Pokemon Gold and Silver

POKEMON GOLD AND SILVER

And now for the games that I grew up with, Pokemon Gold and Silver are the first games of Generation II, introducing 100 new Pokemon, quite a handful of them being new evolutions or baby forms of existing Pokemon. The generation also introduces two new typings, Dark and Steel, to balance things out.

This game takes place in Johto, Kanto's neighboring region, loosely based on the cities Osaka and Nagoya and their surrounding areas. You play as Ethan, a new protagonist wearing a hoodie and a backwards hat, who is given a starter by his neighbor Professor Elm to start his Pokemon journey. Shortly afterward, Elm's lab is broken into, a starter stolen, by a mysterious redhead named Silver, your rival. He has since been confirmed to be the son of Giovanni, having gone rogue from his father and striving to become a strong trainer so as to dismantle his father's organization and destroy it.

Just like Kanto, Johto has eight gym leaders: Falkner, the Flying type; Bugsy, the Bug type; Whitney, the Demon type, (cough) excuse me, Normal type; Morty, the Ghost type; Chuck, the Fighting type; Jasmine, the Steel type; Pryce, the Ice type; and Claire, the Dragon type. The Elite Four consist of Will, a Psychic type; Bruno returning; Koga with an upgrade; and Karen, a Dark type; with Lance as the new champion. In the post-game, you get the chance to visit Kanto again, and challenge a returning Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Sabrina, and Blaine, with Koga's daughter Janine taking his place, and Blue taking over Giovanni's gym. The game's final battle sees you challenge Red at the top of an icy mountain.

As for notable locations, Johto's cities are all named after types of wood. You have New Bark, Cherrygrove, Violet, Azalea, Goldenrod, Ecruteak, Olivine, Cianwood, Mahogany, and Blackthorn. Other notable locations include Sprout Tower, the Ruins of Alph, the Slowpoke Well, Ilex Forest, the Tin Tower and Burnt Tower, the Radio Tower, the Olivine Lighthouse, the Whirl Islands, the Lake of Rage, Mt. Mortar, and Mt. Silver.

I'd say that about covers everything I need to cover. Here's what we've got:

Characters:

All new Pokemon

Rival Trainer as an echo?

Trainer System:

Ethan

Silver

Professor Elm

Falkner

Bugsy

Whitney

Morty

Chuck

Jasmine

Pryce

Claire

Will

Karen

Janine

Stages:

New Bark Town

Cherrygrove City

Violet City

Azalea Town

Goldenrod City

Ecruteak City

Olivine City

Cianwood City

Mahogany Town

Blackthorn City

Sprout Tower

Ruins of Alph

Slowpoke Well

Ilex Forest

Tin Tower and Burnt Tower

Radio Tower

Olivine Lighthouse

Whirl Islands

Lake of Rage

Mt. Mortar

Mt. Silver

Magnet Train

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's Challenge ourselves to a Puzzle!

Smash Universe: The Trainer System

THE TRAINER SYSTEM

For Pokemon (and possibly other collection-based series like it), you will also have the option to select from the Trainer System, which will take you to a list of trainers that you can choose from. That trainer will then run around in the back, like Pokemon Trainer does. Once you select a trainer, the game will auto-generate three Pokemon for their team, all pulled from their canonical teams in-game. You will have the option to reject the trio and pick your own as well. The current trainers in the system are:

Named trainers:

1. Red

2. Blue

3. Professor Oak

4. Brock

5. Misty

6. Lt. Surge

7. Erika

8. Koga

9. Sabrina

10. Blaine

11. Giovanni

12. Lorelei

13. Bruno

14. Agatha

15. Lance

Trainer Classes:

1. Beauty

2. Biker

3. Bird Keeper

4. Black Belt

5. Bug Catcher

6. Burglar

7. Channeler

8. Cool Trainer

9. Cue Ball

10. Engineer

11. Fisherman

12. Gambler

13. Gentleman

14. Hiker

15. Jr. Trainer (M)

16. Jr. Trainer (F)

17. Juggler

18. Lass

19. Poke Maniac

20. Psychic

21. Rocker

22. Team Rocket Grunt

23. Sailor

24. Scientist

25. Super Nerd

26. Swimmer

27. Tamer

28. Youngster

And that's about it for our Gen I characters. Now, let's begin Gen II with Pokemon Gold and Silver!

Character Sheet: Mewtwo and Mew

MEWTWO/MEW

And finally, we reach the end of the Gen I Pokedex with our last legendary Mewtwo and our first mythical Mew. Mew was the originator of all Pokemon, all current species descended from it, believed extinct. A group of scientists found some of its DNA and attempted to clone it, that clone growing to be Mewtwo, who destroyed the lab it was created in and escaped. Both pull heavy design inspirations from cat fetuses, with Mewtwo possibly having a bit of Dragon Ball's Freeza in its design too.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Shadow Ball || Psychic

Side B: Confusion || Amnesia

Up B: Teleport || Ancient Power

Down B: Disable || Transform

Final Smash: Mega Mewtwo X OR Mega Mewtwo Y || Dawn of All Life

Entrance: Bursting from his capsule || Swirling in playfully

Taunts: Mewtwo being all broody and edgy, Mew swirling around and playing.

Kirby Hat: Their ears and tails.

Kart: The Poke Ball car.

Special Move: Teleport.

Spirit Battle: On Pokemon Stadium.

Victory Screen: Flying off with all his clones || Giggling and flying away.

Losing Screen: Fainted.

Color Swaps: Main, shiny, other general colors.

Thanks for reading! Next up, let's dive into the Trainer System!

Character Sheet: The Dratini Line

DRATINI/DRAGONAIR/DRAGONITE

And now, we come to our first ever line of what have come to be known as Pseudo-Legendaries, extremely powerful late game lines (generally Dragon-type) who most of the time come right before the Legendaries in the Pokedex. Well, in this case, they came between the Legendaries, but the Pokemon company was still figuring things out at the time. Dratini and Dragonair are sleek blue Eastern dragons, while Dragonite makes a sudden shift into being a fat, orange Western dragon. Pokemon fans have scratched their heads over that for decades.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Dragon Tail > Hyper Beam (III)

Side B: Agility > Dragon Rush (II)

Up B: Twister > Wing Attack (III)

Down B: Wrap > Rain Dance (II) > Outrage (III)

Final Smash: Dragon Rage

Entrance: Bursting up from the sea.

Taunts: Swimming around in midair, singing, etc.

Kirby Hat: Their fins/headwings, and Dragonite's head and wings.

Kart: The Poke Ball car.

Special Move: Twister.

Spirit Battle: On S.S. Anne.

Victory Screen: Seeing their silhouette disappear into the ocean and hearing their song.

Losing Screen: Fainted.

Color Swaps: Main, shiny, other general colors.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Mewtwo breaks free!

Character Sheet: The Legendary Birds

ARTICUNO/ZAPDOS/MOLTRES

Next up, we have the first legendaries of the Pokemon series. Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres are huge mythical elemental birds that bring blizzards, lightning storms, and heat waves with them wherever they fly. They gain regional variants in Generation VIII, and Lugia and Ho-Oh of Gen II are . . . related to them, but I've always considered those two more their own thing, so I'll be covering them later.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Ice Beam || Thunder Shock || Ember

Side B: Ice Shard || Drill Peck || Heat Wave

Up B: Hurricane || Discharge || Air Slash

Down B: Roost || Roost || Roost

Final Smash: Three Bird Tempest

Entrance: Flying down in a shower of their particular element.

Taunts: Flapping their wings, screeching, causing a brief burst of their element, etc.

Kirby Hat: Their respective head feathers and beaks.

Kart: Just flying

Special Move: Hurricane || Discharge || Heat Wave

Spirit Battle: On S.S. Anne, Saffron City, and Mt. Moon respectively, in Omega Form.

Victory Screen: Screeching and causing their respective storm to happen.

Losing Screen: Fainted.

Color Swaps: Main, shiny, other general colors.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Dratini unleashes draconic power!

Character Sheet: All the Kanto Standalones

FARFETCH'D/ONIX/LICKITUNG/CHANSEY/TANGELA/KANGASKHAN/MR. MIME/SCYTHER/JYNX/ELECTABUZZ/MAGMAR/PINSIR/TAUROS/LAPRAS/DITTO/PORYGON/SNORLAX

In order to save myself some time (Even though I'm still working through the Gen III games, so I DEFINITELY still need the time, but I'm good), I will be clumping up the standalones (in their introductory generation) into one single post. In future generations, new evos will also have their own dedicated post as well.

Starting off, we have Farfetch'd, a wild duck carrying around a leek that is based aroud a colloquialism about how a duck's not just going to bring you a leek to season it with, teaching something-something put in the work you need to do to get a thing done. It does get later variants and evolution, but for now, it's alone.

Standard B: Fury Cutter

Side B: Peck

Up B: Aerial Ace

Down B: False Swipe

Final Smash: Brave Bird

Next is Onix, a gigantic snake made out of rocks. In Gen II, it would gain a further evolution in Steelix, but that will be discussed later.

Standard B: Rock Throw

Side B: Bind

Up B: Rock Slide

Down B: Dig

Final Smash: Tectonic Earthquake

Then we have Lickitung, a big old pink frog thing best known for its long tongue and tendency to lick everything. Gen IV did eventually give it an evolution in Lickilicky.

Standard B: Lick

Side B: Wrap

Up B: Slam

Down B: Disable (was about to put Rollout, then checked the evolution requirements for Lickilicky. That would have been a disaster).

Final Smash: Tongue Tornado

Next up is Chansey, the nurse and dedicated healer shaped like an egg. It would someday get both an evo and a preevo.

Standard B: Heal Pulse

Side B: Sweet Kiss

Up B: Sing

Down B: Soft-Boiled

Final Smash: Healing Wish

Then, we have Tangela, a walking jumble of vines and the literal only pure Grass type in the generation. It would gain an evo Tangrowth in Gen IV.

Standard B: Power Whip

Side B: Bind

Up B: Growth

Down B: Mega Drain

Final Smash: Jungle of Vines

Next up is Kangaskhan, one of the only standalones here who has never gotten any kind of evolution or variant (minus Mega), even though you'd think a preevo was obvious. Kangaskhan is based on a kangaroo mixed with a kaiju, with a baby in its pouch.

Standard B: Double Hit

Side B: Headbutt

Up B: Sucker Punch

Down B: Stomp

Final Smash: Mega Kangaskhan

After that, we have Mr. Mime, based on both a clown and a mime. It gains a baby form in Gen IV, and a regional variant with an evolution in Gen VIII. It's also famously known as "Ash's Dad."

Standard B: Reflect

Side B: Confusion

Up B: Light Screen

Down B: Mimic

Final Smash: Invisible Box

Next is Scyther, an awesome praying mantis mixed with a dinosaur. It would gain two evolutions in later generations, Scizor and Kleavor.

Standard B: X-Scissor

Side B: Double Hit

Up B: Air Slash

Down B: Double Team

Final Smash: Multi-Blade Combo

Then, we have a trio that I've always felt were a set, first because their typings matched the legendary birds, second because they were all based on notable Yokai, third because they all got babies together (and probably would have gotten further evolutions too if Jynx wasn't a sore spot). But it didn't feel like they were connected quite enough, so I did them as standalones. First is Jynx, who is mostly based on the Yama-Uba, a witch that lives in the mountains of Japan. The Pokemon is also rather notorious for being a bit . . . controversial.

Standard B: Lovely Kiss

Side B: Ice Punch

Up B: Sing

Down B: Mean Look

Final Smash: Blizzard

Next is Electabuzz, based on an Oni, with heavy electrical theming. Like Jynx, it would gain a baby in Gen II, and then gain an evolution in Electivire in Gen IV.

Standard B: Thunder Punch

Side B: Thunderbolt

Up B: Thunder Wave

Down B: Discharge

Final Smash: Thunder Storm

Then finally, we have Magmar, a Kappa-like creature made out of lava and fire. It gained a baby and an evo at the same time Electabuzz did.

Standard B: Fire Punch

Side B: Flamethrower

Up B: Flame Wheel

Down B: Smokescreen

Final Smash: Volcanic Inferno

Next up is Pinsir, based on a stag beetle, who is sometimes paired up with Scyther, but not enough to count. It joins Kangaskhan in the "never got an evo or variant" club except Mega.

Standard B: X-Scissor

Side B: Vital Throw

Up B: Seismic Toss

Down B: Guillotine

Final Smash: Mega Pinsir

Then, we have Tauros, based on a bull, famous for Ash having an entire herd of them. They finally gained a variant in Gen IX.

Standard B: Horn Attack

Side B: Raging Bull

Up B: Thrash

Down B: Payback

Final Smash: Stampede

Next is Lapras, everyone's favorite ride across the ocean. Lapras is based on the Loch Ness Monster and general plesiosaurs, with a shell on its back for comfortable riding. It has never seen any evolutions either.

Standard B: Ice Beam

Side B: Surf

Up B: Body Slam

Down B: Sing

Final Smash: Gigantamax Lapras

After Lapras, we have Ditto, yet another one of the "one-move wonders" but one of the few I will allow, because it's one move allows it to transform into any opponent, meaning it will gain any moveset of the player it happened to copy, so . . . 

Standard B: Transform

Final Smash: Army of Copies

On the other side of the Eeveelutions, we have Porygon, a small paper crane made out of digital polygons. It would gain two evolutions in later generations.

Standard B: Tri-Attack

Side B: Zap Cannon

Up B: Magnet Rise

Down B: Conversion

Final Smash: Digital Takeover

And finally, we have Snorlax, the big lazy oaf best known for falling asleep in the middle of the road, blocking your path forward. It is specifically based on a member of the Game Freak staff back in the day, but also takes reference from big hibernating bears and seems to be reminiscent of Totoro as well. It would gain a baby in Gen IV.

Standard B: Snore

Side B: Belly Drum

Up B: Body Slam

Down B: Amnesia

Final Smash: Gigantamax Snorlax

And that's about it. Entrances would all be Poke Balls (Snorlax might wake up). Taunts would be generally tied to each ones theming. Kirby Hats would be Farfetch'd's head and beak, Onix's horn, Lickitung's head, Chansey's ear things, Tangela's vines, Kangaskhan's headplate thing, Mr. Mime's ears?, Scyther's head, Jynx's hair and lips, Electabuzz's horns, Magmar's headboobs, Pinsir's pincers, Tauros's horns and jewel, Lapras's ears and horn, Ditto's blobby consistency, Porygon's polygonal structure, and Snorlax's blue coloring. Karts would mostly be the Poke Ball car, with each one's most notable move. Spirit Battles would take place on each of the seven Gen I stages I've included before. Victory screens would be tied to their themes, with the losing screens all being fainted. And the color swaps follow the logic of the main color, the shiny color, and other general colors.

Next up, Articuno whips up a blizzard!

Character Sheet: The Kanto Fossils

OMANYTE/OMASTAR/KABUTO/KABUTOPS/AERODACTYL

So, Pokemon generally has a mechanic where you can find around two different fossils, take them back to a science lab, and then they'll be resurrected as Fossil Pokemon. In Gen I, the main two were the Omanyte line and the Kabuto line, based on ammonites and trilobites respectively, two of the most common fossils. A third was featured in this generation, with Aerodactyl (based on a pterosaur) coming from it. I will generally be doing each generational fossil together, because they are generally a set.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Brine > Rock Blast || Aqua Jet > Liquidation || Hyper Beam

Side B: Rollout > Shell Smash || Sand Attack > Slash || Iron Head

Up B: Ancient Power || Ancient Power || Wing Attack

Down B: Withdraw || Harden > Stone Edge || Ancient Power

Final Smash: Lord Helix || Ancient Calamity || Mega Aerodactyl

Entrance: From the resurrection machine.

Taunts: Stretching their limbs, roaring, things like that.

Kirby Hat: The swirly shells, the hard shells, and Aerodactyl's head.

Kart: Poke Ball car

Special Move: Ancient Power

Spirit Battle: On Mt. Moon

Victory Screen: Swimming freely in the ocean for the first four, roaring over a jungle for Aerodactyl.

Losing Screen: Fainted.

Color Swaps: Main, shiny, other general colors.

Thanks for reading! Next up, I'm going to be doing the one-offs, because it doesn't feel right to do them post-Legendaries. So, Farfetch'd takes up the sword!