Unovia's Pokemon Red "Origins" Run

[Greninjaman]

Honestly, why is Rock Tunnel the only place that requires Flash? Why bother having an ability that does something, when it is only used once in the whole game?

 

[Unovia]

Honestly, why is Rock Tunnel the only place that requires Flash? Why bother having an ability that does something, when it is only used once in the whole game?

I would think to justify Flash. Now that you brought that up, it is an odd thing. Probably when they were making the game, they said, "We have this ability, let's create a reason to use it."

 

[Greninjaman]

I mean, it made sense that Mt. Moon did not require Flash since you get it AFTER you get through it. I think Diglett's Cave and Seafoam Island should have required it as well.

 

[Unovia]

I mean, it made sense that Mt. Moon did not require Flash since you get it AFTER you get through it. I think Diglett's Cave and Seafoam Island should have required it as well.

The thing about that is, Why can you only get it after, when Flash is available after the Boulder Badge and the location has to be Cut to?
The location of Flash doesn't make sense.

 

[Greninjaman]

The thing about that is, Why can you only get it after, when Flash is available after the Boulder Badge and the location has to be Cut to?
The location of Flash doesn't make sense.

That is true. That area is pretty much optional. Would make more sense for someone to give it to you right before you enter Rock Tunnel.

 

[Unovia]

There isn't much in Lavender Town right now. There is a mystery in Town, however. Where is Mr. Fuji? He is likely to be in the Pokemon Tower, but I can't go there because there are ghosts there, which unfortunately we can't see right now due to not having the Silph Scope. The only other place here of note is the Name Rater, which in Generation I looks like a priest. To the south is Route 12. We could explore there, since it would be helpful to my Pikachu to use since there are fishermen.

However, I think I will save it for another time. To the west are Routes 8 & 7, which is where we are going to get to Celadon City. In the next Log, we will explore Routes 8 & 7 on the way to Celadon. Until the next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

Before I headed onto Route 8, I made sure to get 5 Great Balls. It was notable that Lavender Town is the first location that you can get Great Balls and Poke Balls are nowhere to be found. I deposited Machoke and Kadabra into Box 2. That's right, we are on Box 2! I traveled a bit onto Route 8, which had a bunch of trainers and a patch of grass with cuttable trees. Thank goodness I kept Parasect in the party to get access to this grass!

The only catch on Routes 8 & 7 is Growlithe, which is a bit trickier to catch than you would think, since it has a tendency to use Roar, which will end a battle during a wild encounter. It is also a bit hard to find, with the grass patch being full of Mankey and Ekans. Eventually I found it and on the second encounter, captured it. After I caught Growlithe, I focused on battling the trainers, getting my Charmeleon, Pikachu, and Pidgeotto to Level 32.

I boxed Growlithe in Box 2, then decided to pause. I know the Celadon Department Store has Evolution Stones I can buy, and I need a few of them. Which ones do I need right now?

Fire Stone-1 (Growlithe)
Thunder Stone-1 (Pikachu)
Leaf Stone-1 (Gloom)

In addition, I will be getting another Moon Stone too shortly, meaning Jigglypuff will be soon evolved, meaning the Moon Stones will soon be done. In the next Log, we will be having an Evolution Party in Celadon! Until the next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

Now in Celadon City, I went to the back of the Celadon Apartments, collecting Eevee. Looking in my boxes, I gathered Growlithe, Gloom, & my Pikachu (in my party), making sure I had them in my party for the needed evolutions. Walking over to the Department Store, I bought 1 Thunder Stone, 1 Leaf Stone, and 1 Fire Stone, evolving Pikachu to Raichu (goodbye buddy), Gloom to Vileplume, & Growlithe to Arcanine. I then put all 3 in the boxes.

With Pikachu now permanently in the box as a Raichu, I had to ask myself what I wanted to do. I rearranged my team for the future.

My New Team:
Charmeleon
Pidgeotto
Eevee
Machoke
Kadabra
Onix

In the next Log, we will determine what we want to do with Eevee, which is a bit of a wildcard. Until next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

In the last Log, we collected Eevee, but left the question of what to do with it open until now. In Generation 1, we only have 3 options. Those options are the Electric Type Jolteon, the Water Type Vaporeon, & the Fire Type Flareon. In Origins, we know that Red had Jolteon in his final team, so that is what this Eevee will become. However, somehow, Red also got information for Vaporeon & Flareon. When I was buying Stones, I bought another Thunder Stone for this evolution.

With this evolution, what are we to do now? There are a notable amount of Team Rocket Grunts in Celadon. In the next Log, we will hunt down the Rockets in town and take them down. I will have to train my Onix and Jolteon up to match the rest of my squad before I hunt down the Rockets. Should not be too long. Until the next time, we will see you!

Current Dex
Charmeleon
Butterfree
Beedrill
Pidgeotto
Raticate
Fearow
Arbok
Raichu
Nidoqueen
Nidoking
Clefable
Jigglypuff
Golbat
Vileplume
Parasect
Dugtrio
Primeape
Arcanine
Kadabra
Machoke
Graveler
Farfetch'd
Onix
Hypno
Gyarados
Jolteon

 

[Unovia]

Authors' Note:
It's fitting that I am able to use the same title for the same log number on both my Silver Playthrough and my Red Run, isn't it?

Time to go after the Rockets in Celadon. I was surprised to see them controlling the Game Corner. My Team to go after the Rockets was:
Charmeleon (Level 32)
Pidgeotto (Level 31)
Machoke (Level 30)
Jolteon (Level 29)
Kadabra (Level 28)
Onix (Level 27)

The Team Rocket HQ was a very tough location, mainly due to the Warp Panels! If you are familiar with any of my other playthroughs with Warp Panels, you will remember that I HATE them with a PASSION! I managed to get through without a guide or video, which I was impressed by. At a point in the take down, I got the Moon Stone and the Nugget. I left for a moment to finally evolve my Jigglypuff to Wigglytuff, cash in the Nugget, then I started up again. Every time I got a TM, I would leave to put it in my PC, then come back.

There are 11 Rockets here, which provided a lot of good training. The goal here is to get the Silph Scope so we can go to the Pokemon Tower. The Silph Scope allows one to see the Ghosts. I also had to pick up the Lift Key to access the Elevator, which eventually got me to Giovanni. Every member of my team except Onix (who literally was no help here, since his Rock Throw is so inaccurate) gained a Level through the battles.

Now is the time to take the boss down! I used Machoke (Level 31) for the entire fight. He sent out Onix (Level 25) first, which died to a Low Kick. He then sent out his Rhyhorn (Level 24), which suffered the same fate. Lastly was her Khangaskhan (Level 29), which hit me with Comet Punch. Two Low Kicks beat it down. Giovanni was a pushover, and as he departed, left me with the Silph Scope. I escape Roped out, deposited Onix, when dropped off the Lift Key into the PC.

What will we be doing now? We could take on Erika now, but I think we will head back to the Pokemon Tower now and take care of some unfinished business. Time to rescue Mr. Fuji and collect some ghosts. In the next Log, we will do just that. Until next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

With the Silph Scope in hand, I headed to the Poke Mart to pick up a Poke Doll (you will see why later), then headed back to Lavender Town, entering the Pokemon Tower. My first issue was battling Blue, who was waiting for me. He sent out Pidgeotto (Level 25) first, and I sent out Charmeleon (Level 33). A few Embers took it out. I then switched to my own Pidgeotto (Level 32) to take out his Growlithe (Level 23) and Exeggcute (Level 22). The Growlithe liked to Ember me, but overall wasn't a problem. Exeggcute went down easy to Wing Attack. When he sent out Kadabra (Level 20) and Wartortle (Level 25), my Jolteon (Level 29) easily took them both out with Thunderbolt. Defeated, Blue mentioned the Mother Marowak, then departed. The coward didn't want to help me!

As I climbed the Tower, battling Channelers, I captured a Gastly (Level 20) and Cubone (Level 20), which I deposited into the PC and sold off the Nugget and a few unnecessary items. With that done, I came back and finished. On the 5th Floor, there is a healing pad. Make sure to take advantage of it!

On the 6th Floor, there was the Ghost of Marowak (Level 30), trying to force me to leave. Earlier, I had purchased a Poke Doll from Celadon Department Store, which allowed me to exploit a glitch where I could use the doll to make the ghost disappear. Marowak was calmed, then departed. I liked the scene in Origins and the scene in Pikachu & Eevee for this. Being free to climb further, I took on some more Team Rocket Grunts to free Mr. Fuji. Grateful, he took me back to his house and gave me the Poke Flute, which can be used to wake some sleeping Pokemon.

Tower complete, I decided to box Machoke so I could get Gastly and Cubone in my team. What will I do now? Well, first, I am going to train Gastly and Cubone to Haunter (Level 25) & Marowak (Level 28), then I think I will go take on Erika for my next Badge. Until the next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

With Cubone and Gastly, I spent some time training them up. In Generation 1, abilities didn't exist (they wouldn't until Generation 3, sorry Fire red & Leaf green fans!), so I could use Ground moves on the Gastly and Haunter in the Tower. If you want to train a Gastly in Gen 1, Lick is the best move against the other Ghost Types here. Anyway, I got them up to Haunter & Marowak, then left the Tower, boxed them, and moved on (I know Red used Haunter in his battle against Sabrina and also as a Gengar against Mewtwo, but that was Generation 3 Red, where Haunter & Gengar had actual attacking moves, not Generation 1, where it had none). With that done, I headed to Celadon for the Gym Battle.

For the battle against Erika, I had the following Pokemon:
Charmeleon (Level 34)
Pidgeotto (Level 33)
Kadabra (Level 30)
Parasect (Level 24)-Only for Cut

With Erika, it was important to have a Pokemon that had Cut. I had two options, both of which were in the PC..Vileplume & Parasect. Of the two, I felt it was better to use Parasect. There is a tree in the backside of the Gym and 3 trees within the Gym itself. I defeated the trainers pretty easily (By the end, Pidgeotto was Level 34 and Kadabra was Level 32). I wanted to save Charmeleon for Erika herself.

She opened with Victreebel (Level 29) against my Kadabra (Level 32). Kadabra used Psybeam, and Victreebel tried to use Wrap. When that failed, it fell to another Psybeam. Erika switched to Tangela (Level 24), and I changed to Pidgeotto (Level 34). Tangela used one Constrict, then fell to two Wing Attacks. Down to her last Pokemon, she sent out Vileplume (Level 29) and I sent out Charmeleon (Level 34) to mirror the battle in Origins:

Vileplume was a bit bulkier than I expected, being able to counter my Ember attacks with Petal Dance, but after 3 hits, Vileplume fell, winning me the 4th Badge. After I beat the Gym, I added Jolteon to my Team, since I decided to hunt down the two Snorlaxes (we will go catch them in the next Log).

First, I headed to Lavender Town, then traveled south onto Silence Bridge. Jolteon had a picnic here, since all of the trainers here were fishermen and had Water types. As soon as I ran into Snorlax, I headed back to Celadon. Heading west, I traveled onto Route 16, where I saw the other Snorlax. In the grass, I also captured a Doduo (Level 20).

In the next Log, it's Snorlax time! Until the next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

Ah, Snorlax. The cuddly sleep specialist. To be honest, I wasn't sure how I wanted to approach these sleeping monsters. These things can be intimidating and hard to capture. Both the Route 12 and Route 16 are Level 30, nearly matching my team. To prepare, I bought 6 Great Balls, bringing my Great Ball count to 11. I would need all I bought for these captures.

Route 12, otherwise known as Silence Bridge, was the first one I woke up. It was a slow fight, but it took 3 Great Balls to capture. I mostly used Kadabra to weaken and capture it, though Snorlax almost fainted. It held on by a thread until it was captured.

Moving onto Route 16, which was west of Celadon, I woke the second one up. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to heal up my team, thinking I could catch Snorlax quickly. As a result, the second Snorlax beat Kadabra. I ended up sending out Charmeleon, who held his own. On the 3rd Great Ball, with the Snorlax asleep, I caught it. I was amazed to get both of them. One will be in my final team, while the other will remain in the box. Not sure which one I want to use, since they are the same.

Before I move on, I will train up my Doduo to a Dodrio and Snorlax to the rest of my team. I think I will get Pidgeotto to Pidgeot and put Kadabra into the Box, which will reorganize my Team. By the next Log, my Team will be:

Charmeleon
Jolteon
Snorlax
Dodrio

In the next Log, we will take on Routes 16, 17, & 18 on the way to Fuchsia City. Until then, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

Routes 16-18
Before I traveled on Route 16, I finished training Doduo to Dodrio and I figured Snorlax could manage to level up itself. I took the one that I got on Route 16, which had higher stats than the other one. I named the one from Route 12 Silence and the Route 16 one Heartbreak. This was my Team as I started on Cycling Road (Route 16):
Charmeleon
Pidgeotto
Jolteon
Snorlax (Heartbreak)
Dodrio

There were a lot of bikers on Routes 16 & 17 (16 Total) and there were 3 Birdkeepers on Route 18. By the end of the three Routes, all of my team was Level 35. In order to finally put Pidgeotto in the box, I took some time in the grass to level it up. At the end of Route 18, there was Fuchsia City. After I healed up, I thought maybe I would tackle the other Route to Fuchsia, the one heading from Lavender Town.

Routes 13-16
Heading from Lavender Town, I biked across Route 12, collecting the Super Rod.

