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Pokémon Gold & Pokemon Silver Virtual Console |OT| The Nostalgia Is Crystal Clear

You think headbutting tree is bad? The Sinnoh game method was much worse as you would have to slather the tree with honey, wait for 6 hour in real time to pass just for the hope that the shaking honey tree has the Pokémon you want.

Oh and if you want Muchlax? Pfft good luck as the glutton Pokémon was exclusive to four of twenty one tree and it was dependent on your Trainer ID and Secret ID meaning it was different from file to file.

The ironic thing is that this was originally going to be in the gen 2 game but was dropped.

It's also a 1% encounter on the trees it does appear on IIRC. At least you could SR a tree with an active encounter I guess.
 
I love it when I'm trying to level up my Pokémon and out of nowhere I see a Jigglypuff or a Mareep in an area that I didn't know had them before.

Just captured a Mareep and she's adorable. Thinking of making her my electric type user but I have. Quilava that will eventually learn thunderpunch so...
There was a long and bloody war over 'Legendary cats' vs 'Legendary dogs', and those who wanted to stay out of it and mock the fighting humorously decided on 'gerbils'.
They're dogs though.
Ooooohhhhh!

I always saw them as a mix of cat and dog. But yeah I guess them being dogs makes sense.
 

Kirlia

Banned
There was a long and bloody war over 'Legendary cats' vs 'Legendary dogs', and those who wanted to stay out of it and mock the fighting humorously decided on 'gerbils'.
They're dogs though.

I remember that. One guide I had called them legendary cats.

I call them legendary beasts now.

calling them gerbils is laaaaaaaame /nofunzone
 
Just a reminder, the Moon Ball does literally nothing special in GS due to a coding error. It increases the chance of catching Pokemon that evolve using a Burn Heal.

Also the Love Ball works best on same gender Pokemon, unlike the description implies. Also due to a bug.

Fast Ball's bonus only works on Magnemite, Grimer and Tangela

Balls are busted in GS.

Level and Heavy balls work as intended.

My apricorn life is a lie.
 
Just a reminder, the Moon Ball does literally nothing special in GS due to a coding error. It increases the chance of catching Pokemon that evolve using a Burn Heal.

In case anyone was wondering why this seemingly random error happened:
7y1aVF5.png

So this means the Apriballs were either made before they decided to do the Gen 1 index conversion or they were using the wrong reference chart once it was already in place. Oops.
 

MicH

Member
Just a reminder, the Moon Ball does literally nothing special in GS due to a coding error. It increases the chance of catching Pokemon that evolve using a Burn Heal.

Also the Love Ball works best on same gender Pokemon, unlike the description implies. Also due to a bug.

Fast Ball's bonus only works on Magnemite, Grimer and Tangela

Balls are busted in GS.

Level and Heavy balls work as intended.
That's hilarious. Moon ball is the best :lol What a mess.
 

CazTGG

Member
I love it when I'm trying to level up my Pokémon and out of nowhere I see a Jigglypuff or a Mareep in an area that I didn't know had them before.

Just captured a Mareep and she's adorable. Thinking of making her my electric type user but I have. Quilava that will eventually learn thunderpunch so...

Ooooohhhhh!

I always saw them as a mix of cat and dog. But yeah I guess them being dogs makes sense.

Ampharos is a pretty tanky Electric-type that can be used for spreading paralysis or tearing holes in teams not carrying a Ground-type or Snorlax. Even Zapdos falls in three hits to Ampharos' Thunderbolt (or two with Zap Cannon, if you want to risk a miss).
 
Honestly, I don't know how people can complain about it today. Sure, younger players might not have a grasp on all the type dis/advantages but there's no shortage of opportunities for more experienced players to take, not even accounting for the Machop trade. They can:
-Have Mareep/Flaaffy use Thunder Wave to cripple Miltank and ensure it won't cause you to flinch with Stomp or prevent it from recovering with Milk Drink if it happens to be fully paralyzed on the turn they planned on using that move. You could also try to burn them with Fire Punch but that's less reliable and would still allow Miltank to recover/move before your party members.
-Use a Geodude or Onix or their respective evolutions who can tank Miltank's Normal/Rock moves like there's no tomorrow. Special shoutout to Geodude who can out Rollout her 1 v. 1 and use Defense Curl for a boost on their first hit.
-Use Mud Slap to weaken Miltank's accuracy so the already inaccurate Rollout doesn't build up momentum. If you're using Cyndaquil (should be Quilava by this point), you can also use Smokescreen for the same effect minus the minute damage output.
-Use a Drowzee and put it to sleep. Drowzee is bulky enough to stomach a hit or two from Miltank, though Hypnosis has fairly shaky accuracy.


