5 Tips for Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen Newcomers

Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen have today released across Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, bringing some of the most popular Pokemon games of all-time to modern consoles. These remakes of the original Pokemon Red and Blue launched on Game Boy Advance all the way back in 2004, which means that a whole generation of new Pokemon fans has been born and grown up since they arrived. As such, there’s a high possibility that many will be diving into FireRed and LeafGreen for the first time with these ports on Switch hardware.

If you’re playing FireRed and LeafGreen for the first time yourself, here are five tips you’ll want to keep in mind as you play.

1. TM and HM Usage

TMs and HMs used to operate very differently in Pokemon games. While TMs nowadays can be used endlessly, in the older titles, they could only be utilized once before they would be taken out of your Bag. Because of this, you’ll want to be very careful when you choose to use a TM on a certain Pokemon, as there’s no guarantee you’ll ever be able to acquire it and use it again.

Conversely, HMs were the norm in the early days of Pokemon and are needed to progress to certain areas of the game. Unlike TMs, they can be used multiple times over, but they also can’t be easily forgotten. So if you teach your Charmeleon the HM “Cut” in FireRed or LeafGreen, you can’t swap it for another move. Instead, you’ll have to visit the Move Deleter in Fuchsia City, which isn’t accessible until a bit later. With this in mind, be cautious of which Pokemon you teach HMs to and ensure that you want them to keep that move potentially for the long haul.

2. Nugget Bridge Hack for Unlimited Money

One of the funniest “hacks” in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen is tied to the Nugget Bridge. This area is one north of Cerulean City and will require you to beat a string of multiple trainers in a row. Upon getting to the final trainer, you’ll be given a Nugget, which is a rare item that can be sold at shops for a lot of money. After this trainer gives you the Nugget, they’ll challenge you to a battle for themselves.

The trick here is that if you keep losing this battle, every time you return to take the trainer on once again, they’ll give you another Nugget at the start of the fight. This will allow you to amass an absurd number of Nuggets, which can in turn be sold for an asinine amount of cash. Having this much money won’t only allow you to buy as many Poke Balls and Potions as you’d like, but it will come in particularly handy if you’re looking to buy some of the rare Pokemon at the Game Corner in Celadon City.

3. Catch as Many Pokemon as Possible for Post-Game Purposes

One of the biggest new elements of FireRed and LeafGreen that weren’t seen in the original Red and Blue is the Sevii Islands. This locale is one you’ll come across in your main playthrough, but much of the region isn’t explorable until the post-game. As its name implies, the Sevii Islands are comprised of seven different islands, all of which have their own unique Pokemon and other items to collect.

To unlock all seven islands, you’ll need to collect the Rainbow Badge. To acquire this item, you will not only need to have defeated the Elite Four, but you’ll also have to get the National Dex from Professor Oak. This can only be done if you collect at least 60 different Pokemon and add their information to the Pokedex. To ensure that you won’t have to grind to get the National Dex later on, you should simply try to catch a lot of Pokemon while you’re naturally playing through FireRed and LeafGreen. While it might be easy to just catch the Pokemon you’re looking to use on your active team, collecting as many as possible will let you get the National Dex more quickly.

4. Exp. Share Does Not Work the Same Way

Game Freak made a substantial change to Exp. Share with Pokemon X and Y, which allowed experience points to be shared across your entire team at the end of a battle. This change is one that has continued to show up in every mainline Pokemon game since, but the way Exp. Share was dealt with before was quite different.

Rather than applying to every Pokemon in your party, Exp. Share can only be given to one Pokemon at a time to hold. Upon completing an encounter, this Pokemon holding Exp. Share (presuming they’re not the active Pokemon) will gain half of the experience points from the battle. The other active Pokemon will then obtain the other half for themselves.

In short, Exp. Share is great to use if you’re trying to build up a weaker Pokemon that’s not capable of winning battles on its own. If you continue to use it at all times, though, you’ll diminish the experience points that can be earned by those that are actually fighting in the battles. Keep this in mind as you use the item, as it can have some major ramifications on how your team levels up.

5. Prepare for More of a Challenge

This is less of a tip and more of a general warning, but Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are considerably more difficult than most of the recent games in the series. A large portion of this is due to the aforementioned changes in Exp. Share. While in the modern Pokemon titles you can level up your team somewhat quickly, it’s definitely a bit more of a grind in FireRed and LeafGreen.

Because of this, go into these games with the mentality that you might run into some roadblocks from time to time. FireRed and LeafGreen were still inherently designed for kids to play, so they’re not going to be on par with a game like Elden Ring when it comes to challenge. Still, if you’ve not played any Pokemon games from this era, you’ll find more pushback than you might anticipate.