After I found a patch of grass and a cuttable tree on Route 13, I decided to explore it, managing to capture Venonat (Level 26). Strangely, I experienced more Poisoning on Routes 13, 14, & 15 than I had on the other 3 Routes! On Route 14, Charmeleon evolved to Charizard! By the end of the exploration of these 6 Routes, my team was between Levels 37 & 38. I also didn't know you could get Ditto here, so I will be catching that by the next Log. I will also be evolving Venonat into Venomoth (Level 31).

Now that we have arrived at Fuchsia City from both directions and have a new Rod, we will be fishing in the next Log. Until the next time, we will see you!

Current Dex
Charizard
Butterfree
Beedrill
Pidgeot
Raticate
Fearow
Arbok
Raichu
Nidoqueen
Nidoking
Clefable
Wigglytuff
Golbat
Vileplume
Parasect
Venonat
Dugtrio
Primeape
Arcanine
Kadabra
Machoke
Graveler
Farfetch'd
Dodrio
Haunter
Onix
Hypno
Marowak
Mr. Mime
Gyarados
Jolteon
Snorlax

 

[Unovia]

Before I went fishing with the Super Rod, I biked back to Route 13, where I proceeded to capture a Ditto. Unfortunately, the blob like Pokemon can't be really used in Gen I, where most of its features involve breeding (first seen in Gen II). I then went to the Lavender Town Poke Mart, where I bought many Great Balls to make this fishing experience easy. I also took Venonat, since most of the Water Types I would be catching would be low level. Let's go fishing! Which monsters did I catch? Psyduck Poliwag Tentacool Shellder (quickly evolved with a Water Stone to Cloyster) Krabby Goldeen With these additions, it brought my catch count to 74 Pokemon. Most of the other "Fishables" can't be caught without going into new areas or getting Surf. As I close out this Log, I got my Venonat to Venomoth, totally bringing my list to 75. Where will I train the new Water Types? Most of them, if they have Water moves, will be trained in Diglett's Cave. It will take a bit, but where will we be going next? I think we will be opening up Saffron City and see what is there. Until the next Log, we will see you!

Current Dex:
Charizard
Butterfree
Beedrill
Pidgeot
Raticate
Fearow
Arbok
Raichu
Nidoqueen
Nidoking
Clefable
Wigglytuff
Golbat
Vileplume
Parasect
Venomoth
Dugtrio
Psyduck
Primeape
Arcanine
Poliwag
Kadabra
Machoke
Tentacool
Graveler
Farfetch'd
Dodrio
Cloyster
Haunter
Onix
Hypno
Krabby
Marowak
Goldeen
Mr. Mime
Gyarados
Ditto
Jolteon
Snorlax

 

[Unovia]

I was able to get all but Psyduck which brought my caught Pokemon total to 80. Psyduck is a REALLY HARD POKEMON TO TRAIN due to the fact that it doesn't learn a major move until Level 31, so I gave it Water Gun to try to raise it. When that didn't work, I decided to move on for now. Flying back to Celadon, I bought a Lemonade for the Saffron Guards, then went through the gate. Grateful, they let me into Saffron City. What is there to do here? 1. The Fighting Dojo (Log #27) 2. Silph Co. (Log #28) 3. Saffron City Gym (Log #31) Until the next time, we will see you!

Current Dex:
Charizard
Butterfree
Beedrill
Pidgeot
Raticate
Fearow
Arbok
Raichu
Nidoqueen
Nidoking
Clefable
Wigglytuff
Golbat
Vileplume
Parasect
Venomoth
Dugtrio
Psyduck
Primeape
Arcanine
Poliwrath
Kadabra
Machoke
Tentacruel
Graveler
Farfetch'd
Dodrio
Cloyster
Haunter
Onix
Hypno
Kingler
Marowak
Seaking
Mr. Mime
Gyarados
Ditto
Jolteon
Snorlax

 

[Unovia]

The Fighting Dojo was, at one time, a Fighting Type Gym, until Sabrina, the Saffron City Gym Leader, battled and defeated the Gym. There are only 5 trainers here, all Black Belts. They were easy to defeat using Dodrio. Upon defeating them, I took Hitmonlee as my reward.

Why did I pick Hitmonlee? We know that in Origins Red had Hitmonlee as part of his team at a later point, and we don't know how he got the information for Hitmonchan (probably through a trade and trade back situation). Both Hitmons come in at Level 30, so it won't take too long to get it to the rest of the team. In the next Log, we will go after the Silph Co. There are quite a few Rockets around town, and I wouldn't be surprised if they have something going on there.

Until the next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

Silph Co. was an extreme challenge. I did this in 3 shifts. It was time to beat the Rockets down!

