Raburesu
Technology is incredible!
- 73
- Posts
- 8
- Years
- Seen Jun 11, 2023
Well, Trainers, we made it...! Pokémania's Metals Generation comes to 3DS TODAY!
...Well, okay, it's only Gold and Silver... But it's still exciting, right? :pink_boogie:
At the time of this post, we're halfway through Generation VII, and there are 802 Pokémon.
When I think about a particular species these days, it's kind of exhausting. I feel forced to have a general idea of its strengths and weaknesses prior, to ensure I catch one with a beneficial Nature, of which there are 25 possibilities. Consequently, you can find my pixelated/polygonal avatar running around in the same tall grass for what always feels like too long, catching multiples of the same species until I nab the perfect Poké, with much time and money wasted.
In addition to Natures, all Pokémon can have one of a select few Abilities, and knowing this ahead of time is also a double-edged sword. "Don't catch anything before you read up on which Abilities the monster you want can have, settle on what you think is best, and ensure no changes to the Ability occur upon Evolution!" I'll admit that, after a certain point, there comes a time where a lack of success in finding just what I'm looking for will result in a compromise. A Nature that isn't too bad, or an Ability I didn't want but can accept, because Balls cost money, and wasting time on purpose is annoying. You might end up doing that if you weren't informed earlier that there was a way to obtain the species you just went to great lengths to catch with its Hidden Ability instead, and deciding if raising one without that power is even worth doing is a disheartening time.
Knowledge of a species' movepool, which can be an extensive list, feels prerequisite, as having any sort of confidence in raising it without that background is almost impossible. Even if it's a Pokémon you've marshalled in the past, they tend to gain new powers with each Generation, so staying up-to-date is a must. Sometimes your overlapping generational knowledge can be really confusing...! :pink_confused:
Sometimes I think about whether or not it can Mega Evolve; that definitely helped a few Pokémon make my team in X and Y...!
You need to at least consider EV training, and live unhappily with the random point distribution should you elect to neglect. Speaking from experience, I know it doesn't really matter, but wilfully ruining my team's stat spread by playing through game is mentally detrimental...
Gold and Silver present a simpler adventure in a region with only 251 Pokémon that earn EVs in every stat after a battle and don't have Abilities or Natures...! There's so much less to worry about, and whatever's left, well, that's what I'm here for...! :pink_wink:
The following post will take the idea of any normal person playing a game which guides you to press the A Button enough times to reach the three cute things, choose the one which most appeals to your superficial preferences, and loose you on an adventure to enslave whatever looks cool, and make it a lot more complicated than that. That's one of many great things about Pokémon - it can be simple and complex, and satisfy everyone!
A world of dreams and adventures with Pokémon awaits! Let's go!
1. CHOOSE YOUR VERSION!
No, Crystal won't be joining Gold and Silver the way Yellow completed the Color Generation rerelease for the 20th Anniversary, and yes, that's universally disappointing, because I venture a lot of us would have favoured it. Which is probably why whatever entity in control of this decision wanted the pair out first. The whole GS logo and aesthetic is admittedly quite marketable, especially in the current Everybody Loves Retro mindspace.
Anyway, assuming your answer isn't "both," the question remains: which one are you getting?
I had Silver preloaded last night. Simply, I prefer the exclusives, and I like Lugia better. And there's no Mt. Gold! Only Mt. Silver! Even Game Freak likes this one better, see?! :pink_wink:
Generally, I advocate for deciding according to which Pokémon you're gonna want on your team, 'cause if you just pick the cover with the Legend you like better, you may later be saddened to discover one of your favourites is no where in the wild to discover. Luckily, Lugia's game houses the exclusives I prefer.
If you don't care about Version Mascots or exclusive Pokés, you could always choose the version with the sprites you like the best, because yes, Gold and Silver have unique sprites! I always thought that was so cool...
2. CHANGE THE BATTLE STYLE TO SET!
My original thread on this topic explains my position in-depth, but essentially, I argue altering the battle style to make the game less biased toward the player factually increases its minimal challenge, and has a significant positive effect on the overall experience.
