Red (game)
| Red レッド Red | |
[[File: |{{{size}}}]]Art from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Pallet Town |
| Region | Kanto |
| Relatives | Mother |
| Trainer class | Pokémon Trainer, Player character |
| Generation | I, II, III, IV |
| Games | Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, Crystal, FireRed, LeafGreen, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Stadium 2 |
| Anime counterpart | Ash Ketchum |
| Counterpart debut | EP001 |
Red (Japanese: レッド Red) is the main playable character in the Generation I games and is the male choice in their Generation III remakes. In Generation III, his female counterpart is Leaf.
Story
Red is a curious 11-year-old boy from Pallet Town. The Generation I instruction booklets explain that Red became interested in Pokémon after his best friend, Blue, stopped playing with him and became a bully. His adventure begins one day when Oak calls the two of them to his lab and gives them each a choice of Pokémon. Blue challenges Red to a Pokémon battle as soon as they get their Pokémon. A bit later, Professor Oak calls the two back, gives them each a Pokédex, and sends them on a journey to fulfill his dream of capturing every type of Pokémon.
Red travels all over Kanto, filling in the Pokédex and defeating Gym Leaders. His rival Blue constantly stays one step ahead, and shows up quite a few times to impede his progress. When Red eventually reaches the Elite Four, he finds that Blue has beaten him to a milestone yet again and has become the league champion. Red defeats Blue in the final battle, and becomes the champion himself.
Red's main conflict in the games, aside from Blue, is Team Rocket, an infamous group of Pokémon thieves. Red clashes with Team Rocket many times in his quest. He defeats a group of grunts at Mt. Moon who are attempting to steal rare Pokémon fossils, and defeats another member ahead at a bridge in Cerulean City, as well as a member that stole a TM from a citizen of Cerulean City. Red protects the Pokémon Tower and Mr. Fuji in Lavender Town and destroys their hold on the Game Corner. After he foils their plot to take over Silph Co., Red encounters Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, as the final Gym Leader in Viridian City. Upon defeating him, Red stops the group's world domination plots once and for all, though a few remaining grunts, many who appeared and were defeated by Red on Chrono Island in Generation III, would band together in Johto to try and revive the group.
By the Generation II games, Red is no longer the Champion and Lance has taken his place. Red's title is simply "Pokémon Trainer" in this generation. He trains constantly on Mt. Silver and doesn't say anything to any Trainers he may come across (which could be a nod to the fact that Red never really spoke in previous games). When Gold or Kris meets Red in Mt. Silver, Red has the strongest party of Pokémon (with static levels) an NPC opponent had ever had in the series, including a Level 81 Pikachu, until Pearl's team in Pokémon Platinum. However, Red regains the honor in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, with his Pikachu being a whopping Level 88. Upon defeat, he vanishes wordlessly (possibly a reference to blacking out). In Generation IV, the player's Pokémon are rewarded with the Legend Ribbon after Red's defeat. He will reappear at Mt. Silver again if the player defeats the Elite Four again, and his party will remain unchanged in all subsequent battles.
Red also appears in Pokémon Stadium 2 as the last trainer players face in the combined Gym Leader Castle, after the defeat of all of the others.
Pokémon
Red is the most highly skilled Trainer in the Generation II and Generation IV games he appears in. His team references Pokémon Yellow, which is based on the anime.
Gold, Silver, and Crystal
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
HeartGold and SoulSilver
Pokémon Stadium 2
Round 1
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Round 2
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the Super Smash Bros. series
Red's hat actually was the first object that made an appearance in the Smash Bros. series, worn as one of the alternate outfits of Pikachu.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Red himself appears in Brawl, in his Generation III design, here named Pokémon Trainer (his actual name is not given in the game). He stands in the background and sends his Pokémon into the fight, which are alternated between Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard in that order; each is a member of one of the Kanto starter evolution families. His main stage, as well as Pikachu's, is Pokémon Stadium 2, Spear Pillar and Pokémon Stadium. He is voiced by Michele Knotz in the English version and 半場友恵 Tomoe Hanba in the Japanese version.
Instead of fighting like other characters in the game, Red battles using his team. Their moves are as follows. Note that all three Pokémon's Final Smashes combine to form Triple Finish.
In terms of gameplay, Squirtle is very quick and good at rapid-fire close range attacks, but light and easily KO'ed. Ivysaur is a good all-around fighter with balanced range and abilities but is poor in mid-air maneuvers. Charizard is very powerful and its attacks have lots of knockback, but it is very slow - its flying and gliding abilities make it excellent at returning to the stage, however.
His Final Smash is Triple Finish. It is a combination of Squirtle's Hydro Pump, Ivysaur's SolarBeam, and Charizard's Fire Blast.
