Introduction
Pokemon. 20 years ago Red and Green versions were released to the Japanese public, creating a juggernaut of a phenomenon of one of the most successful franchises of all time. Everyone knows it, nearly everyone's played it and above all, nearly everyone loves the Second Generation. We all know it, when people think of the quintessential Pokemon experience, they think of what many consider to be the most nostalgic, most feature packed, most improved versions of Pokemon that no other game past, present or future can ever hope to live up to.
And you know, they're kinda right. Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal are absolutely fantastic games that improve on the original Red, Green, Blue and Yellow versions in so many ways it's ridiculous. But the same base game is still there, mainly because the improvements are all skin deep. Under the surface you'll still find an unbalanced broken mess held together with string, prayer and the sheer might of Satoru Iwata's programming knowledge, to bring us the games we all know and love. These games are not the best Pokemon has to offer, far from it, these are some of the worst games in a series that constantly improves with every iteration, for the most part.
But that doesn't stop these games, like the previous ones, to be absolute joys to play. Like I hope to show with this LP in much the same way I did with my Yellow LP, I want to show that while these games are bad, bad, baaaaad, they're still a lot of fun and a definite product of their time. I'll also be talking about all aspects of the second generation, how the anime, manga and general fandom continued during what is arguably Pokemon's peak level of cultural influence. And of course, I'll be comparing the English to the Japanese versions, like I was in the previous LP, cause even though Gen 1 was a Japanese game through and through, development of Gen 2 was in full swing even before Gen 1 had properly made it over to the west, so it still has plenty of Japanese inspirations, just take a look at the Johto region itself.
Since this is very much intended to be a sequel to my Pokemon Yellow SSLP, I would advise you read through it beforehand. It won't be necessary, though I will be referring to it throughout this LP. You can find the LP here.
So sit back and enjoy and let's play the worst/best game the series has to offer.
SPOILERS ARE A-OK: The Champion is Lance, your rival is Giovanni's son, we'll find the previous protagonist chilling at the top of Mt. Silver after we've gone through the Kanto region. It's cool, let's have a free discussion and some fun times.
Table of Contents
#01: Welcome to the World of Improvements!
#02: There and Back Again and Again
#03: Catch-a-thon 2000
#04: The Walk North
#05: Sprouting Wings
#06: Nerds and Calligraphy
#06.5: Wings and Words (HGSS)
#07: The Walk South
#08: Good Samaritan
#09: In This Dark, Dark Forest...
#09.5: Bugs and Wells and Sticks (HGSS)
#10: Butts and Breeding (Not Related)
#11: Sights of Goldenrod City
#12: The Incredibly Pretty Girl!
#12.5: Dynamite Pretty Gal! (HGSS)
#13: Feeling Japanese
#14: Park and Ride
#15: A Buggy Contest
#16: Loose Dark Ends
#16.5: Sportssportssports (HGSS)
#17: Old Town, Burned Down
#18: Future's Past Present
#19: Loose Surf Ends
#20: And On That Farm He Had A...
#20.5: Milk and Darkness (HGSS)
#21: The Glittering Port
#21.5: Battle Tower Extravaganza
#22: Over the Ocean
#23: Fat and Furious Fists of Fury
#24: Surfing and Strengthing Around
#24.5: From Port to Port (HGSS)
#25: Edge of the Map (HGSS)
#26: Steel and Rock
#27: Unleashing My Rage
#28: Rocketing Through the HQ
#28.5: Steeling and Stealing (HGSS)
#29: Battle Tower - Level 10
#30: Nice Ice Price, Pryce Baby!
#31: Seven Floors of Radio Tower
#32: End of the Raging North Winds
#33: Sliding Faff of the Ice Path
#34: Dragon Her Heels
#35: Badgering a Master
#35.5: Rocket Lollies (HGSS)
#36: Battle Tower - Level 30
#37: Do you know what you just did?
#38: Waterfalling Around
#38.5: Deepest Depths and Highest Heights (HGSS)
#39: The Elite Four
#40: Champion and Credits
#40.5: A Remade Elite (HGSS)
#40.90210: Frontier From Hell (HGSS)
#41: Electrifying Entrance into Kanto
#42: Foreseeing the North
#43: Solving Current Problems
#43.5: The Battle Factory (HGSS)
#44: Lavender Scented Celadon
#45: Where the Rocks are Hard
#45.5: Kanto Again (But Less Shit)(HGSS)
#46: Battle Tower - Level 50
#47: Back to Start
#47.5: The Battle Arcade (HGSS)
#48: The Southern Seas
#49: End of Kanto
#50: Battle Tower - Level 70
#50.5: A Second Slice of Excellent Kanto (HGSS)
#51: Leftover Legends
#52: Adventures in the Ruins of Alph
#53: Adventures in Ilex Forest
#54: Battle Tower - Level 100
#55: Red End
#56: The Third Piece of Cake Metaphor Thing (HGSS)
#57: Silver End (HGSS)
#58: The Battle Hall (HGSS)
#59: Rock Climbin' Around (HGSS)
#60: The Battle Castle (HGSS)
#61: Ring For More Postgame (HGSS)
#62: The Battle Tower (HGSS)
#63: Five Out Of Five (HGSS)
Supplementary Videos
Opening and Intro (Update 1)
VS Leader Falkner (Update 5)
VS Leader Bugsy (Update 8)
VS Leader Whitney (Update 12)
VS Leader Morty (Update 18)
Battle Tower - Level 30 First Try (Update 21.5)
VS Leader Chuck (Update 23)
VS Leader Jasmine (Update 26)
VS Leader Pryce (Update 30)
VS Suicune (Update 32)
VS Leader Clair (Update 34)
VS Elite Four Will (Update 39)
VS Elite Four Koga (Update 39)
VS Elite Four Bruno (Update 39)
VS Elite Four Karen (Update 39)
VS Champion Lance (Update 40)
VS PKMN Trainer Carrie (Update 47)
VS Leader Blue (Update 49)
VS Rival Terran (Update 51)
VS Former Champion Red (Update 55)
VS An Old Friend (Update 55)
Side Notes
#01: Release Overview
#02: How Pokemon Tick This Time (Stats, DVs and New Additions)
#03: Catching 'Em All, All Over Again
#04: Pokegear, In-Game Trades, Escaping and Updated Type Chart
#05: Letters and Powers
#06: Anime Openings 1
#07: Headbutt, Badge Boosts and Critical Hits
#08: BREEEEEEEEDIIIIIIIING
#09: If You're Happy and You Know It, Use Return
#10: Experience and Its Eight Thousand Formulae
#11: Aprijuice and Performance (HGSS)
#12: All About Hold Items
#13: Time for Adventures! (GSC and Yellow Arc)
#14: Competitive DVs
#15: Anime Openings 2 - Whirl Islands Boogaloo
#16: All That Glitters...
#17: The Celebi Egg Glitch
#18: Pokewalkin' Around (HGSS)
Crystal Team
Kotone's Photo Album
