How to Get Poke Flute in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen

To wake up Snorlax in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen players will have to do more than just make some noise and poke around his belly. This gigantic Pokemon enters a semi-comatose state after eating tons of food, and wherever he drops, there's no way to simply move it. So, waking it up is the only way to liberate the entrances to Fuschia City in Route 12 and Route 16.

To keep progressing with the Indigo League Gym Challenge, players will need to make this gigantic behemoth wake up one way or the other. And to accomplish that, they need a key item: The Poke Flute. But obtaining it is quite complex and requires players to visit four different locations and complete a series of challenging battles. So, here's a full guide on how to wake up Snorlax, including instructions on how to find the Poke Flute.

How to Wake Up Snorlax in Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen

Waking up Snorlax requires the Poke Flute, and doing so also requires traveling to four different locations: First, Lavender Town, second, Celadon City, third, Celadon City's Casino Basement, and fourth, the Pokemon Tower's summit. Let's take a look at this full process in the next step-by-step walkthrough:

Reaching Lavender Town - Beating the Rival

Traveling across the Rock Tunnel will land players in Lavender Town, a small stop in their Pokemon Journey, but an important one since it leads to waking up Snorlax lead to Mr. Fuji, who will be nowhere to be found.

Asking around his house and the surrounding area will reveal that Mr. Fuji has gone to the Pokemon Tower (the huge building on the upper right corner of the town).

Once players enter the first floor of the tower, they'll meet their Rival, who is there for mysterious reasons. His lineup (Pidgeotto Lv. 25, Exeggcute Lv. 22, Starter Lv. 25, Kadabra Lv. 25, Growlithe Lv. 23) has no Raticate anymore, so players might have guessed something went wrong with the little guy. After beating the Rival, he will vault off and players will be able to explore the tower.

The objective is to reach the Top Floor, where Mr. Fuji is being held hostage by Team Rocket. But to do that, players will have to recover the Silph Scope to reveal Ghost-type Pokemon lurking around (and more importantly, to make Marowak's Spirit vanish from the Top Floor staircase). For that, let's take a stroll westward and head to Celadon City via Route 8.

Celadon City - Uncovering Team Rocket's Hideout & Recovering the Silph Scope

Head to Celadon City, crossing the Underground Tunnel in Route 8, then look around the middle of the City for the Casino. Enter it to discover a Team Rocket Grunt on the back wall, guarding what seems to be a poster.

Beat the Rocket Grunt (Raticate Lv. 20, Zubat Lv. 20), and then proceed to interact with the Poster behind him to access the Team Rocket Hideout. Players need to reach floor BF4 to face Giovanni and recover the Silph Scope, so let's get straight to it.

First, go to BF3 and follow this path to solve the spinning tile puzzle:

Reach BF4, and challenge the Team Rocket Grunt in the upper left room to claim the Lift Key.

Go back to BF2, and solve the Second Spinning Tile Puzzle to reach the Lift access. Here's how to deal with the second Spinning Tile Puzzle:

Go to BF4, beat the two Team Rocket Grunts guarding the door.

• The grunt on the Right has: Sandshrew Lv. 23, Sandslash Lv. 23, Ekans Lv. 23
• The grunt on the Left has: Ekans Lv. 23, Sandshrew Lv. 23, Arbok Lv. 23

After beating these Grunts, the doors to Team Rocket's Boss Room will open: It will be time to face Giovanni and his team of powerful Pokemon (Onix Lv. 25, Rhyhorn Lvl. 24, Kangaskhan Lv. 29).

If players manage to carry around a Mankey up to this point in the adventure, they'll probably have a Primeape, which can basically one-hit-ko all of Giovanni's Pokemon using Focus Energy + Karate Chop, or Low Kick (hits harder for heavy Pokemon like Onix, Rhyhorn, and Kangaskhan).

After losing the battle and a grandiose discourse, Giovanni will drop the Silph Scope. Pick it up and go back to the elevator, press BF1 to reach the first basement level, and watch out for the last remaining Grunt with a Lv. 22 Grimer, and a Lv. 22 Koffing.

Next, it is time to return to the Pokemon Tower, and challenge Marowak's Ghost guarding the entrance to the Top Floor.

