Red (game)

''For the game paired with Pokémon Green Version, see Pokémon Red and Green Versions. For the game paired with Pokémon Blue Version, see Pokémon Red and Blue Versions.''

Red (Japanese: レッド Red) is the canon name of the player character undefined in the Generation I games Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and and the male choice in their Generation III remakes, where his female counterpart is. Prior to Generation II, he was officially referred to as Satoshi (Japanese: ).

Red is known throughout as the from Pallet Town, as well as the living legend for his defeat of Team Rocket in Kanto during his quest. He is the final opponent in the Generation II games, their Generation IV remakes , and. He is a participant in the Pokémon World Tournament's Champions Tournament in and works as a boss of the Battle Tree in the Generation VII games,.

In the games
Red is introduced as a curious 11-year-old (10 in the European releases) boy from Pallet Town. According to the instruction manuals of Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue Versions, Red gained an interest in Pokémon after his best friend,, stopped playing with him and became a bully, although in the games Professor Oak says the two have been rivals since infancy. His adventure begins one day when Professor Oak calls the two to his lab for a starter Pokémon. Red has a choice of a, , or. Depending on the Pokémon that Red chooses, Blue will choose the Pokémon that has a type advantage over it. In, Red was originally intended to get an , which was swiped by Blue. As a result, Blue keeps the Eevee and Red receives a that Professor Oak caught earlier. Blue challenges Red to a battle immediately to test out his new Pokémon, thinking he will easily beat Red.

After Red has made his way to Viridian City to the north and taken a package back to Oak in Pallet Town, Oak gives Red and Blue each a Pokédex with which to record data on all known Pokémon in the Kanto region to fulfill Oak's dream of creating a full guide on all Pokémon in Kanto. From here, Red and Blue journey across Kanto, collecting Pokémon to build up their teams, and defeating each of the Gym Leaders in turn, with Blue always one step ahead, showing up from time to time to impede Red's progress.

Red also comes across a gang of Pokémon thieves, Team Rocket, several times through his journey. He first encounters them trying to steal fossils within Mount Moon. Then he encounters a member who is running the Nugget Bridge challenge to recruit for the organization on ; and another lone member who has stolen a TM from a family in Cerulean City. Eventually, Red uncovers a plot by Team Rocket, infiltrating their hideout beneath the Celadon Game Corner and encountering their boss, Giovanni. Defeating him and ousting Team Rocket from Celadon, Red uses the Silph Scope that Giovanni leaves behind to battle Pokémon and save Mr. Fuji in the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town, who is being held hostage by Team Rocket. Red soon journeys into Saffron City in the heart of Kanto to find it overrun by Team Rocket, who is attempting to take the recently invented Master Ball from the Silph Co. President, and defeats Giovanni again, ending the group's plots for the time being.

With seven Badges in hand, Red encounters Giovanni for the final time—this time as the Leader of the Viridian Gym, his final obstacle before the Elite Four of Indigo Plateau. Red defeats him in battle, earning his eighth and final Badge—the. He disbands Team Rocket, promising to go into solo training to become a better Trainer.

Making it through and finally to Indigo Plateau, Red challenges the Indigo League. First, he defeats the Elite Four and discovers, to his surprise, that Blue has defeated them before him and is therefore the of Kanto. Red defeats Blue in the final battle, becoming the Champion himself, but then continues his training, rather than staying at Indigo Plateau. Encountering an offshoot of Team Rocket in the southern Sevii Islands, lead by Executive Archer, Red reveals with his Earth Badge that Giovanni has disbanded the organization, and, though defeated, the group there intends to revive Team Rocket and bring Giovanni back, having already made plans to force Pokémon to evolve with radio waves.

Red continues as a wandering Trainer, eventually making his way to the caves of Mt. Silver, where he trains his Pokémon alone. In the process, he becomes so distant from the people close to him that he does not even talk to his mom via phone anymore.

Eventually,, , or arrives at Mt. Silver and challenges Red, identified only as a Pokémon Trainer. If defeated, Red vanishes from Mt. Silver, and returns every time the Elite Four is defeated again by the player of Gold, Silver, Crystal, HeartGold, or SoulSilver.

