Pokémon Red Version, Blue Version, and Yellow Version - Tips and Tricks

Tags: pokemon-red-blue-and-yellow

These are several tips and strategies for playing Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version or Yellow.

Reset the game

To reset the game during play, hold Select + Start + B + A.

Surfing Pikachu

To get the Surfing Pikachu mini-game in Yellow, you’ll need to teach Pikachu to Surf. To do this, use one of the Game Shark codes. To play the game, go to the house south of Fuchsia City.

Make Pikachu happy quickly

In Yellow, heal Pikachu at a Pokémon Center, then buy Potions and Antidotes, and keep using them on Pikachu even though they won’t have any effect. Pretty soon, Pikachu will have hearts on its head when you talk to it. Useful if you want to make Pikachu friendly enough to get Melanie’s Bulbasaur.

Meet Pokémon from the Safari Zone (Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version only)

In the Safari Zone, go to the area in the zone with the Pokémon you want to meet in battle. Wait for the time to run out, then fly directly to Cinnabar Island. Surf up and down the east coast of the island.

Get Raichu in Pokémon Yellow Version

If you get a Pikachu in a trade, you can evolve it using a Thunder Stone, but neither the traded Pikachu or the evolved Raichu will follow you.

Skip the Game Corner

To get through Pokémon Tower without going to Team Rocket’s hideout, just buy a Pok Doll at Celadon City’s department store, and go to Pokémon Tower with the doll. Navigate the tower until you reach the ghost guarding the stairs. During the battle, flash your Pok Doll so you don’t have to fight the ghost, and you can continue on.

Getting all the starter Pokémon

It’s possible to get all the starter Pokémon. To do this you need:

• 2 Game Boy systems
• 2 Pokémon games (Pokémon Red Version, Pokémon Blue Version, and Pokémon Yellow Version)
• a linking cable

What you will do is use one Game Boy as Pokémon storage and the other Game Boy will be used for capturing Pokémon.

1. Start a new game with Game Boy A.
2. Go to Prof. Oak’s lab and get Squirtle.
3. Go to nearest Pokémon Center and trade Squirtle to Game Boy B.
4. Repeat the above steps for Charmander and Bulbasaur.
5. Start a new Game on Game Boy A and get Bulbasaur in Oak’s lab.
6. Finally, trade one Squirtle and one Charmander back to Game Boy A.

Gary’s Eevee

The Pokémon that Gary’s Eevee will evolve into depends on your performance against Gary. It will become Vaporeon if you lose to Gary in Oak’s lab, but win in Viridian City. It will become Flareon if you win in Oak’s lab, but lose in any of the other battles against Gary. It will become Jolteon if you win all the matches against Gary.

Enter the Safari Zone for free

Enter the Safari Zone with less than 500:

Oops! Not enough money! Oh, all right, pay me what you have. But, I can’t give you all 30 Balls.

You’ll have to use only one Ball. Then, try to reenter the zone. The third time, he’ll say:

Read my lips, NO! Get it? You’re persistent, aren’t you? OK, you can go in for free, but just this once!

You can try this trick anytime.

Cut down grass

Did you know that a Pokémon can cut down grass? Just walk on it, use Cut, and your Pokémon will hack away the grass leaving the bare ground! Of course, it’ll grow back when you enter or leave a building.

Cloning Pokémon

This trick requires another Game Boy and Pokémon game. Trade the Pokémon to be cloned, and have the other player get a useless Pokémon, like Pidgey or Rattata, that will be deleted. Trade them, and make sure the player receiving the bad Pokémon can see the other player’s screen. When the Game Boy that receives the good Pokémon’s displays "Waiting", get ready to shut the other Game Boy off. When the "Waiting" message disappears, turn off the Game Boy that is receiving the bad Pokémon. When the "Trade completed" message appears, turn off the remaining Game Boy. Both games will have the same good Pokémon when they are turned back on.

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Glitches

Missingno.

This is the most well-known of the glitches. This is a fake Pokémon that appears in Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version. Catching it will glitch the graphics in the game. Click here to find out more. Meeting Missingno. will also appear to increase the amount of the sixth item on your pack.

PC in Celadon City hotel

Note that the hotel in Celadon City looks almost like a Pokémon Center. Since this is so, you’ll find a PC in the hotel, only it’s invisible. To use it, take one step up from the lower right corner, and press A.

Old man on the roof

Surf up and down the east coast of Cinnabar Island. Climb out of the water so that you are next to Gym’s door. Now, if you walk to the right, you will see an old man standing on the room of the Gym.

Ride Cycling Road without a bicycle

Deposit your bicycle into a PC and head over to Cycling Road. Try to walk past the guard, but he will stop you. While he is talking to you, keep holding LEFT. When he finishes talking to you, your man should continue to walk onto Cycling Road. When you enter, you will be on a bicycle even though you do not have one taken out.

Identify a ghost without the Silph Scope

Go to Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town without the Silph Scope. Get into a random fight so that an unidentified ghost appears. Now go to the Pokémon screen by choosing PKMN, choose a Pokémon, and check its STATS. From the STATS screen, go back to the battle screen by pressing B, and behold, the Pokémon is now identified. However, it still can’t be fought or caught.

Easier-capture tricks