One of the rarest kinds of items in the Pokemon series (other than the rare candy of course), evolutionary stones play a vital role in the main objective of the game, as they allow certain Pokemon to evolve where level and experience does not matter so much. There are only a certain number of Moonstones in the first generation Pokemon games, the rest of the stone types able to be purchased in Celadon City for a price. However through the magic of programming, it is entirely possible to cause one of these stone-specific Pokemon to evolve in battle without a stone.
Explanation of how this is possible is probably the best thing to do first. Every object in the game is assigned its own ‘number’, called a ‘hex variable’ (hex being short for hexadecimal). These are considered numbers, but use a combination of two letters or numbers, from 0-9, and A-F (for example, 0F would be considered a variable). Both Pokemon and items in this sense have their own list of variables. Sometimes a Pokemon shares a variable with an item, so in the case of evolutionary stones, the following Pokemon match with the following evolution stone:
Moon Stone/Exeggutor – HEX 0A
Fire Stone/MissingNo. – HEX 20
Thunderstone/Growlithe – HEX 21
Water Stone/Onix – HEX 22
Leaf Stone/Psyduck – HEX 2F
Note that there are over thirty different types of Missingno., so only the one with a hex of 20 will match up with a fire stone. Now despite the Pokemon and items sharing a similar variable, most operations (a longer string of hex code where a specified number of variables can be input from an external list) are specific to their respective list. However in the first generation of Pokemon games, there is an operation for two different events that is shared by both lists. In Pokemon Red and Blue, this operation is expressed as ‘01XX91CF’, and in Yellow it is expressed as ‘01XX90CF’. These operations are used for two events: to pick up on what Pokemon is sent out in battle, and for what item is currently being used.
To make use of this oversight to evolve Pokemon without using their evolutionary stones, you need to have at least two Pokemon in your party: the Pokemon you want to evolve, which needs to be close to levelling up (so that after the next fight it will level), and the Pokemon that matches its evolution stone (so if you want to evolve a Clefairy, you need an Exeggutor). This can be done with either a wild Pokemon or a trainer battle, but the method in doing both is still the same. Start the battle with the Pokemon that you want evolved first, then switch out with the party member that shares the appropriate stone hex variable. From there, simply defeat the opponent(s), making sure that after the first Pokemon (if a trainer fight) or the battle (if it’s against a wild Pokemon), the first one gains a level. After the combat end, a notification will pop up, alerting the player that the Pokemon is evolving, just as it would if it used the standard method of levelling for its evolution. As most of the stones can be purchased anyways, the best use of this technique is to evolve Pokemon who need the Moonstone, as they are of limited quantity in the game (unless the Missingno. glitch is exploited to duplicate one).
All of you have heard of the average Pokemon trainer. It is the class everyone is put into at the start. The general trainer has the main goal of beating all the gyms and thus earning the gym badge. The gym badge is what is rewarded to the trainer by the gym leader. The badge resembles what type the gym is based on. Each region tends to have eights gym, so that means that you will fight eight different people, the gym leaders. And of course, that means eight badges to be gathered. Once getting all of the eight badges you go to the Pokemon League and challenge it. You will fight four people known as the Elite Four. The Elite Four tend to have the strongest Pokemon you will face. However, they are usually battling with their element.
For example, Bruno of the Kanto/Johto Elite Four trains fighting type Pokemon. To beat him easier I suggest bringing a strong flying type Pokemon. Flying type Pokemon have an advantage over fighting type Pokemon as you should already know. Making it easier to defeat Bruno. He is just one of the Elite Four, you will only face him in the Kanto or Johto regions. He is just one of the Elite Four, however, this means you must be prepared for the other three. It usually takes one or two tries for most trainers, that is if they are powerful and strong and confident as trainers. So it should be easy. I’d suggest bringing some Hyper Potions of some sort for the battles. You should bring a lot of Revives as well. You might or might not need them, but I strongly suggest it. I’m not saying you would be a bad trainer this way, just a prepared one.
All just in case. The Elite Four’s Pokemon usually range from the 45-60 when it comes to the level of the Pokemon that they use. Every region has different Pokemon at different levels when you face the Elite Four. But that is just the ball park of where they are usually at. Now, you beat these Elite Four members I keep talking about, so now what? See for yourself, you will face the champion of the Pokemon League! The champions are incredibly powerful when it comes to level. Their Pokemon I would say range between 59-70 when it comes to the level. What can I say? They are powerful trainers. If you can beat them you will be crowned the next champion and will get your name and your team of Pokemon you used added to the Hall of Fame. That is what the main goal of the vast majority of trainers usually tends to be.
The Strongest Pokemon (Video Games)
Alright, let’s think about modern day Pokemon. There are just about over six hundred species today. Amazing compared to the one hundred fifty we are use to. I am not biased with the different species, newer generations or anything like that. Today I want to talk about the Pokemon. Now with all of these Pokemon you would think of some different strengths going on here. Now a Caterpie can and will put up a fight against a Weedle. But do you honestly think it stands a chance against the mighty fire and flying type Pokemon known as Charizard? No, I didn’t think so. Read more ›
Over the years we’ve all been collecting Pokemon Plushies but sadly many just sit in the corner of my bed or lay on shelves never to see the light of day. I was searching the Apple store one day when I found this really cool new app called “Rate My Poke Plush”. It’s from the makers of InupGames and it seems they’ve really hit a home run on this one. Basically you can take photos, upload your collection and have everyone rate your plushie. Finally someone has made an app with the collector in mind. I’ve even been reading that they are going to make the app free and will be running some free contests for the top rated image of the month. I don’t know about you but I’m going to win this month so I can add more to my collection!
Since having escalated in popularity worldwide, the Pokemon franchaise has been able to produce many different sorts of products. From games, to shows, to cards, and even toys, there are all different kinds of items that can be sought and collected as a hobby. Apart from one of the more obvious collectables (being Pokemon cards), Pokemon figurines are another easily collectable item, the majority of which are produced by a company called ‘Tomy’. However like any collectable there are always guidelines that should be followed, in order to make the process easy to follow.
First of all, devise a method for how you decide to go about purchasing the figurines. It’s one thing to decide that you want to collect them all, but with over 500 different Pokemon out there, it makes the entire collecting process a bit overwhelming. Try breaking the collection into chunks, such as collection according to region (perhaps start on the first 151 Pokemon first, then work on the Johto Pokemon next, then Hoenn, etc.). This will make it easier to track progress. Another key thing to do before getting started is to make a list of all the Pokemon you’re going to collect, and update it regularly. This will help to prevent picking up doubles of a Pokemon figurine by mistake. You also need to determine which ‘generation’ of figures you want to collect, as the original set of Pokemon produced by Tomy are of higher quality, yet are on the pricy side (online they can sometimes go for $4-6 a piece if still in packaging). The more recently produced figures are easily more affordable to a beginner, yet are not of the best quality. It’s up to the collector to decide which they want to go for.
Depending on where you end up buying the figurines from may affect how easy or hard the challenge of collecting can be. Some toy stores only carry the most recent figures from the fifth generation, making the Pokemon from earlier games a bit more difficult to find. If you’re lucky you may live near a store dedicated to everything anime and manga as I do, where individual figures can be purchased for fairly cheap (at $0.75 Canadian apiece for the new non-fifth-gen figures). When purchasing online however it is buyer beware, but because the new Tomy figures are produced in China, the red flag of buying in China and Hong Kong is not as big of a deal versus something like plushies, and is normally the more affordable way to go. If you do decide to purchase from somewhere like eBay, make sure to do this prior to buying in a store, as many sellers offer lots of multiple assorted figures. By buying these lots first to start your set, you can reduce the chances of obtaining doubles of any figures. Sometimes a quick browse on online local ads or yard sales can reveal some of the older, harder to find figurines.
To add to the fun, try collection Pokemon figures with a friend. This way you can work together with them to complete your sets, and both trade and discuss new figures and good finds.
Fuchsia City’s Safari Zone is the focal point of the city, being the home to many rare and exotic Pokemon that cannot be found outside of its boundaries, making it a stop that must be checked out by all trainers. However unlike the outside world, the Safari Zone has a few rules of its own. First of all, you have a time limit to how long you can stay in the Safari Zone, which in the first generation is determined by the number of steps are taken within its boundaries. The player is only given thirty special Pokeballs, and cannot fight traditionally against the Pokemon inside. Rather, they must use a combination of bait and rocks to make the Pokemon easier to capture, and even then the success rate is all by chance. It is because of limits like these that make that add to the challenge of the game. However there is normally a way around such things and the Safari Zone is no exception. In Pokemon Red and Blue versions, it is actually possible to enable the ability to capture the Pokemon of the first Safari Zone due to an oversight in coding.
Before entering the Safari Zone, make sure that you have a Pokemon with Fly and Surf handy. Enter into the Safar Zone as normal, paying the fee as you normally would. But as soon as you enter in, walk out of the Safari Zone, and out of the gate and into Fuchsia City. Without taking a single step away from the gateway entrance, open up your list of Pokemon, and fly directly to Cinnabar City. For those familiar with the Old Man glitch, this should be rather familiar, as the next step is to walk toward the eastern shore of the island, and proceed to surf up and down the coast line until a battle is imitated. So long as you don’t leave the coastline and go into another route, you will always be able to access Safari Zone Pokemon here.
The reason that this and the Old Man trick can occur is due to another oversight in coding. Every city in the game has a preset list of Pokemon that can occur within it, even if there is no grass or water or any other place for wild Pokemon battles to occur. The only exception to this is Cinnabar Island, which does not have such a list. Also, whenever a player travels from one location to another, the list of Pokemon that can be encountered is updated with the new area’s list. As the player leaves the Safari Zone and goes to Cinnabar Island, the list is not updated, because there is no new data to update the list with. So until new data is present, Cinnabar Island will use the data of the last location visited. In the case of the Old Man glitch, the player’s name has to be stored somewhere else temporarily so that the demonstration shows the ‘Old Man’ attempting to capture. In order to save space, the programmers used the list of Pokemon that could be encountered to store the player’s name, which would be reset upon traveling to a new location. However when going to Cinnabar again, this list is not updated, and upon encountering a wild Pokemon, the game attempts to pull data from this list. Instead all it finds is the name of the player (which is invalid for this purpose), so instead it uses a placeholder Pokemon, Missingno.
