With the debut of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen on Nintendo Switch, a whole new generation of players is getting to experience these Gen 3 remakes of Gen 1 for the first time, while others are getting to relive the nostalgia of a bygone era of the franchise. The games do have some quirks, such as the lack of a Physical and Special attack split and a limited Pokedex. Outdated mechanics aside, Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen have some interesting pieces of lore tucked away that make little sense in the modern series, and this strange side of the franchise is embodied by Gym Leader Lt. Surge.
The Kanto Gym Leaders of Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are an infamous bunch for the series. Not only are they the original group of 8 trainers players will need to defeat to reach the Pokemon League, but they also contain characters like Sabrina and her infamously hard Psychic-type Gym. Lt. Surge may not be the hardest Gym Leader in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, but he might be the weirdest that players will encounter in the Kanto Region.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s Best Pokemon is One of the Worst in Legends: Z-A
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen have one candidate for the title of best Pokemon in the game, and coincidentally, it’s one of the worst in Legends: Z-A.
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen’s Lt. Surge is One of the Franchise’s Strangest Characters
As the third Gym Leader in Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, most players will have a pretty solid team by the time they take on Lt. Surge in Vermillion City. His Electric-type team isn’t all that difficult to beat, despite having a Raichu as his ace, and Pokemon fans have recently been dunking on Lt. Surge for building his Gym right next to Diglett’s Cave, where players can easily catch a Ground-type Diglett and sweep his team. However, the strangest thing about Lt. Surge is his in-game background and connection to the broader world of Pokemon that throws a surprising wrench in the lore of the series.
Lt. Surge Blurs the Line Between the Pokemon World and the Real World
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Although the Pokemon series is largely believed to exist in its own world, with regions inspired by locations like Japan, France, and the UK, none of these regions are actually referred to by their real-world names. One would expect this to mean that none of the real-world countries exist within the Pokemon world, yet Lt. Surge begs to differ. His nickname in-game is the “Lightning American,” which not only confirms that Lt. Surge is from the US and moved to the Kanto Region sometime in the past, but that the US is a canon country in Pokemon lore.
Lt. Surge is the Most Violent Gym Leader in Pokemon
An iconic part of Lt. Surge’s background is his time he served in the military, earning the rank of Lieutenant. In a conversation before his battle, he talks about how his Pokemon saved his life during the war, and other trainers in Lt. Surge’s Gym talk about how he was their commanding officer in the past. Although talk of war isn’t something unique to Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen, the war that Lt. Surge served in is likely different from the one from 3,000 years ago that Pokemon Legends: Z-A‘s AZ participated in as the king of Kalos. It’s bizarre to think about the Pokemon world including guns, bombs, and tanks alongside the actual creatures themselves in a war, but the series has never followed up on this one-off comment by Lt. Surge with more details about what caused this war and how it played out.
The Cherry on Top of a Weird Sunday is Lt. Surge’s Gym Referencing a Type that Doesn’t Exist
Perhaps the strangest part of Lt. Surge’s Gym has nothing to do with the Gym Leader himself, but instead comes from the trainer offering advice to newcomers when they enter the Gym. Players who talk to the Gym Advisor in Vermillion City will hear about how to best approach Lt. Surge’s Electric-type team, which consists of:
- Voltorb — Lv. 21
- Pikachu — Lv. 18
- Raichu — Lv. 24
The Gym Advisor mentions that the Gym’s Electric types will deal super-effective damage to Water and “Bird”-type Pokemon. However, the Bird type doesn’t exist and is likely a case of a mistranslated Flying-type. Interestingly, the Bird type was originally planned for Gen 1’s Pokemon Red and Blue before being cut for the Flying type. However, Bird type remains in the code of these older games, and is actually the type of the infamous glitch Pokemon Missingno if players go through the work to break their game and catch it.
Bird/Water-type Pokemon match poorly against the Electric type.
166 Missing Pokemon from FireRed and LeafGreen Means Nintendo Can’t Treat These Releases as One-and-Done
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are missing 166 Pokemon on the Nintendo Switch, which could be fixed through other game releases in the future.
Ultimately, Lt. Surge is a Relic of Pokemon’s Early Days
Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen act as the perfect time capsules for the franchise’s early generations now that they are available on the Nintendo Switch. These games let players experience the mechanics of Gen 3 that feel somewhat archaic by today’s standards, while also seeing how the lore of the series has evolved over time as well. The fact that Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen commit to being faithful remakes of the Gen 1 games by including references to real-world countries like the US goes to show how Pokemon originally intended to exist in a version of the world that closely matches the real one. Since then, Pokemon as a series has strayed from being a reflection of the real world and has become more focused on being inspired by real places without literally including them in its canon.
- Released
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September 7, 2004
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Mild Fantasy Violence, Simulated Gambling
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer
