM02 – Fly.

Eccoh City Gym

I wish every Gym in Solda was like this. There are no puzzles, and it’s just a straight walk with Trainers to battle.

Gym Leader Herbert – Grass-type

• Roserade (Grass/Poison) LV32
• Whimsicott (Grass/Fairy) LV33
• Gourgeist (Ghost/Grass) LV32
• Jumpluff (Grass/Flying) LV34
• Lilligant (Grass) LV32

Herbert’s Pokemon are fast and like to strike first with status ailments so be ready to swap. Fire attacks work wonders here! Whimsicott is Herbert’s trump card, as it knows Dazzling Gleam, a hard-hitting Fairy-type attack. It’s so fast that it will likely go first when it’s brought out.

You get the Herb Badge and Giga Drain TM for winning.

Eccoh Institute

Be sure to visit the Eccoh Institute to the East of town, as free items are up for grabs. There’s a Focus Band, Dire Hit and Safeguard TM on the ground floor. The top floor is even better as there’s a guy to the North of the room who gives you an Amulet Coin. This ‘Hold’ item is incredible and gives you more money from battles. Make sure you give it to your frontline Pokemon!

When you’re ready to leave Eccoh City, head East to Route 9.

Route 9

As soon as you step into Route 9, there are 2 Scientists guarding the entrance to the Eccohglades. Speak to both of them, and PLOT TWIST! They are actually working for Team Coil. One challenges you:

Coil Peon Skrub

• Arbok (Poison) LV33
• Eelektross (Electric) LV33
• Onix (Rock/Ground) LV33

Don’t worry about looking for a Super Effective attack against Eelektross. As it knows Levitate, there isn’t a single attack that will do it. Just go with the strongest attack you have.

Head into the Eccohglades. There’s a ridiculous wild encounter rate here, so I strongly recommend Repels. You want to head as North as you can until you reach a small hut with a blue roof. Turns out it’s a secret base! Head inside.

Team Coil Base

This place is vast, and honestly, it’s a mess! Pads on each floor force you to travel in a direction until you hit something. Fortunately, these mini puzzles look much more complicated than they are, and as long as you battle every Trainer you see, you’ll be on the right track.

Floor B4

There’s a bed here you can sleep in, which acts like a Pokemon centre. You can return here whenever you please if you don’t mind backtracking.

Floor B2

This place looks intimidating as there are a lot of pads on the floor. Fortunately, there aren’t many routes you can take, and a mistake just lands you back at the start of the floor anyway. Your goal here is to reach the switch in the North East corner. This grants access to a staircase to B3.

Floor B3

Whatever you do, don’t run all the way to the North West as you’ll be forced back to B4 and will have to repeat the pad puzzle. This floor is quite simple as you just need to follow the only Route you can take, hitting switches whenever they are available.

After you’ve hit the switch next to the room with a sofa inside, go North and then West. Walk over the pad and then down the stairs. The switch you pressed brings up a wall that stops your movement right in front of a new flight of steps. Up these steps, there are three Grunts to battle, followed by yet more steps.

Turns out Lyre from earlier is up here, and she wants a rematch. Make sure you’re fully healed up before challenging her.

Coil Admin Lyre

• Dragonair (Dragon) LV35
• Haunter (Ghost/Poison) LV35
• Milotic (Water) LV35
• Magcargo (Fire/Rock) LV36
• Seviper (Poison) LV37

Lyre’s team has a ton of coverage, and you’ll need to swap out constantly to stay ahead. Milotic hits pretty hard, but as long as you remember it’s Water-type and switch accordingly, you will be absolutely fine. You get HM01-Cut for winning, but you’re not done here just yet. Head North to the final floor of Coil Base.

You meet Cobra and Garter here, and it turns out, Cobra is the blonde lady you met right at the start of the game. She’s the leader of Team Coil, and they plan to overthrow the government using the power of the Sky Snake Pokemon. They need the Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald to do so.

She asks you to join their cause. Whether you want to or not, you can’t even though she asks (I tried!). After refusing her offer, she challenges you to a battle.

Coil Queen Cobra

• Dunsparce (Normal) LV40

Dunsparce is tanky, has Leftovers and knows Crunch, but ultimately, it’s a single Pokemon against your entire team. It stands no chance. Interact with the Sapphire on the Table, and Cobra’s overprotective brother, Garter, will burst in and challenge you. This is his team:

Coil Admin Garter

• Scrafty (Dark/Fighting) LV37
• Eelektross (Electric) LV37
• Onix (Rock/Ground) LV36
• Drampa (Normal/Dragon) LV37
• Gyarados (Water/Flying) LV38

Gyarados is brutal if you don’t have an Electric Pokemon. Watch out for his Thrash; it’s a Normal move but hits almost as hard as Hyper Beam! Your Rival comes in after the battle ends and says you should meet at the Lab. On your way out, before you leave the floor, head to the South West corner and up the path for the Focus Punch TM.

Leave the building and Fly to Centralis City.

Back To Centralis

The building North of the Pokemon Centre is the Lab. Speak to your Rival and Conifer. Turns out, the Ancients sealed away the power of this legendary Sky Snake Pokemon with three stones. You have the Sapphire, but the other two should each be in their own respective tower. The Ruby Tower is North of Iceteam Town, which is North of Route 11.

Route 11 is directly North of Centralis, so you can head there now. You’ll need to travel through Iceteam Cave. There’s a tree (that’s actually a Sudowoodo) just in front. You’ll need to use Cut to get through.

Iceteam Cave

In the cave, you’ll see Cobra and Viper walking past. She says she’s sad that you’re enemies and that your ideals don’t align. You can’t do anything about them yet, so move on as normal.

A Tricky Ice Puzzle

When you reach the pool in the picture above, stand where I am. Tap left once, followed by up, right, down, left and up to continue through the cave.

Aside from that puzzle, the rest of the cave is pretty linear. If you head North at every opportunity, you’ll escape just in time to see a kid’s Slowpoke get… Pokenapped?

Iceteam Town

Aside from the Slowpoke situation, there are some cool things to check out in Iceteam Town.

Safari Zone 

The Safari Zone is just East of the marketplace. There are plenty of rare Pokemon to catch, and the whole area is split into different sections. There are no restrictions here; you can use whatever Pokeballs you want.

Iceteam Marketplace

There’s a great marketplace that sells unique items here, like Hold items and Berries. One stall sells Lava Cookies and Casteliacones for 200g. Buy some as they function the same as Full Heals for a fraction of the price.

Follow the path up through the town and into Route 12, where you’ll catch up with the Pokemon thieves from earlier. Slowpoke was stolen by a group called the Luna Gang. These guys are like Team Rocket but much more brutal. They challenge you to a battle:

Luna Gang Grunt

• Moonimal (Dark/Fairy) LV33 (Fakemon)
• Mightyena (Dark) LV34

Many members of the Luna Gang use Dark-types. If you want to make short work of these, Bug, Fairy and Fighting are all solid options.

After your battle, it turns out everyone is here! Viper, Lyre and your Rival. Lyre leaves, and your Rival challenges Viper to a battle. They go to Route 13 to do so. Whilst they prepare to duke it out, why don’t you do some fighting of your own at the Gym?

Iceteam Town Gym

This is a Doubles Gym, but the Trainers are solo battles with either Fire or Ice teams.

Haily and Ashly – The Dual Strike Duo

• Blizburn (Ice/Fire) LV40 (Fakemon)
• Charcold (Fire/Ice) LV40 (Fakemon) 
• Flareon (Fire) LV42
• Glaceon (Ice) LV42

Blizburn and Charcold are Fakemon, so it’s hard to recommend any strategies. If you’re worried about getting hit by Super Effective attacks, you can rely on neutral hard-hitting attacks instead. In Doubles, just be sure you won’t hurt your teammate. You’ll receive the Thermo Badge, Sunny Day and Hail TM’s for winning. Head North onto Route 12 when you’re ready to leave.

