marchionessofmustache | Entries tagged with games: pokémon yellow

So, I can't continue Pokemon Silver Skies right now because I have to wait for Hoppip, which only appears in the Morning or Day time, and it was already night while I was playing. I'm not staying up til 4AM, so it'll have to be put off til tomorrow.

In the meantime, I was still hankering for some Pokemon, so I "continued" my Yellow Dexrun. And by that, I mean, I completely restarted on my new phone emulator (this one I'm trusting not to corrupt my saves). Because my old file was on an old laptop that I wiped and installed Linux on without backing up stuff like emulator saves. Which also means all my work for Pokemon Red Revenge is gone; I was going to use that file to trade with this one, but NOT ANYMORE.

So I put the emulator on speedup and rushed through to where I left off. I don't have the Weedle line in the dex this time, but I'll get them in there later. It only took like 15-20 minutes to catch up, and that's with evolving Metapod and re-catching everything.

We left off coming out of Mt. Moon!

( Read more... )

So, I started a quest to catch every Pokemon in Pokemon Yellow and comment on all the Pokedex entries. This is the masterpost of that series! I'm working on this every now and then... who knows if I'll ever complete it... but here it is!

Part 1 - Pikachu, Pidgey, Rattata, Spearow, Nidoran, Mankey
Part 2 - Caterpie, Metapod, Butterfree, Weedle, Kakuna, Beedrill, Pidgeotto
Part 3 - Sandshrew, Zubat, Geodude, Paras, Clefairy
Part 4 - Charmander, Charmeleon, Clefable, Jigglypuff, Oddish, Venonat, Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam, Bellsprout

( By Pokemon )

Alright! I beat Brock and I've made it through Mt. Moon! I forgot to talk to everyone in the Pokemon Center on Route 4 just outside of Mt Moon, which means I missed the opportunity to buy Magikarp. We'll get an Old Rod to fish one up soon enough, but sad that I didn't get it at the earliest possibility. Probably not worth wasting 500 Pokemon Dollars on it, though.

Our team is Mankey and Pikachu for now, using Mankey to knock out the pesky normal types that a lot of trainers have, and its Karate Chop takes care of a lot of things Pikachu can't handle, like electric and grass types.

Some random notes on changes from Pokemon Red and Blue:

The dad who wants to get his daugther a Pikachu in the museum in Pewter now says he wants to take Pikachu off your hands, but it's too attached to you.

The Champ-in-Making guy at the front of Pewter Gym specifically mentions Pikachu won't be good against Brock's Pokemon

Brock now wears a shirt and jacket, like his anime counterpart.

Brock now mentions that he's training to be a Pokemon Breeder.

Crazy Raticate Guy now has a lower-level Rattata and Zubat.

The biggest change, though, is now near the end of Mt Moon, Team Rocket from the cartoon pops out and tries to take the fossil back from you. At least they're not after Pikachu like the silly plot from the show. They battle with Ekans, Koffing, and Mewoth, and say "Blast off at the speed of light!" when they lose the battle and disappear.

As for wild Pokemon... Route 3 no longer is home to Jigglypuff. Instead, we're greeted with Sandshrew. Strangely enough, Sandshrew is also an encounter in the first floor of Mt Moon. It's SANDshrew, not CAVEshrew... but here we are anyway! Maybe some just wandered in from Route 3. Other than Sandshrew, we find the same Pokemon as normal in Mt Moon, with Clefairy at a 1% appearance rate on the first floor, but 10% by B2F.

Catching everyone brings us the new Pokemon Sandshrew, Zubat, Geodude, Paras, and Clefairy! All of which are technically Mt Moon encounters, though I did catch Sandshrew on Route 3 before heading in.

#0027 - Sandshrew
Mouse Pokemon

Another Mouse Pokemon! Is this one related to Rattata and Pikachu...?

Sandshrew has some weird sprites. The Blue sprite is very cute, but it looks a little off from the official art and future representations. The RG sprite is just weird, and then the Yellow sprite is actually probably the nicest, looking more battle-ready and closer to the artwork.

"Burrows deep underground in arid locations far from water. It only emerges to hunt for food."
"Its body is dry. When it gets cold at night, its hide is said to become coated with a fine dew."
"When hunting, it hides at the lip of its burrow. If prey comes close, it lunges out and drags in the prey instantly."

