Pokémon Red and Blue: Cerulean City Gym

The gym is laid out as a pool with a walkway for you to get across. The first gym trainer approaches you from the water. He is a Swimmer who uses a Horsea and a Shellder, at level 16. Shellder is very defensive and knows Withdraw, which can make it more so.

After defeating him, head north, toward the gym leader, you will be approached by another trainer. She is a Jr. Trainer♀, who uses a single Goldeen at level 19. It knows the Flying-type move Peck, along with Tail Whip and Supersonic.

After defeating her, talk to Misty.

Leader Misty		Cerulean City Gym		2 Pokémon		P2079
		Staryu		Water		L18
Tackle	Normal	Water Gun	Water
		Starmie		Water/Psychic		L21
Tackle	Normal	Water Gun	Water	Harden	Normal	BubbleBeam	Water

Staryu is an easy defeat at the hands of Bulbasaur, Pikachu or Rattata. Misty's strategy is to use an X Defend to boost Starmie's Defense, while it destroys you with BubbleBeam, which has a chance to confuse even if it doesn't knock out your Pokémon. Hit it with a Leer to cancel this out, then destroy it with Vine Whip, ThunderShock, Hyper Fang or Mega Punch.

Upon defeat, Misty will award you with the CascadeBadge. She will also give you TM11 which contains BubbleBeam. There is only one in the game, so use it only on your very best Water-type.

When you're done, exit the gym and head north onto Route 24. If you already traversed the northern routes, then go through the house in the northeast part of town toward Route 5.

Advance to Route 24

Advance to Route 5

Pokémon Red and Blue: Cerulean City

If you are playing on a Super Game Boy or Game Boy Color, then the first thing you will notice about Cerulean City is its eponymous blue color.

Starting right off, the man in the northwestern house will tell you the unique benefits of each of the region's gym badges. The BoulderBadge you already have increases your Pokémon's Attack by 10% and allows you to use the HM move Flash outside of battle. The next badge, the CascadeBadge, will allow the use of Cut outside of battle, and will make traded Pokémon obey your commands up to level 30, where they might otherwise refuse to attack, use the wrong move or go to sleep in battle. Go through the back door of this house and examine the area behind it to find a hidden Rare Candy.

The house next to the gym contains a man who wants to trade the only Jynx in the game for your Poliwhirl. Both of these Pokémon will be explained when Poliwhirl becomes available.

The southwest building is a steeply priced bike shop. You can never have more than P999,999, so the P1,000,000 bike is off limits to you for now.

The Pokémon Mart sells the following items:

• Poké Balls - P200, be sure to stock up.
• Potions - P300
• Antidotes - P100
• Awakenings - P250
• Burn Heals - P250
• Parlyz Heals - P200
• Repels - P350, these would have been most useful before the cave, because they prevent you from encountering Pokémon of a higher level than the one at the top of your party for 200 steps a can.

You have two options here. You can enter Cerulean's Gym Gym (which is really just a Gym) or you can head north onto Route 24. You can get as far as the next town without collecting Cerulean's Gym Badge, but you won't be able to advance to the third badge until you get this one.

Enter Cerulean Gym

Proceed to Route 24

Pokémon Red and Blue: Route 4 II

Route 4 is a short route connecting Mt. Moon with the next town in the game. There are a couple of gems to be found here.

On the small plateau east of the exit of the mountain, examine the empty space to find a hidden Great Ball, which is 1.5 times more likely to catch a Pokémon than a Poké Ball. Use this one wisely, because you cannot buy them in bulk for a while. If you're looking for a Clefairy, it can make the capture much less tedious, but be sure to lower its health first.

On the large plateau further east, you can find TM04 Whirlwind, which will allow you to flee from a wild Pokémon by blowing them away, but does absolutely nothing in trainer battles.

Note that when you jump down the ledge near the grass, you will not be able to return to Mt. Moon, Pewter City, or any past locations for a while. When you're satisfied with your perusing all of the locations so far, hop down the ledge and catch one new Pokémon, depending on the version you're playing.