North to Solaview Port

On the way, there’s a Psyshock TM and your Rival. Sadly, you don’t get to see the fight between your Rival and Viper, but it’s clear that your Rival got utterly destroyed. Route 13 is just ahead.

Route 13

The hut on the Route immediately as you enter is a makeshift Pokecenter.

The way to Solaview Port is blocked by a thug that you can’t battle. Instead, there’s a small path you can take North up the mountainside. You can access Eclipse Cave up here, but save that for later. Keep going North and East whenever you can. Once you’re at the highest point, you can drop down the side of the mountain and behind the man on the path.

Dimlit Wood (optional)

A small passageway North leads to an area called Dimlit Wood. It’s a tiny area with a couple of items up for grabs including the Dig TM

Solaview Port

You’ll be in and around this town for a while as the Gym isn’t open immediately. Explore the place and stock up on items as you’ll soon ascend Ruby Tower, where the more prepared you are, the better. Leave Solaview Port to the West, where the guy demanding the Toll was. Coming at him from this side prompts a Pokemon battle.

Luna Gang Grunt

• Pawniard (Dark/Steel) LV41
• Krokorok (Ground/Dark) LV42

Chances are, your team is around 10 levels stronger than anything this grunt has. An elderly gentleman will thank you when you defeat him and tell you to visit him in Solaview Port for a reward. He lives in the isolated house to the North West and will give you an Altarianite.

Where Is Ruby Tower?

Remember that house on Route 13 that acts like a Pokemon Center? Well, there’s a tiny, easy-to-miss path that takes you there (pictured)

Ruby Ascent

Make sure to explore as you ascend. Nothing is really ‘hidden’, but make sure you check everywhere, as you can grab the Rock Slide TM. You’ll find the grand entrance to Ruby Tower to the North, but check the small gold building to the West. After reading a tragic story, you’ll find the key to Ruby Tower, HM04 Strength. This building also acts like a Pokemon Center.

Ruby Tower

You’ll fight your wannabe Rival from Team Coil as soon as you enter this area. Let’s see if he’s improved!

Coil Peon Skrub

• Arbok (Poison) LV40
• Onix (Rock/Ground) LV40
• Eelektross (Electric) LV40

Nothing really changed with poor Skrubs roster. Eelektross still has no weaknesses, but if you use anything that isn’t weak to Electric, you’ll be fine. He will run off and inform you that the Ruby is at the top and Anaconda is already on the way.

Out of nowhere, a police officer called Looker informs you that Team Coil is here in full force and asks you to keep them occupied whilst he gets back up. What a hero.

To begin scaling the tower, you need to use Strength on the boulder to the North West and push it all the way to the button to the North East. This will open the door. The gimmick of Ruby Tower is these annoying Boulder puzzles. The first one is self-explanatory, but each floor has one.

Boulder Puzzle #2

Push the left and right boulders up, then push the middle boulder down onto the hallway and West onto the button.

Boulder Puzzle #3

OK, this one is a little harder and is best explained in picture form.

First, push the boulder to this position.

Make your way around to the right of the boulder and push it left twice.

Next, make your way around to the top of the boulder and push it down twice and, finally, twice to the left. Now you can push it on the switch.

Boulder Puzzle #4

Start by pushing the boulder 2 tiles up, then 8 right. From here, you want to meander around the towers, pushing the boulder to the wall on the left. Once it’s there, you can push the boulder up onto the switch. This unlocks the staircase to the North East.

Boulder Puzzle #5

Start by pushing the top and bottom boulders 1 tile left, then move the middle boulder 1 tile up. You can only move the next boulder one way, so move it 3 tiles left. The next boulders will be in the same layout as the ones you just moved, so repeat the steps and push the remaining boulder to the switch.

Now you can push a boulder in the North West room down the hole and follow it down yourself. Push the boulder onto the switch next to you, and the staircase below you will now be open. Head up there and defeat the grunts. Wow, you’re at the top, finally! Speak to Anaconda; she’s rilled up and hungry for revenge! She also says the Ruby is on its way to Eclipse City. This is her team:

Coil Admin Anaconda

• Scurrow (Ground/Poison) LV42 (Mega)
• Luxray (Electric) LV45
• Aromatisse (Fairy) LV45
• Noctowl (Normal/Flying) LV46
• Tangrowth (Grass) LV45

This is easily the most challenging fight so far, with a dramatic level increase across the board. Scurrow is a Fakemon that Mega evolves and knows everyone’s favourite Bug move, U-Turn. To my knowledge, Mega evolution doesn’t change Scurrow’s type. It may be Anaconda’s lowest level Pokemon but don’t be fooled. Mega evolution makes anything it does (usually U-Turn on repeat) hurt a lot!

After the battle, the police arrive, and Looker gives chase onto the roof. Make sure you do the same. There’s quite a lengthy cutscene here but afterwards, make way to Solaview Port.

Back in Solaview Port

You’ll find Lorson (the Gym Leader) chasing his daughter around the front garden of their house to the North. Speak to him, then head into his house and upstairs.

Turns out Lorson only has one Mega Ring, and since your Rival has just turned up, he wants to battle you for it. Since you’d rather not trash the house, he suggests doing it next to Eclipse Cave on Route 13 so head straight there. It’s up a short climb.

Rival

• Ampharos (Electric) LV46
• Sylveon (Fairy) LV45
• Rapidash (Fire) LV44
• Lucario (Fighting/Steel) LV45
• Feraligatr (Water) LV45

Credit where it’s due. Your Rival is much stronger now! Lucario, in particular, is quite dangerous. It knows Counter, which can do crazy damage if you land a hit that doesn’t kill beforehand.

Upon winning, the Mega Ring is yours! Now, head into Eclipse Cave.

Eclipse Cave

Luna Gang members are everywhere but are incredibly weak compared to your Rival. From now on, you’ll see white item balls in the world; these contain Mega-evolution stones. This place is small and mainly serves as an entrance to Eclipse Town, which is entirely under the Luna Gang’s control.

Eclipse Town

After being manhandled at Eclipse Cave’s exit, you’ll be granted access into the town. You’ll notice a theme here. Lots of Pokemon are Dark-type, so if you have a strong Fairy, Bug or Fighting Pokemon, you’ll be laughing!

You can’t do much in this town until you beat the Gym, so head straight there. This Gym is horrible because there are teleporters, and it’s dark. I’ll be honest; I fumbled through this place by sheer luck, and my attempts to map out the area failed miserably!

Lunar Boss Rob – Dark-type

• Weavile (Dark/Ice) LV48
• Bisharp (Dark/Steel) LV47
• Houndoom (Dark/Fire) LV48 (Mega)
• Demoon (Dark/Fairy) LV50 (Fakemon)
• Honchkrow (Dark/Flying) LV47

Mega Houndoom is intimidating, but if you’ve got a Fairy type handy (I evolved my Eevee into Sylveon), it’ll die to a single powerful attack. The only spanner in the works is Bisharp as it’s Steel. Use Fire, Ground or Fighting against it instead. 

You get the Lunar Badge and Taunt TM for winning. The town is free to explore after beating the Gym, although there’s not much up for grabs here. When ready, head North to the Luna Hideout and go inside.

Luna Hideout

Even though you’ve defeated the boss, the trainers are still up for a fight. There’s a mix of Luna Gang and Team Coil in here. Aside from the smack talk, you should be fine, and your Pokemon will be much higher level than theirs (roughly LV45).

