Soulgold Walkthrough & Progression Guide

Soulgold runs the traditional Johto badge order into a Kanto postgame, with soft level caps tied to each badge and two high points in between. This page is the order of operations, the levels you are walking into, and what you pick up on the way.

The Johto badges, in order

Each entry below is the Leader's registered badge team, taken from the game's own trainer data.

1. Falkner -- Violet City Gym (Flying), levels 11-12 Pidgey 11, Gligar 11, Pidgeotto 12 holding an Oran Berry. Your first cap is 12, so a starter plus one early catch is enough. Watch for the Oran Berry on the Pidgeotto; it undoes a chunk of your opening damage.

2. Bugsy -- Azalea Town Gym (Bug), levels 19-20 Whirlipede 19, Cutiefly 19, Scyther 20. Cap 19. Flying and Rock moves end this.

3. Whitney -- Goldenrod City Gym (Normal), levels 25-27 Audino 25, Girafarig 26, Miltank 27. Cap 26. Whitney's Gym is not open until you complete the quiz on the Radio Tower's first floor, and this is the fight the region is built around. Bring something that ignores Defence boosts.

4. Morty -- Ecruteak City Gym (Ghost), levels 33-34 Galarian Corsola 33, Doublade 33, Misdreavus 33, Gengar 34. Cap 34. A four-Pokémon team, and the first one that punishes a Normal-type carry.

5. Chuck -- Cianwood Gym (Fighting), levels 41-42 Hitmontop 41, Mienshao 41, Poliwrath 41, Annihilape 42. Cap 42.

6. Jasmine -- Olivine City Gym (Steel), levels 41-42 Skarmory 41, Tinkaton 41, Magneton 41, Scizor 41, Steelix 42. Cap 45. A five-Pokémon Steel team is the point where a Fire or Fighting carry stops being optional.

7. Pryce -- Mahogany Town Gym (Ice), levels 41-42 Alolan Ninetales 41, Mamoswine 41, Glaceon 41, Weavile 42, Froslass 42. Cap 48. Alolan Ninetales sets Snow, so Ice-types here take fewer hits than you expect.

8. Clair -- Blackthorn City Gym (Dragon), levels 57-58 Altaria 57, Gyarados 57, Hydrapple 57, Dragonite 58, Kingdra 58. Cap 58. Note the jump from the mid-40s to 57; the fifth-through-seventh badge stretch is where a run gets made or broken.

Between the badges

These are the unlocks that matter, in the order they arrive:

• Before Violet City: the Exp. Share.
• After badge 1: Elm's aide gives you the egg and the Candy Jar, which banks overflow experience and converts it into Exp Candy.
• After badge 3: the Battle Factory opens. Ability changes, IV feathers and later money items all come from here, and the Beckoning Bell lets you reroll a Hidden Grotto on demand. The Squirtbottle from the Goldenrod Flower Shop next to the Gym clears the tree.
• Goldenrod stretch: the Coin Case in the Underground, the department store, and Gachapon starters behind the Casino's rewards counter.
• Team Rocket takeover, Goldenrod: the Mega Ring. Your starter's mega stone comes from Elm later.
• Postgame: the Dive HM comes from completing the Mt. Silver event and then starting your rival's questline in their house.

Level caps, in full

Caps here are soft: experience gain drops sharply once a Pokémon reaches the cap instead of stopping entirely.

The cap list ends at 70 once you are Champion, and experience is unrestricted from there. That single number is the most useful planning fact in the postgame: Kanto Leaders sit at levels 57-69, so the Champion cap is exactly the level you should arrive at.

After the League

Soulgold defines 16 badge flags and carries Kanto Leaders in its trainer data, including Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Janine, Sabrina and Blaine, with Blue registered in Viridian City Gym and the Saffron City Fighting Dojo. The hack's own FAQ describes the project as pure Johto focus, so treat the Kanto circuit as postgame content to confirm in-game rather than a documented walkthrough. Leader rematches also exist at fixed postgame locations:

• Falkner in the Violet City school, Bugsy in the National Park, Whitney in the Goldenrod Department Store, Morty on Bellchime Trail, Chuck on the Route 47 bridge, Jasmine in the Olivine cafe, Pryce at the Lake of Rage, Clair in the Dragon's Den cave.

Planning links

• Trainer Battles & Boss Preparation for full teams and movesets
• Locations and the Encounter Finder for building a party as you go
• Type Chart and the Moveset Finder before a fight you are unsure about