Mewlax’s Professor Oak Challenge Guide

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen

Contents:
1. – The Basics
1.1. – What is a Professor Oak Challenge?
1.2. – Tips on this version
2. – The Guide
2.1. – Pre Badge #1 from Brock
2.2. – Pre Badge #2 from Misty
2.3. – Pre Badge #3 from Koga
2.4. – Pre Badge #4 from Blaine
2.5. – Pre Badge #5 from Erika
2.6. – Pre Badges #6-8 and Elite Four
2.7. – Post Game
3. – The End/Thanks

1. The Basics

1.1. What is a Professor Oak Challenge?

Professor Oak has always had a dream to fill the pokedex, but he’s too old to do it! It’s up to you as a new trainer to
complete that pokedex as much as you can independently by catching, evolving and breeding as many pokemon as
you possibly can. Professor Oak also isn’t getting any younger, so you need to complete that dex as a priority!
Maybe you should put your gym challenge on hold for a while…

In 2018, a Reddit user named Chamale posted updates of a unique challenge on Pokemon Crystal which at the time
didn’t have a name but was referred to as ‘Oak Mode’ or a ‘Professor Oak Run’. I was really intrigued by this style
of gameplay and set out to play this on FireRed, writing a guide as I went along. At the time, I was also looking into
how far you could “Catch ‘Em All” by yourself and also between versions of each generation without transferring
from older games.

The basic concept of the challenge follows these simple rules:

● You have to catch and evolve (or breed) as many pokemon as is possible in the game until a gym badge is
required to proceed or you need to be able to use a HM move that requires a badge. For example, you will
need to fully evolve your starter amongst others before defeating Brock. For parts where gyms can be done
in any order, always get the badge that unlocks the most pokemon (covered in this guide).
 ● You cannot trade with other versions. This means that trade evolutions are off the table, you’ll get no
version exclusives from the other version and you’re stuck with the decisions you make such as your starter
or fossil pokemon. In-game trades are allowed as that NPC is in your version of the game.
● (Optional) – Call yourself ‘Oak’ or ‘Prof. Oak’ for fun.

1.2. Tips on this version

● This is a damn sight easier than playing the original Red and Blue games because of generation 1’s awful
limitations on how few moves a pokemon learned, PC boxes being full, lack of running shoes/Vs Seeker
etc.
● This will be a very grindy challenge. If you don’t think you’ve got the patience, then now would be the
time to back out. The first part of the game alone (before Brock) will take you about 30 hours! It gets less
grindy as the game proceeds, but it will be a long road.
● Learning new moves shouldn’t be taken for granted, particularly with pokemon that evolve at higher levels.
During a normal game you might be quick to replace Charmander’s Scratch with Slash but getting rid of
non-attacking moves is a better strategy here. Again, on the first part of the challenge before Brock, you are
battling low level pokemon and will run out of PP very quickly while that exp bar goes up very slowly.
You need to maximize the amount of pokemon you can defeat, so having multiple attacking moves,
regardless of how weak they are, will be beneficial. You have no need for moves like Growl or Sand
Attack.
● This challenge is a fun alternative to a regular play through and you may really appreciate having to train
pokemon up yourself that you never trained before. On the other hand you may end up despising certain
pokemon due to their inability to attack when you first get them or their generally poor levelling up moves.
● It’s not really a rule, but my preferred method is that you train them yourself except when they can’t battle
themselves (i.e. Magikarp before it learns Tackle). This is all down to your own limitations that you set. I
don’t like using Rare Candy anymore as it defeats the purpose of the challenge and I don’t like using any
exp sharing items. But remember that this is YOUR challenge so feel free to add or remove restrictions as
you see fit.
● Please note that this is not a full guide to the game, I am only listing the pokemon you can catch at the
earliest opportunities and any required items. I do not go into full detail on optimal exp gains or where to
find the highest level for an individual pokemon etc. This playthrough and guide were done as a casual play
rather than a speed run. Please consult other guides for a full walkthrough or more detailed information.

