Jolteon, Jolteon, Jolteon and Jolteon.
Maybe Scyther.
Let's Play Pokemon Red (up to Part 19)
last edited by
Steve: Blastoise, Weepinbell, Arcanine, and Pidgeot all say BRING IT. >:0
Part 16: Silphing Through The Mess
Here's the team that was, ahem, voted for. Blastoise and Tauros were required, Jolteon and Weepinbell were outright voted for, and I had to pick two among Arcanine, Pidgeot, and Dragonair. I went with Arcanine and Dragonair because Pidgeot is one level higher than them. It also helps that Pidgeot would probably be the least useful of the three in the upcoming segment. Woo, rationale.
Before I start, I finally bust out TM 08, and use it on Tauros. 85 power attack + virtually perfect accuracy + 30% paralysis chance + STAB + good Attack = very dependable Pokemon. Of course, it's still nearly 10 levels below the main team (and Weepinbell's 5 off itself, so time to go train in the usual spot.
Of course, no Pidgeot means no Fly. I endure thanks to the power of SPEED UP.
A lovely image of Tauros from behind. Never was sure why it had three tails, but eh, why not?
Tail Whip, it's a thing.
...Yes, they actually gave it both Tail Whip AND Leer. I'm sure whoever came up with that concept found it hilarious, especially since they also did it with Kangaskhan and Flareon. I HOPE YOU'RE SATISFIED, WHOEVER YOU ARE, JERKWAD.
Oh, and the sad part? To this day, Kangaskhan STILL learns both moves. At least now it gets both at extremely low levels to minimize the troll factor.
The rest of the training was pretty uneventful.
Number of times Tauros was switched out during training: 0
Number of times Tauros was healed during 9 levels of training: 2
Number of times Tauros was healed because of low HP/faint: 1
Number of times Tauros was healed because it was kicking so much ass it ran out of PP: 1
Seriously, Tauros is awesome. Base 100 Attack and Base 110 Speed (and by extension, a CH rate over 20%) to go with one rarely seen weakness gets you very far in the Pokemon world.
Also, just 3 levels from Weepinbell finally meeting Bomber's satisfaction.
Now, let's see what hijinks we can get into in Saffron City!
There's this guy, aptly named Mr. Psychic.
TM 29 contains Psychic, a 90 power, er, Psychic type move, with 99.6% accuracy, and a 30% chance to reduce a foe's Special. It's as obscenely powerful as it sounds, but only 3 of the slated 15 Pokemon I'm using can use it, one will get it naturally in a couple of levels (Alakazam), and another gets a gimmicky but arguably even better in the main game Psychic type move (Gengar). The third we don't even have yet, so this baby will go into the PC for now. But trust me, it WILL be used.
By the way...how DID that guy know I wanted a TM 29?
Remember how Team Rocket's in control of this place? They have other places besides the gym blocked off...however, not only do they leave the Poke Mart open, they also leave alone the guy that gives out a TM that completely shreds their entire organization (seriously, 99% of Rockets have at least one Pokemon weak to Psychic moves). No wonder I'm about to crush them.
The Poke Mart has a couple of new things: Hyper Potions restore 200 HP, which make them full-heals in most reasonable situations, and are FAR more cost efficient than later Max Potions. There's also Max Repels, which prevent wild encounters for 250 steps compared to a Super Repel's 200...but, oddly enough, is less cost efficient than Super Repel. Still, you have to apply it less, so it's a matter of cost vs. convenience.
In the Pokemon Center, there's this guy that wishes the Elite Four would come and stomp Team Rocket into the ground. Which raises a point: why isn't anyone doing anything? I mean, I get the Saffron Gym not doing anything, there's a guy blocking the entrance, and that's completely impossible to get through. But the Fighting Dojo's doing nothing, nearby Gym Leaders aren't doing anything, and the Elite Four, four trainers of...eliteness, are sitting around wherever they are, probably drinking tea and eating crumpets like pansies. If the reward wasn't worth it, I'd say screw it, the region deserves to be F'd up.
Anyway, once you've rescued Mr. Fuji, this guy, who originally stands in front of the door of this rather large building, moves one space to the right and falls asleep. Honestly, this is one case where I would be inclined to think the exact same thing as the message. 'Hah! He's taking a snooze!' indeed.
Welcome to Silph Co.! It's huge, and full of Rockets, Silph Co. traitors, and stuff. However, if you know exactly what to do, you can clear it while fighting as few as 4 trainers. I fight them all, of course, since that's just a waste of perfectly good EXP and cash.
Normally, I go floor by floor, but first I always go get the special item in here. It's needed to access some of the free stuff, as well as being required to complete Silph Co. To get it, just use this warp tile (the one that's painfully obvious), then use the tile that it sends you to...
And you're free to access the corridor, along with the first of the four required fights.
Considering I've been here all of 30 seconds, this is impressive. If nothing else, Team Rocket gets its news spread FAST.
One beatdown later, I get the Card Key. Did you see that four bar thing in the wall earlier? Those are doors, and the Card Key lets you open them. Mind boggling stuff.
There are four Rockets that open with this line, as you might expect. There's no reward for beating them all, save for the satisfaction of knowing that their claims of vengeance will never be fulfilled.
Bingo! ...The game says Bingo! every time you open a door, even though I didn't screencap it. For some reason, that makes opening doors seem more awesome than it otherwise should be.
Here's why you get the Card Key early: talk to this woman for a free heal, without having to head back to the Pokemon Center. Very convenient.
I'm actually able to obtain the Itemfinder by the end of this segment...but when I have one in my head, who needs it?
Adults are apparently allowed just fine, though.
This guy immediately fights you after saying this. He MIGHT be one of the people that betrayed Silph. Just a hunch.
This isn't the first time I've shown Weezing, but I just want to know. WHERE THE LIVING @#$% DO THEY GET THESE? I WANT THEM.
This is her reaction to an 11 year old boy that doesn't even come close to looking like a Rocket. Imagine if an actual Rocket found her.
Why thank you. I almost forgive you for screaming in my ear. Almost.
TM 36 teaches Selfdestruct, which I've mentioned before. All of one Pokemon I'm using can use it, and it both has yet to be caught, and learns Selfdestruct naturally. Woo?
On the 3rd floor: this warp tile, which takes you to the other three required fights and ends this whole mess. To get here with minimal fuss, get the Card Key, then open the door near the Rocket you beat, and use that warp tile. Then head right, go up at the split, and open the first door you see. But again, so much lost EXP...
Woo, Max Revive! They're just like regular Revives, but completely restore HP. They can't be bought, so use sparingly. Unless you do THAT...
To be fair to this guy, without the main protagonist power of seeing through walls so long as they're on the screen, he'd be near impossible to find.
Am I the only one that finds it weird a Scientist is saying this, and not a Rocket?
I already complimented your ability to spread the news around. That meets my quota. Now go away after I beat the tar out of your Pokemon.
I never showed it before, so here's Blastoise's backsprite. I find it hands down the least offensive of the three starters' backsprites.
This guy says Silph was working on a ball that would always work without fail. Yeah right, like that'll be relevant.
TM 09, Take Down, like I'd ever use th-
...Oh. Well, I'm not using Leer, and I don't have a pressing need for cash, so why not?
Behold, Mr. Mime! While discussed before, this is the first time I've actually bumped into one, so here it is. Even among Red/Blue sprites, I find Mr. Mime's a bit...unsettling.
Incidentally, Mr. Mime belongs to a Juggler, the only non-unique trainer class that's not a Scientist or Rocket. Why is he here? Hell if I know.
Second of the Rocket Brothers. If you're wondering, there's one each on Floors 6, 7, 8, and 9. 9 is the hardest (with Golbat and the Drowzee family), so if you can beat him without much effort, the others can be mocked relentlessly as you fight them.
At least one Silph Co. employee has balls. But since said employee has a female sprite, I'm going to assume that said balls only exist in the metaphorical sense.
This is the one Silph traitor that has an actual reason for doing so, and it's actually a pretty good one.
If I found out I was being transferred to Siberia, I'd be a tad PO'd myself.
3/4.
...Didn't they already use that quip in Route 16? Or at least something really similar?
Tail Whip. At LV 37. Seriously, whoever made some of these movesets was a complete troll, especially when it came to Tail Whip.
5 badges. 0 respect.
Woo! TM 03 contains Swords Dance, a Normal type move that raises Attack by 2 stages. It's a good move, but of the two Pokemon that can learn it, Weepinbell has no spare moveslots (and only Acid to boost with it), and Scyther makes it pointless by having Slash...and gets Swords Dance naturally anyway. Something like Sandslash, however, can use this TM to great effect.
4/4. I mock your cries of vengeance! MOCK THEM!
Did I say 0 respect? I meant -30.
This guy actually leads with Voltorb, who's fast enough to have a decent CH rate...but then uses horribly slow Pokemon, wrecking that. Smooth.
BREAKING NEWS: Not acting like a complete a-hole makes Pokemon like you more!
Weepinbell is capable of defeating a Pokemon made nearly entirely of poison by...flinging poison at it. Awesome. I just wish I'd shown it against a Grimer, for even more hilarity.
The 10th floor is an awesome floor. TM 26 teaches Earthquake, a 100 power Ground type move with 99.6% accuracy, and no special effects. That's right, a 100 power attack with absolutely zero drawback. Ground is a great attacking type, as well, making this one of the most coveted TMs, even to this day. Something's getting this, but I'm unsure what just yet: Blastoise is nigh impossible to beat with this to round out its moveset, but also already has an extra versatility move in Ice Beam, Tauros could use a nice non-Normal attack, but Earthquake only adds a few extra Pokemon to the list of Pokemon it can hit hard, and my actual Ground type, Marowak, gets a move that's essentially the same aside from 10% less accuracy. Hmm. This will need thought.
Oh, and the spot you get TM 26 also has Carbos and Rare Candy. All at the low cost of beating a guy with a single Machoke! Awesome.
I never noticed this glitch before, but if you take the stairs from 10F to 11F, you'll remain in the stairwell, even though you should automatically take a step down. Weird. You can still use the stairs immediately by pressing Up, though, so you can't do anything cool with it.
Fun fact: Reaching 11F, the top floor, by stair or elevator, leads you to a dead end. Unfortunately, no one told this guy that.
But, during the battle, this happens!
Which means this happens! Razor Leaf is a 55 power, 94.6% accurate attack...and has a high critical hit rate. Weepinbell can't quite reach 100% CH with it...more like 86%. Its evolution, however, doesn't have that problem.
I actually need to go back to grab my Leaf Stone to evolve it; I wasn't sure that it'd reach LV 38. Silly me. But first, I forgot to grab a Calcium elsewhere, so I'll grab that first...
...Wait, that's not...nah. Even he's not THAT big an a-hole. From here, I Dig out of Silph Co. to go grab my Leaf Stone. Yes, you can dig out of a building while several stories up. No, I don't know how it works. Yes, it is hilarious.
Boom!
BOOM!
Bomber is officially happy with this update. Victreebel is basically Venusaur, in that they're Grass/Poison types that can spam Razor Leaf like nobody's business. The main differences are that Venusaur is slightly faster and bulkier, while Victreebel can attack better physically. I'd give Venusaur a slight edge due to that extra Speed and getting Razor Leaf a bit earlier (LV 30 as an Ivysaur, compared to LV 38 for Weepinbell), but neither are to be trifled with...unless you have a good Psychic type, in which case you'll find them trifling.
Now, let's see what that SOMEGUY lookalike is up t-
...Really, SOMEGUY? You're just sitting here in a giant building in need of saving, JUST so I'll get here and you can challenge me?
SOMEGUY? More like ASSHOLE.
I FINALLY got his second pose up. Go me.
His Pidgeotto evolved. Good for him. My Pidgeot's better, but since this time I don't have it, Jolteon just OHKO's his.
SOMEGUY is still a cheating ASSHOLE, as his Gyarados has Hydro Pump, which it shouldn't know for another three levels. Luckily, Tauros is awesome and pounds on its' weaker Defense for the win.
Look at this situation. Then laugh at it. I know I did. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Like that.
Alakazam can be threatening if you don't have a Pokemon well-suited for it: good Special for resisting its attacks (but isn't weak to Psychic attacks), and good Attack with a decently strong physical move to defeat it (but isn't a Fighting type move). Incidentally, Blastoise meets those standards.
There's Venusaur, in its fancy LV 40-ness. Dragonair was unimpressed, and used Thunder Wave/Wrap for a nearly flawless win.
Afterward, he says he's going to beat the Elite Four to become the world's strongest trainer. My question is, if he wants to be the world's strongest trainer, shouldn't he, ya know, be able to defeat the person he considers his rival? Just sayin'.
...Oh wait, that's right. I forgot to factor in the fact that SOMEGUY IS A COMPLETE A-HOLE.
This guy was here the whole time, but due to text couldn't be seen in any images until now. Unlike everyone else in Silph Co., he appreciates us saving the company. If Team Rocket makes me choose one person in the entire building to save, it's gonna be this guy. Seriously, when everyone's hiding like a pansy or saying I can't do jack, he's thanking us and acting like we're actually going to save everyone. That, everyone, is gratefulness.
He's so grateful that he's giving me a Pokemon. I don't care if it's a Weedle, it's the thought that counts.
...I stand corrected. THAT is gratefulness. This guy says thanks by giving out a Lapras, the Ice type team member, and overall incredible Pokemon. Seriously, this guy just made my Christmas card list. He's awesome.