Squirtle
| Standard Special Move | Side Special Move | Up Special Move | Down Special Move | Final Smash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pokémon Change |
Ivysaur
| Standard Special Move | Side Special Move | Up Special Move | Down Special Move | Final Smash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pokémon Change |
Charizard
| Standard Special Move | Side Special Move | Up Special Move | Down Special Move | Final Smash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Pokémon Change |
Subspace Emissary
The Pokémon Trainer is first encountered by Lucas in The Ruined Zoo. For most of the game, the two are paired together. Pokémon Trainer's mission is to capture Charizard and Ivysaur while Lucas's is to save Ness. On their way to the Ruins, the two are ambushed by Wario, who is eventually defeated by the two. Later in The Ruined Hall, they are attacked by Galleom. Once defeated, it sets off a timer bomb. Lucas saves Pokémon Trainer and they are then both saved by Meta Knight who carries them away from the explosion, which sucks up Wario's trophy into Subspace. From then on the two join Meta Knight, Marth, and Ike on their quest to take down the Subspace Army.
Codec information (on Shadow Moses Island)
- Solid Snake: "Pokémon Trainer... That's the guy giving orders behind a Pokémon, right?"
- Roy Campbell: "Right, and this Pokémon Trainer is controlling Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. They represent water, grass, and fire, and they're all powerful."
- Solid Snake: "So he makes his Pokémon fight while he sits back and watches. Sounds like a good deal if you ask me."
- Roy Campbell: "It's not like that, Snake. Those Pokémon wouldn't know what to do if the Pokémon Trainer wasn't there giving orders. In every battle, there's a soldier doing the fighting, and a commander telling him what to do. By working together as a team, they accomplish much more than either could on their own. So let's do this together, partner."
- Solid Snake: "...Yeah... Whatever you say, Colonel."
Trophy information
Pokémon Trainer
A person who raises Pokémon and trains them as partners in battle. In battle, a Trainer gives orders to the Pokémon and uses items. It's not an exaggeration to say battles can be won or lost on a Trainer's single strategic move. Trainers pour their hearts into their Pokémon and share anger, sadness, and joy as they adventure in hopes of becoming Pokémon Masters.
Triple Finish
The Final Smash of the Pokémon Trainer. Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard join forces to simultaneously use Hydro Pump, SolarBeam, and Fire Blast. This is the only time all three of them appear on the screen together, so this move boasts the strength of three in one. A window will appear on the screen saying "It's super effective!" when the attack hits.
In the TFG
Red appears as a common trainer figure in the launch set, Next Quest, of the Pokémon Trading Figure Game.
Counterparts
Ash Ketchum from the anime and the Electric Tale of Pikachu manga was designed based on Red. Furthermore, Ash's name comes from one of the optional names for Red. This has caused many fans to mistake Red for his anime counterpart. However, they are analogous but not the same and using one's name for the other is always a mistake. There are also many fans that believe that the main hero from Pokémon Yellow is Ash. This is also untrue. Pokémon Yellow's protagonist is still Red but slightly redesigned to look more similar to Ash, much like the storyline was designed to be closer to the anime. In other words, Ash in the anime is based on Red in the game series, but this cannot imply after all that they are the same. Although this idea is one of the most debatable topics in Pokémon, thinking about the analogy between the two characters is more convenient than considering them totally similar.
Other counterparts include Red from the Pokémon Adventures manga, Satoshi from Pokémon Zensho manga, Isamu Akai from Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga, who also made a cameo appearance in anime, and Shū from Pokémon Get da ze! manga.
Optional names for Red
| Language | Red | Green | Blue | Yellow | FireRed/LeafGreen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English |
|
|
|
| |||||||
| Japanese |
|
|
|
|
| ||||||
| German |
|
|
|
| |||||||
| French |
|
|
|
||||||||
| Italian |
|
|
|
||||||||
| Spanish |
|
|
|
Sprites
| File:Red.png | File:RB Red.png | File:Red RG2.png | File:Redback.png | File:Y Red.png | 
|
File:GSC Trainer Red.png | |
| Red sprite from Generation I |
Title screen sprite from Generation I (Worldwide, JP Blue) |
Title screen sprite from Generation I (Japan, Red and Green only) |
Red backsprite from Generation I |
Red sprite from Pokémon Yellow |
Red backsprite from Pokémon Yellow |
Red sprite from Generation II | |
|
|
|
File:PKMN Trainer RED.gif | File:RedHGSS.gif | 
|
|
|
| Intro sprite from Generation III |
Red sprite from Generation III |
Red backsprite from Generation III |
Red credits sprite from Generation III |
Red sprite from Generation IV |
Unused VS sprite from Generation IV | Red sprite from Pokémon Colosseum |
Red's headshot from Pokémon XD |
Trivia
- When Red is encountered in Mt. Silver during Generation II, he has no speech, merely repeating an ellipsis before beginning the battle. This is a reference to the fact that during Generation I he is a silent protagonist, answering only "yes" or "no" questions. He also remains silent when confronted in Generation IV.
- Ironically, in FireRed and LeafGreen, Blue calls him a chatty gossip.
- Much like there is minimal information on his anime counterpart's father, Red's father is mentioned only in passing when examining a SNES in the Celadon Department Store.
- Until the release of Pokémon Platinum, Red's team featured the highest-leveled opponent Pokémon a player could face outside of battle arenas such as the Stadium series and the Battle Frontier, with his Pikachu at level 81, beating the wild Arceus found at the Hall of Origin by one level. In Platinum, however, the rival's team receives a boost in level, putting his starter Pokémon at level 85, while wild Magikarp can be found in the Resort Area at up to level 100. Due to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver giving Red's team a level boost as well, with his Pikachu topping the list at level 88, Red is again the highest-leveled Trainer opponent (though wild Magikarp still are the highest level opponent Pokémon).
- Although the rival's Pokémon were at a higher level, however, several of Red's Pokémon had higher stats, due to their species' higher base stats, with his Charizard being the strongest (the rival's Infernape comes closest, mere points behind).
- In the Super Smash Bros. series, Pokémon Trainer is the second Pokémon character, after Pikachu, that didn't need to be unlocked.
- In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, somewhat ironically, Charizard is the slowest character, even though the Charmander evolution family has an exceptionally high Speed stat compared to the other two Kanto starters.
- Red's team is based heavily on in-game events from Generation I and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen: Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, and Pikachu are the version mascots of the four Generation I games, and are as well available in all iterations of the Kanto storyline (the three starters being obtainable in their first form, and Pikachu as the main starter, during different in-game Pokémon Yellow events); Espeon could have been obtained as an Eevee in Celadon City, Lapras is given away by a Silph Co. employee shortly before Team Rocket is vanquished there, and Snorlax is required to be caught or defeated to travel to Fuchsia City (in Generation II and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, only one Snorlax is found blocking the way in Kanto, indicating a possible connection).
- Likewise, the four version mascots Red owns all know a special move that is somewhat exclusive to them in Generation IV: Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur know the elemental versions of Hyper Beam, only obtainable by talking to a woman on Boon Island's Cape Brink, while Pikachu knows Volt Tackle.
- Red's Pikachu's four moves are the same four moves that Ash's Pikachu knows presently in the anime: Volt Tackle, Quick Attack, Iron Tail, and Thunderbolt.
- An unused default name for Red in the English Generation I games was "NINTEN". Conversely, Blue's unused default name is "SONY". While normally unviewable, changing a few addresses within the game's code can allow for these names to appear as shown here. This references the fact that in the years surrounding the releases of the Generation I games, Sony was Nintendo's main competition, and may possibly reference the main character of another Nintendo RPG, Mother.
- Hidden name data for Red in the Japanese Generation I games include: やまぐち Yamaguchi for the player and いしはら Ishihara for the rival in Pokémon Red and Green. It is currently unknown to whom Yamaguchi refers to. Conversely, the Rival's name translates to Tsunekaz Ishihara, who is now the head of The Pokémon Company. In Pokémon Blue, the player's unused default name is ゲーフリ Gēfuri, an abbreviation of Game Freak's Japanese name ゲームフリーク Gēmu Furīku. As for the rival, his name is クリチャ Kuricha, in what it seems a reference to Creatures, Inc. As for Pokémon Yellow, it preserved the rival's name from Pokémon Blue; however, for an unknown reason, the player's name was subtly altered by gaining an extra digit, becoming "ゲーフリ1". For more information, see this article.
- The majority of his Japanese default names from FireRed and LeafGreen are shared with Gold and Lucas. The same holds true for their respective female counterparts.
- All of the three Kanto starter Pokémon used in his Generation II battle have the moves that appeared on their Base Set cards.
- In HeartGold and SoulSilver, apart from his Venusaur and Blastoise being fully evolved, Red's team is identical to that of Ash Ketchum throughout most of the Orange Islands anime arc (Ash's Bulbasaur and Squirtle were at the time, and still are presently, in their base forms).
- So far, Red has appeared in all four generations.
In other languages
- French: Red
- German: Rot
- Italian: Rosso
- Spanish: Rojo
- Korean 레드 Redeu
| Player characters | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||
Professor Elm • Professor Oak • Mom • Ethan • Lyra • Silver • Mr. Pokémon • Eusine • Lance • Red • Kiyo • Baoba • Magnus • Earl • Kurt • Carrie • Dude
Mary • Buena • Radio Director • Haircut brothers • Webster • Master • Li • Wilma • Primo • Maximo • Jet • Caitlin • Cynthia • Cameron • Mr. Game • Felicity • Teala
Team Rocket • Gym guide • Gym Leaders • Frontier Brains • Kimono Girls • Week Siblings • Name Rater • Poké Seer • Day-Care Couple • Professors' aides
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
