Important Notes

Important Notes

Irreversible Choices

• Starter Pokémon: Your choice of Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle is permanent. This affects early-game difficulty, Gym matchups, and which Legendary birds you can more easily handle. There is no way to change your starter later without trading.


• Rival’s Name: You input your rival’s name at the start. This cannot be changed later, but it has no gameplay impact.


• Master Ball: You receive only one Master Ball in the entire game (during Team Rocket’s hideout). Use it wisely on a Pokémon you absolutely want to catch without fail. Common regrets include wasting it on a common Pokémon or missing the chance to catch Mewtwo or a Legendary bird.


• Evolution Stones: Fire, Water, Thunder, Leaf, and Moon Stones are limited (some only one per game). Using them on a common Pokémon (e.g., using Thunder Stone on Pikachu too early) may prevent you from evolving rarer ones like Raichu, Ninetales, or Vileplume later.


• NPC Trades: Certain in-game trades are one-way. For example, trading a Pokémon for a Farfetch’d or Mr. Mime – you cannot get your traded Pokémon back. Make sure you have a spare of the Pokémon you give away.


• Purchasing at Game Corner: The Game Corner in Celadon City sells Pokémon (e.g., Porygon) and TMs for coins. Coins require grinding or real money (in-game). Buying these consumables uses up coins that could be saved for other items. You can always earn more coins, but it's tedious.




Missable Content



• Version-Exclusive Pokémon: Red and Blue have different wild Pokémon. For example, Ekans and Vulpix are in Red; Sandshrew and Meowth are in Blue. To complete your Pokédex, you must trade with the opposite version. If you never trade, these are permanently inaccessible.


• S.S. Anne Items and Pokémon: The S.S. Anne is a timed location. Once you obtain the Cut HM and leave the ship, it sails away and you cannot return. Ensure you collect all items, talk to all trainers, and catch any rare Pokémon (like the wild Pokémon in the lower decks) before leaving. The HM01 for Cut itself is on the ship – find the captain’s bed area.


• Lapras in Silph Co. : In Silph Co. (Saffron City), a Team Rocket member gives you a free Lapras. If you skip this dialogue or defeat the Rocket without claiming Lapras, you lose the chance forever.


• Fossil Pokémon: You choose one fossil at Mt. Moon (Helix or Dome). The other fossil becomes permanently unavailable until presumably post-game trades (but you can't trade for it easily). Choose based on whether you want Omanyte or Kabuto.


• Rare encounters that flee: Abra (teleports), Chansey (appears rarely in Cerulean Cave), and the Legendary birds (if you defeat them they disappear forever – always save before encounters).


• HM TMs and Key Items: Certain TMs like TM29 (Psychic) are only available once from specific locations (e.g., the Rocket hideout). If you sell or use them incorrectly, you cannot get another without restarting or trading.




Difficulty Spikes



• Brock (Pewter Gym): Uses Rock-type Pokémon (Geodude, Onix). If you chose Charmander, you have no advantage and will struggle. Catch a Mankey (Route 22) or Nidoran (Route 2) before challenging.


• Misty (Cerulean Gym): Her Starmie is fast and powerful (Water Pulse). Grass-types like Oddish or Bellsprout help, or you can use a Pikachu with Thundershock.


• Lt. Surge (Vermilion Gym): Electric-types. Ground-types (Diglett, Sandshrew) are immune. If you haven’t caught one, consider training a Geodude or using Dig from Diglett.


• Sabrina (Saffron Gym): Psychic-types are extremely strong in Gen I due to a glitch – Ghost moves (the only one is Lick) do not affect Psychic because Lick is coded as Normal-type. Your best bets are Dark-types (none exist in Gen I) or using Bug moves (like Pin Missile) which are super effective against Psychic. Also use high Special stat Pokémon to take hits.


• Koga (Fuchsia Gym): Poison-types with toxic moves. Psychic-types or Ground-types are helpful.


• Blaine (Cinnabar Gym): Fire-types. Water or Rock-types are recommended.


• Elite Four: Lorelei uses Ice/Water, Bruno uses Fighting, Agatha uses Ghost, Lance uses Dragon. Lance’s Dragonite has Hyper Beam which can one-shot many Pokémon. A balanced team (e.g., Lapras, Snorlax) is crucial.




Grinding Traps



• Over-leveling early: In Gen I, traded Pokémon will disobey you if their level exceeds the badge cap. Wild Pokémon you catch yourself always obey. Avoid trading a high-level Pokémon early unless you have the appropriate badge.


• Efficient experience: Grinding on wild low-level Pokémon yields poor exp. Instead, repeatedly battle the E4 (after beating them) or use the VS Seeker-like mechanic? Actually, there is no VS Seeker in Gen I. Best grinding spots: outside the E4 victory road, or the upper floors of Cerulean Cave for high-level wild Pokémon.


