Games
FireRed and LeafGreen: Kanto rebuilt on Generation III rules
Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are the 2004 Game Boy Advance remakes of Red and Green, released in Japan on 29 January 2004, North America on 9 September 2004 and Europe on 1 October 2004. They rebuild Kanto with the later rules and add the seven Sevii Islands, first reached as the League challenge comes close. On cartridge they trade with Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald and link with Pokémon Colosseum, and they shipped with a Wireless Adapter. Since 27 February 2026 they also sell as separate downloads for Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, with local wireless trades and a one-way link to Pokémon HOME from October 2026.
Editorial record, read 8 Nov 2026.
Kanto returns, and the Sevii Islands extend it
The official Japanese page describes FireRed and LeafGreen as Red and Green reborn: the same Kanto, new graphics and new maps that widen the adventure. The hero lives in Pallet Town and gets a Pokémon and the Pokédex from Professor Oak, whose grandson is the rival, competing with you on battle skill and on Pokédex completion across many battles. As the challenge to the Pokémon League comes close, the hero leaves Kanto for the Sevii Islands, Nanashima in Japanese, where Pokémon unseen in Kanto appear. New help features ease a first run: a Help menu that explains how to play, Teachy TV lessons on Trainer basics, and a recap of the story so far when you resume a save.
The Wireless Adapter carried the trades
The cartridges came with a Game Boy Advance Wireless Adapter, and Nintendo's 2016 feature names these as the first games to trade and battle wirelessly. With the adapter, the Union Room gathers nearby players for greetings, chat for two to five people, and single battles of two Pokémon at level 30 or lower. Trades with Hoenn and Orre wait for the network machine being built on One Island; once it is finished, the official Japanese page says, trades with the Hoenn and Orre games open. On Switch, Nintendo's FAQ says every original link feature works over local wireless, with up to four other players in the Pokémon Wireless Club on the second floor of a Pokémon Center, and online play is unsupported.
Professor Oak gives the starter, and the type chart has changed
Professor Oak gives you your first Pokémon in Pallet Town, as in 1996, but the rules around it are the newer ones. The move data in the PokéAPI cache shows Charmander learning Metal Claw at level 13 in FireRed and LeafGreen, a Steel move, and Steel moves hit Rock types for double damage, which helps against Rock opponents early on the route. Ghost moves now hit Psychic types for double damage, where Generation I gave them no effect, and the Dark and Steel types that arrived with Gold and Silver blunt Psychic attacks. Rock types still take double damage from Water and Grass, so a Water or Grass Pokémon has the easier matchup against them.
Each of the seven Sevii Islands has its own purpose
The official Japanese page goes island by island. One Island holds the network machine and the Rainbow Pass that opens the other islands. Two Island has two minigames for friends, and an old woman at Cape Brink who teaches the ultimate moves of Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise. Three Island is the place for berries, many of them hidden in the dark Berry Forest. Four Island has a Day Care that takes two Pokémon at once, where an Egg may be found, and Lorelei of the Elite Four appears there. Five Island has a maze of small rooms that sends you back to the start if you choose the wrong door. Six Island has ruins sealed by Braille. Seven Island has the Trainer Tower, four floors of Trainers where the score is your clear time. Nintendo's store page says the Switch release keeps in-game events with Lugia, Ho-Oh and Deoxys.
Abilities and natures arrive in Kanto
The remake runs on the Ruby and Sapphire rule set, and pokemon.com says every improvement made since the first visit to Kanto is in place. Kanto species gain abilities: the ability data in the PokéAPI cache gives Gyarados Intimidate and Snorlax Thick Fat or Immunity among their standard abilities. Ghost moves now hit Psychic types for double damage, and Dark and Steel types blunt the Psychic types that ran the 1996 games. Special is two stats: Alakazam has a base Special Attack of 135 and Special Defense of 95 in the cache. Natures, which pokemon.com lists with abilities as traits that shape battle performance, apply to Kanto Pokémon too, so check each catch before training it.