Because it can be done before you even hear Professor Oak's speech, I've made it your second step, because I conjecture a slightly more difficult game demands more of your thought going forward. You might choose Pokémon that are just a bit better, or worse, depending on what path you want your adventure to take.
3. CHOOSE YOUR STARTER! (Do what you need to with it, then broom it fast!)
What is perhaps my favourite Starter trio... is not the most capable. They're certainly iconic, and I did buy this hoodie to celebrate Gold & Silver's rerelease, but two out of the three are just poorly designed, while the last one is only mildly interesting. I would never consider a Johto Starter for anything more than its necessary tentative slot on my team, and here's a short TOP THREE BEST OF THE WORST COUNTDOWN to explain why:
#3: Chikorita
One of my favourite new Pokémon back when the games were fresh and the anime was still cool with the kids. I remember sitting in front of the ridiculously small 13inch CRT TV we had in our living room at the time, drawing Chikorita while I looked through the Versus Books Gold & Silver Adventure Guide for the umpteenth time, which I had my Mom buy for me despite not owning the games. Nostalgia~
Unfortunately for me and any other fans, Chikorita is unquestionably the weakest Starter. I assume you know by now how often it struggles with the game's early foes, but that isn't a crucial inherent issue. Chikorita's movepool is just pitiful. Sure it learns Razor Leaf at level 8, but nothing better comes along until you beat Erika and she gives up the Giga Drain TM...! You have to wait from the beginning of the game until the post-game to raise your main move's Power by 5! Actually, you wouldn't want to waste the TM in that scenario, so... Even worse, then, Chikorita learns its best move, the one you'll be using for the entire game, on the way to Cherrygrove City... '_'
It has zero coverage outside its STAB unless you teach it Earthquake, but you can't do that until you're almost at the end of Victory Road... Eh. At least it's something. Sorry again, Venusaur... We love you. One more Gen, buddy...
#2: Totodile
Physically powerful, but has a Special typing... Physically defensive, but weak to Special attacks... It's Blastoise all over again... Except this time, it might be worse, because Totodile actually has a decent movepool to speak of. Too bad the good stuff is all locked behind sex with Tyranitar's evolutionary line... What, you're really going to raise a Totodile all the way into the post-game into a high level Feraligatr, head up Mt. Silver to find it a lover and breed them, just to get Crunch and Rock Slide?! Please say no... So, the one you get from Elm is stuck with the standard Water-type fare and not much else, which, again, it can't use properly because it has the wrong stats for the job.
With such a generic moveset waiting to be built for such a sabotaged Pokémon, there are better alligators in the Lake of Rage...
#1: Cyndaquil
The successor to Charizard, the most popular Pokémon ever, wins for Best of the Worst: Johto Starter Pokémon! Congratulations, Cyndaquil!
Now this little dude's alright. Decent stats allocated correctly, learns Flamethrower via level-up in a game where they abolished the TM, and it can even fight Water-types with a quick Thunderpunch as early as Goldenrod City. It can also learn Earthquake to extinguish its burning brethren, though I'm not sure I'd blow such an important TM on that average Physical Attack... But hey, it's another solid move for the set.
Easily one of the best Fire-types you can find in the main-game, although that isn't much of an asset...
4. NARROW 'EM DOWN, THEN CHOOSE YOUR 6!
When the credits rolled in RBY, the only challenge remaining was Cerulean Cave's Unknown Dungeon, its endboss reward being dominion over the godlike Mewtwo. This was the extent of the post-game content. Every obstacle had now been overcome, and as a consequence, Pokéscience's miracle feline had none against whom to test its mettle.
In Gold & Silver, you can return to Kanto after the credits roll and catch tons of Pokémon unavailable in Johto! Sure, you can't bolt to Mt. Silver for a Larvitar immediately after disembarking from the S.S. Anne, but regardless, alluring rarities await you there, all asking for a team slot.
For this reason, I've planned a main-game team and then adjusted my roster for the post-game in any adventure offering as much as GSC.
