So I’ve been replaying Pokémon Fire Red lately – you know, the classic. Been doing this challenge run focusing purely on gym leaders, trying to crack the toughest ones with the best possible teams without overleveling like crazy. Man, some of these gyms… they’re nightmares if you go in blind.
Starting With Brock? Total Pushover.
Okay, Brock first. Easy peasy. Grabbed a Bulbasaur as my starter. Named it “Viney” because I suck at names. Wiped the floor with Brock using Viney’s Vine Whip. His rock types crumpled like paper. Not exactly a “hard” gym, right? Everyone knows Bulbasaur smashes Brock. Moved on fast.
Misty Made Me Sweat
Misty’s Starmie though? That thing was obnoxious. My Viney evolved into Ivysaur, which should wreck water types, right? Wrong. Starmie was too damn fast, kept hitting Bubblebeam for solid damage and whittling Viney down. Took a couple of tries.
Solved it like this:
- Leveled Viney up a bit more for bulkier Razor Leaf.
- Caught an Oddish in the forest (named it “Stinky”). Evolved it into Gloom quick.
- Used Viney to take out Goldeen.
- Sent Stinky in against Starmie to absorb Bubblebeams and chip away with Acid. Didn’t care about poison; just needed Starmie slowed down.
Viney finished it off with Razor Leaf when Starmie focused on poisoning Stinky. Felt messy, but got the job done and the Cascade Badge.
Koga’s Poison Pit
Fuchsia City’s Koga. Man. Toxic Spikes. Constant poisoning. Venonats confusing you. That Muk just wouldn’t die! Went in with my usual team and got absolutely wrecked the first time. Felt like my Pokémon were coughing up blood for days.
Had to rethink hard. What wrecks poison? Ground types! So:
- Grinded hard for a Sandslash near Vermillion (named “Diggy”). Taught it Dig.
- Brought my Kadabra (“Psyblade”) for Psychic power.
- Kept Viney (now Venusaur) for support – mostly Sleep Powder.
Strategy:
Spike the spikes. Sent out Diggy first to eat the poison spikes and get poisoned immediately (sucks, but necessary). Didn’t fight, just switched out.
Sleep the sweepers. Sent Viney in next. Used Sleep Powder on anything scary.
Psychic massacre. Psyblade came in clean and started blasting everything with Psychic. Koga’s Weezing and Muk were slow enough that Psyblade outsped and usually one-shot them.
Diggy cleanup. Any stragglers, Diggy dug deep and wrecked them. Soul Badge claimed. Felt like cracking a safe.
The Nightmare: Sabrina’s Psychic Gauntlet
Holy crap, Saffron Gym. Sabrina’s psychic squad hits like trucks made of pure brainpower. Alakazam especially. Faster than greased lightning. Wiped me in seconds multiple times. My usual Kadabra? Fainted before it could sneeze. So frustrating.
Realized I needed something Sabrina couldn’t touch. Ghost or Dark. But Dark doesn’t exist in Gen I mechanics! So, ghosts are the way. Found an Abra? Nah. Grinded like mad for a Gastly in the Pokémon Tower. Took forever. Named it “Spooky”. Evolved to Haunter (“Spookier”), then finally traded with a friend real quick to get Gengar (“Spookiest”).
Built the team:
- Spookiest (Gengar) – STAR of the show.
- A strong Pidgeotto evolved to Pidgeot (“Flyboy”) for physical hits.
- Kept Psyblade (Kadabra) hoping maybe it could trade blows if needed.
Fight time:
Ghostly immunity. Sent Spookiest in first. Sabrina’s team cannot hit him with Psychic! Mr. Mime, Venomoth, Kadabra? All Psychic attacks bounced right off. Laughed my ass off.
Spooky damage. Just spammed Shadow Ball and Night Shade (Ghost STAB!). Tore through Kadabra and Mr. Mime. Easy.
Flyboy finisher. Her Alakazam came out. Faster than Spookiest! Almost panicked. Quickly swapped to Flyboy. Took the big Psychic hit like a champ. Flew right through it and nailed Alakazam with Fly for massive damage.
Cleanup crew. Spookiest came back in, dodged a weakened hit (maybe luck?), and finished the Alakazam. Mars Badge mine! That Gengar trick was pure, cheesy genius. Best $0 I ever spent on a strategy.
Blaine’s Burning Down the House
Cinnabar Island. Blaine loves his special attack powerhouses. Fire Spin, Confuse Ray, the works. Went in thinking Surf would solve everything. Got burned. Literally. That Arcanine with Dragon Rage? Ouch.
Solution? Get wet. Got a Vaporeon (“Splashy”) early on by evolving an Eevee with water stone. Absolutely the MVP here. Team:
- Splashy (Vaporeon)
- Viney (Venusaur) for type backup.
- Dug up an old Slowpoke, evolved to Slowbro (“Drowzy”).
Strategy:
Surf central. Sent Splashy out first. Used Surf on everything. Wrecked Ponyta, Rapidash, Growlithe easily.
Arcanine counter. Arcanine came out. Dragon Rage hits hard regardless! Swapped to Drowzy. That Psychic typing gave it extra special bulk. Used Surf while tanking the damage.
Splashy finish. Swapped Splashy back in for the final Surf KO once Arcanine got chipped down. Volcano Badge earned without too much sweat after figuring out Surf spam was key.
Honestly, felt awesome cracking these tough nuts. Sabrina especially took years off my life before the ghost trick. Next stop: The Pokémon League!