A perfect blend of the old and the new, this title is sure to appeal to all kinds of series fans. However, if you’re new to the world of Pokemon fan games, it can be difficult to know how to find it and get started. Here’s everything you need to know to download and play Pokémon Ash Gray, along with a walkthrough.

To keep things concise, we’ve included only the Gym encounters, main events, and important paths in this walkthrough.

How to Play Pokemon Ash Gray Using an Emulator

To play Pokemon Ash Gray, players will need two things: a Game Boy Advance Emulator and a Pokemon Ash Gray Rom. There are several Game Boy Advance emulators, such as VisualBoyAdvance for PC or MyBoy! for Android.

Once the emulator is installed, players can download the Pokemon Ash Gray Rom here and start loading the game into the emulator by pressing “File,” selecting “Open,” and loading the Rom file.

Pokemon Ash Gray Walkthrough

Just as in the anime, Ash oversleeps and misses out on the starter Pokemon giveaway. Instead, Professor Oak entrusts him with Pikachu and gives you 5 Poke Balls and a Poke dex.

After leaving Professor Oak’s lab, Ash’s mother stops by to hand him a pair of Running Shoes, a Town Map, and a Fame Checker, an item that allows players to recall previous dialogue with important characters in the game. The first battle comes next, courtesy of a wild Spearow.

Pikachu can easily defeat it because of its typing advantage. After the battle, head north to Viridian City.

Route 1: The Road to Viridian City

The road to Viridian City is filled with tall grass and is a good place to train Pikachu for a level or two. The path further north will be blocked by a tree, so turn right towards the water and press “A” to swim.

Let the current carry you north to Misty, who is fishing. She will urge Ash to take Pikachu to the Pokemon Center using her bike. Ride east until a flock of Spearow block your path Pikachu will unleash Thunderbolt and scatter them, listening to Ash’s orders from then on.

As the skies clear, watch for a Ho-Oh appearing in the sky, just like in the anime.

Route 2: Viridian Forest

It’s now time to go to the Viridian Forest, so head north and enter through a line of trees that serves as the entrance of the forest. Upon walking onto the grass, a wild level 5 Caterpie will appear.

Keep to the left while heading north and you’ll encounter a level 7 Pidgeotto. This is a reference to the anime, as Viridian Forest is the location where Ash caught his Caterpie and Pidgeotto.

While there will be better alternatives late in-game, I think it’s a good idea to catch Pidgeotto and level it up, since there’s a tough battle ahead against a level 10 Pinsir.

Pewter City Gym

Enter the Pewter City gym to challenge Brock and his level 14 Onix. The outcome of the first match will not matter, as Flint will come and lead you to the Hydroelectric Powerplant where he’ll give you a Light Ball, a unique hold item for Pikachu that raises its Attack and Sp. Attack stats.

Give the Light Ball to Pikachu and challenge Brock once again, but this time you’ll need to defeat Geodude (level 12) and Onix (level 14) to win the Boulder Badge and TM39 – Rock Tomb.

Mt. Moon

At the entrance of Mt. Moon, you’ll meet the scientist Seymour, who will ask for your help in protecting Clefairy and the Moon Stone from thieves. Explore the cave and you’ll discover that it’s Team Rocket, so defeat them to thwart their nefarious deeds.

Exiting Mt. Moon leads to Cerulean City.

Inside Mt. Moon, you’ll have the option to take a Moon Stone, which you can use to level up Pokemon such as Clefairy, Nidorino, Nidorina, and even Scyther. Yes! Scyther evolves into Scizor via Moon Stone in this game.

Cerulean City Gym

Your opponent in the Cerulean City gym is Misty, and she has level 17 Staryu and level 19 Starmie.

I discovered that you can catch an Abra north of Cerulean city and evolve it into a Kadabra. Leveling it up to around 20 or higher is an easier way to defeat Misty, since it’ll have the power to OHKO her two Pokemon.

After you defeat Misty, talk to Daisy, and she’ll officially award you the Cascade badge and TM03 – Water Pulse.

Pikachu will be benched in this battle, so it’s a good idea to catch Paras back in Mt. Moon or catch an Abra from the tall grass to the east of the city and evolve it into a Kadabra.

How to Catch Bulbasaur in Pokemon Ash Gray

From Cerulean City, head south and then west until you reach a patch of grass, then head south once more until you see the entrance to the Hidden Village.

Navigate through the village to meet Melani,e who will suggest to take Bulbasaur along with you on one condition: Defeat Bulbasaur first to prove you are worthy of being its trainer.

