10 Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen Mechanics That Changed the Future of Pokémon

GameFreak's Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen were solid entries into the Pokémon series that feel like games in their own right rather than simple remakes of the original Red and Blue. Surprisingly modern even today, FireRed & LeafGreen were quietly innovative in their day.

Many design philosophies, mechanics, and features that would go on to become franchise mainstays originated or were substantially improved upon by FireRed & LeafGreen, making them an influential part of the series. It's fair to say that these remakes went on to change the future of Pokémon, contributing significantly to the DNA of what makes Pokémon the superstar franchise it remains today.

11 League Rematches and Enhanced Post-game Battles

Stuff to Do After You've Done All the Stuff

We've always been able to rematch the Elite Four after becoming Champion, but they didn't change their teams or really improve in any way. But FireRed & LeafGreen gave them a little upgrade after completing the story and post-game content. In FireRed & LeafGreen, the Elite Four can improve both their teams and levels to offer an increased challenge.

This exact same mechanic isn't found in every Pokémon game, but it appears in others, such as Emerald and Platinum. Importantly, it recognized that players wanted harder battles in the post-game, and its DNA can be found in future features like Battle Towers and the Battle Frontier.

10 Expanding Regional Pokémon Rosters

New Stuff to Catch

FireRed & LeafGreen made new Pokémon available in Kanto thanks to the Sevii Islands. In the Sevii Islands, many Pokémon previously only in Johto or Hoenn are now available in Kanto, too.

This set a precedent that regions' Pokémon didn't have to remain static from game to game. In the next remakes, HeartGold & SoulSilver, players can evolve Pokémon like Aipom or Sneasel to obtain Pokémon that weren't in the original Gold and Silver, just like they can with Golbat in FireRed & LeafGreen. In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, players can catch a significantly expanded roster of Pokémon in the Grand Underground.

9 Making More Pokémon Available to Catch In-Game

A Team Full of Lapras? You Can Do That!

Pokémon Red and Blue had some very famous gift Pokémon that were only available once per game, such as Lapras. In the originals, players were given a single Lapras, and that's that.

In FireRed & LeafGreen, though, it's possible to catch multiple Lapras. If you want, you can fill a team with them — although it's an incredibly rare 1% chance to find in a specific post-game area. In later entries, these types of Pokémon would become much more commonly encountered. Even Eevee, which couldn't be caught in the wild until Black 2 & White 2, eventually made its debut as a wild Pokémon.

8 Catchable Legendaries from Other Regions

If You Wondered Why You Can Catch Giratina in Hoenn, This is Why

In FireRed & LeafGreen's Kanto, you are able to catch Legendaries from other regions outside their region for the very first time. Previously, Legendary Pokémon appeared in their region of origin and nowhere else.

Even in Gold and Silver, which included Kanto, the Legendary Beasts wouldn't set foot outside Johto. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen changed that by allowing the roaming Legendaries to appear in Kanto for the very first time. This set a precedent for regional Legendaries appearing elsewhere. Today, all sorts of Legendaries have been found all over the Pokémon world, with notable examples including Palkia, Giratina, and Dialga in OmegaRuby & AlphaSapphire's Hoenn.

7 Post-game Pokédex Expansion

The National Pokédex as a Gameplay and Progression Feature

Although the National Dex predates FireRed & LeafGreen, it unlocks in FR & LG based on game progression. Completing the main story unlocks access to more Pokémon and additional context, setting a precedent that would be followed until the controversial "Dexit" in Pokémon Sword and Shield.

This transforms the National Pokédex from something that just happens if you encounter a foreign Pokémon into a genuine game mechanic that can support progression. This was a recurring feature in several entries in the franchise, though it was unceremoniously tossed aside, and the National Dex itself is no longer a game feature. But for a while, this FireRed & LeafGreen change was the blueprint for post-game Pokédex expansion.

6 Move Tutors

The Start of Something Beautiful

Move Tutors appeared in Pokémon Crystal, but FireRed & LeafGreen greatly enhanced the role, availability, and utility. They were a pretty cool mechanic in FR & LG because they were mainly NPCs who, in the originals, provided players with a one-time use Generation I TM.

In FR & LG, they taught moves instead. Move Tutors could be found in most games of the franchise moving forward after that, and they even made a return in Let's Go: Pikachu and Eevee in the form of special NPCs who could teach your partner Pokémon powered-up moves. They're not really that useful in some of the more modern games, since players can often acquire many TMs, but whenever they appear, they usually offer powerful moves you can't learn otherwise.

5 Item Sprites in Bags

So That's What That Looks Like

FireRed & LeafGreen overhauled the visual appearance of items in the bag. Before, items weren't represented by little icons with a visual representation of the item itself. You had to just imagine what you were looking at.

This doesn't sound like a big deal, but when I was a kid, I had absolutely no idea what a TM could possibly look like. Was it a box? Was it a complicated machine? No, apparently, it's just a CD — but I couldn't have known that without FireRed & LeafGreen's icons! This change was carried through to other games in the series, too, which was really helpful because some of the in-game items are pretty out there.

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3 Wireless Connectivity

No Longer a Series of Tubes

The old Link Cable system was innovative and gave a lot of value to anyone who had a Link Cable hanging around. I still remember being amazed as a kid when I was able to connect my game to my friends' and trade Pokémon with each other, especially for those annoying Gen I trade evolutions.

It was a bit cumbersome to use, though, and everyone was always worried about the cable falling out mid-trade and something getting corrupted. The Wireless Adapter was a pretty cool solution, enabling very early local wireless connectivity. It's totally obsolete now, but it's hard not to see FireRed & LeafGreen's wireless connectivity and the Union Room as the precursor to modern Pokémon wireless infrastructure and systems.

2 Expanded Post-Game Remake Content

Giving the People More of What They Want

The Sevii Islands proved that remakes could add substantially new content and areas, overhauling story progression and introducing all-new story beats. The Sevii Islands are part of what makes FireRed & LeafGreen unique even today, since they're far more than a simple graphical modernization.

New content, updated mechanics, and a fresh take made FireRed & LeafGreen stand out, and this approach also made it into future remakes. HeartGold & SoulSilver are regularly considered by fans to be the gold standard in Pokémon remakes to this day, largely because they brought forward concepts and mechanics established in FireRed & LeafGreen to provide an updated, modernized Gold and Silver experience with more to do in the post-game.