	Rattata	Normal	L8-12	40%
	Spearow	Normal/Flying	L8-12	35%
	Ekans	Poison	L6-12	25%	0%
	Sandshrew	Ground	L6-12	0%	25%

Ekans and Arbok
Ekans specializes in Attack and Speed. It evolves into Arbok at level 22. It's stats are bad and it is weak to Psychic.
It's only potential is to train it for Speed in single player and use Wrap, but this is a time consuming strategy and it is outclassed by other Pokémon in every aspect.

Sandshrew and Sandslash

Sandshrew has decent Defense for an unevolved Pokémon, which makes it a good companion for beginning Blue players. Parallel to Ekans, it evolves at level 22, into Sandslash. It's Defense increases to a decent level for an evolved Pokémon and its Attack is okay.

Competitively, Sandslash is outclassed by the staples, Golem and Rhydon. Anecdotally, however, it can defeat them both. It makes good use of Swords Dance and Earthquake and has access to Hyper Beam, Rock Slide, Body Slam and Substitute. Swords Dance gives it an edge against its biggest counter, Exeggutor.

As its Attack stat is not great, Swords Dance and lucky Body Slams are required for its competitive use.

When you're satisfied with your perusing all of the locations so far, head east into Cerulean City.

Advance to Cerulean City

Pokémon Red and Blue: Mt. Moon

Welcome to Mt. Moon, a three story cave crawling with bats and filled with items.

Unique to caves is that you can encounter wild Pokémon at any time while walking. Specifically, these wild Pokémon.

		1F (entrance floor)		B1F (below, one floor)		B2F (below, two floors)
	Zubat	L6-11	79%	L7-11	60%	L9-12	49%
	Geodude	L8-10	15%	L7-9	26%	L9-10	30%
	Paras	L8	5%	L10	10%	L10-12	15%
	Clefairy	L8	1%	L9	4%	L10-12	6%

Zubat and Golbat - Not Recommended

Zubat is a Poison/Flying-type. It is rampant in most caves throughout the Pokémon series. All of its stats are poor. It evolves into Golbat at level 22. All of its stats become almost decent, with its Speed matching that of the fearsome Magikarp, 90.

Golbat does not have the speed to outrun its weaknesses to Ice, Electric and especially Psychic. Like Beedrill, Golbat is a potential finisher, when the opponent is on their last Pokémon and hindered by a status ailment. Like all Flying-types, it can always be used to dodge an Earthquake.

Zubat and Golbat's balanced stats suggest potential to evolve into something great. Unfortunately, that potential is not realized in this game.

Geodude, Graveler and Golem - Recommended

Geodude is a defensive Rock and Ground-type. It has glaring weaknesses to Grass, Water and Ice. When it evolves into Graveler at level 25, its Defense skyrockets, its Attack becomes almost usable and its other stats continue to be poor.

Like most Ground-types in this game, it is saved by its access to a boosted Earthquake, and it's ability to resist Normal-types. Graveler is unique compared to what we've seen so far in the way that it evolves again. Graveler evolves when you trade it to another game. If you don't have access to another game, then don't catch a Geodude. If you do, then allow me to explain Golem.

Golem has excellent Defense and good Attack. Despite its lackluster other stats, it is a competitive staple in RBY. This is because it resists Normal-types and has access to Earthquake, Body Slam, Rock Slide and Explosion. Explosion results in the demise of the user; however, it is the most powerful move in the game with a blazing 170 base power. Many competitive players prefer a certain Ground/Rock-type over this, however.

Paras and Parasect - Not Recommended

When Paras evolves into Parasect at level 24, its stats become bad. As a Paras, it's stats are dismal. Its attempt at a saving grace is the deceptively useful Spore, a 100% accurate sleeping move. The fatal flaw with this is that Parasect is slow, so it is likely to be knocked out or statused before it gets the chance to use Spore.

There is one reason Parasect might be useful. It learns the HM move, Cut. If you have other plans for that, don't go for it.

Clefairy and Clefable - Not Recommended

Clefairy is a balanced version of Jigglypuff. Like Jigglypuff it evolves into Clefable with the use of a Moon Stone.

While they both derive STAB from Hyper Beam, Body Slam and other essential moves, Jigglypuff has the advantage of having a pile of HP, while Clefairy isn't especially good at anything.

The cave is entered from the south. Make your way to point A and collect TM12 Water Gun, the basic Water attack. This can come in handy later if you bought Magikarp from the Pokémon Center outside. Head up to point B for another free Potion.

Trainer 1 is a Bug Catcher who uses a Weedle and Kakuna at level 11. Trainer 2 is a Lass who uses a single Clefairy at level 14, which knows Sing, which can put you to sleep. Also, it gains STAB from Pound, which can be a problem if you are underleveled.

Follow the path to the northeast and you will come to a ladder. This ladder takes you to B1F. Then, follow the path and take a second ladder to B2F.

You come out in the small room containing trainer 3 and item C. Trainer 3 is a member of the villainous Team Rocket. He uses a Sandshrew, Rattata and Zubat, at level 11. Be wary of Sandshrew's Sand-Attack and Zubat's Supersonic, which can confuse your Pokémon. This will give a Pokémon a 50% chance of attacking the opponent and a 50% chance of attacking itself each turn.

Item C is an HP Up, which means that your Pokémon's HP will increase a tiny bit more with each level gained.

Reascend the ladders to 1F and head south to trainer 4. He is a Super Nerd, who uses a Magnemite and a Voltorb at level 11, both of which are Electric-types we have not yet seen. Voltorb knows a move called Screech, which will cut your current Pokémon's Defense in half.

Item D, nearby, is another Potion. Head east and you will find item E, a Rare Candy. Rare Candies are much better in this game then they are in future Pokémon games, because their downside can easily be made up.

Technical Stuff

Rare Candies raise your Pokémon's level by one; however, this means that you do not get the stat experience of fighting Pokémon. Stat exp. is analogous to modern EV's. The base stats of every Pokémon you fight are added to a counter for each of your stats that caps at 65536. Filling these counters will greatly increase your stats once you reach higher levels. Nowadays, the counters are on a different scale, peaking at 252 points in six stats, but with the limitation of only 510 points maximum between them. In this game, that limitation does not exist, and each Pokémon can have 65536 stat exp. in every stat. Even when your Pokémon reaches level 100, you can deposit it into the PC and withdraw it again to recalculate its stats. This is frequently called the box trick and allows your stats to increase at any time if more stat exp. has been collected and they are not already maxed out.

Head northwest to fight trainer 5, a Bug Catcher, who uses a Caterpie, Metapod and another Caterpie, at level 10. Head southeast again and northeast from there to reach item F, an Escape Rope. An Escape Rope is an item that can be used outside of battle to instantly return to the last Pokémon Center that you used or your house. This is useful in caves where wild Pokémon can finish off your Pokémon that are low on health and paralyzed, as your ability to run from battle is dictated by your active Pokémon's Speed, which is halved when it is paralyzed.

Follow the path north, and then head west to find trainer 6, a Lass, who uses an Oddish and Bellsprout, both at level 11. Oddish's only move is Absorb, which drains your Pokémon's HP and restores its own. Bellsprout only knows Vine Whip, the basic Grass-type attack, and Growth, which can increase Vine Whip's power. These can be problematic if you are using Squirtle or Geodude, and they resist Pikachu's Electric attacks, so other Pokémon or additional training may be needed.

Head west, then south, and descend the ladders to a different room in B2F. Trainer 7 is another Rocket, who uses a Zubat and Ekans at level 12. Zubat knows Supersonic and Ekans knows Wrap, so beware. Collect item G from the plateau. It is TM01 Mega Punch, a strong Normal-type move at this point in the game. Then, examine the rock in the east side of the room to find a hidden Ether, which will restore a move's PP by 10. If you haven't noticed, when a move runs out of PP, you can't use it until you heal your Pokémon at a Pokémon Center. An Ether allows you to solve this problem on the go.

