Pokémon Crystal

Pokémon Crystal
Pokémon Crystal box art
Developer(s)	Game Freak
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Satoshi Tajiri
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color
Release	December 14, 2000 July 29, 2001 November 1, 2001
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single player Multiplayer

Pokémon Crystal is a title in the Pokémon series of RPGs for the Game Boy Color. An enhanced remake of Pokémon Gold and Silver, Crystal was released December 142000 in Japan and July 212001 in North America. Crystal was succeeded by 2003's Game Boy Advance titles Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Pokémon Crystal was optimized to be playable only on the Game Boy Color.

New features

Crystal finally allowed players to choose the sex of their character, a feature that had not been included in any Pokémon game before. Also added was a subplot involving the Legendary Pokémon Suicune and a man named Eusine hoping to catch it. One of the game’s biggest additions was the Battle Tower, a new building added west of Olivine City which allowed players to participate in Pokémon Stadium-like fights.

A change that was noticable when you first started the game was that all the pokemon had animated battle sprites once you entered a battle. For example, when Cyndaquil enters battle, its flames on its back come out and go back in.

There were also some changes made to the Ruins of Alph. This included more common Unown, as well as a new subplot — completing enough puzzles let the player read a secret message left behind by the Unown. It suggested that the Unown were left behind by the ancient civilization that constructed the Ruins of Alph, and that the statues that lined the interior were made by the Unown.

File:Croconaw screen.png

Screenshot of Pokémon Crystal, portraying a player's Croconaw, battling an enemy, Snubbull.

Another feature introduced in Crystal and later reused in later games is the Move Tutor. After the Elite Four is defeated, a man would start appearing twice a week who would teach the player’s Pokémon one of three moves – Flamethrower, Ice Beam, or Thunderbolt. In Crystal, this required 4000 coins from the Game Corner in Goldenrod City.

The player would also receive a new egg from the Daycare Couple for free. This egg can hatch into Magby, Smoochum, Pichu, Igglybuff, Cleffa, Tyrogue or Elekid, with a boosted 50% chance of the baby being "shiny", and, it will always be female, except for Tyrogue (which never are). This was in addition to the Togepi egg players would receive earlier in the game, making two eggs they would get in the game without any breeding.

The chain of events to earn the Rising Badge is altered. Where previously, it involved a trip to the Dragon's Den to retrieve the Dragon Fang, it now involves entering the Dragon Shrine in the Den. There, Clair's grandfather and leader of the dragon-user clan quizzes the player on their style of battling. Clair arrives and still refuses to hand over her badge after the player passes. In response, her grandfather threatens to tell Lance, to which Clair is terrified.

Crystal, along with Pokémon Gold and Silver, was the longest of all Pokémon games with 16 badges from two regions, Kanto and Johto. After getting the first eight Johto badges, the player could take on the Pokémon League. After beating the Elite Four, the player could collect the eight Kanto badges. By showing these to Prof. Oak, the player could gain entrance to Mt. Silver and face off against the final trainer, Red.

Pokémon Stadium 2

Like Gold and Silver, the game could be used in Pokémon Stadium 2 via a Transfer Pack much in the same way as the other games, but with a few changes. When Crystal is put into the transfer pack, info is added to Earl's Pokémon Academy that shows the availability of Pokémon in the Crystal version and remains in the game even when Crystal is not in the Transfer Pack. The Game takes considerably longer time to load at the GB Tower compared to the other versions, and comes with its own loading screen which shows the current Pokémon in the Party. Another notable change is in the battle modes of Pokémon Stadium 2. When using non-registered Crystal Version Pokémon, the trainer's picture that represents the player is female, regardless of whether or not the trainer is a male.

The Pokémon

In total, there are 251 Pokémon that can be used in Pokémon Crystal. However, in Crystal alone, there are only 223 Pokémon that can be caught. For the additional 28 Pokémon, the player would have to trade with Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold and Silver. These are:

• Bulbasaur (R/B/Y)
• Ivysaur (R/B/Y)
• Venusaur (R/B/Y)
• Charmander (R/B/Y)
• Charmeleon (R/B/Y)
• Charizard (R/B/Y)
• Squirtle (R/B/Y)
• Wartortle (R/B/Y)
• Blastoise (R/B/Y)
• Mankey (G/R/Y)
• Primeape (G/R/Y)

• Vulpix (S/B/Y)
• Ninetales (S/B/Y)
• Articuno (R/B/Y)
• Zapdos (R/B/Y)
• Moltres (R/B/Y)
• Omanyte (R/B/Y)
• Omastar (R/B/Y)
• Kabuto (R/B/Y)
• Kabutops (R/B/Y)
• Mewtwo (R/B/Y)

• Mareep (G/S)
• Flaaffy (G/S)
• Ampharos (G/S)
• Girafarig (G/S)
• Remoraid (G/S)
• Octillery (G/S)
• Mew Nintendo Special Event, Glitch in R/B/Y
• Celebi Nintendo Special Event

Pokémon Mobile Phone System

File:Crystal-mobile phone unit.jpg

The Pokémon Mobile Phone System.

In the Japanese version of Crystal, the player could link up with others through the use of a mobile phone. The Goldenrod City Pokémon Center was replaced by a much larger building which included the machine to use this feature. Using the mobile phone link-up would give the player an extra item, a GS Ball. After taking the Ball to Kurt in Azalea Town to examine, the player would place the GS Ball in the Ilex Forest shrine. This would cause a level 30 Celebi to fly down and attack the player. Two Gameshark codes can be used to activate the GS Ball related events and eventually catch Celebi in the English version of Crystal. Why this was not available in the United States is unknown (the mobile adapter system did not make the cut, but the maps and text for the system are in English Crystal).

As uncovered by a translation of the Crystal text for the phone system,([1]), trading and battling were allowed via the system. In battling, the maximum daily play time was ten minutes for each linked player. If a battle wasn't finished within the time limit, the player with the fewest fainted POKéMON won. If tied, the team that lost the least amount of HP won. Another subheading revealed more: "Data for use in the MOBILE STADIUM of the N64 POKéMON STADIUM 2 can be read here." This notes that there was a connection to Pokémon Stadium 2 through the Mobile Phone System. There were also login passwords and a system of cards, as shown here in these raw blocks of text:

• The CARD FOLDER stores your and your friends' CARDS. A CARD contains information like the person's name, phone number and profile.

• This is your CARD. Once you've entered your phone number, you can trade CARDS with your friends.

• If you have your friend's CARD, you can use it to make a call from a mobile phone on the 2nd floor of a POKéMON CENTER.

• To safely store your collection of CARDS, you must set a PASSCODE for your CARD FOLDER.

Glitches and Internal Battery Failure

A common problem found in the second generation of games is a problem with the internal battery after roughly six years. The internal battery is located inside of the cartridge which allows the game to save the user's progress. Many people have reported that their games no longer save due to this problem. It is possible to fix this, but the cartridge must be opened and the battery must be taken out, and a new battery must be soldered in. The battery model, CR2025, can be purchased at any electronics store.

On occasions, the Mystery Gift feature becomes unavailable. Changing the text speed in the options menu can reportedly fix the problem.