2. The Guide
Part 1 - Pre Badge #1 from Brock

Pokemon in this section:

Choices (pick one starter):

 / /
This first part will cover everything you can do BEFORE you get that first badge from Brock. This is probably the
most daunting part of the challenge…

Pallet Town -
Starting off in your hometown, you’ll soon be given the chance to grab your first starter pokemon. Knowing that I’d
need to evolve my starter twice, I picked Charmander who would be the easiest pokemon to grind with in the early
routes of the game. Squirtle and Bulbasaur are fine, but I anticipated a much harder struggle against the Viridian
Forest bugs with grass type moves. I don’t know if they fixed the glitch from RBY where your starter wouldn’t
register if you evolved it prior to getting the pokedex, so rather than chance it, go to Viridian City, grab the parcel
from the Pokemart, deliver it to Professor Oak and grab that important pokedex and some pokeballs to go with it.
You can now evolve:

● Bulbasaur-->Lv. 16-->Ivysaur-->Lv. 32-->Venusaur

OR
● Charmander-->Lv. 16-->Charmeleon-->Lv. 36-->Charizard
OR
● Squirtle-->Lv. 16-->Wartortle-->Lv. 36-->Blastoise

You’re not honestly expected to do this right now, you have all the time in the world…well, right up until you need
to beat Brock. This will likely be one of the last pokemon you’ll evolve in this first section.

Route 1 –
Only two pokemon to catch and evolve here:

● Pidgey-->Lv. 18-->Pidgeotto-->Lv. 36-->Pidgeot

● Rattata-->Lv. 20-->Raticate

Route 22 –
Pass through Viridian City and go West to Route 22 where you can catch:

● Mankey-->Lv. 28-->Primeape

● Spearow-->Lv. 20-->Fearow

Catch another Spearow for a trade later on. You can battle your rival here should you need to battle a trainer that
gives a bit more experience than wild Pokémon. Your starter or Pidgey/Pidgeotto could use it.

Viridian Forest –
Back into Viridian City, head north this time and skip over Route 2 to Viridian Forest.

● Caterpie-->Lv. 7-->Metapod-->Lv. 10-->Butterfree

● Weedle-->Lv. 7-->Kakuna-->Lv. 10-->Beedrill

● Pikachu

You can’t get a Thunderstone at this point in the game so that Pikachu will stay unevolved for now.

Pewter City –
You can enter Pewter City but can’t advance until you get your first badge.

Levelling up tips –
This will be the longest part of your challenge and is made even more painful without the Running Shoes or the Vs
Seeker. The real killers are getting that fully evolved starter and Pidgeot. You can either continuously battle using
the same pokemon until it runs out of PP or maybe level each pokemon in your team once and switch to make it less
tedious. Once you are able to OHKO Weedle, you don’t need to worry about being poisoned and can endure many
more battles. Pikachu is a rare encounter so you may want to consider fleeing from them to avoid being paralyzed
by its Static ability. As mentioned earlier, definitely prioritize attacking moves over non attack moves. For some
extra experience, go defeat the trainers in the gym, just make sure you don’t talk to Brock until you’ve maxed out
the dex for this part.

End of part 1:
Caught 19, Remaining 132

Part 2 - Pre Badge #2 from Misty

Pokemon in this section:

FireRed Exclusive:

LeafGreen Exclusive:

Take on Brock with your fearsome team and get that first badge. You can finally leave through the eastern exit of
Pewter City.

Route 3 –
Now that you don’t need any experience, lots of trainers will be waiting for you! Try to skip as many as you can so
you can come back with new pokemon. Past the trainers you will find some patches of grass to catch:

● Nidoran F-->Lv. 16-->Nidorina

● Nidoran M-->Lv. 16-->Nidorino

● Jigglypuff

All three pokemon will need a moon stone to evolve which we can obtain shortly.

Route 4 –
Go north from Route 3 and buy a Magikarp from the salesman in the pokemon center. Bait and switch Magikarp on
the trainers on Route 3 for some help levelling it up.

● Magikarp-->Lv. 20-->Gyarados

Mt Moon –
Be cautious about proceeding through the cave too fast, there is a point of no return which will make or break the
success of this challenge. Once you leave the cave and hop over the ledge on the other side, you won’t be able to get
back without another badge, therefore failing the challenge. In the cave you can catch:

● Zubat-->Lv. 22-->Golbat

● Geodude-->Lv. 25-->Graveler

● Paras-->Lv. 24-->Parasect

● Clefairy

With the national dex restrictions you won’t be able to evolve Golbat into Crobat so don’t waste your time. You
may want to keep it in your team as its happiness will increase if you walk lots with it in your party which you will
be doing! Graveler also won’t EVER be able to evolve into Golem since you can’t trade. Catching Clefairy
completes your set for moon stone evolution pokemon but at this point in time you won’t have any. You’ll need four
Moon Stones in total. There are two moon stones inside Mt Moon. One is a standard item to pick up, the other is
invisible. You’ll find it in the narrow alcove on the right just before you pick up the fossils. To get the remaining
two Moon Stones you need, these can be found as hold items on Clefairy but there’s only a 5% chance of it holding
one. You can either catch them and hope for the best or you can pick up the TM for Thief in Mt Moon and can get
them by stealing them from wild Clefairy. With all four moon stones you can evolve:

● Jigglypuff-->Moon Stone-->Wigglytuff

● Clefairy-->Moon Stone-->Clefable

● Nidorina-->Moon Stone-->Nidoqueen

● Nidorino-->Moon Stone-->Nidoking

Pick up one of the fossils on your way out.

Route 4 –
If you’re confident you’ve caught Geodude, Clefairy, Zubat, Paras and obtained four Moon Stones, you can finally
leave the cave. In the patch of grass you can catch:

● (FR) Ekans-->Lv. 22-->Arbok

● (LG) Sandshrew-->Lv. 22-->Sandslash

Route 24 –
Enter Cerulean City and once you’re healed up, go north to route 24.

● Abra-->Lv. 16-->Kadabra

● (FR) Oddish-->Lv. 21-->Gloom

● (LG) Bellsprout-->Lv. 21-->Weepinbell

Catch a second Abra for a trade later on. For FireRed players you could also technically catch another Oddish and
evolve it in preparation for post-game into Bellossom but you can catch wild Gloom later on so don’t worry too
much. Continue east and go to Bill’s house where you can get the SS Ticket.

Route 5 –
Go back to Cerulean City but forget the Cerulean Gym. We can come back later. Go through the burgled house to
go south to route 5. Here you’ll find:

● Meowth-->Lv. 28-->Persian

Vermilion City –
Go through the underground tunnel on Route 5, skip the next route as there’s nothing new and go south to Vermilion
City. In one of the houses you can trade your spare Spearow for:

● Farfetch’d

Also pick up the bike voucher from the fan club’s president. In the pokemon center you can grab a Vs Seeker. This
will be your best friend for the remainder of the game for levelling up against the same pokemon over and over!

Route 11 –
Go east from Vermilion City to Route 11 and catch:

● Drowzee-->Lv. 26-->Hypno

Diglett Cave –
Take your spare Abra with you through Diglett Cave. You want to leave through the far exit. On the way, catch a
Diglett.

● Diglett-->Lv. 26-->Dugtrio

You can either evolve one or catch a wild Dugtrio.

Route 2 –
Leave the north exit in Diglett Cave and enter the house to trade your Abra for a Mr. Mime.

● Mr. Mime

SS Anne –
Go back to Vermilion City and clear the SS Anne to get the HM for Cut. There’s nothing more you can do without
the badge to use Cut which is by beating Misty in Cerulean City.

Levelling Tips:
Use that Vs Seeker like mad. North of Vermilion there’s a bug catcher with a Butterfree that gives good exp.
Otherwise the areas between Cerulean City and Bill’s house are great for the Vs Seeker as there are so many
clustered trainers for multiple rematches.

End of part 2:
Caught 51, Remaining 100

Part 3 - Pre Badge #3 from Koga

Pokemon in this section:
FireRed Exclusive:

LeafGreen Exclusive:

Choices (Pick on Eevee evolution):

/ /
Choices (Pick on Fighting Dojo reward):

/
Defeat Misty and get that Cascade Badge and the ability to use Cut. Whilst you’re in Cerulean City, exchange the
bike voucher for a bike. You’ll need it for Cycling Road. Like the original games, there’s no need to defeat Lt Surge
as this only gives you access to Fly so we can skip this gym until it’s time for the Elite Four! There is a LOT open to
you at this point before considering another badge and you have almost the entirety of Kanto accessible.

Route 4/Pewter City -

Go back through Diglett Cave and use Cut on Route 4 to get the HM for Flash and get the Old Amber from the side
entrance of the Pewter City Museum.

Route 9/Route 10 -
East of Cerulean City, cut the tree down and pass through route 9 to go to route 10. The patch of grass by the water
contains a new pokemon.

● Voltorb-->Lv. 30-->Electrode

Rock Tunnel –
Flash will be helpful but isn’t essential. In the tunnel you can catch:

● Machop-->Lv. 28-->Machoke

● Onix
Route 8 –
Pass through Lavender Town and go West to route 8. The only new pokemon here is another version exclusive.

● (FR) Growlithe

● (LG) Vulpix

Celadon City –
Go through the tunnel to Celadon City. Here you can pick up:

● Eevee

● Porygon

Eevee can be found in the back entrance of one of the tall buildings. The Game Corner has a few pokemon, some of
which will be in the safari zone so we won’t buy them here (they can still be caught before getting the next badge).
Porygon is the only one you will have to buy. Using the VS Seeker for rematches is a good way to get the cash to
exchange for coins (9999 in FR, 6500 in LG). Go to Celadon Department Store and buy stones to evolve some of
your pokemon:

● Pikachu-->Thunder Stone-->Raichu

● Eevee--> Fire/Thunder/Water Stone--->Flareon/Jolteon/Vaporeon

● (FR) Growlithe-->Fire Stone-->Arcanine

● (LG) Vulpix-->Fire Stone-->Ninetales

● (FR) Gloom-->Leaf Stone-->Vileplume

● (LG) Weepinbell-->Leaf Stone-->Victreebel

From now on, every time you catch a pokemon that needs a stone, come back here to buy one. While you’re in
Celadon, clear out the Rocket Hideout at the Game Corner to obtain the Silph Scope.

Route 16 –
Head West to Route 16 and use Cut to access the grass to catch a Doduo.

● Doduo-->Lv. 31-->Dodrio

Lavender Town –
Return to Lavender Town and rescue Mr. Fuji from Pokemon Tower. With the Silph Scope you can catch the
pokemon here.

● Gastly-->Lv. 25-->Haunter

● Cubone-->Lv. 28-->Marowak

As a reward for saving Mr. Fuji you’ll get the pokeflute. Head south from Lavender Town and catch Snorlax.

● Snorlax

Route 12 –
Continue south past Snorlax and enter the house to get the Super Rod.
Fuschia City -
Catch the other Snorlax West of Celadon and go down Cycling Road to get to Fuschia City where you can pick up a
Good Rod.

Fishing Spree and Completing Trades-

Touring through Kanto again with the Good Rod and Super Rod you can catch and evolve a multitude of pokemon:

● (FR) Shellder-->Water Stone-->Cloyster (Super Rod – Pallet Town)

● (LG) Staryu-->Water Stone-->Starmie (Super Rod – Pallet Town)

● Horsea-->Lv. 32-->Seadra (Good Rod – Pallet Town)

● (FR) Psyduck-->Lv. 33-->Golduck (Super Rod – Viridian City)

● (LG) Slowpoke-->Lv. 37-->Slowbro (Super Rod – Viridian City)

● Poliwag-->Lv. 25-->Poliwhirl-->Water Stone-->Poliwrath (Good Rod – Viridian City)

● Goldeen-->Lv. 33-->Seaking (Good Rod – Viridian City)

● Krabby-->Lv. 28-->Kingler (Good Rod – Pallet Town)

● Grimer-->Lv. 38-->Muk (Super Rod - Celadon City)

Catching Grimer is the killer here as it only has a 1% chance of being fished in the small pool of water in Celadon
City. Grimer can’t be caught otherwise until after the next badge. Catch an additional Poliwhirl and
Golduck/Slowbro (or use the Golduck/Slowbro you’ve evolved) to complete two trades. One in Cerulean City
(Poliwhirl for Jynx) and at the gatehouse on Route 18 (Golduck/Slowbro for Lickitung)

● Jynx

● Lickitung

Route 14 and 15 –
East of Fuschia City on routes 14 and 15 you can find Ditto and Venonat. These are the last standard wild
encounters for this portion of the challenge.

● Ditto

● Venonat-->Lv. 31-->Venomoth

Safari Zone –
You may have to go here several times! Pick up the HM for Surf and the Gold Teeth so you can trade for the
Strength HM. For catching pokemon, you’ll be obtaining:

● Dratini-->Lv. 30-->Dragonair-->Lv. 55-->Dragonite

● Exeggcute-->Leaf Stone-->Exeggutor

● Rhyhorn-->Lv. 42-->Rhydon

● Chansey

● (FR) Scyther

● (LG) Pinsir

● Tauros
 ● Kangaskhan

In Area 1, fish in the water with the Super Rod for Dratini. The last four in this list will give you a headache…
Scyther/Pinsir is best found in Area 1, Kangaskhan in Area 2, Chansey in Area 3 and Tauros in Area 4. All have a
4% encounter rate in those areas and also have low capture rates which may really frustrate you!

Saffron City –
You can beat the Dojo and get either Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan.

● Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan

You can also clear out Silph Co and get the Lapras from the Silph employee.

● Lapras

Now it’s finally time to get another badge! Did you ever imagine you could complete two thirds of the pokedex with
only two badges???

Levelling Tips –
Getting that Dragonite will certainly be a difficult task. Consider teaching it Surf to avoid wasting a TM. There is a
Hiker outside Rock Tunnel on the Lavender Town side that you can battle repeatedly with the Vs Seeker. This is a
great way to level up water and grass types with minimal effort. The bikers in a big cluster on cycling road are also a
great option for repeated encounters.

End of part 3:
Caught 103, Remaining 48

Part 4 - Pre Badge #4 from Blaine

Pokemon in this section:

FireRed Exclusive:

Choices (Revive one fossil):

/
You can pick between Lt. Surge, Sabrina, Koga and Erika at this point. The former two won’t unlock any useful
HMs while the latter do. However, Erika’s Strength won’t actually be used anywhere without Surf, which is why
Koga is your next badge. Surf pretty much anywhere (especially sea routes) to catch Tentacool.

● Tentacool-->Lv. 30-->Tentacruel

Power Plant –
Surf to the Power Plant where you can catch:
 ● Magnemite-->Lv. 30-->Magneton

● (FR) Electabuzz

● Zapdos

Yes, you are really catching a legendary pokemon with only three badges :)

Pallet Town –
The patch of grass south of Pallet Town can now be reached with Surf where you’ll catch Tangela.

● Tangela

Cinnabar Island –
You can finally Surf to Cinnabar Island. Visit the lab to revive the fossil from Mt Moon and the Old Amber from
Pewter City.

● Aerodactyl

● Kabuto/Omanyte-->Lv. 40-->Kabutops/Omastar

In Pokemon Mansion, the only new pokemon you can catch is Koffing. Also grab the key to the gym while you’re
here.

● Koffing-->Lv. 35-->Weezing

Seafoam Island –
Surf east from Cinnabar to Seafoam Island where you’ll only be able to catch Seel for now.

● Seel-->Lv. 34-->Dewgong

There are no more pokemon to catch without more badges so this was a short section!

Levelling Tips –
Use the same tips from the previous section as you haven’t really opened up many areas that are decent for training.

End of part 4:
(FireRed) Caught 117, Remaining 34
(LeafGreen) Caught, 116, Remaining 35

Part 5 - Pre Badge #5 from Erika

Pokemon in this section:

Defeating Blaine will let you go to the first few Sevii Islands where you can catch 2 more pokemon while defeating
Erika to use Strength only lets you catch one, so defeat Blaine for your fourth badge. When you leave the gym
you’ll be whisked away to One Island.

One Island –
Surf east and then north to Kindle Road and catch Ponyta.
 ● Ponyta-->Lv. 40-->Rapidash

There’s nothing further you can do without Strength so this was even quicker than the last section...

End of part 5:
(FireRed) Caught 119, Remaining 32
(LeafGreen) Caught 118, Remaining 33

Part 6 – Pre Badges #6-8 and the Elite Four

Pokemon in this section:

LeafGreen Exclusive:

Defeating Erika now gives you Strength.

Go to Seafoam Island and catch Articuno.
Go back to One Island and go to Mt Ember and catch Magmar in the grass outside if you’re playing LeafGreen and
Moltres atop the mountain.

● Articuno

● (LG) Magmar

● Moltres

There are no more pokemon to catch until post-game!

End of part 6:
Caught 121, Remaining 30

Part 7 - Post Game

Pokemon in this section:

FireRed Exclusive:

LeafGreen Exclusive:

Choices (Remaining Hitmon and Eeveelutions)

/ /
/
Choices (One roaming beast):

/ /
Since you can’t catch any more pokemon in Kanto right now, your Pokemon League challenge can continue in full
swing. Defeat Lt Surge, Sabrina and Giovanni for the last badges and then march up to the pokemon league and kick
the Elite Four’s butts. After the credits roll, Professor Oak will ask you if you’ve caught 60 pokemon. Once you’ve
finished laughing about how much you’ve smashed that milestone, he’ll give you the National Pokedex which
records up to the current number of pokemon in this generation – 386. Since there are no badges to obtain, you can
theoretically complete the events in the remainder of the guide in any order you please. But before we embark on the
National Dex, let’s focus on completing the entries in the Kanto Dex.

Cerulean Cave –
Note that this can’t be done until you’ve done the Ruby/Sapphire quest on Sevii Islands. Leave Cerulean City from
the north exit, cross Nugget Bridge and then Surf along the river to reach Cerulean Cave. Deep inside you’ll find the
150th pokemon, Mewtwo. I’d recommend NOT using the Master Ball for this encounter, a far more deserving
pokemon with potential challenge-breaking mechanics would be more beneficial. Mewtwo is Lv. 70 so bring your
best ‘mons or come back later.

● Mewtwo

Four Island –
Go back to One Island and talk to Celio in the pokemon center who will give you his pass to get to the other Sevii
Islands and start the Ruby/Sapphire quest. Take the ferry to Four Island where you can access the breeding center.
Breed your Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan with Ditto to get a Tyrogue which you can evolve into the one you didn’t pick.
You can do the same with Eevee and evolve it into the other two Eeveelutions.

● Tyrogue-->Lv. 20-->Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan (depending on its stats)

● Eevee-->Fire/Thunder/Water Stone--->Flareon/Jolteon/Vaporeon
That’s as far as your Kanto dex can go!

Extra Evolutions -
With the National Dex in hand, some of your Kanto pokemon can evolve further! Two happiness evolutions and a
stone evolution if you’re playing FireRed. The Sun Stone can be found in Ruin Valley on Six Island. There is no
clock or day/night system so evolving Eevee into Espeon and Umbreon is not possible in these games.

● Chansey-->Happiness-->Blissey

● Golbat-->Happiness-->Crobat

● (FR) Gloom-->Sun Stone-->Bellossom

A bunch of other pokemon can breed with Ditto to hatch some baby pokemon and you can evolve another Tyrogue
to get the last Hitmon for your collection:

● Tyrogue-->Lv. 20 (attack=defense)-->Hitmontop

● Breed Pikachu/Raichu-->Pichu

● Breed Clefairy/Clefable-->Cleffa

● Breed Jigglypuff/Wigglytuff-->Igglybuff

● Breed Jynx-->Smoochum

● (FR) Breed Electabuzz-->Elekid

● (LG) Breed Magmar-->Magby

One Island –
Return to Mt Ember and you can exit a new area guarded by Team Rocket. Inside this cave you’ll encounter
Slugma. Grab the gem at the end and return it to Celio.

● Slugma-->Lv. 38-->Magcargo

Three Island –
Straight off the ferry on Three Island, go through the nearby cave to find a patch of grass containing only one
pokemon:

● Dunsparce

Four Island –
Surf in the lake to find Wooper, while Delibird/Sneasel and Swinub can be found within Icefall Cave (don’t forget
the Waterfall HM and use it to fight Team Rocket to help unlock a pokemon later)

● (FR) Wooper-->Lv. 20-->Quagsire

● (LG) Marill-->Lv. 18-->Azumarill

● (FR) Delibird

● (LG) Sneasel

● Swinub-->Lv. 33-->Piloswine

Five Island –
First go east to Five Island Meadow to catch Sentret and use the Super Rod there to catch Qwilfish (FR) or
Remoraid (LG). North of the harbor you can Surf to encounter Hoppip on the water. In the western part of the water
route you can find a man who will give you a Togepi egg if you show him a happy pokemon. In the north east part
of the island, Murkrow/Misdreavus can be found in Lost Cave in the rooms that have items in them. Pick up the Sea
and Lax Incense while you’re here.

● Hoppip-->Lv. 18-->Skiploom-->Lv. 27-->Jumpluff

● Sentret-->Lv. 15-->Furret

● (FR) Qwilfish

● (LG) Remoraid-->Lv. 25-->Octillery

● Togepi-->Happiness-->Togetic

● (FR) Murkrow

● (LG) Misdreavus

With the Sea Incense, attach it to a Marill and breed it to get Azurill if you’re playing LeafGreen.

