As the first-ever playable character in the Pokemon series, Red has become an iconic figure within the Pokemon series’ fandom as well as its overall mythos. Having maintained his popularity over the years, Red might very well be the most easily recognized non-Pokemon of the entire series. Red also served as the inspiration for the anime’s main character, Ash Ketchum, and so his influence on the series in the decades since its first release is clear through his presence in various games, spin-offs, and merchandise.

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Players might be most familiar with Red as their avatar throughout their Kanto adventures, but he’s appeared in plenty of games since then. In subsequent mainline entries, Red has appeared in order to challenge the player. These battles all vary in difficulty, with some being a little easier than others. Regardless, it’s always fun to revisit the series’ origins by taking on the original Pokemon master.

Updated September 12, 2023, by Ben Painter: Red is a common character across the Pokemon games, regularly encountered as an elite trainer for the player to face at the end of the game. Pokemon's latest entry in the franchise Pokemon Scarlet & Violet does not feature the iconic trainer. The upcoming DLC The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, may include Red, but nothing in the trailer suggests so. With Ash leaving the Anime, maybe Red is leaving the franchise also to focus on newer characters, but only time will tell.

10 Pokemon Battle Revolution

Pokemon Battle Revolution is a forgotten game released in the series and it came out in 2007 for the Nintendo Wii. It was a battle-centric game that allowed trainers to use their Pokemon teams from the fourth generation of games from the Nintendo DS.

A weird thing happened between the marketing of this game and its final release. In a trailer, for the Nintendo Wii title Red was showcased battling with a Deoxys and a Wailord, and the trainer known as Leaf. As epic as this was in Pokemon Battle Revolution's debut trailer when the final version of the game was released Red was nowhere to be found. So even though he wasn't in the actual game, Red and his team were used as a major selling point during its marketing campaign.

9 Pokemon Masters EX

Despite its popularity, Pokemon Masters EX is a game that rarely gets the spotlight of other games in the series. It's a gacha game for mobile devices that places an emphasis on being able to battle famous Pokemon trainers from throughout the series' history, whether that be the games or anime. Red, as expected, is one of the featured trainers in the game and has a team of three Pokemon tied to his legacy.

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His team includes his lifelong partner Pikachu, his sturdy starter companion Charizard, and his defensive slumbering tank Snorlax. It may not have all of the usual members of Red's team, but the three it has definitely deserved to be there. In August of 2023 Articuno was added to his roster of Pokemon, making the first time that Red has used this Pokemon in any of the Pokemon Games.

8 Super Smash Bros.

People may forget that the Pokemon Trainer in Super Smash Bros. isn't just a vanilla trainer, but rather the famous Pokemon Master known as Red. He may only be sporting three Pokemon on his team in the game, but the trio is more than capable of holding their own against the vast and powerful roster featured in each Super Smash Bros. entry. On Red's team are a Charizard, Ivysaur, and Squirtle.

It's a nice way to showcase each Kanto native starter evolutionary line, while also giving players a varied array of attacks and movement capabilities at their disposal. It'd be neat if they let players choose which starter evolutionary stage each type had, though it'd still be required for one to be base, another middle stage, and the last one to be a final form.

7 Pokemon Let’s Go! Pikachu & Let’s Go! Eevee

Despite not being the playable character in the Let’s Go games, Red still has a role to play toward the end of the adventure. Players can challenge Red at the Indigo Plateau, where they’ll notice that this iteration has a slightly different team comp than what he’s typically known for.

Red’s iconic Pikachu is still by his side, as are Lapras and Snorlax. Interestingly enough, Red only gets one starter this time around, sporting a Venusaur alongside Arcanine and Machamp. While this isn’t the most challenging battle in the series, it’s still one of the toughest in its respective game.

With a fairly different team to the ones gamers have seen before, Red's team has good type coverage so the player should pick their team carefully. Ground-type Pokemon such as Nidoking or Golem should be used to counter Pikachu, Machamp will require a Flying or Psychic-type such as Pidgeot or Alakazam to do some real damage, Blastoise would be the perfect counter to Arcanine, Jolteon or Pikachu will be perfect to take on Lapras, Snorlax will require a Fighting-type Pokemon such as Machamp, Hitmonlee or Hitmonchan and lastly a Charizard would be perfect to destroy Venusaur - make sure to Mega Evolve as Red's Venusaur does.

6 Pokemon Stadium 2 – First Round

While he didn’t make an appearance in its predecessor, Red shows up in Pokemon Stadium 2 and makes quite the impression. Red is a part of the Kanto Gym Leader Castle, challenging the player after they’ve defeated all eight Kanto gym leaders. These battles are notable for a few reasons, the most evident being the absence of his Pikachu.

The first round sees Red come at the player with all three Johto starters. Meganium, Typhlosion, and Feraligatr make for quite the trio and prove to be a fun challenge. The rest of his team consists of a Tauros (a possible anime callback), Scizor, and a Jolteon which seems to serve as an Electric-type replacement for Pikachu.

A Fire-type Pokemon would be handy to take on Meganium and Scizor, Charizard, Arcanine or Tylphosion is perfect here. Feraligatr will require an Electic-type as Blizzard would be dangerous for a Grass 'mon, Raichu or Ampharos are the ideal candidates. Typhlosion and Jolteon will be bested by a Ground-type such as Quagsire or Donphan. Tauros will need a strong Fighting-type to best deal with, Heracross or Machamp is the pick of the bunch.

5 Pokemon Stadium 2 – Second Round

Round two of this fight brings about a few changes, which reasonably make this slightly more of a challenge than its predecessor. Red’s team looks completely different this time around, save for the fact that he’s still using an Eeveelution. This time, however, it’s one of the at the time new Gen II additions.

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Red’s round two team breaks with usual etiquette and makes use of a slew of legendary Pokemon. Players have to overcome the Legendary Beast trio of Entei, Raikou, and Suicune as well as some familiar faces in Snorlax and Espeon. The last Pokemon, Dragonite isn’t one that’s often associated with Red. But he sure knows how to get the most out of it alongside the rest.

Red's team is very clever with moves on each of his Pokemon that will counter one of their weaknesses, Raikou and Entei should be faced with a powerful Ground-type Quagsire is perfect here. Suicune should be met with an Electric-type such as Zapdos or Raikou. Dragonite has a Fighting move to counter its Ice weakness but no Dragon move so a Dragonite might be perfect. Snolax has a Flying-type move so Fighting Pokemon may struggle his slowness is also helped by a Quick Claw, Machamp is still the best choice here. Espeon has Bite to counter Ghost types and Hidden Power fire to deal with Bugs, a Dark-type is the best bet and Tyranitar is the cream of the crop.

4 Pokemon Gold, Silver & Crystal

The Gen II games were a massive step in the right direction for the franchise, improving on several gameplay and quality-of-life elements from the originals. Of all the memorable moments in those games, the most iconic came at the very end, where the player reaches the top of Mt. Silver and finds a familiar face waiting for them.

The surprise of running into Red was matched only by the challenge of facing off against him. This is without a doubt the most challenging battle in the game, and that’s all thanks to Red’s great team of Pokemon. With Pikachu by his side, Red is complemented by a combination of Snorlax, Espeopn, Charizard, Venusar, and Blastoise. This can get to be pretty tough but makes defeating Red that much more satisfying.

To take on Red's very varied team players will need a strong team that will counter each of his many types, Red's lead Pikachu will need a powerful Ground type such as Quagsire, and Espeon's perfect counter would be a Scizor or Tyranitar, Snorlax will need a Fighting-type such as Machamp or Poliwrath, Venusaur can be taken on with a Fire-type such as Typhlosion or a Flying-Type like Noctowl. Charizard's weakness is a Rock-type, Tyranitar is perfect here again. Last but not least Blastoise has Blizzard so it's best to avoid any Grass Pokemon, Electric 'mons such as Ampharos will do the job.

3 Pokemon Black 2 & White 2

Black 2 & White 2’s Pokemon World Tournament pitted players against a wide variety of legendary trainers, each proving to be a greater challenge than the last. Blue, Giovanni, Steven, and Lance were just some of the trainers part of the event. While all of those involved brought with them their own unique challenges, Red was the most recognizable of the participants.

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Red’s team for this one is a pretty familiar one. As always, Red is accompanied by his trusty Pikachu. The Kanto starters are right beside it, with Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur proving to be some of the toughest aspects of the fight. Lapras and Snorlax round off the rest of the team, making it a who’s who of Gen I talent.

It depends on what type of battle the player goes into, Red will take in three of these Pokemon in Single Battles, four in double and rotation battles and all six in triple battles. If the player is going into a triple battle then it is best to take an Electric-type Pokemon such as Magnezone or Eelektross to deal with Lapras and Blastoise. Ground will be the best for Pikachu and Krookodile is the pick of the bunch. Venusaur is best dealt with by Flying or Ice types due to Earthquake, Crobat and Mamoswine are the choices. Charizard is best countered with Rock so Archeops or Gigalith are perfect here. Last but not least is Snorlax which must be beaten with a Fighting-type and Heracross is the ideal 'mon.

2 Pokemon HeartGold & SoulSilver

Gen IV’s Johto remakes added some quality-of-life improvements as well as new content to the Gen II framework, but a lot of what was in the old games stayed when it came to putting together the remakes. The battle against Red on Mt. Silver is no different.

Though the Pokemon in his party might be a little stronger than they were in Gen II, this is the exact same team from the first time around. The increased levels do make things more of a challenge but don’t go so far as to make this the toughest battle players will have against this Pokemon icon.

With a similar team to the games that HeartGold &SoulSilver were remade from, the only difference being Lapras replacing Espeon, this makes the battle easier as there will be no need for a Dark-type in the team. Quagsire is perfect for Pikachu, Ampharos is the counter to both Blastoise and Lapras, Heracross is the right choice for Snorlax, Typhlosion or Pigeot will take on Venusaur, Tyranitar is perfect against Charizard thanks to its 4x weakness to Rock.

1 Pokemon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon

Red appears alongside Blue in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon as co-leader of the Battle Tree. Part of the exclusive Battle Legend class, Red gives players the most difficult challenge they’ll face in their Alola adventures.

Red’s team during this event is similar to what he’s had in most other mainline games. The only thing that varies is his Pokemon’s abilities and held items. This can be tough to plan for but adds an extra layer of difficulty that makes this one of the most enjoyable battles you’ll have against the iconic trainer.

With a similar team to most of his other appearances, the typings of the Pokemon stay the same but with the games set in Alola, the species of Pokemon that can be found in that region are vastly different. The best Ground type to take on Pikachu is Mudsdale or Pallosand, Venusaur will require a strong Fire-type Salazzle is amazing here but a Toucannon is another great choice. Charizard's mortal enemy is the Rock-type and the best of the bunch is a Lycanroc. Blastoise and Lapras are taken care of with an Electric-type and Alolan Raichu or Vikavolt is perfect. Snorlax needs to be taken down with a Fighting type and Bewear or Kommo-o are the Pokemon to do it.

Sun & Moon

Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon

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