Pokémon is the number one media franchise in the world, and it owes its success in no small part to its very first starters, Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle. These three Pokémon greeted players when Pokémon Red and Blue were introduced to the world, and they have remained fan favorites to this day.
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While recent games have made it pretty easy to get ahold of the Gen I starters thanks to fan nostalgia, there was a long period of Pokémon’s history where the starters were extremely hard to acquire outside of special events. Pokémon fans love to go back and replay old generations, so it can be helpful to know how to get a favorite Pokémon, or if it’s even possible.
8 Generation I Started It All
Squirtle debuts in the original Pokémon games, Red and Blue. Players looking to add one to their team must choose it as their starter, as there is no way to acquire a Squirtle if you choose Charmander or Bulbasaur.
Pokémon Yellow features a different story that is more inspired by the anime, and as such it allows players to acquire all three Generation I starters. To find Squirtle, players need to venture to Vermillion City and defeat Lt. Surge to obtain the Thunder Badge. Once this is done, Officer Jenny will offer them a level 10 Squirtle as a gift.
7 Generation II Tried To Move Forward
The Generation II games introduced their own batch of starters and made the originals fairly difficult to obtain. There were some events that distributed the Gen I starters back when these games were released, but the only way to get one now is to use the Time Capsule found on the second floor of every Johto Pokémon Center.
This device allows players to trade Pokémon from Generation I games, making it possible to get a Squirtle that was chosen as a starter in a copy of Red or Blue. The Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console release of these games used the wireless communication capabilities of the console to replicate this feature, so it is possible to get a Squirtle in those games as well.
6 Generation III Featured The First Remakes
With Pokémon’s third generation came the first-ever remakes in the form of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Since these games were essentially updated versions of the original two games, they once again featured the return of Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur.
5 Generation IV Expanded On Older Generations
Squirtle was made available in Generation IV only after the release of HeartGold and SoulSilver, remakes of the original Generation II games. Though Squirtle was not easily accessible in the original releases of those games, the remakes added an extra opportunity to get it after beating the main storyline.
After beating Red, the player can return to Pallet Town, where Professor Oak will offer them a choice of one of the original starters. Like with the original games, however, their choice will lock out the other two. Trading a Squirtle from one of these games is one way to get one in Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum. The other is to use the Pal Park feature, unlocked after obtaining the National Dex. Squirtle can be found in the Pond area in all the Gen IV games.
4 Generation V Required The Internet
Pokémon Black and White used the online capabilities of the Nintendo 3DS to great effect. The Dream World was a service that players could access by going online and synching their accounts with their save files. The Dream World contained Pokémon not otherwise accessible in Unova, and Squirtle was among them.
Players could transfer these RELATED: Pokémon: 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Water Types to use them in-game, but the service is unfortunately no longer active. Though it is still totally possible to play Black, White, or their sequels today, there are a ton of Pokémon that will forever remain inaccessible because of the reliance on an external, online system.
3 Generation VI Ignited The Nostalgia Engine
Generation VI marked a turning point in how easy it was to acquire the Gen I starters. With the advent of Mega Evolution, Pokémon X and Y offer the player a choice between Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur, along with their corresponding mega stone, very early on in the game’s storyline.
This was the easiest it had been to get a Squirtle since the beginning of Pokémon. The Generation III remakes, however, would need to trade with a copy of X or Y to get their hands on a Squirtle if they missed a single event where they were distibuted.
2 Generation VII Has Wild Squirtle
In the original release of Sun and Moon, Squirtle could only be obtained by trading or transferring from a Generation VI game. This changed in Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, where Squirtle was added to the Island Scan feature. Players looking to find one will need to head to the Seaward Cave on Melemele island and use the Island Scan on Mondays.
Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee closely match Pokémon Yellow, so players can head to Vermillion City to acquire a Squirtle just like in that game. There are also wild Squirtle to be found on Route 24 and 25, as well as in the Seafoam Islands.
1 Generation VIII Gives One Out For Free
Like with the Mega Evolution in Generation VI, Generation VIII’s Gigantamaxing forms were a new time for the Generation I starters to shine. Unfortunately, Charizard is the only one who got a Gigantamax form in the base game. Blastoise had to wait until the Isle of Armor expansion, where a Squirtle with the Gigantamax factor can be found in the Master Dojo.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl feature Squirtle in the Grand Underground, where it can be found in the Fountainspring Caves, Riverbank Caves, and Still-Water Cavern after obtaining the National Dex. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the first-ever Pokémon game where Squirtle is completely unobtainable.
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