Is Red's Pokémon Team Actually Any Good?
An iconic Trainer and Pokémon Champion, Red is a challenging opponent for any player, but his team might not be as formidable in competitive play.
Among Pokémon fans, most know Red as the main protagonist of the Gen I Pokémon games and may wrongly assume he's the games' copy of Ash Ketchum. However, Red's legacy reaches beyond the original games, to the point where he is considered one of the strongest Pokémon Trainers of all time.
Red is the Champion from Pallet Town, and actually returns in various Pokémon games as a tough Trainer to battle against. The spine of his teams tend to stay the same, but with appropriate changes here and there. Yet as formidable a Champion and Trainer he is, it's interesting to consider and analyze how good his teams actually are — especially when taken onto the competitive circuit or used by casual players.
Red's First Team Has Type Coverage But No Real Wow Factor
Where This Team Can Be Found
The first time that players face off against Red is at the very end of the original Gold and Silver games as well as Crystal. The Gen II games took on the grand challenge of incorporating their new region of Johto into the previous one of Kanto.
Players can explore both, taking on 8 Gyms in each region. While the Elite Four and Champion represent the ultimate test for Johto, Red lies in wait at the end of the Kanto campaign. Atop Mt. Silver, players face off against Red and his powerful party, ranging from level 73 to 81.
The Team
For Red's debut as an opponent in the Pokémon games, he starts off with the classic trusty Pikachu. In the original Gen II games, his Pikachu is level 81, but this scales upwards for the remakes. Pikachu's moveset is nothing special beyond Normal-type moves — Thunderbolt and Thunder — since Pikachu primarily focuses on out-speeding the players and quickly paralyzing them.
Next up, are the classic starter Pokémon powerhouses: Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard. Each of them brings the best of their primary types, but with additional coverage. Blastoise has the Ice-type move Blizzard, Charizard has Flying-type coverage with Wing Attack, and Venusaur can set up Charizard's Fire-type moves with Sunny Day. The other members of this team are Snorlax and Espeon. This is the one and only appearance from Espeon on Red's team in the entire series. While Espeon can be tricky with reflect and Psychic; Ghost and Dark types can make quick work of it.
How This Team Translates To Competitive
Taking Red's original team to competitive Pokémon would throw up mixed results. Outside its position as the franchise mascot — and its overpowered displays alongside Ash Ketchum — Pikachu never translates well when it comes to being used by players. A base stat total of 320 just isn't enough to contend when it comes to the intensity of competitive battles. Even the Partner Pikachu's stats of 430 would be borderline.
The rest of Red's original team is arguably too slow to operate outside of Trick Room strategies, meaning that Espeon using the Gen IV move could well turn this team into a more formidable unit. Snorlax, Blastoise, and Venusaur would benefit from this, and it would only really hamper Charizard, Pikachu, and Espeon itself. Red's team could also implement various Sun strategies. Venusaur and Espeon could use Sunny Day to help Charizard's Fire-type moves and Venusaur's Solar Beam. Ultimately, given the fragility Pikachu and Espeon possess — coupled with Venusaur, Blastoise, and Snorlax's slowness — this team could use some improvements by adding in Pokémon from later generations.
Red's Second Team Follows In The Same Vein
Where This Team Can Be Found
Red's team in the Gen II remakes HeartGold & SoulSilver is very similar to the originals, as he is once again found atop Mt. Silver. However, this altered team then appears in several other games.
Red is a possible opponent in Black 2 & White 2, Sun & Moon, and Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon, but in the latter, he has a Battle Tree version of the team that leaves out Pikachu. These appearances once again showcase how Red is a tough Trainer and worthy Champion, despite barely changing the team at all since his original outing.
The Team
Red's second team that stays with him through multiple generations is very similar to his first outing, just with one minor tweak. Lapras comes in to replace Espeon, which makes it feel more like a Red team, than one that shoe-horned a Johto Pokémon in. In HeartGold & SoulSilver, Lapras even keeps that Psychic-type coverage in the team thanks to the move Psychic, as well as it knowing powerful moves like Body Slam, Brine, and Blizzard. This versatile moveset even adapts through its other appearances, giving Lapras Thunderbolt in Black 2 & White 2.
