Crystal hack: Pokémon Polished Crystal (update 2.2.0)

[Unown Seer]

I don't see the following issues on Github:

1. Opposing Pokemon sometimes randomly use Struggle after a turn or two.

2. Weak Policy doesn't always work when the holder is hit by a super effective move.

 

[Panfisha]

Looking at the world map, there's an area to the Southeast of Route 32. It doesn't seem to be there, has it not been implemented yet? I surf west out of Cherrygrove and head south, but there's nowhere to go.

 

[Acrozz]

I don't see the following issues on Github:

1. Opposing Pokemon sometimes randomly use Struggle after a turn or two.

Some learnsets are still being worked on. Rangi replaced missing moves with Struggle and that's (probably) why some Pokémon use it randomly.

 

[looneyman1]

I hope there's a hidden grotto which offers both Kanto and Johto's starters since Totodile's hidden ability and Squirtle's are especially helpful for them. Totodile with Sheer Force gets an even greater boost from using Dragon Dance as a result.

Also it would be cool if you could recieve one of the Kanto starters as a reward from professor Oak when you get to Goldenrod City or something. I mention this since running into Oak after a broadcast with DJ Mary would be kina cool and he would be happy to see how your pokemon are doing in turn. As such getting a kanto starter would be a great prize for the encounter.

Also it would be cool if it were possible to redo the battle tower and create an actual battle frontier. Or at the very least have more than just one guy run the tower. X/Y did this with the Battle Maison as it was run by four sisters who lived at the facility.

 

[Unown Seer]

I suggest removing the Weedle line in favor of the Hoppip line for 3.0. We don't need four lines of early route bugs, and Beedril has the same typing as Venomoth and Ariados (I'm pretty sure that you haven't changed those, or at least not both). In contrast, Jumpluff's typing is unique for GSC and it is one of the fastest Pokemon in the games, which is particularly useful with Sleep Powder. A boost to one of its offensive stats would be appreciated, too.

Also, you should add a Silver battle on Route 47. Ecruteak to the Radio Tower is too long a gap, and one of the Rocket grunts in Mahogany says that Silver creamed him in their previous mission.

 

[sonic65101]

@Rangi What programs do you use for the sprites?

 

[Rangi]

Don't worry, Rangi is way ahead of you on all of this :P We did a lot of research about the university and scraped together everything that we could find when writing dialogue for the game, including all the stuff you mentioned.

As for Goldenrod Museum, I had no idea that it was a thing. I somehow missed it on Bulbapedia until now, but it does mention about Janine testing the security system. Maybe this could be in reference to Team Rocket's attack on the Radio Tower? If before the takeover, Rockets in the tower could complain that security in the museum is too tight for them to steal anything. If after the takeover, museum staff could mention tightening their security and discuss a Kanto gym leader coming over on the Magnet Train? I really like both of those ideas. Regarding the museum's theme, I would suggest a history of Johto theme since the region is so ancient with such a rich backstory. It'd be a great opportunity to celebrate that.

I like the idea of a museum too. Found a good spot for it (ignore the weird roof+wall tiles, the renderer doesn't load per-area roofs). I'd appreciate any ideas for dialog, exhibits, events there, etc. One that might be possible is to show the completed Unown puzzle pictures after you solve them. But I'd be interested in any obscure canon trivia about Johto's history.

Oh, that's great. I'm glad that you guys are putting so much thought into this hack. It really makes it feel "Polished".

So, if the Dragon Rage Magikarp is in the hack, connected with the patterns from Magikarp Jump, will it be given some special IVs, so that it has a rare pattern (is there a pattern in Magikarp Jump that could be described as somewhat "draconic"?). Also, how about its level? It is not known what level the original University Magikarp from the '98 event (I assume it was rather low, maybe Level 5?) but since Celadon is relatively late into the game, maybe it should have a high level, like 50 or something? Overleveled Magikarps are a thing in the games. It should also hold an Everstone, obviously.

That sounds pretty good.

Magikarp patterns use a form ID independent of IVs. Same goes gender, shininess, etc. I could maybe draw a "draconic" Magikarp pattern for it.

I suggest removing the Weedle line in favor of the Hoppip line for 3.0. We don't need four lines of early route bugs, and Beedril has the same typing as Venomoth and Ariados (I'm pretty sure that you haven't changed those, or at least not both). In contrast, Jumpluff's typing is unique for GSC and it is one of the fastest Pokemon in the games, which is particularly useful with Sleep Powder. A boost to one of its offensive stats would be appreciated, too.

