__________ __ \______ \____ | | __ ____ _____ ____ ____ | ___/ _ \| |/ // __ \ / \ / _ \ / \ | | ( <_> ) <\ ___/| Y Y ( <_> ) | \ |____| \____/|__|_ \\___ >__|_| /\____/|___| / \/ \/ \/ \/ Y E L L O W E D I T I O N Speed Run Walkthrough Version 2.21 Created: May 4, 2005 Edited: February 24, 2009 Author: David Kim (DTaeKim) E-Mail: lookingglass1103@hotmail.com Copyright 2005-2009 by David Kim This walkthrough may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site other than gamefaqs.com or distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. =============================================================================== TABLE OF CONTENTS 0.0.0) INTRODUCTION 1.0.0) BASIC INFORMATION 1.1.0) EFFECT OF DVs 2.0.0) WALKTHROUGH 2.0.1) PALLET TOWN TO ROUTE 2 2.0.2) ROUTE 2 TO PEWTER CITY GYM 2.0.3) PEWTER CITY GYM TO MT. MOON 2.0.4) MT. MOON TO CERULEAN CITY GYM 2.0.5) CERULEAN CITY GYM TO VERMILLION CITY GYM 2.0.6) VERMILLION CITY GYM TO ROCK TUNNEL 2.0.7) ROCK TUNNEL TO POKEMON TOWER 2.0.8) POKEMON TOWER TO SILPH CO. 2.0.9) SILPH CO. TO SAFFRON CITY GYM 2.1.0) SAFFRON CITY GYM TO FUSCHIA CITY GYM 2.1.1) FUSCHIA CITY GYM TO CINNABAR ISLAND GYM 2.1.2) CINNABAR ISLAND GYM TO VIRIDIAN CITY GYM 2.1.3) VIRIDIAN CITY GYM TO INDIGO PLATEAU 2.1.4) LORELEI TO AGATHA 2.1.5) AGATHA TO LANCE 2.1.6) LANCE TO GARY 2.1.7) GARY TO THE END 9.0.0) CREDITS 9.9.9) VERSION HISTORY =============================================================================== 0.0.0) INTRODUCTION =============================================================================== Hello all. This is my first FAQ on GameFAQs. It is a niche FAQ, but it should serve its purpose well. This is the result of a topic on the forum of the Speed Demos Archives. Initially thought to be rather difficult to speed run, I attempted the challenge. My first run through finished with a time of 3 hours and 58 minutes, but with the advice and information submitted by others, I have streamlined it to a time of well below 3 hours. Let's begin, shall we? =============================================================================== 1.0.0) BASIC INFORMATION =============================================================================== There are several changes between Red/Blue and Yellow. Here are the major ones. - Introduction is a little longer, due to the additional scenes of catching Pikachu and Gary's whining. - The old man catching the Ratatta can't be skipped. - One additional trainer in Viridian Forest (has one of each Nidoran). - Brock is two levels lower than in R/B. - All Rocket trainers right before Giovanni have been replaced by Team Rocket's pokemon (Ekans/Arbok, Koffing/Weezing, Meowth). - Surge has one Raichu at Lvl. 28. - Erika has Tangela, Weepinbell, and Gloom instead at 30, 32, and 32 respectively. - Koga has 3 Venonats and 1 Venomoth, at 44, 46, 48, and 50 respectively. - Sabrina has Abra, Kadabra, and Alakazam all at Lvl. 50. - Blaine has Level 48 Ninetales, Level 50 Rapidash, and Level 54 Arcanine. - Giovanni has Level 50 Dugtrio, 53 Persian and Nidoqueen, 55 Rhydon and Nidoking - Some Pokemon learn moves earlier (Nidoran Male with Double Kick at 12). - Pikachu has an entirely unique movepool (which I don't use). We'll be using Nidoking for this walkthrough. Pikachu is just weak, period. Besides, he can't even get past Brock. No deus ex machina here. Nidoking is the best for because he has a large movepool and has the capability of using Horn Drill and Fissure. These moves are vital, especially for the Elite Four. Saves are limited, since they use up a valuble four seconds of your time. I'll be instructing you where to save, though you are free to save at additional places should you feel the need to do so. On that note, using Pokemon Centers (PC) is kept to a minimum. I'll tell you when to use one. We'll also be skipping a lot of items, but the walkthrough will detail what you need. Avoid trainers unless I say otherwise. If you are forced into fighting a trainer, walk directly in front of them. I will state the number of trainers that are required. I assume that you will take the shortest path from point A to point B. I'll provide strategies on significant battles. The game clock is accurate. It does run during menu selection and keeps track of seconds as well. This second fact is not obvious at first, but if your time seems to jump by a minute when you save and when you reload, this is the reason. My run has my time jump from 1:21 to 1:22 at one segment. Luck is a significant factor here, unfortunately. There are times where a critical hit speeds up battles and times where the opponent does not select the desired moves. In the beginning especially, random battles may not go in your favor. You can make additional saves to account for this, but I chose not to. In the end, it's your call. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1.1.0) EFFECT OF DVs DVs (Diversification Values) are the reason why Pokemon of the same level and species are not unique. A number is randomly assigned to each Pokemon and their stat, from 0 to 15. A 0 indicates the lowest possible value of that stat, while a 15 indicates the highest possible value. With five possible stats in Pokemon Yellow (HP/ATK/DEF/SPD/SPC), there is a chance that your Nido may be weaker or stronger than normal. This is the greatest variable in this speed run. While for the most part, this variation in stats is barely noticable, in certain battles, the DVs play a significant role. In trainer battles, a low DV in ATK can mean the difference between a OHKO and a 2HKO. This especially is irritating in trainer battles, where a low DV in ATK can mean that a OHKO becomes a 2HKO, prolonging the battle. There is little you can do to compensate for this, except hope for the best when you catch that Nidoran Male. Either that, or shark the desired DVs, but that wouldn't be fair now, would it? =============================================================================== 2.0.0) WALKTHROUGH =============================================================================== 2.0.1) PALLET TOWN TO ROUTE 2 Description: The segment ends after you purchase the items so you don't have to run through the introduction again. < Pallet Town > Required Trainers: 1 Before beginning the game, enter the Options menu. Change Battle Style to Shift, Text Message to Fast, and Battle Animation to Off. All three are necessary because you will be spending a lot of time in battles. Naming your character DOES take time, but you can go ahead and customize it if you want. I named the main character Ash and the rival Gary. I will be using these names in the walkthrough. When you gain control of your character, immediately head to your computer. Activate it, and withdraw the Potion. Leave Ash's house and enter the tall grass to activate the cutscene. Progress through the cutscene until you fight Gary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 1: Gary Pikachu's Level: 5 Pokemon ------- Eevee - Lvl. 5 Use Pikachu's Thundershock. You MUST win this battle; the extra level is helpful in training Nidoran Male (called Nido from this point forward) in the future. Using the Potion is all right; you will buy more at the Pokemon Mart. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leave Professor Oak's Lab and head north. < Route 1 > Ignore the person that gives you the free Potion. Fight every random battle you encounter though; it's important especially for Nido later on. Enter Viridian City. < Viridian City > Head straight to the Pokemon Mart and get Oak's Parcel. Return to Pallet Town by the hedges; it saves time. < Pallet Town, 2nd Visit > Give Oak's Parcel to Prof. Oak. Endure the text and return to Viridian City. Pikachu may be on Level 7 when you arrive here. It is manageable to be on level 6, but training Nidoran will be slightly more difficult. You'll have to pick and choose your battles. < Viridian City, 2nd Visit > Head straight to the Mart and buy 5 Potions and 2 Pokeballs. If you used a Potion in the Eevee battle, buy another one to compensate for it. Leave town through the north exit and endure the old man and his "explanation." Enter Route 2. Skip the hidden potion in the bush; you don't need it. < Route 2 > Head to the grassy area right before Viridian Forest. Save here. MY TIME - 0:07 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.2) ROUTE 2 TO PEWTER CITY GYM Description: The most luck-intensive segment of the run. Luck is a major factor in catching Nidoran and Pidgey in due time. < Route 2 > A Nidoran Male is catchable here, but it's somewhat rare. Catch one and a Pidgey, then enter Viridian Forest. < Viridian Forest > Items to obtain: Potion x2 Required Trainers: 1 From the tree, head west. There should be a Lass in the grass. Fight her. She will have a Level 6 Nidoran Male and Female. Switch Pikachu for Nido and defeat her both times. You'll switch in Nido in between pokemon so he can gain as much experience as possible. After the battle, return to the normal path and continue through Viridian Forest. Be sure to fight all battles the same way you fought the girl. You will be doing this until Nido hits level 8, where he learns Horn Attack. There is no need to actively seek out random battles; just fight the ones that occur. YOU MUST SWITCH BATTLE STYLE TO SET WHEN NIDO REACHES LEVEL 8. Do conserve Horn Attack's PP whenever possible. You will be skipping the PC in Pewter City and this IS Nido's most powerful attack for quite some time. After fighting all of the trainers, Nido should be at Level 11. If not, fight random battles until you do. Then leave the Viridian Forest. Be sure to obtain the Potion north of the 2nd Bug Catcher and the hidden Potion in front of the last Bug Catcher. < Route 2 > Enter Pewter City. < Pewter City > Items to Obtain: TM 34 (Bide) Required Trainers: 1 Head to Brock's Gym. Inside, fight the trainer. He will have a Diglett and Sandshrew; use Leer and then Horn Attack to deal with them. Nido should hit Level 12 after the battle. Nido will then learn Double Kick. Walk up to Brock and use a Potion if Nido is low on HP. Save here. MY TIME - 0:20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.3) PEWTER CITY GYM TO MT. MOON Description: Accounts for potential setbacks against Brock and creates a section before Mt. Moon to account for the cursed random battles. Confront Brock. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 2: Brock Nido's Level: 12 Pokemon ------- Geodude - Lvl. 10 Onix - Lvl. 12 Geodude is easily dealt with Double Kick. For Onix, it requires a little bit of luck. Since Onix is faster, if you use Double Kick right away, it might use Bide. If that happens, you're screwed. I suggest using Leer three times, then Double Kick. This should ensure a 2-hit KO. If he uses Bind, you may be in some trouble, especially if he used Screech beforehand. It also wastes time, which is very bad. In any case, when you win, scroll through the text and leave the gym. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Head straight to Route 3, using a Potion to heal if necessary. < Route 3 > Required Trainers: 4 The four required battles here are a Youngster, a Bug Catcher, another Youngster, and a Bug Catcher. Use Double Kick on anything that is not a Flying- or Bug-type, and you should be fine for PP. Nido should hit Level 16 somewhere in these battles; let him evolve. There is one more trainer, a Lass, and you should skip her. The time saved from avoiding her is worth it, unless you happen to battle a random pokemon. In that case, it's not worth it. Head to the PC at the base of Mount Moon. Deposit Pikachu first since you no longer need it. Now heal and exit. Enter Mount Moon and save. MY TIME - 0:29 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.4) MT. MOON TO CERULEAN CITY GYM Description: A segment is dedicated to Mt. Moon to remedy the random encounters inside. Limit your encounters to less than 10 if possible. < Mount Moon > Items to obtain: TM 12 (Water Gun), Moon Stone, Helix Fossil Required Trainers: 2 I hate this place. Random battles everywhere. I'll leave it up to you to decide how many random battles is enough before you have to restart. Anyway, you should head to the bottom left corner first and pick up TM 12. Teach it to Nido, replacing Leer. No more Rock/Ground problems. Avoid the Lass near the sign and head north. When you reach the wall, follow it to the right. When the wall ends, move one step further, then walk up. You'll see a Lass; AVOID her. She has an Oddish and a Bellsprout, a battle that takes up too much time at this point. Walk around her and follow the path. There is a Youngster later on, but he's avoidable by walking one step away from the right wall. Walk around him and head to the top left corner of the area. The Moon Stone is located here. Use it on Nido and he'll evolve to Nidoking. I hope you enjoy his portrait; you will be seeing it for the next couple hours. Fight the Hiker in front on the ladder; he falls easily to Nido's Water Gun. It is quick and easy experience. Make your way through the second portion of Mount Moon and avoid the one Rocket Trainer in the way. When you reach the Super Nerd, walk in front of him to trigger the battle. Use Horn Attack on Grimer and Ekans and Double Kick on Voltorb to end it. Take the fossil on the right and head towards the exit. Here, Jessie and James will confront you. Horn Attack Ekans and Koffing and Double Kick Meowth. Leave Mount Moon. < Route 4 > Head straight to Cerulean City. < Cerulean City, 1st Visit> Items to Obtain: Rare Candy Required Trainers: 1 Do not heal at the PC. Instead, head north and enter the house. Walk into the backyard. The third tile on the top row from the right has a Rare Candy. Take it. Now head to Route 24, but you will encounter Gary on the way. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 3: Gary Nido's Level: 20 Pokemon ------- Spearow - Lvl. 18 Sandshrew - Lvl. 15 Rattata - Lvl. 15 Eevee - Lvl. 17 Horn Attack Spearow, Water Gun Sandshrew, and Double Kick both Rattata and Eevee. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- < Route 24 > Required Trainers: 6 There are six required battles here on Nugget Bridge. Deal with them as you see fit. When you are done with these battles, head to the trainer with Charmander. He will be your HM slave. Now head east. NOTE: At some point here, you will learn Thrash. This move is VITAL to beating Misty. Replace Tackle for it. < Route 25 > Required Trainers: 4 Fight the southern Hiker, a Lass, a Hiker near the Jr. Trainer (don't worry, he's out of range), and finally another Lass. If you run low on PP, starting using Tackle/Thrash when appropriate. Enter Bill's House. < Bill's House > Items to obtain: S.S. Ticket Since we have no Pikachu, we have no additional cutscene. Help Bill out and pick up the S.S. Ticket. Use the southern route to return to Cerulean City. < Cerulean City, 2nd Visit > Items to obtain: TM 11 (Bubblebeam) Required Trainers: 2 Rest at the PC. Enter Misty's Gym. Avoid the first trainer, but the second trainer is unavoidable. After defeating her Goldeen, save here. MY TIME - 0:51 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.5) CERULEAN CITY GYM TO VERMILLION CITY GYM Description: Nothing important. Just progressing through the story. Fight Misty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 4: Misty Nido's Level: 24 Pokemon ------- Staryu - Lvl. 18 Starmie - Lvl. 21 You definitely need luck here. Staryu should fall to one Thrash. Starmie, however, will need either a critical hit from Thrash and a normal hit, or three regular hits of Thrash assuming it doesn't use Bubblebeam in the process. Aim for the critical hit. If you lose Nido, reset and try again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teach Bubblebeam to Nido, replacing Water Gun. Leave the gym and head to the house Officer Jenny was standing in front of. Leave through the hole and fight the Rocket. Again, Thrash works wonders. Head south towards Vermillion City. < Route 5 > Just continue on your way. Enter the Underground Passage and continue on. < Route 6 > Required Trainers: 2 The Underground Passage emerges here. Head straight through the grass; running from battles if necessary. Walk in the grass to avoid a battle with a Bug Catcher. The two trainers after him are unavoidable. If Nido is low on HP, this may be the time to use a Potion or two. There is nothing worse than losing Nido to a Pidgey's Quick Attack because you didn't heal. In any case, enter Vermillion City. < Vermillion City, 1st Visit > No PC for you, you're going straight to the S.S. Anne. < S.S. Anne > Items to obtain: Rare Candy, HM 1 (Cut) Required Trainers: 1 Head straight to the second floor. The hallway on the second floor contains a Rare Candy. It is in the fourth door from the left side. You will have to fight a Gentleman for it. When you pick up the item, return to the hallway and continue to Gary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 5: Gary Nido's Level: 26 Pokemon ------- Spearow - Lvl. 19 Rattata - Lvl. 16 Sandshrew - Lvl. 18 Eevee - Lvl. 20 Horn Attack Spearow, Double Kick Rattata and Eevee, and Bubblebeam Sandshrew. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help the Captain, then leave the S.S. Anne. < Vermillion City, 2nd Visit > Items to obtain: Bike Voucher, TM 24 (Thunderbolt) Required Trainers: 1 Enter the Mart. Sell Bide and the Nugget. Purchase 6 Repels and 4 Super Potions; these should last you until you reach Fuschia City. Leave the Mart and head to the Pokemon Fan Club. Again, without Pikachu, you save time. Get the Bike Voucher. Leave the club and head to Surge's Gym. Teach Cut and Dig to Charmander. Use Cut and enter. Save when you enter. MY TIME - 1:03 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.6) VERMILLION CITY GYM TO ROCK TUNNEL Description: Creates a segment to account for Rock Tunnel, a frustrating area since Flash is unavailable. You saved here because you are searching for the switch. It is predetermined when you enter, so resetting doesn't change the switches. Anyway, find the two switches. If you are having problems, you can leave the gym, reenter, and save again. The switches will be a new location. When you have found them, enter Surge's room and fight him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 6: Lt. Surge Nido's Level: 27 Pokemon ------- Raichu - Lvl. 28 Just use Thrash. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use TM 24 on Nidoking and replace Horn Attack. You are done in Vermillion City. Head east towards Route 11. < Route 11 > Enter Diglett's Cave. < Diglett's Cave > Use Dig. You will end up warping back to Cerulean City. < Cerulean City > From the Pokemon Center, enter the Bike Shop. Use the voucher here. It goes without saying that you should use the Bicycle whenever possible. Cut the southern bush to leave Cerulean City. Head east and cut the bush blocking the path to Route 9. < Route 9 > Required Trainers: 2 The two unavoidable trainers are a Jr. Trainer and a Bug Catcher. Both are easily dealt with Thrash. Just avoid all other trainers by staying out of their sight. Continue on to Route 10. < Route 10 > Required Trainers: 0 Cut the bushes in your way, then enter Rock Tunnel. That's right, you're skipping the PC here. < Rock Tunnel > Required Trainers: 5 Save here. MY TIME - 1:09 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.7) ROCK TUNNEL TO POKEMON TOWER Description: The most important segment. The items bought here determines your success in future battles. If you forget to buy items, it ensures that you have some time to realize your mistake and try again. It helps greatly if you already know the path through Rock Tunnel, but that goes without being said. Begin by using a Repel. Everytime a Repel runs out, use another. From the start, go south and engage the trainer. Follow the path to the ladder (which is illuminated for your convinience). On this floor, follow the path south and fight the trainer. At the fork, head north and fight another trainer. Be sure to hug the right wall to avoid the next trainer. Follow the path beyond a fork until you reach the point where the path diverges around a rectangle rock. Head left, engage the trainer, then enter the ladder. From here, head south and east and engage the trainer. When the path turns right and up, hug the wall to avoid the trainer whose vision crosses the area two steps south of the wall. Move on to the next floor. Here, follow the path west. There are two forced battles here. When the screen stops scrolling, head north and hug the right wall. If not, you will be forced into a battle. Move on to the next floor. Final floor. Hug the left wall and head south until you hit something (a trainer). Move right until you reach the other wall and head down. Follow the path to the left and fight the final trainer. Beyond her, head south and leave Rock Tunnel. Good riddance. < Route 10 > Items to obtain: Max Ether Required Trainers: 0 Light! Head to the right and pick up the hidden Max Ether in the rock. Head to Lavender Town. < Lavender Town, 1st visit > Move on to Route 8. < Route 8 > Required Trainers: 1 The only unavoidable fight is the Gambler. Bubblebeam finishes his two Fire pokemon. Avoid all of the other trainers and enter the Underground Passage to Celadon City. < Celadon City, 1st visit > Items to obtain: PP Up, TM 13 (Ice Beam), TM 18 (Rock Slide) Do NOT heal at the PC. First, head south and Cut through the bush there. Examine the dead end for a PP Up. Save this one. Walk to the Mart and enter the right door. Take the stairs to the second floor. Buy a TM 7. Take the elevator to the fourth floor. Buy a Poke Doll here. Take the elevator to the fifth floor. Buy 9 X-Accuracy, 3 X-Attack, and 9 X-Speed. Head to the roof and buy 2 Fresh Water and 1 Soda Pop. Give the two drinks to the girl and pick up TMs 13 and 48. Teach them to Nido over Bubblebeam and Thrash. Now leave the Mart and head to Route 17 through the western exit. < Route 17 > Items to obtain: HM 2 (Fly) Here, Cut the bush above you and obtain HM 2. Teach it to your Pidgey. Fly to Lavender Town. < Lavender Town, 2nd Visit > Welcome back. Enter Pokemon Tower. < Pokemon Tower > Items to obtain: Elixir, Rare Candy Required Trainers: 6 Save here. This is considered the halfway point in this speed run. MY TIME - 1:22 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.8) POKEMON TOWER TO SILPH CO. Description: Segment ends before Gary in Silph Co., the first difficult trainer battle. Head to the 2F and fight Gary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 8: Gary Nido's Level: 33 Pokemon ------- Fearow - Lvl. 25 Magnemite - Lvl. 23 Shellder - Lvl. 22 Sandshrew Lvl. 20 Eevee - Lvl. 25 If you avoided the 2nd Gary battle, you should be facing this lineup. Thunderbolt/Ice Beam Fearow, Rock Slide Magnemite, Thunderbolt Shellder, Ice Beam Sandshrew, and Double Kick Eevee. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Move on to the 3F. Use a Repel here, and use another when this runs out. All of the Channelers here are avoidable. On the 4F, one is unavoidable. She has two Gastly; both on level 23. Use Rock Slide and pray it doesn't miss; else you might be in for a long battle. Pick up the item to your left; it's an Elixir. You'll need this item. Skip the next item though; it's only an Awakening. Move on to the 5F. Here, all Channelers are avoidable. Heal at the aura of protection, and move on to the 6F. There are two unavoidable Channelers here. Use Rock Slide on their Gastly. Pick up the Rare Candy in your way, then move on to face the ghost of Marowak. Here's where the Poke Doll comes into play. When you are able to access the menu, use the Poke Doll. For some reason or another, the game assumes you beat the ghost normally and continues the plot. You never need to set foot in Game Corner. Isn't that fun? Head to the 7F. Here, you fight Jessie and James again. Lay waste to their pokemon any way you see fit. Rescue Mr. Fuji. < Lavender Town, 3rd Visit > Items to obtain: Poke Flute Pick up the Poke Flute, then head to Route 8 again. < Route 8 > Avoid all trainers as usual, then head into Saffron City. You'll use your Fresh Water here. < Saffron City, 1st Visit > Head to the PC, and heal. You'll see why later. Leave the PC and head to Silph Co. < Silph Co. > Items to obtain: Rare Candy, Carbos, TM 26 (Earthquake), Card Key Required Trainers: 6 On the 1F, head directly to the elevator. Set the elevator to 10F. On the 10F, avoid the trainer and head to the bottom left corner. The Rocket with his Machoke is unavoidable; take him out with Thunderbolt. Pick up the three items. Use TM 26 on Nido and replace Thunderbolt with it. Head back to the elevator and go to 5F. On 5F, head left. There are two potted plants; the base of the one on the right has an Elixir. Fight the Rocket's level 33 Arbok with Earthquake. Pick up the Card Key, return to the elevator and set the floor to 3F. On 3F, there is an unavoidable Rocket. Use Earthquake on his level 28 Hypno and use Double Kick on his Raticate x2. Open the first door with the Card Key. Enter the warp, which should lead you to Gary. Walk north, heal any damage with your Potions (both regular and Super) and use TM 7 on Nido. Replace Double Kick for it. Use your PP Up on Horn Drill as well. Save. MY TIME - 1:34 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.0.9) SILPH CO. TO SAFFRON CITY GYM Description: PP conservation is vital here. Walk due west and face Gary. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 9: Gary Nido's Level: 36 Pokemon ------- Sandslash - Lvl. 38 Cloyster - Lvl. 35 Magneton - Lvl. 37 Kadabra - Lvl. 35 Flareon - Lvl. 40 This battle is NOT fun. Kadabra is now a viable threat and will continue to be so for the rest of the game. In fact, his entire lineup is a problem for Nido. It's time to use an X-Accuracy and X-Speed. Nido should be able to survive two hits from Sandslash. Once you have used your items, use Horn Drill and sweep the rest of his team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You walked north so Gary can make his getaway a bit more quickly. Pick up Lapras from the Silph Co. employee and head to the last warp tile. Here, you fight Jessie and James for the final time. Use Earthquake on all of their pokemon. If you took a beating from Gary, use more Potions here. Go fight Giovanni. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 10: Giovanni Nido's Level: 39 Pokemon ------- Nidorino - Lvl. 37 Persian - Lvl. 35 Rhyhorn - Lvl. 37 Nidoqueen Lvl. 41 At this point, you should have 5 PP for Earthquake left. Use Earthquake on Nidorino and Persian. If Persian survives, use Rock Slide to finish it. Ice Beam Nidoqueen and Rhyhorn. You MUST have 3 PP left for Earthquake at the end of the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once Giovanni makes his getaway, it's time to make yours too. Use Dig. You should end up at the Saffron City PC. You had to heal or else Dig would have sent you back to Cerulean City, the last place you healed. < Saffron City, 2nd visit > Items to obtain: TM 46 (Psywave) Required Trainers: 1 You don't need to heal. Head to Sabrina's Gym. Enter the tile you see. Take the first tile. From here, it's the bottom left tile, the top left tile, the bottom left tile, and the bottom left tile. You should be in front of Sabrina. Save here. MY TIME - 1:41 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.0) SAFFRON CITY GYM TO FUSCHIA CITY GYM Description: Runs through two consecutive gym battles. Have at Sabrina. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 11: Sabrina Nido's Level: 40 Pokemon ------- Abra - Lvl. 50 Kadabra - Lvl. 50 Alakazam - Lvl. 50 You should have 3 PP for Earthquake left here. As much as the odds are against you, you have items that tilts the odds in your favor. Use X-Speed and X-Attack at the start. Abra lacks a definitive Psychic attack, so your stat boosts should go uninterrupted. Then use Earthquake on Abra. Kadabra falls to Earthquake. Alakazam is still faster than you, so you have to pray that it doesn't use Psychic. If Sabrina doesn't use X-Defend, Earthquake should OHKO Alakazam, but it can also use Reflect, in which case it will be a 2HKO. If this happens, hope that Alakazam doesn't use Psychic again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Sabrina's defeat, Dig your way out of her gym. Don't bother healing at the PC and head back to Celadon City. < Celadon City, 2nd Visit > Items to obtain: TM 21 (Mega Drain) Required Trainers: 2 Make your way to Erika's Gym. There is one unavoidable trainer battle. From the entrance, go left, up, then right. The girl in the right won't see you. Cut down the bush in front of you and engage the girl. Use Ice Beam on her pokemon; it should OHKO all three of them, thanks to your 17+ level advantage. You may save here if you wish. Use a Max Ether on Earthquake. Confront Erika. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 12: Erika Nido's Level: 41 Pokemon ------- Tangela - Lvl. 30 Weepinbell - Lvl. 32 Gloom - Lvl. 32 If you have PP left for Ice Beam, use it now on Tangela. If not, Earthquake can do the job, but a tad slower. Earthquake is guaranteed to OHKO Weepinbell and Gloom though, so don't worry about that. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Erika gives you TM 21. Leave her gym the normal way and leave Celadon City through the western exit. < Route 17 > Confront the Snorlax with your Poke Flute. Run from it. Enter Cycling Road. < Cycling Road > Required Trainers: 0 All trainers here are avoidable, but you have to be careful. To avoid all trainers on the hill, hug the left side. Coast your way down the hill and enter Fuschia City. < Fuschia City, 1st visit > Items to obtain: TM 6 (Toxic) Required Trainers: 3 Head straight for Koga's Gym. There are two unavoidable trainers. Deal with them with Earthquake, then save in front of Koga. MY TIME - 1:50 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.1) FUSCHIA CITY GYM TO CINNABAR ISLAND GYM Description: Runs through a gym battle and Pokemon Mansion. Confront Koga. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 13: Koga Nido's Level: 43 Pokemon ------- Venonat - Lvl. 44 Venonat - Lvl. 46 Venonat - Lvl. 48 Venomoth - Lvl. 50 Earthquake, oddly enough, isn't a guaranteed OHKO, especially on Venomoth. Use an X-Attack and X-Speed while fighting Venonat. It can use Psychic or Sleep Powder on you; the former is not something to worry about unless it's a critical. The second move is very irritating, especially if it hits. Use your Poke Flute if this occurs. Earthquake with the boost should sweep Koga, but again, it may not. Either way, you can finish him. If Koga is still giving you fits, use an Elixir before battle. This restores Horn Drill's PP, allowing you to use X-Accuracy and X-Speed and eliminate him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leave Koga's Gym the old-fashioned way since you can't Dig out of here. Enter the PC and heal. Deposit your Helix Fossil, S.S. Ticket, Lift Key, Silph Scope, Card Key, and HM 1 and 2. Leave the PC, head north, Cut the bush, and enter the Mart. Sell all of your TMs and buy 7 Super Repels and 8 Hyper Potions. Leave the Mart and enter the Safari Zone. < Safari Zone > Items to obtain: Gold Teeth, HM 3 (Surf) You can use your Repels and Super Repels here to avoid the random battles until you reach the Secret House. You do NOT need to collect any items on the way, just the Gold Teeth and HM 3. Teach Surf to Lapras. Once you have done so, use Dig outside the Secret House to leave the Safari Zone. < Fuschia City, 2nd Visit > Items to obtain: HM 4 (Strength), Rare Candy Head to the Warden's House and give him his teeth. He'll give you HM 4 in return, which you should promptly use on Lapras. Push the boulder in his living room and pick up your Rare Candy. Leave his house, then Fly to Pallet Town. < Pallet Town, 3rd visit > From here, Surf south. < Route 29 > Required Trainers: 0 Use your Super Repels to avoid all battles. Dodge the trainers. You should arrive at Cinnabar Island with little trouble. < Cinnabar Island, 1st Visit > Head to the PC and heal. Enter the Pokemon Mansion. < Pokemon Mansion > Items to obtain: Carbos, Rare Candy, Secret Key Required Trainers: 0 Use your Super Repels here again. On the 1F, head directly to the 2F. There, enter the northern room to reach the 3F. Hit the switch and fall out of the closer window. Avoid the Scientist by hugging the far wall and pick up the Carbos. Enter B1. Here, head straight to the statue and activate the switch. Avoid the Scientist and activate the switch beyond him. Take a quick detour to the room with the Rare Candy inside, then make your way to the Secret Key two rooms ahead. Dig your way out. < Cinnabar Island, 2nd Visit > Items to obtain: TM 38 (Fire Blast) Required Trainers: 1 Head straight to Blaine's Gym. You'll have to answer six questions here, but I will graciously provide to you the answers so when prompted, all you have to do is press A for yes or B for no. Thanks to XeroXtancy's FAQ for this information. A B B B A B When you reach Blaine, save here. MY TIME - 2:01 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.2) CINNABAR ISLAND GYM TO VIRIDIAN CITY GYM Description: Same as Segment 11, except without Pokemon Mansion. Confront Blaine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 14: Blaine Nido's Level: 43 Pokemon ------- Ninetales - Lvl. 48 Rapidash - Lvl. 50 Arcanine - Lvl. 54 There's no point in using Horn Drill here; all of his pokemon are faster than you. First, see if Earthquake can OHKO Blaine's pokemon without an X-Attack. If not, reset the segment and use an X-Attack. It should pump Nido's attack high enough to OHKO all of his pokemon. Use Hyper Potions if Nido's HP gets low. If Blaine is still giving you fits, use an X-Speed here along with the X-Attack. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dig your way out of here and then Fly to Viridian City. < Viridian City, 3rd Visit > Items to obtain: Revive, TM 27 (Fissure) Required Trainers: 3 Make your way to Giovanni's Gym. There are two unavoidable trainers. Make your way up the middle and confront the two of them. Both are easy to deal with thanks to Ice Beam and Earthquake. Once you have fought the Karate Guy, leave the gym, picking up the Revive on your way, then reenter. It resets the trainer positions, allowing you a quick walk to Giovanni. Save here. MY TIME - 2:05 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.3) VIRIDIAN CITY GYM TO INDIGO PLATEAU Description: Runs through two consecutive difficult battles and contains Victory Road, a prime location for accidental trainer battles. Time for the final gym battle! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 15: Giovanni Nido's Level: 45 Pokemon ------- Dugtrio - Lvl. 50 Persian - Lvl. 53 Nidoqueen - Lvl. 53 Nidoking - Lvl. 53 Rhydon - Lvl. 55 His entire team is a threat to Nido, thanks to your ground-type weakness. In fact, Dugtrio has three ways of wiping you out with a single hit, thanks to Dig, Earthquake, or Fissure. To even the odds, first use X-Speed. With luck, Dugtrio will use Fissure or Giovanni will use a Guard Spec. on it. If you survived the first round, then use Earthquake to KO Dugtrio. Persian is next. Its Slash can take around 80 HP from Nido. Use X-Accuracy here. Let Persian hit you; Nido should survive. Now we can Horn Drill the rest of his team. Have a laugh at the "It's not very effective..." comment when you Horn Drill Rhydon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Giovanni out of the way, go ahead and teach Fissure to Nido. Replace Rock Slide for it. Head to Route 22, where Gary will confront you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 16: Gary Nido's Level: 47 Pokemon ------- Sandslash - Lvl. 47 Exeggcute - Lvl. 45 Cloyster - Lvl. 45 Magneton - Lvl. 47 Kadabra - Lvl. 50 Flareon - Lvl. 53 As with the Saffron City battle, use X-Speed, then X-Accuracy. Sandslash can't 2HKO Nido, unless he gets lucky and your stats are low. Fissure his entire team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gary runs, and you can now enter the Pokemon League. Continue on your way until you enter Victory Road. Run from any random encounters you may face. Use up your Rare Candies here. It turns out that you may encounter some pokemon regardless of the Repels due to your level, so we rectify that by being a higher level right now in Victory Road. < Victory Road > Required Trainers: 0 If you are concerned about the trainers, then you may save here. Use your Super Repels to avoid all random battles as usual, and reuse them should they run out. Since someone requested a walkthrough in this area, I will provide one. From the beginning, head to the top of the boulder. Use Strength, and push the boulder down and to the right. Be careful near the entrance, as you can accidently walk out of the area and be forced to do that much again. In any case, continue pushing the boulder right onto the switch. Once that is done, return to where the boulder was and head north. At the T intersection, hug the south edge in order to avoid a trainer. Continue on, and hug the left side as you turn north. There's a trainer waiting to ambush you there. Skip him and go on to 2F. Here, use Strength again. Move south and push the boulder there onto the nearby switch. When you continue on, HUG the north end. I've encountered that Karate way too many times on accident, ruining this segment. Anyway, skip the Karate and head south and east. When you begin heading east, hug the bottom edge in order to skip another trainer. Continue following the path north and west to the ladder, entering the 3F. You know what HM to use. Push the boulder north and west along the edge of the plateau. Keep pushing the boulder left onto the switch at the end. It takes an agonizing 40 seconds to push the damn thing, but it has to be done. Once that's over with, return the way you came and take the plateau path. Hug the southern edge in order to skip a trainer. Continue following the path and head dead south when you leave the path in order to skip the two trainers ahead. Go east until you encounter another boulder. Push it down the hole and follow it through that hole. Back to the 2F. Use Strength and push the boulder west until it goes onto the switch. Return east. You can finally enter the ladder next to that trainer. Here on the 3F, head north. You'll encounter another ladder. Enter it. Back on the 2F again. Leave this damn place through the exit. < Indigo Plateau > Required Trainers: 5 Finally, the Elite Four. You aren't done yet. Your first priority is to heal at the PC. Once you're done, save before entering the domain of Lorelei. MY TIME - 2:17 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.4) LORELEI TO AGATHA Description: Runs through two consecutive battles. Battle Lorelei. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 17: Lorelei Nido's Level: 54 Pokemon ------- Dewgong - Lvl. 54 Cloyster - Lvl. 53 Slowbro - Lvl. 54 Jynx - Lvl. 56 Lapras - Lvl. 58 There is no need to use X-Speed since you should be faster than Jynx at this point. Use X-Accuracy (Nido should be able to survive Bubblebeam and Aurora Beam) and Horn Drill the team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Move on to Bruno. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 18: Bruno Nido's Level: 55 Pokemon ------- Onix - Lvl. 53 Hitmonchan - Lvl. 55 Hitmonlee - Lvl. 55 Onix - Lvl. 56 Machamp - Lvl. 58 We could slug it out with Earthquake and Ice Beam, but Fissure is far more efficient. Use an X-Accuracy and OHKO everyone. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Save before confronting Agatha. Use an Elixir here. MY TIME - 2:20 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.5) AGATHA TO LANCE Description: Accounts for Agatha's unpredictability with switching. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 19: Agatha Nido's Level: 56 Pokemon ------- Gengar - Lvl. 56 Golbat - Lvl. 55 Haunter - Lvl. 55 Arbok - Lvl. 58 Gengar - Lvl. 60 Begin with X-Speed. If the starting Gengar uses Confuse Ray or Substitute, reset the game. You want to be able to Earthquake it without any interruptions. Ice Beam Golbat and Earthquake Haunter, Arbok, and Gengar. The X-Speed ensures that you go first in this battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use a Hyper Potion. Save here. MY TIME - 2:22 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.6) LANCE TO GARY Description: Ensures a safe spot in case Gyrados' Hydro Pump connects. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 20: Lance Nido's Level: 57 Pokemon ------- Gyarados - Lvl. 58 Dragonair - Lvl. 56 Dragonair - Lvl. 56 Aerodactyl - Lvl. 60 Dragonite - Lvl. 62 Use an X-Accuracy. Pray that Gyrados misses with Hydro Pump. If he does, then Horn Drill everyone except for Aerodactyl. Since you aren't faster than Aerodactyl, Horn Drill won't hit. You'll have to use Ice Beam on it. Use Max Potions if Nido's HP gets too low vs. Aerodactyl. Alternatively, you could use a X-Speed sometime in the battle so Aerodactyl falls to Horn Drill. KO Dragonite with Horn Drill as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Use a Hyper Potion. Save here. MY TIME - 2:24 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2.1.7) GARY TO THE END Description: Safeguards any setbacks with Alakazam. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boss Battle 21: Gary Nido's Level: 58 Pokemon ------- Sandslash - Lvl. 61 Alakazam - Lvl. 59 Exeggutor - Lvl. 61 Magneton - Lvl. 61 Cloyster - Lvl. 63 Flareon - Lvl. 65 The final battle. Animation will be turned on, so there's little you can do there. Too bad this has so much reliance on luck. First off, use an X-Accuracy. Nido should eat an Earthquake, but survive. Use Horn Drill to KO Sandslash. Now for Alakazam. You should use an X-Speed here. Now you have a 50% chance of surviving the battle or resetting your game. Alakazam has Psybeam (bad), Psychic (very bad), Kinesis (good), and Recover (very good). Pray it uses the latter two, not the former two. Usually he'll use Psychic, but he HAS used Kinesis. Once he does so, you can relax. It's over. Use Fissure here. Exeggutor, Magenton, Cloyster, and Flareon all fall to our beloved OHKO move. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations! You just defeated Gary! According to the Speed Demos Archive, the official time is when your Pokemon have been inagurated into the Hall of Fame. Check your time and see how you did. MY FINAL TIME - 2:28 The time listed above is only a benchmark. There are plenty of opportunities to improve upon it. Good luck and godspeed. =============================================================================== 9.0.0) CREDITS =============================================================================== Thanks to Milcotti's Speed Walkthrough for some of the strategies detailed here. Thanks to striker64 and XeroXtancy for their FAQs. Some of the information here would taken a lot out of my time to find out for myself. Thanks to MrScaryMuffin for starting the topic on the Speed Demos Archive forum. It was impossible until the tips started pouring in. Thanks for jumpstarting the idea. Thanks to ShadowJedi for giving me the idea of using Nidoking and items. Thanks to Cygnus and Naye745 for tips and providing competition. Red/Blue remains the superior version to speed run the Chromatic series. Thanks to wjzz for informing the forum about the Poke Doll trick. Thanks to Radix for hosting the Speed Demos Archive. Go check out their other games . Thanks to Nate for capturing my run. I failed to do this in the comments section, so this FAQ will have to do. My apologies. Thanks to NextGenWarrior for suggesting a Victory Road walkthrough. It was wrong of me to write one for Rock Tunnel and not one for Victory Road, which are both difficult to run through quickly. Thanks to samthedigital for pointing out the mistake about Thrash and mentioning two places to use Dig in order to save some time. Thanks to L. Tesson for pointing out my misidentification of TM 48. Thanks to Nintendo for providing a very entertaining and deep game. Thanks to CJayC for creating GameFAQs.com and for hosting this FAQ. =============================================================================== 9.9.9) VERSION HISTORY =============================================================================== Version 1.0 - Basic walkthrough completed. In-depth complete to Rock Tunnel. Version 1.2 - Redid walkthrough from Silph Co. onward. Rewrote Giovanni strategy and adjusted shopping lists. Also added a subsection in Basic Information for DVs and divided walkthrough into segments. Version 1.5 - Massive change to walkthrough. Added two segments to account for deviation in stats and eliminated Game Corner from walkthrough due to new information on the Speed Demos Archive. Version 1.6 - Added Rock Tunnel and Victory Road information. Amended shopping list to add one more X-Accuracy and X-Speed for Koga. Changed PP conservation, allowing for more liberal use of Earthquake before Sabrina. Changed strategy slightly against Erika and Koga. Added information about game clock. Version 1.8 - My speed run was added August 16 to the Speed Demos Archive. However, preparation for college delayed the release of the update of this FAQ, which includes a walkthrough of Victory Road due to a request and the inclusion of times. In any case, you can find the run at http://speeddemosarchive.com/PokemonYellow.html Version 1.9 - Made a couple of changes for faster speed. Also fixed a mistake in the walkthrough. Version 2.0 - Thanks to samthedigital for letting me know about two places to Dig, saving time: Diglett's Cave and Safari Zone. This will probably be the last time I update this guide for a while, barring some major discovery. Version 2.1 - Corrected a mistake in the Celadon Mart. Version 2.21 - Added ASCII Art and reformatted the FAQ.