How to wake Snorlax in Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
To move the sleepy Pokemon Snorlax, you need to track down the Pokeflute!
Snorlax rules, it's just a fact. He's one of the best Generation 1 designs and, thanks to great base stats and strong move pool, he's a fantastic team member for your party as well.
But in Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow however, he's a bit of a roadblock - literally.
South of Lavender Town and west of Celadon City you find two Snorlax blocking both of the routes down to Fuschia City.
The original Pokemon games don't give you many clues on how to make progress, so it's unclear that you need to complete what might seem like an unrelated quest-line to wake up the sleeping giant.
You only get two chances to add Snorlax to your team, so I'd recommend stocking up on Pokeballs and saving your game before challenging them to a battle, but here's what you need to do!
How to wake Snorlax in Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow
After you've made your way to Lavender Town through Rock Tunnel using Flash, go into the Pokemon Tower on your right.
Inside, you find the Tower overrun with ghosts that are immune to your attacks. You will need to clear this quest-line to move Snorlax.
To identify and defeat the ghosts, you first need to go to Celadon City via the tunnel in the small house at the end of the route going left from Lavender Town. Then go to the Celadon City Game Corner and talk to the Team Rocket Grunt in front of the poster along the back wall.
Defeat him in battle and you gain access to the secret Team Rocket hideout via a staircase to your right. Make your way through the dungeon and at the end you’ll receive the Silph Scope! You can then return to Pokemon Tower and battle the ghosts all the way to the top.
At the summit, once again foil Team Rocket's plans and you'll rescue Mr Fuji, an elder from Lavender Town who was trying to calm the spirits.
You will be taken to his house at the foot of the tower and given the Pokeflute. This item is what you need to wake Snorlax.
Walk your character up so they're in the square next to Snorlax and open your inventory. Select the item menu, then the Pokeflute. While standing next to Snorlax, the melody will jolt them awake and initiate a battle!
You can also use the Pokeflute to wake up own Pokemon during battle. If they're put to sleep by hypnosis, you play the Pokeflute as a free, reusable awakening.
Snorlax is a great Pokemon, and well worth using on your team. But not only is it a strong Pokemon, it can also learn both Surf and Strength!