Hahahahahah Oh I know. And as someone that plays competitively online and has for many years now I certainly have no excuse. But between me switching the mode from shift to set, and not evolving my Pokémon the fault is totally on me. It's been just long enough that I forgot how tanky Miltank is.

I just couldn't accept that I couldn't beat her with my crew of unevolved basics + Zubat. I will say that having to replay her was neat just to see her Clefairy metronome, to use transform, to turn into my Zubat.

But yeah had I simply gone to my PC and actually brought Pokémon that would've worked she would've been no problem. It was just shock that an old Pokémon game I've beaten a dozen times can still woop me once or twice.


....I'm so ashamed.

Edit: also, I did try Cyndaquils smokescreen but even after two of them that fucking Rollout never missed. Just had to poison and stall in the end.
 
So after being unable to sleep last night and with most of my responsibilities taken care for the day I'm looking to start my play through of Silver. This time I want to use Pokémon I've never really used before like

Totodile
Zubat
Umbreon
Houndour - don't we get to catch Houndour once we're done with Johor? Can't remember may need to switch this one out

I need one more to round my team out and a good HM slave.
 
So after being unable to sleep last night and with most of my responsibilities taken care for the day I'm looking to start my play through of Silver. This time I want to use Pokémon I've never really used before like

Totodile
Zubat
Umbreon
Houndour - don't we get to catch Houndour once we're done with Johor? Can't remember may need to switch this one out

I need one more to round my team out and a good HM slave.

As I'm learning this play through just be aware that Zubat is simply for confusion. Looking at these old movesets is depressing.
Well I guess he can learn Giga drain late game but that's about it.
 

eefara

Member
So after being unable to sleep last night and with most of my responsibilities taken care for the day I'm looking to start my play through of Silver. This time I want to use Pokémon I've never really used before like

Totodile
Zubat
Umbreon
Houndour - don't we get to catch Houndour once we're done with Johor? Can't remember may need to switch this one out

You'll only be able to get Houndour like midway through Kanto, unfortunately. I'd change him for someone else.

As I'm learning this play through just be aware that Zubat is simply for confusion. Looking at these old movesets is depressing.
Well I guess he can learn Giga drain late game but that's about it.

Zubat's actually not too bad if you play him right. Bite has an obscenely high flinch rate in these games, so Supersonic/Confuse Ray + Bite usually = victory.
 
So after being unable to sleep last night and with most of my responsibilities taken care for the day I'm looking to start my play through of Silver. This time I want to use Pokémon I've never really used before like

Totodile
Zubat
Umbreon
Houndour - don't we get to catch Houndour once we're done with Johor? Can't remember may need to switch this one out

I need one more to round my team out and a good HM slave.

Yeah he is post game for some dumb ass reason. Maybe Tyrogue? Can get him after you get surf. Save scum to obtain the evolution of your choice.
 

CazTGG

Member
So after being unable to sleep last night and with most of my responsibilities taken care for the day I'm looking to start my play through of Silver. This time I want to use Pokémon I've never really used before like

Totodile
Zubat
Umbreon
Houndour - don't we get to catch Houndour once we're done with Johor? Can't remember may need to switch this one out

I need one more to round my team out and a good HM slave.

Probably best to go with Growlithe instead unless you know someone who can breed you a Houndour given it only appears in Kanto.
 
As I'm learning this play through just be aware that Zubat is simply for confusion. Looking at these old movesets is depressing.
Well I guess he can learn Giga drain late game but that's about it.

You'll only be able to get Houndour like midway through Kanto, unfortunately. I'd change him for someone else.



Zubat's actually not too bad if you play him right. Bite has an obscenely high flinch rate in these games, so Supersonic/Confuse Ray + Bite usually = victory.

Yeah he is post game for some dumb ass reason. Maybe Tyrogue? Can get him after you get surf. Save scum to obtain the evolution of your choice.

There's this Youtuber aDrive who uses a Nasty Plot Crobat in his competitive matches and for better or worse it works. Watching how he uses his Crobat actually made me want to give the little rat with wings a shot. Nasty Plot isn't in Gen 2 but I was thinking Confuse Ray and 3 other moves I can use to throw the AI off just so I can get a feel for Crobat and see if I want to make a competitive build for myself.

Thanks for the Tyrogue recommendation, I'll add him. I won't save scum and I'll just except whatever he evolves into. I still want to add a Houndour to my team but I guess I'll need a Temporary replacement for it until I get to him.
 
Zubat's actually not too bad if you play him right. Bite has an obscenely high flinch rate in these games, so Supersonic/Confuse Ray + Bite usually = victory.

Hahaha yeah, I've had a couple battles where I've flinched an opponent 3 times in a row. It's cheap, but so is most of this game I'm seeing.

Not related, but good lord the cloning glitch is good. I have extra starters and plenty of the TMs I want. Coming back to disposable TMs, this is a God send.


There's this Youtuber aDrive who uses a Nasty Plot Crobat in his competitive matches and for better or worse it works. Watching how he uses his Crobat actually made me want to give the little rat with wings a shot. Nasty Plot isn't in Gen 2 but I was thinking Confuse Ray and 3 other moves I can use to throw the AI off just so I can get a feel for Crobat and see if I want to make a competitive build for myself.

Yeah I've got over 3 boxes of battle ready pokes on Sun but I don't have a Crobat yet, and I'd like to give him a shot soon. I bet he's a good counter to the Tapus
 
Do we get a Fire Stone before Kanto?

Aaarrrggg!! Double Post scrub!

SChoolboy Alan after the park can call you up to give you one, but otherwise you're sol till Kanto I think. While you wouldn't be able to evolve Growlithe without chance Arcanine doesn't learn anything through level so its already advised to keep him the same till 50 if you want a nice fire move.
 

CazTGG

Member
Do we get a Fire Stone before Kanto?

Aaarrrggg!! Double Post scrub!

Nope (pretty sure Alan's Fire Stone is Crystal-only), but Growlithe is still your best choice for a fire-type that isn't a starter. You can teach Pokémon like Alakazam or Ampharos Fire Punch but they're not a 1:1 substitute for a dedicated Fire-type Pokémon.
 
SChoolboy Alan after the park can call you up to give you one, but otherwise you're sol till Kanto I think. While you wouldn't be able to evolve Growlithe without chance Arcanine doesn't learn anything through level so its already advised to keep him the same till 50 if you want a nice fire move.

Nope (pretty sure Alan's Fire Stone is Crystal-only), but Growlithe is still your best choice for a fire-type that isn't a starter. You can teach Pokémon like Alakazam or Ampharos Fire Punch but they're not a 1:1 substitute for a dedicated Fire-type Pokémon.

Yup!!! Game Freak gonna Game Freak!

Thanks for the replies.
 
Want to get this...but also want to get Steelix, Gengar and Kingdra but none of my friends are getting it. Welp.

The nostalgia is strong, probably gonna get it anyway
 
Probably best to go with Growlithe instead unless you know someone who can breed you a Houndour given it only appears in Kanto.
Man, I figured this out shortly after starting my game and it's crushing. I've never leveled a Houndour in my life :(


I feel like all i'm doing is complaining in this thread so for the record I'm having an absolute blast playing through it, haha. One of my favorite games of all time and possibly the most nostalgic.
 

R0ckman

Member
Just a reminder, the Moon Ball does literally nothing special in GS due to a coding error. It increases the chance of catching Pokemon that evolve using a Burn Heal.

Also the Love Ball works best on same gender Pokemon, unlike the description implies. Also due to a bug.

Fast Ball's bonus only works on Magnemite, Grimer and Tangela

Balls are busted in GS.

Level and Heavy balls work as intended.

So in otherwords they are a waste of time.
 

Arcia

Banned
Holy crap you guys weren't kidding about the sleeping Spearows in the trees! That's adorable!

Its clever because if Spearows appeared in ornear that area then they would roost in the trees at night, it makes sense. I love some of these little touches and details they put in Gen 2. It really made these games feel so much more alive after playing simplistic Gen 1.

Have the newer games ever done stuff like this with status effects?
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
Oh really? Well damn what the fuck Gamefreak?

Yeah, obtaining elemental stones in gen 2 is a fucking pain in the butt and I don't understand why Game Freak made it so hard as you having to wait post game and you can only get 1 stone of each type so unless you use the cloning glitch you gonna have rough time trying to compete the Pokédex if more Pokémon require the same stones.

Crystal improved it a bit with the phone call but they are so infrequent that I don't like relying on them to cough up the goods, as I was worried that I wanted to be able to evolve my Poliwhirl into a Poliwrath by Level 35 so he could learn Submission but the one fisher guy that offers the player the stone took his sweet time in phoning me with the good and in gen 2 there are no move relearner so if a Pokémon passes a certain levels they ain't learning the move.

They thankfully fixed this problem in the remake via The Pokéathlon prize.

The original gen 2 is too date is the only Pokémon game were obtaining evolution stones were just frustratingly hard.

Its clever because if Spearows appeared in ornear that area then they would roost in the trees at night, it makes sense. I love some of these little touches and details they put in Gen 2. It really made these games feel so much more alive after playing simplistic Gen 1.

It also works in reverse as if you headbutt a tree in the day and a Hoothoot falls out then it will be asleep.

IHave the newer games ever done stuff like this with status effects?

Not with status effect but in X and Y they had horde battle there you would fight a horde of Pokémon and if there was a Pokémon that were mortal enemies they would fight each other in battle.
 

CazTGG

Member
Man, I figured this out shortly after starting my game and it's crushing. I've never leveled a Houndour in my life :(


I feel like all i'm doing is complaining in this thread so for the record I'm having an absolute blast playing through it, haha. One of my favorite games of all time and possibly the most nostalgic.

I have a lot of nostalgia for Gold/Silver but the appearance of Johto's critters is pretty wonky, and I don't just mean when you can catch them: Johto's Gym Leaders have an odd habit of not using new Pokémon in the majority of their encounters when there was no shortage of choices they could have gone with for their respective battles i.e. Heracross and Bugsy, Hoothoot/Noctowl and Falkner, Hitmontop and Chuck, etc. None of Gold/Silver's flaws are dealbreaker for me but they do showcase there was a compromise made for the team's ambitious plans for a sequel given the limited hardware of the Game Boy like Kanto being smaller and less fleshed out. It really makes you wish Game Freak would take a lot of the ideas in Gold/Silver and ran with them instead of going the direction they did.
 

Shinypogs

Member
Feebas may have been annoying but I miss the days when there were legitimately rare pokemon like that. Getting a Milotic actually felt like a big deal. Nowadays you can get anything you want easily, which is nice, but there's no longer mystery and intrigue around certain pokemon.

I can understand that sentiment. There is certainty satisfaction that comes from feeling like you earned your rare and powerful Pokemon. I just think sometimes they chose poor mechanics to try and get that point across with.
 

eefara

Member
Nope (pretty sure Alan's Fire Stone is Crystal-only), but Growlithe is still your best choice for a fire-type that isn't a starter. You can teach Pokémon like Alakazam or Ampharos Fire Punch but they're not a 1:1 substitute for a dedicated Fire-type Pokémon.

You can actually catch Magmar in the burned tower, and they're pretty good! I'm using one, and almost right away he can hold his own.
 
Ampharos is a pretty tanky Electric-type that can be used for spreading paralysis or tearing holes in teams not carrying a Ground-type or Snorlax. Even Zapdos falls in three hits to Ampharos' Thunderbolt (or two with Zap Cannon, if you want to risk a miss).
Thank you! Dang that's making me tempted to keep Mareep.
 
HGSS did fix one of gen 2's major issues: pokemon availability. Pretty much all the johto pokemon which are unusable in the main game due to their availability in GSC are now usable in HGSS thanks to the safari zone.
The only Pokémon that I think actually changes before the National Dex/Kanto is Murkrow. Other important Pokémon like Houndour are still post-game only.
 