It is true that Route 3 and Mt Moon are far from water, but the grass in Route 4 is fairly close to some water. So it's a little misleading... It's cool that it gets coated in dew overnight, though. And then we have yet another hunting Pokemon. What exactly does it eat, though...? As for as its habitat, it shares the grass with Rattata, Spearow, and Mankey. I guess it could eat Rattata, and maybe even Mankey. Sandshrew is actually larger than both of them. Spearow I feel like is a possibility, as well, as long as one landed somewhere near Sandshrew's burrow. I'd assume the ones in the cave would come outside to eat, unless they're eating Clefairy. They only appear in the top floor of the cave near the entrance, not deeper in the cave where Paras shows up.

#0041 - Zubat
Bat Pokemon

All of Zubat's sprites are fine; nothing really stands out to me. After getting used to seeing the bigger wings in Red, the smaller wings look a little odd in Yellow, but they are closer to the original design artwork.

"Forms colonies in perpetually dark places. Uses ultrasonic waves to identify and approach targets."
"Emits ultrasonic cries while it flies. They act as a sonar used to check for objects in its way."
"It has neither eyes nor a nose. It emits ultrasonic cries that bounce back to its large ears, enabling it to fly safely."

Not much to say here -- all three entries pretty much just refer to its use of sonar in different wording. While it's a little obvious by looking at it, we can confirm it has neither eyes nor nose, unlike a real-world bat. This thing is literally just a fuzzy ball with a mouth. Oh, and we also learn it forms colonies, which would explain why it appears so commonly. There's a ton of 'em around.

#0074 - Geodude
Rock Pokemon

Geodude is only one foot long, and I assume that counts its entire armspan. So considering it's long arms, the actual 'body' of Geodude must actually be quite small.

Geodude is one Pokemon that has a much superior Yellow sprite -- the RG and Blue sprites look like a smooth, round ball with some lumps on the head, and the eyes are super awkward as well. The Blue sprite at least has a recognizable mouth, but it's not really in-line with the official artwork. Good job, Yellow sprite!

"Found in fields and mountains. Mistaking them for boulders, people often step or trip on them."
"Commonly found near mountain trails, etc. If you step on one by accident, it gets angry."
"When traveling uphill, if it encounters a raised step, it cleverly hoists itself up and over using its two arms."

Why would you trip over something you mistook for a boulder...? Like, if it WAS a boulder, would you not trip on it? But because you mistook it for one, you tripped...? I'm so confused lol. It's also of note that while it does say it gets angry, there's no warning about them attacking humans. There's an NPC outside of Mt Moon that says she tripped over a Geodude, and it didn't seem like she was in any danger. So I guess it just gets angry and goes on its way.

Also, how does this thing move around...? It gets up raised steps by hoisting itself with its arms, but otherwise does it walk on them...? I'm pretty sure in the anime and in games like Let's Go and HeartGold, it actually bounces somehow. If it can use its arms for mobility, though, why doesn't it just walk on them...? How does it even bounce?

#0046 - Paras
Mushroom Pokemon

All of Paras's sprites are pretty cool. The Yellow sprite shows its back to highlight the mushrooms a bit more. Something looks particularly menacing about the Blue sprite. But my favorite has to be the RG sprite. It just looks 'cool' somehow hahaha.

"Burrows to suck tree roots. The mushrooms on its back grow by drawing nutrients from the bug host."
"Burrows under the ground to gnaw on tree roots. The mushrooms on its back absorb most of the nutrition."
"Grows by sucking nutrients from the roots of trees. The mushrooms on its back grow by drawing extracts from the bug host."

A shame that such an interesting design for a Pokemon gets pretty much the exact same dex entry three times in a row. It's curious how it apparently burrows underground to suck tree roots... when it lives exclusively in caves. And not even in the outskirts of the cave, but deeper inside. Though the lowest levels of the cave are actually connected to the east side of Route 4, and near Cerulean cave there is a trainer saying she is "looking for Mushroom Pokemon" who battles you with a team of Parases, and then claims she's already found all the Mushroom Pokemon in the area. So it sounds like they typically dwell in the cave but must come out of the cave to feed on nearby trees. The murky cavernous environment is probably better for the mushrooms' everyday needs than being out in the sunny grass of Route 4.

#0035 - Clefairy
Fairy Pokemon

Clefairy, one of my favorite Pokemon as far as cuteness goes. It's also quite fun to raise as it can learn a wide variety of moves, and evolve to Clefable very early in the game to give you an early-game power source. Anyway, its sprites are all adorable, of course, but my favorite has to be the floaty-sitty Blue sprite. The RG sprite looks a little derpy (but not necessarily in a bad way), and the Yellow sprite has the dark outlines around the eyes which I don't like. Of course, that's the way they're supposed to be according to the official artwork, but I like the lighter outlines around the eyes in the older sprites.

"Its magical and cute appeal has many admirers. It is rare and found only in certain areas."
"Adored for their cute looks and playfulness. They are thought to be rare, as they do not appear often."
"Because of its adorable nature, it is in high demand as a pet. However, it is rare and found only in limited areas."

We don't get a ton of information from its Pokedex entries, as they mostly just say it's cute and rare. It is indeed only found in Mt Moon, and at a very low encounter rate. It does seem like it would make a nice pet, though.

Other NPCs in the game, however, allude to a rumor that Clefairy actually came from outer space, and I wish the Pokedex would have referred to this idea as well.

And that's it for our current foray into the game. Next time, I'll be exploring Cerulean City and heading north across Nugget Bridge and Route 24 to meet Bill, where we will hopefully find a few new species of Pokemon!

So a couple changes I noticed for Pokemon Yellow:

Coffee guy now stops you and says that he has had his coffee, forces you to watch his tutorial on how to catches a Pokemon, fails to catch it, and runs off never to be seen again. Very funny lol.

There's a couple new trainers in Viridian Forest. There's a girl looking for Pikachu who says there are none there (I guess a hint that Pikachu is no longer a possible encounter for the forest, since Pikachu is meant to be unique as the starter this time). Then another guy who says he's going to be the best, and comments on how Metapod is cool after you beat him (I approve of this trainer!)

The encounters in Viridian Forest have also changed. Weedle is now completely gone, and I guess to match the anime, you can encounter not only Pidgey, but wild Pidgeotto. This is where Ash caught his Pigeotto (as well as his Caterpie) so I guess it makes sense those are the only two encounters here. Though I think he also encountered quite a few other things while he was in the forest but whatever XD The game just gives us Caterpie, Metapod, Pidgey, and Pidgeotto.

So I had to load up Pokemon Red from the Revenge playthrough and trade over a Weedle. Then I leveled up the two bugs to level 10 to evolve them into their final forms, and caught a Pidgeotto. That gives us a whopping SEVEN new Pokemon just for the forest!

#0010 - Caterpie
Worm Pokemon

One of my favorites, Caterpie! I like the Blue sprite the best this time. The RG sprite is very similar, but the Blue looks a little more touched-up. The Yellow sprite makes him more sideways and I think I don't like the "softness" of the Yellow sprites. The RG and Blue sprites have defined, solid edges while the Yellow sprites have lightened parts of their outlines that just don't look right to me.

"Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls."
"If you touch the feeler on top of its head, it will release a horrible stink to protect itself."
"It has large, eye-like patterns on its head as protection. They are used to frighten off enemies."

Nice! We learn three things about these little guys in the three different entries! I wonder if its feet enable it to climb on ceilings as well, or if it's too heavy (it's a foot long and 6lbs) for its tiny suction feet. I guess it depends on how strong the suction is.

I actually never knew that it could release a smell -- I don't think that ever comes up in the anime, and Caterpie doesn't learn any moves that would indicate it could do that, so it must be a passive thing and not a move.

It says it has eye-like patterns on its head as protection. Does that mean those things are not its eyes...? Where are its eyes...???? At first I thought it was referring to the little yellow rings along its body segments but it specifically says eye-like and on its head so that leads me to believe it's talking about the "eyes" on its face. Does it just not have eyes...? Even the cocoons have eyes so that would be really strange if it had no eyes. Maybe we'll learn more in future games...

#0011 - Metapod
Cocoon Pokemon

It's me! I like the RG sprite as it looks like the design artwork. The Blue sprite is kinda messed up; I don't even know what direction it's technically facing... and then I hate the Yellow sprite because it's an angle from the back that makes it look like the front is the back and the eyes look "angry" because they're backward. There's an official artwork of Metapod that looks like this, too, and I hate it lol.

"This Pokémon is vulnerable to attack while its shell is soft, exposing its weak and tender body."
"Hardens its shell to protect itself. However, a large impact may cause it to pop out of its shell."
"When it hardens, only the external shell is transformed. The inside remains tender."

This is a strange one indeed. I didn't know that Metapod was initially soft. I guess it makes sense, but since its signature move is Harden I just always assumed it was various levels of hard.

But the strangest part is that a "large impact may cause it to pop out of its shell." Pop out?! What pops out...? A half-transformed Caterpie? Just a regular caterpie? A Butterfree? A mid-metamorphosis blob? Does it depend on what stage of evolution it is it? Would that correlate to level? I have so many questions... the "inside remains tender" so it sounds like it's just some sort of blob. A blob that pops out. And it's an impact that causes it to pop out, not a rupture. So it just bursts through its shell by being rammed into. Sounds kind of gruesome to be honest.