Bulbasaur is only level 10, so it’s very easy to lower its HP and catch it using a Poke Ball.

Be very careful not to fall into any traps inside the Hidden Village. If you don’t have an Escape Rope or a Pokemon that knows Teleport, you will be trapped in the hole with no way of getting out.

How to Catch Charmander in Pokemon Ash Gray

After catching Bulbasaur, leave the Hidden Village and head south until you see a Charmander sitting on a hill and a Pokemon Center further south. Enter the building and talk to a boy named Damian wearing a blue shirt to the right.

He’ll mention that he left this Charmander to be a stray so you can now go back to Charmander and claim it. Keep in mind that you need an empty slot in your party to take Charmander.

Upon exiting the center, Damian will challenge you to a battle for Charmander’s ownership. He has a level 16 Machop, Drowzee, and Rhyhorn, but a Psychic Pokemon such as Kadabra can easily OHKO his entire party using Confusion.

How to Get The Old Rod in Pokemon Ash Gray

After acquiring Charmander, head south, then east. A group of Squirtle will trap you, but Officer Jenny will come to your rescue. She’ll explain that the Squirtle squad are all Squirtles that were deserted by their trainers.

Continue going east and enter the house. Talk to the man inside. He’s the Fishing Guru and will give you an Old Rod.

To start fishing, just stand near any body of water and press A, in typical Pokemon fashion.

How to Catch Squirtle in Pokemon Ash Gray

Use the fishing rod in the lake below, and you’ll fish a Squirtle. An event will be triggered where Squirtle will ambush your Pikachu and take it to the cave in the east.

To rescue Pikachu, you’ll need to get a Super Potion from a Poke Mart located at the other end of the cave. Your dedication to Pikachu will impress Squirtle and he’ll join your team.

Afterward, head south past Officer Jenny and go through the Underground Tunnel to reach Vermillion City.

Vermillion City Gym

Unlike Pokemon FireRed, there’s no Diglett’s cave available to catch a Diglett or Dugtrio to use to breeze through this Gym battle. Instead, I taught Pikachu the move Dig (yes, Pikachu can learn Dig in this game) from the TM I got from Mt. Moon.

Lt. Surge only has a level 25 Raichu, so it’s not that taxing a battle. After defeating him, he’ll award you with the Thunder Badge and TM34 – Shockwave.

Another way to win against Lt. Surge is to catch and train a Sandshrew from Mt. Moon, so you’ll have a STAB typing advantage against Raichu and an Electric immunity.

St. Anne

After defeating Lt. Surge, head towards the harbor, and you’ll meet two girls who will give you tickets to St. Anne.

Board the ship and go down the staircase to the southwest. Fight all the Team Rocket grunts in the hallway to reach the final room which contains the Hatchet, an item that functions the same way as the HM01 – Cut.

One of the main differences between St. Anne in Pokemon Ash Gray and FireRed is that the ship will leave immediately as soon as you’re onboard, so make sure you don’t have anything left to do before heading to the harbor.

How to Catch Gyarados in Pokemon Ash Gray

After defeating Team Rocket, go upstairs to the second floor and head east. This will lead you to another staircase to the captain’s room, where you’ll learn that the ship has capsized.

Use the Hatchet to escape, then swim to the east towards Team Rocket’s raft to trigger a battle against a level 25 Gyarados which you can choose to capture. You’ll wake up in Pokemon Land afterward, but a lady with a yacht will come to your rescue.

Porta Vista

After disembarking the yacht, you’ll arrive in Porta Vista, a tourist spot renowned for its rival restaurants and beauty contest. Head north, where your services will be needed in tackling Tentacool, which have interrupted a hotel construction nearby.

Head further north and talk to the man wearing a red shirt. A group of Tentacool will mutate into a giant Tentacruel, which you’ll have to battle.

This is a difficult battle against a powerful level 25 Tentacruel which knows the moves Toxic, Sludge Bomb, and Hydro Pump, so make sure Pikachu is in tip-top shape for this battle. Unfortunately, you can’t catch this Pokemon, so after defeating it, talk to the man again, and he’ll take you to Maiden’s Peak.

Maiden’s Peak – Route 7

From Maiden’s Peak, head north then west to see a group of Butterfree by the ocean. Talk to the lady standing near a sign, and she’ll tell you that it’s Butterfree’s mating season. You’ll have a choice to release your Butterfree if you have one.

This is a touching reference to the heartbreaking episode 21 of the show, in which Ash bids farewell to his Butterfree.

