Games
Red and Blue: Kanto, 151 species and the Elite Four
Pokémon Red and Blue are the Game Boy releases of the first generation, out in North America on 28 September 1998 and in Europe on 5 October 1999: one region, Kanto, with Gyms, the Elite Four and Team Rocket. The two versions differ in which species appear, so a full collection needs trades, and Nintendo's product page describes the game as giving access to 150 Pokémon. Today they run on an original cartridge or on a Nintendo 3DS that already holds the 2016 Virtual Console download; Switch has no release, and Nintendo's FAQ says it chose the fuller FireRed and LeafGreen for Switch instead.
Editorial record, read 8 Nov 2026.
Kanto has Gyms, an Elite Four and Team Rocket
The game starts in Pallet Town. After a close call with wild Pokémon, Professor Oak teaches you to catch them and sends you out as a new Trainer, as the official pokemon.com page tells it. Kanto is the region where Charmander, Pikachu and Mewtwo were first found, and the route through it runs past Gyms spread across the map. Beating the Gym leaders proves you are ready for the Elite Four, a group of four Trainers who test everything learned on the way. Team Rocket, a gang of Pokémon thieves, works against you through the story, and stopping its plans is part of the main line. The Pokédex records every species you meet and catch, and filling it is the second goal beside the League.
Each version has species the other lacks
Red and Blue share the map and the story, but neither version can catch every species on its own. The official pokemon.com page says a full collection needs trades with friends over the Game Link Cable, which also carries link battles, and Nintendo's product page puts the total within reach at 150. Four species appear only through trading. The evolution data in the PokéAPI cache records Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Haunter evolving into Alakazam, Machamp, Golem and Gengar by trade in the red-blue version group. Mew, number 151 in the species data, is the one species beyond Nintendo's 150. On the 3DS Virtual Console the same trades and battles run over the system's local wireless, the first time these games used wireless play.
Type matchups decide the early battles
Professor Oak gives you your first Pokémon in Pallet Town, and from there type matchups decide most early battles. The Generation I type data in the PokéAPI cache gives Rock types double damage taken from Water, Grass, Fighting and Ground moves, and Ground types double damage taken from Water, Grass and Ice moves. Electric moves have no effect on Ground types at all, and Rock types halve Fire moves. A team that meets Rock and Ground opponents with only an Electric or Fire lead has a hard fight, while a Water or Grass Pokémon has an easy one. Catch a second species of a different type early, so one bad matchup leaves a backup. Psychic types in this generation are weak only to Bug, which matters more in the late game than any first choice.
Mewtwo, the three birds and two fossils are the rare catches
The official Japanese page for Red and Green, the Japanese originals of this generation, names its rare catches. Omanyte and Kabuto are revived from fossils. Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno are the legendary birds. Mewtwo is singled out as the most precious of all. The same page notes that none of these can be caught in the Gold, Silver or Crystal sequels, so a Generation I cartridge or Virtual Console copy is where they come from. After the Elite Four, what remains is completion work: the Pokédex, trades for the other version's species, the four trade evolutions and link battles against a friend. The official pokemon.com page frames the end goal as becoming a Master Trainer.
Mewtwo and Alakazam lead the special numbers
Among the 151 Generation I species in the PokéAPI cache, Mewtwo has the highest base Special Attack at 154, followed by Alakazam at 135, Gengar at 130, and Exeggutor and Zapdos at 125. The cache holds current values, so read these as the modern sheet for each species. Three of the top five, Mewtwo, Alakazam and Exeggutor, are Psychic types or part Psychic, and the Generation I type chart in the same cache leaves Psychic with a single weakness, to Bug moves. Gengar, the one Ghost family member on the list, is part Poison, and Poison took double damage from Psychic in this generation. The species sheets and the type chart on this site show each of these numbers with its source.
Ghost moves did nothing to Psychic types
The Generation I type chart in the PokéAPI cache differs from the modern one in a way that shaped this generation. Ghost moves had no effect on Psychic types, where later games give them double damage. Psychic types took double damage only from Bug moves. The only Ghost family, Gastly, Haunter and Gengar, is part Poison, and Poison took double damage from Psychic, so the one type that looks like a counter lost the matchup. Dark and Steel types, which later blunt Psychic attacks, arrive in Gold and Silver, as the pokemon.com page for those games notes. Held items arrive in the same generation, and abilities and natures in Ruby and Sapphire, so a Generation I team is species, moves and stats alone.