Also, you should add a Silver battle on Route 47. Ecruteak to the Radio Tower is too long a gap, and one of the Rocket grunts in Mahogany says that Silver creamed him in their previous mission.

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm not interested in removing more Pokémon, and Silver beat that Grunt in Slowpoke Well. Between Ecruteak and Mahogany you fight Lyra, and plenty of other new optional minibosses.

@Rangi What programs do you use for the sprites?

paint.net.

 

[Unown Seer]

Wait, how do you know he beat him in Slowpoke Well? There was no sign of him there and later on he just remarked that the player had foiled that mission.

Some obscure trivia:

1. The Ruins of Alph were built 1500 years ago.
2. The Ecruteak towers were built 700 years ago.
3. The Cianwood pharmacy has been around for 500 years.
4. A Slowpoke's yawn ended a drought 400 years ago.
5. The Radio Tower was preceded by an old and creaky tower that contained the Clear Bell, or wings in GS. Perhaps it contained all three and only the bell remained.

 

[WorldsBoss]

I like the idea of a museum too. Found a good spot for it (ignore the weird roof+wall tiles, the renderer doesn't load per-area roofs). I'd appreciate any ideas for dialog, exhibits, events there, etc. One that might be possible is to show the completed Unown puzzle pictures after you solve them. But I'd be interested in any obscure canon trivia about Johto's history.

On it :D I have already written some stuff for it, but I'll see what else I can think of. I hope that whatever was in the house that has now been replaced by the museum isn't lost though. Could whoever was inside be moved elsewhere? I'm assuming Goldenrod has already reached the limit for number of warps on the map so we can't have any additional houses?

Also, I can't see the additional area near Fuchsia that we were talking about for 4.0 on the to-do list. Is it still in the pipeline for 4.0 someday?

EDIT:

Spoiler:

From one of the recent edits, the Silph Co lady says the following:
"My father Kurt is teaching my daughter Mazie how to..."
To me this feels a little wordy and forced, especially when she references Mazie by name just a few lines later. I feel it may be better as:
"My father Kurt is teaching my daughter how to ... [snip] ... I'm glad my Mazie is doing well."
That way, there's no ambiguity as to whom she's referring in both cases, but she maintains a more natural conversation.

Sorry, just thought I'd mention that. I really enjoy seeing everything come together on the github :3

 

[Rangi]

On it :D I have already written some stuff for it, but I'll see what else I can think of. I hope that whatever was in the house that has now been replaced by the museum isn't lost though. Could whoever was inside be moved elsewhere? I'm assuming Goldenrod has already reached the limit for number of warps on the map so we can't have any additional houses?

Also, I can't see the additional area near Fuchsia that we were talking about for 4.0 on the to-do list. Is it still in the pipeline for 4.0 someday?

EDIT:

Spoiler:

From one of the recent edits, the Silph Co lady says the following:
"My father Kurt is teaching my daughter Mazie how to..."
To me this feels a little wordy and forced, especially when she references Mazie by name just a few lines later. I feel it may be better as:
"My father Kurt is teaching my daughter how to ... [snip] ... I'm glad my Mazie is doing well."
That way, there's no ambiguity as to whom she's referring in both cases, but she maintains a more natural conversation.

Sorry, just thought I'd mention that. I really enjoy seeing everything come together on the github :3

Yes, the two NPCs in the former house will still be in Goldenrod.

I abandoned that extra area, but maybe it'll be redesigned for 4.0.

Thanks for the dialog improvement. :)

 

[TastyGlaceon]

Excuse me for wasting your time but i have a question.
Where can i find the ice rock to evolve my eevee into the glorious and almighty Glaceon?
I cant find the location.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Acrozz]

Excuse me for wasting your time but i have a question.
Where can i find the ice rock to evolve my eevee into the glorious and almighty Glaceon?
I cant find the location.
Thanks in advance.

Ice Path :P

 

[uchihamadada]

That Mareep paralyzed to mine using "Thunder wave", I had understood that an electric pokemon could no longer be paralyzed (it's the beta versión from July 24th) ;-;

 

[Maxim]

I reminded myself of one more obscure thing that could be referenced in the future releases of the fact.

This is from Takeshi Shudo's early novelization of the anime. It says that over a hundred years back, Samuel Oak's great-great-grandfather Okido Masara (in English that'd be "Pallet Oak", I guess) was the first Trainer from Masshiro Town (=Pale Town?) who succeeded in ranking among the region's top Trainers (according to the book, he was 931st among the 10,000 top Trainers, but I personally change this into something more spectacular, like being the first Kanto Champion or something like that). He was treated as a hero by townsfolk, who renamed Pale Town into Pallet Town in honor of him. He essentially started the fame of the Oak clan.