This is a confusing place. Beware recklessly falling down holes as, eventually, you’ll end up in the Catacombs. THIS AREA IS OPTIONAL and isn’t where you want to be to progress the story.

Eclipse Catacomb (optional)

This place is creepy! Ultimately, you need to head to the exit to the South West, but if you head North and then East from the door, you’ll find a small room with a LV50 Diancie inside! It’s a nightmare to catch (it took me 30+ Ultra Balls).

Eventually, you’ll find Cobra and the Ruby. She’s disappointed that even now, you still refuse to join them and challenges you with her faithful Dunsparce.

Coil Queen Cobra

Dunsparce (Normal) LV53 

Whether you care about Cobra’s plight, Dunsparce is still a pushover. It has Leftovers and can take a few hits before it goes down, but it’s unremarkable otherwise. This is where Pokemon Dreams take a darker tone than any of the mainline entries ever would. A crazy story bombshell concludes with you and your Rival getting beaten up and knocked out! You wake up in Centralis City.

With the Emerald being your next target, Fly to Solaview and head straight to the Gym.

Showdown With Garter

On the way, you’ll be ambushed by Garter. He vows to destroy you right here and now. Make sure that doesn’t happen.

Coil Admin Garter

• Steelix (Steel/Ground) LV50 
• Gyrados (Water/Flying) LV49 
• Eelektross (Eelektri)LV50
• Scrafty (Dark/Fighting) LV50
• Drampa (Normal/Dragon) LV48

Thanks to Gyarados, this is the most brutal fight in the game so far. Gyarados will always power up with Sword Dance, and if it gets two of those off, it will sweep your entire team. Steelix is also a problem, as it knows Stealth Rock and uses it immediately. It’s always the first Pokemon Garter uses, so try to kill it before it attacks.

Solaview Port Gym

This Gym is on a ship! You’ll need Strength to get through, but the boulder puzzles here are child’s play compared to what you’ve already dealt with in Solda.

On the deck, there’s a Trainer you need to trap in a small square using Strength. If you don’t, triggering him to fight will block the path. It’ll look like the picture above if you’ve done it right.

Gym Leader Lorson – Water-type

• Algellie (Water/Grass) LV50 (Fakemon)
• Kingdra (Water/Dragon) LV50
• Slowbro (Water/Psychic) LV51 (Mega)
• Orcavion (Water/Dragon) LV50 (Fakemon)
• Lanturn (Water/Electric) LV50

There are a couple of Fakemon in Lorson’s lineup, but they shouldn’t pose a problem. Mega Slowbro hits hard with Psychic attacks, but it’s nothing a good Grass Pokemon can’t handle. If you’ve been battling every Trainer, your team will be approaching 20 levels higher than your opponents by now. 

You earn the Sail Badge and HM03-Surf for winning.

Now you know Surf, you can swim onto Route 15 to the East of Solaview Port. Naturally, as the Route is full of swimmers, expect lots of Water Pokemon. 

Route 15

The Route has plenty of 1-way currents that drag you around. When you reach the Ace Trainer on the tiny Island, head South and West past the Swimmer. This will take you to Route 16.

Route 16 Rest Stop

Well done, Pokemon Dreams; you’ve successfully managed to creep me out. There’s a house on the Route with a bed you can sleep in to heal. If you don’t mind this!

Route 16, 17, 18

These routes connect large swathes of the ocean with little in the way of landmarks. Try and head South-East whenever you can, and you’ll want Repels on non-stop here too.

Marble Rock – Base of Emerald Tower

This place is East of Route 17. Lyre is waiting for you and will give you HM08-Dive. She says she knows you can’t trust her and to be careful. The entrance to Emerald Tower is underwater, so Dive South of Marble Rock and through the small door.

After a short and very linear section, you’ll end up in Emerald Isle.

Emerald Isle

A lot of weird people inhabit this town. Emerald Isle is a closed community, shut off from the rest of Solda.

