Where To Get TM35 Sleep Talk in Pokémon Crystal

You can find TM35 Sleep Talk in a hidden warehouse deep in the Goldenrod City Underground during Team Rocket’s takeover of Goldenrod Radio Tower.

Entering this hidden warehouse requires the Basement Key, which you get by defeating the Rocket Executive on the fifth floor (5F) of the Rocket-controlled Radio Tower.

Team Rocket won’t take over the Radio Tower until you conquer your seventh Gym in Mahogany Town, so you’ll only be able to get TM35 Sleep Talk at that point.

Prerequisites

You need a Basement Key to enter the Underground Warehouse where TM35 is being kept (along with a kidnapped Radio Director).

But we’ll have to wait until Team Rocket takes over Goldenrod Radio Tower to get it. This happens after defeating your seventh Gym Leader at Mahogany Town.

Once that’s done, Fly to reach Goldenrod City after getting the call from Prof. Elm about Team Rocket taking over. Then head for the Radio Tower.

Getting the Basement Key in Radio Tower

From the Pokémon Center, start heading north and turn left right before the train tracks.

You’ll find the Radio Tower on the western end of this road.

The Rocket Executive we need to beat is on the fifth floor (5F). Let me briefly walk you through each of them.

First Floor (1F)

Once inside the Radio Tower, go right past the counter to find the stairs leading up.

There’s only one enemy trainer on this floor: a Team Rocket Grunt with two Level 24 Raticates. You must defeat them to access the next floor.

Second Floor (2F)

Now, you must cross to the left side to find the way upstairs.

As you make your way through the office, you’ll have to fight at least three out of four Team Rocket members on this floor.

Third Floor (3F)

Three more trainers are on the third floor: two Rocket Grunts and a Scientist.

However, you only need to fight the one guarding the stairs leading to 4F.

The Rocket Grunt teams are similar, but the Scientist introduces Magnemites into the mix.

Tip: With the addition of the Electric-type Magnemite, the Rock/Ground-type Onix becomes the ideal Pokémon to fight through the Radio Tower.

Fourth Floor (4F)

You’ll find two enemy trainers on 4F, but only the Scientist is unavoidable.

The Rocket Grunt to the right is spinning clockwise, and you can easily time your movements to walk by him.

The biggest threat on this floor is the Scientist’s Porygon. It’s a Normal-type, so any Fighting-type moves (Rock Smash, Dynamic Punch, etc.) are ideal here.

Fifth Floor (5F)

The only one on this floor is the Rocket Executive posing as the Radio Director. He’ll approach you as you enter the room, challenging you to a battle after revealing himself.

His team is only slightly stronger than the rest of the enemies so far, but he has one significant weakness: all of his Pokémon are Poison-type.

If you have a Ground-type or Psychic-type Pokémon with decent same-type moves, he’s done for.

The Rocket Executive will give you the Basement Key after you defeat him.

Getting TM35 Sleep Talk (Step-by-Step)

Armed with the Basement Key, we’re ready to visit the Goldenrod Underground.

Finding Goldenrod City’s Underground

Starting at Goldenrod’s Pokémon Center, head north.

After crossing over the train tracks going up, turn left. Then enter the second building that’s just left of the Name Rater.

Finally, head down the stairs and into the Goldenrod Underground.

Head down and then to the right to find the door to the Goldenrod Underground Basement. Use the Basement Key to enter.

Note: You might have to fight some trainers if you’ve never been here, but their Pokémon are all very low-level. They shouldn’t be a problem at this point in the game.

Accessing the Basement

Battle your rival in the Goldenrod Underground Basement, just a few steps from the stairs you just came down.

Here’s how his team looks this time around:

Depending on which starter Pokémon you picked, he’ll also have one of these three:

Defeat three Rocket Grunts on your way to the very left edge of this room.

Tip: Ground and Psychic-types can make these fights very easy due to their type advantage against Poison-types.

Flip every switch once, activating them in order from left to right.

This will open up the way to the Warehouse.

Tip: If you’ve already moved the switches around, you can exit the room and come back for a reset.

So just head through the now-open pathways and enter the Warehouse. Here’s how:

From the top left corner of the map (near the first switch), go down, then right.

You’ll have to battle Burglar Eddie:

Then once again, down and right.

You’ll run into a second trainer on the way: Burglar Duncan.

Finally, you must defeat a feminine Rocket Grunt before entering the Warehouse through the blue doors further right.

Tip: There’s a Full Heal on the ground to the north right before the Rocket Grunt.

Head deeper into the Warehouse to find the real Radio Director of Radio Tower. Here’s how to reach his exact location:

There are three Rocket Grunts in this area, and all of them must be defeated on your way to the Radio Director. Their teams are nothing special, though.

You’ll also find an Ultra Ball near the first bend in the road.

And there’s a Max Ether further ahead, by some crates to the south.

You’ll eventually reach a staircase guarded by a Rocket Grunt. Go up to get the Amulet Coin if you want it, then come back down and keep advancing further into the Warehouse.

Finally, you’ll reach the center of the warehouse.

Fight through one last Rocket Grunt before finally finding the Radio Director and TM35 Sleep Talk.

TM35 Sleep Talk Details + Uses

Sleep Talk is a unique move that allows sleeping Pokémon to use one of their moves randomly (not including Sleep Talk itself).

This is a fantastic counter against foes that put your Pokémon to sleep, but it becomes much more reliable paired with a Psychic-type move: Rest.

Rest allows your Pokémon to replenish its HP and remove any status ailments. In exchange, it falls asleep for three turns.

You can keep up the pressure on your opponent in this state, thanks to Sleep Talk. It might even choose Rest, healing your Pokémon and resetting the 3-turn timer.

Note: The only other move that a Pokémon can use while sleeping is Snore.

Rest + Sleep Talk Combo Moves

After learning Rest and Sleep Talk, your Pokémon still has two spots available in their movelist. Choosing wisely is essential to make the Rest + Sleep Talk strategy shine.

Some good moves include:

But some moves can’t be chosen by Sleep Talk. These are:

• Bide
• Dig
• Fly
• Metronome
• Razor Wind
• Skull Bash
• Sky Attack
• Solar Beam
• Struggle

On the other hand, the following moves can be chosen but will always fail:

• Metronome
• Mirror Move
• Sketch

Who To Teach Sleep Talk To

When choosing who to teach Sleep Talk to, we want to look out for high HP and high Defense. Here are some ideas:

These Pokémon can also learn Rest by leveling up or via TM44. They can help you try the [Rest + Sleep Talk] strategy right away!

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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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