Pokemon Red FAQ (May 2015)

Pokemon Red FAQ (May 2015)

Q: What are you trying to do?
A: Beat Pokemon Red as quickly as possible without using glitches.

Q: What are you playing on?
A: A GameCube using a GameBoy Player.

Q: What is the world record?
A: 1:49 by me, according to the in-game timer.

Q: Why are you playing Red again?
A: Several reasons. First, the Red community is as strong and active as ever, and this always motivates me to run a game. Second, I want to improve my execution, especially with menuing strats that were found early this year. Third, a recent discovery allows encounters to manipulated in certain situations, such as when DSumming for Nidoran or walking through Mt. Moon, and this should save at least 1 second on average. Fourth, I want to run this game at the upcoming PSR marathon and/or a GDQ event, and I need to learn how to run more Nidorans to do this successfully.

Q: Are you going for 1:48?
A: If I get a run that has potential for 1:48, yes. I won't reset a run just because it no longer can 1:48.

Q: Why are you resetting?
A: Probably because my Nidoran's stats are bad. I rarely reset because of a bad time.

Q: What stats are you looking for?
A: Ideally, a Nidoran with 16 Attack, 15 Speed and 13 Special at Level 8. I might run a worse Nidoran in preparation for races or marathon runs.

Q: You keep saying "DV" -- what is that?
A: DV stands for dynamic value. Each Pokemon has a DV ranging from 0 to 15 for each stat. The higher the DV, the higher the growth rate for that stat. At Level 100, the difference between 0 and 15 DV is about 30 stat points. DVs help me decide which strategies to use, and I can determine them by checking my stats at certain level-ups.

Q: What is "red bar," and why is it important?
A: When your Pokemon is below 20.833% HP, its health bar turns red and a warning sound plays. While this sound is playing, the game does not pause to play certain other sounds, such as Pokemon cries and level-up jingles. Pokemon cries last about 0.9 seconds on average, and level-up jingles last 2.2 seconds.

Q: Why do you exit the grass when looking for Nidoran?
A: This is a form of RNG manipulation that is explained here: http://www.pokemonspeedruns.com/index.php/Pok%C3%A9mon_Red/Blue/Yellow_DSum_Manipulation

Q: Where can you save the most time on your 1:49 splits?
A: Route 3, Nugget Bridge and Misty (about 30 seconds each), Surge (30-90 seconds, depending on whether I have Paras) and the Elite Four (30 seconds; 60 with risky strats).

Q: Why are you playing on a brown palette?
A: Because it allows me to see the trainers in Rock Tunnel, which makes movement much easier. Hold up + B on the Game Boy title screen to use this palette.