Some time later, Red has been shown to finally come back into public life, as he enters the Champions Tournament of the Pokémon World Tournament in the Unova region. In, a visibly older Red is invited to work as the boss of Alola's Battle Tree along with Blue. When or  first visits the Battle Tree, they will encounter Red and Blue and battle one of them. After Red or Blue is defeated at the Battle Tree proper, Red will reward the player with a full set of Kanto starter Mega Stones.

Red makes an appearance in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. If the player has defeated at least six Master Trainers and has six Pokémon in their party, Red can be found by the Indigo Plateau, where he may be challenged to a battle. Like during all Master Trainer battles, the player isn't allowed to use items from their Bag during this battle. After being defeated, Red will grant the player the title of Battle Master before leaving, though he will reappear for a rematch each time the player defeats the Elite Four.

Red also appears in Pokémon Stadium 2. He can battled in the Kanto Gym Leader Castle after the player has defeated all eight Kanto Gym Leaders, being the final opponent the player must defeat in order to clear the Gym Leader Castle challenge.

Pokémon
As the player character, Red can have on his team any of the 151 Pokémon available during Generation I. In Generation III, he can have any of the 386 Pokémon available at that time, though only after the player has obtained the National Pokédex.

When he is encountered as an opponent in Generation II and Generation IV, Red has a set team, based on Generation I in-game event Pokémon, and has the highest leveled trained Pokémon yet encountered in the series, with his at level 81 in Generation II and at level 88 in Generation IV. In HeartGold and SoulSilver, when he is defeated, all Pokémon in the player's party receive the.

In, he can be fought in the Pokémon World Tournament's Champions Tournament, using the same team he did in Generation IV, albeit with different movesets.

In, Red once again uses his team from Generation IV, just with altered movesets. When battled in the Battle Tree proper, Red will use a randomly selected team from a preset selection of Pokémon.

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Red's team has notable differences to his previous teams, including Pokémon that he's never used in any of his previous NPC appearances.









Red uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles, four in Double and Rotation Battles, and all six in Triple Battles.





First possible battle




Battle Tree
Red uses three of these Pokémon in Single Battles and two in Multi Battles.

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!




Round 1




Round 2




Quotes
Red is portrayed as a silent character, and apart from exclamation points and question marks, his NPC speech consists entirely of.


 * Before battle


 * Upon being defeated


 * After being defeated


 * Before battle


 * Upon being defeated


 * After being defeated


 * Before battle


 * Upon being defeated


 * After being defeated


 * Before battle (all rounds)


 * Upon being defeated


 * If the player is defeated


 * After being defeated


 * After winning


 * In the lobby, after the tournament

Pokémon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon

 * First meeting
 * When first met


 * If the player chooses to battle Red


 * Upon being defeated


 * After being defeated


 * After either he or Blue is defeated


 * Battle Tree (proper)
 * Before battle


 * If the player is defeated


 * Upon being defeated


 * After being defeated, outside


 * Battle Tree (super)
 * Before battle


 * Upon being defeated


 * If the player is defeated

Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!

 * Before battle


 * Upon being defeated


 * After being defeated

Pokémon Stadium 2

 * All quotes

Super Smash Bros. Melee
Red's hat appears as an alternate outfit worn by from Super Smash Bros. Melee onward, possibly in specific reference to Pokémon Yellow Version (which, in turn, was inspired by the anime).

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Red himself appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, named only as "Pokémon Trainer", with a team consisting of, , and. Rather than fighting himself, like the other human characters, Red sends his three Pokémon into battle, switching between them in order. He is voiced by Michele Knotz in the English version and 半場友恵 Tomoe Hanba in the Japanese version.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U
Though Red does not return as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, his Charizard returns as an individual fighter. Instead, Red is featured as a trophy to represent Pokémon Trainers.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Red returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, alongside Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. He is once again referred to by the title of "Pokémon Trainer" and has his Pokémon battle instead of directly fighting. Additionally, is featured as part of his palette swaps, sharing the same title.

In other games
Red makes an appearance in both Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness. While he does not appear in the games' Story Mode, he is playable in the Battle Mode when a FireRed or LeafGreen cartridge is used, with a male player character chosen. He can take on Mt. Battle's 100-battle challenge, as well as compete in Colosseum battles. Red also made a brief appearance in the debut trailer of Pokémon Battle Revolution, having a Double Battle against, using a in its Attack Forme and a. Despite this, he didn't appear in the final cut of the game.

In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring Red's Pokémon in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.

