Pokémon FireRed FAQ

Q: What are you trying to do?
A: The aim of this run is to start a new save file of Pokémon Fire Red or Leaf Green and go through the whole game in one segment (without saving and quitting), to ultimately defeat the Elite Four and your Rival and become the Pokémon Champion as fast as possible.

Q: Are there any glitches in this run?
A: Simply put, no. While there are glitches in Fire Red and Leaf Green, none of them can assist in making this category faster and the only useful glitch requires trading from Pokémon Emerald, which is banned. So, while you CAN use glitches in this category, it just wastes time.

Q: Who holds the current world record and what is it?
A: http://www.speedrun.com/pkmnfrlg

Q: What Pokémon do you use?
A: Squirtle is your main Pokémon. He has the best moveset to use out of the starter Pokémon, particularly because of Brock. Pidgey or Spearow act as your fly slave, and Ratatta or Paras act as your cut/dig slave.

Q: Does the version you choose matter (FireRed vs LeafGreen)?
A: Not one bit. The route works out the exact same between versions.

Q: What stats are you looking for with your starter?
A: At level 5, 10 Attack, 11 Special Attack, 9 Speed, without a hindering nature.
Those stats are the minimum stats needed for the run. It is preferred to run with 11 attack over 10, but the route used can use a 10 attack Squirtle. There are certain damage ranges that you will miss with a really low 10 attack IV though.
You also need a nature that does not reduce special attack. Ones that reduce Special Attack are Adamant, Impish, Jolly, and Careful. The best natures increase special attack. In order, the best ones are Rash, Quiet, Mild, and Modest. With those beneficial natures, you want to have 12 special attack for it to be worthwhile.
You also need to check your stats after the Level 9 Weedle fight. If your Special Attack isn't 15 at level 8, it's usually a reset, as the special IV isn't high enough. If you started the run with a 12 special attack Squirtle, getting the 15 at level 7 is preferred, as you can save time in several places.

Q: What is Torrent?
A: When a Pokémon with Torrent uses a Water-type move, the power will increase by 1.5× if the user has less than or equal to one third of its maximum HP remaining.

Q: Does picking the boy or girl matter?
A: Not at all, but the girl is cute.

Q: Why do you name yourself, your Rival, and your Squirtle a One character name?
A: Because every character in a text box is played out at the same speed, a one character name saves time over the course of a run. For the HM slaves, it's not as important, but for the names you see super often, it's worth it.

Q: Are you playing this on emulator?
A: No, I am playing on the Game Boy Player attachment for the GameCube.

Q: Where can I find the programs you're using to predict Squirtle's IVs?
A: The predictor can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/s/p39y21iwk7m0ltc/1frpredict.jar?dl=0. The IV calculator can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/s/dnzovsnbomuyg17/2frpedict.jar?dl=0.