Well, I learned more about Metapod today...

#0012 - Butterfree
Butterfly Pokemon

All three sprites of Butterfree are pretty good. I like the original for looking like it's mid-fight, but the Blue sprite with the kicked up legs looks really cute, too. The one-leg-up Yellow sprite is the least appealing, but it's not bad by any means.

It's interesting to note that while Caterpie is only 1 foot long, Metapod was 2'7", and then Butterfree is 3'7"! How does that whole thing fit in little Metapod shell? And why does Metapod take up an entire foot and a half more than Caterpie?

"In battle, it flaps its wings at high speed to release highly toxic dust into the air."
"Its wings, covered with poisonous powders, repel water. This allows it to fly in the rain."
"Its wings are covered with poisonous dust. If you see one flapping its wings, be careful not to inhale any of the dust."

It's interesting that all three entries mention its poisonous wings, something that never really came up in the anime. Game Butterfree sounds pretty dangerous! You even shouldn't breathe when you're near one that is flying! It's also a cool little touch that it has hydrophobic wings. You'd think being constantly pelted by heavy rain would make it hard to fly even if your wings repelled the water, but hey, it works! Definitely an interesting tidbit about Butterfree.

#0013 - Weedle
Hairy Bug Pokemon

Classified as the "Hairy Bug" Pokemon, it seems Weedle and Caterpie may be less related to each other than Rattata and Pikachu are to one another. As for sprites, they're all pretty ugly, to be honest. The Blue sprite probably looks the best, with the Yellow sprite being absolutely horrendous.

"Often found in forests, eating leaves. It has a sharp venomous stinger on its head."
"Beware of the sharp stinger on its head. It hides in grass and bushes where it eats leaves."
"A common sight in forests and grassy areas. Has a poison stinger on its head that may be used if you step on it."

Not nearly as interesting as Caterpie, Weedle's main "point" (heehee) is its stinger, and the fact that it eats leaves, I guess. I would assume Caterpie eats leaves, too, but we didn't get any insight into its diet in its entries. One thing I noticed is a common theme throughout these entries is that most of them caution about the danger to humans. Of course, the lore is that going into grass alone is quite dangerous, and we did learn that a Zubat bit that one Hiker in Red, and he even had Pokemon with him. So it seems that the Pokemon world is actually quite dangerous, with every little monster almost posing some kind of threat to your safety or even life.

#0014 - Kakuna
Cocoon Pokemon

Another Cocoon Pokemon, Kakuna! I actually like the look of Kakuna more than Metapod sometimes (don't tell anyone, though!) because of its sharper shapes and menacing design. Metapod is good for your laid-back look, though, which suits me better as a namesake.

The eyes look a little "off" in the Yellow sprite, like a little too small. The Blue sprite is interesting because it shows that it actually has arm-like things, and those aren't just the shape of a rigid shell.

"Almost incapable of moving, this Pokémon can only harden its shell to protect itself from predators."
"Able to move only slightly. When endangered, it may stick out its stinger and poison its enemy."
"Because it is virtually motionless, it may appear dead. Inside, however, a new body is being made."

So we learn that it doesn't move much. Not too surprising since it's a cocoon... but one interesting thing mentioned is that it can "stick out its stinger" to poison the enemy. I wonder where this stinger is on its body...? Maybe those arm-like appendages from the Blue sprite are stingers? Or maybe it has a stinger out of its sharp "bottom." Metapod's entry didn't say anything about being motionless or "appearing dead" so is it possible that Metapod actually moves more than Kakuna? Caterpie appears in many modern games, and Metapod's 3D model tends to rock back and forth. So it's quite possible that Metapod actually moves a lot. Maybe we're learning more about Metapod than we are Kakuna right now... (well, the stinger thing was pretty cool).

Also, because they retain their moves when they evolve, Metapod is capable of using Tackle, while Kakuna can use Poison Sting. Tackle certainly would require more movement than a sting, which could be done, as said, near motionlessly.

#0015 - Beedrill
Poison Bee Pokemon

Beedrill has great sprites. The RG sprite has the stingers out of the way to expose its sexy hymenopteran body, while the other two look perfectly cool as well. The Blue sprite makes it look ready to strike, very cool. The Yellow sprite did a nice job on adding detail to the wings, but overall it looks so "poor-resolution" because of all the fuzzy edges.

Also interesting to note is that Beedrill is four inches shorter than Butterfree.

