Tails by the Foxfire

1. Two Free Potions

Money is at a premium at the start of Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green, as you’ll be burning through pokéballs quickly filling out your team, using antidotes to heal the damage-over-time from Weedle’s Poison Sting attack if it manages to apply the poison status effect, and keeping your Pokémon in good shape with potions when you don’t feel like trekking all the way back to the last Pokémon Centre. Those costs add up in the early game, and every little helps. Check these locations to snag yourself two free potions before you even hit Viridian City:

• Check the PC in your bedroom to get a Potion right away
• Talk to the shop employee just outside of Pallet Town for another free potion!

2. Starter Pokémon Difficulty Ranking

As you might’ve guessed when Professor Oak describes each starter as spirited, challenging, or easy to raise, which starter you choose determines how tough the first part of your adventure is going to be. Bulbasaur will make the first two gyms (Brock’s Rock-Type Gym and Misty’s Water-Type Gym) a cakewalk with grass-type moves, Squirtle will make the first gym easy with water moves, and Charmander will be at a type disadvantage in both. However, Pokémon Fire Red/Leaf Green’s addition of Metal Claw at level 13 does improve Charmander’s odds against Brock’s Rock Pokémon.

• Bulbasaur makes Brock’s Rock-Type and Misty’s Water-Type gyms easy with grass moves
• Squirtle gives trainers an early advantage over Brock’s Rock-Type gym
• Charmander is at a disadvantage for the first two gyms, but Metal Claw at level 13 helps out somewhat versus Brock’s rock types.

3. Mom Heals Your Pokémon

Get some easy levels under your belt by running Route 1 between Pallet Town and Viridian City. Mom heals your Pokémon by having you rest every time you talk to her, so Route 1 gives you a nice level grinding spot with a Pokémon Centre on either end.

• Mom heals your Pokémon when you talk to her.
• Level grind on Route 1; Pallet Town and Viridian City give you a Pokémon Centre on each side.

4. Can’t-Miss Pokémon for a Strong Early-Game Team

On your way through Viridian City, hang a left and take the path west towards Route 22. There’ll be a square patch of grass where you can grab yourself a Mankey (fighting type, so a great addition for Brock, especially if you chose Charmander as your starter) and Spearow (a higher-power bird Pokémon than Pidgey that also gets access to flying-type moves sooner). Pass through the grass to the yellow paved road and walk left to trigger a bonus rival battle! He’ll be packing a level 9 Pidgey and his level 9 starter.

You can also find a Pikachu in Viridian Forest, giving your party very useful type diversity in the early game.

• Go left from Viridian City onto Route 22, and find the square patch of grass where you can catch Mankey and Spearow
• Pass through the grass to the yellow-paved road for a rival battle with a level 9 Pidgey and his level 9 starter Pokémon
• Catch Pikachu in Viridian Forest

5. Don’t Skip Trainer Battles

It might feel tempting to skip Trainer Battles in Viridian Forest if you find them to be a hassle, but doing so will leave a nice amount of money and experience on the table. Trainer battles give you more experience than defeating those same Pokémon in the wild, so you won’t want to sleep on these. Got a Pokémon that’s a bit weaker on your team? Keep them in the first slot (on the left) so they enter the battlefield first, then switch in a stronger Pokémon to do the fighting. Both Pokémon will split the experience, helping the weaker one catch up to the rest of your team without having to grind wild Pokémon a whole bunch.

• Don’t skip trainer battles, or you’ll miss out on experience and money.
• Take advantage of the higher experience reward in trainer battles by putting your weakest Pokémon in your first party slot on the left. Swap them out for a stronger Pokémon as soon as the battle starts.

(March 2026 Update: I hit Brock’s gym with a level 9 Squirtle and a level 9 Mankey using this method. These two Pokémon mowed through Brock’s gym trainer, made short work of his Geodude, and then I two-tapped Brock’s level 14 Onix with Squirtle’s Bubble move! I walked out of there with my Mankey sitting at level 10 and Squirtle at level 11 or 12. Mt. Moon, here I come!)