Pokémon Gold and Silver/Pallet Town

|}Pallet Town might seem like any other humble hamlet, but someday the whole world will know that this was where you began your quest to become the greatest Pokémon trainer ever! The famous Professor Oak, known for his Pokémon studies, also lives in Pallet Town. He'll give you your very first Pokémon. That's one down, 149 more Pokémon to go!

File:Pokemon RBY PalletTown.png

Humble beginnings

Home, sweet home

Grab a Potion out of the computer in your room just in case your rival puts up a good fight. And if your Pokémon get hurt. Mom will heal 'em for free.

This is where it all begins, Pallet Town, home to you and your mom, your rival and his sister, and the Pallet Town Pokémon Research Lab. The head of this research lab is none other than the world renowned Professor Oak, who happens to be your rival's grandfather. But don't worry, he doesn't play favorites. In fact, he will give you first choice in Pokémon when the time comes.

This day may start out like any other, but this is a special day for you. This is the day that you get to embark on your own Pokémon adventure. You'll travel the world, see lots of interesting places, and meet lots of interesting people. But most of all, you will set out to become one of the greatest Pokémon trainers the world has ever known. After saying good morning to your mom, you step out the door to find the one man who can start you on your journey: Professor Oak.

Choose your Pokémon

Choices, choices

Bulbasaur is a good choice for beginners, as he is effective against the first two gym leaders. Squirtle is a good choice for intermediate players, effective against the first, while Charmander is generally considered a choice for experts, because he will have a tough time against the first two gym leaders.

You start off your task by looking in the obvious place: the research lab. But oddly enough, he isn't there. So you check your rivals home, but you only find his sister. Professor Oak seems to have left town. Maybe you should head out in search of him. But the moment that you set one foot outside of town, someone calls to you and warns you not to go. It's Professor Oak!

Professor Oak brings you back to the lab and, after assembling together with your rival, provides you with a Pikachu as your first Pokémon if you are playing the Yellow version. Otherwise he offers you the choice of three Pokémon from which you will select your very first. Choose carefully: Not only will the Pokémon you pick be your strongest ally for the next few hours, it will also determine which Pokémon your rival picks as well. In the Yellow version, your rival is given an Eevee.

Your rival awaits...

Gary's house

Your lifelong rival, Gary, isn't home, but his sister is. Gary carries a grudge against you, but his sister thinks you're OK. If you stop by a little later, she'll give you a useful item, no matter what Gary says.

With your first Pokémon in hand, and an eagerness to start your journey, you head for the exit. But before you can leave, your rival decides that he wants to test his mettle against you and challenges you to a duel which you can not refuse.

While Pikachu vs. Eevee is an even fight in the Yellow version, people playing Red or Blue will have a tougher match ahead of them, since your rival has shrewdly chosen the Pokémon that has an advantage over yours. Fortunately, your rival isn't much of a fighter, and wastes time with defensive techniques like Growl and Tail Whip instead of just choosing the attacks and going for the quick K.O.

If you lose, though, no big deal: All you miss out on is your rival's File:Pokébuck.png175 and a bit of EXP. And you'll get plenty of opportunities for a rematch. Once the fight is complete, you're ready to leave town and travel along Route #1.

Starting Pokémon for Pokémon Red and Blue

#7 Squirtle
Water-based Squirtle is tough on defense but only so-so as an attacker. Still, his aquatic attacks are great versus Fire enemies and the soon-to-be very annoying Rock and Ground Pokémon. If you take him, your rival will pick Bulbasaur.
#1 Bulbasaur
Bulbasaur double specializes in Grass and Poison, so he's good versus a variety of foes but seriously hurt by the fact that this also doubles his weaknesses. He does get a lot of HP, which you'll need when your rival takes Charmander, who rocks against Grass.
#4 Charmander
Charmander doesn't get as much HP as the other two, but his attacks are damaging, and you'll learn the powerful Fire technique Ember as early as Level 9 Your rival will pick Squirtle, who is very strong against Charmander.

Starting Pokémon for Pokémon Yellow

#25 Pikachu
Instead of having a choice, Yellow players are always given a Pikachu by Dr. Oak. But that's certainly not a bad thing: Pikachu compensates for his weak defense with a good dose of power and its lightning speed. Electric is also one of the best all-around types in the game and while it makes Pikachu weak against Ground enemies and Grassers, Electric attacks absolutely shred the game's plentiful Flyers and Water-based creatures... You can see this at work as Pikachu's Thundershock still fries the Pidgeys hanging around in Route #1. Unfortunately, Pikachu cannot evolve in Yellow, so he's really only useful early in the game.
#133 Eevee
Just as you always get Pikachu, your rival always gets an Eevee as his first Pokémon. And that's fine, because Eevee's not that much of a threat at this point. It's a weak, slow Pokémon that learns only Normal skills, and only rarely. When it evolves, though, that's a different story...