Pokémon Let’s Go Walkthrough: Complete Kanto Guide

This walkthrough covers every gym badge, every major route, the Elite Four, and post-game content in Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee — from your first steps out of Pallet Town to the moment you claim your Champion title. Each section includes key Pokémon encounters, critical trainer battles, and item locations specific to the Let’s Go versions, which differ meaningfully from the Gen 1 originals in encounter tables, item placement, and trainer rosters.

Let’s Go streamlines a lot of what made the original games feel obtuse, but it adds its own wrinkles — the GO-style catching mechanic changes which Pokémon are worth farming early, and the partner bonuses from your Pikachu or Eevee can shift how you approach several gym matchups. Keep that in mind as you read through.

How This Walkthrough Works

The guide follows the natural progression of the game split by badge arc. Each gym section covers the routes leading into that badge’s city, the trainers you’ll face along the way, and the gym leader’s team with recommended counters. Pokémon encounter data reflects Let’s Go specifically — not FireRed, not the original Red and Blue.

A few conventions worth knowing before you start:

• Partner moves matter. Your Pikachu or Eevee gets exclusive moves early that trivialize several gyms. Zippy Zap (Pikachu) and Bouncy Bubble (Eevee) in particular are worth keeping on your partner throughout the early arc.
• Wild encounters work differently. Pokémon appear on the overworld. Catch rate and chain bonuses stack — farming the same species builds combo multipliers that improve IVs and shiny odds.
• Version exclusives are real. Several Pokémon appear only in Pikachu or Eevee. The encounter tables below note which version a Pokémon is locked to where relevant.

If you’re replaying after the Gen 1 originals, expect familiar geography with enough changes that you’ll still get turned around. Viridian Forest is shorter. The Safari Zone is gone. The Power Plant still exists but you’re visiting it earlier than you might remember.

Gym Badges Part 1 — Boulder and Cascade

Pallet Town Through Pewter City (Boulder Badge)

Your journey opens in Pallet Town, moves north through Route 1 into Viridian City, then loops east through Route 22 and north again through Viridian Forest to Pewter City. Route 22 is worth doing early — you can encounter Mankey (Pikachu version) and Ekans (also Pikachu) here before the first gym, which gives you a Fighting-type option against Brock that the original games made much harder to find.

Viridian Forest in Let’s Go is a stripped-down version of the original. The core wild encounters are Caterpie, Metapod, Weedle, Kakuna, and Pikachu. Pikachu in the forest is actually a reasonable catch for Eevee players who want an Electric type early. Trainer density is lower than the original, so don’t expect to be fully leveled going in.

Brock (Pewter Gym): Geodude (Lv. 12) and Onix (Lv. 14). Water and Grass moves hit hard. If you’re playing Eevee, Bouncy Bubble obliterates both. Pikachu players will want to lean on any Grass or Water catches from Route 1 or the forest. Brock’s Onix will use Screech to lower your Defense — swap out if your main attacker starts taking too much chip damage.

Mt. Moon Through Cerulean City (Cascade Badge)

Route 3 and Mt. Moon connect Pewter to Cerulean. Route 3 has early Jigglypuff, Pidgey, and Ekans or Sandshrew depending on version. Mt. Moon itself is the game’s first proper dungeon — two floors of Zubat, Geodude, Clefairy, and the rare Paras. Pick up the Dome or Helix Fossil before you leave; you’ll need it for a Pokémon resurrection later in Cinnabar.

Cerulean holds Misty. Her team is Staryu (Lv. 18) and Starmie (Lv. 21). Starmie hits harder than anything you’ve faced, and its Water Pulse can flinch. Grass types from Route 5 aren’t available yet, so your best options are Pikachu’s Thunderbolt (learn it from the Pikachu partner move set), Oddish from Route 2 if you grabbed one, or Bellsprout on Route 5 — except Route 5 is locked until after this badge. Bring your highest-level attacker and accept that this might take a couple attempts.

After Cerulean, grab the Bike Voucher from the Pokémon Fan Club in Vermilion before moving on — you’ll exchange it in Cerulean for the Bicycle, which makes Route traversal meaningfully faster.

Gym Badges Part 2 — Thunder and Rainbow

Routes 5–6 and Vermilion City (Thunder Badge)

Routes 5 and 6 bridge Cerulean to Vermilion with solid catching options: Oddish (Pikachu), Bellsprout (Eevee), Meowth (Eevee), and Mankey (Pikachu). These routes also have the Underground Path shortcut, which skips most outdoor trainers if you’re in a hurry — though the trainer EXP is worth taking.

Lt. Surge runs the Vermilion Gym. His Raichu (Lv. 28) hits fast and hard. Ground types wall him completely — Diglett’s Cave just north of Vermilion has Diglett and Dugtrio available. Catch a Diglett, evolve it if you can, and this badge becomes trivial. Without Ground coverage, you’re looking at tanking through with high HP and hoping your speed tier keeps pace. The gym’s trash can puzzle (find the two correct cans in sequence) is randomized each attempt — there’s no fixed answer.

Routes 8–12 and Celadon City (Rainbow Badge)

The path east from Cerulean and south through Lavender Town eventually feeds into Celadon from the east via Routes 8 and 7. This stretch is one of the longer arcs in the game. Route 8 introduces Growlithe (Pikachu) or Vulpix (Eevee), and Lavender Town’s Pokémon Tower has Gastly and Haunter — worth catching for later Psychic gym content.

Erika leads Celadon Gym. Her team: Tangela (Lv. 30), Weepinbell (Lv. 32), and Vileplume (Lv. 34). Fire, Ice, Flying, and Poison all work. If you picked up Growlithe or grabbed Vulpix via a trade, now’s their moment. Eevee players with Heat Wave (partner move) destroy Erika’s entire roster without needing a secondary Pokémon.

Celadon Department Store sells evolution stones, TMs, and several items you can’t get elsewhere yet. Stock up on Fire Stones if you want Arcanine, and check the rooftop vending machines for cheap Lemonade — it heals 70 HP for less than a Super Potion and is worth buying in bulk for the next stretch.

Gym Badges Part 3 — Marsh, Soul, Volcano, and Earth

The back half of the badge run is significantly more involved. Levels jump hard, and the gyms themselves get smarter about type coverage.

Saffron City and the Marsh Badge

You can’t enter Saffron until you give the gate guards a fresh water, lemonade, or soda pop from the Celadon vending machines. Once inside, Silph Co. needs clearing before you can reach Sabrina. Team Rocket occupies the entire building — 11 floors, multiple locked doors opened via card keys found on specific floors. The key on 5F opens most doors; the one on 7F opens the rest. Giovanni is the boss here, not a gym battle, and beating him gives you Lapras — one of the best HM users and battle Pokémon in the game.

Sabrina’s team is Kadabra (Lv. 38), Mr. Mime (Lv. 37), and Alakazam (Lv. 43). These are the fastest Pokémon you’ve faced, and Psychic hits most of your likely team members hard. In the Gen 1 originals, Ghost was supposed to counter Psychic but didn’t due to a bug — Let’s Go fixes this. Haunter and Gengar actually work. Otherwise, hit Kadabra before it hits you. Speed is everything in this fight.

Fuchsia City and the Soul Badge

Reaching Fuchsia means either Cycling Road (Route 17, fast but trainer-heavy) or the long route through Routes 12–15. Koga’s team runs Koffing (Lv. 37), Muk (Lv. 39), Koffing again (Lv. 37), and Weezing (Lv. 43). He uses status moves aggressively — Smokescreen, Self-Destruct risk with Koffing, Toxic from Muk. Ground types beat the entire roster. Nidoking or Nidoqueen, available from the Moon Stone you probably found in Mt. Moon, is your best answer here. Alternatively, any Psychic type handles Koga’s Poison lineup cleanly.

Cinnabar Island and the Volcano Badge

Getting to Cinnabar requires Surf (obtained in the Safari Zone warden side quest — give him Gold Teeth found in the Zone, he gives you HM Surf and the Strength HM). Surf south from Fuchsia through Routes 19 and 20, land on Cinnabar, then clear Pokémon Mansion to find the Secret Key that unlocks Blaine’s gym.

Blaine is the hardest gym leader before Giovanni. His Growlithe (Lv. 42), Rapidash (Lv. 47), Arcanine (Lv. 51), and a second Arcanine (Lv. 54) hit with Fire Blast and Fire Fang repeatedly. Water types are the clean answer — Lapras with Surf, Vaporeon, or Blastoise if you started with Squirtle. Ground handles Arcanine’s Normal moves but doesn’t resist Fire. Don’t bring anything weak to Fire. This sounds obvious but Blaine consistently catches players off guard in terms of raw damage output.

Viridian City Revisited — the Earth Badge

Giovanni’s gym was locked until now. His team: Rhyhorn (Lv. 45), Dugtrio (Lv. 42), Nidoqueen (Lv. 44), Nidoking (Lv. 45), and Rhydon (Lv. 50). Water, Ice, and Grass all perform well. Rhydon is the real threat — high physical attack, Rock Blast can hit multiple times. Lapras handles most of this fight by itself if it’s at a decent level. After Giovanni, your rival battle on Route 22 immediately follows before you can challenge Victory Road.

Elite Four and Champion Battle

Victory Road connects Viridian to the Indigo Plateau. It’s a two-floor dungeon with strong wild Pokémon — Machoke, Arcanine, Dewgong, Vaporeon, Flareon — and several trainers that push your team to around level 45-50 naturally if you fight them all. There’s no EXP grind required if you’ve battled most optional trainers throughout the game; the natural level curve lands you at 50-55 entering the Elite Four, which is the right range.

