Besides your Pokémon, there are some nifty gadgets that you can use, to make your journey easier or more exciting.

Fishing Rod¶

You’ll have this the moment you start the game. Occasionally, when you get close to a body of water (such as a pond or river), you’ll find rippling water. This is where your fishing instincts should kick in. Press the A button next to the rippling water to use your fishing rod. Then press it again when you get a bite. Time it right and you’ll trigger a battle with a water-dwelling Pokémon!

Hi-tech Earbuds¶

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Here’s the guy with the goods.

When you reach Motostoke, you can obtain these from a man standing next to a shop, below the lift that leads to the Gym Stadium. With these, you’ll gain access to the following sliders in the Options menu: Background Music, Sound Effects and Pokémon Cries. Huh, it could be interesting to mute the music and play a different soundtrack in the background…

Escape Rope¶

Sonia will hand you this life-saving tool just before you enter the Galar Mine. If you played a previous game, you should know what it does: when used inside a dungeon, it’ll return you to the nearest exit. However, this time, it’s not a consumable item and is instead a Key Item that you can use again and again. That said, you probably won’t get many chances to use it.

Rotom Bike¶

Wish you could travel just a teensy bit faster? Halfway through Route 5, you’ll be given the Rotom Bike, which lets you do just that! When outside, press the + or - Button to ride or get off the bike. While riding the bike, you’ll travel a bit faster than normal. You can also press the B Button to boost for a short period; afterwards, you must wait for the boost to recharge.

Later on, near the start of Route 9, your Rotom Bike will be upgraded so that it can travel across water! You don’t need to do anything special to trigger this functionality; the bike will automatically change modes when you touch the water. While traveling across water, you can boost like normal, although your general movement speed is slightly slower than on land.

Flying Taxi¶

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The Flying Taxi functions similarly to HM Fly in earlier games.

Still not fast enough? Do you want to travel to places (that you’ve already visited) instantly? After you’ve taken part in the opening ceremony in Motostoke, you’ll receive the credentials to use the Flying Taxi. With this, you can quick-travel to certain locations (as indicated by a wing icon) via the Town Map. This includes all towns, nurseries and places where there’s a permanent campsite.