Battle 3 of the 4 required to clear Silph Co. and save Saffron City. Noteworthy for having a Marowak that's neither dead nor belonging to me.
With that, every last Rocket grunt is beaten. Woo! Let's go whip the leader so we can end this update!
...Every time I see a line like this, I imagine the speaker as Sean Connery.
Sure, Team Rocket is ultimately terrible at being actually evil instead of being royal a-holes, but give them some credit where it's due: describing 'work for us or we destroy you' as a 'vital business proposition' is a very fancy evil thing to say.
Anyway, let's beat him and call it a day.
This time, Giovanni actually uses a couple of Poison types. First up, Nidorino, who's completely and utterly not an issue at this point.
Thunderbolt still 2HKO'd Kangaskhan, but I nearly got incredibly unlucky: Comet Punch got a critical hit (and in Gen 1, if a multi-hit move gets a CH, ALL hits CH), and had it hit 5 times, Jolteon probably would've been one-shotted. Luckily, it only hit 3 times, but...ow.
Rhyhorn is such a non-factor for me that I barely remembered to get a screencap of it in time.
Nidoqueen's new, at least. Unlike its' pre-evolutions, Nidoqueen is Poison/Ground. This is good if you're using it, because it means Earthquake for it. This is bad for Giovanni, as this makes it vulnerable to the likes of Surf, which Dragonair just so happens to have.
To be fair, with a little more luck, he would've had as many one-round KO's as I did. Sure, it would've been his only KO, but still...
Anyway, Team Rocket's gone, and they won't be back. Let's talk to the president and his secretary and listen to them talk about how great I am!
A good start, but I was hoping you'd end with something a bit more...tangible.
It'd be appreciated.
Well, I DID already get a Lapras and raided your building for a TM 26 and vitamins, so I dunno what else you could possibly-
...Oh snap. OH SNAP. Master Ball, AKA that wonderful ball that lets you catch any one Pokemon, no questions asked. It will be saved, and it will be worshiped daily.
...Wait, this is your prototype? Then how is it all future Master Balls come into existence? Unless...
...Oh man. I just figured it out. THE MISSINGNO. GLITCH IS CANON. IT'S THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXPLANATION.
My mind is blown. I bet yours is, too. So I'll wrap things up.
The team at the end of the update. Spiffy.
With that thrilling conclusion, it's vote time. Be warned: if I don't get a decent amount of votes this time, I may just scrap it. Four empty spots for vote, as I want to give Lapras some spotlight time. Also I have a feeling everyone would vote for it, anyway.
Required Member: LV 37 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
Required Member: LV 15 Lapras: Water Gun, Growl
- LV 36 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 35 Alakazam: Teleport, Confusion, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 37 Arcanine: Bite, Leer, Ember, Dig
- LV 37 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 31 Gengar: Lick, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 33 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 32 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission
- LV 36 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 37 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
Part 16: Silphing Through The Mess
Part 16
Here's the team that was, ahem, voted for. Blastoise and Tauros were required, Jolteon and Weepinbell were outright voted for, and I had to pick two among Arcanine, Pidgeot, and Dragonair. I went with Arcanine and Dragonair because Pidgeot is one level higher than them. It also helps that Pidgeot would probably be the least useful of the three in the upcoming segment. Woo, rationale.
Before I start, I finally bust out TM 08, and use it on Tauros. 85 power attack + virtually perfect accuracy + 30% paralysis chance + STAB + good Attack = very dependable Pokemon. Of course, it's still nearly 10 levels below the main team (and Weepinbell's 5 off itself, so time to go train in the usual spot.
Of course, no Pidgeot means no Fly. I endure thanks to the power of SPEED UP.
A lovely image of Tauros from behind. Never was sure why it had three tails, but eh, why not?
Tail Whip, it's a thing.
...Yes, they actually gave it both Tail Whip AND Leer. I'm sure whoever came up with that concept found it hilarious, especially since they also did it with Kangaskhan and Flareon. I HOPE YOU'RE SATISFIED, WHOEVER YOU ARE, JERKWAD.
Oh, and the sad part? To this day, Kangaskhan STILL learns both moves. At least now it gets both at extremely low levels to minimize the troll factor.
The rest of the training was pretty uneventful.
Number of times Tauros was switched out during training: 0
Number of times Tauros was healed during 9 levels of training: 2
Number of times Tauros was healed because of low HP/faint: 1
Number of times Tauros was healed because it was kicking so much ass it ran out of PP: 1
Seriously, Tauros is awesome. Base 100 Attack and Base 110 Speed (and by extension, a CH rate over 20%) to go with one rarely seen weakness gets you very far in the Pokemon world.
Also, just 3 levels from Weepinbell finally meeting Bomber's satisfaction.
Now, let's see what hijinks we can get into in Saffron City!
There's this guy, aptly named Mr. Psychic.
TM 29 contains Psychic, a 90 power, er, Psychic type move, with 99.6% accuracy, and a 30% chance to reduce a foe's Special. It's as obscenely powerful as it sounds, but only 3 of the slated 15 Pokemon I'm using can use it, one will get it naturally in a couple of levels (Alakazam), and another gets a gimmicky but arguably even better in the main game Psychic type move (Gengar). The third we don't even have yet, so this baby will go into the PC for now. But trust me, it WILL be used.
By the way...how DID that guy know I wanted a TM 29?
Remember how Team Rocket's in control of this place? They have other places besides the gym blocked off...however, not only do they leave the Poke Mart open, they also leave alone the guy that gives out a TM that completely shreds their entire organization (seriously, 99% of Rockets have at least one Pokemon weak to Psychic moves). No wonder I'm about to crush them.
The Poke Mart has a couple of new things: Hyper Potions restore 200 HP, which make them full-heals in most reasonable situations, and are FAR more cost efficient than later Max Potions. There's also Max Repels, which prevent wild encounters for 250 steps compared to a Super Repel's 200...but, oddly enough, is less cost efficient than Super Repel. Still, you have to apply it less, so it's a matter of cost vs. convenience.
In the Pokemon Center, there's this guy that wishes the Elite Four would come and stomp Team Rocket into the ground. Which raises a point: why isn't anyone doing anything? I mean, I get the Saffron Gym not doing anything, there's a guy blocking the entrance, and that's completely impossible to get through. But the Fighting Dojo's doing nothing, nearby Gym Leaders aren't doing anything, and the Elite Four, four trainers of...eliteness, are sitting around wherever they are, probably drinking tea and eating crumpets like pansies. If the reward wasn't worth it, I'd say screw it, the region deserves to be F'd up.
Anyway, once you've rescued Mr. Fuji, this guy, who originally stands in front of the door of this rather large building, moves one space to the right and falls asleep. Honestly, this is one case where I would be inclined to think the exact same thing as the message. 'Hah! He's taking a snooze!' indeed.
Welcome to Silph Co.! It's huge, and full of Rockets, Silph Co. traitors, and stuff. However, if you know exactly what to do, you can clear it while fighting as few as 4 trainers. I fight them all, of course, since that's just a waste of perfectly good EXP and cash.
Normally, I go floor by floor, but first I always go get the special item in here. It's needed to access some of the free stuff, as well as being required to complete Silph Co. To get it, just use this warp tile (the one that's painfully obvious), then use the tile that it sends you to...
And you're free to access the corridor, along with the first of the four required fights.
Considering I've been here all of 30 seconds, this is impressive. If nothing else, Team Rocket gets its news spread FAST.
One beatdown later, I get the Card Key. Did you see that four bar thing in the wall earlier? Those are doors, and the Card Key lets you open them. Mind boggling stuff.
There are four Rockets that open with this line, as you might expect. There's no reward for beating them all, save for the satisfaction of knowing that their claims of vengeance will never be fulfilled.
Bingo! ...The game says Bingo! every time you open a door, even though I didn't screencap it. For some reason, that makes opening doors seem more awesome than it otherwise should be.
Here's why you get the Card Key early: talk to this woman for a free heal, without having to head back to the Pokemon Center. Very convenient.
I'm actually able to obtain the Itemfinder by the end of this segment...but when I have one in my head, who needs it?
Adults are apparently allowed just fine, though.
This guy immediately fights you after saying this. He MIGHT be one of the people that betrayed Silph. Just a hunch.
This isn't the first time I've shown Weezing, but I just want to know. WHERE THE LIVING @#$% DO THEY GET THESE? I WANT THEM.
This is her reaction to an 11 year old boy that doesn't even come close to looking like a Rocket. Imagine if an actual Rocket found her.
Why thank you. I almost forgive you for screaming in my ear. Almost.
TM 36 teaches Selfdestruct, which I've mentioned before. All of one Pokemon I'm using can use it, and it both has yet to be caught, and learns Selfdestruct naturally. Woo?
On the 3rd floor: this warp tile, which takes you to the other three required fights and ends this whole mess. To get here with minimal fuss, get the Card Key, then open the door near the Rocket you beat, and use that warp tile. Then head right, go up at the split, and open the first door you see. But again, so much lost EXP...
Woo, Max Revive! They're just like regular Revives, but completely restore HP. They can't be bought, so use sparingly. Unless you do THAT...
To be fair to this guy, without the main protagonist power of seeing through walls so long as they're on the screen, he'd be near impossible to find.
Am I the only one that finds it weird a Scientist is saying this, and not a Rocket?
I already complimented your ability to spread the news around. That meets my quota. Now go away after I beat the tar out of your Pokemon.
I never showed it before, so here's Blastoise's backsprite. I find it hands down the least offensive of the three starters' backsprites.
This guy says Silph was working on a ball that would always work without fail. Yeah right, like that'll be relevant.
TM 09, Take Down, like I'd ever use th-
...Oh. Well, I'm not using Leer, and I don't have a pressing need for cash, so why not?
Behold, Mr. Mime! While discussed before, this is the first time I've actually bumped into one, so here it is. Even among Red/Blue sprites, I find Mr. Mime's a bit...unsettling.
Incidentally, Mr. Mime belongs to a Juggler, the only non-unique trainer class that's not a Scientist or Rocket. Why is he here? Hell if I know.
Second of the Rocket Brothers. If you're wondering, there's one each on Floors 6, 7, 8, and 9. 9 is the hardest (with Golbat and the Drowzee family), so if you can beat him without much effort, the others can be mocked relentlessly as you fight them.
At least one Silph Co. employee has balls. But since said employee has a female sprite, I'm going to assume that said balls only exist in the metaphorical sense.
This is the one Silph traitor that has an actual reason for doing so, and it's actually a pretty good one.
If I found out I was being transferred to Siberia, I'd be a tad PO'd myself.
3/4.
...Didn't they already use that quip in Route 16? Or at least something really similar?
Tail Whip. At LV 37. Seriously, whoever made some of these movesets was a complete troll, especially when it came to Tail Whip.
5 badges. 0 respect.
Woo! TM 03 contains Swords Dance, a Normal type move that raises Attack by 2 stages. It's a good move, but of the two Pokemon that can learn it, Weepinbell has no spare moveslots (and only Acid to boost with it), and Scyther makes it pointless by having Slash...and gets Swords Dance naturally anyway. Something like Sandslash, however, can use this TM to great effect.
4/4. I mock your cries of vengeance! MOCK THEM!
Did I say 0 respect? I meant -30.
This guy actually leads with Voltorb, who's fast enough to have a decent CH rate...but then uses horribly slow Pokemon, wrecking that. Smooth.
BREAKING NEWS: Not acting like a complete a-hole makes Pokemon like you more!
Weepinbell is capable of defeating a Pokemon made nearly entirely of poison by...flinging poison at it. Awesome. I just wish I'd shown it against a Grimer, for even more hilarity.
The 10th floor is an awesome floor. TM 26 teaches Earthquake, a 100 power Ground type move with 99.6% accuracy, and no special effects. That's right, a 100 power attack with absolutely zero drawback. Ground is a great attacking type, as well, making this one of the most coveted TMs, even to this day. Something's getting this, but I'm unsure what just yet: Blastoise is nigh impossible to beat with this to round out its moveset, but also already has an extra versatility move in Ice Beam, Tauros could use a nice non-Normal attack, but Earthquake only adds a few extra Pokemon to the list of Pokemon it can hit hard, and my actual Ground type, Marowak, gets a move that's essentially the same aside from 10% less accuracy. Hmm. This will need thought.
Oh, and the spot you get TM 26 also has Carbos and Rare Candy. All at the low cost of beating a guy with a single Machoke! Awesome.
I never noticed this glitch before, but if you take the stairs from 10F to 11F, you'll remain in the stairwell, even though you should automatically take a step down. Weird. You can still use the stairs immediately by pressing Up, though, so you can't do anything cool with it.
Fun fact: Reaching 11F, the top floor, by stair or elevator, leads you to a dead end. Unfortunately, no one told this guy that.
But, during the battle, this happens!
Which means this happens! Razor Leaf is a 55 power, 94.6% accurate attack...and has a high critical hit rate. Weepinbell can't quite reach 100% CH with it...more like 86%. Its evolution, however, doesn't have that problem.
I actually need to go back to grab my Leaf Stone to evolve it; I wasn't sure that it'd reach LV 38. Silly me. But first, I forgot to grab a Calcium elsewhere, so I'll grab that first...
...Wait, that's not...nah. Even he's not THAT big an a-hole. From here, I Dig out of Silph Co. to go grab my Leaf Stone. Yes, you can dig out of a building while several stories up. No, I don't know how it works. Yes, it is hilarious.
Boom!
BOOM!
Bomber is officially happy with this update. Victreebel is basically Venusaur, in that they're Grass/Poison types that can spam Razor Leaf like nobody's business. The main differences are that Venusaur is slightly faster and bulkier, while Victreebel can attack better physically. I'd give Venusaur a slight edge due to that extra Speed and getting Razor Leaf a bit earlier (LV 30 as an Ivysaur, compared to LV 38 for Weepinbell), but neither are to be trifled with...unless you have a good Psychic type, in which case you'll find them trifling.
Now, let's see what that SOMEGUY lookalike is up t-
...Really, SOMEGUY? You're just sitting here in a giant building in need of saving, JUST so I'll get here and you can challenge me?
SOMEGUY? More like ASSHOLE.
I FINALLY got his second pose up. Go me.
His Pidgeotto evolved. Good for him. My Pidgeot's better, but since this time I don't have it, Jolteon just OHKO's his.
SOMEGUY is still a cheating ASSHOLE, as his Gyarados has Hydro Pump, which it shouldn't know for another three levels. Luckily, Tauros is awesome and pounds on its' weaker Defense for the win.
Look at this situation. Then laugh at it. I know I did. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Like that.
Alakazam can be threatening if you don't have a Pokemon well-suited for it: good Special for resisting its attacks (but isn't weak to Psychic attacks), and good Attack with a decently strong physical move to defeat it (but isn't a Fighting type move). Incidentally, Blastoise meets those standards.
There's Venusaur, in its fancy LV 40-ness. Dragonair was unimpressed, and used Thunder Wave/Wrap for a nearly flawless win.
Afterward, he says he's going to beat the Elite Four to become the world's strongest trainer. My question is, if he wants to be the world's strongest trainer, shouldn't he, ya know, be able to defeat the person he considers his rival? Just sayin'.
...Oh wait, that's right. I forgot to factor in the fact that SOMEGUY IS A COMPLETE A-HOLE.
This guy was here the whole time, but due to text couldn't be seen in any images until now. Unlike everyone else in Silph Co., he appreciates us saving the company. If Team Rocket makes me choose one person in the entire building to save, it's gonna be this guy. Seriously, when everyone's hiding like a pansy or saying I can't do jack, he's thanking us and acting like we're actually going to save everyone. That, everyone, is gratefulness.
He's so grateful that he's giving me a Pokemon. I don't care if it's a Weedle, it's the thought that counts.
...I stand corrected. THAT is gratefulness. This guy says thanks by giving out a Lapras, the Ice type team member, and overall incredible Pokemon. Seriously, this guy just made my Christmas card list. He's awesome.
Battle 3 of the 4 required to clear Silph Co. and save Saffron City. Noteworthy for having a Marowak that's neither dead nor belonging to me.
With that, every last Rocket grunt is beaten. Woo! Let's go whip the leader so we can end this update!
...Every time I see a line like this, I imagine the speaker as Sean Connery.
Sure, Team Rocket is ultimately terrible at being actually evil instead of being royal a-holes, but give them some credit where it's due: describing 'work for us or we destroy you' as a 'vital business proposition' is a very fancy evil thing to say.
Anyway, let's beat him and call it a day.
This time, Giovanni actually uses a couple of Poison types. First up, Nidorino, who's completely and utterly not an issue at this point.
Thunderbolt still 2HKO'd Kangaskhan, but I nearly got incredibly unlucky: Comet Punch got a critical hit (and in Gen 1, if a multi-hit move gets a CH, ALL hits CH), and had it hit 5 times, Jolteon probably would've been one-shotted. Luckily, it only hit 3 times, but...ow.
Rhyhorn is such a non-factor for me that I barely remembered to get a screencap of it in time.
Nidoqueen's new, at least. Unlike its' pre-evolutions, Nidoqueen is Poison/Ground. This is good if you're using it, because it means Earthquake for it. This is bad for Giovanni, as this makes it vulnerable to the likes of Surf, which Dragonair just so happens to have.
To be fair, with a little more luck, he would've had as many one-round KO's as I did. Sure, it would've been his only KO, but still...
Anyway, Team Rocket's gone, and they won't be back. Let's talk to the president and his secretary and listen to them talk about how great I am!
A good start, but I was hoping you'd end with something a bit more...tangible.
It'd be appreciated.
Well, I DID already get a Lapras and raided your building for a TM 26 and vitamins, so I dunno what else you could possibly-
...Oh snap. OH SNAP. Master Ball, AKA that wonderful ball that lets you catch any one Pokemon, no questions asked. It will be saved, and it will be worshiped daily.
...Wait, this is your prototype? Then how is it all future Master Balls come into existence? Unless...
...Oh man. I just figured it out. THE MISSINGNO. GLITCH IS CANON. IT'S THE ONLY POSSIBLE EXPLANATION.
My mind is blown. I bet yours is, too. So I'll wrap things up.
The team at the end of the update. Spiffy.
With that thrilling conclusion, it's vote time. Be warned: if I don't get a decent amount of votes this time, I may just scrap it. Four empty spots for vote, as I want to give Lapras some spotlight time. Also I have a feeling everyone would vote for it, anyway.
Required Member: LV 37 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
Required Member: LV 15 Lapras: Water Gun, Growl
- LV 36 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 35 Alakazam: Teleport, Confusion, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 37 Arcanine: Bite, Leer, Ember, Dig
- LV 37 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 31 Gengar: Lick, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 33 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 32 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission
- LV 36 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 37 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
last edited by
Alakazam, Gengar, Marowak, Hitmonchan.
YOU WANT TO USE 15 POKEMON? THEN LEVEL THEM ALL EVENLY, DANGIT.
YOU WANT TO USE 15 POKEMON? THEN LEVEL THEM ALL EVENLY, DANGIT.
last edited by
Alakazam, Gengar, Marowak, Hitmonchan.
Also, the reason why more Masterballs exist later on is because they only gave you one of the prototypes. That means that they will eventually make a BETTER version for the mass market.
Also, the reason why more Masterballs exist later on is because they only gave you one of the prototypes. That means that they will eventually make a BETTER version for the mass market.
last edited by
Part 17: The Other Really Boring Part of Generation 1
Thanks to being so rusty, I managed to completely screw up my screen captures, and the first half of the update has no pictures. Lame, I know, but there's little I can do about it. Since there were so few votes this time, I said screw it, and went with Bomber's idea. So, the team at the beginning:
- LV 37 Blastoise
- LV 15 Lapras
- LV 35 Alakazam
- LV 32 Hitmonchan
- LV 31 Gengar
- LV 33 Marowak
Luckily, much of the first half was just training the team up to LV 37. Here's the highlights that I don't have pictures of:
- Lapras getting Sing at LV 16.
- Lapras getting Mist at LV 20.
Mist is a non-damaging Ice type move that prevents your stats from being lowered. It's functionally identical to the Guard Spec. item. In fact, in later generations, they just say '(Pokemon) was shrouded in mist!' like it had used Mist.
- Lapras getting Body Slam at LV 25. Since I didn't give it Surf (since it's the Ice type representative, not the Water type one), this speeds up the training considerably.
- Lapras getting Confuse Ray at LV 31. I was actually really excited when it hit LV 31...because I mixed up Confuse Ray and Ice Beam in its moveset. Oh, the shame.
- Hitmonchan getting Fire Punch at LV 33. It's welcome, not because it's very good on it or anything, but because it's 99.6% accurate. Comet Punch and Submission aren't the most accurate of attacks, which is annoying when you've got the enemy down to a sliver.
- A Fearow using Mega Punch thanks to Mirror Move. This is one I really wish I hadn't lost...because 'FEAROW used MEGA PUNCH!' is just silly.
- A look at the interior of the Saffron Gym. It's a warp tile puzzle, but from the entrance, you just need to go up, left, down, down, and you're at the gym leader. It's possible to not face a single trainer in the process.
- A picture of Slowbro, because it's awesome and it hadn't appeared before now.
- Lapras getting Ice Beam at LV 38. Hellz yeah.
- Alakazam getting Psychic at LV 38. Double hellz yeah.
All right, that's it for non-images. Now, for pretty pictures to go with the silliness!
This one's funny now because this is the first vision of this section.
You know, if you don't like fighting, you might want a career change. Unless you just don't like Fighting types, in which case being a Psychic type gym leader makes perfect sense. It'd explain why she smashed the Fighting Dojo into little pieces for no apparent reason.
Another section, another trainer with a whip. This time, a gym leader, to boot. It's still weird, but this one makes sense, since Sabrina will whip you good if you're ill-prepared for her. She's regarded as one of the hardest battles in the entire game, and not entirely without basis.
Part of the reason is her type specialty, Psychic. Here's its type match-ups in Generation I:
- Offensive:
Double Damage: Poison, Fighting
Half Damage: Psychic
Immune: None
- Defensive:
Double Damage: Bug
Half Damage: Psychic, Fighting
Immune: Ghost
Offensively, it's only super effective on two types...but Poison is THE most common type, and Fighting has terrible Special...and are generally not overly speedy. The killer is the resistances, or lack thereof: the only way to resist Psychic attacks are to bring out other Psychic types...who generally have high Special but below average Attack, so it's hard for them to damage each other.
Defensively it's even worse, because you can count on one hand the number of Pokemon that can use Bug type moves without being weak to Psychic attacks themselves. And that's not even taking into account Generation I's Bug type moves: Leech Life (only 20 base power), Twineedle (25 power, hits twice, only Beedrill gets it), and Pin Missile (14 power, hits 2-5 times, only Beedrill and one other Pokemon get it...and that other one gets it at LV 48). That's it. The one saving grace is that they only resist two types, one of which you shouldn't keep anywhere near them, anyway...and the attack Lick. Yes, thanks to a programming error, Ghost attacks, which were supposed to be super effective on Psychic types, instead do nothing. But since Lick does terrible damage and Night Shade is a set damage attack (which in RBY means it bypasses type immunity), it doesn't really mean anything, anyway.
Anyway, the best approach with Psychics is to use Pokemon with good Attack to hit their lower defensive stat, and high Special to resist their attacks. Lapras and Blastoise both fit this profile like a glove, so despite having two Pokemon weak to Psychic, and a third that only knows Psychic type moves, I don't see this being an especially hard fight. I wouldn't be surprised if Lapras was capable of sweeping, thanks to its incredible HP (only Chansey, Snorlax, and Wigglytuff have more in RBY) to go with everything else. I don't do that, but I wouldn't be surprised.
So, yeah. After all that, is it any wonder that they went out of their way to nerf Psychic in Gold/Silver?
Oh, right, I have a gym leader to smash up. First up is Kadabra. One good thing about Red/Blue's AI is that, barring type matchup, is completely random, even in trainer battles. Thus, Marowak takes zero damage as it gives Kadabra a severe case of club foot. And club head, and club arm...
Since I'm a moron, I forgot to take a picture of her Mr. Mime. Suffice it to say that Lapras had no problems with it.
Surprise! Sabrina, for some reason, has a Venomoth, who is Bug/Poison. Granted, it does have Psybeam at this level, but...well, it's a breather before the REAL threat in this gym. Alakazam OHKOs, as it's prone to do.
BAM. Yep, Sabrina has Alakazam. The same one I've ranted about being OP. Hers actually has a decent moveset, as well: Psychic because, well, it's Psychic, Recover for HP recovery, Reflect to cut down on physical damage, and Psywave, the gym's TM move. I'll describe it in a bit, but suffice it to say it's annoying if you're trying to wall it with another Psychic type, or something with great Special.
...But, Lapras's Body Slam paralyzed it, and it went down without inflicting a single point of damage. Yes, Lapras really is that good.
Badge 6/8. Awesome.
Since there are only 5 HMs, the remaining badges don't let you use any other moves out of battle. The Marsh Badge 'only' gives you complete obedience of traded Pokemon up to LV 70.
...If your Pokemon are high enough level that the Marsh Badge's effect stops, I don't really know what to tell you, aside from 'quit being overleveled, you jerk'.
Okay, TM 46. It teaches Psywave, which is a bit of an odd duck. It inflicts random damage, and ignores type matchups and stats. At minimum, it will inflict exactly half of the user's level in damage. At max, it will do one and a half times the user's level in HP damage. So, if I gave to my LV 38 Alakazam, it would do between 19 and 57 HP. Unfortunately, it has 79.6% accuracy, which kills a lot of what limited use it'd have anyway. I might give it to Alakazam, just to give it something for other Psychics (since I idiotically burned Seismic Toss on the Abra I couldn't use), but eh. Gengar and Lapras can also use the TM, but they hardly need it.
Anyway, after this, there's a bit of a lull. There's a series of routes that connects Lavender Town and Fuchsia City, numbered 12 through 15; I've covered part of Route 12 (the one nearest Lavender) already, but I'm going to go ahead and get them all out of the way...was my thinking behind doing it now. In the long run, I should've waited until I got my last couple of Pokemon before tackling it. There's not much of interest, it's just a spot for you to grind levels against a bunch of trainers. Anyway, I'll start at Route 12, and work my way down. I tend to do it the other way around, but eh, whatever.
You might snag less if you actually faced the water.
...I had something witty to say about this, but I forgot what it was. I hate it when I do that.
Just because RBY's text is a bit short and to the point doesn't mean it doesn't have its charms.