Saffron City and First Encounter with Sabrina

Go to the Gym and defeat a trainer to get a chance to challenge Sabrina and her level 35 Abra. Even if you win this battle, Sabrina will declare that you’re no match for her psychic abilities and will shrink you as a toy for her miniature Saffron City.

Go to a small alleyway near the gym, and an old man will advise you to catch a ghost-type Pokemon in Lavender Town in order to defeat Sabrina.

Unlike Pokemon FireRed, Silph Co., isn’t a relevant element in this game and all you’ll need to do is head to the Saffron City Gym.

How to Get Haunter in Pokemon Ash Gray

Your sole purpose here is to get Haunter, in another nod to events from the anime. The best way to navigate the tower is to hug the wall to the right and continue the path until you reach a doorway.

Go through it, and you’ll find a room with a long dining table. Head north, move between the two statues and pull down the rope to trigger an event which will allow Haunter to join your party.

Pokemon Tower is a dark place full of ghost Pokemon which you cannot identify, catch or battle.

Saffron City Gym

Now that you have Haunter in the party, it’s time to go back to Saffron City Gym and face Sabrina once more. This time you’ll face her level 35 Kadabra, and after defeating it, Sabrina will threaten to shrink you into a toy again.

This is the moment when Haunter will show up and will make Sabrina laugh. Sabrina realizes that in becoming a Gym Leader, she lost her inner child, and will thank you for leaving Haunter with her. You’ll receive the Marsh Badge and TM04 – Calm Mind.

If you managed to train your own Kadabra or Alakazam at this point, then you’d know how powerful Psychic types are in this game. There’s not really a perfect way to defeat Sabrina’s Kadabra, since you can’t catch any other Ghost-type Pokemon and Bug-types have move pools too weak to even consider sending out. What worked for me is simply sending out Pokemon after Pokemon in a long, drawn-out battle. She’s only got one, after all, and having six may be your own advantage in challenging this Gym Leader.

Celadon City Department Store

Continue the path west and you’ll reach Celadon City, which is famous for the Celadon Department Store. It’s the tallest building located east of Celadon City.

It’s impossible to purchase items such as a Silph Scope or Item Finder since they cost 1,000,000 and the max amount of money that players can earn only amounts to 999,999.

Celadon City Gym

You’ll need to cooperate with Team Rocket in order to gain access to the Celadon City Gym and challenge Erika. She has a level 35 Tangela, a level 32 Weepinbell, and a level 38 Gloom.

I breezed through this battle mainly using an Alakazam with Psybeam, considering her Psychic weakness. After defeating Erika, Team Rocket will show up, and they’ll burn down the gym and Erika’s Gloom will be trapped in the northeast corner of the gym.

Rescue Gloom, exit the gym, and Erika award you with the Rainbow badge and TM19 – Giga Drain.

There are a total of seven trainers in this gym, but you’ll only need to defeat three of them to challenge Erika.

Route 14 to Diglett’s Cave

Continue the path west, and you’ll eventually arrive at route 14 with two optional events which are direct references to anime episodes: Episode 29, “Sparks Fly for Magnemite,” and episode 30, “Dig those Diglett.”

Make your way to the Diglett’s Tunnel and all the way to the other end to reach the underground tunnel leading to Fuchsia City.

Go to the Pokemon Center and solve the Power Plant’s problem to have a chance to catch a Muk.

​​​Fuchsia City Gym: Koga

Head inside the gym and go behind the left statue and press B to open up a path and unlock a secret door. There’s only one other Trainer inside the gym, Koga’s sister, Aya, with a level 32 Venonat.

Defeat her and go to the center of the gym, marked by a yellow mat. This is where Koga will finally appear and challenge you to a battle with his level 40 Venomoth and a level 38 Golbat.

Even with the move Toxic, Koga’s two Pokemon isn’t all that powerful. You can defeat Koga’s Venomoth by using a Flying or a Fire-type Pokemon, while Pikachu can easily dispatch Golbat by using any Electric-type move. After defeating him, he’ll reward you with the Soul badge and TM06 – Toxic.

To navigate your path inside the Gym and reach Koga, press “A” whenever you bump into an invisible wall to reveal the path leading to Koga at the center.

The Safari Zone in Pokemon Ash Gray

The Safari Zone is located north of Fuchsia City, but before entering, you’ll need to pay a small 500 fee. Once inside, you’re limited to 500 steps and 30 Safari Balls to catch Pokemon.

Once you’re ready, enter the Safari Zone and head to Area 2 past the group of Kangaskhan. From there, continue north and follow the path until you reach the restricted area, where you’ll encounter Team Rocket trying to capture a Dratini using a bomb.