In the TFG
appears as a common Trainer figure in the launch set,, of the Pokémon Trading Figure Game. A recolor of the original figure named, aptly colored with green clothes, appears as a Trainer figure in the expansion.

In the main series
Red's anime counterpart, introduced in the first episode, is the anime's main character, Ash Ketchum. Like Red, Ash is from Pallet Town, on a journey to become a Pokémon Master. Unlike Red, Ash's did not end with Kanto, and Ash has continued through every other region introduced in the core series games, as well as the Orange Archipelago south of Kanto, taking the place of the player characters of Generation II during Johto and Generation V during Unova, and being joined by the anime counterparts of, , and  during the Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kalos sagas. Instead of starting with one of the standard three Kanto starters, however, Ash began his journey with a, inspiring 's creation, as well as causing some to consider Red and Ash to be exactly the same person, most especially due to Red owning as well.

Red has another anime counterpart,, who appeared in I Choose You! and The Power of Us; these s are set in a timeline separate from the main series. This Ash shares the same basic characteristics as the main Ash.

In Pokémon Origins
Red also had a direct counterpart that appeared as the main character of the Pokémon Origins mini-series, which takes place in a separate continuity. This counterpart shared Red's name, in-game role, and design from FireRed and LeafGreen.

In Pokémon Generations
Another direct counterpart of Red appeared in Pokémon Generations. He first appeared in The Adventure, where he a  in Viridian Forest. He then went on to experience various other adventures with his Pikachu across other regions, during which he encountered various and Legendary Pokémon.

Red briefly reappeared at the end of The Challenger, having just defeated the Elite Four at Indigo Plateau, and preparing to challenge for the title of the.

Like in the core series games, Red is not heard speaking during his appearances.

Pokémon

 * When Red caught Pikachu, he was revealed to have already obtained at least two other Pokémon besides Bulbasaur.

Badges obtained
This listing is of the Badges Red has obtained in the Kanto region:
 * At least eight Badges (prior to The Challenger)

In the manga
Red, like most player characters, also has several counterparts in the various Pokémon manga series.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga
is Red's direct counterpart in Pokémon Adventures.

In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga
Red was briefly mentioned in Falkner The Bird Keeper's Challenge!! by Professor Oak, who said that 🇬🇼 looks similar to him. However, due to the manga ending soon after Gold reaching Cianwood City, Red was never seen in the flesh.

In the Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure manga
Red made an appearance in the final chapter of Pocket Monsters HGSS Jō's Big Adventure. He was first mentioned by after Jō's battle with the  Gym Leader. Jō later encountered Red when he reached the top of Mt. Silver, ready to battle him.

In The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga
Red's anime counterpart,, appears in The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga.

In the Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All manga
Shu from Pokémon Gotta Catch 'Em All is based on Red.

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
shares his game counterpart's name and appearance in Pokémon Pocket Monsters.

There is also a character in Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire named who is a rival of Red and is much stronger than him. This character is based on Red's appearance in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

In the Pokémon Zensho manga
from Pokémon Zensho is based on Red.