I have 4 of the world's 5 Moon Stones. And even though you have a Nidorino, I'm not giving you any. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yes, they were big enough jerks to put up trees that need Cut here. The trainer just has a couple of Magikarp (which raises such questions as 'how did he get in there' and 'why is a Fisherman not next to the water' and 'WHY'), but the item is...Iron, I think. Or is it Calcium? Some kind of vitamin, anyway.
One quick lookup later, I now know that it is indeed Iron. Useful.
...Wait, did they just imply that there's a trainer besides me that checks item balls? Because that's destroying my suspension of disbelief.
Woo? Ice Punch has better type coverage than Fire Punch, at least, and has a 10% chance to essentially inflict insta-win. Could be worse.
It's funny because I took him out with Hitmonchan. No one scraps with a Fighting type and gets away with it. Unless they're a Ghost type, in which case odds are you're screwed.
I, however, am just plain good.
I personally take this two different ways...either way, she gets spanked. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Ah, here's a fun one. Dream Eater is a Psychic-type move that has 100 base power (that's 10 stronger than Psychic), 99.6% accuracy, and heals the user by half of the damage dealt...but only works if the defending Pokemon is asleep. Only the Gastly line gets it without a TM (add the Drowzee line and Mew to the list if you include the TM), but they're stuck with the 59.6% accurate Hypnosis. However, since Gengar is quite speedy (110 base Speed, which only 9 Pokemon top), with a little luck, you can tear apart just about any team, and even if Hypnosis fails once or twice, you can just heal back what they did...provided it's CPU controlled. Actual people often do this thing called 'switching' so you can't pull that stunt. In-game, however, it's an intriguing combo. Plus, when not bound by 'rules', you can use X Accuracy to fix the accuracy issues...fun times. I might give Gengar Thunder and actually try that if it's part of the endgame team.
I know.
You get badges...from gym leaders? No way!
This guy's positioning is potentially annoying, since if you enter his line of sight one space lower, he'll block the only way to get a hidden item. Speaking of which...
There are two possible ways to interpret this sign...and amusingly, both are right.
If you think it means to go to the post next to the sign and look left, you're rewarded with Calcium.
And if you think it means to literally go left of the posts, you get a PP Up. This is the one that the guy can block if you mess up. Fortunately, you just have to leave the route, and his position will reset where he won't block you.
There's a patch of grass blocked by a tree here. In fact, the only grass in Route 12, Route 13, AND Route 14 are blocked by Cut trees. I don't know why, because there's no items, and there's absolutely nothing new here if you've been to Fuchsia...unless you're playing Yellow, in which case they're blocking access to the only spots to get wild Farfetch'd in Generation I. Yeah, Yellow removed the trade in Vermilion City, and made Farfetch'd wild. It's a thing.
Not only did I teach my bird Pokemon Fly, it actually needed it for a Flying type attack! HM 02 is quite handy in that regard.
This guy is one of the few in-game hints as to the existence of the legendary birds. It would mean more if I hadn't already run into Zapdos.
Oh, here's a new face I found in Route 15's grass. Ditto is famous for being able to transform into whatever Pokemon it's facing...and, in later games, for shacking up with virtually anything.
You'd think that people would learn that people with unique appearances MIGHT be more dangerous than other people.
A Beauty on Route 15 has Wigglytuff, who...has a really weird sprite in Red/Blue. I think it's the eyes. Those are some creepy eyes. And that's still better than its Green sprite (Japanese only version), where it manages to both look even fatter AND have a weird eye tic thing going.
So, after all that grinding, I reach Fuchsia, and this is how the team looks. Yes, Hitmonchan hasn't reached 100 HP yet. Its HP is AWFUL. Lapras...not so much. 164 HP, and it's not even LV 40 yet. Awesome.
I'm not holding a vote for the next part, since I doubt I'd get many votes anyway (and even if I did, I'd only have 3 spare slots). So instead, I'll just present the Pokemon.
- LV 40 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
- LV 36 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 40 Alakazam: Teleport, Psychic, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 37 Arcanine: Bite, Leer, Ember, Dig
- LV 37 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 40 Gengar: Dream Eater, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 39 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 39 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission, Ice Punch
- LV 36 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 37 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
- LV 39 Lapras: Water Gun, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Confuse Ray
Thanks to being so rusty, I managed to completely screw up my screen captures, and the first half of the update has no pictures. Lame, I know, but there's little I can do about it. Since there were so few votes this time, I said screw it, and went with Bomber's idea. So, the team at the beginning:
- LV 37 Blastoise
- LV 15 Lapras
- LV 35 Alakazam
- LV 32 Hitmonchan
- LV 31 Gengar
- LV 33 Marowak
Luckily, much of the first half was just training the team up to LV 37. Here's the highlights that I don't have pictures of:
- Lapras getting Sing at LV 16.
- Lapras getting Mist at LV 20.
Mist is a non-damaging Ice type move that prevents your stats from being lowered. It's functionally identical to the Guard Spec. item. In fact, in later generations, they just say '(Pokemon) was shrouded in mist!' like it had used Mist.
- Lapras getting Body Slam at LV 25. Since I didn't give it Surf (since it's the Ice type representative, not the Water type one), this speeds up the training considerably.
- Lapras getting Confuse Ray at LV 31. I was actually really excited when it hit LV 31...because I mixed up Confuse Ray and Ice Beam in its moveset. Oh, the shame.
- Hitmonchan getting Fire Punch at LV 33. It's welcome, not because it's very good on it or anything, but because it's 99.6% accurate. Comet Punch and Submission aren't the most accurate of attacks, which is annoying when you've got the enemy down to a sliver.
- A Fearow using Mega Punch thanks to Mirror Move. This is one I really wish I hadn't lost...because 'FEAROW used MEGA PUNCH!' is just silly.
- A look at the interior of the Saffron Gym. It's a warp tile puzzle, but from the entrance, you just need to go up, left, down, down, and you're at the gym leader. It's possible to not face a single trainer in the process.
- A picture of Slowbro, because it's awesome and it hadn't appeared before now.
- Lapras getting Ice Beam at LV 38. Hellz yeah.
- Alakazam getting Psychic at LV 38. Double hellz yeah.
All right, that's it for non-images. Now, for pretty pictures to go with the silliness!
This one's funny now because this is the first vision of this section.
You know, if you don't like fighting, you might want a career change. Unless you just don't like Fighting types, in which case being a Psychic type gym leader makes perfect sense. It'd explain why she smashed the Fighting Dojo into little pieces for no apparent reason.
Another section, another trainer with a whip. This time, a gym leader, to boot. It's still weird, but this one makes sense, since Sabrina will whip you good if you're ill-prepared for her. She's regarded as one of the hardest battles in the entire game, and not entirely without basis.
Part of the reason is her type specialty, Psychic. Here's its type match-ups in Generation I:
- Offensive:
Double Damage: Poison, Fighting
Half Damage: Psychic
Immune: None
- Defensive:
Double Damage: Bug
Half Damage: Psychic, Fighting
Immune: Ghost
Offensively, it's only super effective on two types...but Poison is THE most common type, and Fighting has terrible Special...and are generally not overly speedy. The killer is the resistances, or lack thereof: the only way to resist Psychic attacks are to bring out other Psychic types...who generally have high Special but below average Attack, so it's hard for them to damage each other.
Defensively it's even worse, because you can count on one hand the number of Pokemon that can use Bug type moves without being weak to Psychic attacks themselves. And that's not even taking into account Generation I's Bug type moves: Leech Life (only 20 base power), Twineedle (25 power, hits twice, only Beedrill gets it), and Pin Missile (14 power, hits 2-5 times, only Beedrill and one other Pokemon get it...and that other one gets it at LV 48). That's it. The one saving grace is that they only resist two types, one of which you shouldn't keep anywhere near them, anyway...and the attack Lick. Yes, thanks to a programming error, Ghost attacks, which were supposed to be super effective on Psychic types, instead do nothing. But since Lick does terrible damage and Night Shade is a set damage attack (which in RBY means it bypasses type immunity), it doesn't really mean anything, anyway.
Anyway, the best approach with Psychics is to use Pokemon with good Attack to hit their lower defensive stat, and high Special to resist their attacks. Lapras and Blastoise both fit this profile like a glove, so despite having two Pokemon weak to Psychic, and a third that only knows Psychic type moves, I don't see this being an especially hard fight. I wouldn't be surprised if Lapras was capable of sweeping, thanks to its incredible HP (only Chansey, Snorlax, and Wigglytuff have more in RBY) to go with everything else. I don't do that, but I wouldn't be surprised.
So, yeah. After all that, is it any wonder that they went out of their way to nerf Psychic in Gold/Silver?
Oh, right, I have a gym leader to smash up. First up is Kadabra. One good thing about Red/Blue's AI is that, barring type matchup, is completely random, even in trainer battles. Thus, Marowak takes zero damage as it gives Kadabra a severe case of club foot. And club head, and club arm...
Since I'm a moron, I forgot to take a picture of her Mr. Mime. Suffice it to say that Lapras had no problems with it.
Surprise! Sabrina, for some reason, has a Venomoth, who is Bug/Poison. Granted, it does have Psybeam at this level, but...well, it's a breather before the REAL threat in this gym. Alakazam OHKOs, as it's prone to do.
BAM. Yep, Sabrina has Alakazam. The same one I've ranted about being OP. Hers actually has a decent moveset, as well: Psychic because, well, it's Psychic, Recover for HP recovery, Reflect to cut down on physical damage, and Psywave, the gym's TM move. I'll describe it in a bit, but suffice it to say it's annoying if you're trying to wall it with another Psychic type, or something with great Special.
...But, Lapras's Body Slam paralyzed it, and it went down without inflicting a single point of damage. Yes, Lapras really is that good.
Badge 6/8. Awesome.
Since there are only 5 HMs, the remaining badges don't let you use any other moves out of battle. The Marsh Badge 'only' gives you complete obedience of traded Pokemon up to LV 70.
...If your Pokemon are high enough level that the Marsh Badge's effect stops, I don't really know what to tell you, aside from 'quit being overleveled, you jerk'.
Okay, TM 46. It teaches Psywave, which is a bit of an odd duck. It inflicts random damage, and ignores type matchups and stats. At minimum, it will inflict exactly half of the user's level in damage. At max, it will do one and a half times the user's level in HP damage. So, if I gave to my LV 38 Alakazam, it would do between 19 and 57 HP. Unfortunately, it has 79.6% accuracy, which kills a lot of what limited use it'd have anyway. I might give it to Alakazam, just to give it something for other Psychics (since I idiotically burned Seismic Toss on the Abra I couldn't use), but eh. Gengar and Lapras can also use the TM, but they hardly need it.
Anyway, after this, there's a bit of a lull. There's a series of routes that connects Lavender Town and Fuchsia City, numbered 12 through 15; I've covered part of Route 12 (the one nearest Lavender) already, but I'm going to go ahead and get them all out of the way...was my thinking behind doing it now. In the long run, I should've waited until I got my last couple of Pokemon before tackling it. There's not much of interest, it's just a spot for you to grind levels against a bunch of trainers. Anyway, I'll start at Route 12, and work my way down. I tend to do it the other way around, but eh, whatever.
You might snag less if you actually faced the water.
...I had something witty to say about this, but I forgot what it was. I hate it when I do that.
Just because RBY's text is a bit short and to the point doesn't mean it doesn't have its charms.
I have 4 of the world's 5 Moon Stones. And even though you have a Nidorino, I'm not giving you any. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Yes, they were big enough jerks to put up trees that need Cut here. The trainer just has a couple of Magikarp (which raises such questions as 'how did he get in there' and 'why is a Fisherman not next to the water' and 'WHY'), but the item is...Iron, I think. Or is it Calcium? Some kind of vitamin, anyway.
One quick lookup later, I now know that it is indeed Iron. Useful.
...Wait, did they just imply that there's a trainer besides me that checks item balls? Because that's destroying my suspension of disbelief.
Woo? Ice Punch has better type coverage than Fire Punch, at least, and has a 10% chance to essentially inflict insta-win. Could be worse.
It's funny because I took him out with Hitmonchan. No one scraps with a Fighting type and gets away with it. Unless they're a Ghost type, in which case odds are you're screwed.
I, however, am just plain good.
I personally take this two different ways...either way, she gets spanked. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
Ah, here's a fun one. Dream Eater is a Psychic-type move that has 100 base power (that's 10 stronger than Psychic), 99.6% accuracy, and heals the user by half of the damage dealt...but only works if the defending Pokemon is asleep. Only the Gastly line gets it without a TM (add the Drowzee line and Mew to the list if you include the TM), but they're stuck with the 59.6% accurate Hypnosis. However, since Gengar is quite speedy (110 base Speed, which only 9 Pokemon top), with a little luck, you can tear apart just about any team, and even if Hypnosis fails once or twice, you can just heal back what they did...provided it's CPU controlled. Actual people often do this thing called 'switching' so you can't pull that stunt. In-game, however, it's an intriguing combo. Plus, when not bound by 'rules', you can use X Accuracy to fix the accuracy issues...fun times. I might give Gengar Thunder and actually try that if it's part of the endgame team.
I know.
You get badges...from gym leaders? No way!
This guy's positioning is potentially annoying, since if you enter his line of sight one space lower, he'll block the only way to get a hidden item. Speaking of which...
There are two possible ways to interpret this sign...and amusingly, both are right.
If you think it means to go to the post next to the sign and look left, you're rewarded with Calcium.
And if you think it means to literally go left of the posts, you get a PP Up. This is the one that the guy can block if you mess up. Fortunately, you just have to leave the route, and his position will reset where he won't block you.