When you head to the East of town, Your Pokedex picks up an emergency call from Professor Conifer, who says to come back to the Lab immediately. Fly to Centralis City.

Your Rival has betrayed you and plans to give the Sapphire to Team Coil! Fly straight back to Emerald Isle and go East to Emerald Tower.

Emerald Tower

Tons of Trainers from both Team Coil and the Luna Gang are here. Fortunately, you should be much stronger than any Trainer in here. For reference, I battled every Trainer I came across and almost no wilds. I was 20 Levels higher than nearly everything here.

There’s a tricky ice puzzle spanning an entire floor! If you’re stumped, stand where I am (pictured above) and slowly enter these directions. Down, right, up. 1 tile up, 3 tiles left, down, up, right, right, up, left, up. Phew! Now that’s over, battle the Team Coil Grunt and head upstairs. 

The next floor looks awful, but it’s not so bad. Once you get in front of the Team Coil Grunt, stand to their immediate right and walk up. The puzzle solves itself and then simply fall into the hole.

You’ll be ambushed by several team Luna Grunts here. You’ll fight them all in a row without the opportunity to heal. This is what you’re up against:

Luna Gang Grunt

• Umbreon (Dark) LV50

Luna Gang Grunt

• Dusknoir (Ghost) LV48
• Mightyena (Dark) LV48

Luna Gang Grunt

• Lickilicky (Normal) LV48
• Granbull (Fairy) LV48

Luna Boss Rob

• Houndoom (Dark/Fire) LV53 (Mega)
• Demoon (Dark/Fairy) LV55
• Honchkrow (Dark/Flying) LV54
• Bisharp (Dark/Steel) LV54
• Malamar (Dark/Psychic) LV53
• Weavile (Bug/Ice) LV53

That’s a lot of Pokemon in a single battle, but since you beat the Luna Boss already, you can easily do it again.

Your friends intervene before you’re attacked by a small army of Luna Gang Grunts. You need to take down Cobra, so take the stairs to the North East.

An Epic Doubles Battle!

Professor Conifer appears out of nowhere, and before you know it, you’ll be thrust into a double battle. You and Professor Conifer VS Coil Admin Anaconda and Coil Peon Skrub.

Doubles can be unpredictable. You’re also limited to the top 3 Pokemon on your list without the opportunity to change them.

• Scurrow (Ground/Poison) LV52 (Fakemon)
• Eelektross (Electric) LV50
• Noctowl (Normal/Flying) LV54
• Crobat (Poison/Flying) LV50
• Tangrowth (Grass) LV53
• Arbok (Poison) LV50

* In my battle here, Conifer glitched and just repeatedly swapped Pokemon over and over. If he does this for you, be reckless. Use your strongest attacks even if his Pokemon die in the process.

You’ll arrive just in time to see Dunsparce Mega-evolve into the Legendary Sky Snake Pokemon. Disappointingly, it’s just called Mega Dunsparce.

Coil Queen Cobra

Mega Dunsparce (Flying) LV63

Mega Dunsparce knows Hurricane, a devastating Flying move. Traditionally, Hurricane misses a fair bit to balance out its power. I can’t say with absolute certainty, but this move never missed when I battled, so the accuracy may be tweaked here. Rock or Electric attacks are perfect if your Pokemon can withstand the punishment.

Cobra sees the error of her ways, but Garter doesn’t see it that way! He runs to the roof, give chase and challenge him!

Rooftop Battle

Garter

• Steelix (Steel/Ground) LV58 (Mega)
• Drampa (Normal/Dragon)LV56
• Gyarados (Water/Flying) LV56 
• Scrafty (Dark/Fighting) LV56
• Eelektross (Electric) LV56
• Cryogonal (Ice) LV56

Garter’s Gyarados is still the star of his team and capable of sweeping with double Dragon Dance. Still, he uses the same tactics as when you battled in Solaview, including the Stealth Rock Steelix play.

Wow, OK, Pokemon Dreams. Garter jumps off the roof when you beat him! You catch him mid-fall, and a short cutscene featuring you, Cobra, and Garter begins. The screen fades to black, the Team Coil story concludes, and you’ll end up at your Rivals house around the dinner table.

Everyone is here discussing what’s become of the game’s villains and it’s a charming touch.

You Still Want To Be The Champion?

You’ll get HM07-Waterfall at your Rivals house, which you can use to get to Finagara City. The closest place to depart from is Emerald Isle. You’ll have to go back through Marble Rock, then South onto Route 18. There are 2 waterfalls to the South of this Route. Once you’ve swum up both, you’ll be in Finagara City.

Finagara City

Finagara City Pokemart sells Ethers, items that replenish PP. Super valuable for long treks like Victory Road and can also be handy against the Elite Four.

Finagara City Gym

I love this. Jim, the leader, is the man who gives you pointers at the door of every Gym in the region. There are no Trainers here, just Jim on a podium. Here’s his team:

Gym Leader Jim – Mixed

• Crawdaunt (Water) LV60
• Volcarona (Bug/Fire) LV60
• Exeggutor (Grass/Psychic) LV61 
• Aurorus (Rock/Ice) LV60
• Altaria (Dragon/Flying) LV61 Mega-evolves into (Dragon/Fairy)
• Porygon-Z (Normal) LV61 

It depends on your team, but I think Garter was much harder. Exeggutor is a little tanky, thanks to its Leftovers. Porygon-Z knows Hyperbeam, which hits incredibly hard thanks to STAB, but even if it KO’s one of your Pokemon, it needs to recharge afterwards.

You get the All Badge and Hyperbeam TM for winning, which would make a lovely addition to your Shiny Eevee if you never evolved it. When you’re ready, head West to Route 23.

Route 23

This is a very short Route. There’s a Pokemon Center but make sure you don’t walk passed it! When you step past the door, Professor Conifer and Looker show up for a battle. You’ll have to fight both of them back to back with no opportunity to heal in between, so be prepared!

Professor Conifer

• Farfreza (Ice/Bug) LV54 (Mega) 
• Vanilluxe (Ice) LV54
• Delibird (Ice/Flying) LV55
• Meganium (Grass) LV56

Farfreza hits hard because of its Mega-evolution, but this entire team can be swept with a decent Fire type.

Officer Looker

• Audino (Normal) LV55 Mega-evolves into (Normal/Fairy)
• Arcanine (Fire) LV54
• Xurkitree (Electric) LV54
• Toxicroak (Poison/Fighting) LV54

Victory Road 

I love this Victory Road! It’s an unforgiving gauntlet of Trainers, but that’s it! No ice puzzles, no switches, no diving. You will need to use Strength a couple of times, but outside that, it’s just fighting until you run out of PP. Make sure you bought those Ethers from Finigara City!

Pokemon League

This place has a shop that sells just about everything, so stock up! Full Restores are expensive but absolutely worth it. The Elite Four are up next and must be defeated one after the other. If you lose a single battle, you go back to the start!

These are the Elite Four and their teams in the order you’ll face them:

Elite Four Willis – Fairy-type

• Carbink (Rock/Fairy) LV67
• Ribombee (Bug/Fairy) LV66
• Gardevoir (Psychic/Fairy) LV68
• Togekiss (Fairy/Flying) LV67
• Whimsicott (Grass/Fairy) LV66
• Mawile (Steel/Fairy) LV67 (Mega)

Carbink is annoying. As it’s so fast, it will usually go first and Stealth-Rock your team. Don’t worry too much if you don’t have a Fairy counter. Every Pokemon in this team is a dual-type with several weaknesses.