Also, going back to Goldenrod Museum. Since Pewter Museum is centered around nature and natural history (with fossils and all that stuff), the Goldenrod one should revolve around culture and the history of coexistence between Pokemon and people in Johto. It could touch upon things such as Ecruteak Myths (maybe a painting of the Nameless Creatures?), Blackthorn Dragon Clan, Mahogany's Ninjas etc. One exhibit that I thought of would be that antique hollowed-out Apricorn Ball, the prototype of PokeBall.

I also think it could feature an exhibition dedicated to other regions. A good occasion to make some cross-regional references.


-------

Furthermore, I played the beta version of 3.0.0. I hope it's not a big secret, since it's been publicly posted on the Skeetendo Forums, so it's easily available.

It made me a bit mad that I discovered it of late and wasted my time on 2.2.0., especially that I trained a decent team last time and the saves aren't compatible. So, I replayed it, this time with less dedication as I wanted to speedrun through the hack (I even tried GameShark but it didn't work, lawl). It was really nice to compare the changes between the two versions. The scale of change is big and I'm again very impressed by it. And again, I have some remarks that I want to share. I will post them in a spoiler tag, so that people who wait for the official 3.0.0 release won't get spoiled.

Spoiler:

• I see that the evolution method for some Pokemon has been changed. I had a Flaafy way over Level 30 and it didn't evolve into Ampharos. By looking through the GitHub data, I found out that it needed to have a maxed Defense in order to evolve... I have mixed feelings about such changes. This is okay with Pokemon that evolve via Trade or other methods unavailable on emulators. But as for other Pokemon, I'm not sure... I assume that in the "faithful" version, all Pokemon (except traded ones) evolve normally?

• I absolutely LOVED the Celadon University! It's definitely one of this hack's highlights. It's really large and well thought-out. You really made a great research and included almost everything! I loved the Hyper Test and the prize. The only things I would improve would be - a reference to the fact that Westwood's ancestor invented the PokeBall (I haven't found any reference to that, but maybe I missed something). Encyclopedia Pokemonica even gives the exact date - 1925 (so, that would be Westwood III, I guess? Westwood I probably lived somewhere in the 19th century, right?). The Dean could be referred by his Japanese name, Prof. Matsumoto. Although if PokeSPedia releases in English, they might give him an English name (he's mentioned there, among minor characters). Also, I was a bit disappointed that Imakuni didn't use his theme from TCG but I guess this is a matter of time? Anyway, great job!

• On the other hand, I didn't like the re-expanded Mt. Moon all that much. At this point of the game, such a dungeon doesn't really make much sense. In RGBY, it was the first real dungeon in the game. This time, it's just an obstacle that you don't really want to go through. I guess it could be a bit bigger than in GSC but re-expanding it to the RGBY size doesn't seem like the happiest idea to me. Also, Mt. Moon Square should be easily available. I know that you won't change it back, but how about making the way to Mt. Moon Square easier?

• I see that most of the new locations that you added are inspired by PokeWalker roads. However, how about "Uraga Channel"? Does this name reference something? To me it sounds like something from Rijon (and as far as I know, the Rijon location names are pretty much meaningless).

• Similarly, the Lucky Island (by the way, how to get there, I see it on the map but can't find it), does it reference anything?

• Again, a matter of taste. But I noticed that you kept the HGSS' change of music in the Slowpoke Well (from the Dark/Ice Cave music to Union Cave/Ruins of Alph). I think that things were cooler when it used the Dark/Ice Cave theme. Even in Brown, it played the demixed version of its old theme. Or perhaps its music will totally change in future release? Anyway, great that you kept Mt. Moon and Mt. Moon Square music intact. What HGSS did here was unforgivable.

• It's a pity that you removed that "House for Sale" notice from the house on Route 5 (former Day-Care). I know that it was probably an oversight in the original but it gave rise to that funny theory that the people living there are actually ghosts, which would be nice to reference.

• How about giving Corey a Gengar, because of Movie 20?

I'll post once again if I notice or get reminded or something, or get a new idea. I really have my fingers crossed for this hack, it looks great so far and gets even better with every update.

 

[WorldsBoss]

This is from Takeshi Shudo's early novelization of the anime. It says that over a hundred years back, Samuel Oak's great-great-grandfather Okido Masara (in English that'd be "Pallet Oak", I guess) was the first Trainer from Masshiro Town (=Pale Town?) who succeeded in ranking among the region's top Trainers (according to the book, he was 931st among the 10,000 top Trainers, but I personally change this into something more spectacular, like being the first Kanto Champion or something like that). He was treated as a hero by townsfolk, who renamed Pale Town into Pallet Town in honor of him. He essentially started the fame of the Oak clan.

This is amazing O.O I would totally love to see something so niche referenced in the game.

Also, regarding Celadon University: Did you read the bookcase text? If you like what's already there then you'll love that :P Each one has unique dialogue.

 

[Maxim]

This is amazing O.O I would totally love to see something so niche referenced in the game.

Yeah, Shudo's book is full of many interesting facts about the early anime (most of which are long-forgotten and contradictory to today's anime and games).

The first volume and part of the second one can be read in English here. The thing about Masara Ookido is in the first chapter.

Some of the facts from the book feel really strange today.

Also, regarding Celadon University: Did you read the bookcase text? If you like what's already there then you'll love that :P Each one has unique dialogue.

I'm not sure... I've seen some of the changes on Github, though. I see that there are some fresh changes in the files related to the University.

For example, I've seen that Matsumoto's name was inserted. Also, his title was changed from "Dean" to "Principal". Is it because I used the word to describe him last time? Actually, I think that Dean is also okay, maybe even better ("Principal" sounds more like a head of a school). I'm very sorry if I caused the confusion.

 

[Rangi]

I reminded myself of one more obscure thing that could be referenced in the future releases of the fact.

This is from Takeshi Shudo's early novelization of the anime. It says that over a hundred years back, Samuel Oak's great-great-grandfather Okido Masara (in English that'd be "Pallet Oak", I guess) was the first Trainer from Masshiro Town (=Pale Town?) who succeeded in ranking among the region's top Trainers (according to the book, he was 931st among the 10,000 top Trainers, but I personally change this into something more spectacular, like being the first Kanto Champion or something like that). He was treated as a hero by townsfolk, who renamed Pale Town into Pallet Town in honor of him. He essentially started the fame of the Oak clan.

Brilliant! I'll definitely find a way to use this.

Also, going back to Goldenrod Museum. Since Pewter Museum is centered around nature and natural history (with fossils and all that stuff), the Goldenrod one should revolve around culture and the history of coexistence between Pokemon and people in Johto. It could touch upon things such as Ecruteak Myths (maybe a painting of the Nameless Creatures?), Blackthorn Dragon Clan, Mahogany's Ninjas etc. One exhibit that I thought of would be that antique hollowed-out Apricorn Ball, the prototype of PokeBall.

I also think it could feature an exhibition dedicated to other regions. A good occasion to make some cross-regional references.

I drafted this layout yesterday, based partly on Lilycove Museum:

Spoiler:

1F:

2F:

2F alternate:

It's dedicated to "Art and History", so yes, the glass cases could hold things like an old Apricorn Ball. The second floor has a couple paintings, the Big Pearl from the manga, Lilycove's tablet (not sure what to do with it, but it looks cool), and four exhibits for the solved Unown puzzles. The rock on the first floor could be a bit of local color, like "the very first rock unearthed to make way for the Magnet Train".

Furthermore, I played the beta version of 3.0.0. I hope it's not a big secret, since it's been publicly posted on the Skeetendo Forums, so it's easily available.

It made me a bit mad that I discovered it of late and wasted my time on 2.2.0., especially that I trained a decent team last time and the saves aren't compatible. So, I replayed it, this time with less dedication as I wanted to speedrun through the hack (I even tried GameShark but it didn't work, lawl). It was really nice to compare the changes between the two versions. The scale of change is big and I'm again very impressed by it. And again, I have some remarks that I want to share. I will post them in a spoiler tag, so that people who wait for the official 3.0.0 release won't get spoiled.

I actually feel conflicted about even releasing a beta. It's not a complete game, and I'd rather have people experience it in its finished state as a major step up from 2.2.0. On the other hand, they've found dozens of bugs here and there, so the final release should be that much better. So speedrunning is fine; I just hope it won't make 3.0 Final seem like a rerun.

Spoiler:

I see that the evolution method for some Pokemon has been changed. I had a Flaafy way over Level 30 and it didn't evolve into Ampharos. By looking through the GitHub data, I found out that it needed to have a maxed Defense in order to evolve... I have mixed feelings about such changes. This is okay with Pokemon that evolve via Trade or other methods unavailable on emulators. But as for other Pokemon, I'm not sure... I assume that in the "faithful" version, all Pokemon (except traded ones) evolve normally?

