In the original Pokemon Gold and Silver, there was a secret battle pitting you against Red, the titular character from the first generation of Pokemon games and who Ash Ketchum from the anime series would be based on. Back then his team of six Pokemon had levels ranging from 73 to 81. Well, he’s back in Heart Gold and Soul Silver and this time his Pokemon are even more powerful than before! He’s even replaced his original Espeon with a Lapras. Today, we’re going to look at each of these six Pokemon and give you an idea of what you’ll need to take Red down and become the true master of all things Pokemon.
1. PIKACHU
Level: 88
Type: Electric
Items Held? Light Ball
Pokemon Ability: Static
Move Set: Volt Tackle, Iron Tail, Quick Attack, Thunderbolt.
Pikachu is a straight up attacker. The first three attacks listed in his moveset are Physical attacks while Thunderbolt is a Special attack. You would think Thunderbolt would be the move you have the least to worry about since Pikachu’s Attack is a lot higher than its Special, but this Pikachu has a Light Ball, which means its Special Attack is doubled, putting this Pikachu into the Mewtwo level of power. Be wary.
Your best bet with Pikachu, who will always be Red’s lead-off Pokemon is to have a Ground type Pokemon which will prevent Volt Tackle or Thunderbolt, Pikachu’s two most dangerous moves, from hurting you. Make SURE it is not a Rock/Ground Pokemon, or Pikachu will take you down with Iron Tail. You might also want a speedy Ground type as Pikachu is lightning fast. Garchomp, Sandslash and Dugtrio are excellent examples of Pikachu stoppers in this regard, Remember though Pikachu has the Pokemon Ability of Static, which forces you to play defensive. Any physical contact with Pikachu has a 30% chance of giving YOUR Pokemon the Paralyze status. As nearly all Ground based moves are Physical attacks, a good strategy would be to find another way to attack Pikachu. For example, a Camerupt, which is a Ground/Fire Dual Type can learn Solarbeam, which is a Grass attack that uses the Special statistic. Here you have a Pokemon that is immune to 50% of Pikachu’s move, has an attack that is super-effective against Pikachu and doesn’t have to risk being Paralyzed. Flygon with Giga Drain can do the same thing.
2. VENUSAUR
Level: 84
Type: Grass/Poison
Items Held? None
Pokemon Ability: Overgrow
Move Set: Sludge Bomb, Giga Drain. Sleep Powder, Frenzy Plant
This is a pretty straight and easy battle. A good Fire or Psychic Pokemon should be able to take down Venusaur without any real challenge. The real trick is to get out of this battle without the Poison or Sleep status. As easy as Venusaur is to take down, you need to do it quickly or you will end up with a status effect. Poison is actually better since you can still attack while suffering from it. If your Pokemon falls asleep, any of Venusaur’s attacks can do some major damage. The worst is if you have Venusaur down to the final third of its Hit Points as this will trigger Overgrowth. Trust me when I saw Overgrowth plus Frenzy Plant equals a pretty strong chance of knockout. As always speed is key, so a fast hitting Psychic Pokemon like an Espeon or Alakazam can take out Venusaur in one to two moves.
3. CHARIZARD
Level: 84
Type: Fire/Flying
Items Held: None
Pokemon Ability: Blaze
Move Set: Flare Blitz, Blast Burn, Air Slash, Dragon Pulse
Charizard is the toughest of Red’s three Kanto starters. It has two Fire moves. Flare Blitz uses the Physical stat and Charizard will take recoil damage from it, so this move actually helps you a bit. Blast Burn uses Charizard’s Special and it’s a Fire-based Hyper Beam, so it will do a lot of damage to your Pokemon. Thankfully Charizard will have to recharge after using it. Now it’s the other two moves that should give you pause. Air Slash has a 30% chance of causing a flinch, so it’s imperative you have a Pokemon that is FASTER than Charizard. Once again, speed is the most important factor in beating Red. Nothing’s worse than having the right Pokemon with the right moves to take out Charizard only to watch it flinch three times in a row and eventual get KO’d because the faster Charizard keeps using Air Slash. Finally there’s Dragon Pulse which is thankfully just a high damage dealing Dragon type attack.
My advice is to get a fast Water, Rock or Electric type Pokemon. Rock moves do 4X damage against Charizard, but speed is hard to find in Rock Pokemon. Tyranitar and Relicanth are amongst the fastest and a Relicanth with Swift Swim is a Charizard’s worst nightmare are its Rock AND Water who actually can be faster than the big Fire Starter. Another great choice is Aerodactyl with Rock Slide or Ancientpower.
4. BLASTOISE
Level: 84
Type: Water
Items Held: None
Pokemon Ability: Torrent
Move Set: Focus Blast, Hydro Cannon, Blizzard, Flash Cannon
Blastoise looks like a tough opponent from its moveset. After all, it knows Water, Steel, Ice and Fighting attacks. Focus Blast and Hydro Cannon are based on lowering your Pokemon’s Special Defense and all four of Blastoise’s moves use the Special stat. The key however is a FAST (there’s that concept again.) Electric Pokemon. Something as simple as a Raichu with Thunderbolt should be able to send Blastoise down for the count in a single round. Although Water Types are also weak to Grass attacks, make sure you don’t actually pit a Grass Pokemon against Blastoise or it WILL use Blizzard against you and the results won’t be pretty. Just be fast and direct with your Electrical attacks and you’ll be fine.
5. SNORLAX
Level: 82
Type: Normal
Items Held: None
Pokemon Ability: Thick Fat
Move Set: Shadow Ball, Crunch, Blizzard, Giga Impact
Snorlax just might be Red’s toughest Pokemon. Not only is it immune to Ghost attacks, but its Thick Fat ability means it only takes half damage from Fire and Ice attacks. Offensively it has moves that are super effective against Ghost, Psychic, Dragon, Flying, Grass and Ground attacks. This means you want to make sure you don’t a Pokemon who has one of those six types facing Snorlax. Shadow Ball and Crunch lower Special Defense and Defense respectively, which is turning out to be a trend with Red’s Pokemon. Giga Impact is the Attack version of Hyper Beam. Your best bet here is a solid Fighting Pokemon or at least one with powerful Fighting Type attacks. Machamp is a great Pokemon to bit against Snorlax and I’m sure you can think of others as well.
6. LAPRAS
Level: 80
Type: Ice/Water
Items Held: none
Pokemon Ability: Shell Armour
Move Set: Blizzard, Brine, Psychic, Body Slam
Lapras is both the lowest level of Red’s Pokemon as well as the newest as it has replaced Umbreon from Gold and Silver. Shell Armour prevents critical hits so you’ll have to slowly whittle it down unless you are using Fighting, Rock, Grass or Electric attacks. This Lapras is also great at inflicting status effects. Body Slam can cause Paralyze and Blizzard can cause Freeze. You also have to deal with Brine which is insanely powerful once you knock Lapras below 50% health. As it knows Ice, Water, Psychic and Normal moves, you DON’T want to use Fighting, Rock or Grass type Pokemon as it has a move to counter each. Is your fast Electric type Pokemon that you used against Blastoise still healthy with lots of moves left? Then that’s the Pokemon you’re going to want to go with. An Electric Pokemon is your best overall bet here, so stick with it.
So there you go. We’ve covered all six of Red’s Pokemon and what moves they’ll be packing. Now it’s up to you to assemble your team and take him down.
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