Kanto has been remade twice
FireRed and LeafGreen, released for Game Boy Advance in Japan on 29 January 2004 and in North America on 9 September 2004, rebuild the first games with every improvement made since, pokemon.com says: held items, abilities, natures and the Dark and Steel types. They add the Sevii Islands, a chain of seven islands first reached as the League challenge comes close, and they shipped with a Wireless Adapter for cable-free trades. In 2018 the Let's Go pair on Switch reworked Yellow, with catching taken from Pokémon GO; in the PokéAPI cache, the species with Let's Go move data are numbers 1 to 151 plus Meltan and Melmetal. On 27 February 2026 FireRed and LeafGreen came back as Switch downloads, playable on Switch 2, with trades over local wireless and a one-way link to Pokémon HOME from October 2026.
In 2026 the game runs on a cartridge or a 3DS download already owned
The official Japanese product page lists Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance as the systems for the first-generation cartridges. A Nintendo DS or DS Lite will refuse them: Nintendo's support page says those systems play only Game Boy Advance games, in single-player mode. The 3DS Virtual Console version came out on 27 February 2016. Nintendo stopped 3DS eShop purchases on 27 March 2023, and games bought before then can still be redownloaded. Pokémon caught in that version travel through Poké Transporter into Pokémon Bank, and from there only into Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon or on to Pokémon HOME; Bank service ends on 25 February 2027. Nintendo's FAQ for the Switch release says the originals were left out because FireRed and LeafGreen are the fuller versions.
| Species | Version |
|---|---|
| Ekans | Red |
| Arbok | Red |
| Oddish | Red |
| Gloom | Red |
| Vileplume | Red |
| Mankey | Red |
| Primeape | Red |
| Growlithe | Red |
| Arcanine | Red |
| Scyther | Red |
| Electabuzz | Red |
| Sandshrew | Blue |
| Sandslash | Blue |
| Vulpix | Blue |
| Ninetales | Blue |
| Meowth | Blue |
| Persian | Blue |
| Bellsprout | Blue |
| Weepinbell | Blue |
| Victreebel | Blue |
| Magmar | Blue |
| Pinsir | Blue |
Unverified. No official page lists the split: the Japanese Red and Green page says only that some species appear in one version, and the PokéAPI cache holds no encounter tables. Needs an official strategy guide, the instruction manual or a dated in-game check before publishing.
| 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. The claim that mid-game swaps are allowed has been dropped from the page.
5 checks before you act
- Decide between an original cartridge and an owned 3DS download before buying anything.
- Plan a trade partner for the species your version lacks and for the four trade evolutions.
- Lead with a Water or Grass Pokémon against Rock and Ground opponents.
- Check the type chart before facing Psychic types; only Bug moves hit them for double damage.
- Move Virtual Console Pokémon to Pokémon Bank and then HOME before 25 February 2027.
Read next
Sources read for this page
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Versionread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo UK, Pokémon Red Version product pageread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI evolution chains, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/cache/evolution-<id>.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI species records, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/species/<id>.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ポケットモンスター 赤・緑 product pageread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI types with past damage relations, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/cache/type-<id>.json)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Gold Version and Pokémon Silver Versionread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Versionread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Versionread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ポケットモンスター ファイアレッド・リーフグリーン product pageread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, ファイアレッド・リーフグリーン stage pageread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu and Let's Go, Eeveeread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadPokéAPI Pokémon move lists by version group, repository cache (repos/dexvoyage/data/cache/pokemon-<id>.json, 292 records)read 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, The Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version Games Are Releasing on Nintendo Switch (20 Feb 2026)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo US store, (English) Pokémon FireRed Version for Nintendo Switchread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version Link with Pokémon HOME This October (13 Aug 2026)read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support, Can the Nintendo DS or DS Lite Play Game Boy Games?read 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support, Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShop Discontinuation Q&Aread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.com, Pokémon Bankread 8 Nov 2026
- Readpokemon.co.jp, Pokémon Bank: how to depositread 8 Nov 2026
- ReadNintendo Support, Pokémon FireRed Version/Pokémon LeafGreen Version FAQread 8 Nov 2026