• Elite Four Ellie Electric-type
• Emolga (Electric/Flying) LV68
• Stunfisk (Ground/Electric) LV68
• Galvantula (Bug/Electric) LV68
• Magnezone (Electric/Steel) LV69
• Alolan Raichu (Electric/Psychic) LV68
• Manectric (Electric) LV69 (Mega)

A decent Ground type will absolutely ruin Ellie’s day! Stunfisk is still weak to Ground attacks despite being Ground/Electric, and even Mega Manectric will die quickly to one. The only curveball is the Alolan Raichu, who knows Psychic.

Elite Four Mira Ghost-type

• Spiritomb (Ghost/Dark) LV69
• Chandelure (Ghost/Fire) LV70
• Gourgeist (Ghost/Grass) LV69
• Palossand (Ghost/Ground) LV68
• Banette (Ghost) LV69 (Mega)
• Apparabbit (Normal/Ghost) LV68 (Fakemon)

If you thought the Elite Four were a bunch of pushovers, think again. Mira is a dangerous opponent. Chandelure knows Overheat, a disgustingly powerful move that can KO high-level Pokemon without a type advantage. Its SP.attack is lowered after doing so but be VERY careful. 

Gourgeist knows Explosion, so make sure you have other team members alive when Mira pulls this one out!

Elite Four Hans – Fighting-type

• Lopunny (Normal) LV69 Mega evolves into (Normal/Fighting) 
• Lucario (Fighting/Steel) LV70
• Hawlucha (Fighting/Flying) LV69 
• Toxicroak (Poison/Fighting) LV70
• Kommo-o (Dragon/Fighting) LV71 
• Heracross (Bug/Fighting) LV69

Hans has a few Pokemon you need to be wary of. Lopunny is tough thanks to Mega-evolution, but the scariest Pokemon here is arguably Kommo-o. Kommo-o knows Outrage, a devastating Dragon move that triggers every turn. The best counter to this is a Fairy-type as they are completely immune.

The Finish Line

You’re so close to beating the Pokemon League! You’ve got two battles left now. Just note that you cannot save between these battles even though you get fully healed.

Champion Vincent

• Toxypus (Normal/Poison) LV70
• Mienshao (Fighting) LV70
• Absol (Dark) LV72
• Excadrill (Ground/Steel) LV71
• Mantine (Water/Flying)LV71 
• Goodra (Dragon) LV71

Vincent annoyingly opens with Toxypus and Toxic Spikes, so you’ll get poisoned every time you swap Pokemon. He likes to swap in this battle and frequently into Mantine, which knows Water Absorb. This is another battle where a Fairy-type will help enormously, as Goodra knows Outrage. 

Your Rival ‘technically’ beat Vincent earlier in the game when he betrayed you, which ‘technically’ makes him the Champion (I couldn’t disagree more!). Still, he’s your last opponent; I’ll leave it to your imagination where he got a Mega-evolution ring from!

Rival

• Ampharos (Electric) LV73 Mega-evolves into (Electric/Dragon)
• Rapidash (Fire)
• Starter LV72
• Stoutland (Normal) LV70
• Sylveon (Fairy) LV71
• Lucario (Fighting/Steel) LV71

There’s a lot to unpack here! Mega Ampharos is dangerous simply because of the Mega evolution boosting its stats. Rapidash knows Wild Charge, a powerful Electric attack and a crazy counter to any Water-types. 

Sylveon gave me the most problems out of every Pokemon in the game. Foolishly, I didn’t have a Fairy counter; after this, I feel it’s essential! Sylveon continually buffs itself with Calm Mind. Combine this with Reflect, and suddenly, Sylveon is almost impossible to hurt. Oh, it has Leftovers, too and spams Moonblast, a powerful Fairy attack. You need to kill this thing quickly if you don’t want to spend 10 minutes wearing it down!

If you’ve made it this far, well done! You’re the most powerful Trainer in the Solda Region and the new Champion! Take your place in the Hall of Fame. If you’re hungry for more, I suggest replaying the game with some System Sister modifiers next time!

Pokemon Dreams Guide: FAQs