Mr-Joker

Banned
The only Pokémon that I think actually changes before the National Dex/Kanto is Murkrow. Other important Pokémon like Houndour are still post-game only.

Nope Houndour, Misdreavus, Murkrow and Larvitar could all be caught before Pokémon via the Safari Zone.

However access to the Safari Zone is pretty late in Johto and the Safari Zone Pokémon are low level and it takes awhile to build up the Safari Zone zone to get the Pokémon you want.
 

Bladenic

Member
I have a lot of nostalgia for Gold/Silver but the appearance of Johto's critters is pretty wonky, and I don't just mean when you can catch them: Johto's Gym Leaders have an odd habit of not using new Pokémon in the majority of their encounters when there was no shortage of choices they could have gone with for their respective battles i.e. Heracross and Bugsy, Hoothoot/Noctowl and Falkner, Hitmontop and Chuck, etc. None of Gold/Silver's flaws are dealbreaker for me but they do showcase there was a compromise made for the team's ambitious plans for a sequel given the limited hardware of the Game Boy like Kanto being smaller and less fleshed out. It really makes you wish Game Freak would take a lot of the ideas in Gold/Silver and ran with them instead of going the direction they did.

Yeah agreed about the gym leaders. Falkner not using at least Hoothoot is weird. Bugsy not using Spinarak/Ledyba is weird. Basically 50% of the Johto leaders use 0 new Pokémon.
 

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Nope Houndour, Misdreavus, Murkrow and Larvitar could all be caught before Pokémon via the Safari Zone.

However access to the Safari Zone is pretty late in Johto and the Safari Zone Pokémon are low level and it takes awhile to build up the Safari Zone zone to get the Pokémon you want.

HG/SS has the dopest safari zone. I've spent hundreds of hours in there.
 
Does the trading allow you to search for people under a condition like "wants Onix w/Metal Coat" or is it Friend Code/same Wi-Fi network restricted? Haven't played these on VC so not sure
 

Danielsan

Member
Going rather slow at the moment. I've started juggling both this and a first time play through of White 2.

Beat Pryce this morning. Quilava pretty much solo'd the gym. Also hatched an Eevee yesterday which I hope to evolve pre level 16. I'm okay with either Espeon or Umbreon, though I suspect it will be the latter.
 
Playing through this and trying to plan my team out a bit, and yeah it's become pretty clear how crappy movepool and TM distribution is here. I want to use either Machamp or Steelix, but Rock Slide isn't a TM here, and my friends aren't planning on buying these on VC, so I couldn't evolve to Steelix anyways.

Then there's the lack of Thunderbolt/Ice Beam/Flamethrower because this isn't crystal, the elemental stones problem, the actual availability of Pokemon, and everything else that others have already brought up. I don't want to rely on just the three starters, but there's just not a lot of options here when it comes to proper type coverage. Lord help me I'm contemplating using Sudowoodo...
 

SRV

Member
There's no online trading, only local wireless.

Damn, I never played G/S/C so probably a silly question, but if you need to trade certain Pokemon to get their evolution, then am I screwed if I have nobody to trade with?
 

Xion_Stellar

People should stop referencing data that makes me feel uncomfortable because games get ported to platforms I don't like
I been taking my time playing Pokemon Silver these past 4 days and I made sure to capture as much as possible and so far the only thing I'm missing is Pineco and Yanma but I caught everything else that's been catchable to me via Grass or Old Rod (Yes I caught that 1% Dunsparce at the Dark Cave) and I'm up to the point where I recently caught Sudowoodo.

I decided that in this playthrough I will stick with either Gen II Pokemon or Pokemon that got a new Evolution in Gen II and so far in my Team I have Croconaw, Zubat, Flaaffy and Gloom.
 
Nuzlocke Update! 7th Gym Beaten! Only 1 left until the E4!

