Kanto Route 2

Route 2 (Japanese: ２ばんどうろ Route 2) is a route in western Kanto, connecting Viridian City and Pewter City. Viridian Forest and the western entrance to Diglett's Cave are located on this route.

Route description

 * This is a description of the route as it is shown in Generations, , and . For a description of the Generation II version of Route 2, see Differences among generations.

Route 2 is a uniquely designed route that contains two pathways for a Trainer to follow, which are separated by a column of trees with only a few gaps blocked by. The western path can be explored by novice Trainers early on in the game; the eastern path can be accessed only with the use of, which can only be used by Trainers who have obtained the or have traveled through Diglett's Cave, a tunnel dug by  that leads here from the eastern edge of Vermilion City.

Western path
Heading north from Viridian City, the road splits into two and forms a small square that rejoins and continues north past a ledge. This small garden square contains a sign with directions on it. Further north, a cut-able tree can be found along the eastern treeline that leads to the eastern path. After traveling west, the road then curves north and makes its way to a large patch of tall grass below a ledge, which can be avoided by going around to the east. There is another cut-able tree beside the patch of tall grass, also leading to the eastern section. To the north, past the ledge, lies the gate to Viridian Forest.

After leaving the Forest, the route continues in the north with a small road, and makes its way east and then north to Pewter City. The route passes a large patch of tall grass that dominates the small clearing before reaching the city.

Eastern path
South of Pewter City, the route passes the northernmost of two grass patches along the path as it turns to the west. At this point, s can take one of two routes to progress south. The first option is to remain on the main path of Route 2 and travel through the gate and into Viridian Forest, a considerably long and inconvenient detour unless Trainers desire to catch. The second option, available to Trainers who possess Pokémon that know and can use outside of battle, is to remove a small shrub southeast of the grass patch to gain access to the eastern half of the route. Here, the route meets the northern terminus of Diglett's Cave, a lengthy northwest-southeast tunnel between here and the eastern edge of Vermilion City. South of the cave lies a building that plays home to a Trainer who is looking to part ways with a rare in exchange for an, except in , when he requests a  instead. Beyond another Cut-able tree, the route begins to slope downhill as it approaches a gate. Here, Trainers that have at least ten Pokémon registered as "Owned" in their Pokédex can receive from one of Professor Oak's aides.

South of the gate, the western half of the route emerges from the Forest and passes near the second grass patch on the route as it heads south. Meanwhile, the eastern half continues downhill, linking to the western path in two locations via Cut-able tree-blocked passageways before dead-ending south of the second tree. There are several items located on the ground in this clearing, including an Ether and a Parlyz Heal farther south.

Generations I and III
The depiction of Route 2 is almost identical in Generations and. Only trivial changes are visible between these two Generations. In Generation I, there are three trees to south of the gate whereas there are only two in Generation III. Also, in, the international , and their remakes, there is a in the house south of Diglett's Cave who asks for an  in exchange for. In the Japanese, he asks for a instead, and in , he wants a.

Generation II
Generation II, however, significantly tweaked the route layout. The terrain and building layout of the eastern half of Route 2 in Generation II is identical to that of Generation I; however, the item locations have changed. Also, the Trainer who offered to trade Mr. Mime is no longer present in the house. Instead, the building is home to a man who gives the player a Nugget. He may be the same guy who is digging Three Isle Path during Generation III, as he gives the player a Nugget and says he'd like to buy a house in Kanto.

The major changes to Route 2 came along the western half, however. The northern and southern extents are nearly identical to the Generation I version, except for the addition of three Trainers not present in Generation I or Generation III. Viridian Forest no longer exists as a standalone area and has been replaced with a tree maze that is now part of Route 2. The maze, which contains items placed similar to those located in the Generation I and III versions of Viridian Forest, is designed with the same layout as Viridian Forest.

Along the length of the route, the music has been replaced with a new track exclusive to Route 2, a remix of Viridian Forest's music. This remixed music is in major scale, whereas the normal Viridian Forest music is minor scale.

Generation IV
In Generation IV, other than graphical updates, the layout has changed quite a bit in the lower section of the route, but the rest remains identical to Generation I and III. Heading south from Pewter City, the route passes the first of two grass patches along the path as it turns to the west. Unlike Generation II, Viridian Forest remains in Route 2 and the music is now the same as. The Berry tree in the tree maze is moved to outside the house in the eastern half, which can be accessed by using on the small tree and crossing the divider. However, it is replaced with an Apricorn tree.

By traveling south past Viridian Forest, two Trainers can be found. The first one can be found by jumping off the ledge or go through the grass, while the second one can be found by traveling further south. Now a single path once again, Route 2 travels to the south towards Viridian City.

In the main series
The north part of Route 2 made a brief cameo in Showdown in Pewter City, joining to Pewter City.

In Pokémon Origins
Route 2 made a brief appearance in File 1: Red, connecting to Pewter City.

Trivia

 * In, wild can be found in this route, most likely a reference to the events of the anime.