Appendix:FireRed and LeafGreen walkthrough/Section 1

Introduction

After a brief cutscene, press the A Button or Start on the title screen. The player is presented with a list of controls in order of importance, then with a mission statement from the games' developers. Afterward, the resident researcher of the Kanto region, Professor Oak, appears and introduces new Trainers to the Pokémon world.

First, the player is prompted to select their avatar's gender and name, which may be up to seven characters long. Use the Control Pad to move the cursor and the Select Button to cycle through three pages of upper-case letters, lower-case letters, and other characters. On this screen, pressing the A Button will select a letter while pressing the B Button will delete the previous one. When ready, press Start or select OK in the bottom-right corner.

Next, Professor Oak introduces his grandson, who happens to be your rival. The professor is having trouble remembering the boy's name, and asks if you might know. Choose his name from a list of preset names, or select a new one. With that done, the player is transported into the world of Pokémon to begin their adventure!

Pallet Town

Pallet Town

The journey begins in Pallet Town, in the southwest part of the Kanto region. It is a rather small, sleepy town with only three buildings. The western house belongs to you and Mom, while the eastern one is home to your rival and his sister. The large building to the south is Professor Oak's Laboratory. The north part of town leads to the tall grasses of Route 1, and the waters to the south open up to Route 21.

Available Pokémon
Pokémon Games Location Levels Rate Gift Pokémon Bulbasaur FR LG First partner 5 One Charmander FR LG First partner 5 One Squirtle FR LG First partner 5 One A colored background means that the Pokémon can be found in this location in the specified game. A white background with a colored letter means that the Pokémon cannot be found here.

Items
Item Location Games Potion Home; retrievable from the player's PC  FR  LG  Later visit Pokédex Oak's Lab; from Professor Oak, after he receives his parcel  FR  LG  Poké Ball ×5 Oak's Lab; from Professor Oak, after obtaining the Pokédex  FR  LG  Town Map Blue's house; from Daisy, after obtaining the Pokédex  FR  LG

Home

2F

The journey begins in your bedroom, with you standing in front of your Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Now that you can control your character, the various buttons and their effects are as follows:

The PC in the corner acts as both your item storage and Mailbox.

• The Bag has three pockets: one for Items, one for Key Items, and one for Poké Balls. Each pocket can hold up to 42 different items and up to 999 of each item. If a pocket becomes full, it would be necessary to use or discard some items before obtaining anything new. The PC can hold up to 30 different items from the Items pocket. Deposit Item and Withdraw Item allow for moving items between inventory and storage. It seems as though there is already an item in storage, so select Withdraw Item and choose the Potion to add it to your Bag. Press the B Button to close the menus and return to your bedroom. To save the game, press Start to open the main menu, select Save, and then Yes. When the menu disappears, your progress is saved and it is safe to exit the game.
• Mail is a type of held item. A Trainer may leave a note on each piece of Mail when giving one to a Pokémon. This message can be sent to other Trainers by trading Pokémon. When taking a piece of Mail from a Pokémon, a Trainer may choose to place it in their Bag or send it to their Mailbox. Storing it in the Mailbox preserves the original message.

To go downstairs, step on the stairs in the northeast corner of the room.

1F

Mom is sitting at the table, and tells you that Professor Oak has been looking for you. To leave the house, step on the floor mat along the south wall and press down on the +Control Pad.

Oak Appears!

Pallet Town has only a few places to explore, and Professor Oak is nowhere to be found. There is nothing else to do around here right now, so head for the tall grass on the north side of town. Suddenly, the professor appears! He scolds you for trying to venture off on your own, as it can be dangerous without a Pokémon of your own for defense against wild Pokémon.

Professor Oak's Lab

Oak leads you back to his lab where Blue is already waiting, and gives you the choice of your very first Pokémon. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so simply choose the one that you like the best.

Bulbasaur		Charmander		Squirtle
Grass	Poison	Fire		Water
	Ivysaur		Charmeleon		Wartortle
Grass	Poison	Fire		Water
	Venusaur		Charizard		Blastoise
Grass	Poison	Fire	Flying	Water

• The Grass/Poison-type Bulbasaur has the most weaknesses of the trio, with four: Fire-, Flying-, Psychic-, and Ice-type attacks. Its Grass moves are strong against Water-, Rock-, and Ground-type Pokémon. Bulbasaur's typing gives it an easier time in the early part of the game, making it a good choice for less experienced Trainers.
• The Fire-type Charmander is great when battling Grass-, Bug-, Ice-, and Steel-type Pokémon, but is vulnerable to Water-, Rock-, and Ground-type moves. Its final form, Charizard, gains a secondary Flying type. Charmander may struggle early on, so it is a good choice for those looking for a challenge.
• The Water-type Squirtle has an advantage when facing Fire-, Rock-, and Ground-type Pokémon, but may struggle against Grass- and Electric-type attacks. It is the most well-rounded of the trio.

Once you have chosen a Pokémon, you are given the chance to nickname it. Next, it's your rival's turn. He will always choose the Pokémon that has a type advantage against your own. When you turn to leave, he will challenge you to your first Pokémon battle!

Rival Battle 1

As you and Blue face off, Professor Oak explains the basics. When battling, each Trainer sends out at least one Pokémon at a time; both of these Pokémon are on Level 5, indicated by the Lv5 aside each Pokémon. Below that is the health bar, which shows the Pokémon's remaining HP. A battle is won or lost when either side has no remaining Pokémon with the strength to continue. Beneath the health bar is a gauge that shows the amount of Experience Points needed for the Pokémon to grow to the next level.

Choosing Fight will allow you to launch an attack against the target. Each of the professor's Pokémon have two moves. The first will damage the opponent, and the other will lower one of its stats. If your Pokémon's HP runs low, be sure to use that Potion from your PC. Go to Item to select the medicine and apply it to the Pokémon.

If the player chose Bulbasaur:

Rival Blue Professor Oak's Laboratory FireRed and LeafGreen Reward: $80 Type: Fire Unknown Ability: Blaze Held item: None Charmander♂ Lv.5 Scratch Normal   --       Growl Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --

If the player chose Charmander:

Rival Blue Professor Oak's Laboratory FireRed and LeafGreen Reward: $80 Type: Water Unknown Ability: Torrent Held item: None Squirtle♂ Lv.5 Tackle Normal   --       Tail Whip Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --

If the player chose Squirtle:

Rival Blue Professor Oak's Laboratory FireRed and LeafGreen Reward: $80 Types: Grass Poison Ability: Overgrow Held item: None Bulbasaur♂ Lv.5 Tackle Normal   --       Growl Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --

Once you have defeated Blue, you earn a cash reward of $80, and he will leave. The encounter earns your Pokémon enough Experience Points to grow to Level 6. Leave the laboratory and head north to Route 1.

This article is part of Project Walkthroughs, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive step-by-step guides on each Pokémon game.