My FireRed Rocket Journey Starts Here
So today I dusted off my old Gameboy SP – yeah, the clamshell one – and slapped in my FireRed Rocket cartridge. Been ages since I played a Pokémon hack, and everyone keeps raving about this one. Time to see what the fuss is about.
Right off the bat, the game drops me into the story as a member of Team Rocket. No noble trainer beginning here! Professor Oak’s giving me the usual spiel, but it feels different knowing I’m basically the bad guy. My first task? Pick a starter, obviously.
I scanned the choices: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle. Went with Charmander. Why? Because I figured Fire type might help melt some early roadblocks faster. Also, Charizard down the line? Always a beast. Grabbed it and immediately had to battle my rival. He picked Squirtle. Talk about annoying.
That first fight was messy. Charmander’s Scratch vs. Squirtle? Oof. Did barely any damage, and Squirtle’s Tackle hurt. Had to rush through the battle menu, used a Potion I found lying around near Viridian City just before. Barely scraped the win. Felt like luck.
Getting My Bearings & Early Grind
Viridian City was my first stop. The Poké Mart guy just gave me stuff! Parcel delivery mission felt weirdly normal after joining Team Rocket. Delivered it to Oak, got my Pokédex, the usual rigmarole. Rival popped up again outside Oaks. This time I was ready.
- Leveled Charmander to 16 battling wild Pidgeys and Rattatas on Route 22 first. Wasted a few Potions, but hey, grinding needs fuel.
- Evolved into Charmeleon! Big power boost. Made the rival fight way smoother.
- Against his Pidgey: One Ember took it down clean. His starter (Squirtle now Wartortle) was trickier. Ember did okay-ish damage, survived one Water Gun, potioned up when low, and chipped away. Still close!
Trekked towards Viridian Forest. Caught a Weedle – figured a Bug type might be handy early on. Trained it a bit, evolved it quickly into Kakuna. Mostly just used Charmeleon for everything though. Efficiency, you know?
First Real Rocket Mission & Brock
Got stopped before entering Pewter City by a Rocket Grunt. Finally! Actual faction stuff. He sent me to the Pokémon Center back in Viridian. Not what I expected. Talked to the guy behind the counter, got some cryptic instructions about a “back door” code.
Found the switch! Wasn’t obvious at all. Pressed the hidden switch behind some pots. Door slid open. Felt cool. Inside, grabbed the package the Grunt wanted – some stolen goods, I guess. Mission complete.
Now, Brock. Rock types. My Charmeleon was Fire. Bad matchup. Didn’t panic.
- Grinded outside Pewter again. Specifically caught a few Mankeys popping up on Route 22 (got lucky!). Trained one up.
- Leveled that Mankey to 16. Evolved it into Primeape! Learned Low Kick. Perfect against rock.
- Brock fight: Sent out Charmeleon first against Geodude, took a hit while I switched to Primeape. Low Kick wrecked Geodude fast. Onix came out. Primeape took one Tackle, survived with like 10 HP, landed another Low Kick. Done. Super satisfying.
Got the Boulder Badge, feeling smug. My Primeape carried hard. Rival appeared again outside Mt. Moon for another scrap. He’s getting predictable.
And that’s where I’m leaving it for today! Made solid progress. Key learnings: Don’t sleep on catching early route Pokémon just because they look weak (Mankey MVP!), always be ready for rival ambushes, and explore everywhere – those hidden switches matter. On to Mt. Moon and whatever shady Rocket stuff awaits!