Version: Silver
Badges: 7
Pokemon Dead: 8
Pokemon Owned: 49 (This includes evolutions)

Current Party:
Meganium (Stassi) Level 32
Ampharos (Tsuyana) level 32
Raticate (Triss) Level 27
Fearow (Luggins) Level 31
Gyarados (Rashred) Level 31
Machoke (Chopper) Level 31 *NEWLY EVOLVED!!*

Pokemon in the bank:
Gastley (Wizwick)
Togepi (Eggberta)
Slowpoke (Estra)
Oddish (Zonni)
Eevee (Debbie)
Exeggcute (Jellina)
Koffing (Teddie)
Sudowoodo (Rocktree)
Shuckle (SHUCKIE the gift Pokemon, I'll rename it if I can)
Poliwag (Tassi)
Farfetch'd (Dumass)
Magnemite (Volt)
Krabby (Murky)
Tentacruel (Kist)
Corsola (Korin)
Chinchou (Tater)
Staryu (Sloak)
Natu (Xed)
Girafarig (Freed)
Electrode (Sploading) *NEW!*
Pokemon at the Daycare:
Ditto (Copycat)

Fallen Pokemon:
Beedrill (Stabi) Died to Espeon (Confusion)
Zubat (Sreek) Died to Espeon (Confusion)
Pidgeotto (Coco) Died to Machoke (Rock Slide)
Furret (Tren) Died to Poliwrath (Dynamic Punch)
Tentacool (Quotaro) Released due to catching its evolution
Magickarp (Sacrif) Released due to catching its evolution
Kadabra (Vera) Died to Graverler (Selfdestruct)
Graverler (Dudebro) Died to Steelix (Iron Tail)
Paras (Vivina) Died to Piloswine (Icy Wind)

Progress Report: 7th Gym was pretty easy, I used the rocket base to level up Machoke so by the time I was finished there he only needed a little more experience to be ready and then did great in the Gym. I ended up sacrificing Paras in order to get a proper switch out since I didn't know if Piloswine had something crazy like Earthquake or something but it worked out in the end and didn't lose anyone besides the Paras so thats pretty good. I've been lucky enough to not take any major losses on my core team and I've got to admit this Machoke has impressed me quite a bit, I'll likely keep it around for the time being until I get something better or if I'm able to evolve some of my other Pokemon I've got in the box.

While Next up is the 8th gym I've got another rival fight and having to take out Team Rocket in Goldenrod before I can actually move on but once I do so I've got an opportunity to catch like 4ish Pokemon before the next gym maybe more so I'm going to make sure I'm ready before this next fight. I'd like to have an ice type for this gym but honestly if I catch one I may just keep it safe in a box and level it to use against Lance as otherwise I have no freaking idea how I'll be able to take on his several Dragonites.

Of course the 8th gym is first and I'll do what I have to but the real threat is only the Kingdra (which is a huge huge threat since it has no weaknesses) but hopefully I'll have my team around the same level as it before we actually go into battle but we'll have to see. 8th gym and the elite 4 are easily the worst chance I have to getting absolutely wrecked and getting a game over.

I'd never heard of the Nuzlocke challenge before but it sounds like fun. One question and I realise this is probably a dumb one, what counts as an area?
 
I'd never heard of the Nuzlocke challenge before but it sounds like fun. One question and I realise this is probably a dumb one, what counts as an area?

Areas are routes and things like caves. So going into the Union cave even though it has several floors I can only catch a single thing in that cave, not something on each floor (You'd be able to get waaaay to many Pokemon in that case). It makes it pretty interesting as for the Dark Cave I could have waited until around now and get a higher level Pokemon but I went ahead and got a Geodude earlier there which served me well for a majority of this run but I could have gotten a much better Pokemon there if I had waited and done it much later.

Nuzlockes are extremely fun and provides a level of difficulty that Pokemon games are sorely lacking.
 
Ok, I'm trying to catch Heracross but I can't figure out what's actually a "low encounter tree" and because it's Pokémon of course there's a mathematical equation that's like figuring out rocket science. Anyone able to crack the code?
 

Crayolan

Member
I'd never heard of the Nuzlocke challenge before but it sounds like fun. One question and I realise this is probably a dumb one, what counts as an area?

Most people classify areas by name. Every time you enter a new zone in pokemon since gen 2, whether it be a town or a cave or a route, a name pops up to tell you that you're somewhere different.
 

Arcia

Banned
Most people classify areas by name. Every time you enter a new zone in pokemon since gen 2, whether it be a town or a cave or a route, a name pops up to tell you that you're somewhere different.

Only in Crystal sadly. But the music usually changes at least. Look at your map if you need to be sure.
 
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