There's a patch of grass blocked by a tree here. In fact, the only grass in Route 12, Route 13, AND Route 14 are blocked by Cut trees. I don't know why, because there's no items, and there's absolutely nothing new here if you've been to Fuchsia...unless you're playing Yellow, in which case they're blocking access to the only spots to get wild Farfetch'd in Generation I. Yeah, Yellow removed the trade in Vermilion City, and made Farfetch'd wild. It's a thing.
Not only did I teach my bird Pokemon Fly, it actually needed it for a Flying type attack! HM 02 is quite handy in that regard.
This guy is one of the few in-game hints as to the existence of the legendary birds. It would mean more if I hadn't already run into Zapdos.
Oh, here's a new face I found in Route 15's grass. Ditto is famous for being able to transform into whatever Pokemon it's facing...and, in later games, for shacking up with virtually anything.
You'd think that people would learn that people with unique appearances MIGHT be more dangerous than other people.
A Beauty on Route 15 has Wigglytuff, who...has a really weird sprite in Red/Blue. I think it's the eyes. Those are some creepy eyes. And that's still better than its Green sprite (Japanese only version), where it manages to both look even fatter AND have a weird eye tic thing going.
So, after all that grinding, I reach Fuchsia, and this is how the team looks. Yes, Hitmonchan hasn't reached 100 HP yet. Its HP is AWFUL. Lapras...not so much. 164 HP, and it's not even LV 40 yet. Awesome.
I'm not holding a vote for the next part, since I doubt I'd get many votes anyway (and even if I did, I'd only have 3 spare slots). So instead, I'll just present the Pokemon.
- LV 40 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
- LV 36 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 40 Alakazam: Teleport, Psychic, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 37 Arcanine: Bite, Leer, Ember, Dig
- LV 37 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 40 Gengar: Dream Eater, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 39 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 39 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission, Ice Punch
- LV 36 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 37 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
- LV 39 Lapras: Water Gun, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Confuse Ray
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Part 18: Waterlogged
In this part: Non-terrible back sprites!
When we last left the courageous, handsome MCEREAL, he was chillin' in the Fuchsia City Pokemon Center. He hasn't moved a bit.
This is the team for this segment...for now. Pidgeot and Scyther because they're the lowest level Pokemon I'm presently using (and Scyther would have a rough time in the next segment to boot), and Jolteon as a bit of an emergency nuke, in case something goes terribly wrong against a trainer. The blank spots mean nothing. They're not going to be filled or anything, nosiree.
The area I'm covering is the watery area south of Fuchsia, but for mysterious and not at all easily guessed reasons, I'm Flying to Pallet Town, and heading for the town south of there.
I stop to say hi to Professor Oak, who proceeds to rate my Pokedex. You can also do this at any PC, but I'm not a total jerkwad like the Oaks, so I say hi in person.
The silly part is that I'm really not. Pretty much everything I have is either something I'm using, utilized for HMs, or the Paras I released to spite Steve.
For the first time, MCEREAL can go south from his home town. Seriously, you can see that grass before you even get a Pokemon, but without Surf, no touchy. It's not an especially noteworthy spot, consisting mostly of Pidgey, Rattata, and their evolutions...but it IS the only place in Red/Blue with wild Tangela. I've read guides that say that Tangela's only available in an in-game trade in Red/Blue, but don't believe it, you can get as many as you want right here. They're uncommon, but not agonizingly so.
There's some trainers in the water to the south, but by hugging the left wall, you can skip them. I do so.
Welcome to Cinnabar Island! This single image contains every building on the island...and it's actually a pretty neat place anyway. I'll cover it in-depth at another time, though, since the only reason I'm here is none other than to obtain the final two Pokemon. Bet you didn't see THAT coming.
...Except I need something in order to obtain one of them, which I should've gotten WAY sooner, but didn't. Thus, I Fly to Pewter City. Yes, THAT Pewter City.
And I need Cut to get it. Good thing I had spare Pokemon slots.
Remember how I lamented about this exact Cuttable tree the first time I was here? Well, now you finally get to see why.
The other two scientists in back aren't particularly interesting (though the one to the left isn't very happy you're there), but this one is convinced that a chunk of amber can be used to revive an ancient Pokemon. The others all think he's nuts, which, while understandable, is very dumb on their part. I mean, that lab in Cinnabar...well, you'll see for yourself.
He gives you the amber, provided that you just shut your piehole and get it checked. These conditions are acceptable, even if I wasn't a silent protagonist.
This nondescript looking building in Cinnabar Island is none other than the fabled Pokemon Lab. I'll cover it when I do Cinnabar properly, but for now, all you need to know is that this is where you take your fossils (both the Old Amber, and whichever fossil you took WAY back in Mt. Moon).
EGADS, SOMEGUY HIRED A NINJA TO POSE AS A DOCTOR IN ORDER TO LET MY GUARD DOWN, AND NOW HE'S GOING TO KILL ME BEFORE I CAN SEND OUT A POKEMON TO BATTLE HIM WITH. FFFFFFFFFFFFF-
...Or he could just be a doctor, and he's just greeting us. Sure, that works too.
But he's not just any doctor, though. He has a machine that can turn fossils...INTO POKEMON!
The process isn't exactly super speedy, though, so you need to give him time. Or just walk outside the lab, then back in. That works, too.
...I was gone for literally 15 seconds, shut up.
...On second thought, say whatever you want.
Here's Aerodactyl's stats. 91 Speed...at LV 30, and without a single battle to its name. That is crazy. Attack isn't that bad, either. Disgustingly, it can't learn Rock Slide. It'd be criticaling and flinching left and right...
Aerodactyl starts with Wing Attack and Agility. I complained about it when Pidgeot got it, but it's not quite as bad on Aerodactyl, since A-Aerodactyl has a better base Attack, and B-Aerodactyl has MUCH better base Speed. And remember, base Speed determines critical hit rates in RBY.
Unfortunately, Aerodactyl has a...less than stellar moveset, so I can't do what I did with Lapras and pass on a HM move so it can focus on its other type. Plus, it gives me a second Pokemon with Fly, and that's useful.
This other nondescript building is called the Pokemon Mansion. It's an abandoned mansion with Pokemon in it, but I'm not covering it today. Instead, I'm just ducking in...
...Because this is the only place to get wild Koffing. I still don't get why they put the skull and crossbones above its face in that sprite.
Needless to say, it's not a huge pain to catch. After all, if Team Rocket can do it, I certainly can do it much better.
This is actually a slightly odd Koffing, since its base Attack is actually slightly higher than its base Special. I can't complain too much, though, since extra Special is always nice. As you can see, Defense is its specialty. In fact, to this very day, Weezing has the best Defense of all Poison types, with a whopping base 120. Nifty. It's also quite slow. Less nifty, but by Poison type in Generation I standards, it's quite the tank.
Anyway, time to do some training. Unlike other times, however, I'm not getting them all the way to LV 40, which is Blastoise's level. At this rate, I'm going to be a bit overleveled, and I should at least pretend that this is a challenge for me, right?
Here's Aerodactyl's back sprite. It's...surprisingly good. No inaccuracies or anything. Just low-res, but what back sprite isn't?
Again, critical hit rate is calculated as:
(Base Speed) / 512
Aerodactyl's base Speed is 130, so it's critical hit rate is 130/512, or 25.39%. (You might recall this way back when I discussed Jolteon earlier.) Thus, it'll be getting quite a few critical hits.
Look at that. LV 32. 100 Speed. Base 130 Speed gets you far in this game.
It gets Supersonic one level later. With that critical hit rate, however, it's better off just attacking away. After all, the odds of Supersonic working AND making the other Pokemon hurt itself that turn? 27.3%. That's barely more likely than Aerodactyl landing a critical hit (and most likely crippling or KOing outright in the process).
You may notice that I'm a bit partial to Aerodactyl. That's because it is a BLAST to use. Lightning quick, packs a punch...I just wish it had a better movepool in the early games.
Meanwhile, Koffing wants everyone to know that it exists, too. So here's its back sprite. Much better than the front sprite.
Once Aerodactyl and Koffing are both LV 33, I decide that's enough, and head south from Fuchsia to Route 13. Those two people are both Swimmers, but thanks to speed up, I somehow ran into both while training Gengar and the others. Go, me. At least there's others to train on.
Defeating this guy traumatizes him so badly that he has to wipe it from his memory.
This guy tried diving for Pokemon, but failed. He's about 6-7 years ahead of his time.
I don't even know why they're arranged like this. At least it makes it easy to get to them. You see, unlike any other body of water in RBY, Routes 19, 20, and 21 have wild encounters. Just Tentacool of varying levels, but they're there. This also causes something...interesting to happen under certain circumstances. But I'll cover that next time.
It's okay, I'll cover you in lotion any time, baby.
...Don't look at me like that, that particular swimmer is actually a Beauty, and not a Swimmer.
Here's Tentacruel's sprite. Tentacruel is the evolved form of Tentacool, on the off chance you couldn't piece that together. It also has one of my favorite sprites of the era, since it looks like it takes absolutely no crap from anyone.
After beating the third of the four trainers in that cluster (I went right to left, if you're curious), Koffing hit LV 35. That means that this happens!
Better stats AND a more reasonable sprite? Sign me up!
Despite what they're saying, you don't lose the Pokemon you're Surfing on if you lose to this trainer. But, if you lose to them, you should probably release all your Pokemon on principle anyway.
YOUR IMMINENT DEMISE, MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
No, I can't, actually. Jerk.
Here's Seadra, Horsea's evolution. It's not a bad Water type, but nothing Aerodactyl can't handle. Aerodactyl's actually doing pretty well, considering that most of the Pokemon here have Water type attacks. I wouldn't expect anything less, though.
Double whammy! Here's Weezing's back sprite, which isn't terrible, and Cloyster's front sprite, which is just weird (the shell is supposed to open vertically). Cloyster itself is crazy good, though, with base 180(!) Defense. That's the best in all of Generation I, and today that's good for a tie for 4th out of 649 Pokemon. Good Special, too, so it's not that easy to hit it that way, either. The only two issues it has here (and it's nitpicking a little) are that is has a less than stellar movepool (functional enough, though), and a fairly low HP. It also has the unique-to-it-until-Ruby-and-Sapphire Clamp, which is like Wrap, but Water type and stronger. Nifty. Oh, and if you hold off evolving it until LV 50, it'll get Ice Beam without a TM. Also nifty.
Hahahahahahaha. That said, the Tentacool here can get up to LV 40. Oddly, I didn't see a single one over LV 15 the entire time I was here. Oh well.
See this? You can actually do THAT here as well, but Cinnabar Island is both Flyable AND convenient, so it's more famous.
Bizzarely, because of how they're set up, you have to go in the left side of this next cave first, and exit via the right, even though you're going right to left. Also, there's a single trainer that I have to use Surf to get to. It's annoying, but since that trainer is a Beauty, I get some good cash for it.
Baby, I'll float with you all night long.
Welcome to the Seafoam Islands! There are three things it's known for. First, there's a Strength 'puzzle' you have to do in order to slow down currents, since otherwise you'll get swept up and sent back.
Second, it has a LOT of Water types available without a rod. Especially noteworthy is Seel, since it can only be found here. Weirdly, you can find Horsea here. On the ground. Weird.
Said it before, and I'll say it again: I AM the Itemfinder.
There's Seel's evolved form, Dewgong. Unlike Seel, it's Water/Ice, instead of a pure Water type. It's not a particularly GOOD one (Cloyster and Lapras are so much better it's not even funny), but it's an option.
The main Strength 'puzzle' is just to push down the boulders on the top floor down to water level, but there's also this one. Like an idiot, I managed to both not get a picture of the puzzle before I started on it, and not get a picture of the other boulder you need to shove down a hole (moving the leftmost one will let you access another boulder that you CAN move down). Still, it's there, and it's a thing. This one's not necessary to complete, however.
But at least you can check out this western area of water. Let's go up and see if there's anything noteworthy...
...Eh? This seems familiar...
Yep, definitely getting deja vu...
Oh snap. The reward for the optional puzzle is...none other than the legendary bird of ice, Articuno. Unlike Zapdos, it doesn't have Drill Peck. No, that would be too easy. Instead, it has Peck...and Ice Beam. Yep, it's got a 10% chance of instantly dooming a Pokemon...if it even makes it to the freeze check. It's got a monster Special, and not helping is that my team is largely vulnerable to Ice. I got it weakened, but I got crushed. Even Blastoise got 2HKO'd (thanks to a critical hit). Suffice it to say that Articuno and Zapdos, freshly caught, and with no TM usage, are capable of defeating the Elite Four on their own. They're THAT good. Though, it doesn't help that they have outstanding type coverage between the two of them (no Pokemon in Generation I resists both Electric and Ice). Did I mention that the two of them, with a single level, pick up Blizzard and Thunder? Both of which have 120 base power? Did I also mention that in RBY, Blizzard has 89.6% accuracy? Yeesh. To be fair, though, if you don't know where they are, they're both easily missable, since both the Power Plant and the Seafoam Islands are optional.
So anyway, I reset to before the Articuno fight, I do some more Strength stuff, and I get out. Fun times.
Yeah, I'll check it out all nig-AUGH IT'S A SWIMMER NOT A BEAUTY AUGH
Which is weirder: that there's a dock in the middle of nowhere, or that the Bird Keeper on it claims that he got there by flying on his Pokemon? I, for one, call hax either way.
It is a travesty that they didn't have room to say 'pearl necklace' there. Also, she uses the Shellder line, which sets up...
A pearl necklace, in addition to the literal meaning, means...well, ya know. Cloyster is mocked by some for resembling female genitalia. So...yeah...I'm not going to spell this one out. Enjoy your ignorant bliss. Moving right along...
...Oh, that was the last trainer before reaching Cinnabar Island properly? Okay, then. Guess I'll call it a day, then.
And so, I present...the current team. And at long last, we have all 15 slots filled!
- LV 40 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
- LV 37 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 40 Alakazam: Teleport, Psychic, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 37 Arcanine: Bite, Leer, Ember, Dig
- LV 37 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 40 Gengar: Dream Eater, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 39 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 39 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission, Ice Punch
- LV 37 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 37 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
- LV 39 Lapras: Water Gun, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Confuse Ray
- LV 37 Aerodactyl: Wing Attack, Agility, Fly, Supersonic
- LV 37 Weezing: Tackle, Smog, Sludge
In this part: Non-terrible back sprites!
When we last left the courageous, handsome MCEREAL, he was chillin' in the Fuchsia City Pokemon Center. He hasn't moved a bit.
This is the team for this segment...for now. Pidgeot and Scyther because they're the lowest level Pokemon I'm presently using (and Scyther would have a rough time in the next segment to boot), and Jolteon as a bit of an emergency nuke, in case something goes terribly wrong against a trainer. The blank spots mean nothing. They're not going to be filled or anything, nosiree.
The area I'm covering is the watery area south of Fuchsia, but for mysterious and not at all easily guessed reasons, I'm Flying to Pallet Town, and heading for the town south of there.
I stop to say hi to Professor Oak, who proceeds to rate my Pokedex. You can also do this at any PC, but I'm not a total jerkwad like the Oaks, so I say hi in person.
The silly part is that I'm really not. Pretty much everything I have is either something I'm using, utilized for HMs, or the Paras I released to spite Steve.
For the first time, MCEREAL can go south from his home town. Seriously, you can see that grass before you even get a Pokemon, but without Surf, no touchy. It's not an especially noteworthy spot, consisting mostly of Pidgey, Rattata, and their evolutions...but it IS the only place in Red/Blue with wild Tangela. I've read guides that say that Tangela's only available in an in-game trade in Red/Blue, but don't believe it, you can get as many as you want right here. They're uncommon, but not agonizingly so.
There's some trainers in the water to the south, but by hugging the left wall, you can skip them. I do so.
Welcome to Cinnabar Island! This single image contains every building on the island...and it's actually a pretty neat place anyway. I'll cover it in-depth at another time, though, since the only reason I'm here is none other than to obtain the final two Pokemon. Bet you didn't see THAT coming.
...Except I need something in order to obtain one of them, which I should've gotten WAY sooner, but didn't. Thus, I Fly to Pewter City. Yes, THAT Pewter City.
And I need Cut to get it. Good thing I had spare Pokemon slots.
Remember how I lamented about this exact Cuttable tree the first time I was here? Well, now you finally get to see why.
The other two scientists in back aren't particularly interesting (though the one to the left isn't very happy you're there), but this one is convinced that a chunk of amber can be used to revive an ancient Pokemon. The others all think he's nuts, which, while understandable, is very dumb on their part. I mean, that lab in Cinnabar...well, you'll see for yourself.
He gives you the amber, provided that you just shut your piehole and get it checked. These conditions are acceptable, even if I wasn't a silent protagonist.
This nondescript looking building in Cinnabar Island is none other than the fabled Pokemon Lab. I'll cover it when I do Cinnabar properly, but for now, all you need to know is that this is where you take your fossils (both the Old Amber, and whichever fossil you took WAY back in Mt. Moon).
EGADS, SOMEGUY HIRED A NINJA TO POSE AS A DOCTOR IN ORDER TO LET MY GUARD DOWN, AND NOW HE'S GOING TO KILL ME BEFORE I CAN SEND OUT A POKEMON TO BATTLE HIM WITH. FFFFFFFFFFFFF-
...Or he could just be a doctor, and he's just greeting us. Sure, that works too.
But he's not just any doctor, though. He has a machine that can turn fossils...INTO POKEMON!
The process isn't exactly super speedy, though, so you need to give him time. Or just walk outside the lab, then back in. That works, too.
...I was gone for literally 15 seconds, shut up.
...On second thought, say whatever you want.
Here's Aerodactyl's stats. 91 Speed...at LV 30, and without a single battle to its name. That is crazy. Attack isn't that bad, either. Disgustingly, it can't learn Rock Slide. It'd be criticaling and flinching left and right...
Aerodactyl starts with Wing Attack and Agility. I complained about it when Pidgeot got it, but it's not quite as bad on Aerodactyl, since A-Aerodactyl has a better base Attack, and B-Aerodactyl has MUCH better base Speed. And remember, base Speed determines critical hit rates in RBY.
Unfortunately, Aerodactyl has a...less than stellar moveset, so I can't do what I did with Lapras and pass on a HM move so it can focus on its other type. Plus, it gives me a second Pokemon with Fly, and that's useful.
This other nondescript building is called the Pokemon Mansion. It's an abandoned mansion with Pokemon in it, but I'm not covering it today. Instead, I'm just ducking in...
...Because this is the only place to get wild Koffing. I still don't get why they put the skull and crossbones above its face in that sprite.
Needless to say, it's not a huge pain to catch. After all, if Team Rocket can do it, I certainly can do it much better.
This is actually a slightly odd Koffing, since its base Attack is actually slightly higher than its base Special. I can't complain too much, though, since extra Special is always nice. As you can see, Defense is its specialty. In fact, to this very day, Weezing has the best Defense of all Poison types, with a whopping base 120. Nifty. It's also quite slow. Less nifty, but by Poison type in Generation I standards, it's quite the tank.
Anyway, time to do some training. Unlike other times, however, I'm not getting them all the way to LV 40, which is Blastoise's level. At this rate, I'm going to be a bit overleveled, and I should at least pretend that this is a challenge for me, right?
Here's Aerodactyl's back sprite. It's...surprisingly good. No inaccuracies or anything. Just low-res, but what back sprite isn't?
Again, critical hit rate is calculated as:
(Base Speed) / 512
Aerodactyl's base Speed is 130, so it's critical hit rate is 130/512, or 25.39%. (You might recall this way back when I discussed Jolteon earlier.) Thus, it'll be getting quite a few critical hits.
Look at that. LV 32. 100 Speed. Base 130 Speed gets you far in this game.
It gets Supersonic one level later. With that critical hit rate, however, it's better off just attacking away. After all, the odds of Supersonic working AND making the other Pokemon hurt itself that turn? 27.3%. That's barely more likely than Aerodactyl landing a critical hit (and most likely crippling or KOing outright in the process).
You may notice that I'm a bit partial to Aerodactyl. That's because it is a BLAST to use. Lightning quick, packs a punch...I just wish it had a better movepool in the early games.
Meanwhile, Koffing wants everyone to know that it exists, too. So here's its back sprite. Much better than the front sprite.
Once Aerodactyl and Koffing are both LV 33, I decide that's enough, and head south from Fuchsia to Route 13. Those two people are both Swimmers, but thanks to speed up, I somehow ran into both while training Gengar and the others. Go, me. At least there's others to train on.
Defeating this guy traumatizes him so badly that he has to wipe it from his memory.
This guy tried diving for Pokemon, but failed. He's about 6-7 years ahead of his time.
I don't even know why they're arranged like this. At least it makes it easy to get to them. You see, unlike any other body of water in RBY, Routes 19, 20, and 21 have wild encounters. Just Tentacool of varying levels, but they're there. This also causes something...interesting to happen under certain circumstances. But I'll cover that next time.
It's okay, I'll cover you in lotion any time, baby.
...Don't look at me like that, that particular swimmer is actually a Beauty, and not a Swimmer.
Here's Tentacruel's sprite. Tentacruel is the evolved form of Tentacool, on the off chance you couldn't piece that together. It also has one of my favorite sprites of the era, since it looks like it takes absolutely no crap from anyone.
After beating the third of the four trainers in that cluster (I went right to left, if you're curious), Koffing hit LV 35. That means that this happens!
Better stats AND a more reasonable sprite? Sign me up!
Despite what they're saying, you don't lose the Pokemon you're Surfing on if you lose to this trainer. But, if you lose to them, you should probably release all your Pokemon on principle anyway.
YOUR IMMINENT DEMISE, MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
No, I can't, actually. Jerk.
Here's Seadra, Horsea's evolution. It's not a bad Water type, but nothing Aerodactyl can't handle. Aerodactyl's actually doing pretty well, considering that most of the Pokemon here have Water type attacks. I wouldn't expect anything less, though.
Double whammy! Here's Weezing's back sprite, which isn't terrible, and Cloyster's front sprite, which is just weird (the shell is supposed to open vertically). Cloyster itself is crazy good, though, with base 180(!) Defense. That's the best in all of Generation I, and today that's good for a tie for 4th out of 649 Pokemon. Good Special, too, so it's not that easy to hit it that way, either. The only two issues it has here (and it's nitpicking a little) are that is has a less than stellar movepool (functional enough, though), and a fairly low HP. It also has the unique-to-it-until-Ruby-and-Sapphire Clamp, which is like Wrap, but Water type and stronger. Nifty. Oh, and if you hold off evolving it until LV 50, it'll get Ice Beam without a TM. Also nifty.
Hahahahahahaha. That said, the Tentacool here can get up to LV 40. Oddly, I didn't see a single one over LV 15 the entire time I was here. Oh well.
See this? You can actually do THAT here as well, but Cinnabar Island is both Flyable AND convenient, so it's more famous.
Bizzarely, because of how they're set up, you have to go in the left side of this next cave first, and exit via the right, even though you're going right to left. Also, there's a single trainer that I have to use Surf to get to. It's annoying, but since that trainer is a Beauty, I get some good cash for it.
Baby, I'll float with you all night long.
Welcome to the Seafoam Islands! There are three things it's known for. First, there's a Strength 'puzzle' you have to do in order to slow down currents, since otherwise you'll get swept up and sent back.
Second, it has a LOT of Water types available without a rod. Especially noteworthy is Seel, since it can only be found here. Weirdly, you can find Horsea here. On the ground. Weird.
Said it before, and I'll say it again: I AM the Itemfinder.
There's Seel's evolved form, Dewgong. Unlike Seel, it's Water/Ice, instead of a pure Water type. It's not a particularly GOOD one (Cloyster and Lapras are so much better it's not even funny), but it's an option.
The main Strength 'puzzle' is just to push down the boulders on the top floor down to water level, but there's also this one. Like an idiot, I managed to both not get a picture of the puzzle before I started on it, and not get a picture of the other boulder you need to shove down a hole (moving the leftmost one will let you access another boulder that you CAN move down). Still, it's there, and it's a thing. This one's not necessary to complete, however.
But at least you can check out this western area of water. Let's go up and see if there's anything noteworthy...
...Eh? This seems familiar...
Yep, definitely getting deja vu...
Oh snap. The reward for the optional puzzle is...none other than the legendary bird of ice, Articuno. Unlike Zapdos, it doesn't have Drill Peck. No, that would be too easy. Instead, it has Peck...and Ice Beam. Yep, it's got a 10% chance of instantly dooming a Pokemon...if it even makes it to the freeze check. It's got a monster Special, and not helping is that my team is largely vulnerable to Ice. I got it weakened, but I got crushed. Even Blastoise got 2HKO'd (thanks to a critical hit). Suffice it to say that Articuno and Zapdos, freshly caught, and with no TM usage, are capable of defeating the Elite Four on their own. They're THAT good. Though, it doesn't help that they have outstanding type coverage between the two of them (no Pokemon in Generation I resists both Electric and Ice). Did I mention that the two of them, with a single level, pick up Blizzard and Thunder? Both of which have 120 base power? Did I also mention that in RBY, Blizzard has 89.6% accuracy? Yeesh. To be fair, though, if you don't know where they are, they're both easily missable, since both the Power Plant and the Seafoam Islands are optional.
So anyway, I reset to before the Articuno fight, I do some more Strength stuff, and I get out. Fun times.
Yeah, I'll check it out all nig-AUGH IT'S A SWIMMER NOT A BEAUTY AUGH
Which is weirder: that there's a dock in the middle of nowhere, or that the Bird Keeper on it claims that he got there by flying on his Pokemon? I, for one, call hax either way.
It is a travesty that they didn't have room to say 'pearl necklace' there. Also, she uses the Shellder line, which sets up...
A pearl necklace, in addition to the literal meaning, means...well, ya know. Cloyster is mocked by some for resembling female genitalia. So...yeah...I'm not going to spell this one out. Enjoy your ignorant bliss. Moving right along...
...Oh, that was the last trainer before reaching Cinnabar Island properly? Okay, then. Guess I'll call it a day, then.
And so, I present...the current team. And at long last, we have all 15 slots filled!
- LV 40 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
- LV 37 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 40 Alakazam: Teleport, Psychic, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 37 Arcanine: Bite, Leer, Ember, Dig
- LV 37 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 40 Gengar: Dream Eater, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 39 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 39 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission, Ice Punch
- LV 37 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 37 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
- LV 39 Lapras: Water Gun, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Confuse Ray
- LV 37 Aerodactyl: Wing Attack, Agility, Fly, Supersonic
- LV 37 Weezing: Tackle, Smog, Sludge
last edited by
Part 19: Behind Cinnabars
In this segment: Localization errors!
