The unwritten rules of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen explained

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen have been around for over 20 years now, and even though they're only ports on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, they can still be someone's introduction to the series or older generations as a whole. In fact, since these are Gen 3 games, they are very different from modern titles in many ways. This includes the fact that the type chart is divided into physical and special types, rather than traits, or the fact that there is no Masuda method and no Shiny Charm to increase shiny odds. Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen don't do tricks, and sometimes you might not know where to look for some secrets, so it's no wonder newcomers can feel lost.

Some new players may not know that the “screen glitch” that occurs when you have a poisoned Pokémon in your party is completely normal and intended, or that you can collect stars and stickers on your Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen trainer cards as a way to customize it. Likewise, it may seem impossible, but you can theoretically beat the Elite Four with Magikarp, Caterpie and other weak animals even if they are your only Pokémon in the party and not fully evolved. There are even more of these profound facts about the Gen 3 Kanto remakes that you may not know, and others that end up being unspoken, universal rules within society.

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Strongest Pokémon in FireRed & LeafGreen (and where to find them)

Want to find the strongest Pokemon in FireRed & LeafGreen? Here is a list of the most powerful species in the game.

Choose Pokemon LeafGreen Over FireRed if you do a Nuzlocke Run

Pokémon Nuzlocke runs are a popular form of unofficial, more challenging mode, where players use a set of rules that limit the number of Pokémon they can catch as well as causing fainted Pokémon to be permanently removed from their party. But if you are looking for the best version of the game to start a Nuzlocke journey, Leaf green is the play:

Pokemon LeafGreen's Starmie exclusive is one of the best Pokemon in the entire game, as it learns a plethora of good attacks (Thunderbolt, Psychic, Ice Beam, Surf), and it also learns Recover to heal itself.
Ninetales is arguably much better than Arcanine as a Fire-type exclusive because it learns Flamethrower at level 29, while you have to delay Growlithe's evolution to level 49 for it to learn Flamethrower (which Arcanine doesn't).
Slowbro is a good choice for water types despite being slow, and it's better than Golduck for Nuzlocke purposes.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Who is that character?

Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.

Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)

Click on the TV box to see gendered movie references in FireRed and LeafGreen

An interesting bit that comes with starting a new game in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen is that you can click on the TV box in the player's home on the first floor to get a brief description of the movie playing. This is the same as i Pokemon Red, Blueand Yellow if you play as a male character, with the reference for Stand by mebut if you're playing as a female character, you get one more reference The Wizard of Oz. After all, clicking on the TV inside the house is something most players do on their first playthroughs.

Other interesting facts include Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen's post-game Unown including the exclamation mark and question mark variants for the first time in the series. You can also press Select (or Y on your Switch or Switch 2) while using Bill's PC to turn the white hand that helps you insert, remove and move Pokemon around into an orange hand, which performs actions faster. Finally, you can get a Potion in the playing character's house before you get your starter.

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen's Thief TM is the most valuable item you get

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreens best move may not include Thief from a raw power perspective, but this move is a great asset you should use as often as possible. This is for two reasons: it's a Dark-type move, which isn't super common in these games, and more importantly, it lets you steal your opponent's item. There aren't many items held in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen for you to find that are also useful in battle, but Thief can help, while giving you a chance to get valuable items to sell. You can steal:

Tiny Mushroom and Big Mushroom from wild Paras in Mt. Moon with Thief, which you can then switch to Move Reminder on Two Islands in Sevii Islands to make a Pokemon learn about a forgotten or skipped move for two Tiny Mushrooms or a Big Mushroom.
Black belts from the trainers in Saffron City's Fighting Dojo.
Poison Barb from Arbok (5% chance of a wild Arbok holding it).
Soft Sand from Sandslash (5% chance of a wild Sandslash holding it).
King's Rock from Poliwhirl, Slowpoke and Slowbro (5% chance of them holding it).
Silver Powder from Venomoth (5% chance of a wild Venomoth holding it).
Magnet from Magneton (5% chance of a wild Magneton holding it).
Sharp Beak from Fearow (5% chance of a wild Fearow holding it).
Spell Tag from Haunter (5% chance of a wild Haunter holding it).
Hard rock from Onix and Graveler (5% chance of them holding it).
Never melt ice from Dewgong (5% chance of a wild Dewgong holding it).
Thick Club from Cubone and Marowak (5% chance they hold it).
Citrus Berry from Raticate (5% chance of a wild Raticate holding it).
Citrus Berry from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen's Elite Four and Champion.

Defeat the Elite Four and enter the Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen's Hall of Fame 200 times

Enter the Elite Four Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen is no joke, as they pack teams of high-level Pokemon with good moves, but many players like to experiment with new challenges for this part of the game. If you're looking for a challenge with the Elite Four, it's a good idea to take on beating them and the champion 200 times, which unlocks two things at once:

Lorelei's house on Four Island will be getting more and more plushies, as she gets one when she's too upset about being beaten. You can unlock:
- Meowth
- Chansey
- Nidoran female
- Nidoran male
- Jigglypuff
- Lapras
Get the highest ranking sticker for defeating the Elite Four from an NPC on Four Island, which occurs after beating the Elite Four and entering the Hall of Fame 200+ times.

Trick Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen for Infinite Safari Zone Time

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreens Safari Zone is timed, but not in the sense of having a cap on how long you can stay inside, but rather in terms of steps. You can only make 600 steps in Safari Zone before the game kicks you out, but you can avoid this with a simple trick: use the D-Pad on your Switch. By lightly pressing the D-Pad while in tall grass, your character will “move” in that direction without expending a step, essentially turning around. However, this still triggers random encounters, meaning you can theoretically stay there as long as you want.