First partner, first catches and the Boulder Badge
Start the international Game Boy adventure, deliver Oak's Parcel and prepare a small team for Pewter Gym.
International Game Boy Red and Blue, released in 1998 in North America and Australia and 1999 in Europe. The series began with Japanese Red and Green in 1996; the international pair uses revised graphics from Japanese Blue. Yellow, FireRed/LeafGreen and Let's Go have different encounters or mechanics. Cartridge linking uses a Game Link Cable; the 3DS Virtual Console editions use local wireless.
Choose a first partner and learn the menu
Oak offers Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. Each can finish the adventure, but Water and Grass moves have an easier early matchup against Brock's Rock/Ground Pokémon. Your rival chooses the partner that has a type advantage over yours. A confirms choices, B backs out and Start opens the main menu. Withdraw the Potion from the bedroom PC if you want an extra recovery item for the opening trip.
Deliver the parcel before shopping for catches
Viridian City: map or interior assembled from original Red/Blue game graphics; the source sheet may include Super Game Boy palettes. .
Original Red/Blue item menu with Town Map, Potion and Poké Balls; native pixels extracted from the archived menu sheet. .
Travel north to Viridian City's Poké Mart, accept Oak's Parcel and take it back to his laboratory. Receiving the Pokédex advances the opening errand and lets you begin the collection properly. Then return for Poké Balls. We recommend carrying a few healing items as well: being able to catch a new species is less useful if the rest of the party cannot safely make it back to a Pokémon Center.
Train a useful pair and save deliberately
Pewter City: map or interior assembled from original Red/Blue game graphics; the source sheet may include Super Game Boy palettes. .
Pokémon Center / Mart: map or interior assembled from original Red/Blue game graphics; the source sheet may include Super Game Boy palettes. .
Viridian Forest leads to Pewter City and its first Gym. Test new moves against ordinary encounters before facing Brock, and share some training with a second Pokémon so one bad matchup does not stop the journey. A Pokémon Center restores health and move PP. Use Save from the main menu after a successful stretch; the original game has one in-game save file and does not automatically record every catch or badge.
For an early obstacle, identify the missing attack type or recovery item before spending a long session training the same move again.
Picture details
Game artwork belongs to its respective rights holders.