Shift 1: Clear All Trainers Without the Card Key
Shift 2:Clear All Trainers With The Card Key
Shift 3:Beat Boss Rocket (Giovanni)

We are going to discuss all 3 parts in 3 Headings. Let's go!

Shift 1: Clear All Trainers Without the Card Key
While the Card Key is vital in this occasion, for this part, there were quite a few trainers we could battle without the Card Key. There are 30 Grunts & Scientists that can be fought total. For this part, I had Psyduck (Level 21) in my Team to show up and soak up the Experience Points. By the end of this shift, Psyduck was Level 31, almost ready to evolve. I took a little bit and went back to Diglett's Cave to finish turning Psyduck into Golduck, which was then boxed. That got me to Number 82 Caught.

Shift 2: Clear All Trainers With the Card Key
On Floor 5F, with the Card Key now in my possession, I opened all of the locked doors, battling the trainers as needed. Eventually, I found Blue, who battled me instead of taking on the Rockets. Just whose side is he on? He opened with Pidgeot (Level 37) and I did with Dodrio (Level 39). One Drill Peck ended that fight. Charizard (Level 40) took out Growlithe (Level 38), Exeggcute (Level 35) and Alakazam (Level 35) in short order. Finally came his big bad Blastoise (Level 40). My Jolteon (Level 40) just crushed it. Blue left, and I collected Lapras (Level 15) as a reward.

Shift 3:Beat Boss Rocket
I found myself outside the office of the Silph Co. President. Opening the door with the Card Key, I came face to face with Giovanni.

Jolteon easily beat his Nidorino (Level 37) and Khangaskhan (Level 35). I switched to Hitmonlee for Rhyhorn (Level 37) and Snorlax for Nidoqueen (Level 41). He was not that hard to defeat at all! He left, and I got the Master Ball. Interestingly, in Origins, Red actually lost to Giovanni here, which stopped him from getting access to the Master Ball. The Rockets left Saffron, freeing the city. I will be taking some time to train Lapras to the rest of my team then we will be moving on. In the next Log, we will be going back to Fuchsia to battle Koga for the 5th Badge!

Until the next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

I quickly got Lapras to Level 38, where it learned Ice Beam, then decided to go take on Koga. This was my Team going into the Gym:
Charizard (Level 41)
Jolteon (Level 40)-Got to Level 41
Snorlax (Level 40)-Got to Level 41
Hitmonlee (Level 40)
Lapras (Level 38)-Got to Level 40
Dodrio (Level 40)

I used Lapras to beat most of the trainers here, allowing me to get it to Level 40. I used Jolteon to finish the trainers off, getting it to Level 41. Curiously, there were several trainers who switched out their Pokemon during battle. The "invisible walls" of the Gym are very challenging, but if you look at the dashed areas, you can figure out the way to go into the center of the room, where Koga waits. Koga opened with Koffing (Level 37) and I opened with Snorlax (Level 40), which OHKOed Koffing. Next was his Muk (Level 39), which was a bit of a troublesome battle, especially since Muk used Poison Gas against Snorlax. I put Snorlax to sleep using Rest, then woke it up using the Poke Flute (That item is so very helpful!). Even though Muk used Sludge, Snorlax finished with Body Slam. Snorlax also beat the other Koffing (Level 37) with Body Slam, getting to Level 41.

Snorlax had beaten 3 Pokemon, and I thought Snorlax had done a lot, so I decided to switch to Hitmonlee (Level 40) for Weezing (Level 43), thinking that Hitmonlee could go after Weezing, kicking it like a soccer ball. Changing out was a mistake, as Weezing was boosted by two X Attacks, easily beating Hitmonlee using a Sludge attack. I then sent out Lapras (Level 40). A single Ice Beam took down Weezing, ending the battle and winning me my 5th Badge.

In the next Log, we will go into the Safari Zone, where we will be trying to get the Gold Teeth, Surf, and Strength. Until the next time, we will see you!

 

[Unovia]

Here we go! The Kanto Safari Zone is the most frustrating part of the game, mainly because it is really tricky to catch anything there! I was there to find the Gold Teeth, Surf, & Strength. There are the following monsters in the Safari Zone:
Exeggcute
Slowpoke
Rhyhorn
Chansey
Scyther
Kangaskhan
Dratini
Dragonair

It was a major trek, but I managed to get Exeggcute, Slowpoke, & Rhyhorn before time expired. I saw Dratini a few times, a Kangaskhan, and no Scyther. I gave Snorlax Strength and Lapras Surf. The Warden got his teeth. Flying back to Celadon, I evolved Exeggcute to Exeggutor.

In the next Log, we will take on Sabrina for the 6th Badge. Until the next time, we will see you!