Red

Article by: Gerry Wheatley (The Damned)
Pictured from: Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen
Created by: Game Freak
First appearance: 1996

Bio

Red is the first protagonist of the Pokémon game series. His playable appearances are limited to being the player character in both the original Game Boy games Red, Blue and Yellow, and the Game Boy Advance remakes FireRed and LeafGreen. He also appears as the final trainer atop Mount Silver in Gold, Silver and Crystal, as well as their remakes, HeartGold and SoulSilver. Red also makes cameos in other Nintendo titles, such as Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Red began his journey through his homeland of Kanto, a place of open country and bustling cities. Professor Oak, the leading expert on creatures called Pokémon, enlisted Red to aid his research. Given the task of finding and capturing as many Pokémon as he could, Red headed out onto an adventure of exploration, discovery and action.

Red isn't known for speaking much, instead preferring to converse in simple "Yes" and "No" responses to most characters. Most of the time, the person(s) he is engaged with will simply continue to speak without interruption until they are done. This may make Red seem timid, but the truth is, he is highly skilled in Pokémon battling. Red has easily defeated not only the eight Kanto Gym Leaders, highly skilled trainers specializing in certain types of Pokémon, but also the Elite Four, the highest ranked trainers in the land. Red also single-handedly defeated the criminal organization Team Rocket, trainers who use Pokémon as tools and weapons to spread their influence across the land.

Upon his victory against the Elite Four, he was crowned the Indigo League Champion. Seeking ever higher skill, he trained on top of the vicious, snow-capped peak of Mount Silver, waiting for a challenger worthy enough to reach him. In the sequel games, the player can only face Red after defeating the Gym Leaders of both the Kanto and Johto regions, and the Elite Four. But even then, he has had three years to hone his skills and raise his team, making this battle one of the most difficult of the entire series.

Aside from his vast collection of Pokémon, Red also has access to several useful tools. He has a collapsible bicycle for speedy transportation; a backpack filled with Pokéballs for catching wild Pokémon; Technical and Hidden Machines, devices used to teach Pokémon new attacks; and the exclusive Pokédex, a device that records all known information on any Pokémon that Red encounters and captures. These tools and his highly trained team of Pokémon have allowed him to advance the understanding of Pokémon greatly.

Selected game appearances

Game Boy

• Pokémon Red Version (1996)
• Pokémon Blue Version (1996)
• Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition¹ (1998)

Game Boy Color

• Pokémon Gold Version (1999)
• Pokémon Silver Version (1999)
• Pokémon Crystal Version (2000)

Game Boy Advance

• Pokémon FireRed Version (2004)
• Pokémon LeafGreen Version (2004)

Wii

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)

Nintendo DS

• Pokémon HeartGold Version (2009)
• Pokémon SoulSilver Version (2009)

¹ no ReMixes in database

References

• Bulbapedia - "Red (game)"
• Wikipedia - "List of Pokémon characters - Player characters"