Saffron City is unreachable in Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen until you can get past that pesky guard.
The map of Kanto in Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen is mostly centered around one hub: Saffron City. There are four separate entrances to the city on the map, and most of the roads you go on during the early and mid-game lead to Saffron. However, if you try to go through one of the four entrances, you’ll be stopped by a thirsty guard who tells you the road to Saffron City is closed, forcing you to find a way past them.
In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about getting to Saffron City in Pokémon.
How to get through to Saffron City in Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen
The only way to slip past the guard at any of the four entrances to Saffron City is to bring them a drink. When they’re telling you the road is closed, the guards also drop a line saying, “Gee, I’m thirsty, though!” That’s your main clue about how to get past them.
Of course, drinks aren’t a common commodity in FireRed & LeafGreen. Marts don’t sell any kind of drink, so what do you give the guard to quench their thirst?
Many players might try to go for one of the drinks atop the Celadon City Department Store. After all, there are several different kinds of drinks you can buy at the rooftop vending machine. However, that’s not the specific drink that will make the guard open the entrance to Saffron City.
Instead, you need the “Tea,” which is a key item that’s obtained from the Celadon Mansion in Celadon City. The Celadon Mansion is found to the left of the Department Store, as seen in the screenshot below.
Inside the mansion, you can speak to an old woman who’s sitting at a large table on the first floor. She will give you the “Tea,” which is then added to the key items section of your bag. You can then take the Tea to any one of the four guards at a Saffron City entrance. When you try to go past the guard, they’ll notice the Tea, drink it, and then say they’ll share it with the other three guards.
This now permits you to enter Saffron City from any one of the four entrances spread across Kanto in Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen. If you need to know where those entrances are, here’s a quick rundown:
- Entrance #1: South of Cerulean City, beneath the Day Care
- Entrance: #2: East of Celadon City
- Entrance #3: West of Lavender Town, beside an Underground Path tunnel
- Entrance #4: North of Vermillion City, beside an Underground Path tunnel
For anyone not at Celadon City yet, you’ll need to progress through Rock Tunnel, reach Lavender Town, head west from Lavender Town, enter the Underground Path, and then exit the other side of the tunnel to reach the east side of the city. You can also enter it from Cycling Road to the west, but a bike costs you $1 million Poké Dollars, so that’s likely not feasible for most players. That also requires getting past the sleeping Snorlax in Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen, which is an entirely different challenge.