1.05 | Not a Ghost of a Chance
11/11/2024, 01:42 PM
remember how i said to catch a Bellsprout? well we're already giving it purpose in life! head down to this house right here with your Bellsprout in tow. you'll meet a kid who really wants one, and will trade you his Onix for it. this is the first of a handful of ingame trades, and i'll be trying to show them all off as we go.
if you were like me as a kid and played this game in an era where everyone had moved on from the Gameboy Color, this was the only time you ever got to see the trade screen, and you cherished it. this Onix will always be the same level as the Bellsprout you traded away, will be named "ROCKY" (all caps, no way to change it) and will always be holding a Bitter Berry. most ingame trades will give you a Pokemon that's unique and helpful in some way, as well as usually coming with an item. this one will be especially helpful, but we'll get to that later.
if you head a little further north, you'll find Earl's Pokemon Academy, but it doesn't seem like the teacher's here. if you go west from there you'll find the gym (which we are not NEARLY ready for) as well as the Poke Mart. go south from there and you'll find a berry tree, as well as a way out of town. unfortunately, there's a guy blocking our path down that way, so we don't have any hope of getting past him until we beat the gym leader. but our party currently consists of a grass type and some guy's level 5 Onix, so i don't think that'll be happening anytime soon.
well, without any better options, our only choice is to head further north in Violet City. here we find the town's main attraction...
Sprout Tower!
this is our first real dungeon we can actually finish right now, though keep in mind it is optional. if you're playing the remake, however, it is not, and you gotta go through here. luckily, i think that it is well worth it, so let's get a move on.
an HM, huh? sounds like it'll be useful. there's also this huge pillar in the center of the tower, and i always found this to be such a unique setpiece. it animates in real time, and it's so unlike anything else in the game. i've always imagined it was part of some tradition long ago, and is kept the way it is to respect said tradition. that's one part of Johto i really like, it represents a more traditional, rural side of Japan (which is where Pokemon canonically takes place, Kanto and Johto are real places in Japan after all) as opposed to Kanto's more modern architecture, it makes it really stand out to me.
once you reach the second floor, you'll start to see random encounters. in the daytime, this can only be Bellsprout (go figure) and Ratatta, but one more option appears at night. that's right, it's...
Gastly!
Gastly is the only ghost type we'll be seeing for a LONG time, and ghost is an excellent type to have. immunity to both Normal and Fighting is huge, and the Gastly line specifically has a lot of tools to help them along. you can annoy your opponent with statuses such as Paralysis or Sleep, then tear them down while they're helpless with your beefy Special Attack stat. it's especially useful so early on, since so many early game Pokemon only have normal type moves. if you can't tell by the fact i'm giving it a spotlight, Gastly is gonna be the next member of our team!
for our newest addition, i decided the name Grechen was fitting. it sounds like an old lady name to me, and i tend to associate the Gastly line with a certain old lady known for using them.
...oh. hey Joey. glad to see you're keeping up the tradition of calling me way too often.
well, our new addition seems to be lookin' pretty good. check out that beefy special attack stat, and at only level 5! i guess she's making up for Jano's slack. also, you may have noticed that i said Gastly's our only ghost option for a long time. what's the other one? well, i'm glad you asked! this is my main issue with GSC, and i wanna nip it in the bud.
Misdreavus is the only new ghost type introduced in Gen 2, making it the second ghost Pokemon (at least, that isn't part of the Gastly line). coincidentally, Misdreavus is my favorite Pokemon, go figure! i've always really loved its design, and thought it had a fun playstyle in terms of moves. this all sounds great, where do you get Misdreavus?
oh you know, just in the POST-POST GAME, AFTER YOU DO LITERALLY EVERYTHING THERE IS TO DO IN THE GAME. no, i'm not joking, they locked Misdreavus in the very VERY final area you can possibly access in Pokemon Crystal, and there's no way to get it anytime before besides having someone trade it to you. everytime i play this game i always want Misdreavus to be part of my team, but i just... can't do that, the game won't let me. it's always made me so angry, like come on man!
