The path to get to Cyllage City is a long and arduous one, I know, but hold on to hope as you are almost there! Professor Neckbeard is here to let you know what to catch and where to catch it in Pokémon X & Y.
If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check out the guide for Route 4 through the Connecting Cave to make sure you’re not missing any potential additions to your team.
Route 8
Route 8 has the most diversity of any route I’ve seen in the start of a Pokémon game. According to my research, there are at least 13 different ones to catch. In the grass, you will come across Spoink, Drifloon, Absol, Zangoose, Inkay, Seviper, Tailow, Bagon (Y?) Mienfoo, Binacle,and Wingull.
Spoink is a psychic type, Drifloon is a ghost/flying, Absol is dark, Zangoose is normal, Inkay is dark/psychic, Seviper is poison, Tailow is normal/flying, Bagon (only seen in Mrs. Neckbeard’s copy so far) is dragon, Mienfoo is fighting, Binacle (which is gotten via destroying rocks with rock smash) is rock/water, and Wingull is water/flying.
Horde restrictions: I have only come across Wingull and Tailow in a horde form. They might be available singly, but I did not come across any.
Another word of advice: be careful of any Zangoose and Seviper hordes; I came across 4 Zangoose that leered at me while they proceeded to attack and knock out a Seviper before turning on me. So much gang violence on the routes these days. I swear, what are we even paying the Officer Jennys for!?
In a stark contrast to the land diversity, all I was able to fish up again and again was a Luvdisc, the water-type. It could be that I was using the wrong bait. If you have any fishing tips, send ’em my way.
Update: GameSkinny contributor AudioBoss has informed me that Crustle can be found along with Binacle by rock smashing.
Route 9
There is not much on route 9 from what I saw. On the back of Rhyhorn, you will come across Hippopotas, Sandile, and Helioptile. The hippo is a ground type, Sandile is ground/dark, and Helioptile is electric/normal.
The Glittering Caves
These caves are not as fancy as they sound, but they are a much better alternative to the old school way of going through caves in Pokémon.
I am not sure if the encounters are random or if they are predetermined as they seem to happen at specific intervals at slopes in the cave. In my journey, I came across Machop, Onix, Solrock, Mawile, and Mrs. Neckbeard said she came across a Rhyhorn. Machop is a fighting type, Onix is a rock/ground, Solrock is rock/psychic, Mawile is steel/fairy, and Rhyhorn is ground/rock.
Update to the list: GameSkinny posters dandyzinc and Natalie_5083 have provided a bit of research of their own by finding Cubone (ground) and Lunatone (rock/psychic) respectively
Another GameSkinny poster by the name of Steve_7858 has informed me that Kangaskhan (normal) can be found here, as well. You will also be able to find Woobat (psychic/flying) and Ferroseed (grass/steel) in small dark circles in the second area of the cave.
alodia_7463 has reported that Kangaskhan, the normal type, is available here, as well.
Preparing for the Cyllage City Gym
Before you go in and face Grant, the gym leader of Cyllage City, you are going to want to make sure your team is prepared to face the rock and dual rock types in his gym.
There are a lot of good options for team compositions due to how much variety there is on the way to Cyllage City, especially on route 8. You can use a Mienfoo, Machop, Riolu, or any of the other fighting types to karate chop Grant into submission. You can also use Psyduck, Luvdisc, Wingull, or any other water type. Any of the grass types like Skiddo and Budew will serve well in the battle.
You will want to avoid using Litleo, Combee, Bidoof, Bunnelby, or anything that will do little damage to the rock-types. Make sure to read up on types and know the battle before stepping foot in the city.
Need more help with your game? I’ve got you covered with Professor Neckbeard’s Pokemon X Y Walkthrough.
