Character Sheet: Red/Leaf

RED/LEAF

Starting now, we'll be going back through our main protagonists of the Pokemon series and re-evaluating them based on the distinct differences that make their games unique from each other. Our characters will be:

1. Red/Leaf

2. Ethan/Kris/Lyra

3. May/Brendan

4. Dawn/Lucas

5. Hilbert/Hilda

6. Nate/Rosa

7. Serena/Calem

8. Elio/Selene

9. Gloria/Victor

10. Florian/Juliana

11. Solana/Lunick

12. Kellyn/Kate

13. Ben/Summer

Red and Leaf are the main protagonists in the Kanto games. Red was the only protagonist in the Red, Green, Blue, and Yellow games, with Leaf (or Green) have a design in the code that was used in other works like the manga and in the Let's Go games. By the time of FireRed and LeafGreen, the developers were able to implement Leaf as the girl option for the games. I think for these two, I will focus mostly on the base mechanics of Pokemon, similar to my (now) defunt Pokemon Trainer moveset. Blue will probably end up being an echo here, but I'm holding off for now, for the sake of the other rival characters who won't be so clear cut.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Poke Ball

They will toss a Poke Ball and catch an opponent in it.

Side B: Bicycle

The bike was a notable part of this game specifically, so it naturally follows that we use it here.

Up B: Fly

The player's Charizard will emerge and carry them upward.

Down B: Potion

For healing and stat-boosting purposes, of course.

Final Smash: Team Finish

Using the player's Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise together, with Pikachu involved as well.

Entrance: Stepping out of Oak's Lab

Taunts: Up, holding up a Poke Ball. Side, turning away and tipping their cap. Down, ". . ." (Admittedly, Leaf has a certain taunt from the Manga that a less kid-friendly game might use as well).

Kirby Hat: Red's hat

Kart: The bicycle

Special Move: Poke Ball

Spirit Battle: On Pokemon Stadium

Victory Screen: Celebrating with their Pokemon

Losing Screen: "You whited out!"

Color Swaps: Red's original look, Green's original look, Red's FRLG look, Leaf's FRLG look, Red's SM look, a similar look for Leaf, a look based on Ash, a look based on Anime Misty.

Thanks for reading! Next up, Ethan and Kris take the Gold!

Character Sheet: Pokemon Trainer

POKEMON TRAINER

Okay, first things first, this is how the roster system will work for this series. Each generation of Pokemon gets its own roster that you can cycle through. Outside of the Pokemon rosters, there will be at least one additional roster that will contain "non-Pokedex characters." This will include human characters like the three I'll be covering first, as well as Pokemon with distinct movesets that won't be covered in the roster (i.e. Pikachu Libre and Shadow Mewtwo from Pokken, if I deem them distinct enough). On top of that, there will also be the Trainer System, which will give you a list of notable trainers you can choose from, and then once you've picked them, you can then choose three Pokemon for them to use in the battle, while they stand in the back. The game will automatically assign you three, generally picked from the chosen trainer's canon teams, but you can choose to ignore that and pick your own. For now though, let's cover the three "non-dex" newcomers:

1. Pokemon Trainer

2. Card Player

3. Todd Snap

First, we'll have the Pokemon Trainer, generally representing your playable character in any given game, the color swaps allowing you to be any of them from Red to Kris to Hilda to Elio and so on. This moveset will pull from the trainer's actual displayed abilities in game outside of battles.

Here's the moveset I came up with:

Standard B: Poke Ball

The trainer will toss a Poke Ball at their opponent and trap them inside it for a while before they break out.

Side B: Bicycle

The trainer will hop on their bicycle and ride across the stage.

Up B: Fly

The trainer will release their HM Flier, typically the final form Regional Bird of their specific series (so Pidgeot for Red and Leaf), and then fly up while hanging from it.

Down B: HM

This could also be the Side B, with something like Potion as the Down B. Either way, the Trainer will release a Pokemon that will perform a standard HM move like Cut, Rock Smash, Surf, and so on. I figure they will have five and will cycle through them. The Pokemon in question will typically be a frequent user of that move from each generation (Red has Scyther for Cut, Ethan has Scizor, and so on).

Final Smash: Team Attack

The Trainer will release their full team, which will all attack at once.

Entrance: The trainer will step out of their starting house from their game.

Taunts: Up, the trainer will raise a Poke Ball into the air in triumph as if they just caught something. Side, the trainer will pull out and read their Pokedex. Down, the trainer will release a Pokemon and pet it like in the camping sections of later games. Secret taunt, a Pokedex entry perhaps?

Kirby Hat: Red's iconic hat

Kart: Their bicycle.

Special Move: Throwing a Poke Ball and trapping another racer inside it for a short time.

Spirit Battle: With six randomly selected Pokemon on Pokemon Stadium.

Victory Screen: The trainer will catch a Poke Ball and then raise it into the air in triumph.

Losing Screen: The trainer will do a defeated pose and turn away.

Color Swaps: Red, Leaf, Ethan, Kris, Lyra, Brendan, May, Lucas, Dawn, Hilbert, Hilda, Nate, Rosa, Calum, Serena, Elio, Selene, Chase, Elaine, Victor, Gloria, Rei, Akari, Florian, and Juliana. (Unless Chase/Elaine and Rei/Akari end up being different).

Thanks for reading! Next up, the Card Player shuffles his hand.

Pokemon Red, Green, and Blue

POKEMON RED, GREEN, AND BLUE

Ah, Pokemon. A massive beast of a franchise with tons of content, tons of characters, and so much more. Ground rules, right off the bat: I will be covering the games in sections by generation instead of by type. I do not want to do the entire Pokedex in one solid block. That just sounds like a nightmare. So, our first batch will be the main games, plus the first Stadiums, Snap, Hey You Pikachu!, and so on. Secondly, I'll get this right out of the way immediately: EVERY Pokemon is in, except for those who are designed to be limited in their moveset. So, the larva and cocoon Pokemon like Caterpie and Metapod are out, Abra is out, Beldum is out, Unown is out. So on and so forth. Ditto and Smeargle are not out, however, owing to the fact that their "one" move allows them a wide range of subsequent moves. Make sense to everybody? I hope so. Also, I struggled for a bit with characters like Diglett and Dugtrio, considering mobility would be a massive issue, but I've decided to include them, and just leave that part as an issue for the theoretical game designers to solve.

The first games are a bit weird to talk about, seeing as they started out with Pokemon Red and Green in Japan, later released an updated version in Pokemon Blue, then American releases came out later as Pokemon Red and Blue. They're all functionally the same games, just with some version differences, like some Pokemon only being available in one game but not the other, which encourages trade between the two versions.

The plot follows a young player character named Red who is given a starter Pokemon by his neighbor Professor Oak and sent out on a journey to explore the region of Kanto, collecting and training Pokemon and challenging the game's eight gyms. One hundred and fifty-one Pokemon exist in this country, all of which have their own moves and typings that determine how strong they'll be against others. Most of that will be covered later. As for Red himself, his demonstrated abilities include throwing Poke Balls to catch Pokemon, riding a bike, fishing, and using HMs (special moves that Pokemon can use outside of battle): these games include Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength, and Flash.

Other characters of note include Professor Oak, Oak's grandson Blue who acts as a rival to Red, the eight gym leaders: Brock (Rock type), Misty (Water type), Lt. Surge (Electric type), Erika (Grass type), Koga (Poison type), Sabrina (Psychic type), Blaine (Fire type), and Giovanni (Ground type). Giovanni is also the head of Team Rocket, the game's villains more or less based on the Yakuza. After the eight gyms are completed, you take on the Elite Four, including Lorelei (Ice type), Bruno (Fighting type), Agatha (Ghost type), and Lance (Dragon type). Non-trainer NPCs of note include Red's mom, Oak's granddaughter Daisy, and the computer guy Bill.

The entire game takes place in the country of Kanto, which is more or less based on the real world Tokyo and some of the surrounding areas. Places of note include Pallet Town, Viridian City, Viridian Forest, Pewter City, Mt. Moon, Cerulean City, Lavender Town, Vermilion City, the S.S. Anne, Celadon City, Fuschia City, the Safari Zone, Saffron City, the Seafoam Islands, Cinnabar Island, and the Indigo Plateau.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:

Red/Pokemon Trainer: Poke Ball, potion, bicycle, fishing rod, HMs

All Pokemon (Barring all one to two-movers)

Candidates for possible trainer system idea:

Red

Blue

Oak

Brock

Misty

Lt. Surge

Erika

Koga

Sabrina

Blaine

Giovanni

Team Rocket Grunt

Lorelei

Bruno

Agatha

Lance

Stages:

Pallet Town

Viridian City

Viridian Forest

Pewter City

Mt. Moon

Cerulean City

Lavender Town

Vermilion City

S.S. Anne

Celadon City

Fuschia City

Safari Zone

Saffron City

Seafoam Islands

Cinnabar Island

Indigo Plateau

Thanks for reading! Next up, technically the first Pokemon Stadium, but not the one we know as Pokemon Stadium 1.