Cinnabar Island & Cinnabar Mansion: Pokémon FRLG Walkthrough Part 12

Inside the Cinnabar Manstion on Cinnabar Island (Pokémon FireRed)

Quick Guide

  1. Pick up the Exp. Share from Professor Oak’s Aide on the top floor of the gate house directly east of Fuchsia City
  2. Grab the Super Rod from the fisherman in the blue-roofed house on Route 12 under Lavender Town
  3. Fly to Pallet Town and Surf south to reach Cinnabar Island
  4. Go to the Pokémon Lab’s Testing Room on Cinnabar and give the scientist your fossil, then leave the lab and immediately come back in to get your Omanyte/Kabuto
  5. Get the Secret Key from the Pokémon Mansion
  6. Unlock the Cinnabar Island Gym and defeat Blaine for the Volcano Badge

Getting the Exp. Share (Fuchsia)

Before we leave Fuchsia City and make our way to Cinnabar Island, let’s grab a couple of things.

The first item is the Experience Share. We can give this item to any Pokémon and it will receive exp for battles it doesn’t even partake in.

Here’s where to go:

Walk east of Fuchsia City and head inside the yellow guard shack/gate on Route 15.

The guard shack, east of Fuchsia, where we can get the Exp. Share. / Pokemon FRLG
The guard shack, east of Fuchsia, where we can get the Exp. Share.

Once you’re inside, go upstairs and talk to Professor Oak’s Aide (the man in the lab coat). He’ll check if you’ve caught 50 species of Pokémon, and if you have, then he’ll give you the Exp. Share.

Getting the Super Rod (Fuchsia)

After we have the Exp. Share, let’s get the Super Rod.

We got the Good Rod in Fuchsia City, but the Super Rod will make a few more valuable Pokémon available to us – and it’s actually pretty easy to get.

First, fly back to Lavender Town.

Once you’re in Lavender Town, walk south and follow the docks on Route 12 until you see the sleeping Snorlax.

Snorlax sleeping on Route 12 under Lavender Town / Pokemon FRLG
Snorlax sleeping on Route 12 under Lavender Town

Press “A” on Snorlax to wake it up with your Poké Flute. Afterwards you can defeat it or catch it (I recommend catching since there are only two Snorlax in the game).

After you move Snorlax out of the way, continue south along the docks until you come across a house with a blue roof.

The Fishing Guru’s younger brother’s house, where we can get the Super Rod / Pokemon FRLG
The Fishing Guru’s younger brother’s house, where we can get the Super Rod

Walk inside and talk to the fisherman inside. He’ll ask if you like fishing and will give you the Super Rod when you say yes.

Surfing To Cinnabar Island

Cinnabar Island is our next stop, and there are actually two ways to reach the island.

The first way involves heading south of Fuchsia City and taking Routes 19 and 20 through the Seafoam Islands. This way is long and treacherous, but is actually where you find Articuno!

Note: In this walkthrough I won’t be picking up Articuno, but if you’re a brave adventurer then I encourage you to sail to the Seafoam Islands and take a shot at it.

But instead of sailing through the Seafoam Islands, I’ll be taking the easier route to Cinnabar:

Flying to Pallet Town and surfing south from there.

You’ll find a body of water on the south side of Pallet Town that we’ll use to reach Cinnabar Island.

Surfing from Pallet Town to Cinnabar Island / Pokemon FRLG
Surfing from Pallet Town to Cinnabar Island

As the in-game map suggests, we just have to sail straight south from Pallet Town and eventually we’ll land right on the coast of Cinnabar Island.

Landing on the coast of Cinnabar Island after Surfing down from Pallet Town / Pokemon FRLG
Landing on the coast of Cinnabar Island after Surfing down from Pallet Town

Cinnabar has a few cool things to check out, including a Gym, the Pokémon Lab, and the Pokémon Mansion.

We’ll cover all of these places in this walkthrough.

The Pokémon Lab (Resurrecting Our Fossil)

On the bottom-left side of Cinnabar Island is a funny looking building known as the Pokémon Lab.

The Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island / Pokemon FRLG
The Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island

We want to stop by the lab first because we can finally use that old fossil we picked up so long ago in Mt. Moon.

Walk inside of the Pokémon Lab. On the right side of this interior lobby you’ll find three rooms.

We want to go into the Testing Room on the far right. The other rooms have NPCs in them looking for in-game trades, so if that interests you then you can talk to them as well.

The Testing Room inside of the Pokémon Lab / Pokemon FRLG
The Testing Room inside of the Pokémon Lab

Head inside the Testing Room and talk to the Scientist in the lab coat sitting in the back. He’ll ask if you have any fossils for him to look at.

Giving the Scientist in the Pokémon Lab the Dome Fossil to resurrect / Pokemon FRLG
Giving the Scientist in the Pokémon Lab the Dome Fossil to resurrect

Hand him your fossil from Mt. Moon and he’ll put it in the resurrection machine.

Then all you have to do is walk out of the Pokémon Lab 1 step, and then immediately walk back in (yes, that’s all the game checks for when you “revive” a fossil).

Then you can pick up your new ancient Pokémon!

This can also work for the Old Amber you’d get from the scientist in the Pewter City museum.

Pokémon Mansion Guide (Step-by-Step)

While the Cinnabar Gym would be a great place for our next stop, we actually can’t walk in yet.

If you try to go into the Gym, you’ll see that the doors are locked.

Trying to enter the Cinnabar Island Gym without the Secret Key / Pokemon FRLG
Trying to enter the Cinnabar Island Gym without the Secret Key

To unlock these doors we have to head to the Pokémon Mansion on the west side of the Island.

The mansion is hard to miss because, well, it’s the only other building on the Island.

Outside of the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island / Pokemon FRLG
Outside of the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island

The Pokémon Mansion is full of mystery, trainers, and puzzles. But it also has the key for the Cinnabar Gym, so we have to go through it.

As soon as you walk into the mansion, walk straight north until you reach the first staircase, then head upstairs to the second floor.

The first stairs to take in the Pokémon Mansion / Pokemon FRLG
The first stairs to take in the Pokémon Mansion

On the second floor, head to the northeast corner of the room.

There will be a diary lying on the table, go ahead and take a look at it.

The first diary in the Pokémon Mansion / Pokemon FRLG
The first diary in the Pokémon Mansion

There are diaries like this laying all around the Cinnabar Mansion. And if you’re interested in the lore of Pokémon, then I encourage you to take a look at these diaries.

Once you’ve checked out the diary (or if you don’t feel like reading and just want to head through the mansion), make your way to the northwest corner of this floor. There will be another staircase here.

Walk up these stairs to the third floor / Pokemon FRLG
Walk up these stairs to the third floor

Head up the stairs to the third floor.

Here you will see a statue that may look a bit familiar. These statues all control doors throughout the Mansion, so when you flip their switch they will lock / unlock different doors.

This statue unlocks the door on the south side of the third floor, so go ahead and press A on the statue then continue south on the floor.

Press A on the statue (1) to open the gate (2) / Pokemon FRLG
Press A on the statue (1) to open the gate (2)

After you walk south through the open gate, you’ll notice that the floor is actually broken in two areas.

We’re going to jump off of the east part of the balcony.

Jump off of the east side of the balcony to land on the second floor / Pokemon FRLG
Jump off of the east side of the balcony to land on the second floor

After you jump off of the balcony, you’ll land back on the second floor.

Head west from here until you see two staircases and a statue. The statue’s eyes should be glowing red — press A on this statue before moving on.

Press A on the statue to open the north west gate / Pokemon FRLG
Press A on the statue to open the north west gate

After you press A on the statue, the gate in the northwest corner of the floor will open.

Afterwards, you can head through the new gap and take the stairs going back up to the third floor.

Take the stairs to proceed through the mansion / Pokemon FRLG
Take the stairs to proceed through the mansion

After you walk up these stairs, there will be another statue with a secret switch for you to press.

When you press it, the gate to the south will open up for you.

