Completing the Pokédex With Gens 1 and 2 (Pokémon Red)
There are 151 Pokémon in Red's Pokédex. Only 150 are needed to get the certificate from the Game Freak employee in Celadon City. The game
is programmed to accept any 150, meaning if you use the Mew glitch to
get Mew, you can skip another Pokémon. That said, this page focuses on getting the 150 Pokémon that aren't Mew.
In order to complete the Pokédex in Pokémon Red with Gen 1 and Gen 2 games you will need access to at minimum a copy of Pokémon Green (if using Japanese Red) or Blue (if using International), or a copy of Pokémon Silver.
Access to only Yellow and/or Japanese Blue for Gen 1 is not sufficient, as Magmar is only available in Japanese Green/International Blue.
Access to Gold or Crystal for Gen 2 is not sufficient, as Vulpix is only available in Silver.
Version Exclusives
The following version-exclusive Pokémon have to be traded from another game:
- Sandshrew, Sandslash (Japanese Green/International Blue, Japanese Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, or Crystal)
- Vulpix, Ninetales (Japanese Green/International Blue, Yellow, or Silver)
- Meowth, Persian (Japanese Green/International Blue, Japanese Blue, Silver, or Crystal)
- Bellsprout, Weepinbell, Victreebel (Japanese Green/International Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, or Crystal)
- Magmar (Japanese Green/International Blue, Gold, Silver, or Crystal)
- Pinsir (Japanese Green/International Blue, Japanese Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, or Crystal)
Mutually Exclusive Pokémon
Several Pokémon are mutually exclusive, meaning that if you get one species, you cannot get at least one other species. The list of mutually exclusive species is below.
- Starters: Bulbasaur/Ivysaur/Venusaur, Charmander/Charmeleon/Charizard, Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise
- Hitmons: Hitmonlee, Hitmonchan
- Fossils: Omanyte/Omastar, Kabuto/Kabutops
- Eeveelutions: Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon
If you have access to Pokémon Stadium, you can get all of these by defeating the Elite Four and Rival.
Otherwise, if you have access to Red and Gen 1 only, you would want to follow the steps listed on the Red and Gen 1 page.
If you have access to Red, Gen 1, and Gen 2, you can follow the following steps:
- Pick a Starter and a Fossil on one Gen 1 game.
- On the second Gen 1 game, pick a second Starter. Trade it to Gen 2.
- If you have a third Gen 1 game, pick the third Starter, and trade it to Gen 2. If you don't, restart the second Gen 1 game, pick the third Starter, and trade it to Gen 2.
- In Gen 2, breed all three Starters, the Eevee you get from Bill, and evolve the Tyrogue you get from Kiyo in Mt. Mortar and breed it. (Alternatively, you can also trade an Eeveelution or Hitmon from Gen 1 to Gen 2 to breed.)
- Trade the bred Pokémon back to the Gen 1 game(s) you want to complete the Pokédex on and evolve them at will. Trade the Fossils around before evolving them, or breed them in Gen 2.
This process allows you a little more freedom with regards to what evolutionary stage you trade when. The second game's first playthrough also only needs to
get the Starter before you can trade, instead of going all the way to Celadon for the Eeveelution.
If you have access to Red and Gen 2 only, you can follow the following steps:
- Pick a Starter and a Fossil. Trade them to Gen 2.
- Restart the game and pick a second Starter. Trade it to Gen 2.
- Restart the game and pick the third Starter and the second Fossil. Breed the Starters and first Fossil in Gen 2 and send them back, or just keep them unevolved and send them back.
Breed the Eevee and Tyrogue's evolution to get the other Eeveelutions and Hitmon into Red.
Trade Evolutions
Four Pokémon evolve by trading: Machoke, Graveler, Kadabra, and Haunter. The easiest way to get data for them is to trade them to another game and immediately trade
the newly-evolved Pokémon back.