Let's Play Pokemon Red (up to Part 19)

In this update: The most boring area of the game comes to a close!

Route 10, the area with the Pokemon Center, is a bit...special. But we won't get to that for a while, as we need the ability to traverse water.



There is this trainer standing here. She claims to have battled several gym leaders, but lost each time. She has LV 20 Pikachu and Clefairy, so...with AI roulette in full force, yeah, I completely believe that.



Who needs Itemfinder? Not me. There were Cuttable trees, but I chopped them all down. Eternal hatred and all that.



Okay, let's head on in Rock Tunnel!



...Oh. Unlike every other cave in the game, Rock Tunnel is dark. Really dark. Without light, you can only see the walls and ladders, unless you're on top of them (like in the picture). And because of this ONE place, Flash is a HM and not a TM. Sigh. The only member of the team capable of learning Flash is...Alakazam, for some reason. But even though it almost certainly has at least one available moveslot, I'm stingy, so no way, Jose. However, there's a patch of grass above the Pokemon Center, and that contains Voltorb, who also has Flash. Let's go grab one real quick so you can see everything!

And I do mean you; the darkness has no effect on battles, and the only meaningful thing it does is obscure trainer locations. I never use Flash normally because I don't need it, but since I'm trying to be thorough...



...Really, Weepinbell? It actually got a level for mucking that up, which I was amused by.



Remember when I was constantly complaining about Pidgey? Remember when I stopped as soon as it hit LV 18, because Pidgeotto is a total bro? It's this kind of stuff that prompted that. It might as well be called Pidgebrotto. Except that's 11 characters, and no name can exceed 10. Oh well.

[size0]Note to self: next time you play Yellow, catch a wild Pidgeotto and nickname it Pidgebroto. That name is super accurate.[/size]



That'll do. Flash does no damage, and has a 69.6% chance to reduce a foe's accuracy by one level. If you ever need to reduce accuracy, just use Sand-Attack.



Selecting FLASH yields this message...



Followed by lighting the place up. If you leave Rock Tunnel itself, it'll go dark, but just changing floors won't make you reuse it. You may not appreciate it now, but another, more mandatory HM doesn't do this, and it gets annoying.

As for Rock Tunnel itself, it has plenty of Zubat and Geodude for your enjoyment, and is also where you can capture a Machop or Onix for your very own.



There's a new trainer type in Rock Tunnel, and as you'd expect, I completely forget to take a screencap on the first try. He has the first Cubone you'll see in the game. Its only damaging move at that level is Ground type, so Pidgeotto just has to Quick Attack away, and silently curse Growl after it shatters its Attack.



Whereas Super Nerds are your more stereotypical nerd, Pokemaniacs are more the kind you find here. :'D. This guy is notable for having a LV 25 Slowpoke, which is the highest level Pokemon we've seen so far...or at least, it would be, if I hadn't seen that LV 29 Dugtrio in Diglett's Cave earlier.



I got a shot of the Pokemaniac. Woo.



After him is a trainer with a Bulbasaur. That way you get to fight against all three starters in an attempt to make you regret your starter choice. Wartortle assures me I picked well, however, and as such feel no regret.



This statement is ironic because in later games, Pokemaniacs would appear dressed up in Pokemon costumes. Hey, whatever works for them.





Yes, they went there.



This guy apparently lives in here or something, since he calls you an 'outsider'. Between Wartortle, Alakazam, and Weepinbell, I can just tell him to go screw himself.



He does have a Graveler, which is...something, I guess. It's also LV 21, 4 levels below its evolution level. Again, I'd like to know where those hang out so I can catch one.



After a couple more trainers, I'm actually starting to run low on Bubblebeam/Psybeam/Vine Whip PP, so I use an Escape Rope to instantly return to the Pokemon Center. Escape Ropes have the same effect as Dig out of battle, so they're handy if you don't have something with Dig...and pointless if you do. I don't, so I haven't sold mine.



Eww, you're a Jr. Trainer. Maybe if you were a Cool Trainer or Beauty, but right now, nope.



...Who wrote the dialogue for these two? Shin?



Anyway, aside from the Cubone, Graveler, and musical reference, Rock Tunnel is entirely uninteresting in this LP. Thus, I will never return, and be incredibly grateful for that.



A nice treat. Ethers restore 10 PP to a move, and Max Ethers completely restore PP to one move. Of course, the moves you're most likely to want to restore PP to usually have 10 PP, tops...but extra recovery can't hurt.



At the time, it was just an off joke, I'm sure, but in 2011, I personally regretted this ever being said.



This is what happened after I told him he had a reasonable chance of winning.



Apparently, Route 10 (yes, this is still part of Route 10) has quite the pollen count.



TMI. That is all.

Anyway, I finally reach the next area: Lavender Town.



See? See how I'm in a town now? I COULD check this place out, but instead, I'm going west to Route 8 early...after depositing Voltorb. Voltorb will not be seen again, unfortunately. Remember when it used Flash to light up Rock Tunnel? Good times.



I have to beat this one trainer, whose line was completely wrecked when they ceased to call the trainer class Gamblers in the remakes.



Not pictured here: Cut being needed to access this patch of grass. I don't know why, you can evade all other trainers without having to cut through here (pun not intended), and there's another area that has basically the exact same encounter list. But it is. Now, you might be asking, 'Why go here?'



FIFTH BATTLING TEAM MEMBER. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-



Unbro, Pidgeotto.



Take two!



...FFFFFFFFFFFFF. Like Whirlwind, Roar instantly ends wild battles. And since Growlithe at this level only have one other move (Bite), there's a 50% chance (excluding flinch and such) that it'll wreck my day.



Pictured: the fourth Growlithe I found (the third also Roared me away). It never occurred to me to just have Weepinbell use Sleep Powder, then pick away with Vine Whip. Smooth.



Not amazing now, but give it time...



This person basically watched Team Rocket murder a Marowak. Somehow, a-hole doesn't seem like strong enough a word for that.



Apparently, Cubone are rare, so they're also valuable. They're also awesome, which apparently doesn't affect their value one bit. Weird.



Apparently, victims of Team Rocket's dickishness have become ghosts in Lavender Town's most well-known point of interest, the Pokemon Tower. Though, in the long run, it's not QUITE as bad a fate as you'd expect.



I want to know what this is. Unfortunately, you can't enter it, because the application form is gone. Weak.



A named guy that's gone missing? How irrelevant.



Well, one of the 15 known types IS called Ghost...



...Now I feel like a loser for saying that. Scratch that, no I don't.



...You know what? You're a troll. I'm leaving before I make Alakazam give your brain the same consistency as a smoothie.



The Poke Mart's noteworthy, as it's the first place to sell Great Balls, as well as a new item, Revive, which restores a fainted Pokemon to 1/2 of its max HP. It's extremely useful, and is the only buyable item capable of unfainting Pokemon, so stocking up isn't a bad idea at all.



If you want to change the nicknames of your Pokemon, here's where you do it. But only if you're the original trainer. If you traded for it (like Farfetch'd), you're stuck with what they gave you.

You know, for as small as it is, Lavender Town definitely has a lot of noteworthy stuff.



In case you weren't sure what people think about the Rockets.



An advertisement for something called the Silph Scope, made, oddly enough, by Silph Co. Again, nothing we'll ever see, I'm sure.

All right, let's check out that Pokemon Tower. It's a place where dead Pokemon are laid to rest. The first floor has trainers grieving for their lost Pokemon, but is otherwise entirely unnoteworthy.



The second floor has...SOMEGUY? This is noteworthy for being the first battle where he doesn't ambush you. Instead, you actually have to walk next to him to trigger the battle.



Thanks, I wasn't sure about that.



Still a jerkwad.



STILL forgot to get a shot of his second in-battle sprite. I also forgot to upload his LV 25 Pidgeotto. As always, my Pidgeotto was better.

As for Gyarados...yeah, his team's coming together, I guess. However, SOMEGUY is a dirty cheater.



Gyarados doesn't learn Leer until LV 32. Seriously.



This is more forgivable, since Dragon Rage is a TM move, but still doesn't get it normally until LV 25. Wartortle actually loses, since Mega Punch missed THREE times. Ugh.



...I want to, but I just can't risk it. Instead, Alakazam destroys it.



This time, I DO chance it, as Bite will wreck Kadabra up, and I don't think the AI roulette will hit Confusion twice, which I estimate is the only way it can KO Growlithe. And it did use it twice...Teleport, that is. Growlithe wins without a scratch.



Since Growlithe has Ember, I decide to try my luck with Ivysaur, too. It keeps using Vine Whip, so it manages to win without too much trouble. And trust me, this will NOT be its high point.



He's pretty sure that Marowak no longer exist. Stay classy, SOMEGUY.

(He's wrong, by the way. They're not even that rare where they can be found.)

Now, let's check the higher up.



Uhh...k. Growlithe, sic 'em!



Yeah, yeah, Growlithe's not intimidated by your s-



...Or maybe it is. Eh, I guess I'll wait to go any further up. Maybe if I get one of those Silph Scopes I read about, I could expose them as what they really are so Growlithe can start attacking and stop cowering...what? Oddly specific? Eh.

While you're intended to get the Silph Scope to complete the Pokemon Tower (which you have to do to finish the game), there's actually an oversight that would allow me to do so without getting the Silph Scope at any point. I'll show it when I return.



That's enough for now, so I'll chill at the Pokemon Center until next time. Which hopefully will be quicker than this time.

Next time: Back to back updates with Pokemon obtaining!

In this update: A Pokemon gets (Thunder)stoned!



Since there's nothing else to do in Lavender Town, time to parade west properly!



...Or not. I completely forgot to do this earlier.



Growlithe is who I was saving Dig for, as it could use the extra power and type coverage, especially early on.



What's a cute, round, and fluffy Pokemon? If you guessed Jigglypuff...you're wrong! Forgiven, but wrong! She actually uses Clefairy.



A Super Nerd on this route has a Muk. A LV 22 Muk. Grimer normally evolves into Muk at LV 38. Again, WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY GETTING THESE POKEMON FROM? I WANT THEM.

Fun fact: The battle with the Muk trainer got Growlithe low on HP and poisoned, and I neglected to consider Teleport...but Growlithe, trooper that it is, made it to the Pokemon Center with a mere 2 HP left.



Do do doo, walking along...



Egads! Four trainers in a line! You can avoid them all by hugging the pylon wall, but that's not very exp-friendly.

Another fun fact: the one male trainer in the middle of them is a Super Nerd. Wish fulfillment, perhaps?



You know, I was going to mock this trainer, but really...you could pick a MUCH worse Pokemon to collect than the Nidoran. She actually as a Nidorina, but I forgot to screencap it.



Spoken like someone with an evolved Pokemon.



NOTICE: If you subconsciously replaced 'meow, meow, meow' with 'nya, nya, nya', get the hell out of my LP. >:0



New moves, yay! Roar was ditched, due to it being a total piece of crap.



A Poliwhirl! Unlike most of the early unevolved Pokemon we've seen, it's entirely possible to get an underleveled Poliwhirl, so I won't rant here. Just hope the AI roulette doesn't hate you, as Poliwhirl's pretty quick, and still has Hypnosis.



It took me a VERY long time to realize that chem is short for chemistry. Oh well, he's full of Pokemon weak to Dig, making him a good place for Growlithe to pick up some exp.

Hmm...here on Route 8, there's another gate into Saffron. Maybe the guards are less thirsty now?



...Nope, they're still dehydrated pricks.



Welcome to Celadon, which could probably fill up its own segment just with the amount of stuff here. ...Actually, the rest of the update just covers some of that stuff, and has me grab some things, so it kinda does. And this won't be the last time this happens.



The Celadon Pokemon Center has three non-staff in it, and two of them are liars. This guy says he needs a bike to enter a place called Cycling Road. This is completely false. If you have a Poke Flute the first time, you're golden.



Speaking of which, this guy says only Pokemon can hear Poke Flutes. Also false, unless everyone playing Pokemon is, in fact, a Pokemon.

...Or are they?



To the west of the Pokemon Center is this large, but innocent looking building.



It has a rear entrance. Oh, the days where you couldn't walk behind things.



It's true, I live in Celadon City.



Pretend there's an exclamation mark there, because it's more amusing that way. By the way, wonder what he's got on the table?



Ohhhh myyyy. Another team member, that's what's on the counter. The guy that knows everything lets us take it, no questions asked.

Now, I have a sudden urge to go west to Route 16.



Here's the second of the game's two Snorlax. Not much we can do with it, but there's a Cuttable tree, so let's murder nature some more and head on up.



There's a patch of grass in this area, that contains Doduo, the best of the Normal/Flying types. Seriously, it's awesome, but I already have Pidgeotto, so I'll pass.



There's a guardhouse west of Snorlax, and it has both a lower (the normal entrance) and an upper (the Cut area entrance) area. This guy is most impressed that we defeated Misty, got HM 01, taught it to a Pokemon, and managed to put up with all the Saffron guard BS. And when I put it like that, so am I.



Going through the north area puts me here.



If you can see it from the main route, it's probably not a very good secret retreat.



She still gives us this for not telling anyone. HM 02 teaches Fly, and it's the first HM that I'm giving to a Pokemon on the main team.



Fly is a 70 power Flying type move, with 94.6% accuracy, and aside from that, is functionally identical to Dig in battle.



It only took until LV 30, but Pidgeotto has a Flying type move! Incidentally, that was image 30 of this section. Spooky.



If you select Fly out of battle (and have the Thunder Badge!), you'll be taken to a world map. Press Up and Down to select a town...



You'll turn into a bird (even if the user doesn't use a bird sprite), fly away...



...and land in front of that area's Pokemon Center, or your house if you choose Pallet Town. It's like Teleport, only you can choose your destination, and is actually usable in a fight. Very handy.



I won't need Cut for a little bit, so Farfetch'd is benched for Eevee. It has an oddly good Special for a Pokemon completely incapable of learning any non-Normal type attacks.



Here's the Poke Mart. Celadon's is...special, in that it sells a lot of stuff that no one else does.

1F has a sign that says what sells what, and a desk lady that points you to said sign. Now that's an important position.



Even their usual stock has additions: the Repel series lets you avoid wild Pokemon encounters...IF your lead Pokemon is higher leveled than the encounter you would've found normally. This is usually the case, so it's handy. Repel we've been able to buy for a while, but this is the first time Super Repel has been seen. Repel prevents encounters for 100 steps, and Super Repel does so for 200. Super Repel costs less than twice of Repel, so it's the better deal.



The guy next to the one selling normal stuff has...TMs! Nothing amazing, but it's still good to get acquainted with it:

TM 32 teaches Double Team, which raises a Pokemon's evasion. Not terrible, but I don't find it necessary so long as you play your cards right.

TM 33 teaches Reflect, which halves physical damage until the user is switched or the battle ends (critical hits still bypass it). Very handy on Pokemon with low Defense, like, say, Alakazam. I don't get one now, but since it's both cheap and potentially useful, I'll probably grab one later.

TM 02 teaches Razor Wind, an 80 power Normal type move with 74.6% accuracy, and takes two turns to use. Unlike Dig and Fly, the user is fully vulnerable to attack on Turn 1. It has no other special qualities. Not a lot of moves that I'd say are 100% useless, but this is one of them. It's not even laughable, like Splash.

TM 07 teaches Horn Drill, which instantly KOs a Pokemon, but has a pitiful 29.6% accuracy. It will also fail if the user has a lower Speed stat than the target. This is the visible Speed stat, and not the base Speed stat, so unlike critical hits, stat boosting can fix that.

TM 37 teaches Egg Bomb, a 100 power Normal type move with 74.6% accuracy, and no other characteristics. The power's not bad, but keep in mind that a grand total of 4 Pokemon can use this TM. Yeah. 4. That's not a typo. 4. And that's not even the game's most exclusive TM.

TM 01 teaches Mega Punch, which you already know about thanks to Wartortle.

TM 05 teaches Mega Kick, a 120 power Normal type move with 69.6% accuracy, and a mere 5 PP. Still, it packs enough of a punch (pun not intended) that I'd call it a worthy investment on a Pokemon lacking in raw power.

TM 09 teaches Take Down, a 90 power Normal type move with 84.6% accuracy, and damages the user equal to 1/4 of the damage dealt (rounded down to the nearest HP). Noteworthy in that most Pokemon can use it, but otherwise eh. It has a big brother that's available soon, so I'd hold off on it unless you're desperate for a strong Normal type move.

TM 17 teaches Submission, a 80 power Fighting type move with 79.6% accuracy, and damages the user just like Take Down. Submission has the odd distinction of being the strongest Fighting type move for most Pokemon...with one exception. I wouldn't give this TM out haphazardly, but if you've got a Fighting type other than that exception, go for it.

And that's all the TMs. Phew. Next floor!



Gasp! This seemingly innocuous looking guy must really be a Pokemon legend!...Or he's just breaking the fourth wall. Either could be true, honestly.



He gives you TM 18, which teaches Counter. Counter retaliates any damaging Normal or Fighting type move for double the damage dealt. For the most part, eh. There IS one Pokemon that can make great use of this, but we won't be using it in this LP, so eh.



Since this guy loves Graveler so much, he marries collects them, and he's getting one from his friend. But strangely, he doesn't get a Graveler. Mysterious!

...Or maybe it's because Graveler's one of the four Pokemon to evolve by trading, and you can't cancel trade evolutions. Who knows?

This floor sells video games, so let's see what they've got!



Chrono Trigger...



Madden '97...

(And who the hell is this 'dad' guy, anyway?)



Mortal Kombat...

(With sweat, not blood!)



...and Tetris Attack. Cool. Moving on!



Remember how Moon Stones evolve Pokemon, and are one of several items to do so? Well, here's where the rest are, as well as Poke Dolls, which are basically one-use Roars. Useless? For that effect, yep. But I still buy two, for reasons that will become apparent in time. I also buy a Thunderstone, Fire Stone, and Leaf Stone.



The Thunderstone is immediately used on Eevee.

Eevee's gimmick is that it can evolve three different ways: the Water Stone makes it Vaporeon, which is Water type, and has super high HP. The Fire Stone makes it Flareon, which is Fire type, and has as much Attack as a Pokemon that's virtually raw muscle. As for the Thunderstone...



It becomes the Electric type Jolteon, and becomes lightning fast (pun intended this time). As in, anything not named Electrode can only match it. It's one of four Pokemon in the game with a critical hit rate above 25%, the others being Electrode (which I've already discussed), Aerodactyl (which we'll see later in the LP), and Mewtwo (the gamebreaker to end all gamebreakers). It's my favorite of the three lookwise, too. So I'm not complaining.



After withdrawing TM 24, I give Jolteon Thunderbolt. With some care, that's the only attack it'll ever need to use...but Jolteon gets a couple of random, interesting moves, so I doubt I'll do that.

As for the other stones, I probably could go ahead and use the Fire Stone on Growlithe, as it has exactly one more move worth learning naturally...Flamethrower, at LV 50 (which it may never even reach). However, I think I'm going to hold off a few more levels, just to give it some more time to shine in its basic form.

As for the Leaf Stone, Weepinbell gets the game's best Grass type move at the more reasonable LV 38, so it will be withheld its evolution until then. And since that's the big reason to use Bellsprout over Oddish, I think it'd be good to teach it that move.



Up on the floor are stat boosters. The guy on the right sells the permanent boosting items, but as you can see, are expensive as crap. If you're wondering, this is how they increase stats:

HP Up - HP (duh)
Protein - Attack
Iron - Defense
Carbos - Speed
Calcium - Special

Pretty intuitive.



The left guy sells the temporary boosting items. The X items raise the stat they mention (there's no X HP, however), and there's two other items in the series. Guard Spec. prevents your stats from being lowered, and Dire Hit quadruples your critical hit rate...in theory. Due to a programming error, Dire Hit quarters it instead of quadrupling. Oops.



Up on the roof is some whiny little girl that's apparently thirsty. Also, there are vending machines that sell various drinks: Fresh Water (heals 50 HP), Soda Pop (heals 60 HP), and Lemonade (heals 80 HP). Pokedollar for Pokedollar, these are the best healing items in the game, but you can only buy them one at time. I get one of each, as well as an additional Fresh Water. I'm feeling nice today, you see, so I'm giving them to the little girl.



I'd look silly if I didn't after saying that, now wouldn't I?



See, she gives you TMs depending on what you give her. Oddly, the more expensive the drink, the WORSE the TM. Pokemon wasn't the most balance tested of games back then, ya know. Anyway, Fresh Water gets you TM 13, which teaches Ice Beam. 95 power, Ice type, 99.6% accuracy, 10% chance to freeze an enemy solid, which basically means instant win...Wartortle's making goo goo eyes at it.



If you try to give her a drink you've already given her, she claims to not be thirsty. Lying ungrateful bitch.



Giving her Soda Pop yields TM 48, Rock Slide. It's 75 power, Rock type, 89.6% accuracy, and a 30% chance of flinching. It's a rock solid move (pun intended, mwahahahaha), but no Pokemon that I'm slated to use can learn it. Boo.



Last, and...least, Lemonade yields TM 49, Tri Attack. 80 power, Normal type, 99.6% accuracy, no special properties. I guess it's useful if you're out of good Normal TMs and want to teach one to something. Worst case, you can sell it for more than the price of a single Lemonade.



And that's everything in the store. Time to take the elevator down to 1F and...oh, right, this place is so big that it has its own elevator. Fancy.



Wartortle's waited long enough, so I give it TM 13. If you're wondering, Bubblebeam is still SLIGHTLY stronger due to STAB, but Ice Beam definitely has the better effect. Aside from type matchups, they're basically interchangable at this point.

And since I did so much explaining of things, I'm calling it good.

Next time: The game has actual villains!

In this update: Amazingly, something shady looking turns out to be Team Rocket's doing!

You know, after thinking about it, that might not be a Rocket below the Pokemon Center. I think I'll talk to him and apologize...



...Or not. As it turns out, that sprite is exclusive to Rocket members. In other news, the southern part of the city has a restaurant. Let's go get stuffed!



...Or not. Unfortunately, MCEREAL has the world's worst timing, so the place will always be on break when he's here. In retaliation, I'm going to bug all the customers.



Apparently, there's a basement underneath a place called the Game Corner. We could probably just go to the town hall and ask for some blueprints...but instead, we'll take this guy's word for it, even though there's no way that'll ever be relevant. Now, let's talk to that guy in the corner...



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Well, I sure do feel better.



I intentionally choose to leave the meaning of this ambiguous.



At any rate, he gives us a Coin Case, which is...a case that holds coins. But not just any coins, but Coins! I'll explain that in a few screencaps.



Did I say a few? I meant one. Coins are a special currency that can only be used at the Game Corner, and are used both to use the area's slot machines (yep, 10 year olds gambling, what could possibly go wrong?) and, if you have enough, can be exchanged for prizes, some of which aren't available anywhere else. Of course, if you don't like playing slots, you can buy coins in increments of 50 for 1000 Pokedollars. The most expensive prize, however, costs a whopping 9999 coins (the max you can hold), which translates to 200000 Pokedollars. That's a lot, if you didn't know. Whether it's worth it is up to you...

Also, Rocket Game Corner? ...Eh, I'm sure it's a coincidence, and there's no actual relationship to Team Rocket.



There are coins all over the floor, which you can find like any other hidden item; however, this DOESN'T count as an item, so the Itemfinder can't help you. Most are just 10 or 20 coins, but there is this notable exception.



Hey look, it's the guy that usually hangs out at gym entrances! No, seriously, it's him. This is the only time he won't appear in the city's gym.



...Naturally, in order to show the slots themselves, I pick one of the two that aren't playable. Oi.



PLAYING SLOTS IS FUN, KIDS.



You can bet 1, 2, or 3 coins per spin. 1 gives you credit for the middle area only. 2 gives you credit for all three rows, but only horizontally. 3 gives you credit for both horizontals and diagonals.



...Gah. I try a few times to win, but it doesn't work. I'm pretty sure it's rigged beforehand whether any one spin is a winner or loser.



Next door from the Game Corner is the Prize Exchange, where you can trade in coins for FABULOUS prizes!



The leftmost counter gives you these Pokemon. Blue has Nidorino instead of Nidorina; it's the evolution of whichever Nidoran is rarer in that version.

Also, I completely forgot Abra was available here. Handy if you don't mind waiting and don't want to catch one the old fashioned way.



Middle counter is the good stuff, Pokemonwise. In Blue, it's Pinsir, and not Scyther. This is also the ONLY area Porygon is obtainable, so I hope you like gambling/coughing up lots of money. Also, Blue has different prices as Red for the Pokemon; Dratini costs nearly twice as much there, but the rare Bug type and Porygon are both around 3000 coins cheaper.



The right counter is kinda mean, as it doesn't tell you what the TMs contain. I'm not that cruel, so...

TM 23 contains Dragon Rage, the game's only Dragon type move. It does exactly 40 HP of damage regardless of defense. Even at this point, playing type advantages smartly will let you defeat opponents as quickly, if not faster, than using set damage moves. That said, there is one place in the Nintendo 64's Pokemon Stadium where Dragon Rage is absurdly useful; a tournament for LV 15-20 Pokemon, where it will 2HKO absolutely anything (and even OHKO low HP Pokemon like Magnemite and Diglett). It's fairly limited amongst who gets it; mostly draconian Pokemon like Gyarados, and a few others, like Arcanine and Lapras.

TM 15 contains Hyper Beam, a 150 (!) power Normal type move, with 89.6% accuracy. After using it, it forces the user to recharge, preventing them from doing anything for a turn...however, if Hyper Beam lands a KO, there will be no recharge turn. It's pricey, but it can be effective combined with some attack raising. Hyper Beam is mainly learned by Pokemon that are at the final stage of evolution, with the exception of Dratini, Dragonair (those two learn it naturally anyway), and...Venonat. Eye beams, I guess? In addition, Farfetch'd, Onix, Hitmonlee, and Hitmonchan, while at their final stages (for now, at least), cannot learn Hyper Beam.

TM 50 contains Substitute, in which the user sacrifices 25% of their HP to put up a clone of themself. This clone takes all hits for the user, and is immune to all stat changes and statuses. Not quite as useful as it sounds, unfortunately. All Pokemon that can learn HMs can use this one, at least.



Oh yeah, did I mention that there's a Rocket guy in the back of the Game Corner that's guarding a poster? Because there's a Rocket guy in the back of the Game Corner that's guarding a poster.



Jolteon's back sprite. Not pictured: shocking the crap out of Zubat with Thunderbolt.



Yes, shout out that your SECRET HIDEOUT is about to be discovered and run off. Don't, you know, just keep standing there so I can't reach the poster. Makes life easier for me, at least.



GASP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Who would've guessed that there was significance to that poster?!



Pushing switches is not only great fun, it also results in secret passages! No, I don't get how that Rocket got inside before I pressed the switch.



For those who didn't check out the sign in Lavender Town. Which, in this LP, is no one.



Behold, TM 10! It contains Double-Edge: remember Take Down from the previous update? Double-Edge is like that, but with 100 power and 99.6% accuracy.



This goes straight to Pidgeotto, due to lack of other powerful options. Besides, STAB!



The thing about the Team Rocket HQ is that it has these panels. Step on an arrowed panel, and you'll go flying off until you land on a square Tetris piece. It's not hard, just a little trial and error in a few cases.



Whee!



Any puzzle that ends in Rare Candy is okay in my book.



...I really don't remember why I kept this.



Yep, someone left a HP Up on a table. Do I care why? Not in the least. If you're wondering, Wartortle's getting all these; since it's the one Pokemon that's cemented on the team (due to being the starter), I like it to be as strong as possible.



Luckily, the sequels make TM 02 much more useful.



According to RPG logic, the guy asking about the Lift Key is, in fact, the guy with the Lift Key. And he is, but...he's got an annoying aspect. To get the Lift Key, you have to defeat him...



Then talk to him again...



And only then will the Lift Key appear.



See?



Intense spinning action! The item on screen is a Nugget.



4/5 for Moon Stones! The other item is a TM 07. I'll sell it, but if you've got something like Nidoking that gets it and will usually go first in-game, I can understand going with it for tough encounters.



Finally through with the puzzle. The stairs lead to two Rockets and a Hyper Potion. The door leads to an elevator, that lets you pick between B1F, B2F, and B4F. Nope, it doesn't stop at B3F. Instead, you get the Double-Edge TM. You can Dig out of here in a pinch, so it's a non-issue.



Though, if you don't have Dig and go to B1F, you have to fight this trainer to get out. Nothing fancy. Incidentally, that battle involves two OHKOs from Jolteon Thunderbolts, which makes his story believable compared to if I used, say, Fly.



To reach the boss's area, you have to beat both of these guys.



You know, you can theoretically 'ruin their plans' by beating exactly one Rocket at Mt. Moon. Something tells me it wouldn't have worked with or without me.



First glimpse of Arbok, Ekans's evolved form. Watch out for Poison Sting and it's a pushover.



Other guy has Sandslash, Sandshrew's evolved form. It has decent Defense and Slash, so try not to muck around too much against it.



Time to walk up to the boss and...



...Snag his Super Potion. Stealing from criminals is awesome.



You know, if he saw what his underlings were using, I don't think he'd be so impressed.



So yep, time for the head of Team Rocket. Surprisingly, he actually doesn't use the usual Rocket standards.



...Onix? Really? Again, I actually like Onix, but it was free EXP with Brock. Here it's just insulting.



See Rai.



See Rai horn. (smacked)

Remember when I gave images of moves? Those were fun times. And forgetful times. But really, the reason I'm not doing it much now is because by now, it's mostly just the same handful of visuals, slightly altered for different moves. Horn Attack's new, though, so here it is.



Now, Kangaskhan can be mildly threatening, as LV 29 is the highest trainer level seen thus far. It's Normal type, so you can't hammer on weaknesses much (unless you grabbed Submission earlier), and it has a lot of HP. It also has good Attack and Speed, and moves like Bite can hurt if you're underleveled. On the other hand, it has crummy Special, so special attacks really hurt. Like, say, Thunderbolt.



THIS CANNOT BE! AND YET IT IS! And maybe you should try grabbing Pokemon without terrible Specials. That might help against my Special heavy team.



Pfft, like I ever battle people more than once. (shut up, SOMEGUY)



Defeating Giovanni leaves behind this guy. Woo, plot advancement!



After healing, I think it's time for a gym...actually, I just got a strange feeling of benevolence, so let's go east first...



Different messages are always a good sign.



Sure, why not? I'm feeling nice.



Sound effects, gotta love them.



Score! He then says he'll share with the other guards. All three of them. Yeah, apparently one bottle of water quenches the thirst of four people. Hope they don't mind backwash.



As seen here, the way to the Celadon Gym is blocked by Cut. As such, Jolteon is benched for Farfetch'd, since it won't help much here.



The gym is apparently all-female. And yep, Aim appears in this game, disguised as an old man.

Celadon Gym uses Grass types, and most Grass types are also part Poison. But not all. Because of that, every Pokemon on my team has a weapon for this gym:

Wartortle - Ice Beam
Pidgeotto - Fly
Alakazam - Psybeam
Weepinbell - Acid
Growlithe - Ember

I don't think this will be a particularly hard gym for me.



You know, I think part of the reason for gyms is that I CAN enter them. Don't be an elitist!



This gym has the game's first Beauty class. I can't decide if she's making a >:D or a >:( face, myself. Either way, Beauties give out a lot of cash, so they're good to fight.



Considering you're a Beauty, I think what you REALLY want me to look at involves removing the word 'Pokemon' and then removing 'gr' from the new last word of the sentence.



I think Aim's making these girls paranoid.



Growlithe's been having issues taking out Pokemon without getting poisoned, so I'm going to go ahead and evolve it. LV 30 would've netted it Take Down, but Dig's already stronger, and Bite will be sufficient as a Normal type move. If I really want Take Down later, I can always get the TM.



Fire Stone. Apply directly to the Growlithe.
Fire Stone. Apply directly to the Growlithe.
Fire Stone. Apply directly to the Growlithe.
Fire Stone. Apply directly to the-



...Ahem. Woo!



For comparison's sake, Growlithe's stats right before evolving...



...And after evolving. Those are pretty big gains, even at that level. Remember that Squirtle into Wartortle was a mere +5, and here's it's ~+20 across the board. Even considering the 12 level difference, that's a big gap in gains.



In other news, Wartortle gains a level and skips out on Withdraw, which raises Defense by 1 level. I use all its moves as is, and Withdraw doesn't have a lot of general use, so yeah, it's a no-go.



Back sprite of Arcanine. Also, isn't it glorious to see a 3 digit HP for the first time?



Me too! We should totally go out or something.



She also has good taste in Pokemon, with an Exeggcute. I probably should've held out and screencapped its unique move, Barrage, but oh well.



In the remake, this line is unchanged. Now keep in mind that you could have a girl PC in the remake. Yes, playing as the female protagonist in the remakes is hilarious if you pay attention, since so few lines are changed based on gender.



The trainer does have a Gloom, who's new, and Oddish's evolved form. Nothing else is particularly noteworthy, aside from the fact that unlike Bellsprout, Oddish peaks at the second stage, because Gloom is awesome.



And yes, she DOES make excuses afterward. Almost makes me want to become an anti-feminist.



Guess who I used in this battle, since she said this?

All right, enough mucking around. Gym leader time!



...Er, I guess? Ironically, it actually was a beautiful day when I made this part of the LP.



...Is she high? I think she's high.



I know that Poke Ball's high. She's not the Psychic gym leader, what's up with that?



She leads with Victreebel, Weepinbell's evolved form. Arcanine out types it and out awesomes it, so it goes down with little issue. I actually didn't use Ember here, since A-Its base power is 120 (40 x 1.5 x 2) to Dig's 100 (100 x 1 x 1), B-Arcanine's Attack is better than its Special, and C-Victreebel's Defense is much lower than its Special. So, despite type advantage, Dig does more damage here.



Next up is Tangela. Its Defense and Special are both high, so if anything it's annoying to take down. I kept wailing at it with Fly, however, and it went down quickly. Oddly, despite being made of vines, it didn't have Vine Whip as an obtainable move until Yellow tweaked it.



Finally, we have Vileplume, who's more well-rounded statistically than Victreebel, but is slower and gets weaker Grass attacks naturally. Alakazam launches a Psybeam, which...lands a critical hit and instantly defeats it. Like I said before, Alakazam breaks this game clean in two.



Why yes, you must. And then you must explain the perks of it!



This is a big one, since you can beat the game with a team of traded LV 50s if you want.



Strength is another HM move, of course, and one of the more usable in battle ones. You also need it to beat the game, so woo. Now, what TM am I getting?



Awesome. Mega Drain is a Grass type move of 40 power, with 99.6% accuracy. It heals by half of the HP damage it deals. It's basically Absorb V2, and even though it has Vine Whip, it's a very useful move for Weepinbell to know. I forgot to screencap it, but it got this TM ASAP.

Afterward, I heal, and put Jolteon back into the team. That's actually the last time I'll absolutely have to use Cut in the LP (unless I want to grab a useless TM later), so that's all the action Farfetch'd sees. Too bad, it never lost a battle. Now, for a team status update!



The fact it's in order of ascending HP is a total coincidence, and I was amused when I noticed it.

...But, speaking of HP, look at Jolteon's. It was at full HP when I deposited it, and Erika was my last battle in this segment. So how did it somehow lose 1 of its max HP?

The answer is connected to Effort Values, or EVs. How they work...well, just this once, I'll let Bulbapedia do the answering, with a couple of things that aren't needed here cut out.

--------------

The EV system was introduced in Generation I, where it was also called Stat Experience or Stat Exp.

The Pokémon data structure contains two EV bytes for each the five stats (HP, Attack, Defense, Speed and Special), starting at zero when caught and with a maximum EV of 65535 for each stat. When a Pokémon is defeated, its base stats are converted to effort points and then added to the EVs. For example, defeating a Mew grants 100 effort points to each EV. (Defeating 656 Mew, therefore, will give a Pokémon maximum EVs in each stat.)

Vitamins add 2560 to one stat's EV, but cannot raise a stat above 25600.

---------------

This is the answer to a couple of things: why you can only use certain numbers of vitamins on a Pokemon, and is specifically why a trained Pokemon has superior stats to a wild Pokemon of the same level, or one just raised on Rare Candies. But that doesn't explain Jolteon's situation on its own. However, EVs don't automatically alter stats (at least in Gen 1), but are only applied after one of two things occur. The more common way is for the Pokemon to level up. The second way...is to store it, either in Bill's PC, or the Day Care Center. When either of these happens, that Pokemon's stats are instantly recalculated, and boosted accordingly. When HP goes up via a way other than level-up, however, only max HP is increased, and not current HP, to prevent the player from reviving a Pokemon with something like HP Up. Thus, Jolteon didn't actually lose any HP; instead, it gained 1 max HP due to the storage recalculating. This is usually called the Box Trick or Day Care Trick, due to being the triggers needed to activate it.

Anyway, that's enough nerd stuff for now. Go away until next time.

Next time: Everyone needs a teddy bear!

In this update: Proof that LPing, much like driving, should not be done while distracted!

Now that I'm armed with the Silph Scope, it's time to do the Pokemon Tower for real this time. Even though I could've done everything except capture Pokemon without it. Also, Weepinbell and Pidgeotto are deposited beforehand, as I want two free slots and each have good reasons for not coming.

For Weepinbell, it's that its attacks are very ineffective against Gastly, and 95% of the encounters will be members of that family.

For Pidgeotto, it's that its best attack move against Gastly (Fly) makes it very hard to attack via confusion. And guess what knows Confuse Ray at all levels? It IS immune to their paralysis causing move, but if it's hit by confusion, it's in for a rough time.



An exciting picture of Pokemon Tower to get everyone in the mood for some spiritual guidance.



Also, beating the tar out of said spirits. Gastly, however, is on the To Catch list, so it's done.



A shot of Confuse Ray, since it has a unique animation and is easy to screen cap; a very rare combination. And if you're wondering, yes, Gastly DID withstand a Jolteon Thunderbolt despite a 6 level disadvantage, and Jolteon's good Special + STAB. The Gastly line has very good Special stats. And they don't have the greatest of HP stats, making that even more impressive.



Capturing doesn't get much easier than that, especially now that I've upgraded to Great Balls.



After capture, I do some grinding and get Gastly to LV 25. Hooray!



You know how I like to also include the 'What? POKeMON is evolving!' shot? Well, since I was distracted, I didn't do it here. This is a recurring theme throughout the Pokemon Tower, unfortunately.



Also not pictured: finding a wild Gengar to use. Yes, I WAS very distracted at the time. Why do you ask?



Gengar is a leading source of >:D in Pokemon. And since it's awesome, why shouldn't it?

Anyway, there are exactly three Ghost type moves in Gen 1, and the Gastly line starts with all three: Lick is a 20 power attack with 99.6% accuracy, and a 30% chance of inflicting paralysis. Very annoying. Night Shade is a set damage move that inflicts damage equal to the user's level (like Seismic Toss). Confuse Ray is a 99.6% accurate way to inflict confusion. Keep in mind that Gastly are pretty quick, and you can see why this is an extremely annoying area. Not hard, necessarily, but you'll be paralyzed and confused a LOT, and those Night Shades add up.

On a side note, Night Shade and Seismic Toss ignore type matchups, so they'll affect Normal and Ghost types, respectively. That was the third strike against Pidgeotto: if it was immune to everything but confusion, I would've brought it anyway. But it can be confused AND damaged, so I saved myself some aggravation.



The trainers in here claim to be 'possessed', and they all use Gastly and, in a few cases, Haunter. Personally, I think they're just being a-holes and making up excuses for it.



Behold, the opponent! I have absolutely no idea what she's holding, by the way.



On the 5th floor, there's a 2x2 panel area made of tiny squares, which this Channel claims will let you rest due to her magic. What a load...



Huh?



Yay! Despite the purified message, however, you can still encounter wild Pokemon inside of it. ...Yeah. Still, the fact that you can heal at any time does make this area a terrific place to grind if you can handle Gastly.



Pokemon Tower has a lot of messages like this from the Channelers. Again, I think they just enjoy terrorizing people that head in here. Dick move.



AUGH UNDERLEVELED HAUNTER WANT



Everyone's favorite inaccurate sleep move! This has special significance on Gengar, however, which will be seen later...



If you don't find a Gastly or Haunter in the Pokemon Tower, it's a Cubone. Despite not being ghosts, you still need the Silph Scope for some reason in order to find them. Weird. They're noteworthy for having two moves exclusive to that line. Bone Club, a 65 power Ground type move with 84.6% accuracy, and a 10% chance of flinching. Bonemerang is a 50 power Ground type move with 89.6% accuracy, and hits twice. Both are nice for different reasons: Bone Club is its first move, and makes sure it's competent from the get-go, and Bonemerang is fundamentally a 100 power STAB attack (if it hits, both hits connect) that lets it hit hard without needing to burn a TM. Very nice.



Which is good for me, since Cubone's on the catch list. And yes, I used Arcanine despite a 50% chance of Cubone hitting it for super effective damage. Arcanine can take it.



What a convenient excuse. I still think you're a bitch that just attacked me for no reason.



It doesn't look like it, but the spot right next to those stairs has something scripted.



Oh snap.



OH SNAP. It's so ghostly, even the Silph Scope can't reveal what it is right off the bat. Give it a moment, however, and the ghost will be revealed...



Remember how the first time we were in Lavender Town, people were talking about how Team Rocket killed a Marowak? Well, here's the Marowak's ghost, ready to seek vengeance. Since it's an actual ghost, and not just a Ghost type, it can't be caught, and any Poke Balls used will miss. Yes, miss. Presumably they go right through it. Which brings up why Gastly and the like don't do the same, but eh, I'm not complaining about it. Or thinking about it any harder.



No one seeks vengeance on me and lives. Or...dies? Undies? Oh, fish it all.



Yes, beating the crap out of a Marowak ghost calms it down. Great life lesson.



No getting to see it depart, you'll just have to take the game's word for it. It doesn't show up again, though, so it's a safe assumption.

But anyway, that's the dick way of calming ghosts. And I'm a jerkwad, not a dick. Nor is my name Dick, or even Richard. I have a great uncle named Richard, but that's as close as I get. So, time for the magic of save states to load before that fight! I also deposit the Silph Scope for no reason other than to make what I'm going to do look fancier.



I get into the encounter again, and am stuck facing it as Ghost...



I'm boned, aren't I? (pun not intended, surprisingly)



Wrong! Despite the fighting aspects being 100% scripted, this is still technically a wild Pokemon battle. While you CAN run if you lack the Silph Scope, using the Poke Doll causes the game to act as though you defeated Marowak, and enables you to bypass the fight without needing the Silph Scope. Very convenient.

As for why it works IC...I guess the Marowak was touched by the offering, and figured that there's at least one trainer that's not a complete a-hole? It's what I like to think, anyway.

Either way, I'm free to proceed to the top floor. And speaking of a-holes, did anyone else's a-holeometer just spike?



Because it should've. You have to fight three Rockets to finish this area, and fortunately, none of them are particularly difficult.



The only noteworthy thing is that one has a Golbat, whose decent Speed and Confuse Ray can make it annoying.

Aside from that, it's nothing that hasn't been already done, and easy EXP.



Sigh. After all this, we end up getting informed that Mr. Fuji was, in fact, not forced here, despite the Rocket presence. You'd think he would've left a note or something...anyway, turns out he was here praying for Marowak. That's fine and all, but I'm pretty sure the Poke Doll yielded much better results. After talking to him, the game decides to be nice, and warps up out of the Pokemon Tower...to the entrance of Mr. Fuji's house. You're not healed, so if you have one Pokemon with 2 HP and Poison status, you might wanna burn a Potion or something right now so you don't black out.



Somehow, he knows about the Pokedex. He's not the first, so I'm presuming it's sticking out of my pocket or something. Regardless, he thinks he can help us out.



And so he gives us the extremely important Poke Flute, a Key Item that allows us to get past two certain roadblocks. It can also be used as an infinite use Awakening, making it one of the few key items to remain useful after fulfilling its plot duties.



It's also nice for getting the most out of Rest, as then it's basically a two turn full recovery without having spend money on Awakening.

You know what's not nice? Forgetting why you uploaded an image. Seriously, I don't get the point of this one.

Anyway, after retrieving the Silph Scope, I head off to grind everyone to LV 30.



LV 25 nets Cubone Leer. It's something, at least.



LV 28! So many Gastly have been boned...



Oh yeah, did I mention that Cubone evolves at LV 28?



Because Cubone evolves at LV 28. It also makes grinding easier, as Marowak can one-shot any ghost I find, provided Bone Club hits, and the Speed boost from evolving lets it outspeed low level ones.



Much better.

I would end the update here, but it's a little short, so I'm doing something in Saffron City. I could've done this ever since I bribed the guards, but waited until now because...I was lazy, pretty much.



Two gyms?! Well, kinda. The one on the right is the actual gym, but there's a Rocket a-hole blocking the way. The left, however, is also handy, and we're free to enter that one. It calls itself the Fighting Dojo. Hmm, wonder what kind of Pokemon they use? For completely unrelated purposes, Jolteon is replaced with Pidgeotto. For no reason whatsoever.



That and the fact every trainer here is a Black Belt is a slight hint it uses Fighting types, mostly Mankey, Machop, and their evolved forms.



At LV 31, Pidgeotto FINALLY learns a Flying type move naturally, Wing Attack is 35 (...) power, 99.6% accuracy, and no effects beyond damage. Yes, at LV 31, it gets a move functionally identical to Peck. You know, that same move that other birds start with? The one that LV 3 Spearow at the beginning of the game have? Yeah, Pidgey got screwed. Badly.



Primeape is Mankey's evolved form. Alakazam doesn't care and obliterates.



For its trouble, Alakazam picks up Recover, which restores 50% of its max HP, no questions asked. With this, it can add 'outlast other special attackers' to its resume. Since it clearly wasn't all that great otherwise.



This guy was exactly one step away from my last battle. Clearly, Blackbelts aren't big fans of contact lenses.



Machoke, Machop's evolved form. Nothing overly scary. Gengar doesn't need to worry, as exactly one Pokemon in the entire Fighting Dojo can so much as touch it, and it ain't Machoke.



I have no idea what this means, but I assume he's acknowledging that he sucks and I rule, like a gracious loser.



But you can't do that for another three years! Besides, Gengar's no boulder.



LV 36 is pretty high at the moment, but this isn't the Pokemon that can do damage to Gengar, either. Amusingly, Primeape's exactly one level away from learning Seismic Toss, which actually can hit Gengar. Tough break for it.



A non-subtle hint about a weakness of Fighting types. This guy should also be acrophobic, by the way.



You know, you really should've spoken up sooner, seeing as how you're the next to last trainer here. But no, now I've tracked mud everywhere, and you'll probably be the one stuck cleaning up my mess. And you know whose fault that is? YOURS.



All right, last guy. Let's take out whatever Machoke or Primeape he's got and-



...Oh crap. Heatmonlee Hitmonlee is actually dangerous, as unlike most Fighting types, it actually bothers to learn decent STAB moves. It has Double Kick, a 30 power two hit attack (99.6% accuracy), and Rolling Kick is a 60 power attack (84.6% accuracy) with a 30% of inducing flinch, and it has decent Speed. And LV 37 isn't a laughing matter, especially since normally you'll be at a lower level than me at this point in the game. This is easily the toughest Pokemon in the Fighting Dojo. I lost Marowak in this battle, and if it wasn't for the AI roulette not using a finishing blow, Arcanine would've fallen, too. Ouch.

All that said, the Black Belt often leads by using an X Attack, which is completely superfluous, as Hitmonlee knowing Meditate, which has the exact same effect. Makes it a prime target for Sleep Powder or Hypnosis, though. Or you can just use a Ghost type, since it can't touch them. But that's the easy way out.



And here's Hitmonchaim Hitmonchan. This is the only Pokemon in the Fighting Dojo that can lower Gengar's HP...it knows Fire Punch, which not only hits Gengar's stronger Special stat, but Hitmonchan has a pathetically low Special itself. It also has Comet Punch, an 18 power (no, really, it's one of the very few moves without a base power divisible by 5) Normal type attack with 84.6% accuracy that hits 2-5 hits. The rates that it gets a number of hits is as follows:

2 hits - 37.5%
3 hits - 37.5%
4 hits - 12.5%
5 hits - 12.5%

So while not amazing, it can end up being decently powerful. It also has Agility, which raises Speed by 2 stages, and is notable for having zero animation. Really, it just makes a sound, and that's it. It's weird like that.

Of course, for this battle, it's all moot, as Alakazam OHKOs it with Psybeam, as Hitmonlee annoyed me to where I wanted the match over right then.



It's good to know that at least some people can take a loss.



...I wonder how many kids learned the word beseech because of this line?



Anyway, this isn't a true gym, so no badge. Instead, he offers to hand over one of the two Pokemon in back. To the left is Hitmonlee, and to the right is Hitmonchan. This is the only way you can get either Pokemon. You can actually pass on this offer if you want, and just walk out. But, since it won voting...



...I take Hitmonchan. Which means soon, I'm going to need to go buy a Submission TM, since it doesn't have any Fighting attacks now...or ever (unless you count Counter, and you shouldn't for this purpose).



But not now, as I'm flying to Celadon and calling it good for now.

In this update: Wartortle's set for life!



Fuchsia's pretty simple to get to, but beforehand, I grab a Submission TM for Hitmonchan, and a Mega Punch TM for Marowak. I did not, however, get a Mega Punch TM for Hitmonchan. Ironic, isn't it?



Hitmonchan's back sprite. While not the most offensive of the bunch, it IS inaccurate, as the shoulder things don't go around in back like that. Thank goodness later games didn't have back sprites like this.



Nap time's over, Snorlax, I've got new teammates to catch.



Everyone say it: do do do...do do do...do do do do do do do...!



Woo!



Snorlax is a total pain if you're unprepared for it, as it has the second highest HP of any Pokemon in the game, and passable defenses. And it gets worse: Special attacks are risky, as it knows Amnesia, which raises Special by 2 stages (basically +100%), and perhaps worst of all, it knows Rest. Yes, the move where you fall asleep while regaining all of your HP. If you're catching it, sleep is VERY important, as it prevents Snorlax from using Rest. Oh, and did I mention that Snorlax has Headbutt, a 70 power Normal type attack with good accuracy, and Snorlax has a good Attack stat?



But, if you just want to defeat it, it's much easier. Hitmonchan's Submission 2HKO'd it. Unfortunately, it used Rest, so it took severe recoil damage. How severe? Hitmonchan entered the battle at full HP, and didn't get hit.



If you don't catch Snorlax, you get a message saying Snorlax went back to the mountains. Unfortunately, you can never check out said mountains, because whoever wrote that message was a jerkwad.

Anyway, now we can access the main guard house.



...Or not? If you don't have a Bicycle in your item stash, he won't let you proceed.



If you walk left straight from the entrance, you get this gem of a glitch. Easy and silly, that's my kind of glitch.



There's an even better glitch here, though. Walk along the counter, and when the guard stops you, keep pressing left as he talks to you. You'll take one step to the left, then go right one step after he's done. But if you're still pressing left as this point, you'll keep going left, and the guard can do nothing to stop you. This way, you can take this path to Fuchsia without a Bicycle, and it's by far the quicker and easier of the two routes.



Even though you don't have one if you use that glitch, the game will act as though you do here. The flat cap top is a result of reaching the sprite's maximum height. Yes, it looks rather silly.



There's two new trainer types here. Bikers use mostly Koffing and Grimer, though there's one here that uses Voltorb instead.



Cue Balls add Mankey and Machop to the list, but are otherwise functionally identical to Bikers.



For hilarity, always use a mouse-like Pokemon here if you have one. I don't, so I just set Marowak to auto-Bone Club.



Here's a Weezing, evolved form of Koffing, for your enjoyment. They don't evolve until LV 35, so the LV 33 one is weaksauce to me.



If I hadn't taught Jolteon Thunderbolt, it would only now be getting a STAB move. And it would continue to be its only STAB move past LV 50. Ouch.



No, I was heading to Cerulean and got lost.



At this point, I'd lose like 60000 Pokedollars, so it's a safe bet that MCEREAL is the exception, not the rule.



Frozen status makes a Pokemon unable to use the FIGHT command. Unlike sleep, however, it doesn't go away on its own, meaning that whoever's frozen is screwed. Incidentally, this is the first time it's happened in the LP, so that's why I'm only mentioning it now.



The patch of grass here has wild Fearow, and it's the first time I've found a Fearow, so here it is.



It also has a hidden Rare Candy. It's easier to find if you ride up, since you're more likely to press A at the proper moment then.



Here's Grimer's evolution, Muk. And it evolves at LV 38, so once again it's underleveled. Sigh.



Some trainers here are more civil than others. This guy just wants to lose weight, for instance. Good for him.



The only reason you'd need to watch out for discarded items is if you want them. Aside from the Rare Candy, I'm too lazy to get them, but I believe there's a Full Restore not far from this sign, if memory serves right.

Another sign tells you that pressing A or B lets you brake while in this area. You see, aside from being on a bike, the area's gimmick is that you're traveling down a slope, so unless you're moving you'll constantly head downward due to momentum. This can make it a bit harder to pause, so this is a good tip to keep in mind.



"Don't throw the game, throw POKe BALLs instead!"

Final Fantasy this is not. Pokemon is completely fine with not taking itself particularly seriously. In fact, I'd say it's one of the reasons for its success over the years.



This guy says he got his Voltorb at an abandoned Power Plant. No way that becomes significant later. (Also, the guy's a lying liar, and I'll show why later.)



This guy has a Machoke, so this guy is basically a living hint that Machoke is one of the four Pokemon that evolve by trading. Hey, it was a dark time, where high speed internet was a pipe dream for the general populace. Dark, dark times.



Once you pass this slope, you can move around normally. Woo.



Me: 1, Sign: 0.



This guardhouse has a guy that offers you Lickitung for a Slowbro. This is the fourth and final of the 'trades that net you a Pokemon you can't catch anywhere else'. Come to think of it, they sure did like grouping trade based things in fours way back when. Four Pokemon that evolve by trade, four Pokemon that are obtained by in-game trade...freaky stuff.



The patch of grass to the south of the guardhouse has a few Bird Keepers hanging around. No points for guessing their Pokemon of choice.



One does have a Dodrio, though, so be careful; if you're unlucky, you'll end up with a face full of Drill Peck, an 80 power Flying type attack with 99.6% accuracy. And Dodrio has above average Attack and Speed to boot. Luckily, it's still not that hard to defeat.

I forgot to take a general screencap of Fuchsia City because I was too eager to access its main attraction. Oh well. I heal and head north, where there's a Pokemon zoo, where there are a few Pokemon we haven't seen before.



Chansey has the highest HP in the game...and the worst Attack and Defense in the game. For this reason, it's hands down the game's best user of Counter, as it can OHKO some enemies with it without even taking a severe HP loss. It also has a good Special, meaning that Defense is how the opponent is going to be able to harm it, as well as letting it use Special attacks like Thunderbolt pretty well. It takes some TM burnage, but Chansey can be quite effective when used properly.



Lapras...we'll get to later. One of the main drawbacks of not doing Saffron first is that I won't be getting it until later. Suffice it to say that it kicks ass and chews bubblegum...and it's always out of gum.



Around Lapras's area is the Poke Mart, which has a couple items of note. First up, the Ultra Ball, which has twice the success rate as a regular Poke Ball. Personally, I think in most cases (but not all), Great Balls suffice, but for those extra hard to get Pokemon, this is where you turn to...barring certain things I'll get to soon enough.



It also has Full Heal, which combines the effects of Awakening, Antidote, Paralyz Heal, Burn Heal, and Ice Heal into one package. It's cheaper than the combined cost of all five, too, so it's more efficient than lugging around status heals, both economically and spatially.



The cage above the Poke Mart is special, as the Pokemon inside depends on a decision made a long time ago. If you selected the Helix Fossil at Mt. Moon, you'll see a Kabuto. If you selected the Dome Fossil, like I did, you'll see an Omanyte.

Oh, there are also areas with Slowpoke, Voltorb, and Kangaskhan. I didn't show them because you've already seen them.



The main attraction, however, is at the north end of Fuchsia City: the Safari Zone. This area works a bit differently from anywhere else. First of all, you can't battle wild Pokemon. Second of all, you can't use your own Poke Balls, and are instead granted 30 Safari Balls. You can only move 500 steps while inside; running out of steps or balls will instantly make you leave. It costs 500 Pokedollars for each entry. The Safari Zone also has a lot of Pokemon that can't be found anywhere else, so it's a very good place to stock up on Pokemon.



If you pause, you can check to see how many Safari Balls and steps you have remaining. If you're wondering, Safari Balls have the same effectiveness as a Great Ball.

There are four areas in the Safari Zone; a main area you enter in, and areas to the East, West, and North. The first time you enter, you have to go in a certain order, but once you get a certain move in here, you can go in any order you want.



An Egg Bomb TM? You shouldn't have, game. It is convenient, however, as the Safari Zone houses both unevolved Pokemon capable of using it that can be obtained by normal methods.



Parasect, Paras's evolved form. Much to Steve's undoubted fury, I don't catch it.



TM 40's new, and it contains Skull Bash, a 100 power Normal type attack with 99.6% accuracy. It takes two turns to use, but like Razor Wind, you're a sitting duck on turn 1. Not very useful.



Crap, a Paras.



Are you happy, Steve?



ARE YOU HAPPY?

Note: I will not be nicknaming another Pokemon for the duration of this RP.



Some NPCs elsewhere tell you about the Secret House, which supposedly has a FABULOUS prize. The prize actually is that fabulous, so find it without delay.



Someone lost their gold teeth in the Safari Zone. While kinda gross to carry, MCEREAL's going to be a nice silent protagonist and give them back to the pimp that lost them. The reward's worth it, for sure.



You know that sign in the previous screenshot where I found the Gold Teeth? That's this. Ironic, isn't it?



TM 32, woo! Better than a kick in the pants.



This is the Secret House, in all of its mystery. For reference, there's a Revive hidden in the base of the lower right statue.



The guy in the Secret House was actually worried that no one would find him. To be fair, if you wandered around the Safari Zone aimlessly, you could easily miss it. So, what's the FABULOUS prize?



...FABULOUS!



HM 03 contains Surf, bar none the best HM in the game. Surf is a 95 power Water type move, with 99.6% accuracy. Its reliability makes it the Water type move of choice. Out of battle, you can use Surf to traverse water, granting you plenty of shortcuts and new areas to explore. Unfortunately, guess what the one HM I can't use outside of battle is? Luckily, this area's gym has the necessary badge to enable it.



With Surf acquired, I muck around until I run out of steps, then reenter. Noteworthy is that while many Pokemon are obtainable in multiple areas, there's usually one area where they're more prevalent. For one of the needed captures, that's the main area. So, after a few pointless encounters...



Bingo, my soon to be Bug type.



..........

The other catch with the Safari Zone is that Pokemon won't just stand around indefinitely. They'll randomly run off if you fail to catch them. You can also throw bait or rocks at Pokemon; bait makes Pokemon stay longer, but makes them harder to catch, and rocks make Pokemon easier to catch, but more likely to run. Personally, I say they're not worth it, as they're prone to backfiring, so just stick to Safari Balls.



MUCH better. That's 10/15 team members, if you're wondering.



Here's Nidorina's sprite, for anyone curious.



The west area is the other area I need to be in. Annoyingly, without being able to Surf out of battle, the Secret House area and the grassy patch aren't connected.



Venomoth, Venonat's evolved form. Venomoth is awesome, and is actually my personal favorite Bug type of this era, even moreso than Scyther. But alas, it didn't win any votes.



Tauros, however, did. Now, the odds of a Pokemon fleeing in the Safari Zone depends on the species of Pokemon. Tauros...is one of the more fickle ones, so I'm expecting to go through quite a few encounter/save states to get one...



...Or I can pull it off on the very first try. Wow. That...never happens. Holy crap.



The PA lets you know when you're getting booted. Neat.

Anyway, to get the third and final member of the team from the Safari Zone, I need to take a long detour, all the way to Lavender Town. From there, I head south.



Lavender Town's actually next to the ocean. Who knew?



The area's guardhouse has this girl, who gives you TM 39 (Swift). Swift is a 60 power attack that ignores all evasion modifiers, and can even hit Pokemon using Dig or Fly. Unlike future games, however, Swift has 99.6% accuracy in Gen 1, so it's actually possible to see it miss normally. It's as depressing as it sounds. As for using it...maybe, but I'll hold off a bit for now.

Also, am I the only one that thinks it's weird that the early routes don't have guardhouses, but later ones do? Granted, the early areas are supposed to be more rural, but...it's just weird to me.



That item is one of the most awesome things in all of Pokemon. Sadly, without the next badge, all I can do is look, and anticipate.



Focus Energy is SUPPOSED to quadruple critical hit rates...but it suffers from the same glitch as Dire Hit, and instead quarters critical hit rate. I guess it'd be useful if you're weakening something for capture, as you'd be less likely to screw up with a critical, but eh, I don't need that, especially since of the four remaining Pokemon to obtain, only one is gotten by normal weaken and capture methods.



Other Snorlax time. Unlike the first, it's content to use Amnesia, so Hitmonchan wins easily. It also means I can never catch a Snorlax without utilizing Gameshark. Ouch.

There's actually a fight just to the south of here that features Electrode, but I didn't get a picture. I'll get one soon enough.



South of that, there's a house with the Fishing Guru...'s younger brother. The brother, however, is superior, as he gives you...



...a Super Rod. This lets you catch pretty much any Pokemon that can be fished up. It's what I needed, so back to the Safari Zone for one last trip. Unlike the grass, all bodies of water yield the same Pokemon in the Safari Zone, so I just need to sidle next to the water and select the Super Rod...



Krabby's not what I need, but it's new, so here it is. Feel free to pretend it's balancing on its claws. I know I am.



There we go. Dratini is the game's sole source of Dragon type action, so this was inevitable. Now, to begin the capture attempt!



Pictured: the EXACT SAME DRATINI. I had 30 when I found it. Dratini's the rare combination of both being hard to capture and having a high patience threshold, so things like this aren't super rare.

Not pictured: I repeatedly press A, only to realize too late that I captured Dratini on the very next Poke Ball, and thus no victorious picture. Oh well.



Psyduck's the last of the fishable Pokemon here that's new. You can also find Slowpoke, if you're curious. A respectable group overall, though Dratini's definitely the cream of the crop.

Anyway, time to get rid of those teeth in my backpack. It's getting weird.



Turns out it's an old man that lost his teeth. What? Old men can be pimps, too.



Without his solid gold teeth, no one could get what he was saying. Again, if you're a pimp, you can get your message across without words.



But, he gives you this, so all is well. HM 04 contains Strength, an 80 power Normal type move with 99.6% accuracy, and no extra effects. It's solid, if unspectacular, and is a decent move if you're low on TMs. Out of battle, it lets you move boulders around. You need it for a couple of late game caves, so I advise giving it to something you use, especially since it's not a total waste of a move slot.

Moving the boulder to the right nets you a Rare Candy. I forget to do this because I'm an absentminded silly person. I also forget to teach something Strength to someone that needs it, like, say, Wartortle or Marowak.



Now that I have 12/15 Pokemon, and a complete set of HMs (there are 5 in this game), I'm calling it good for now.