Pokemon is already on its ninth generation of mainline games, but the fandom still can't get enough of the original Kanto region featured in Pokemon Red & Blue. Back in the day, trainers didn't have access to the dozens of resources in the age of the internet and had to rely on official Nintendo guides and video game magazines at best.
Completing the regional Pokedex for the Kanto region involved tons of trading and copies of both Red and Blue. Over the years the process of completing the Pokedex and catching Pokemon has become more streamlined, but that doesn't take away from the handful of notoriously difficult-to-obtain Pokemon native to the Kanto region still haunting trainers' minds.
8 Snorlax
The most nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing Pokemon encounters in any game are the finite ones. Sure, it's a bummer accidentally knocking out a high-level low-encounter-rate Pokemon, but nothing stings quite like missing out on something that only happens once or twice. Outside of legendaries and shiny Pokemon, Snorlax is the most finite encounter in the Kanto region.
Players will have two chances to wake up the slumbering mammoth and then must capture it by dropping its health to near zero. Snorlax doesn't make it easy as it has stellar defensive stats making it hard to lower its health, and even when a trainer does the cuddly sleeper has self-heal moves to replenish its health bar.
7 Kangaskhan/Tauros/Scyther
Coming in as a packaged trio are three sought-after exotic Pokemon that happen to be exclusive to the Safari Zone, these being Kangaskhan, Scyther, and Tauros. Players will need to throw rocks and bait in hopes of landing a magical catch. This area of the game is optional to some extent, and those lacking patience will often give up on trying to catch any of the animals located within the facility.
To say that these three Knatto Pokemon are hard to catch would perhaps be a bit of an understatement. It's one thing to make players use weird mechanics to catch rare Pokemon but then add in the fact that the creatures themselves have low catch rates and it's bound to be a headache-inducing endeavor for anyone looking to complete the Kanto region Pokedex
6 Dragonite
Pokemon is a series full of many traditions and patterns. One of these said traditions is the inclusion of a pseudo-legendary evolutionary line in every generation that's almost always Dragon-type to some extent. For the Kanto region, that position belongs to the Dragonite evolutionary line consisting of the base form Dratini, the middle form Dragonair, and its final form Dragonite.
Players looking to obtain the goofy orange dragon will need to raise a Dratini/Dragonair to level 55, which is a rather steep investment. The payoff is worth it outside of simply completing the Pokedex in Kanto, however, as Dragonite has stellar base stats across the board.
5 Vaporeon, Jolteon, Flareon
Breeding isn't a mechanic in the Pokemon series that every player familiarizes themselves with, but for Eevee it's mandatory. Sure, players can evolve the Eevee they're gifted into either Vaporeon, Jolteon, or Flareon with the use of a stone, but two additional Eevee will be needed to obtain the other two.
Unfortunately, in the original Pokemon Red & Blue breeding wasn't available, so players will need to get creative in terms of trading for the two Eeveelutions they're missing. For newer versions of the game like Pokemon FireRed & LeafGreen or Pokemon Let's GO Pikachu & Eevee, players can breed a couple of extra Eevee and finish off the trio in no time.
4 Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres
One can't talk about the hardest Kanto Pokemon to catch without mentioning the big three legendary birds. They may share the same typing as the original trio of Eeveelutions, but catching all three takes a lot out of a trainer, both in terms of time and effort.
Most players will decide on saving their Master Ball for Mewtwo, which means Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres need to be caught with regular Pokeballs. Saving before engaging any of them in battle is almost mandatory as it's a single encounter and causing them to faint ruins the chances of them ever making their way into the Pokedex in an attempt to complete it, save for trading, that is.
3 Chansey
Safari Zone Pokemon are a pain to get one's hands on simply due to the weird catching mechanics exclusive to the protected area. Add in that a Pokemon like Chansey has a base catch rate of 8.8 percent and it makes the task feel even more insurmountable.
There are a ton of questions and issues surrounding the Egg Pokemon known for aiding other pocket monsters in PokeCenters. The biggest is why it hasn't been turned into a Fairy-type since the day the new typing was announced and implemented. Between its huge pool of health and solid Special Defense base stats, anyone who does manage to catch it will have a defensive treasure in their possession.
2 Mewtwo
Any trainer looking to capture Mewtwo will need both skill and patience. To even get the opportunity to face off against the Psychic-type powerhouse players will need to complete Pokemon Red & Blue and make their way to the now-open Cerulean Cave. Located to the northwest of Cerulean City, this cave houses Mewtwo, a beast waiting in silence for a real challenger to present itself.
A Master Ball will make the process quick, but anyone looking to catch it with anything else will be smacked in the face. Mewtwo's catch rate is incredibly low, so lowering its health and giving it a status effect is of the utmost importance. This task isn't all that easy though considering Mewtwo will be attacking with the power of an atomic generator.
1 Mew
Leave it to Pokemon to have a creature that's nearly impossible to get one's hands on. Mew was once gifted to players at events in the years following the initial release of Pokemon Red & Blue, but in the years since the only way to legitimately get one is via a trade or through a very specific glitch.
Kids used to hear rumblings in the schoolyard about Mew hiding under a certain parked truck, but the truth of the matter is that most kids around the globe would never be able to capture the Mythical Pokemon known as Mew for themselves. Fans are hoping that if GameFreak and The Pokemon Company ever do another true remake of the original games, obtaining Mew becomes a little more straightforward.