Old man (Kanto)

Old man おじいさん Old man
The old man blocking the path
Gender	Male
Hometown	Viridian City
Region	Kanto
Relatives	Maximo (grandson), Primo (grandson)
Trainer class	Trainer
Generation	I, II, III, IV
Games	Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen, HeartGold and SoulSilver

The old man (Japanese: おじいさん old man) is a small, grumpy old man that lives in Viridian City, Kanto. At first, he is very grumpy and will not let the player pass through to Route 2, until he has had his coffee for the day. This is just a barrier in the game, so the player will not wander past Viridian City until the player goes to the Viridian Poké Mart and delivers a parcel to Professor Oak.

After that, he starts to lighten up and help the player by teaching them how to catch a Pokémon using a Poké Ball. This is a guide for novice players in Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow, and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. In Red, Blue, FireRed and LeafGreen, he catches a Weedle; in Yellow, he fails to catch a Rattata. He will also give the player a Teachy TV in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, which teaches the player a variety of things about battling and catching Pokémon. His grandson, Primo, is the host of the show.

He appears again in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, and Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver saying that he had his cup of coffee, which is revealed to be a double shot of espresso, and also tells the player he was once an expert at catching Pokémon. This is a reference to the events that happened three years before Generation II. Because Kanto is not accessed until later in those games, the old man will not demonstrate how to catch Pokémon; this role is taken by Route 29's Dude in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, and Ethan or Lyra in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

In the games where Kanto is not accessible, the role is taken over by a different character. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the role is taken over by Lucas or Dawn while in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald there is no one to teach the player how to catch Pokémon. Instead, the player watches Wally capture his first Pokémon.

In the original Japanese games, the old man is not grumpy from lack of coffee, but rather passed out; drunk. This was changed in English for obvious reasons, as this could be deemed as "unsuitable" by parent activist groups.

Old man glitch

Main article: Old man glitch

The old man glitch is probably one of the most infamous glitches in the Generation I Pokémon games. It causes wild Missingno., 'M and various Pokémon over level 100 or at level 80 to appear.

Pokémon

Pokémon Red and Blue

	Type:   Bug   Types:   Bug     Poison
Weedle Lv.5
Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

	Type:   Bug   Types:   Bug     Poison   Ability: Shield Dust Held item: None
Weedle♂ Lv.5
Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --       Struggle Normal   --

Appearance

Back sprite from Red and Blue	Back sprite from Yellow	Overworld passed out sprite from FireRed and LeafGreen	Back sprite from FireRed and LeafGreen

Gallery

• 

  The old man in Red, Green and Blue

• 

  The old man in Yellow, attempting to catch a Rattata instead.

• 

  The old man, as he appears in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, shows the player how to catch wild Pokémon.

Trivia

• The old man was the first non-player character to receive a back sprite.
  • The old man, Dude and Primo are the only Trainers to have back sprites but not front sprites.
• In Pokémon Red and Blue, he owns a total of 50 Poké Balls in his bag before he demonstrates how to catch Pokémon to the Trainer. This amount was changed to one in Pokémon Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen.

In other languages

Language Title French Viellard* Le vieil homme* Spanish Anciano

This game character article is part of Project CharacterDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on each character found in the Pokémon games.