Move tutors and held items fill out the old roster
FireRed and LeafGreen carry the systems the originals lacked. The PokéAPI version group lists level-up, egg, tutor and machine as learn methods, and the move data in the cache records FireRed and LeafGreen tutor moves including Mega Punch, Mega Kick, Soft-Boiled, Body Slam, Double-Edge, Seismic Toss, Substitute and Thunder Wave. The three ultimate moves are tutor moves too, and the cache gives them only to the final forms: Frenzy Plant to Venusaur, Blast Burn to Charizard and Hydro Cannon to Blastoise, which matches the official page's account of the teacher at Cape Brink on Two Island. Breeding works at the Four Island Day Care. Planning a team with the move finder on this site covers these sources together.
The Switch release is the 2004 game, sold per language
On 27 February 2026 FireRed and LeafGreen came to Nintendo eShop as separate downloads, playable on Switch and Switch 2 with no major difference between them, according to Nintendo. They need no Nintendo Switch Online membership and are not part of the Game Boy Advance Nintendo Classics library. Each language is a separate purchase; in the Americas the choices are English, European French and European Spanish. From October 2026 Pokémon move one way to Pokémon HOME, version 4.1.0 or later. Pokédex entries register in HOME without a transfer, and completing the Pokédex earns a Celebi in the mobile version of HOME.
In 2026 the Switch copy is the simple route and the cartridge is the original
The Switch download is the one current way to buy the game new, and Nintendo's FAQ says there will be no physical release. Transfers to Pokémon HOME are one way. The original cartridge needs Game Boy Advance hardware; Nintendo's support page says a Nintendo DS or DS Lite plays it in single-player mode only, so trades and the Wireless Adapter need a Game Boy Advance. Cartridge Pokémon move forward through Pal Park in Diamond and Pearl, which reads FireRed and LeafGreen from the DS's Game Boy Advance slot, and then the chain of Poké Transfer, Poké Transporter and Pokémon Bank, which ends on 25 February 2027. A player who wants the Hoenn link or the GameCube games needs the cartridge; a player who wants HOME needs the Switch copy.
| Species | Version |
|---|---|
| Ekans | FireRed |
| Arbok | FireRed |
| Oddish | FireRed |
| Gloom | FireRed |
| Vileplume | FireRed |
| Growlithe | FireRed |
| Arcanine | FireRed |
| Scyther | FireRed |
| Electabuzz | FireRed |
| Sandshrew | LeafGreen |
| Sandslash | LeafGreen |
| Vulpix | LeafGreen |
| Ninetales | LeafGreen |
| Bellsprout | LeafGreen |
| Weepinbell | LeafGreen |
| Victreebel | LeafGreen |
| Magmar | LeafGreen |
| Pinsir | LeafGreen |
Unverified. No official page lists the FireRed and LeafGreen split, and the PokéAPI cache holds no encounter tables. Mankey, Meowth, water species and Sevii Island species also need a source before the table is completed.
| Badge order | Leader | Badge | Type | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brock | Boulder Badge | Rock | Pewter City |
| 2 | Misty | Cascade Badge | Water | Cerulean City |
| 3 | Lt. Surge | Thunder Badge | Electric | Vermilion City |
| 4 | Erika | Rainbow Badge | Grass | Celadon City |
| 5 | Koga | Soul Badge | Poison | Fuchsia City |
| 6 | Sabrina | Marsh Badge | Psychic | Saffron City |
| 7 | Blaine | Volcano Badge | Fire | Cinnabar Island |
| 8 | Giovanni | Earth Badge | Ground | Viridian City |
Unverified. Leaders, badges, types and cities rest on game knowledge; no official page read on 8 Nov 2026 lists them.
5 checks before you act
- On Switch, confirm the language of the copy before buying.
- Read the Help menu and Teachy TV once on a first run.
- Note each early catch's ability and nature before training it.
- Finish the One Island network machine before planning trades with Hoenn or Orre games.
- Move Pokémon to Pokémon HOME only when sure; the transfer is one way.
Read next
Sources read for this page
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- Readpokemon.co.jp, ファイアレッド・リーフグリーン stage pageread 8 Nov 2026
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