Here's the team I picked. Originally, I was going to use Pidgeot instead of Jolteon here, but since Jolteon's a bit of a liability during the next stretch, I decided to get it a couple of levels here.
But for now, let's check out the Pokemon Lab in detail!
Who would've guessed that a place called Pokemon Lab would study Pokemon?
It's never outright said, but it's implied that Dr. Fuji and Mr. Fuji in Lavender Town are one and the same. It's more obvious in the remake, where Blaine has a picture of him and Mr. Fuji in the back of his gym. Who's Blaine, you may ask? You'll see.
It's called the meeting room, but there's a couple of trades going on in this place.
This lady wants a Venonat, and will give you Tangela for it. Like I said before, contrary to the belief of some, this is NOT the only way to get a Tangela in Red/Blue, but it is the easiest.
This one's neat, since due to the fact that Pikachu evolves via Thunder Stone, it's possible to acquire a LV 3 Electrode. Voltorb evolves at LV 30. Don't think too hard about how that's even possible, just enjoy it.
Also, there's a bit of a story behind this one. After completing the trade, the old man says that the Raichu you traded 'went and evolved', spawning rumors that Raichu could somehow evolve further. However, this is due to an oversight in localization: the English Red and Blue versions were based on Japan's original pair, Red and Green. HOWEVER, the English script was based on the more recently released Blue version, which had different encounters and in-game trades. And in Blue, this trade involved giving up a Kadabra for a Graveler, both of which evolve via trade. So, the old man was actually helpfully informing you that Kadabra evolves by trading it, as well as Graveler. But, since the trade itself is the original Raichu for Electrode of Red/Green, the meaning was completely lost, and subsequently the people spreading rumors about Raichu evolving were, as many rumor spreaders were in those days, pulling nonsense out of their asses.
In the next room over, checking the PC yields this e-mail, which acknowledges the three legendary bird Pokemon.
...And that a research team will try to explore a certain cave near Cerulean City for them. Suffice it to say, there's SOMETHING there, but it ain't a bird...
Talking to this guy makes him brag about his awesome TM that he made.
...YES. TM 35 contains Metronome. Metronome is a silly move, which causes the user to randomly use ANY move in existence, other than itself or Struggle, a move that can only be used when you have absolutely no PP left. For that reason, it's awesome, and it is a complete SHAME that it never existed in TM form after RBY.
Of the Pokemon I'm using, Alakazam, Gengar, and Hitmonchan can use it. I might give it to Hitmonchan, since overall, it's more likely that it'll use a physical move than a special one. Plus, Hitmonchan could use the versatility.
This is where Aerodactyl was resurrected. Checking either PC lets you use it like a Pokemon Center PC. Nifty.
There's also this guy, who wants a Ponyta for his Seel. Amusingly, this trade makes it completely unnecessary to check the Seafoam Islands, save for Articuno.
Oh, the room with the Metronome TM is the R and D room. I fully support this kind of R and D.
The fossil revival area is the testing room. Dunno what they're testing, since the reviving thing clearly works, but there you go.
That's all for the lab. Let's go challenge the gym!
...Or not, since the gym leader is a jerk that locked the door. Maybe he was nice and helpfully put the key somewhere outside the gym?
Cinnabar Island's motto beats the tar out of Fuchsia City's "Behold! It's Passion Pink!" in the awesomeness department.
The gym leader is Blaine, and here's his title. You'll see later on that, unlike most titles, Blaine's is more than just fluff.
With this, all that's left to do here is check out the Pokemon Mansion. As you may recall, I ducked in here earlier to grab Koffing. Now, I'll check it out properly.
And here it is. It actually has its own music track...in the original RBY. In the remakes, it shares it with the Power Plant, which originally had the same music as Team Rocket HQ.
The fifth from the bottom square pillar thing from the entrance has this, the fifth and final Moon Stone. You want a Clefable, you have to talk to ME now.
In addition to Koffing and Grimer, this is the only place to get wild Ponyta in Red/Blue. None of that is true in Yellow, though; Koffing can't be caught in Yellow, Grimer is available in the Power Plant, and Ponyta is catchable in Cycling Road. In Blue, you can also capture the elusive Magmar, but since I'm playing Red and am lazy, I have no screen captures of it at this time.
Like most dungeon-type locales in Pokemon, Pokemon Mansion has a gimmick, which happens to be these doors. There's no keys or any way to open them directly, so instead...
You need to locate statues, which look like this. Interacting with them lets you activate a secret switch, which opens and shuts doors.
In real life, could YOU resist pressing a secret switch? Of course you couldn't, quit lying.
Here's where that door leads...absolutely nowhere.
This guy is of the yet to be seen Burlgar class. Oddly, unlike other regular trainer classes, they'll leave you alone even if you stand right in front of them.
Here's what they look like. If their mouths were a bit bigger, they'd look like their default expression was BV.
They use Fire types, and this one's notable for using a Charmeleon. That's how Charmeleon looks in Red/Blue, by the way.
Scattered throughout the mansion are diary entries. This one claims that Mew gave birth. B-but...later games state that Mew is genderless! And how did it get pregnant, anyway...
D:
Well, this clearly won't go anywhere.
Ninetales's sprite. I don't like it, mainly because it makes it look like it only has one front leg and a stump.
Beating it gets Aerodactyl to LV 38, which gives it Bite. Anything involving flinching and Aerodactyl is aces in my book.
Burlgars give out quite a bit of cash. In fact, I believe they have the highest cash drop of any generic trainer class in Generation I. Might be wrong, but I think they top even Gamblers.
I AM THE ITEMFINDER. Max Revives are always useful.
This diary states that they decided to name a Pokemon they find Mew. This one's supposed to be read before that other one. Whoops.
WHAT IS THIS REAL LIFE LOCATION DOING IN MY POKEMON?! Anyway, this entry says that they found a new type of Pokemon, which, while never stated, is probably Mew. So far, I'm reading these in reverse order. Hooray!
Not important, but my Weezing managed to run from this wild Weezing despite being three levels lower. I thought it was amusing, anyway...
Those two gaps near the bottom can be walked into, sending you to a lower floor. You'd think the narrower, farther away one would be what you need to use, but in a blatant violation of video game logic, it's actually the closer, more open one that needs to be visited. Also, this is the third floor.
The farther one even has a trainer you have to fight (he's a Scientist, btw), who mentions his mentor. It's never really stated either way, but there's speculation that Mr. Fuji not only founded Pokemon Lab, but was the former owner of this mansion and was involved with the whole Mew thing. It's not an unreasonable assumption, but there's no hard evidence for it.
And past the gaps, is a staircase that leads to...nothing. But, note that the wall is just rocks, which shows that pre-ruin, this was all part of the same room. If you pay attention, you can see that a lot of the maze-ish aspects of Pokemon Mansion are due to debris, and aren't the original layout of the place. I think it's a nice touch.
The narrow gap sends you down a floor to nowhere, but the wide gap sends you down to the first floor, in an area you can't otherwise reach yet. For some reason, this spot has potted plants. I guess that scientist is doing some sort of experiment? And if he is, why is he experimenting on plants in an abandoned house full of Fire and Poison type Pokemon? The world may never know.
Anyway, the reason you need to come down here is because it has the entrance to the basement.
There's one more diary here, which remarks that Mewtwo is too violent for the scientists to handle. Again, it's never outright stated (I've been saying a lot lately...), but this implies that it was none other than Mewtwo that trashed Pokemon Mansion.
Come to think of it, it never does say what happened to Mew...
In lighter news, while I missed getting an image of the message, I picked up TM 14 here. TM 14 contains Blizzard. You know, that 120 power Ice type move with 89.6% accuracy that I said Articuno got? Now I can give it to whatever Pokemon I want that can get it. Which, amongst the Pokemeon I'm using, include Blastoise, Marowak, Tauros, Lapras, and Dragonair. I'm actually leaning towards Dragonair for it, since Blastoise and Lapras already have Ice Beam, and Marowak's Special is too bad for it to be very effective. Might not be bad or Tauros either, though.
Unless your lab is of the meth variety, I can't say I quite understand how an abandoned place full of Fire and Poison type Pokemon is ideal.
Woo, at least I remembered to get the message for one of the TMs. TM 22 contains Solarbeam, which is a 120 power Grass type attack, and takes two turns to activate. Normally, I'd bash it for being a two turn attack, but I'm not going to here, mostly because of the severe lack of powerful Grass type attacks in RBY. Victreebel and Lapras are the only ones that get it. I MIGHT give it to Lapras, since it can decimate other Water types with it.
In more immediately pleasing news, I find a Secret Key. If only there was some place I needed to use a key...anyway, I could just Dig out, but I take the long way to get in a extra bit of training.
Why did I screencap this? Because that Weezing is wild. Yes, a LV 42 wild Weezing. It's not THAT dangerous, but it has a fair shot of poisoning you, so beware.
Once you're out of the basement, you can just waltz over to the exit. Bizarrely, you still go out the front door if you go this way.
Oh hey, I'm not getting the message anymore. This must be where the Secret Key goes. Who would've guessed?
...HOW?! Unless there's a Secret Key dispenser in that basement...actually, that's sufficiently silly, so let's pretend that's what happened.
Here's the gimmick of this gym: by checking the machines, you get asked a question. If you're right, the door opens. If you're wrong, the nearby trainer attacks. Or, you can just talk to the trainer to fight them...if it's Red or Blue. In Yellow, you have to answer the question before you can fight. That's the message if you get it right. If you get it wrong, it'll say so, and then you get in a fight.
Incidentally, now you can play along with the LP! See how many of the questions you get right!
Q: Caterpie evolves into Butterfree?
What were you expecting in this LP? Mature humor? HA!
You know, if you're barely good enough to be a gym underling, you're PROBABLY not very good at stealing Pokemon. Just sayin'.
The one guy without a quiz machine tries to give you a lesson on fire, but MCEREAL only catches the important parts.
The machine on the right doesn't work. I guess that previous guy's machine broke or something.
Q: There are 9 certified Pokemon League badges?
There's question 3 (of 6).
This guy will wet himself once Pokemon are able to steal items just by attacking the opponent. (Actually a thing as of Black/White!)
Q: Are thunder element attacks effective against ground element-type Pokemon?
This guy has a Rapidash! Considering it has Fire and Normal type moves, and its best aspect is its high Speed, an even speedier Rock type would destroy it. If only there was such a Pokemon...
Rapidash guy actually has an interesting tidbit if you talk to him after defeating him:
'Blaine was lost in the mountains when a fiery bird Pokemon appeared. Its light enabled Blaine to find his way down!'
And now we know why Blaine became a Fire type trainer. Hooray for backstory!
Q: Pokemon of the same kind and level are not identical?
...Yep.
Fire loses to water, but beats ice. Unfortunately for them, 3 of the 5 Ice types are also half Water (negating the weakness), one is only used by one trainer, and the fifth is Articuno. So this info isn't very relevant.
Here's Blaine. I always thought he was one of the more awesome gym leaders.
I think it's the mustache. Dr. Robotnik himself would be envious.
His lead is Growlithe. Nothing amazing.
...This was his first action. Yes, the AI can use Potions at FULL HP. At least MCEREAL is smart enough to not do that. Unsurprisingly, Weezing wins without a scratch. Or a Take Down.
Next up, Ponyta! At least it actually did damage before Weezing got the KO.
And at LV 39, Weezing picks up Smokescreen, which lowers accuracy. It's a thing.
Now, Rapidash is up! It's speedy, and has both Stomp (flinches), and Fire Spin, a sort of Fire type Wrap. Arcanine was not impressed and only suffered a Tail Whip.
Surprise! He's got an Arcanine, and at LV 47, it's no slouch. His, however, does not have Dig.
Arcanine's pretty resilient; no STAB, but that's a base 110 Attack delivering an attack of (technically just under) 400 power. Doubly impressive when you consider that most Fire types are fairly fragile. And then...all my respect is lost as it uses Roar, letting me easily finish it the next turn.
I don't think he used a single Fire attack in the entire battle.
7/8. Just one more!
And there's TM 38, which contains Fire Blast. 120 power Fire type attack, 5 PP, 84.6% accuracy. Oh, and in case that wasn't enough, it has a 30% chance of burning. Arcanine's been wanting this for a looooong time. Marowak, Weezing, Tauros, Aerodactyl, and Dragonair get it as well. But, only Arcanine gets STAB for it, so...
But before anything, it's time to take a break!
Here's the team:
- LV 40 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
- LV 37 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 40 Alakazam: Teleport, Psychic, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 39 Arcanine: Bite, Take Down, Ember, Dig
- LV 39 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 40 Gengar: Dream Eater, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 39 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 39 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission, Ice Punch
- LV 37 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 39 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
- LV 39 Lapras: Water Gun, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Confuse Ray
- LV 39 Aerodactyl: Wing Attack, Bite, Fly, Supersonic
- LV 39 Weezing: Tackle, Smog, Sludge, Smokescreen
(Quiz Answers: T, F, F, F, T, F)
In this segment: Localization errors!
Here's the team I picked. Originally, I was going to use Pidgeot instead of Jolteon here, but since Jolteon's a bit of a liability during the next stretch, I decided to get it a couple of levels here.
But for now, let's check out the Pokemon Lab in detail!
Who would've guessed that a place called Pokemon Lab would study Pokemon?
It's never outright said, but it's implied that Dr. Fuji and Mr. Fuji in Lavender Town are one and the same. It's more obvious in the remake, where Blaine has a picture of him and Mr. Fuji in the back of his gym. Who's Blaine, you may ask? You'll see.
It's called the meeting room, but there's a couple of trades going on in this place.
This lady wants a Venonat, and will give you Tangela for it. Like I said before, contrary to the belief of some, this is NOT the only way to get a Tangela in Red/Blue, but it is the easiest.
This one's neat, since due to the fact that Pikachu evolves via Thunder Stone, it's possible to acquire a LV 3 Electrode. Voltorb evolves at LV 30. Don't think too hard about how that's even possible, just enjoy it.
Also, there's a bit of a story behind this one. After completing the trade, the old man says that the Raichu you traded 'went and evolved', spawning rumors that Raichu could somehow evolve further. However, this is due to an oversight in localization: the English Red and Blue versions were based on Japan's original pair, Red and Green. HOWEVER, the English script was based on the more recently released Blue version, which had different encounters and in-game trades. And in Blue, this trade involved giving up a Kadabra for a Graveler, both of which evolve via trade. So, the old man was actually helpfully informing you that Kadabra evolves by trading it, as well as Graveler. But, since the trade itself is the original Raichu for Electrode of Red/Green, the meaning was completely lost, and subsequently the people spreading rumors about Raichu evolving were, as many rumor spreaders were in those days, pulling nonsense out of their asses.
In the next room over, checking the PC yields this e-mail, which acknowledges the three legendary bird Pokemon.
...And that a research team will try to explore a certain cave near Cerulean City for them. Suffice it to say, there's SOMETHING there, but it ain't a bird...
Talking to this guy makes him brag about his awesome TM that he made.
...YES. TM 35 contains Metronome. Metronome is a silly move, which causes the user to randomly use ANY move in existence, other than itself or Struggle, a move that can only be used when you have absolutely no PP left. For that reason, it's awesome, and it is a complete SHAME that it never existed in TM form after RBY.
Of the Pokemon I'm using, Alakazam, Gengar, and Hitmonchan can use it. I might give it to Hitmonchan, since overall, it's more likely that it'll use a physical move than a special one. Plus, Hitmonchan could use the versatility.
This is where Aerodactyl was resurrected. Checking either PC lets you use it like a Pokemon Center PC. Nifty.
There's also this guy, who wants a Ponyta for his Seel. Amusingly, this trade makes it completely unnecessary to check the Seafoam Islands, save for Articuno.
Oh, the room with the Metronome TM is the R and D room. I fully support this kind of R and D.
The fossil revival area is the testing room. Dunno what they're testing, since the reviving thing clearly works, but there you go.
That's all for the lab. Let's go challenge the gym!
...Or not, since the gym leader is a jerk that locked the door. Maybe he was nice and helpfully put the key somewhere outside the gym?
Cinnabar Island's motto beats the tar out of Fuchsia City's "Behold! It's Passion Pink!" in the awesomeness department.
The gym leader is Blaine, and here's his title. You'll see later on that, unlike most titles, Blaine's is more than just fluff.
With this, all that's left to do here is check out the Pokemon Mansion. As you may recall, I ducked in here earlier to grab Koffing. Now, I'll check it out properly.
And here it is. It actually has its own music track...in the original RBY. In the remakes, it shares it with the Power Plant, which originally had the same music as Team Rocket HQ.
The fifth from the bottom square pillar thing from the entrance has this, the fifth and final Moon Stone. You want a Clefable, you have to talk to ME now.
In addition to Koffing and Grimer, this is the only place to get wild Ponyta in Red/Blue. None of that is true in Yellow, though; Koffing can't be caught in Yellow, Grimer is available in the Power Plant, and Ponyta is catchable in Cycling Road. In Blue, you can also capture the elusive Magmar, but since I'm playing Red and am lazy, I have no screen captures of it at this time.
Like most dungeon-type locales in Pokemon, Pokemon Mansion has a gimmick, which happens to be these doors. There's no keys or any way to open them directly, so instead...
You need to locate statues, which look like this. Interacting with them lets you activate a secret switch, which opens and shuts doors.
In real life, could YOU resist pressing a secret switch? Of course you couldn't, quit lying.
Here's where that door leads...absolutely nowhere.
This guy is of the yet to be seen Burlgar class. Oddly, unlike other regular trainer classes, they'll leave you alone even if you stand right in front of them.
Here's what they look like. If their mouths were a bit bigger, they'd look like their default expression was BV.
They use Fire types, and this one's notable for using a Charmeleon. That's how Charmeleon looks in Red/Blue, by the way.
Scattered throughout the mansion are diary entries. This one claims that Mew gave birth. B-but...later games state that Mew is genderless! And how did it get pregnant, anyway...
D:
Well, this clearly won't go anywhere.
Ninetales's sprite. I don't like it, mainly because it makes it look like it only has one front leg and a stump.
Beating it gets Aerodactyl to LV 38, which gives it Bite. Anything involving flinching and Aerodactyl is aces in my book.
Burlgars give out quite a bit of cash. In fact, I believe they have the highest cash drop of any generic trainer class in Generation I. Might be wrong, but I think they top even Gamblers.
I AM THE ITEMFINDER. Max Revives are always useful.
This diary states that they decided to name a Pokemon they find Mew. This one's supposed to be read before that other one. Whoops.
WHAT IS THIS REAL LIFE LOCATION DOING IN MY POKEMON?! Anyway, this entry says that they found a new type of Pokemon, which, while never stated, is probably Mew. So far, I'm reading these in reverse order. Hooray!
Not important, but my Weezing managed to run from this wild Weezing despite being three levels lower. I thought it was amusing, anyway...
Those two gaps near the bottom can be walked into, sending you to a lower floor. You'd think the narrower, farther away one would be what you need to use, but in a blatant violation of video game logic, it's actually the closer, more open one that needs to be visited. Also, this is the third floor.
The farther one even has a trainer you have to fight (he's a Scientist, btw), who mentions his mentor. It's never really stated either way, but there's speculation that Mr. Fuji not only founded Pokemon Lab, but was the former owner of this mansion and was involved with the whole Mew thing. It's not an unreasonable assumption, but there's no hard evidence for it.
And past the gaps, is a staircase that leads to...nothing. But, note that the wall is just rocks, which shows that pre-ruin, this was all part of the same room. If you pay attention, you can see that a lot of the maze-ish aspects of Pokemon Mansion are due to debris, and aren't the original layout of the place. I think it's a nice touch.
The narrow gap sends you down a floor to nowhere, but the wide gap sends you down to the first floor, in an area you can't otherwise reach yet. For some reason, this spot has potted plants. I guess that scientist is doing some sort of experiment? And if he is, why is he experimenting on plants in an abandoned house full of Fire and Poison type Pokemon? The world may never know.
Anyway, the reason you need to come down here is because it has the entrance to the basement.
There's one more diary here, which remarks that Mewtwo is too violent for the scientists to handle. Again, it's never outright stated (I've been saying a lot lately...), but this implies that it was none other than Mewtwo that trashed Pokemon Mansion.
Come to think of it, it never does say what happened to Mew...
In lighter news, while I missed getting an image of the message, I picked up TM 14 here. TM 14 contains Blizzard. You know, that 120 power Ice type move with 89.6% accuracy that I said Articuno got? Now I can give it to whatever Pokemon I want that can get it. Which, amongst the Pokemeon I'm using, include Blastoise, Marowak, Tauros, Lapras, and Dragonair. I'm actually leaning towards Dragonair for it, since Blastoise and Lapras already have Ice Beam, and Marowak's Special is too bad for it to be very effective. Might not be bad or Tauros either, though.
Unless your lab is of the meth variety, I can't say I quite understand how an abandoned place full of Fire and Poison type Pokemon is ideal.
Woo, at least I remembered to get the message for one of the TMs. TM 22 contains Solarbeam, which is a 120 power Grass type attack, and takes two turns to activate. Normally, I'd bash it for being a two turn attack, but I'm not going to here, mostly because of the severe lack of powerful Grass type attacks in RBY. Victreebel and Lapras are the only ones that get it. I MIGHT give it to Lapras, since it can decimate other Water types with it.
In more immediately pleasing news, I find a Secret Key. If only there was some place I needed to use a key...anyway, I could just Dig out, but I take the long way to get in a extra bit of training.
Why did I screencap this? Because that Weezing is wild. Yes, a LV 42 wild Weezing. It's not THAT dangerous, but it has a fair shot of poisoning you, so beware.
Once you're out of the basement, you can just waltz over to the exit. Bizarrely, you still go out the front door if you go this way.
Oh hey, I'm not getting the message anymore. This must be where the Secret Key goes. Who would've guessed?
...HOW?! Unless there's a Secret Key dispenser in that basement...actually, that's sufficiently silly, so let's pretend that's what happened.
Here's the gimmick of this gym: by checking the machines, you get asked a question. If you're right, the door opens. If you're wrong, the nearby trainer attacks. Or, you can just talk to the trainer to fight them...if it's Red or Blue. In Yellow, you have to answer the question before you can fight. That's the message if you get it right. If you get it wrong, it'll say so, and then you get in a fight.
Incidentally, now you can play along with the LP! See how many of the questions you get right!
Q: Caterpie evolves into Butterfree?
What were you expecting in this LP? Mature humor? HA!
You know, if you're barely good enough to be a gym underling, you're PROBABLY not very good at stealing Pokemon. Just sayin'.
The one guy without a quiz machine tries to give you a lesson on fire, but MCEREAL only catches the important parts.
The machine on the right doesn't work. I guess that previous guy's machine broke or something.
Q: There are 9 certified Pokemon League badges?
There's question 3 (of 6).
This guy will wet himself once Pokemon are able to steal items just by attacking the opponent. (Actually a thing as of Black/White!)
Q: Are thunder element attacks effective against ground element-type Pokemon?
This guy has a Rapidash! Considering it has Fire and Normal type moves, and its best aspect is its high Speed, an even speedier Rock type would destroy it. If only there was such a Pokemon...
Rapidash guy actually has an interesting tidbit if you talk to him after defeating him:
'Blaine was lost in the mountains when a fiery bird Pokemon appeared. Its light enabled Blaine to find his way down!'
And now we know why Blaine became a Fire type trainer. Hooray for backstory!
Q: Pokemon of the same kind and level are not identical?
...Yep.
Fire loses to water, but beats ice. Unfortunately for them, 3 of the 5 Ice types are also half Water (negating the weakness), one is only used by one trainer, and the fifth is Articuno. So this info isn't very relevant.
Here's Blaine. I always thought he was one of the more awesome gym leaders.
I think it's the mustache. Dr. Robotnik himself would be envious.
His lead is Growlithe. Nothing amazing.
...This was his first action. Yes, the AI can use Potions at FULL HP. At least MCEREAL is smart enough to not do that. Unsurprisingly, Weezing wins without a scratch. Or a Take Down.
Next up, Ponyta! At least it actually did damage before Weezing got the KO.
And at LV 39, Weezing picks up Smokescreen, which lowers accuracy. It's a thing.
Now, Rapidash is up! It's speedy, and has both Stomp (flinches), and Fire Spin, a sort of Fire type Wrap. Arcanine was not impressed and only suffered a Tail Whip.
Surprise! He's got an Arcanine, and at LV 47, it's no slouch. His, however, does not have Dig.
Arcanine's pretty resilient; no STAB, but that's a base 110 Attack delivering an attack of (technically just under) 400 power. Doubly impressive when you consider that most Fire types are fairly fragile. And then...all my respect is lost as it uses Roar, letting me easily finish it the next turn.
I don't think he used a single Fire attack in the entire battle.
7/8. Just one more!
And there's TM 38, which contains Fire Blast. 120 power Fire type attack, 5 PP, 84.6% accuracy. Oh, and in case that wasn't enough, it has a 30% chance of burning. Arcanine's been wanting this for a looooong time. Marowak, Weezing, Tauros, Aerodactyl, and Dragonair get it as well. But, only Arcanine gets STAB for it, so...
But before anything, it's time to take a break!
Here's the team:
- LV 40 Blastoise: Strength, Ice Beam, Surf, Bite
- LV 37 Pidgeot: Fly, Wing Attack, Quick Attack, Double-Edge
- LV 40 Alakazam: Teleport, Psychic, Recover, Psybeam
- LV 38 Victreebel: Mega Drain, Razor Leaf, Acid, Sleep Powder
- LV 39 Arcanine: Bite, Take Down, Ember, Dig
- LV 39 Jolteon: Thundershock, Sand-Attack, Thunderbolt, Quick Attack
- LV 40 Gengar: Dream Eater, Night Shade, Confuse Ray, Hypnosis
- LV 39 Marowak: Bone Club, Growl, Leer, Mega Punch
- LV 39 Hitmonchan: Comet Punch, Agility, Submission, Ice Punch
- LV 37 Scyther: Quick Attack, Swords Dance, Slash, Double Team
- LV 39 Tauros: Tackle, Stomp, Body Slam, Leer
- LV 38 Dragonair: Wrap, Swift, Thunder Wave, Surf
- LV 39 Lapras: Water Gun, Body Slam, Ice Beam, Confuse Ray
- LV 39 Aerodactyl: Wing Attack, Bite, Fly, Supersonic
- LV 39 Weezing: Tackle, Smog, Sludge, Smokescreen
(Quiz Answers: T, F, F, F, T, F)