Press A on the statue to unlock the gate to the south / Pokemon FRLG
Press A on the statue to unlock the gate to the south

Hop off of the balcony again, except this time jump off of the left side.

Jump off of the balcony on the west side this time  / Pokemon FRLG
Jump off of the balcony on the west side this time

After you jump off of the balcony, head south and take the staircase just to the right of where you landed.

These stairs will lead to the basement, our final stop.

Take the stairs down to the basement to find the Secret Key / Pokemon FRLG
Take the stairs down to the basement to find the Secret Key

Once you walk down the stairs to the basement, head to the room just west of the staircase.

There will be a burglar and a statue in this room. Go ahead and flip the switch on the statue.

Press A on the statue to unlock the gate in the north east corner of the basement / Pokemon FRLG
Press A on the statue to unlock the gate in the north east corner of the basement

The final diary entry is also on the table in this room, which talks about how Mewtwo was too powerful to control.

After you switch the flip and get your fill of lore, head to the northeast corner of the basement.

The gate that was blocking your path should be gone now (if not, make sure you flipped the switch in the south room in the basement).

But there is another statue in the north east room. Flip its switch, then continue west down the corridor.

Press A on this statue to walk west down the corridor and find the Secret Key / Pokemon FRLG
Press A on this statue to walk west down the corridor and find the Secret Key

If you continue west as far as possible, you’ll come across a table with a Poké Ball on it. This item is the Secret Key, and it’s our ticket to entering the Cinnabar Gym.

The Secret Key laying on a table in the basement of the Pokémon Mansion / Pokemon FRLG
The Secret Key laying on a table in the basement of the Pokémon Mansion

Go ahead and pick up the Secret Key then make your way out of the Pokémon Mansion. You can use an Escape Rope or Dig to quickly exit.

The Cinnabar Island Gym

We can finally head inside of the Cinnabar Island Gym thanks to the Secret Key.

Blaine is the leader of this Gym, and he specializes in Fire Type Pokémon. So if you have any Water, Ground, or Rock Types, now’s your chance to put them to use.

And we get another fun little puzzle with this gym.

Cinnabar Gym Questions + Answers

At a glance this might seem annoying, but the Cinnabar Gym puzzle is pretty simple easy:

It’s a Pokémon quiz!

Each room has a machine that you must walk up to and press A on.

Taking the Pokémon Quiz in the Cinnabar Island Gym / Pokemon FRLG
Taking the Pokémon Quiz in the Cinnabar Island Gym

When you do, the machine will ask you a question, and you have to get it correct if you want to move on without battling the trainer in the room.

To help you out, we’ve listed all the correct answers below:

Cinnabar Gym Cheatsheet
Question Answer
Caterpie evolves into Metapod? Yes
There are nine certified Pokémon League Badges? No
Poliwag evolves three times? No
Are electric moves effective against Ground-type Pokémon? No
Pokémon of the same kind and level are not identical? Yes
TM28 contains Tombstony? No

After you answer all of the questions, you’ll find yourself face to face with the molten mustachioed man himself, Blaine.

Blaine has all Fire Type Pokémon, of course, no surprises there.

With that being said, his Pokémon are pretty tough. And he’s not afraid to spam Hyper Potions, so it’s good to over-level & be prepared.

Blaine’s Team
Pokémon Level
Growlithe 42
Ponyta 40
Rapidash 42
Arcanine 47

After you defeat Blaine, he’ll give you the Volcano Badge and TM38 Fire Blast.

The Volcano Badge will let you use Waterfall outside of battle, and Fire Blast is a pretty strong Fire-Type move. So feel free to teach it to one of your Pokémon if they can make good use of it.

After you receive your rewards, it’s time to continue our adventure into the Sevii Islands: an area that’s new to the FR/LG remakes, and was not in the original R/B/Y Gen I games.

ReOcelot

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A jack of all trades when it comes to gaming. I can sit down for hours in a casual playthrough of Pokémon, or I can spend months trying to hit Diamond in League of Legends. I love and appreciate everything about games, and love sharing that passion with my readers.

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