They’ll challenge you to a battle, sending out a level 34 Arbok and Weezing. Defeat them and a Dragonair will appear, blasting them away.

As a token of gratitude, the Safari Zone Warden will reward you with a Dragon Scale. This event is a direct reference to episode 35 of the anime.

Before heading in, you may want to visit the Fishing Guru’s house, which is located in the easternmost building near the Pokemon Center. Talk to the Fishing Guru’s brother inside, and he’ll give you a Good Rod, which can also be used inside the Safari Zone to fish for Water-type Pokemon.

How to Get a Bike in Pokemon Ash Gray

After the events in the Safari Zone, head to Fuchsia City’s Pokemon Center and talk to Nurse Joy. She’ll ask you to deliver some medicine to Sunny Town and lend you her bike.

Head south and enter the bike path. Ride the bike and go through the bridge until you reach the exit and head to Sunny Town’s Pokemon Center.

Talk to Nurse Joy about delivering the medicine, and you’ll get to keep the bike.

How to Get Evolution Stones From Mikey’s Brothers in Pokemon Ash Gray

Continue along Route 12 until you encounter a mound with a small path blocked by a tree. Use your Hatchet to clear the tree and find a lost Eevee.

Proceed north to Stone Town, where Eevee’s trainer, Mikey, will explain that he hid his Eevee to prevent his brothers from forcing it to evolve against his wishes. Each of his brothers owns an evolved version of Eevee and will challenge you to a battle.

Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon are all at level 35. Defeat them all and speak to each brother after to receive an evolution stone corresponding to their Pokemon’s elemental type.

How to Catch Snorlax in Pokemon Ash Gray

Continue along the path west to Route 20, and you’ll discover a farm that has dried up because of a Snorlax blocking the water source. Speak to the old man atop the hill, who will give you a Poké Flute to awaken Snorlax.

Use the Poke Flute to wake up it up. It will be very grumpy and will challenge you to a battle.

It’s a level 30 Snorlax and you can choose to catch it or defeat it. Afterward, head west and follow the path to Route 12.

After defeating or capturing Snorlax, hack the trees to clear the waterway and talk to the farmer on the other side of the farm. He’ll reward you with Miracle Seed, a hold item that boosts the power of Grass-type moves.

How to Get Pickaxe in Pokemon Ash Gray

Continue the path west and down the hill until you meet Gary. He’s currently unearthing some fossils and will give you his old Pickaxe. The Pickaxe works in the same way as the HM06 – Rock Smash in Pokemon FireRed.

Cinnabar Island

After arriving at Cinnabar Island, talk to the blond man with sunglasses standing near the gym. He’ll invite you to go to the Riddle Inn located beside the Cinnabar Gym.

Talk to the blone man again and head south to the Pokemon Lab where Team Rocket will be waiting for you. They have a level 42 Victreebel, Lickitung, Arbok, and Weezing. Defeat them and return to the Riddle Inn to receive a hint where Blaine’s hidden gym is located.

Cinnabar Island Gym: Blaine

Head north to the hot springs and interact with the middle section of the wall. A cave entrance will appear. Head inside and down the ladder to challenge Blaine.

This is a 3v3 Pokemon battle, and the only opponent I had trouble with was Magmar, because I never expected it to know the move Thunder Punch.

That said, the best party to send out against Blaine would still probably be three Water-type Pokemon, since the typing advantage alone can give you a chance for an OHKO. After defeating Blaine, he’ll reward you with the Volcano Badge and TM38 – Fire Blast.

If you’re short on Water-types, you can also send out Ground-type Pokemon with great STAB moves, such as Golem with the move Earthquake or Dugtrio with Dig.

How to Get Surf in Pokemon Ash Gray

After earning the Volcano badge from Blaine, talk to the old man standing by the shore west of the hotsprings, he’ll give you a Raft, which works the same function as the HM03 – Surf in other Pokémon titles.

How to Get a Super Rod in Pokemon Ash Gray

From Cinnabar Island, use the Raft and head north to Rock Tunnel and exit to Cerulean City. You’ll have a chance to watch Misty perform a water ballet at the Cerulean City Gym, but will be interrupted by Team Rocket.

Defeat their level 44 Victreebel, Arbok, Weezing, and Lickitung. Misty will thank you for saving the gym and will reward you with the Super Rod.

Viridian City Gym

From Cerulean City Gym, head to Mt. Moon and all the way back to Viridian City. Here, you’ll also discover that Team Rocket have been promoted to become the new Gym Leaders of Viridian City.