Trivia

 * In the Official Fan Book of Pocket Monsters (Japanese: ') from 1997, Game Freak teased the supposed appearances of Red, Professor Oak, and Giovanni in the upcoming games. They called Red Satoshi (Japanese: '), the Japanese name of his anime counterpart, which is also the namesake of the creator of the franchise and one of his default names, indicating that this is what they originally intended to call him before settling on the name "Red", one of the two original color versions of the games.
 * 's name was also hardcoded as Satoshi in the 1997 demo of.
 * Red's title screen and profile front sprites from correspond to his earlier Capsule Monsters artwork instead of his final Generation I artwork. His title screen sprite was updated in  but the profile front sprite remained unchanged.
 * In, he has no title screen sprite and his front sprite is updated in part to match his official artwork and possibly in part to match Ash Ketchum, his anime counterpart, as the frontal section of his hat has the same division in the middle as Ash's hat from the.
 * Ash's hat in the of the  was initially designed to be similar to Red's hat from  before undergoing several changes until the final design.
 * Red's party in the Generation II games and is based heavily on in-game events from the Generation I games and :
 * ,, , and are the game mascots of the four Generation I games: Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow. They are also available in all iterations of the original Kanto plot;
 * could have been obtained as an in Celadon City, and Eevee notably serves as 's  in Pokémon Yellow;
 * is given away by a Silph Co. employee shortly before Team Rocket is defeated there;
 * Two are required to be caught or defeated in order to travel to Fuchsia City. Furthermore, in the Generation II games and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, only the Snorlax that was previously blocking  (now blocking the entrance to Diglett's Cave) is available to the undefined, suggesting that Red defeated and caught the one blocking.
 * All of these are also obtainable within Pokémon Yellow:  is obtained as the starter Pokémon; Venusaur can be evolved from the  obtained in Cerulean City; Blastoise can be evolved from the  obtained in Vermilion City; Charizard can be evolved from the  obtained on ; and Snorlax, Eevee, and Lapras can be obtained by the aforementioned in-game events.
 * In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the four game mascots all know their Generation III signature moves: Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise know, and , respectively, while Pikachu knows . Furthermore, his Pikachu's moveset coincides with the four moves that Ash's Pikachu used during the  of the anime: Volt Tackle, , , and.
 * In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, apart from his Venusaur and Blastoise being fully evolved, Red's team is identical to that of Ash Ketchum throughout most of the Orange Islands anime arc (Ash's Bulbasaur and were at the time, and still are presently, in their base forms).
 * At level 88, Red's Pikachu in is the highest-leveled Pokémon owned by a non-player character outside of battle facilities.
 * However, in, the level of Dye's / in Nacrene City is variable and can exceed that of Red's Pikachu, depending on the level of the Pokémon that is traded to her.
 * When Red is encountered at the summit of Mt. Silver during Generation II and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, he has no speech, merely repeating sets of  before beginning the . This is a reference to his silent role in Generation I, as he only answered choice questions like Yes or No. This unique characteristic remains in later generations, especially in the remakes.
 * In, sarcastically calls him a "chatty gossip".
 * Blue also jokes about this in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon.
 * Despite the ellipses before the battle, when talking to in Generation I and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the dialogue is the following:


 * Similarly, after giving Copycat a and receiving TM31 or having her teach  to a compatible  in return, another brief chatter ensues if the player talks to her again:


 * This implies that Red is speaking.


 * Hidden data in the Generation I games reveals placeholder names for Red and :
 * The unused default name for Red in the English Generation I games is Ninten while 's is . While it is impossible to view these names during regular gameplay, changing a few es in can allow for these names to appear as shown here. This references the fact that in the years surrounding the releases of the Generation I games, Sony was Nintendo's main competition.  is also the default name of the main protagonist of, a game developed by Creatures, Inc..
 * In the Japanese Generation I games, the unused default names for Red and Blue differ between and  and then between the latter and  :
 * In Pokémon Red and Green, Red's unused default name is やまぐち Yamaguchi while Blue's is いしはら Ishihara. Yamaguchi refers to Wataru Yamaguchi, an art director that worked on the original games, while Ishihara refers to Tsunekazu Ishihara, the current president and of The Pokémon Company and who was the games' producer at the time.
 * In Pokémon Blue, the unused default names for Red and Blue are, respectively, ゲーフリ Gēfuri, an abbreviation of Game Freak's name in Japanese (ゲームフリーク Gēmu Furīku), and クリチャ Kuricha, a reference to Creatures, Inc.
 * In, Blue's unused default name remained unaltered while Red's was subtly altered by gaining an extra digit (ゲーフリ１).
 * Much like there is minimal information on his 's father, Red's father is mentioned only briefly when examining an at the Celadon Department Store in the Generation I games and.
 * In, Red is the only who uses the  transition effect from Generation II.
 * All of his anime and manga counterparts also own a, excluding from Pokémon Zensho who evolved his one into a.
 * Along with, Lance, and the Generation I and Kanto Gym Leaders (excluding Giovanni and Koga), Red has appeared in almost every generation of the Pokémon games, with six out of seven so far. He is the only protagonist with this feat.
 * Red and Lance share the same unique battle music in Johto-based games and 's Champions Tournament.
 * Red's T-shirt in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon bears the number 96, referencing the original Japanese release year of Pokémon Red and Green.
 * Red is the only protagonist to be fought, as an NPC, outside of the generation he was introduced in. The games being in, , , Pokémon Sun and Moon, Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, and Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
 * As of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, Red is the only protagonist to not be a playable character in the remakes of the generation that he was introduced in.