• Rare Candy misuse: Rare Candies level up a Pokémon without increasing EVs (Effort Values). If you use them too early, your Pokémon will be weaker than if you gained stats through battles. Use them only for the final levels or to achieve evolution.


• Money management: Buying too many Poké Balls or Potions early can leave you broke for important items (e.g., Bike, which costs 1,000,000? Actually the Bike is 1,000,000 in the Game Corner? No, you get a Bike Voucher from the Bike Shop in Cerulean for free; then you get a discount). Save money for TMs, evolution stones, and the Safari Zone entry fee (500 per visit).


• Time wasted on Safari Zone: The Safari Zone has a limited number of steps and a limited encounter rate for rare Pokémon like Chansey. If you waste steps, you may run out before finding one. Use the correct bait and rock strategy.




Save Management Advice



• Always save before:

- Legendary encounters (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mewtwo) – if you faint or fail to catch, you can soft-reset.
- Using the Master Ball – though it’s a guaranteed catch, you might regret using it on a common Pokémon if you save after.
- Evolving a Pokémon with a stone – if you change your mind, reset before saving.
- Facing Gym Leaders or the Elite Four – you may lose and lose money.

• Multiple save files: The original cartridge has only one save slot. On emulators, you can take advantage of save states (use them at key moments) but be aware that using save states can lead to unintended sequence breaks or glitches. It’s recommended to also use the in-game save feature.


• Battery backup: Original Game Boy cartridges have a battery that powers the save memory. If the battery dies, your save is lost. If playing on original hardware, consider replacing the battery or using a modern flash cart.


• Avoid overwriting: Don’t save while in the middle of a battle or during a cutscene – it can corrupt the save. Always save in a safe location (e.g., a Poké Center).




Online Etiquette / Anti-Cheat (Link Cable Trading & Battling)



• Gen I link cable: Trading and battling are done via physical link cable or emulated link. When battling, be aware of known glitches:

- Focus Energy actually halves critical hit rate instead of raising it – using this move is considered a waste.
- 1/256 miss glitch: Moves that normally never miss (e.g., Swift) can miss 1/256 of the time due to a programming bug. Accept this as a rare occurrence.
- Stat-lowering moves (e.g., Growl) can overflow and increase the target’s stat if used too many times (the “stat overflow” glitch). This can be exploited to create massively overpowered Pokémon – but it’s considered unfair in casual play.

• Hacked Pokémon: Some players use GameShark or external devices to generate illegal Pokémon (e.g., a Mew with moves it cannot learn). If you receive such a Pokémon via trade, it may have weird properties or crash the link. Agree on a “no hacks” rule before trading.


• Trading etiquette: Be honest about the Pokémon you are offering. Not disclosing that a Pokémon has a held item (e.g., Leftovers) is fine, but if you trade a Pokémon that will immediately evolve (like a Haunter without holding an Everstone), let the other player know.


• MissingNo. glitch: Using the infamous MissingNo. glitch (via the Old Man trick) can multiply certain items, but it also has a high risk of corrupting your save file, causing graphical glitches, or even freezing the game. It is not intended and is considered cheating by many. Use at your own risk.




Things Players Commonly Regret Not Knowing Earlier



• Type chart is crucial: Many new players ignore type advantages and get stuck. Learn the basic weaknesses: Water beats Fire, Electric beats Water, Grass beats Water, etc. Gen I also has a bug where Ghost moves are ineffective on Psychic (use Bug moves instead).


• Using the Master Ball too early: Common regret is using it on a Snorlax (which blocks a route but can be caught with Ultra Balls) instead of saving for Mewtwo.


• Not catching or training a balanced team: Relying solely on your starter often leads to a hard block at the Elite Four. Always have a Water, Fire, Grass, Electric, and Flying type coverage.


• Not talking to every NPC: Many NPCs give free items (like the Old Rod, Good Rod, Bike Voucher, and TMs). Missing these can make the game harder or require backtracking.


• Selling rare items for quick money: TMs like Psychic cannot be obtained again. Selling the Bike Voucher forces you to eventually buy a Bike at full price (but you can still get the Bike later).


• Not knowing about the Safari Zone mechanics: Bait reduces catch rate but makes Pokémon stay longer; Rock increases catch rate but makes them flee faster. Throw bait first for rare Pokémon, then throw balls.


• Not understanding stat experience (EVs): In Gen I, battling specific Pokémon raises specific stats (e.g., fighting Geodude raises Defense). If you grind only on common route Pokémon that give HP and Attack, your Pokémon might have unbalanced stats. For hardcore players, this matters for competitive play.


• Not saving before entering the S.S. Anne: Many players rush through the ship and miss items or rare encounters. Take your time.