Pokémon Red and Blue/Gameplay

Main menu
Upon starting the game, a white, silent screen will appear followed by copyright information and a animation. Then, the music suddenly changes and a fight between a Gengar and a Nidoran♂ begins. After Nidoran♂ takes a final leap at Gengar, the feel of the music changes and the title screen will appear. The Pokémon logo comes in from above and a boy holding a Pokéball appears. This boy is Red, the protagonist and character you play as in the Generation 1 games. Next to him, various Pokémon sprites appear for a few seconds and then are replaced by a different sprite. When you press the button, the screen will go white again, but a text box will appear on the screen shortly after.

It consists of 2 options - NEW GAME and OPTION. NEW GAME will start a new game and get on with things. However, you might want to visit the OPTION menu to tune things to your idea of perfection. Below is a list of the settings and information about those settings.

Starting the game
After press the NEW GAME button, the music will change and you'll be taken to a blank screen followed by Professor Oak fading in with a surprisingly stern look on his face. He says as follows:

"Hello there! Welcome to the world of POKéMON! My name is OAK! People call me the POKéMON PROF!" Professor Oak's sprite disappears and is replaced by a Nidoran♂. "This world is inhabited by creatures called POKéMON! For some people, POKéMON are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself... I study POKéMON as a profession." The Nidoran♂'s sprite is replaced by Red's (you) sprite. "First, what is your name?" You now can create a NEW NAME or choose from the names RED, ASH, and JACK for your character. "Right! So your name is (playerName)!" Your sprite is replaced by another boy. This boy is Blue, Red's rival throughout Generation I. "This is my grandson. He's been your rival since he was a baby. ...Erm, what's his name again?" You now can create a NEW NAME or choose from the names BLUE, GARY, and JOHN. "That's right! I remember now! His name is (rivalName)!" Blue will fade out and Red will fade back in. "(playerName)! Your very own legend is about to unfold! A world of dreams and adventures with POKéMON await! Let's go!" A short animation plays of Red morphing into a small version of himself. The screen goes white, then you spawn in Pallet Town, playing video games.

Moving around
To move around, press the UP, DOWN, LEFT, or RIGHT buttons on the D-Pad. You cannot move directly diagonally. Pressing a button on the D-Pad and holding it will make you walk in that direction until you let go. If you quickly tap a button on the D-Pad, you will turn in that direction. If you quickly tap a button that is in the direction you are already facing, you will move forward one tile.

For more information on this topic, visit the Controls section.

Battle
The whole game is centered around Pokémon battling. Battling consists of fighting an opposing trainer with Pokémon or fighting a wild Pokémon with your Pokémon.

For more information on this topic, visit the Battle page on Bulbapedia.

Items
To access the ITEM GUI, you have to press and click on the ITEMS tab. In other generation, this is called the PACK or the BAG. None of your items are organized at all, unlike future generations. Here's a complete list of all the items in the first generation of Pokémon: