Guides

How To Get The Good Rod in Pokémon HGSS

by Louie Neale
Hooking a wild Pokémon with the Good Rod in HeartGold

To get the Good Rod in HeartGold/SoulSilver, you’ll just need to talk with a Fisherman NPC in his home in Olivine City. His house is located directly above the Olivine City Pokémon Center.

However, to reach Olivine City itself, you must first defeat Gym Leader Morty in Ecruteak City and earn your 4th gym badge.

The Good Rod allows you to catch a much wider range of Pokémon than the Old Rod. Once you’ve got it, you can revisit old locations to catch new potential team mates. We’ll include a list at the end of this article.

But first, we’ll show you exactly where to find the Good Rod.

Finding The Good Rod

Once you get to Olivine City, getting the Good Rod couldn’t be easier.

Simply go to the house pictured below, just a few steps north of the Pokémon Center.

The Fisherman's house in Olivine City, where the player receives their Good Rod / Pokémon HGSS
The Fisherman’s house in Olivine City, where the player receives their Good Rod

Go inside and talk to the Fisherman.

Answer ‘Yes’ to his question, and you’ll be rewarded with a Good Rod of your very own.

The Fisherman posing his question to the player / Pokémon HGSS
The Fisherman posing his question to the player

Pokémon Obtainable With The Good Rod

You’ll be able to catch many more Pokémon with your Good Rod than with the Old Rod. Your catches will also now be at level 20, instead of the previous level 10.

Below you can find a list of the new Pokémon available to you in each location once you’ve got the Good Rod.

We haven’t included Kanto locations, as by that point you can upgrade to the Super Rod.

Fishing with the Good Rod on Route 44 / Pokémon HGSS
Fishing with the Good Rod on Route 44
Location Newly Available Pokémon
New Bark Town
  • Shellder
  • Chinchou
Cherrygrove City
  • Staryu (night only)
  • Corsola (morning and day only)
Route 32
  • Qwilfish
Union Cave
  • Staryu (two floors below ground during the night only)
  • Corsola (two floors below ground during the morning and day only)
Route 34
  • Staryu (night only)
  • Corsola (morning and day only)
Olivine City
  • Staryu (night only)
  • Corsola (morning and day only)
Route 40
  • Staryu (night only)
  • Corsola (morning and day only)
Route 41
  • Shellder
  • Chinchou
Cianwood City
  • Staryu (night only)
  • Corsola (morning and day only)
Route 47
  • Shellder
  • Chinchou
Safari Zone
  • Poliwhirl (Meadow Area, Marshland Area, and Wetland Area)
  • Gyarados (Meadow Area with 7 waterside blocks and Marshland Area with 3 waterside blocks)
  • Seaking (Swamp Area)
  • Dratini (Swamp Area with 10 waterside blocks)
  • Kingler (Rocky Beach Area with 5 waterside blocks)
  • Corphish (Wetland Area with 10 waterside blocks)
Whirl Islands
  • Horsea
Lake of Rage
  • Gyarados
Route 44
  • Remoraid
Dragon’s Den
  • Dratini
Route 27
  • Shellder
  • Chinchou
Route 26
  • Shellder
  • Chinchou
BACK TO THE MAIN GAME Pokémon HGSS Full Strategy Guide
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Louie Neale

38 articles

Full-time freelance copywriter and long-time Pokémon trainer, currently rediscovering my childhood love for the classic games by bringing you all the info you need.

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