This is a two-part battle, first against their level 50 Machamp, Kingler, and Rhydon and the second battle against their original Pokemon, level 45 Victreebel, Weezing, Arbok, and Lickitung.

After defeating Team Rocket, James will comically set off a bomb that causes them to blast off, and they’ll leave behind the Earth Badge and TM26 – Earthquake.

The only real challenge against Team Rocket is that they have a diverse lineup of Pokemon that they’re going to throw against you. What worked for me is the classic key to Pokemon strategy: Making the very most of type advantages and weaknesses. Pikachu dealt nicely with Machamp and Kingler, while Gyarados took care of Rhydon.

How to Defeat Mewtwo in New Island

After earning all the Gym Badges in the Kanto region, your next stop is visiting New Island to fight Mewtwo. That’s right, this part of the game is similar to the first Pokemon movie.

So, once you reach New Island Mansion, a course of events will take place which will lead you to fight Mewtwo as a Trainer. Prepare yourself for a tough battle against three level 75 Pokemon.

In this battle, I challenged Mewtwo despite being under-leveled, since I made the most of my typing advantage against his lineup.

However, what I didn’t expect was that these Pokemon are much beefier than expected and can survive STAB attacks, so prepare your Hyper Potions and Revives if you can’t take them out in one hit. The counter hit will be hard.

Another piece of advice that I have for you in this battle is not to risk using high power, limited accuracy moves such as Fire Blast, and certainly not OHKO moves like Guillotine or Horn Drill. These Pokemon are tougher and harder to beat, and if you miss an attack, they will punish you with their own STAB moves.

New Island Bug

After defeating Mewtwo, you’re supposed to get back into Pallet Town, where Ash’s mom will ask him to visit the Xanadu Nursery back in Viridian City (thereby unlocking the road to Victory Road and the Pokemon League).

However, during some runs in this game, players have encountered a bug preventing them from triggering this event after finishing the New Island event and warping back home. Considering that this rom hack was created a decade ago, a fix to this particular bug might not be on the horizon.

How to Beat Elite Four Lorelei

Lorelei, the Ice Pokemon expert, is going to be your first Elite Four opponent. There’s not a single pure Ice-type in her lineup, but Steel-types and Electric-types will easily destroy her team.

You can actually beat Lorelei by just using two Pokemon, Pikachu and Scizor. Pikachu can defeat Dewgong, Kingler, Lapras, Cloyster, and Slowbro because of their Water-typing while you can use Scizor’s Steel Wing against Jynx.

Ice-type Pokemon are weak against Fighting, Fire, Rock, and Steel moves. However, since you’re up against dual types featuring Water, Fire and Rock Pokemon should be benched for this battle.

How to Beat Bruno (Elite Four)

In my opinion, this battle should be a breeze, since four of Bruno’s Pokemon are pure Fighting-types and can be OHKO’d by a single Psybeam or Psychic from the speedy Alakazam. Unleash Pikachu against Poliwrath and use either Blastoise or Venusaur against Onix.

How to Beat Agatha (Elite Four)

An Alakazam is once again your go-to Pokemon in this battle, since Psychic-type Pokemon are effective against Poison-types.

The only real threat to this lineup is Gengar. There aren’t any Dark-types in this game, and you can’t counter this Pokemon with another Ghost-type since you can’t catch any.

Your best bet is to use Pikachu or the starter Venusaur, Blastoise, and Charizard against Gengar.

How to Beat Lance (Elite Four)

Lance the Dragon Trainer is your final Elite Four challenge. However, the only real Dragon-type in his lineup is Dragonite.

Use Pikachu against Gyarados and Seadra, and any Water-type such as Blastoise or Gyarados to match against Aerodactyl and Charizard. A Fire or Flying Pokémon can easily dispose of Scyther, while an Ice-type Pokemon such as Cloyster or Dewgong can swiftly defeat Drake’s Dragonite.

How to Beat Slate and Become the Pokemon Champion

After defeating the Elite Four, you can now challenge Slate, the reigning Pokemon Champion. His team is diverse but isn’t exactly a powerhouse in terms of his lineup.

My advice is to use a Fighting-type Pokemon such as Primeape or Machamp against Kangaskhan, a Ground-type against Electrode and Arcanine, and Pikachu to defeat both Poliwrath and Fearow. Venusaur is at a stunning level 88, but Charizard’s Fire-type moves or Pidgeot’s Flying-type moves can be effective against this Pokemon.

Defeating Slate will earn you the title of Pokemon Champion, but the celebration event back in Pallet Town is the same as when you’re defeated by Ritchie or any other trainer in the preliminary rounds.