Where are you getting this info? I raised the level to 35 in non-Faithful because it's part Dragon. In data/evos_attacks.asm:

FlaaffyEvosAttacks:
if DEF(FAITHFUL)
	db EVOLVE_LEVEL, 30, AMPHAROS
else
	db EVOLVE_LEVEL, 35, AMPHAROS
endc

I absolutely LOVED the Celadon University! It's definitely one of this hack's highlights. It's really large and well thought-out. You really made a great research and included almost everything! I loved the Hyper Test and the prize. The only things I would improve would be - a reference to the fact that Westwood's ancestor invented the PokeBall (I haven't found any reference to that, but maybe I missed something). Encyclopedia Pokemonica even gives the exact date - 1925 (so, that would be Westwood III, I guess? Westwood I probably lived somewhere in the 19th century, right?). The Dean could be referred by his Japanese name, Prof. Matsumoto. Although if PokeSPedia releases in English, they might give him an English name (he's mentioned there, among minor characters). Also, I was a bit disappointed that Imakuni didn't use his theme from TCG but I guess this is a matter of time? Anyway, great job!

I reserved the 1925 trivia for one of the Pokémon Journals. And I was unimpressed by the TCG music; it's clearly composed for a slower, more sedate card battle.

On the other hand, I didn't like the re-expanded Mt. Moon all that much. At this point of the game, such a dungeon doesn't really make much sense. In RGBY, it was the first real dungeon in the game. This time, it's just an obstacle that you don't really want to go through. I guess it could be a bit bigger than in GSC but re-expanding it to the RGBY size doesn't seem like the happiest idea to me. Also, Mt. Moon Square should be easily available. I know that you won't change it back, but how about making the way to Mt. Moon Square easier?

How about (a) reducing the wild encounter rate, and (b) adding a Nurse who heals your team after you beat her? (Yeah, I changed my mind and added that class after all. There are a few locations where they'd be useful, like on that long Route 12+13+14+15 stretch.)

I see that most of the new locations that you added are inspired by PokeWalker roads. However, how about "Uraga Channel"? Does this name reference something? To me it sounds like something from Rijon (and as far as I know, the Rijon location names are pretty much meaningless).

Google it and you'll see that it's the real-world channel crossing Tokyo Bay.

Similarly, the Lucky Island (by the way, how to get there, I see it on the map but can't find it), does it reference anything?

It's just a silly idea I had. Set the trendy phrase in Shamouti to "Lucky".

Again, a matter of taste. But I noticed that you kept the HGSS' change of music in the Slowpoke Well (from the Dark/Ice Cave music to Union Cave/Ruins of Alph). I think that things were cooler when it used the Dark/Ice Cave theme. Even in Brown, it played the demixed version of its old theme. Or perhaps its music will totally change in future release? Anyway, great that you kept Mt. Moon and Mt. Moon Square music intact. What HGSS did here was unforgivable.

The Dark Cave theme was used for too many caves in my opinion. If you think there's a better theme from another game, please suggest it; check out the Music Player for what's already being used.

It's a pity that you removed that "House for Sale" notice from the house on Route 5 (former Day-Care). I know that it was probably an oversight in the original but it gave rise to that funny theory that the people living there are actually ghosts, which would be nice to reference.

That sign is now on an actually-for-sale house in Fuchsia.

How about giving Corey a Gengar, because of Movie 20?

Cool, Neesha and Corey are in the new movie? Anyway, he has six canon Pokémon already; I don't know who I'd replace.

For example, I've seen that Matsumoto's name was inserted. Also, his title was changed from "Dean" to "Principal". Is it because I used the word to describe him last time? Actually, I think that Dean is also okay, maybe even better ("Principal" sounds more like a head of a school). I'm very sorry for the confusion.

Yeah, I assumed "Principal" was his official title. Calling him "Dean" was an excuse for a gratuitous Community reference anyway, so I may just leave it as-is.

 

[sonic65101]

It might be too hard to do, but have you thought of having swimsuit variant sprites of the players for battling while surfing?

 

[Rangi]

It might be too hard to do, but have you thought of having swimsuit variant sprites of the players for battling while surfing?

The player doesn't swim. They Surf.

 

[sonic65101]

The player doesn't swim. They Surf.

That's true. The thought just occurred to me because the player character wears swimsuit (or is it a wetsuit) when riding a Water Pokémon in Sun & Moon.