Pokémon Red and Blue/Overview

On this page, you will find a high-level breakdown of all of the steps, mandatory and optional, that you must take to complete the game. For a detailed explanation of how to use the StrategyWiki Pokémon Red and Blue Walkthrough, please see the Walkthrough page.

Throughout this breakdown, each step will be denoted by a regular bullet, or an indented bullet.
 * A normal bullet is a step that must be taken in order to proceed.
 * An indented bullet is a step that is optional, and may be skipped.

Checklist

 * Start your journey to become the greatest Pokémon Master, in your hometown of Pallet Town. Visit Professor Oak to obtain your very first Pokémon. Your rival will challenge you to a duel.
 * Travel north on Route #1 to reach Viridian City. Enter the Poké Mart to collect the Oak's Parcel that needs to be delivered to Professor Oak.
 * Travel back to Pallet Town to return the package to Professor Oak. In return, he will give you your own Pokédex.
 * Visit your rival's home and talk to his sister for a Town Map.
 * Return to Viridian City and stock up on Poké Balls so that you can begin to capture your own wild Pokémon. Let the old man lying on the road in Viridian City teach you how to use Poké Balls.
 * Visit Route #22 to collect new Pokémon and challenge your rival to another duel.
 * Travel north along the southwest portion of Route #2 to reach Viridian Forest. Navigate through the forest to reach the north portion of Route #2, challenging trainers along the way.
 * Proceed north on the other side of Route #2 to Pewter City. Challenge Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader, and defeat him to collect the Boulder Badge.
 * Travel east along Route #3 and challenge the various trainers there until you reach Mt. Moon.
 * Purchase a for [[File:Pokebuck.png]]500.
 * Make your way through Mt. Moon, challenging trainers and members of Team Rocket. Before you reach the exit, choose between the Dome Fossil or the Helix Fossil.
 * Travel east along Route #4 in order to reach Cerulean City. Challenge Misty, the Cerulean City Gym Leader for the Cascade Badge.
 * Take the north path along Nugget Bridge (where your rival will challenge you to another duel) to Routes #24 & #25 and pay visit to Bill, the Pokémaniac. Help him out and he'll reward you with the S.S. Ticket.
 * Head back to Cerulean City, and investigate the house that was broken into, and travel south along Route #5. Access to Saffron City is blocked off, so you'll have to take the Underground Tunnel to Route #6.
 * Continue south along Route #6 until you reach Vermilion City. Access to the local Gym is prevented by a tree in your path.
 * Visit the Pokémon Fan Club in Vermilion City and listen to the president's speech to earn a Bike Voucher.
 * Travel south along Vermilion City's docks to reach the S.S. Anne. Enter the boat and meet with the various travelers on board.  You must help the ailing captain recover from seasickness, but before you do, your rival will challenge you to another duel.  The captain will reward you with HM 01 which contains the move Cut.
 * Head back to Vermilion City, teach Cut to one of your Pokémon, and cut down the tree that blocks access to the Gym. Solve the puzzle of the trash can locks and challenge Lt. Surge for the Thunder Badge.
 * Travel east from Vermilion City to the entrance to Diglett's Cave just before Route #11.
 * Pass through Route #11 and visit the checkpoint to meet one of Professor Oak's aides and obtain the Itemfinder.
 * Pass through Diglett's Cave and exit on the east side of Route #2. Visit one of the houses on Route #2 to collect HM 05, which contains Flash.
 * Travel back to Pewter City and use Cut on a tree by the museum to collect the Old Amber.
 * Return to Cerulean City (by passing through Mt. Moon again or backtracking through Diglett's Cave, Route #6, and Route #5) and travel east from the city to Route #9. Challenge the various trainers there and head south along Route #10.
 * Trade your Bike Voucher for the Bicycle.
 * Teach Flash to one of your Pokémon before entering the Rock Tunnel.
 * Pass all the way through the Rock Tunnel to reach the southern end of Route #10 which leads to Lavender Town.
 * Leave west from Lavender Town to Route #8. Access to Saffron City is still blocked off, so you'll have to take another Underground Tunnel to Route #7.
