Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions
FireRed and LeafGreen redirects here. For the Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, see EX FireRed and LeafGreen (TCG).
| Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions | |
|---|---|
| [[File:File:Pokemon FireRed boxart EN-US.jpg File:Pokemon LeafGreen boxart EN-US.jpg|250px]] Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen Versions' boxart, featuring Charizard and Venusaur. | |
Basic info
| |
| Platform: | {{{platform}}} |
| Category: | RPG |
| Players: | up to 5 players |
| Connectivity: | None |
| Developer: | Game Freak |
| Publisher: | Nintendo |
| Part of: | {{{gen_series}}} |
Ratings
| |
| CERO: | N/A |
| ESRB: | Everyone |
| ACB: | N/A |
| OFLC: | N/A |
| PEGI: | N/A |
| GRAC: | N/A |
| GSRR: | N/A |
Release dates
| |
| Japan: | Jan 29, 2004 |
| North America: | Sep 09, 2004 |
| Australia: | Sep 23, 2004 |
| Europe: | Oct 01, 2004 |
| South Korea: | |
| Hong Kong: | N/A |
| Taiwan: | N/A |
Websites
| |
| Japanese: | ポケットモンスター ファイアレッド・リーフグリーン |
| English: | Games: Pokémon FireRed Games: Pokémon LeafGreen |
Pokémon FireRed Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスターファイアレッド Pocket Monsters Firered) and Pokémon LeafGreen Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスターリーフグリーン Pocket Monsters Leafgreen) are Generation III games that are set in Kanto, with the addition of the Sevii Islands.
These versions are remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue Versions, and include many of the same characters, plot elements, and challenges, but with several important upgrades, including:
- Pokémon now have Natures, Abilities, genders, and can hold items.
- Pokémon like Golbat can evolve into Generation II forms (after acquiring the National Dex).
- Pokémon can breed (after acquiring the National Dex).
- Trainers in the outdoors can be rechallenged using the VS Seeker.
- Information on important characters can be stored in the Fame Checker.
- New region that includes Pokémon (and music) once only available in Johto, known as the Sevii Islands.
- Pokémon can learn Generation II and Generation III moves.
- Move Tutors now teach moves once available from the original Generation I TMs.
- Generation III TMs are used instead of the Generation I TM set.
- The Elite Four can be rechallenged and have new Pokémon on their teams.
- The player can choose a boy character or a girl character.
- Version-exclusive Pokémon have been slightly altered to account for new evolutions.
- Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant, and Hydro Cannon became available.
- Location of some wild Pokémon has been altered.
- Deoxys has a different appearance and base stats — an attack form in FireRed and a defense form in LeafGreen.
- Team Rocket has a new branch on the Sevii Islands, based in the Rocket Warehouse.
Also initially included in the box with every game was one GBA Wireless Adapter, eliminating the need for link cables when trading between the two games (and later Emerald).
These games were named for the original two Pokémon games, Pokémon Red and Green Versions, and feature the same Pokémon on the boxart as their Generation I counterparts. Oddly, even in regions where the Red version was paired up with the Blue version instead of the Green version, LeafGreen was not changed into a Blue version. However, Nintendo did copyright a WaterBlue title, suggesting that this may have been considered.
Plot
The plot essentially follows the same storyline as Generation I, with the player beginning in Pallet Town. After meeting Professor Oak while trying to leave for Route 1, both the player and his or her rival are asked by Oak to choose a starter Pokémon, Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, from the desk near him. Allowing the player to choose first, the rival quickly gets jealous, chooses the starter whose type weakens that of the player's, and challenges the player to a battle.
After the rival is defeated, Oak allows the two new trainers to leave for their journey across Kanto. Stopping off in Viridian City's Poké Mart, the player will find that a package has come in for the professor, and the clerk asks that it be delivered to him. After this has been completed, the professor gives two Pokédexes, one for the player, and one for the rival, away to them, and sends them on their way. Viridian has a Gym, however, it is locked.
From here, the player has their first encounter with other trainers, on Route 2 and in Viridian Forest, and their first encounter with a Gym Leader: Brock the Template:Type2 Gym Leader of Pewter City. After his defeat, journeying along Route 3 and through Mt. Moon brings the player face to face with the heinous Team Rocket, attempting to extract rare fossils from the cave. Their defeat allows the player to continue through the cave and onto Route 4, which leads directly into Cerulean City, where another Gym is. This one, however, is run by Misty, and specializes on Template:Type2 Pokémon. To the north, as well, there are two routes leading up to Bill's cottage, where he will give the player a ticket for the S.S. Anne, a luxury ship moored in Vermilion Harbor and filled with trainers. Taking a shortcut through a house burglarized by Team Rocket, the player finally arrives at Route 5.
After traveling down Routes 5 and 6, using the Underground Path to bypass Saffron City, the player finally arrives in Vermilion. This city is home to another Pokémon Gym, however, the way to it is blocked by a small tree! The only thing to do is to show the ticket to the Sailor guarding the harbor, allowing entry into the S.S. Anne. It is here, after assisting the captain with his seasickness, that the player will obtain the first of the seven Hidden Machines available in the game, containing Cut. With this, and the Cascade Badge, the tree blocking the way to Vermilion Gym is a goner, and Lt. Surge, a Gym Leader specializing in Template:Type2s, can be challenged. From here, Route 11 beckons, as does Diglett's Cave, through which is the only way to get back to Route 2, and a second HM, containing Flash. Then it's back to Cerulean and to the east, onto Route 9 and towards the Rock Tunnel.
Rock Tunnel, a still undeveloped natural tunnel between the sections of Route 10, is pitch black inside; for this reason, Flash is recommended, but not required, for navigation of it. Finally reaching Lavender Town, the only town in Kanto without a Pokémon Gym besides Pallet, there is not much to do; the local Pokémon Tower is haunted. From here, Route 8 leads to Saffron City, but it again must be bypassed by way of another Underground Path, which has its other entrance on Route 7, on the west side of Saffron. Celadon City, the home of the fourth Gym, specializing in Template:Type2 Pokémon is just a short walk further. Like the Vermilion Gym, the Celadon Gym also has a small tree blocking the way to its entrance, and a perverted old man outside.
After stopping off at the Celadon Mansion and getting some Tea, Saffron City can finally be entered. However, Team Rocket is guarding every door in the city, including that of the local Pokémon Gym! The city's centerpiece building, Silph Co.'s headquarters, has also been infiltrated by the organization, and at the top, waiting in the boardroom, is the Team Rocket Boss, Giovanni, demanding that the president give him the Master Ball that the company had developed. After his defeat, he flees.
The Gym is now open, and its Leader, Sabrina, specializes in Template:Type2s. The floor, as well, is covered in warp tiles that make it difficult to navigate. After Sabrina's defeat, all that is left to do is deal with the ghosts in Lavender's Pokémon Tower, and to do that, one needs a Silph Scope.
The Rocket Game Corner in Celadon is not what it appears to be. In fact, the game corner itself is merely the aboveground portion of a sprawling underground complex: the Rocket Hideout. It is here that Giovanni appears a second time, and after his defeat, flees to parts unknown, leaving behind a Silph Scope.
After this, the Pokémon Tower can be navigated, and the ghosts haunting it are revealed to be Gastly and Haunter. Near to the top, blocking the way, is also a final spirit, that of a deceased Marowak that was killed by Team Rocket when they captured her child. Making it all the way to the top reveals Mr. Fuji held hostage by Team Rocket grunts, who will leave when they are defeated. Fuji gives away the Poké Flute, and with that, the Snorlax blocking Route 11 and Route 16 can finally be moved away. Another HM, containing Fly, can be obtained easily by cutting away a tree blocking the northern section of Route 16.
Traveling down either way the Snorlax are blocking, a faster way via Routes 16, 17, and 18 on Cycling Road, or down the Silence Bridge of Routes 12, 13, 14, and 15, inevitably brings one to the southernmost city in continental Kanto, Fuchsia City, home of Koga of the Poisonous Fuchsia Gym and the Kanto Safari Zone. The Safari Zone is currently running a contest: the person to reach a specific rest house first will win yet another HM, containing Surf. Finding Warden Slowpoke's Gold Teeth also will have him reward the player with the final of Kanto's HMs, containing Strength.