Below you'll find I've done all of the required work to make viewing everything hard-to-get possible at a glance!
- First off, there are some old Pokémon you just can't find anywhere in Gold & Silver. It's how they keep RBY relevant, and one reason why the games are all compatible. And then there's Celebi. At least they're giving you one in Sun & Moon/Ultra for downloading the game? Thanks, guys, but I still have my 20th Anniversary event?
- Next up are all of the Pokémon you can only obtain in Kanto. I really respect Game Freak for restricting Pikachu to the grass just outside of Pallet Town. Nice touch. Although Pichu was sort of a selling point back when these games were new... And you can't breed for one until after you beat the game... So... Yeah, that's sort of weird.
- The forms which require Evolutionary Stones get their own category because said stones are absurdly scarce in Gold & Silver. They can only be obtained in the post-game, and only by showing Bill's Grandpa in Cerulean Cape specific Pokés... That's ridiculous! I feel really bad for anyone who wanted to use one of these guys... ;_; Raichu has an asterisk beside it because you have to wait forever for it, unlike the others whose first forms can be caught in the main-game, at least.
- Trades get a column because some of us just can't trade...! It sucks. ;_;
- Then they decided to introduce the requirement of holding a specific item while traded to evolve. Steelix and Scizor are notable because while a Metal Coat is given to you in the post-game, wild Magnimites will be holding one 8% of the time, so you can evolve your Onix and Scyther before the credits roll if you're willing to put in the effort. Porygon 2 is annoying to get because it's in the Celadon Game Corner and the Upgrade is in the Silph Co. building. And then you have to be able to trade it away!
- The final column is sort of silly. It's just me giving you a heads up. Basically, these guys are found on the Route just before Victory Road, or inside it in Rhyhorn and Rhydon's case, so they barely count as main-game Pokémon and thus probably won't be included on your fighting team for the Elite 4. The Rhys have asterisks because you can obtain a Rhydon in a trade in Blackthorn City, but only if you're willing to give up your FEMALE Dragonair, which is totally not worth it in my opinion. I mean, they're both good Pokémon, but if you even have a Dragonair at that point, hang on to it!
- Moves with asterisks are those which can be obtained more than once, which is important because it's retro Pokémon! TMs are a one-time deal here!
- To answer a possible question, Psych Up is obtained when you Trade an Abra or Kadabra from RBY over to GSC; it'll be holding the TM.
Related to this, there is a certain set of TMs on sale as early as Goldenrod City which I consider to be an extremely valuable resource, one which I would even go so far as to say elevates my enjoyment of the entire game. These are the Elemental Punches: Ice Punch, Thunder Punch and Fire Punch. In a generation prior to Diamond and Pearl's Physical/Special categorising for moves, Ice, Electric and Fire moves are all treated as Special attacks, making the Elemental Punches lesser versions of Ice Beam, Thunderbolt and Flamethrower, respectively. But said attacks are no longer TMs in Gold and Silver, only returning via a high-cost Move Tutor in Crystal. So while the Punches have 20 less Power, they make up for it in their early and infinite availability, and vast learnbase, providing many Pokémon with greater degrees of type coverage.
- The number of asterisks beside a Pokémon's name indicates how many of the three moves it can learn. I know you can just see its name listed in each category, but I thought it was nice to see at a single glace. I can appreciate it looking ugly like this, and I'll change it if I get enough hate~
- A Pokémon will thrive or struggle based upon the moveset you're able to provide it, a fact too often overlooked. A monster can look as menacing as can be, with a great typing and stats, but if it doesn't have the good weapons, it's just wasted potential dying on the vine. For example, Gengar is an amazing Pokémon available earlier than it really should be, but if it didn't learn the Elemental Punches, I would see no reason to train one, what with the feeble offensive it gains naturally. So take a look at the powers you'll be given in Gold and Silver, be creative, and know how diverse and powerful your Pokémon's movesets can be! :pink_wink:
Have fun in Johto~!
Loveless
Last edited:
