Pokémon Red and Blue/Pokémon Tower

Celadon City

With Team Rocket now gone, you can turn your attention to the Silph Scope you received. This item allows you to see and fight the Ghost Pokémon in Pokémon Tower. That will be our next stop; however, don’t head back down Route 7 just yet. Leave Celadon City from the west instead.

Route 16

A giant Snorlax blocks the road here too, but don’t pay attention to it. Shortly before it you will see a Cut tree. Demolish it and head through the building to the small house at the back. Inside a woman will give you HM 02 (Fly), one of the most useful moves in the game. If you teach it to one of your Pokémon, you will then be able to use it outside of battle to teleport to any city you have already visited on foot. If you don’t have a Pokémon that can use it, you can catch a Doduo in the tall grass nearby. Fly back to Lavender Town.

Lavender Town

Once you arrive, stop by the Poké Mart and pick up a couple of Max Repels if you like. Then head straight for Pokémon Tower.

Pokémon Tower

This circular area has seven floors; the first is merely a lobby. You will need to climb all the way to the top. The ground floor staircase is to the east, at the 3 o’clock position.

Second Floor

As you enter this floor, you will encounter your rival. As usual, he will challenge you to a battle. His team is more varied at this point.

Boss — Rival

If you chose Squirtle at the beginning of the game:

Level 25 Pidgeotto
Level 23 Gyarados
Level 23 Growlithe
Level 20 Kadabra
Level 25 Ivysaur

If you choose Bulbasaur at the beginning of the game:

Level 25 Pidgeotto
Level 23 Exeggcute
Level 22 Gyarados
Level 20 Kadabra
Level 25 Charmeleon

If you chose Charmander at the beginning of the game:

Level 25 Pidgeotto
Level 23 Growlithe
Level 22 Exeggcute
Level 20 Kadabra
Level 20 Wartortle

After you defat your rival, head west then south to reach the stairs to the next floor.

Third Floor

From here on you will start encountering wild Ghost-types. If you tried to climb this tower without the Silph Scope, you would be unable to harm (or even identify) the Pokémon here. First, head east and north past an enemy Trainer to reach an Escape Rope. Head east and south from the stairs, then you have three paths to take. Two of them contain an enemy Trainer. All three paths meet at the stairs to the next floor.

Fourth Floor

The maze gets even more complicated. In the southwest corner of this “room” you will find an Elixir. Take the bottom of the two paths to the west and you will pass an Awakening. If you go due south from there, past an enemy Trainer, you will find an HP Up. Then go northwest to find another enemy Trainer and the stairs. (If you were to take the top of the two paths, you would find a path straight to the stairs without encountering any enemy Trainers or items.)

Fifth Floor

Follow the path to the east. You will see a room to the north; it contains an enemy Trainer and nothing else. Soon you will see a square area containing sixteen small squares. If you step onto this mat, your Pokémon will be fully healed, just as if you visited a Pokémon Center. East of the mat is an enemy Trainer blocking a direct path to the stairs. If you go west from the mat and follow the path, you will pass an enemy Trainer and another side room to the south. Unlike the last one, this room contains a valuable Nugget in addition to an enemy Trainer.

Sixth Floor

You’re almost at the top here. Head south past an enemy Trainer to find an X Accuracy tucked away in a nook. Follow the path north past two enemy Trainers to find an item ball blocking your way; it is a Rare Candy.

If you keep following the path from here you will find a last set of stairs; however, something will be standing in your way. There is a hardcoded encounter with an enemy Level 30 Marowak here. If you came here early (before getting the Silph Scope), you would be unable to defeat this Pokémon and could not proceed to the top floor. Interestingly, this Pokémon is not considered wild because it cannot be caught. You can throw all the Poké Balls you want at it; it will dodge each and every one (even a Master Ball, were you to have any). Just defeat it and move on.

Seventh Floor

Here you will find a straight hall containing three Rockets. Defeat all of them and talk to the man at the end, who turns out to be the missing Mr. Fuji. He will explain the strange Marowak downstairs as the ghost of a mother Pokémon that was apparently killed by Team Rocket. He will then give you the Poké Flute. This item can be used to immediately wake any sleeping Pokémon; you can get rid of those Awakenings now. Even more usefully, this is the only thing that is able to wake those sleeping Snorlax that were blocking your way earlier.