After a mini-tutorial on button presses and selecting New Game, You will be greeted by Professor Oak. He briefly introduces the world of Pokémon and the Pokémon themselves. He'll also ask if you are a boy or girl so choose the gender. Then name your character and your biggest rival after he'll introduce you to his grandson.
Pallet Town
Pallet Town
The player's house
Professor Oak's Laboratory
Pallet Town is a rather boring, quaint town, with only three buildings. The house to the west belongs to the player, the one to the east belongs to the rival, and the big building to the south is Oak's Laboratory.
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.
Player's house
The game begins in the your bedroom, with you standing in front of a NES. There is a posted notice on the wall near the stairs, which will explain how to use the HELP system. In bedroom, access your PC, and go to the Mailbox and then Item Storage to withdraw the Potion. Shut down the PC and head downstairs and talk to your Mom. She tells you that Prof. Oak is looking for you. Head outside. Welcome to Pallet Town!
Don't bother going inside Oak's lab. Professor Oak won't be there. Simply try to leave Pallet Town by heading north into the tall grass on the edge of town. Oak will come running and yelling at you for trying to leave on your own, without a Pokémon for defense against the wild Pokémon. He then leads you to the lab.
Professor Oak's Laboratory
Oak offers to choose between Bulbasaur, Squirtle or Charmander as your very first Pokémon. But before you make your choice, click on all three names and read up on their advantages and disadvantages.
Bulbasaur is easy for a beginner as it's type has advantage over the Pewter, Cerulean and Viridian Gyms, and can resists the Pokémon in the Vermilion and Celadon Gyms. It may have trouble with the Saffron and Cinnabar Gyms if the player does not have other Pokémon for back up. It is also immune to the Poison status ailment. Bulbasaur's final form, Venusaur, is capable of learning Earthquake, a useful move when facing Fire-type Pokémon. Due to Sludge Bomb being unobtainable until post Elite Four, Venusaur will only have Grass type moves for STAB like a critical hit ratio move called Razor leaf. It can be taught more powerful grass moves like Frenzy Plant and SolarBeam.
Charmander is difficult for a beginner. However, it learns Metal Claw on level 13, which gives it a fighting chance at the Pewter Gym and its disadvantages are done after the Cerulean Gym. While Charmander's only real advantage is at the Celadon Gym, it will still be able to deal with the remaining Gyms fairly well. Its final evolution, Charizard, is quite powerful which is capable of learning Brick Break and Earthquake to deal with its Rock and Electric weaknesses. Dragon Claw is also an option for dealing with Lance's Dragon types. It will learn Wing Attack and Flamethrower via level up for STAB. It can be taught more STAB moves like Fly, Fire Blast, Overheat, and Blast Burn.
Squirtle is medium for a beginner as it can defeat the Pewter, Cinnabar, and Viridian Gyms without much effort, but can do little against the Vermilion and Celadon Gyms. It may also have trouble against the other Water-type Pokémon in the Cerulean Gym. Squirtle's final evolution, Blastoise, is capable of learning Ice and Ground moves like Blizzard and Earthquake to cover its weaknesses. For STAB, it can learn Surf as well as Hydro Cannon and Hydro Pump.
After selection of a Pokémon, your rival chooses the Pokémon with an advantage type. Head for the door to have your first battle with the rival.
During the battle, Oak will explain a few basics. If the player's Pokémon is running low on health, the player may use the Potion from the PC. Regardless of which two Pokémon face off, your chances of winning are about the same just keep using Tackle. Upon winning, you'll level up. The rival leaves the lab when the battle ends. Head to the north end of town and exit Pallet Town for now.
The man at the south end of the route works at the Poké Mart in Viridian, and gives away a free Potion as a sample. It is also possible to rest up at home by talking to Mom.
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.
Viridian City
Viridian City
Viridian City is a small city, and the first with a Pokémon Gym. However, the mysterious Gym Leader is out of town, and the Gym has been closed indefinitely.
The southernmost building is the local Pokémon Center. This Pokémon hospital will heal a Trainer's team to full health and normal status, and the PC in the corner is free to use. In addition to accessing the Item Storage system, these PCs can also access the Pokémon Storage system. As Trainers may only travel with up to six Pokémon at once, any others are immediately transferred to storage upon capture.
Poké Mart
Behind the Pokémon Center is the local Poké Mart. These stores offer a variety of Poké Balls, Potions, and other items. Upon entering the building, the cashier asks the player to deliver a package to Professor Oak. The cashier will not sell anything until the delivery is made.
Pokémon academy
This school teaches young Pokémon Trainers about the basics of battle. The blackboard in the front of the room lists the five status ailments that can affect a Pokémon.
The Kanto region, as seen when viewing the Town Map
Professor Oak's Laboratory
Upon delivering the package to Oak, his grandson returns to the lab. Oak then gives each Trainer a Pokédex, an electronic encyclopedia that will be used to catalog every Pokémon in existence. In addition, each receives five Poké Balls to start them on their journey. The rival remarks that he doesn't need any help—he will get a Town Map from his sister, Daisy, and tell her not to give the player one. Despite this, Daisy will still give out a map anyway.
Route 22 is a short route that leads west from Viridian. The path is a dead-end right now, but there are still new Pokémon to find. The Fighting-typeMankey will be useful at the first Gym, and even more so if the player chose Charmander.
The rival reappears halfway along the route, and challenges the player to another battle. He has added a Pidgey since the previous battle, but this should still be an easy fight.
After the battle, return to Viridian City and head north. The old man stops the player to apologize for being rude earlier. Seeing their Pokédex, he offers to demonstrate how to catch a Pokémon. After catching a Weedle, he hands over the Teachy TV, a portable television that is tuned to a program with useful tips for novice Trainers.
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.
If you have managed to beat your rival with no Pokémon in your Pokédex and have no Poké Balls in the bag, you can return to Pallet Town to claim 5 Poké Balls from Professor Oak.
Route 2 links Viridian City to Pewter City in the north. Much of the area is occupied by Viridian Forest, a large maze of trees. The east side of the route is currently inaccessible. Head through the gate to enter the forest, a new area with new Pokémon to catch!
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.
Viridian Forest
Check the tree near the entrance for a hidden Antidote, then follow the trail to the northwest to reach a Poké Ball in the tall grass. Turn around and head for the southeast corner to get a Potion. Head north for another Antidote, then turn west. Zigzag through the trees, then collect another Potion from the clearing. Trek through the tall grass to fight Bug Catcher Sammy and find another Potion, then exit through the gate to re-emerge on Route 2, and continue north to Pewter City.
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.
If the player chose Bulbasaur:
If the player chose Charmander:
If the player chose Squirtle:
