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Version Differences in Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow

The following page contains short summaries of significant differences between the Japanese and international versions of Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow, as well as differences between each version.
Significant differences such as story, glitches and their fixes, the Rival's team, version-exclusive Pokémon, and Pokémon move access are largely known about and discussed elsewhere. On this page, I focus primarily on other factors, such as Trainer teams, item locations, in-game Pokémon trades, and Cerulean Cave.

A Brief Overview

Many Western players may be vaguely aware of the fact that Japan got games called Red, Green, and Blue, while the rest of the world got Red and Blue. The differences between these games are a little nuanced.

The games were released in the following order, with Japan's releases bolded:

• Red and Green: 27 Feb 1996 (Japan)
• Blue: Dec 1996 - Jan 1997 (Japan) (mail release)
• Blue: Jun 1997 - Aug 1997 (Japan) (mail release)
• Yellow: 12 Sep 1998 (Japan)
• Red and Blue: 28 Sep 1998 (North America)
• Red and Blue: 23 Oct 1998 (Australia)
• Red and Blue: 5 Oct 1999 (Europe)
• Blue: 10 Oct 1999 (Japan) (retail release)
• Yellow: 18 Oct 1999 (North America)
• Yellow: 3 Sep 1999 (Australia)
• Yellow: 16 Jun 2000 (Europe)

The first games, Red and Green, were released in February 1996. Blue was developed afterward and saw limited release until 1998, when it got a full release. Changes include the following:

• Different wild encounter tables.
• New sprites.
• Fixed several glitches, including repairing a set of broken hidden items with a bug that makes it impossible to collect all of them.
• Adjusted a few items' locations very slightly.
• New set of in-game trades. Some Pokémon which were formerly exclusive to in-game trade were moved to a wild location, and some which were formerly catchable in the wild were made exclusive to in-game trade.
• Different set of purchasable Pokémon at the Celadon Game Corner.
• HP Up was added to purchasable items in Celadon Department Store.
• Cerulean Cave was given a total layout overhaul, though the items found inside are identical.

The games known as "Red and Blue" internationally incorporate some elements of both Red/Green and Blue, as described in the following list.

• International Red used Japanese Red's wild encounter tables, and International Blue used Japanese Green's.
• International Red used Japanese Red's Celadon Game Corner purchases, and International Blue used Japanese Green's.
• Both games used the same set of in-game trades used by Red and Green. However, the Red/Green trade in the Route 5-6 Underground Path where the player's Nidoran♀ was traded for a Nidoran♂ was reversed for Red and Blue.
• All of the glitches fixed in Japanese Blue were also fixed in Red and Blue, although the localization process introduced new bugs.
• Red and Blue used the updated sprites from Japanese Blue.
• Red and Blue used the updated item locations from Japanese Blue.
• Red and Blue used the updated Celadon Department Store inventory from Japanese Blue.
• Red and Blue used the Cerulean Cave layout from Japanese Blue.
• Red and Blue used a translated version of Japanese Blue's script, resulting in a famous error where an Trainer claims a Raichu the player trades to him evolves, because the Japanese Blue version of that trade was for a Graveler.

The wild encounter tables, in-game trades, and Game Corner purchases from Japanese Blue have, to this day, never been used in any game released outside of Japan.
The Japanese and International versions of Yellow are identical. Yellow incorporates the following changes from its predecessors:

• Glitches from Red and Blue are further fixed.
• A new set of sprites is used.
• Supports GBC graphics, meaning Pokémon sprites now have many colors, map colors change depending on what area the player is in, and HP bars change color depending on health remaining.
• The player is required to start with a Pikachu that is unable to evolve and follows the player around. The rival will always start with Eevee.
• The Rival, Gym Leaders, and Giovanni all use different Pokémon when fought.
• Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle are available from newly-added people.
• A house was added to Route 19 to allow for playing a minigame with Pikachu if Pikachu is taught Surf. In the Virtual Console release of Yellow, this minigame can be played even without Surf.
• Several Pokémon receive additions to their movesets. Accordingly, enemy Trainers - most notably the Elite Four - can have new movesets on their Pokémon.
• The wild encounter tables are changed significantly.
• The updated item locations from Japanese Blue are used.
• The updated Celadon Department Store inventory is used.
• Yellow uses its own set of in-game trades that is distinct from its predecessors.
• Yellow has its own set of Celadon Game Corner purchases.
• One item in Viridian Forest is changed.
• A few Poké Marts have purchasable items changed.
• A few minor trainers have their parties changed, or were removed/added.
• Jessie and James (called ROCKET) are an enemy Trainer encountered a few times throughout the story. In places where they are encountered, other Rockets are removed.
• Some Surfing encounters were added to areas that previously did not have them.
• The method by which fishing encounters are handled was updated, resulting in different encounter rates for Pokémon acquired by fishing.
• Cerulean Cave uses a new layout. The item content is similar to Red, Green and Blue, but not identical.

Below is a selected list of differences among generations. Differences in wild encounter tables, important trainer (Rival, Gym Leader, Elite Four, Giovanni) parties or movesets, Pokémon movepools, and anything related to the starter Pikachu or the three Kanto starters is not covered, as this information is largely known and available elsewhere. The purpose of this is to demonstrate lesser-known differences.

Item Content

In Viridian Forest, there is an item ball in the northeast area. In Red, Green, and Blue, it contains an Antidote. In Yellow, it contains a Potion.

Item Locations

A handful of hidden items had their location changed from Japanese Red/Green to Japanese Blue. The placement used in Japanese Blue was then used for all international versions of Red and Blue, as well as all versions of Yellow.

Broken Hidden Items

Six hidden items were broken in Japanese Red/Green. They were fixed in Japanese Blue and all international releases, as well as in Yellow.
The issue with the items is that the two databases that hold hidden item information each have different coordinates for the item. The result is that the actual item location, and the location at which the Itemfinder thinks the item is, do not match. Additionally, picking up any one of these items will cause the other five to disappear. All six items can be brought back by giving a Fossil to the scientist in Cinnabar Lab; however, as the player will only ever have two Fossils without hacking or using glitches, only three of the items can be obtained.
In Japanese Blue and international releases, three of the six items are located in the same location, but the mismatch between the databases is resolved, making them work normally.
As for the other three items, the Nugget in Copycat's house is fixed but moved to Copycat's desk (see above), and the other two are located in Cerulean Cave, which uses a different layout in Japanese Blue (see below). All items in Cerulean Cave work as intended after Red and Green, though.

Four piles of coins in the Game Corner are also affected by either this glitch or a similar one. The following piles are affected:

• The 20 coins located three tiles east and four north of the woman in the center aisle
• The 10 coins located two tiles west of the old man in the center aisle
• The 10 coins located one tile west and one south of the Fisherman
• The 100 coins located three tiles north and one east of the Scientist

Trainers and Trainer Parties

Several Trainers, in addition to Gym Leaders and the Rival, were removed, added, or had their parties changed between Red/Green/Blue and Yellow. Mostly, this seems to have been done to remove Pikachu and Raichu from enemy Trainers' parties, with the result that the player's Pikachu and Lt. Surge's Raichu are the only two members of that line to be seen in the game. In places where Yellow adds Jessie and James, Rockets are removed. Viridian Forest also has a completely different set of trainers.

Surfing and Fishing Encounters

Yellow made a few changes to Surfing and Fishing.
In Red, Green, and Blue, the player could find wild Pokémon by Surfing only on Routes 19, 20, and 21. Yellow added Surfing encounters to Routes 6, 12, and 13, and Seafoam Islands B3F and B4F.
The locations in which the player can fish are identical between all games, although Red, Green, and Blue can fish in Cerulean Gym due to an oversight (the encounters are the same as those from Cerulean City). Old Rod and Good Rod encounters are the same no matter the location, and are identical between all games.
Yellow made some changes to how fishing encounters with the Super Rod are handled. In Red, Green, and Blue, each location where fishing is possible is assigned a group, which can have between 2 and 4 Pokémon at specific levels. The encounter rate of any Pokémon in that group is dependent on how many Pokémon there are; if a group has 2 Pokémon, each one gets an encounter rate of 50%, and if there are 4, each one has a 25% rate. Yellow instead assigns every fishing location its own encounter list, and each list has 4 slots, whose encounter rates are 40%, 30%, 20%, and 10%. This makes Fishing encounters work more similarly to grass and Surfing encounters.

Celadon Game Corner

All four games have different prize Pokémon that can be purchased in the Celadon Game Corner. International Red uses Japanese Red's list, and International Blue uses Japanese Green's list.

In-Game Trades

Red/Green, Blue, and Yellow each use a different set of in-game trades. While international Red and Blue use the trades from Red and Green, the Underground Path trade was changed: in Red and Green, the player trades their Nidoran♀ for the Trainer's Nidoran♂; in Red and Blue, the player instead trades their Nidoran♂ for a Nidoran♀.
Blue has a trade for a Haunter and Graveler, and Yellow has a trade for a Machoke. All three of these will immediately evolve as soon as they are traded to the player.

Poké Marts

A few Poké Marts have slightly different offerings between Red/Green/Blue and Yellow.

• Viridian City sells Potions in Yellow, but not in Red, Green, or Blue.
• Cerulean City sells Escape Ropes in Yellow, but not in Red, Green, or Blue.
• Fuchsia City sells Super Potions in Red, Green, and Blue, but Hyper Potions in Yellow.

Celadon Department Store

The vendor that sells vitamin drinks does not sell HP Ups in Japanese Red and Green, but does sell them in Japanese Blue and all subsequent games.

Cerulean Cave

Cerulean Cave has three different layouts: one for Japanese Red and Green, one for Japanese Blue and international Red and Blue, and one for Yellow. The layout used in FireRed and LeafGreen matches Japanese Red and Green's, while the layout used in HeartGold and SoulSilver is inspired by Japanese Red and Green for 1F and 2F, and Yellow for B1F.
All three layouts require Surf to navigate, and have Mewtwo located on B1F. All three additionally use an open layout with water for 1F and B1F, and a maze with no water for 2F.
Despite having different layouts, the items in Red, Green, and Blue are identical, and located on the same floors; their precise placements are the only thing that differs.
Yellow shares most of its items with Red, Green, and Blue. It contains no Nugget and one fewer Full Restore, but has one more Max Elixer, Rare Candy, and Ultra Ball, and two more Max Revives and PP Ups.