Where to get Flash in Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow

Flash is the only HM in Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow that you technically don’t need to progress the storyline.

Everywhere that it’s needed, chiefly Rock Tunnel and Victory Road, you could fumble around in the dark until you get to where you need to go, or even learn the steps you need to take like speedrunners do. But for a normal playthrough, Flash makes things a lot easier.

However, progressing in the original Pokemon games isn’t as straightforward as many of the newer ones. Most of the puzzles in these classic games ask you to scour every corner of the map that’s available to you, so if you’re struggling over where to go next, there’s probably a path you’ve missed.

This is very often the case for Flash in Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow. A lot of players will just walk right past where you need to go to get it, so here’s where to look!

Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow Flash location

To get HM 05 Flash, first go through Diglett Cave in Vermillion City. You find it near the entrance to the SS Anne to the right of the gym.

On the other side of Diglett Cave, go down, past the house, and use Cut to remove the tree. Enter the building on the other side and speak to the guy wearing glasses. If you’ve caught 10 kinds of Pokemon, he’ll give you Flash.

The game tells you that you need to have defeated Brock to use Flash outside of battle, but it’s impossible to reach this point of the game without doing so, so that’s kind of moot.

Which Pokemon can learn Flash?

Most Psychic and Electric Pokemon can learn Flash in Generation 1. However, because Flash is quite bad in battle and can’t be replaced with another move, you’re better off teaching it to a replaceable Pokemon who’s not part of your main team.

Before Rock Tunnel, your choice is actually rather limited. You could catch an Abra north of Cerulean City, or a Pikachu in Viridian Forest. There’s also Drowsee to the right of Vermillion City.

Vaguely magical Pokemon can also learn Flash, so you could use a Clefairy from Mt Moon, or trade Abra for the Mr Mime on the other side of Diglett Cave and use that. Although, Mr Mime is very good to use on your team since it’s so hard to get Alakazam, so adding Flash to its moveset is a bit of a waste.