Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow 100% Guide: Routes, Rival Battles, Starters & Teams

Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow are short games with a long checklist. A full clear means beating the Elite Four and the rival, filling the Kanto Pokédex, and tracking down every one-off gift and trade along the way. This guide covers the order that wastes the least time, how to play each starter, every rival battle from Pallet Town to the Champion, and the teams that make the Elite Four easy.

Want to track as you go? Our Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow Pokédex tracker and Kanto map lists where every Pokémon is found and saves your caught marks, gym badges and Elite Four progress to your account.

What Counts as 100%

• Eight badges, the Elite Four and the Champion. The rival is the final fight, so his team matters more than any gym.
• The Pokédex: 151 Pokémon. 150 are obtainable in a normal playthrough with a trading partner. Mew is the 151st and was never given out in-game; it needs an event distribution or a glitch, so most players treat 150 as the practical finish.
• Missable gifts and trades: starters, fossils, Eevee, Lapras, Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan, Porygon, Snorlax, the legendary birds and Mewtwo.

You cannot finish the Pokédex in one cartridge. Some Pokémon are version exclusive, and four evolve only by trading (Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Haunter). Plan on a second copy, a link-cable emulator or the trading feature of whatever way you are playing.

Which Version to Start With

Red and Blue are nearly identical, Yellow is a separate lineup built around Pikachu. These are the Pokémon each version is missing, taken from our tracker data (28 of the 150, plus Mew):

Best setup: Red plus Blue covers every version exclusive, and the two are mirrors, so you can run the same route twice. Two saves still fall short on the three-way picks, though: each save gets one starter and one Eevee, and the Pokédex needs three of each. Add a third save, or add Yellow, which gives away all three starters and has its own Eevee (see below).

Starter Strategies

Red and Blue

Professor Oak gives you one of Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle, and your rival (Blue, or "Gary" if you are going by the anime) takes the one that beats yours. The other two starters can only be had by trading, so a full Pokédex needs two more saves to trade from, or a copy of Yellow.

Yellow

In Yellow you start with Pikachu, who walks behind you and refuses to evolve, and the rival takes Eevee. The three original starters are gifts later: Bulbasaur in Cerulean City, Charmander on Route 24 and Squirtle in Vermilion City, so you can pick up the whole line over a single run without trading.

• Pikachu is great against Misty and awful against Brock. Geodude and Onix are immune to its Electric moves, so catch a Mankey, Nidoran or Pidgey before Pewter.
• Raise Pikachu's friendship (don't let it faint, keep it in the party) because some of the gifts and a few scenes depend on it.
• Pick up Bulbasaur as soon as you can and use it through Surge, Erika and the Pokémon Tower rival fight. Squirtle and Charmander come later and are your answers to Blaine and the Elite Four.

Every Rival (Blue/Gary) Battle

The rival fights you eight times. His starter always matches the type that beats yours, and his later teams change with it. The tables use the exact party levels from the games. In Red and Blue the columns are labelled by the line he has, so if you picked Charmander you are looking at the Squirtle column.

Red and Blue

Yellow

Early on he just has Eevee, and from Lavender Town the team depends on which Eevee evolution he ends up with. Where one cell spans all three columns, the team is the same in all three versions of the fight.

How to beat him

• Early fights (Oak's Lab, Route 22, Cerulean): his only threat is a type match-up. A Pidgey or a Nidoran caught first makes up for a bad starter match-up. The Route 22 fight right after Viridian is optional if you reach it before you are ready; it only gives a little XP.
• S.S. Anne and Pokémon Tower: kill the Pidgeotto or Spearow first, since it is the fastest thing he has, then use your type advantage on his starter.
• Silph Co.: bring Electric or Rock for Pidgeot and a Ground type or Water/Grass hit for the starter. Alakazam is slow to threaten but hits very hard, so kill it before it gets a Psychic off.
• Route 22 before Victory Road: the first fight you need real teams for. Rhyhorn (Rhydon) goes down to Water or Grass, Gyarados to Electric, and Pidgeot to Ice or Rock. Use a stronger lead than your starter.
• Champion: every team has Pidgeot Lv. 61, Alakazam Lv. 59 (Yellow swaps Pidgeot for Sandslash) and Rhydon or Exeggutor, so train a fast Electric type and a Ground type for the first half. Alakazam is frail, so Body Slam or Earthquake from a faster Pokémon finishes it quickly.

Gym Leaders at a Glance

Red and Blue share the same gym teams. Yellow rebuilt several of them, so both are shown.

An Efficient Route Through Kanto

This order follows the story, with the detours that collectors should make as they go instead of backtracking later.

1. Pallet Town to Pewter City. Pick your starter and deliver Oak's Parcel. Catch a Pidgey and a Rattata on Route 1, a Nidoran on Route 22, and a Caterpie or Weedle (and Pikachu, in Red/Blue) in Viridian Forest. Beat Brock.
2. Mt. Moon to Cerulean City. Catch Zubat, Geodude, Paras and Clefairy. At the bottom choose the Helix Fossil or the Dome Fossil; you only get one, so the other needs a trade. Fight the rival on the north side of Cerulean City and beat Misty.
3. Nugget Bridge and Routes 24 and 25. Catch an Abra here (it teleports away fast, so throw balls quickly), and take the S.S. Ticket from Bill.
4. Vermilion City. Ride the S.S. Anne for HM01 Cut, fight the rival, then beat Surge. Grab the Old Rod from the fisherman here. (The Magikarp salesman is back in the Mt. Moon Pokémon Center if you want a Gyarados.)
5. Route 11 and Diglett's Cave. Diglett and Dugtrio, plus Drowzee on Route 11. Get HM05 Flash from Oak's aide on Route 2 once you have 10 Pokémon caught.
6. Rock Tunnel to Lavender Town. Catch Machop, Geodude, Onix and Zubat. Pokémon Tower is blocked until you have the Silph Scope, so note the Gastly, Haunter and Cubone for later.
7. Celadon City. This is the collector's hub: the Game Corner prize counter (Abra, Clefairy, Dratini, Porygon and more), the rooftop vending machine drinks, TM purchases at the department store, the Eevee on the Mansion roof, and Erika's gym. Take down Team Rocket's hideout beneath the Game Corner for the Silph Scope and Lift Key.
8. Pokémon Tower, then the Poké Flute. Fight the rival, free Mr. Fuji, take the Poké Flute, and wake the Snorlax on Route 12 and Route 16. Get HM02 Fly from the house on Route 16.
9. Saffron City. Clear Silph Co. for Lapras and the Master Ball (save it for Mewtwo), pick one Hitmon from the Fighting Dojo, and beat Sabrina.
10. Cycling Road and Fuchsia City. Catch Doduo on the way. Beat Koga, then enter the Safari Zone for Chansey, Kangaskhan, Tauros, Pinsir/Scyther, Exeggcute, Rhyhorn and Dratini. Pick up HM03 Surf and HM04 Strength.
11. Seafoam Islands and Cinnabar Island. Articuno is on the lowest floor. Revive your fossil at the Cinnabar lab and beat Blaine.
12. Viridian City, Route 23 and Victory Road. Giovanni is the last gym. Beat the rival on Route 22, pass the badge checks and cross Victory Road, where Moltres waits, to reach the Indigo Plateau.
13. Post-game. Zapdos waits in the Power Plant, and Mewtwo is deep in Cerulean Cave. Throw the Master Ball at Mewtwo.

Don't miss these

• Pick one, trade for the other: the two fossils, and Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan.
• One-offs: Lapras (Silph Co.), Eevee (Celadon Mansion roof), Porygon (Game Corner prize), two Snorlax, the three legendary birds and Mewtwo.
• Save before every legendary. Gen 1 has no catch-rate forgiveness; if you fail, reset and reload.
• In-game trades hand you Mr. Mime, Jynx, Farfetch'd, Lickitung, Electrode and Tangela if you have the right Pokémon, so keep a spare Abra, Poliwhirl, Spearow, Slowbro, Raichu and Venonat around.
• Trade evolutions: Kadabra to Alakazam, Machoke to Machamp, Graveler to Golem and Haunter to Gengar all need a trade.

Ideal Teams

Gen 1 has quirks that change team building: Psychic types are the strongest in the game, Ghost has a bug that can't hit Psychic, and Speed decides critical hit chance. The strongest team assumes you can trade for Alakazam; the no-trade version is listed too.

Red and Blue: the strongest team

• Alakazam (trade Kadabra): Psychic, Recover and Thunder Wave/Reflect. Nothing in Kanto handles it.
• Tauros (Safari Zone): Body Slam, Hyper Beam, Earthquake, Blizzard. Fast, hits hard and a Normal-type is safe from almost everything.
• Starmie (evolve a Staryu with a Water Stone): Surf, Blizzard, Thunderbolt, Recover.
• Snorlax: the best tank with Body Slam, Earthquake and Hyper Beam. Catch the Route 12 one first.
• Exeggutor (Leaf Stone): Sleep Powder, Psychic and Stun Spore. Sleep is still brutal.
• Jolteon or Zapdos for Electric coverage vs Gyarados and Pidgeot.

No-trade team

Squirtle (Blastoise), Tauros, Snorlax, Starmie, Exeggutor and Jolteon or Zapdos. It is only one fewer Psychic type than the strongest team and still clears the League comfortably around the mid-50s.

Yellow

• Pikachu keeps up through Misty and the Electric half of the game, but catch a Mankey or Nidoran on Route 22 for Brock and carry an Electric-resistant partner for the endgame.
• Venusaur or Blastoise from the gift starters, then Alakazam (trade), Snorlax, Tauros and Gyarados or Dragonite.
• Yellow's Elite Four have the same Pokémon and levels as Red and Blue (only some moves differ), so the counters in the next section apply.

Elite Four and Champion

The Elite Four have the same Pokémon and levels in all three games. Bring a lot of Full Restores and Revives, and go in at Lv. 55 or higher.

The Champion (your rival), Red and Blue

His strongest Pokémon is his starter at Lv. 65. Save your best revives for it, and finish the fight there.

Track Your Run

Playing on RetroAchievements? Our Pokémon trackers integrate with RetroAchievements. Link your account from the RetroAchievements tab on the Red, Blue & Yellow tracker and it will show your achievement progress for these games next to your Pokédex and badges.

Open the Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow tracker to see where every Pokémon is found, which version it is in, and tick off your Pokédex, badges and Elite Four as you go. Playing the later regions too? The Gold, Silver & Crystal tracker picks up where Kanto leaves off.