From Game Boy Advance to Modern Hardware: the Evolution of Firered Team Metas

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Q1: Why is Charizard considered more difficult to use in FireRed than Blastoise or Venusaur?
Charizard faces catastrophic early-game type matchups against Brock (Rock) and Misty (Water), forcing players to rely heavily on early captures like Butterfree or Mankey. Later, its reliance on special Fire attacks fails to exploit its secondary physical Flying typing efficiently due to an absence of high-power Flying TMs early on.

Q2: Is Raichu an acceptable alternative to Jolteon if I use my Thunder Stone early?
Raichu functions decently, but its base stats (90 Special Attack, 100 Speed) sit substantially below Jolteon's elite 110 Special Attack and 130 Speed. Furthermore, Pikachu's learnset is fragile; evolving it before it learns Thunderbolt forces you to burn the valuable TM24 reward from Lt. Surge.

Q3: How should I handle HM distribution without ruining my main party's movepools?
Never spread utility HMs across your primary sweepers. Use a designated "HM mule" such as a captured Parasect (Cut, Flash) or a wild Lapras/Tentacool for secondary water traversal (Waterfall). Surf is an exception: with 95 base power and 100% accuracy, it is one of the strongest offensive Water moves in the game and belongs on your frontline Water Pokémon.