Return to 1F and head southwest to battle trainer 8, a Youngster who uses two Rattata and a Zubat, at level 10. Go to the northwest corner of the floor to find a Moon Stone, which can be used to evolve Nidorina, Nidorino, Clefairy or Jigglypuff. Then, double back and fight trainer 9, a Hiker who uses two Geodude and an Onix, which crumble when faced with Water, Grass or Psychic-type moves. Descend the ladder above him, follow the path, and drop to B2F again.

Follow the path right, go down the stairs and, if you are prepared, fight trainer 10. This Rocket uses a single Raticate at level 16. This was revised in later games, because this Raticate is very strong. Its Hyper Fang can devastate even and evolved starter, so this would be a good battle for a Geodude.

Head northeast and follow the path all the way west to trainer 11, a Rocket who uses a Rattata and Zubat at level 13. Head north, then east in the narrow path. Examine the wall to collect a second Moon Stone. Go back and head north to fight trainer 12, a Super Nerd, who uses a Grimer, Voltorb and Koffing, at level 12. Koffing knows the Poison move Smog, which is extremely likely to poison your Pokémon.

After defeating the Super Nerd, you are given the choice between two items: the Helix Fossil and the Dome Fossil. Much, much later, you will be able to turn these items into Pokémon, but for now, just note that the Pokémon the Dome Fossil yields is more recommended.

Follow the path, north, west and south, then ascend the ladders to emerge onto Route 4.

Advance to Route 4

Pokémon Red and Blue: Route 4

This small hint of Route 4 features a Pokémon Center for you to heal up in.

Talk to the portly man inside the Center for a unique opportunity. He is willing to sell you a Magikarp for P500.

Magikarp and Gyarados - Recommended
Magikarp sucks. It's stats are poor, with the exception of its 90 base Speed. It might be worth your money to get it this early, because for a while it only knows the move Splash, which does absolutely nothing. Magikarp is a pure Water-type. You get it at level 5 and it is not until level 15 that it learns Tackle, which it does not have the Attack stat to get much use out of.
However, if you raise your Magikarp all the way to level 20, it evolves into the almighty Gyarados, a fearsome (not-actually-a-)dragon with an Attack stat to match and great Special too. With this great power comes the responsibility of having a Flying subtype, which brings a 4x weakness to Electricity to the table; however, Gyarados can make good use of everything from Blizzard to Thunderbolt to Hydro Pump to Hyper Beam. It even learns the latter two by level up!

Competitively, it is checked by it's Electric weakness, but in single player, a Gyarados is a scarcely stoppable destructive force that will make your game much easier.

After you've made your decision, exit the center and enter Mt. Moon.

Enter Mt. Moon

Pokémon Red and Blue: Route 3

Due to the amount of trainers on this route, they have been numbered for easy reference.

Trainer 1 is a Lass who uses two Pidgey at level 9.

Trainer 2 is a Bug Catcher who uses a Caterpie, a Weedle and another Caterpie, at level 10.

Trainer 3 is a Youngster, who uses a Rattata and an Ekans. Ekans knows a move called Wrap. Wrap exhibits another broken feature of this game. Wrap lasts for two to five turns and prevents you from attacking therebetween. This is called a trapping move. If one Pokémon is faster than the Pokémon it is facing and uses a 100% accurate trapping move. The enemy Pokémon will not be able to attack until the Pokémon runs out of PP for the move. Your Pokémon are probably faster than Ekans, though, so this is little to worry about.

Trainer 4 is a Bug Catcher, who uses a Weedle, Kakuna, Caterpie and Metapod, at level 9.

Trainer 5 is a Youngster who uses a single Spearow at level 14. This is a job for Pikachu's advantageous Electric moves, or for Pidgey or Squirtle's bulk.

Trainer 6 is a Lass, who uses a Rattata and a Nidoran♂, at level 10.

Trainer 7 is a Bug Catcher, who uses a Caterpie and a Metapod, at level 11.

Trainer 8 is a Lass, who uses a single Jigglypuff. Jigglypuff knows a move called Sing. This move, while inaccurate, can put you to sleep for one to seven turns. Jigglypuff's Pound attack probably isn't powerful enough to take you out in your sleep, but beware.

There is one new Pokémon to catch on this route.

	Pidgey	Normal/Flying	L6-8	45%
	Spearow	Normal/Flying	L5-8	45%
	Jigglypuff	Normal	L3-7	10%

Jigglypuff and Wigglytuff - Acceptable

Jigglypuff has crap defenses, but a pile of HP. It's HP is the sixth highest of all Pokémon in the game, as an unevolved Pokémon. It is a pure Normal-type, and it's movepool encompasses the versatility that comes from being a Normal-type.

It evolves into Wigglytuff with the use of an item called a Moon Stone, which will be available very soon. Wigglytuff's HP is the third highest of all Pokémon in the game.

Competitive experts recommend another Normal-type better, but Wigglytuff is a little more resilient, and can reciprocate its opponent's attacks with Counter. In a single player game, it makes a good shield for beginning players to have.

That's all there is to do on this route, so when you're done, head north onto Route 4.

Advance to Route 4

Pokémon Red and Blue: Pewter City Gym

Welcome to the first of the eight gyms of the Indigo League, Pewter City Gym.

You can avoid the gym trainer by walking on either side of him; however, experience is always valuable to collect. He is a Jr. Trainer♂ who uses a Diglett and a Sandshrew at level 11. They are impervious to Pikachu's Electric attacks and their Normal-type attacks can do a lot of damage.

After defeating the gym trainer, step forward and face Brock.

Leader Brock		Pewter City Gym		2 Pokémon		P1386
		Geodude		Rock/Ground		L12
Tackle	Normal	Defense Curl	Normal
		Onix		Rock/Ground		L14
Tackle	Normal	Screech	Normal	Bide	Normal	Bind	Normal

If you have access to Bulbasaur's Vine Whip, Squirtle's Bubble or Butterfree's Confusion, then this is an easy battle. Even so, beware of Onix's Bide, which will deal double the damage it received over two turns. This can take out one of your Pokémon if you're not paying attention.

If you don't have any of these moves, then spam your most powerful attack and heal when you are low on health.

Upon defeat, Brock will award you with the BoulderBadge. He will also give you TM34, which contains Bide. Don't be hasty about using this on one of your Pokémon, because you only get one TM34 in the entire game.

When you're done celebrating, exit the gym and head east onto Route 3.

Advance to Route 3

Pokémon Red and Blue: Pewter City

There is little to do in Pewter City beside healing up at the Pokémon Center. The Poké Mart does contain one new item.

• Poké Balls - P200, it's always a good idea to stock up on these.
• Antidotes - P150
• Awakenings - P250, these will heal the Sleep status ailment. It would not be a bad idea to pick up one or two.
• Burn Heals - P250
• Parlyz Heals - P200
• Potions - P300
• Escape Ropes - P550, these items can be used outside of battle and will return you to the doorstep of the last Pokémon Center you used. Their best use is when you are deep in a cave with low health. Note that they are frequently found inside such caves for free.

If you want to brush up on your history, head into the Pewter Museum of Science, to the north; however, this is not required for anything and costs P50.

When you're finished exploring. Enter the gym.

Enter Pewter City Gym

Pokémon Red and Blue: Route 2 II

The Pokémon here are the same as those in the southwest section of Route 2.

Catch Pokémon if you like, then head north into Pewter City.

Advance to Pewter City

Pokémon Red and Blue: Viridian Forest

Welcome to Viridian Forest, technically the first dungeon of the game. To avoid confusion, the items of this area are lettered, and the trainers are numbered. You enter the forest from the south. If you examine the bottom left side of the tree marked A, you will find a free Antidote. You may encounter these wild Pokémon as you enter the grass on your way to point B.

	Caterpie	Bug	L3	L3-5	5%	45%
	Metapod	Bug	L4	L4-6	5%	40%
	Weedle	Bug/Poison	L3-5	L3	45%	5%
	Kakuna	Bug/Poison	L4-6	L4	40%	5%
	Pikachu	Electric	L3-5		5%

Caterpie, Metapod and Butterfree - Not Recommended

Caterpie is a pure Bug-type. It specializes in HP and Speed; however all of its stats are poor. It experiences a jump in Defense when it evolves into Metapod at the extremely convenient level of 7. Its specialization shifts to the Special stat when it evolves into Butterfree starting at level 10; however, with this comes a 4x weakness to Rock-type moves.

Butterfree is not a good Pokémon. The only advantage it has in this game is that it learns a couple Psychic moves by leveling up. However, its stats are poor and its Bug and Flying-type moves are worse.

The only reason to catch a Caterpie is because it is by far the easiest way to score three points in the Pokédex. Please note: If you catch a Metapod, the only move it will know is Harden, which raises its Defense. In order for it to be able to fend for itself, you must catch a Caterpie, which will know Tackle.

Butterfree is a waste of your one Psychic TM, and almost all enemy Pokémon can take it out in one or two hits. The only advantage to having one is that it learns the dismally inaccurate sleeping move Sleep Powder, and the similar paralysis move Stun Spore.

Weedle, Kakuna and Beedrill - Not Recommended

Weedle is very similar to Caterpie. Its double-edged advantage is that it carries a Poison subtype, which does not change. This gives it a weakness to the almighty Psychic type, but an advantage against the very common Bug and Grass-types. It evolves into the defensive Kakuna at level 7, and into the physical Beedrill at level 10.

Beedrill isn't a good Pokémon either, but it gains Twineedle, the only decent Bug-type move in the game, at the early level of 20.

Like Caterpie, Weedle is an easy three points in the Pokédex, but a Kakuna caught as such will only know Harden.

Beedrill is an acceptable finisher alongside a good team of five, but if you don't care about the Pokédex, don't go for it.

Pikachu and Raichu - Recommended

Say hello to the mascot of the Pokémon series. Pikachu's base Speed is 90, which is good for an unevolved Pokémon. When it evolves into Raichu with the use of a ThunderStone (mid-game) its evolved stats aren't great. Its Speed stat increases to 100 and its Attack and Special become 90. It learns the powerful Thunder by level up, and gains the practical Thunderbolt by TM.
If you're lucky enough to have a Nintendo 64, a copy of Pokémon Stadium and a Super Game Boy, a play-through of Stadium will allow you to trade a Pikachu into your game that knows the essential move Surf. This will allow Pikachu to defeat Rock and Ground-types which otherwise wall it.

Competitively, Raichu's only saving grace is Surf, but in a single player adventure, Pikachu is a great Pokémon to have.

After making the long trek to point B, you are rewarded with a Poké Ball. Collecting this earlier would prevent you from being able to get the five free Poké Balls from Professor Oak.

Trainer 1 can be avoided by sneaking through the grass in front of him, but he's good for some experience. He is a Bug Catcher who uses a Weedle and a Caterpie, both at level 6. If you've done the recommended training, this should be an easy fight, but beware! Weedle's Poison Sting may poison you. In this case, either use the Antidote you found in the tree or make your way back the Pokémon Center quickly, as the poisoned Pokémon's HP will deplete every few steps.

Trainer 2 is a Bug Catcher who uses a Weedle, a Kakuna, then another Weedle, at level 7. Poison is likely here, but an Antidote can be found, conveniently, at point C.

Follow the winding trail to point D for a free Potion.

Position yourself so that you and trainer 3 are looking at the same spot. Examine it to find yet another free Potion. Trainer 3 is the only Bug Catcher you are required to battle. He uses a single level 9 Weedle.

Head north and exit the forest onto the northwest section of Route 2.

Advance to Route 2