Pokemon Yellow Dexrun part 1

[marchionessofmustache]

Are you ready to COMPLETE THE POKEDEX? In this run I'm going to try to play through all of Pokemon Yellow completing the Pokedex and commenting on the various dex entries as I obtain new Pokemon. The goal of this playthrough is just to obtain more and more lore on top of the Pokemon Red Revenge playthrough where I talked to every character to see what they had to say.

I'm also going to be talking to all the characters again this time, just to see if anything has changed. I already think Mom said something different when I talked to her after getting my first Pokemon, but I'm not sure. She just said something about how my Pokemon must be tired. But maybe she said that before and I just forgot XD Otherwise the random talking seems pretty much the same.



One thing that did change was the original interaction with Oak. This time it lets you walk TWO spaces into the grass, instead of stopping you at the first space. I thought this was odd until Oak walked into the grass alongside me and got into a battle with a wild Pikachu.



Here's Oak's back sprite, the only time we get to see it :)

The entire dialogue is a bit different here, since it's about catching Pikachu and stuff. Then we head back to the lab...



Where when we're about to select our Pokemon (out of 1 available instead of 3), Blue SHOVES US OUT OF THE WAY and "snatches" the Pokemon. This is a little... rude/mean compared to what I came to expect of the annoying-but-friendly Blue in Pokemon Red. But it sounds like he was being super impatient and couldn't wait for a Pokemon... so I guess I can't blame him. I wouldn't push my friend out of the way and take a Pokemon, though, especially when my granddad said he was going to give me one anyway.

Blue gets Eevee and Oak gives us the newly-caught Pikachu. After that, it's pretty much the same dialogue with Blue wanting to fight and leaving the lab and everything.

And with that, we've obtained our first Pokemon! Let's take a look.


#0025 - Pikachu
Mouse Pokemon

A quick note, I'm going to be linking to the serebii page for each Pokemon, so you can click it to see the sprites. I do love the original and Blue sprites for Pikachu... the Yellow sprite is not as cool, plus Pikachu got a bit thinner to match his anime counterpart.

Each Pokemon has three different Dex entries -- one from Red & Blue which are the same, one from Yellow which is different from the previous two, and one from Pokemon Stadium on the N64. I'll be listing them in that order:

"When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms."
"It keeps its tail raised to monitor its surroundings. If you yank its tail, it will try to bite you."
"Lives in forests away from people. It stores electricity in its cheeks for zapping an enemy if it is attacked."

Pretty basic information. As the series goes on, we get more interesting little tidbits about each monster. For now, I think it's interesting to note that while the RB and Stadium entries both allude to Pikachu's ability to use electricity powers, the Yellow entry stats that it will bite if its tail is pulled. You'd think it would just zap the offender, but instead it bites! Does that mean that Pikachu saves its electricity for special occasions? Since it stores electricity in its cheeks, it's possible that it has limited electricity that it can use, so its first reaction to being startled would actually be to use physical attacks. This kind of works in with the game mechanics, too -- each move has limited PP and you can theoretically "use up" all your electric power.

So that's kinda cool, Pikachu seems wise enough to save its electrical power for important occasions and uses its physical abilities as a first reaction to danger. I like that little bit of lore.

After getting Pikachu, everything else seems pretty much the same. Coffee guy, etc. are all still there, and you get Oak's Parcel and turn it in and receive the Pokedex. We buy some Pokeballs and head back to route one to catch our first new Pokemon...


#0016 - Pidgey
Tiny Bird Pokemon

I'm used to seeing the sprite from US Red of course, but I actually think the original RG sprite looks better. The Yellow sprite looks a little more menacing with its front-on glare, but I think the RG sprite is probably my favorite, even if it's a little less detailed.

"A common sight in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand."
"Very docile. If attacked, it will often kick up sand to protect itself rather than fight back."
"If at all possible, it will try to avoid battles. Small or weak enemies are blown away by Whirlwind."

So it's docile and tries to avoid battle at all costs. You wouldn't know it with how many of them popped out to fight me. It took me like 7-8 battles just to find one Rattata! It's interesting to note that the two moves it references, Sand Attack and Whirlwind, are its main defenses. Instead of dive-bombing with a Peck or even an outright ranged attack like Gust, it relies on disabling and distancing itself from its opponent. Truly docile where it doesn't even want to hurt its attackers!


#0019 - Rattata
Mouse Pokemon

Rattata's older sprites are honestly better than the Yellow sprites. I don't know if it's a nostalgia/familiarity thing (I played Blue first, then replay Red and Blue a lot while I only played Yellow once as a kid, liking the original game better) but I tend to like the old sprites better than the Yellow sprites at least so far. Well, I never even played the Japanese originals until I was an adult, so I guess it can't be completely nostalgia.

Rattata also changed from the SGB-Enhanced purple of the original games to a gray in Yellow. Odd choice since its official art and anime appearance are both purple.

One thing I found amusing is even though it's name is "rat," it is classified as the "Mouse Pokemon." Pikachu is also classified as Mouse Pokemon, so does this mean that Pikachu and Rattata are closely related...? They look nothing alike, at least.

"Bites anything when it attacks. Small and very quick, it is a common sight in many places."
"Will chew on anything with its fangs. If you see one, it is certain that 40 more live in the area."
"Scurries around quickly, searching for hard objects to gnaw. It appears to be jittery and unable to remain still."

Basically it likes to bite stuff. Not only is it small and quick, but it's jittery too? They also tend to live in packs, I guess. Not particularly interesting, but the small rat that you find right away isn't supposed to be the most interesting mon of them all anyway. Unlike the docile pidgey, we seem to have a more bite-happy guy here on Route 1.

After Route 1, we head over to Route 22, west of Viridian City, where there's a tiny patch of grass where we can catch a few more things. If we head a little north of the grass, we'll get in a fight with Blue, which we're very much NOT wanting right now.


#0021 - Spearow
Tiny Bird Pokemon

Another "Tiny Bird" Pokemon. I actually like the RG sprite the best for this one, though the Yellow sprite is more true to the official artwork in its details. I do like the sly glare of the Blue sprite, too.

"Eats bugs in grassy areas. It has to flap its short wings at high speed to stay airborne."
"Inept at flying high. However, it can fly around very fast to protect its territory."
"Its wings are short, so it can't fly a long distance. If it's not eating, it darts around in a hurry."

So it seems incapable of flying high or far, but at least it can move very quickly. One interesting thing to note here is that it eats bugs. We're to assume there are no real-life animals in the Pokemon world, so that would mean it preys on bug-type Pokemon. There aren't any that appear in the grasses of Route 22, but it could head over to the nearby Viridian Forest to eat some Weedles and Caterpies. I wonder if it prefers to hunt the moving bugs or if it's willing to eat the cocoon Pokemon Kakuna and Metapod...? With its ability to fly very quickly it probably has no problem hunting the caterpillars.


#0029 - Nidoran♀
Poison Pin Pokemon

The RG sprite is my favorite here again. The Blue sprite actually looks... awkward, and is my least favorite of the three. Of note, it doesn't even have a horn, which is referenced in the Pokedex! The Yellow sprite is OK but it's at an odd angle for something just standing on the ground.

"Although small, its venomous barbs render this Pokémon dangerous. The female has smaller horns."
"A mild-mannered Pokémon that does not like to fight. Beware, its small horns secrete venom."
"Although small, it should be treated with caution because of its highly toxic thorns. The female has a small horn."

The three entries don't offer much difference from one another. The horns actually secrete venom, which is terrifying.


#0032 - Nidoran♂
Poison Pin Pokemon

One thing I find interesting about the male and female Nidorans is that the male Nidoran is a more pinkish color and the female Nidoran is blue. It's opposite the "baby colors" often associated with those genders.

The RG sprite is probably my favorite again, although the Yellow one actually does look quite good this time. One thing I want to mention is that when you catch a Pokemon, the Pokeball actually changes color to match the Pokemon. It's not a matter of lack of color in the pallet, because the ball doesn't change to the Pokemon's color until it 'snaps' for the capture, so that's a cute little bonus that we didn't get to see in the monochrome Red playthrough.

"Stiffens its ears to sense danger. The larger its horns, the more powerful its secreted venom."
"Its large ears are always kept upright. If it senses danger, it will attack with a poisonous sting."
"Its large ears sense danger. It extends its toxic spikes when angry. The size of its body thorns indicates its toxicity."

The RB dex for both male and female Nidoran mentions "horns," when they only have one horn. My guess is that they're referring to the thorns, as specified in the Stadium entry. So it seems that the males are more likely more toxic than the females since they have bigger thorns and horns. It's also interesting that we get a little bit of information on Nidoran's ears here. Do the females not have stiff, upright ears? Maybe the males are better at sensing danger than the females. They also are reported to attack with a poisonous sting, while the female was described as not liking to fight. So it could very well be that the males act as protectors for the females. They're always found in the same location as one another in the games, so it's likely this is the case.


#0056 - Mankey
Pig Monkey Pokemon

I'm glad it's classified as the "Pig Monkey" Pokemon because I always thought it looked more like a pig ball with limbs than a monkey, though I guess the limbs do resemble monkey limbs.

The Blue sprite is actually horrendous in this case, and the RG sprite just looks strange. The Yellow sprite actually looks quite good -- probably the best of all the Yellow sprites we've looked at so far. The ears don't like quite right on any of them, though, but it's difficult to get that level of detail on these tiny sprites.

Mankey is not obtainable this early in the game in Red and Blue. My guess is it was added to give the player a fighting-type option for fighting against Brock. Though it's a strange habitat for a pig-monkey, living right close to a town like this, away from much nature, when I imagine it as more of a jungle-like Pokemon.

"Extremely quick to anger. It could be docile one moment then thrashing away the next instant."
"An agile Pokémon that lives in trees. It angers easily and will not hesitate to attack anything."
"Quick to anger, it will begin brawling on the slightest provocation. It is unsafe to approach as it is very nimble."

Basically he an angry boy. One thing I think is interesting is that it's the Yellow entry that says it "lives in trees," but they moved it to a location where there are no trees. Route 22 is a main road to the Pokemon League HQ with a little bit of grass to the sides. Very strange for Mankey to be there. Of all the Pokemon we've encountered so far, Mankey is by far the most aggressive. The others seem to only attack if threatened or provoked, but Mankey just goes off and attacks anything it can.

I also just noticed that when we talk about Pokemon (and the game and dex does this too), we talk about them in the singular. This is the opposite of how we talk about animals in real life usually. "Horses do this" rather than "Horse does this" for example. Though I think in some kinds of situations people, we talk about animals as if they were singular entities ("the humpback whale does this") but I can't really come up with what context calls for that sort of talking. But we seem to always do it with Pokemon? Maybe it's because we use proper nouns to refer to them...?

Anyway, this is as far as my little bit of playing got me last time. Next time we'll journey into Viridian Forest. Route 2 used to be home to Weedle (Red) and Caterpie (Blue), but the encounter list has been changed so that it matches Route 22 in Yellow, it seems.