 * Continue west along Route #7 until you reach Celadon City, where you may challenge Gym Leader Erika for the chance to earn a Rainbow Badge.
 * Visit Celadon Mansion to collect a rare.
 * Collect a Coin Case from a gambler in the diner if you wish to play with the slot machines in the Game Corner and earn coins to purchase Pokémon with.
 * Use the Cut ability to visit the house on Route #16 in order to find HM 02, the valuable Fly ability.
 * Examine the poster in the Game Corner to reveal the secret entrance to the Team Rocket Hideout. Navigate the hideout until you come face-to-face with the Team Rocket leader, Giovanni.  Defeat him in battle to reclaim the Silph Scope.
 * Travel back to Lavender Town in order to visit the Pokémon Tower. Inside, your rival will challenge you to another duel.  Make it all the way to the top of the tower and use the Silph Scope to find out the cause of all the trouble.  Rescue Mr. Fuji and he will reward you with the Poké Flute which you can use to wake any sleeping Pokémon.
 * Provide any of the border guards with a drink from Celadon City to gain access to Saffron City.
 * Visit the Fighting Dojo for a chance to receive either a or a.
 * In order to challenge the Gym Leader of Saffron City, you must first rescue the Silph Company from the clutches of Team Rocket. Climb to the top of the Silph Co. building to challenge Giovanni once again and remove Team Rocket's presence from the city.  As a reward, the president of Silph Co. will provide you with a one-of-a-kind Master Ball.
 * Enter the Saffron City Gym, and travel along the warp tiles until you reach Gym Leader Sabrina, and challenge her for the Marsh Badge.
 * Use your Poké Flute to awaken and fight (and perhaps capture) on Route #16 and/or Route #12.
 * Travel to Fuchsia City via Routes #16-#18 or Routes #12 & #13 and Routes #14 & #15. While in Fuchsia, visit the Gym and navigate its invisible barriers to challenge Gym Leader Koga for the Soul Badge.
 * Enter one of the buildings on Route #12 to obtain the Super Rod, the best fishing rod in the game.
 * Enter the lookout station between Route #15 and Fuchsia City to obtain EXP. All from Professor Oak's aide.
 * Visit the area north of Fuchsia City, known as the Safari Zone, where you can capture many rare Pokémon using special Safari Balls, and more importantly, where you can find HM 03 and HM 04, Surf and Strength respectively, both of which are required to finish the game.
 * Fly to Pallet Town and use Surf to travel south from the town along Route #21.
 * Continue all the way along Route #21 until you reach Cinnabar Island.
 * Enter the Pokémon Lab to allow the scientists there to clone new Pokémon from the fossils and amber that you may have collected.
 * Search through Pokémon Mansion in order to find the Secret Key to the Cinnabar Island Gym.
 * Use the key from the mansion to open the Gym and challenge Gym Leader Blaine for the Volcano Badge.
 * Travel back to Fuchsia City and head south to travel along Routes #19 & #20. Midway through Route #20, you will encounter Seafoam Island.  Pass through Seafoam Island, and collect legendary bird  in the process.
 * Visit the Power Plant by surfing around the east edge of Route #10 and collect the legendary bird.
 * Return to Viridian City to discover that the Gym is finally open. Enter it and make you way past the various trainers inside to challenge the Viridian City Gym Leader, who is none other than Giovanni.  Defeat him for the eighth and final badge, the Earth Badge.
 * Travel west from Viridian City to Route #22, where your rival will challenge you once again. Defeat him and proceed to the entrance to Route #23.
 * Travel all the way north along Route #23 until you reach the entrance to Victory Road. Pass through Victory Road and collect the final legendary bird,  along the way.
 * Exit Victory Road to reach your destination, Indigo Plateau, home to the Pokémon League's Elite Four.
 * Challenge and defeat every member of the Elite Four, only to discover that your rival has beaten you to it. Challenge him in one last battle for the title of greatest Pokémon Master in the world.  Defeat him and win the game.
 * After the ending, the game saves and you can continue from Pallet Town. One last Pokémon remains to be captured in the Unknown Dungeon.