Pokemon Tower Top Floor - Beating Marowak & Rescuing Mr. Fuji from Team Rocket

Now, back to Lavender Town, and climb the Pokemon Tower up to the Top Floor. Be careful with the Ghost-type Pokemon roaming around and the Mediums who have been possessed by Ghastly and Haunter.

On the access to the Top Floor (the Pokemon Tower Summit) lies the next challenge to Beat: A Lv. 30 Marowak (Headbutt, Leer, Focus Energy, Bonemerang).

Marowak is not an overly complicated opponent to beat, even less if players have chosen Squirtle or Bulbasaur as their Starters, since they can send Cubone's Mother Spirit to rest in just a couple of super effective moves. Cubone's Mother Ghost cannot be caught, so don't waste Poke Balls here.

The real challenge comes next: Beating three Rocket Grunts and rescuing Mr. Fuji. Here are their lineups:

• Rocket Grunt 1: Zubat Lv. 25, Zubat Lv. 25, Golbat Lv. 25
• Rocket Grunt 2: Koffing Lv. 26, Drowzee Lv. 26
• Rocket Grunt 3: Zubat Lv. 23, Zubat Lv. 23, Rattata Lv. 23, Raticate Lv. 23

Did you know? In the Pokemon Yellow version of Gen 1 games, players would face Jessee, James, and their original Team Rocket lineup from the Pokemon series, including Meowth. That includes this encounter to save Mr. Fuji.

After saving Mr. Fuji, players will receive the Poke Flute as thanks for their heroism. Now, only one thing remains to be done: To wake up Snorlax and clear the path to Fuschia City.

Waking Up Snorlax - Which Route to Choose?

In Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen, there are two different Snorlax sleeping it off and blocking two important Routes. Both of these routes lead to Fuschia City, but they are pretty different from each other.

Of course, waking up Snorlax in any of these routes will result in a battle, and players can catch Snorlax if they weaken it enough. Let's analyze both routes and what they have to offer:

Route 12 Snorlax - Route 13

The Snorlax, which is closer to Lavender Town, blocks the path to Route 13. Waking up this Snorlax using the Poke Flute will anger it, and a battle will trigger. After beating or catching it, the path ahead will be open.

Players can also visit the Fishing Gurú house (past the Silent Bridge on Route 12) to get the Super Rod.

Route 13 is filled with all types of trainers, and the most challenging ones will be Cool Trainers, and also lots of Bird Pokemon Trainers (who use mostly Doduo, Dodrio, Spearow, Fearow, Pidgey, and Pidgeotto). The most challenging thing about this area is the Hedge Labyrinth, which separates this Route from the access to Fuschia City, so players should think carefully before proceeding.

Route 16 Snorlax - Cycling Road/Route 17

The Snorlax west of Celadon is blocking Route 16, which leads to the Bike Bridge, also known as Cycling Road and Route 17. If players decide to go in this direction, there are two important things to consider:

• Just after exiting the Gate Building to access the Cycling Road, players can also obtain the HM02 Fly by cutting the tree that leads to a small cabin.
• Players won't be able to walk here; only Bikes are allowed. So, in the unlikely scenario of players who have forgotten how to pick a Free Bike, here's a guide.

Besides that, the path ahead is pretty straightforward (and downhill), so players will be able to catch lots of cool Pokes and face lots of Bikers that love to use Poison-type Pokemon like Muck, Grimer, Koffing, Wheezing, Ekans, Arbok, and the occasional Voltorb, Electrode, and Machop/Machoke.

Bring lots of Antidotes and healing items (players can purchase a decent assortment of them in the Celeadon Store). Also, one useful piece of advice: remember to have at least one of your Pokemon know Fly before proceeding, since players cannot use Escape Ropes here (Teleport works as well).

Since there are a lot of chances of being poisoned, or weakened by the enormous amount of battles, players will eventually feel the need to go back to a Pokemon Center, and Celadon is the nearest one. Using the Bike Uphill is no joke, and to top it off, there are tons of Bikers on both sides of the Road, so returning is as painful as advancing.

Ultimately, which Route they pick is up to the trainer's tastes: If they want a more straightforward route, then pick the Snorlax at Celadon, but be ready to battle it out. If they want slower progress but less tiring combats, then they should go for the one near Lavender Town.