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: 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: 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

Pokémon Red and Blue: Viridian City II

Now that your ability to get free stuff is no longer in jeopardy, I will go over the Pokémon Mart stock in Viridian City. You can buy:

• Poké Balls - P200, I recommend stocking up on these, because many Pokémon can be caught in the next few areas.
• Antidotes - P100, these will heal the Poison status ailment; however, many of them can be found for free.
• Burn Heal - P250, these will heal the Burn status ailment, but you will not encounter this ailment for quite some time, at which point better items will be available.
• Parlyz Heal - P200, these will heal the Paralysis status ailment, but you won't encounter this for a while either.

After restocking, head back to Route 22 to catch some more Pokémon.

Proceed to Route 22

Advance to Route 2

Pokémon Red and Blue: Route 1 II

Now that you are equipped with Poké Balls, you can catch Pidgey and Rattata on this route.

Pidgey, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot - Acceptable
Pidgey is a sturdy Flying-type. It has an advantage against the third gym; however, it does not learn a Flying-type move until level 31. If you're playing with a full team of six, this can be very late. Likely well past the third gym; however, it becomes all the sturdier when it evolves into Pidgeotto at level 18 and again into Pidgeot at level 36.
As discussed on Route 22, it learns Sand-Attack very early at level 5. This makes the opponents moves much less likely to hit, which is such a handicap that similar moves have been banned from the competitive scene. It is also noteworthy that it gains STAB from Normal-type moves like Quick Attack, Take Down and Double-Edge. Like most Flying-types, it can also learn Fly, a two turn Flying-type move that can be had before the third gym.
It can be outclassed by other Flying-types, including Spearow, who learn a move called Drill Peck, which is the most powerful single-turn Flying-type attack in this generation. Sky Attack is a two turn move with 140 base power, giving it an effective power of 70 per turn, although on the first turn it is completely vulnerable. Fly is a two turn move with 70 base power, on the first turn it can only be hit by Swift; however, it has an effective power of only 35 per turn. Drill Peck is 80 power, every turn, no strings attached, and Pidgey does not get it.

To be fair, like most Normal-types, Hyper Beam can be devastating, and, in the first generation, it does not have to recharge if it defeats the opposing Pokémon. Pidgeot also gets the versatile Mirror Move (at the excessive level of 54, mind you) which reiterates the opponents last Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Psychic or Dragon move.

Rattata and Raticate - Recommended
Rattata and Raticate have not aged well, but in these games, they are very well rounded Pokémon. The Normal-type was bested only by the all-powerful Psychic type in generation 1. Rattata is a strong attacker and becomes more so when it evolves into Raticate at the early level of 20. Also, at the one badge level of 14, Rattata learns a move called Hyper Fang. With 80 base power, Hyper Fang can sweep through the beginning of the game.
The other move that makes these Pokémon unique is Super Fang. Super Fang cuts the opponent's HP in half. This is powerful, because it disregards Attack and Defense entirely. This allows Raticate to devastate competitive staples like Starmie. Super Fang also almost guarantees getting double the value out of Hyper Beam by negating the recharge. Also, in a single player game, Raticate can get good use out of other essentials like Body Slam and Double-Edge.

After catching Pokémon, continue on to Viridian City again.

Proceed to Viridian City

Advance to Route 2

Pokémon Red and Blue: Pallet Town II

After you get back to Pallet Town, head into the lab again.

Talk to Professor Oak. You deliver the Parcel, which Oak identifies as a custom Poké Ball, and your rival bursts in. Oak explains that it was his life's dream to collect data on every Pokémon in the world, but that he has grown too old to accomplish it. So, he asks you and Blue to do it for him. He gives you each a Pokédex, which contains images of Pokémon you've seen, what they sound like and where to find them in the region, if possible. If you've owned the Pokémon for any length of time, the Pokémon's height and weight, as well as a short description are added. He wants you to do this for all 151 Pokémon.

Blue boasts that he can accomplish the feat without your help, and that he will borrow a map from his sister to do so. You may now exit the lab once more. You may, if you choose, visit Blue's house (the house to the east) and talk to his sister to obtain a Town Map from her. However, this is NOT recommended, because you can only hold seventy different types of items between your bag and the PC, and they do fill up quickly. Furthermore, if you catch a Flying-type Pokémon, it will eventually learn a move that can be used outside of battle as a map and more. You will have room in your inventory to collect redundant items like this at the end of the game.

Feel free to stop by your own house. If you talk to your mom from this point forward, she will heal your Pokémon.

Finish up in Pallet Town and go back to Viridian City. If you want to fight for some extra goodies including some Pokémon for your new Pokédex, head west onto Route 22. Otherwise, head north onto Route 2.

Proceed to Route 22

Advance to Route 2