With six badges in hand, and five HMs in the TM Case, finally the player can adventure onto the open sea of Routes 19 and 20. A short way across them, of course, is a minor obstacle: the Seafoam Islands. After they have been navigated through, the player can continue on Route 20 to Cinnabar Island, home of Blaine's Template:Type2 Gym. There are also several more facilities on the island, including one that actually revives Pokémon fossils. After Blaine's defeat, Bill shows up again, because he needs help in a region east of Kanto, the Sevii Islands. If the player accepts, the Seagallop Ferry will travel to One Island, where a friend of Bill's, Celio, is attempting to connect the islands' PC system to that of Kanto. During this, there is also a crisis in Two Island, where the daughter of the owner of the Joyful Game Corner has gone missing, and in Three Island where a group of invading Bikers are causing trouble. After defeating them and finding the lost girl, Lostelle, who is in Berry Forest, Bill and the player will return to Kanto, where the final Gym, that of Viridian City, lies.
Finally unlocked, the Gym, whose leader specializes in Template:Type2s, is revealed to be none other than the boss of Team Rocket himself, Giovanni! After his defeat, he vows to disband Team Rocket and disappears. Now with eight badges, all that lies ahead is the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau, conveniently at the end of Route 23.
The Elite Four await challengers, those who have proven themselves worthy by getting all eight badges and making it through Victory Road will face them, in order. Lorelei, who trains Template:Type2 Pokémon is first, followed by Bruno, whose specialty is Fighting, Agatha, whose specialty is Ghost, and finally Lance, whose specialty is Dragon. After these four, the reigning Pokémon champion is the final battle, and it is none other than the player's own rival. After his defeat, Oak arrives and tells the player that they care better for their Pokémon, and the player's current party are added to the Hall of Fame.
After the credits roll, the player is back in Pallet Town, however, there is still more to do. There is some more work that Celio needs to do on his network machine, as he wishes to link to yet another region. The signal, however, is not strong enough, and he needs the Ruby and the Sapphire, two items found in the Sevii Islands, to strengthen it. The Ruby is found deep in a cave in Mt. Ember, which Team Rocket grunts have been seen fooling around with. The Sapphire lies at the deepest part of the Dotted Hole in Ruin Valley. The Ruby can be given to Celio without a hitch, however, the Sapphire, when found, is stolen by a Scientist named Gideon, who takes it back to Team Rocket's warehouse in the Five Isle Meadow. By infiltrating the warehouse and defeating the remaining Rocket Admins, they realize that Giovanni has disbanded Team Rocket. They do, however, vow to return one day, and bring Team Rocket back to its glory. Gideon reluctantly gives back the Sapphire, and after this, trades are possible with the Hoenn-based Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. The Elite Four can once again be challenged, and their Pokémon are 12 levels higher (Blue's levels are 10 higher). Cerulean Cave, as well, is now open, and the powerful Mewtwo can be found there.
Version exclusives
| Game | Exclusives |
|---|---|
| FireRed | Ekans, Arbok, Oddish, Gloom, Vileplume, Bellossom, Psyduck, Golduck, Growlithe, Arcanine, Shellder, Cloyster, Electabuzz, Elekid, Scyther, Scizor, Wooper, Quagsire, Murkrow, Qwilfish, Delibird, Skarmory, Deoxys -Attack Form |
| LeafGreen | Sandshrew, Sandslash, Vulpix, Ninetales, Bellsprout, Weepinbell, Victreebel, Slowpoke, Slowbro, Staryu, Starmie, Magmar, Magby, Pinsir, Azurill, Marill, Azumarill, Misdreavus, Sneasel, Remoraid, Octillery, Mantine, Deoxys -Defense Form |
Trivia
- The LeafGreen Pokédex entries are the same as those in the original Red and Blue versions (as well as the Japanese Blue version) for the 151 Kanto Pokémon. The FireRed entries for the same Pokémon are the same as those in the original Red and Green, which were previously not translated into English or other languages.
- The Pokédex entries for most of the Generation II Pokémon are the same as those in Gold and Silver, with Silver's entries being in FireRed and Gold's being in LeafGreen.
- The truck, long rumored to have a Poké Ball containing Mew under it, appears again as scenery near the S.S. Anne. This time around, however, following the instructions of the rumors of old will, in fact, get the player a Lava Cookie.
- It may be worth noting that there are a number of in-game references to the Generation II games (such as a new reference to the bridge in front of Bill's House as a prime dating spot), prompting some speculation that the second generation games may receive an remake, much like Generation I did. While some evidence exists, there is no real certainty.