"Flies at high speed and attacks using its large venomous stingers on its forelegs and tail."
"It has 3 poisonous stingers on its forelegs and its tail. They are used to jab its enemy repeatedly."
"Flies at high speeds and attacks with three stingers: one on its rear and one on each of its two forelegs. May appear in swarms."

Sadly we don't learn too much from Beedrill's Pokedex entries. Basically we learn that it has three stingers -- two on its forelegs and one on its "tail." But you can tell that just by looking at it... I guess it's nice to know that all three are poisonous stingers. I actually didn't know that before. "Flies at high speed" is an interesting detail, as you wouldn't assume a bee to be particularly fast. But it looks like it could be fast from its slender body art. Also we learn it can appear in swarms. Ah, I'd love to be swarmed by a bunch of Beedrill~~

While Caterpie and Metapod are my bugs of choice for the first two evolutions of the Viridian Forest Pokemon, I vastly prefer Beedrill to Butterfree. Maybe because I have a crush on Beedrill, but it's just super cool looking, and I'm much more a fan of bees than butterflies. It's also theorized that Venomoth was originally going to be the evolution of Metapod, with Butterfree being the evolution of Venonat, but the designs were swapped to give a more "friendly" face to a bug early in the game. Personally I like Venomoth way more than Butterfree, so it's a little bit of a shame. I'd love to have a Venomoth from the beginning fo the game.

#0017 - Pidgeotto
Bird Pokemon

Bird Pokemon. Well, I guess that's the next step up from "Tiny Bird" Pokemon. Is Pidgeot going to be the "Big Bird" Pokemon? Hahaha. Anyway, Pidgeotto is a really cool-looking Pokemon. As for disturbingly crushing on animal-like monsters, the birds are probably my favorite after the bugs. Pidgeotto is one of my favorites, while it's not as majestic and elegant looking as its evolution Pidgeot, there's something about it that just looks extra cool.

It looks kinda tubby in its RG and Blue sprites, and slims down for Yellow, but it also gets a haircut. Feathercut? I like the long headfeathers on Pidgeotto, so the Yellow sprite not showcasing them as much is a bit of a let-down. All three sprites are decent, though, and I don't have a clear favorite. Maybe the RG one for the open beak looking a little more "active" than the other two who are just sitting there.

"Very protective of its sprawling territorial area, this Pokémon will fiercely peck at any intruder."
"This Pokémon is full of vitality. It constantly flies around its large territory in search of prey."
"It builds its nest in the center of its large territory. It uses its powerfully-developed talons to swiftly snatch prey."

A couple nice little tidbits here, we learn that it has a very large area of territory, being much more aggressively protective of it than the docile and shy Pidgey. We also learn that it catches prey with its talons -- interestingly, we don't learn what kind of prey it feeds on, so it's possible that it may not only eat bugs, but also the Mouse Pokemon, Pikachu and Rattata...? It sounds like it would be dangerous for a flying type to try to feed on an electric type, but it could be that Pidgeotto is quite intelligent, and can tell if a Pikachu has stored up enough electricity to attack back with that type of power. After all, Pikachu's initial reaction to attacks/danger is to bite, not electrocute, so if Pidgeotto could snatch one up in its talons, it would be pretty defenseless. Same to Rattata's big bite if it can pick it up the right way.

Pidgeotto is 3'7", as big as a Butterfree, so it's unlikely that it feeds on anything as big as that or a Beedrill. Rattata and Pikachu are about 1 foot, so it's not impossible that Pidgeotto could catch them as prey. After all, they're about the same size as a Caterpie or Weedle, and since it seems Pidgeotto is a fairly aggressive predator, it's unlikely it would be adapted like that just to feed on the less mobile Metapod and Kakuna.

In the original RGB games, and later in Yellow, Pidgeotto shares habitat with possible-prey Venonat and Oddish (and I guess, possible, Ditto and Gloom, but I can't imagine Pidgeotto eating something as vile and large as Gloom, nor can I imagine anything eating a Ditto at all lol).

Pidgeotto actually shares habitat with a wide variety of monsters in Yellow, surprisingly, as it's quite common across the region. Possible prey based on shared habitat in Yellow include Abra, Rattata, Jigglypuff (!), Bellsprout, Oddish, and Venonat. And more disturbingly, I guess, is Pidgey as possibility, but I would hope it least refrains from eating its own kin, especially when it would want them to evolve into more Pidgeottos. Or maybe it's so territorial it doesn't even want to share its turf with its own kind... It's also possible that near water it could scoop up a splashing Magikarp or something...? Who knows.

And that's it for this entry. Next time we're going to be going to Pewter City and fighting Brock, and then it will be on to Route 3 to see what new Pokemon we can encounter there!

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.