The Best Tips & Strategies for Defeating Red in HeartGold/SoulSilver

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Find out Red’s team & the best ‘mons to use against them

Co-authored by Devin McSween Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: June 16, 2025 Fact Checked

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• Strategies for Beating Red
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• Red’s Pokémon Team
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• How to Get to Red
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• Video
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• Q&A
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• Tips

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Red is undoubtedly the strongest Pokémon trainer in Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver, possessing a full team of pokémon well into the high 80s. He presents the ultimate challenge to a player in these games. While he can be tough to beat, with the right approach and pokémon by your side, you can become the true champion. In this article, we’ll provide strategies to help you defeat Red and go over his team and the best pokémon to use against him.

Quick Steps for Defeating Red

1. Level up your pokémon.
2. Buy lots of healing items.
3. Assemble your team of pokémon.
4. Get to know Red’s pokémon.
5. Climb the peak of Mt. Silver to battle Red.

Steps

Section 1 of 3:

Strategies for Beating Red

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1. 
   1
   Level up your pokémon to the mid-70s. Red's pokémon are extremely high leveled, around the mid-80s, with his Pikachu topping the numbers at a whopping level 88. Aim to get your Pokémon to at least level 75, though the higher their level, the better. If your pokémon are lower than level 70, you might have more difficulty facing off against Red.

   • Red’s team consists of Pikachu (level 88), Lapras (level 80), Snorlax (level 82), Venusaur (level 84), Charizard (level 84), and Blastoise (level 84). We’ll go over them in more depth in the section below.
   • Tips for leveling up your team:
     • Battle wild pokémon on Mt. Silver and in Mt. Silver Cave, as these areas have the highest level wild pokémon.
     • Re-battle the gym leaders. All 16 gym leaders leave their gyms on different days and roam about—you simply have to find them and get their PokéGear number. Then, you can battle them at the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City.
     • Battle the Elite 4 again.
     • Use Rare Candies for a quick option—each candy you give your pokémon raises them by 1 level.
2. 
   2
   Stock up on healing items. You will need a ton of powerful healing and boosting items to deal with Red’s attacks. It is highly recommended that you carry enough Revives, Full Restores, and Full heals to make it through the battle—about 30 of each should do the job.

   • Other useful items to get: Elixirs (restores 10 PP for all moves), Ether (restores 10 PP for a single move), Ice Heals, Burn Heals, and Antidotes.
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3. 
   3
   Build your team of pokémon to counter Red’s. The team you used to battle trainers and the Elite Four might not cut it in front of Red. So, create a specialized team that is super effective against his and successfully counters the 6 pokémon he uses. Consider choosing 6 pokémon from the recommended options below.

   • Ground pokémon to use against Pikachu:
     • Steelix (Bonus: Electric moves have no effect on Ground-types)
     • Mamoswine
     • Golem
     • Tyranitar (Rock-type, but can learn Ground moves like Earthquake)
   • Electric pokémon to use against Lapras and Blastoise:
     • Ampharos
     • Electabuzz
   • Fire pokémon to use against Venusaur:
     • Typhlosion
     • Ho-Ho
     • Growlithe (HG only)
     • Vulpix (SS only)
   • Rock pokémon to use against Charizard:
     • Tyranitar
     • Golem
   • Fighting pokémon to use against Snorlax:
     • Machamp
     • Heracross
     • Lucario
   • Your starter pokémon—they’re usually a high level and can likely counter one of Red’s starters.
   • Legendary pokémon—these pokémon are generally powerful and make a good addition to your team
     • Mewtwo
     • Ho-Ho
     • Lugia
   • A healing/filler pokémon. Use this pokémon to revive and heal your more powerful pokémon so you don’t waste one of your others in battle.
4. 
   4
   Use moves that change the weather. You challenge Red on the top of Mt. Silver, where it hails during the entire battle. Not only does hail damage your pokémon on each turn, but it also benefits Red. Lapras, Snorlax, and Blastoise all know the powerful move Blizzard, which has a 100% accuracy rate when it’s hailing. So, use a move or ability to disrupt the hailstorm.

   • Sunny Day: Causes sunshine for 5 turns and boosts Fire-type moves.
   • Sandstorm: Hurts all pokémon types except Rock, Ground, and Steel. The storm lasts for 5 turns.
   • Rain Dance: Causes rain for 5 turns and boosts Water attacks. It also increases Thunder’s accuracy to 100%.
   • Sandstream: Tyranitar has this ability. When it enters battle, it automatically summons a sandstorm.
5. 
   5
   Give your pokémon items to boost their stats. There are lots of items in the game that increase the power of your pokémon’s attacks and increase their stats, like HP and Defense. You can also give your pokémon items to create useful effects, like letting them attack quicker or lessening your opponent’s accuracy. For instance, give your pokémon these items:

   • Earth Plate: Boosts Ground moves.
   • Magnet: Boosts Electric moves.
   • Hard Stone: Boosts Rock moves.
   • Charcoal: Boosts Fire moves.
   • Flame Plate: Boosts Fire moves.
   • Black Belt: Boosts Fighting moves.
   • Fist Plate: Boosts Fighting moves.
   • HP Up: Raises a pokémon’s base HP.
   • Iron: Raises a pokémon’s base Defense.
   • Protein: Raises a pokémon’s base Attack.
   • Calcium: Raises a pokémon’s base Special Attack.
   • Bright Powder: Lowers the opponent’s accuracy.
   • Quick Claw: Lets the pokémon move first sometimes.
   • Razor Claw: Increases the pokémon’s critical-hit ratio.
   • Expert Belt: Boosts the power of super effective moves.
   • Leftovers: Restores some HP.
6. 
   6
   Navigate your way through Mt. Silver beforehand. Going through Mt. Silver is a good choice before actually meeting with Red for the battle. If you can easily traverse through the mountain without any hiccups or without any Pokémon fainting, you're probably ready to battle Red.

   • If your Pokémon are not quite up to the mark, then consider training at Mt. Silver itself, as the wild Pokémon are pretty high leveled there.
7. 
   7
   Save before you battle Red. Once your team is ready and you’re all set to battle Red, make sure to save! If the battle doesn’t go how you like or Red defeats you, you can simply turn off your console and start the battle over fresh.
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Section 2 of 3:

Red’s Pokémon Team

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1. 
   1
   Pikachu: Level 88 Pikachu is Red’s highest level pokémon and the one he leads with.

   • Type: Electric
   • Moves: Volt Tackle (Electric, Physical), Iron Tail (Steel, Physical), Quick Attack (Normal, Physical), Thunderbolt (Electric, Special)
   • Held items: Light Ball. This item doubles Pikachu's Attack and Special Attack, making it all the more powerful and dangerous.
   • Weak against: Ground-type pokémon and moves. Ground moves are super effective against Electric-types, and Ground-types are immune to Electric moves.
   • Good pokémon to use: Steelix, Mamoswine, Golem, Tyranitar
   • Note: While Pikachu is always Red’s first pokémon, the pokémon he calls out next depends on which pokémon you lead with.
2. 
   2
   Snorlax: Level 82 This might be Red’s hardest pokémon to defeat, given its colossal HP stat.

   • Type: Normal
   • Moves: Giga Impact (Normal, Physical), Crunch (Dark, Physical), Shadow Ball (Ghost, Special), and Blizzard (Ice, Special).
     • Blizzard is especially powerful since the hail gives it perfect accuracy and an increased chance of causing a freeze condition.
   • Held items: None
   • Weak against: Fighting-type pokémon and moves.
   • Good pokémon to use: A strong fighting pokémon, like Machamp or Heracross, or a pokémon with high HP and resistance to Ice moves, like Lapras.
3. 
   3
   Lapras: Level 80 As the only member of Red's team that’s immune to hail damage, it may take a hit or two to bring Lapras down, given its massive HP stat.

   • Type: Water and Ice
   • Moves: Brine (Water, Special), Blizzard (Ice, Special), Psychic (Psychic, Special), Body Slam (Normal, Physical)
     • Beware of Body Slam, since it can paralyze your pokémon.
     • Remember, Blizzard has 100% accuracy during a hailstorm.
   • Held items: None
   • Weak against: Electric-type pokémon and moves. While Fire and Rock are super effective against Ice, Water moves destroy them.
   • Good pokémon to use: An Electric-type, like Ampharos, or a Lapras of your own that knows Thunderbolt and has the Water Absorb ability.
4. 
   4
   Venusaur: Level 84 The first of Red's 3 Kanto starters, Venusaur, is not a particular pain to battle and bring down. However, it can be extremely annoying since it knows Sludge bomb, a move that can easily poison your Pokémon, and Sleep Powder, rendering your Pokémon useless for at least a few turns.

   • Type: Grass and Poison
   • Moves: Sleep Powder (Grass, Status), Giga Drain (Grass, Special), Frenzy Plant (Grass, Special), Sludge Bomb (Poison, Special)
   • Held items: None
   • Weak against: Fire-type pokémon and moves.
   • Good pokémon to use: A Fire-type, like Typhlosion, Growlithe, or Vulpix.
5. 
   5
   Charizard: Level 84 Charizard is one of Red’s strongest Pokémon. It has an especially high Attack and Special Attack stat, and knows moves that abuse its ridiculous stats. It’s also fairly quick.

   • Type: Fire and Flying
   • Moves: Flare Blitz (Fire, Physical), Blast Burn (Fire, Special), Dragon Pulse (Dragon, Special), Air Slash (Flying, Special)
   • Held items: None
   • Weak against: Rock-type pokémon and moves (Fire), Water-type pokémon and moves (Fire), and Electric-type pokémon and moves (Flying).
   • Good pokémon to use: Rock-types, like Golem or Tyranitar, especially with its sand stream ability.
6. 
   6
   Blastoise: Level 84The last of Red’s Kanto starter Pokémon and luckily, not a particularly difficult Pokémon to defeat. Just beware of its Blizzard attack since it has perfect accuracy in hail. It knows, but can be easily shut down with a strong electric Pokémon.

   • Type: Water
   • Moves: Blizzard (Ice, Special), Flash Cannon (Steel, Special), Focus Blast (Fighting, Special), Hydro Cannon (Water, Special)
   • Held items: None
   • Weak against: Electric-type pokémon and moves. Be wary of using Grass-type pokémon since Blastoise knows Blizzard and Ice moves are super effective against Grass.
   • Good pokémon to use: An Electric-type pokémon, like Ampharos.
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Section 3 of 3:

How to Get to Red

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1. 
   1
   Obtain all 16 gym badges from Johto and Kanto. Once you beat all the gyms in the 2 regions, talk to Professor Oak in Pallet Town. He’ll be impressed with your achievements and let you travel to Mt. Silver, giving you Rock Climb (HM 08) to help you access the area. He’ll then tell you that Red trains on the mountain and encourage you to challenge him.
2. 
   2
   Climb to the summit of Mt. Silver. Head to Mt. Silver, which is off Route 28 in Kanto. Then, enter the cave. Use Rock Climb to go further into the cave until you reach the top exit. Then, climb to the summit to find Red waiting.

   • Mt. Silver cave is dark, so you might want to use a pokémon that knows Flash to traverse it.
3. 
   3
   Talk to Red to start the battle. Use your elite team to beat the ultimate trainer and become the reigning champion of the region! Then, watch the credits roll for the second time. Congratulations, you've beat all of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver!

   • If you had fun battling Red, you can battle him again once every day after beating him!
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Community Q&A

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• Question

  What Pokémon can I use to defeat Red's Venusaur?

  

  Shadow_wolf_52

  Community Answer

  To defeat Red's Venusaur, you can effectively use Ho-Oh, as its Fire/Flying typing provides a significant advantage. Typhlosion and Moltres are also strong Fire-type options to consider.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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• Question

  Should I use Embargo against Red?

  

  Shadow_wolf_52

  Community Answer

  Yes, Embargo is highly effective against Red. You will find it useful as it prevents him from using healing items, which provides a significant advantage in battle.

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  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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• Question

  I have a level 88 Machamp, and my other Pokémon are between level 34 and 48. How can I defeat Red?

  

  Shadow_wolf_52

  Community Answer

  To defeat Red, you will need to significantly level up your entire team, as a single strong Pokémon is generally insufficient. Focus on type advantages, consider adding powerful Pokémon with broad type coverage, and equip your team with held items to maximize their strengths or mitigate weaknesses. For efficient training, battle in Mt. Silver and re-challenge the Kanto Gym Leaders.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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Tips

• Apart from Venusaur's Sleep Powder, Red's moves are all offensive.
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• Barring blocking Sleep Powder on Venusaur, Taunt is useless due to Red's all-offensive movesets. This means that you have a better chance of Sucker Punch landing a hit and Focus Punch missing (unless you get lucky with Red's Pokémon missing).
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• Use Trick, Thief, Covet, or Knock Off to remove Pikachu’s Light Ball.
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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

• I beat Red with a level 82 Mewtwo only! The trick is that all his Pokemon, except his Snorlax and Lapras, succumb to Mewtwo's moves. You have to go all-out to beat them. By the way, Lapras is the hardest besides having the lowest level.
• Flying-type Pokemon will be nearly useless here. His Pikachu has volt tackle and thunderbolt and many of his other Pokemon know blizzard.
• Red's Snorlax can take a lot of damage, so use powerful moves like Hyper Beam and Superpower.
• A fast ground-type Pokemon can tear most of Red's team apart after using a sword dance.

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