Lorelei leads with Ice and Water. Her roster: Dewgong (Lv. 52), Cloyster (Lv. 51), Slowbro (Lv. 52), Jynx (Lv. 54), Lapras (Lv. 54). Electric destroys Dewgong, Cloyster, and Lapras. Slowbro has Psychic and Amnesia, so hit it first and hit hard. Jynx uses Lovely Kiss for sleep — have Awakening or Full Heal ready.

Bruno runs Fighting and Rock. Onix (Lv. 51), Hitmonchan (Lv. 53), Hitmonlee (Lv. 53), Machamp (Lv. 54), Onix (Lv. 54). Water and Psychic cover everything here. Bruno is considered the easiest of the four — your pace should be fast.

Agatha is where things tighten up. Ghost and Poison: Gengar (Lv. 54), Haunter (Lv. 53), Gengar (Lv. 56), Arbok (Lv. 53), Gengar (Lv. 58). Her Gengar set runs Hypnosis and Dream Eater — that’s a dangerous combo at these levels. Ground doesn’t work on Ghost types. Psychic hits Poison but not Ghost directly in Let’s Go’s corrected type chart. Normal and Fighting moves do nothing to Gengar. Dark types don’t exist yet in Gen 1. Your best play: Pokémon with high Speed that can one-shot before Hypnosis lands. Jolteon, Alakazam, or Starmie all work.

Lance runs Dragon. Gyarados (Lv. 56), Dragonair (Lv. 54), Dragonair (Lv. 54), Aerodactyl (Lv. 58), Dragonite (Lv. 60). Ice Beam is the universal answer — Dragonite, Dragonair, and Gyarados all take 4x or 2x from Ice. Lapras with Ice Beam one-shots Dragonite. Aerodactyl resists Ice, so switch to Rock or Electric for it. Lance’s Hyper Beam on Dragonite hits extremely hard — don’t leave a weakened Pokémon in against it.

Blue (Champion): His team shifts based on your starter choice but always includes Alakazam (Lv. 59), Rhydon (Lv. 59), Gyarados (Lv. 59), Arcanine (Lv. 59), and either Exeggutor (Lv. 61) or Venusaur/Charizard/Blastoise (Lv. 65) depending on which starter you didn’t pick. This is a six-Pokémon fight with no safe answer — you need genuine coverage. Ice handles Gyarados and Exeggutor. Ground hits Rhydon. Water works on Arcanine. Psychic covers Alakazam before it sets up. Blue’s AI is aggressive; he won’t let you set up freely.

Post-Game Areas and Optional Content

Beating the Champion doesn’t end the game. It opens it up.

The three legendary birds — Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres — become accessible during the main story but are much easier to catch post-game when your team is fully trained. Articuno sits in Seafoam Islands (Route 20), Zapdos in the Power Plant (Route 10), and Moltres inside Mt. Ember on One Island — though One Island is technically a post-game location unlocked via the Nintendo event structure in Let’s Go, it’s accessible by boat from Vermilion after you’ve obtained all eight badges.

Mewtwo is in Cerulean Cave, north of Cerulean City — only accessible after you become Champion. It’s level 70 and has the highest base stats of any Pokémon in the game. Bring status moves, your best Poké Balls (Ultra Balls work, Master Ball obviously works and is found in Silph Co.), and a Pokémon that can reliably tank hits while you whittle Mewtwo’s HP. Community testing suggests it has roughly a 1-in-45 catch rate at full HP with Ultra Balls, so patience matters more than strategy here.

The Master Trainers are Let’s Go’s real post-game challenge. One exists for every Pokémon species — 151 separate NPCs scattered across Kanto, each demanding a one-on-one fight using only the Pokémon they specialize in. Beating all 151 earns the title Master Trainer. It’s the closest thing the game has to a true endgame grind, and it’s more interesting than it sounds because some of those trainers run near-perfect IV Pokémon with optimal movesets.

Cerulean Cave itself has some of the strongest wild encounters in the game post-story: Lickitung, Chansey, Ditto, Wobbuffet, and Slowpoke all appear there, plus the full Gengar and Golbat lines. If you’re hunting high-IV Pokémon or building toward shiny chains, the Cave is worth farming at length. Chansey in particular has one of the higher base experience yields in Let’s Go and respawns quickly.

There’s one more thing worth doing before you consider the game done: the Pokémon GO connectivity. Transferring Pokémon from GO into Let’s Go happens via Go Park in Fuchsia City (it replaces the Safari Zone). Once 25 of the same species are in the Park, you can catch a special form of that Pokémon with boosted stats. It’s optional, obviously, but if you have a GO account with banked Pokémon it’s a nice bridge between the two games — and the only way to get certain size-based special Pokémon like Alolan forms.

By the time you’ve cleared the Master Trainers, caught the three birds, cornered Mewtwo, and transferred what you wanted from GO, you’re looking at a genuinely complete Kanto run. Let’s Go is a shorter game than its depth suggests at first — but the post-game layers stack in ways that keep it interesting long past the credits.