Pikachu, Snorlax, Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise all return to complete Red's team once again, and through these additional appearances, they each improve on their respective movesets. Pikachu adds Iron Tail to its arsenal, Snorlax adopts Dark and Ghost moves, Charizard delves into its Dragon roots, and Venusaur utilizes its Poison typing while Blastoise gets rough with Focus Blast.
How This Team Translates To Competitive
The type coverage that Red's second team brings to the table, immediately makes it more competitively viable, even if they did technically have most of those moves at their disposal before. Pikachu remains a weak link in the transition over to competitive play, and Lapras only serves to add another slow yet tanky player to the team.
However, for those who make clever swaps and take advantage of super-effective type matchups, this team can emerge victorious. Yet while it consists of popular Kanto species, it will always be predictable and easy to counter. The heavy-hitting Pokémon like Blastoise, Charizard, Snorlax, and Lapras help maintain Red's intimidating reputation, but wouldn't necessarily be able to back it up with victory.
Red's Third Team Has Serious Competitive Viability
Where This Team Can Be Found
While there is still a very clear core backbone to Red's teams in the mainline Pokémon games, Let's Go Eevee and Let's Go Pikachu definitely provide the most variation of the three different teams. In these games, players can find Red standing outside the Pokémon League at the Indigo Plateau.
However, to face off against Red, players must first have defeated six Masters Trainers. Masters Trainers can be found all over Kanto after becoming Champion, and there are actually 153 in total. Defeating at least six is no chore, since ultimately it helps prepare the player for the ultimate challenge: Red.
The Team
Red's team in Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee is the only version outside his Pokémon Stadium 2 teams, where he doesn't include all the Kanto starters. In fact, only Venusaur remains of the original trio, with Pikachu, Lapras, and Snorlax also returning once again.
Red's third team is completed by Arcanine and Machamp, coming in for Charizard and Blastoise. While Arcanine for Charizard is a straight swap of Fire types, Machamp adds a whole new offensive dimension to Red's team. Ultimately, Lapras already has the Water-type coverage necessary to keep a balanced team.
How This Team Translates To Competitive
Red's team from Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee is by far his best when translated into competitive Pokémon play. Pikachu remains a sole weak-point of the team, as even though Machamp is yet another slow addition to the team, its physical offense and Fighting-type moves are valuable for dealing with Dark, Rock, Steel, and Normal types.
Venusaur, Lapras, and Snorlax continue as normal with their bulky roles in the team, giving them the means to support the rest of the team if needed to do so. Arcanine is the final piece of Red's best team. A Legendary Pokémon, Arcanine would become a permanent fixture on the competitive scene over the years. Arcanine has terrifying Speed stats and powerful Fire-type moves but also the Intimidate Ability. Intimidate reduces an opponent's Attack whenever Arcanine enters the field, which can be manipulated to happen multiple times to really help stall a foe's progress. Red's Let's Go team may not be the most memorable of the series, but it's certainly his strongest.
Red has always had the reputation worthy of a mighty Pokémon Trainer, but this is harmed when taking a closer look at how his teams would transfer over to competitive play. Pokémon like Pikachu, Espeon, and Lapras represent clear weaknesses, but this doesn't completely discount their viability. On the other hand, the likes of Arcanine, Charizard, and Snorlax bring enough firepower and general versatility that they could certainly hang with the very best in competitive Pokémon.
Many Pokémon fans would love to see Red branch out and acquire Pokémon from later generations, but that wouldn't really fit his style. Red does boast powerful teams in Pokémon Stadium 2 that incorporate Johto additions, from Meganium and Scizor to even the Legendary beasts of Entei, Suicune, and Raikou. This whets fans' appetite, making them eager to more team experimentation from this great Pokémon Champion in the future.