● (LG) Marill/Azumarill-->Breed (holding Seas Incense)-->Azurill

Six Island –
Go to Ruin Valley and catch a few Johto pokemon. Make sure you investigate Dotted Hole (use Cut to open the
door) and allow the Team Rocket Scientist to steal the gem.

● Yanma

● Natu-->Lv. 25-->Xatu

● Wobbuffet

Then go to the North side of Six Island to Pattern Bush where a few bug types are waiting for you:

● Spinarak-->Lv. 22-->Ariados

● Ledyba-->Lv. 18-->Ledian

● Heracross

Go and breed with Wobbuffet with a Lax Incense:

● Wobbuffet-->Breed (holding Lax Incense)-->Wynaut

Seven Island –
The last of the Sevii Islands. Go south to Canyon Entrance and catch Phanpy. Further South in Sevault Canyon,
catch a Larvitar and a Skarmory (FireRed).

● Phanpy-->Lv. 25-->Donphan

● Larvitar-->Lv. 30-->Pupitar-->Lv. 55-->Tyranitar

● (FR) Skarmory
Solve the boulder puzzles in the cave in Sevault Canyon to unlock Tanoby Ruins will let you catch Unown. Surfing
outside will get you a Mantine if you’re playing LeafGreen.

● Unown

● (LG) Mantine

Finally, after clearing out Team Rocket and updating the trade system to allow trades with Ruby and Sapphire
(which we’re not using), go back to Kanto where you can find one of the roaming beasts. Suicune if you picked
Charmander, Raikou for Squirtle or Entei for Bulbasaur. THIS is the encounter you wanted to save the Master Ball
for. There is a glitch in which the pokemon could use Roar and never be encountered again.

● Raikou
OR
● Entei
OR
● Suicune

And with the roaming beast caught, that’s the end of the challenge! That’s the most number of pokemon you can
possibly catch on your own.

Levelling Tips –
Honestly, anywhere on the Sevii Islands is a great place to train with the Vs Seeker. One of my favourite spots was
outside the hot springs on One Island. They all used fighting types but it was the ease of going to the hot spring to
heal and then by the time you’re back outside, the Vs Seeker was recharged. The hikers on Seven Island are also
great for high level pokemon. You can also rematch the Elite Four who have higher levels than before.

End of the challenge:

(Both Versions) Kanto Dex Caught 125, Remaining 26
(FireRed) National Dex Caught 170, Remaining 216
(LeafGreen) National Dex Caught 171, Remaining 215

So who’s missing?
Choices (10)
With only one game we are unable to get the remaining two starters and their evolution lines, the remaining fossil
line and the other two roaming legendaries.

/ /
/
/ /
Trade Evolutions (10):
Without being able to trade with other versions, some pokemon simply cannot be obtained due to the nature of their
evolution methods.
Version Exclusives:
As with all pokemon games, some pokemon are exclusive to particular versions.
FireRed players will be missing (22):

LeafGreen players will be missing (21):

The remaining Johto pokemon (37):

These guys are simply either found in another version (e.g. Emerald, Colosseum etc) in most cases. Because of the
lack of an internal clock, Espeon and Umbreon cannot be obtained either.

Mythical pokemon (4):

Not available in game without attending events for the pokemon or their respective items to unlock them in game.
Due to how Ho-Oh and Lugia are captured in generation 3, they are classified as mythicals in this game!

The remaining Hoenn pokemon (133):

I won’t add the sprites here but basically everything from the Hoenn region aside from Wynaut and Azurill (with
Azurill already listed above as a LeafGreen version exclusive) is unobtainable. Hoenn mythicals are included as part
of this number.
 3. The End/Thanks
A huge thank you to Reddit user Chamale for first inspiring me to play this challenge way back in 2018. I usually
play a pokemon game by catching every pokemon on a route but never evolve them all (unless they’re on my team)
until post-game. Since doing several POCs over the years I've truly appreciated the journey and the community that
has grown as the challenge has had its voice heard. And a special thanks to Johnstone and Chaotic Meatball for
making our Reddit so much more popular!

If you would like to add any comments/thoughts/advice on improving this guide such as levelling tips, please drop
me a message on Reddit u/mewlax84.

Until next time!

Social Media Plug:

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Reddit profile: mewlax84 (u/mewlax84) - Reddit