Where To Get HM06 Whirlpool in Pokémon Crystal

Champion Lance will give you HM06 Whirlpool after proving your worth by helping him dismantle the Team Rocket operation in Mahogany Town.

You’ll first have to talk to him at the Lake of Rage after dealing with the Red Gyarados to start the quest. Then you can meet him at the Souvenir Shop to enter the hideout and get your HM.

More specifically, he’ll give you the HM after you defeat three Electrodes to deactivate a machine used by Team Rocket to send out radio waves that turn Pokémon more aggressive.

Prerequisites

Before you can dismantle the Team Rocket operation in Mahogany Town, you need to team up with Champion Lance and access the hideout beneath the Souvenir Shop.

Just defeat (or catch) the Red Gyarados in the Lake of Rage north of Mahogany Town, then return to shore and talk to Lance. He’ll be reading a sign a few steps south of the lake.

Answer “Yes” when he asks whether you want to help him take out Team Rocket, and you’re good to go.

Getting HM06 Whirlpool (Step-by-Step)

Step 1: Find the Souvenir Shop north of Mahogany Town’s Pokémon Center.

Step 2: Go down into the Team Rocket Hideout (B1F).

Step 3: Now you’ll need to deactivate the security system.

Start this process by heading west upon reaching B1F.

You’ll be attacked by two Team Rocket grunts every time you pass by a Persian statue until you deactivate the security system.

So when you can, just head south at the first available opportunity. Then walk a few paces eastward, and south again to wrap around a few rooms.

Then defeat the scientist NPC and then tamper with his computer to deactivate the security system.

Step 4: With the security system offline, find the stairs in the lower-left of the room leading down to B2F.

Here’s how:

Head back outside the security room and immediately turn right, passing an inactive Persian statue. Then follow the path southward.

Walk by the crates and follow the path as it turns west.

Keep going until you reach the stairs to B2F.

Take care not to step on the panel with concentric rectangles. That’s a teleporter back to the entrance!

Step 5: In the next room you can have Lance heal your Pokémon before continuing eastward.

He’ll tell you that you need to get a password to enter the room north of here and deactivate Team Rocket’s radio signal machine.

Step 6: Walk eastward through B2F until you’re attacked by a Team Rocket grunt.

From here, go into the next room a few steps south, then resume your march east to find the stairs leading down to B3F.

Tip: Remember this location. We’ll have to come back here later.

Upon reaching B3F, Lance will tell you that you need two passwords to enter the Team Rocket Boss’s offices, where you’ll find the password to the radio signal machine room.

Step 6: You’ll find the first password in the room to the north, directly next to the stairs.

You’ll get it from the red-haired Team Rocket grunt on the northwestern corner of the room after defeating her in battle.

The password is SLOWPOKETAIL.

Note that you cannot manually type that password into the door, so you need to defeat the rocket grunt to actually “learn” the password.

Step 7: You’ll find the second password in the room all the way west of the stairs.

So head west and ignore the Scientist sitting at the desk here – just focus your attention on the Team Rocket grunt on the other side of the table, standing by some shelves.

Defeat him in battle, then talk to him again and he’ll tell you the other password: RATICATE TAIL.

Step 8: Head north through a narrow passage on the top-right corner of this area to reach another set of stairs leading up to a new section of B2F.

Step 9: Once you go up these stairs, you’ll then want to find the stairs leading down to a separate section of B3F.

Do this by walking all the way to the western end of the room. Just start walking west through the narrow passage.

And look out for a Team Rocket grunt guarding the stairs at the end of this hallway.

Head down the staircase to enter a new area.

Step 10: In this new area, go south and turn towards the locked door. Interact with the door to input the passwords and unlock the room.

A cutscene will trigger, and you’ll have to defeat a Team Rocket Executive in battle.

Step 11: After you win the battle, talk to the Murkrow in the corner of this room to learn the final password: HAIL GIOVANNI.

Step 12: Return to the locked gate in B2F, where Lance first healed your Pokémon (see Steps 5 & 6 above).

Interact with the gate here to input the password and head inside. A cutscene will play right after.

Step 13: Defeat the Team Rocket Executive that attacks you during the cutscene.

Step 14: Walk north from where the cutscene left you, and defeat all three Electrodes on the left side of the machine. Lance will do the same on the other side.

Once you’re done, a cutscene will play and Lance will thank you.

Step 15: After beating all the Electrodes then Lance will give you HM06 Whirlpool.

HM06 Whirlpool Details + Uses

Whirlpool allows you to remove whirlpool obstacles in the overworld. This opens the way to:

• The Shrine behind the Dragon’s Den in Blackthorn City.
• The Whirl Islands between Olivine and Cianwood where Lugia can be found.
• Valuable items like TM22 SolarBeam in Route 27.

Tip: You must defeat Gym Leader Pryce in Mahogany Town to get the Glacier Badge before you can use Whirlpool outside of battle.

In combat, this move traps the opponent in a damaging whirlpool, dealing a little damage each turn for up to five turns.

The best part is that it doesn’t allow the target to escape or switch out. So you can use it to make sure a scaredy Pokémon doesn’t get away before you catch them.

Tip: You can teach Whirlpool to the same Water-type you already taught Surf and Waterfall to, or you try to distribute these moves among several Pokémon.

Here are some of my favorite Water-type Pokémon that can learn Whirlpool (along with Surf and Waterfall):

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Nelson Chitty

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Nelson Chitty is a Venezuelan expat living in Argentina. He’s a writer and translator passionate about history and foreign cultures. His ideal weekend is spent between leisurely playing games of Civilization VI and looking for the next seinen anime to marathon.

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