Friend code can be found on my profile page.

Thus continue the great adventures of VIXIE the ten-year-old boy girl from Pallet Town with mindless restrictions on her adventure. What is in store for our heroine today?

Route 3

Yay, more trainers. Including the infamous shorts Youngster. But they’re all easy. No potions, no deaths. All good in the hood. So let’s see what’s available Pokémon-wise: Mankey (15%), Ratatta (15%), Sandshrew (15%), and Spearow (55%). And what do I find?

Well, that’s no big surprise. I kind of wanted the Spearow more than anything else anyway so this works out swimmingly. On to Mount Moon.

Mount Moon

1F

BEWARE! Zubat is a bloodsucker. So the sign tells me. I’ll keep it in mind. Maybe. Time to pick up my obligatory bat as another drone.

…whoa, a Sandshrew! Those are decently rare in here. But since I’ll have Nidoking as a ground-type, I’ll have to relegate it to the path of the DRONE -with-chance-of-promotion should Geight bite the dust. A Bug Catcher was kind enough to inform me that there are shady characters hanging around, so I supposed I’d best watch out for them. Score a Moon Stone for Geight, and a Water Gun TM for whatever. The trainers on this floor were admittedly kind of tough. I’d better be more careful.

B1F

This middling floor is home to Paras and Clefairy are a bit more common here. So what do I run into?

Oh well, another drone for back-up.

B2F

A few Rockets, another drone (Zubat, no Clefairy *sigh*), and what’s this? A SUPER NERD? And he’s got fossils! I kind of want one but before I can say anything he starts attacking me. And boy, he was kind of rough. Grimer almost killed Pikachu and Koffing almost killed Butterfree. But I prevailed!

I see light ahead! It’s the exi—wait, who are these clowns? Jessie? James? Aren’t you guys supposed to be, like, on TV? Oh, well, they weren’t too hard. Now safety!

Route 4, Route 24, Route 25, Cerulean City

Route 4 apparently has the same exact encounter tables as Route 3, so nothing new and exciting there. Now I know where I’ll be grinding so Walker doesn’t trash me. Thanks to the conveniently placed Moon Stones at Mt Moon, I was able to shoot right from Nidoran to Nidoking as soon as Geight hit Lv16. I miss out on Horn Drill, but eh, who cares. And now back to Walker:

Looks like I over-prepared for him, ’cause that was an easier fight than I was anticipating. Next is up north to Route 24, a.k.a. Nugget Bridge. Hooray for easy EXP and P5000! It’s kind of funny when the Rocket at the end asks you to join Team Rocket. You’re not even saying anything and he’s like “pleeeeease join Team Rocket!!” over and over. I bet kids everywhere were like “how do I say yesss!?”. Heartless bastards.

And my Pokémon for the route is this lovely Oddish! I can accept this. And for Route 25? Oh goodness, the rarest Pokémon in the patch! Venonat!

The trainers on the way to Bill’s house are a bit tougher than the kids on Nugget Bridge. Zuu had waaay too many close calls. In fact, I had my first fatality here trying to save him. Fortunately, it was just the Lv3 Ratatta who needed to disappear anyway.

Speaking of BIll… he’s a Pokémon? Nope, he just screwed up an experiment and expects a ten-year-old kid to run a complicated computer program efficiently enough so that it’ll save his life. Fortunately I am good with computer. Zhorken, you can quit freaking out now.

I wanted the Dig TM to teach to Geight before challenging Misty, so naturally I marched right up to Team Rocket dude and challenged him to a battle.

I forgot he was as tricky as he was. surskitty almost died from the get-go. Oh well, Dig recovered. And then… wait, what?

What is this poop!? Sigh. Guess I’ll have to deal with Misty sans Dig. But not before I get Zuu to evolve, that’s for sure.

So basically, you must be “registered” to comment now. But fear not, wary traveller, for you may log in via OpenID!

In other news, I’m moving off to uni on Sunday. Gee, that’s in three days away. Hey, my birthday’s in two. I should also be picking up my Yellow file again. (I’ve actually got a post here in drafts I just need to add the screenshots to, so it should probably be finished by tomorrow.)

Incidentally, I’ve started a tumblr specifically for haiku. You should read them, and if you have Tumblr, follow me! It’ll make me feel lots better.

… anyway, right. Pokémon Yellow. Nuzlocke challenge. I’m curious as to how this’ll play out as this is my first Nuzlocke run. And yes I am masochistic enough to get stuck with Pikachu for the entire time. For those who don’t know, there are only two fixed rules in a Nuzlocke challenge:

• If a Pokémon faints, you must release it.
• You may only catch the very first Pokémon you find on a route. Nothing else.

Now since that leaves a lot of grey area as to what’s allowed and what isn’t, I’m going to further explain how I’m doing this. Since Pikachu cannot be released, I wasn’t sure as to whether or not to count Pikachu fainting as a complete Game Over, but since this is my first time, I’ll just put it in the PC and pretend it doesn’t exist any more in case that happens (not that I intend on it happening). I’m also counting each floor of a dungeon as a separate “route” since they have different encounter tables. (Plus I’d really like a Clefairy…!)

Pallet Town & Viridian City

Wow. It’s been awhile since I’ve started a first gen game file. …aaaand right, boy character only. Bleh. Oh well. So VIXIE just turned 10, time to step outside of town for the first time in his/her entire life apparently only to get halted by Professor Oak.

After catching Pikachu, Oak drags me to his lab where he promises to give me a Pokémon so I can be safe. After all, it’s pretty dangerous for a 10-year-old to wander around aimlessly alone. But some asshole named WALKER came and took my Eevee. So what does that leave me with? The Pikachu. Oh well. At least it’s cute.

But no, that wasn’t enough humiliation for one day — now he insists that we battle? Fine. I guess he doesn’t know quite who he’s dealing with anyway. Still, he got me nervous; his Tackles were doing more than my Thundershocks, and had I not gotten a lucky crit (thank goodness for RBY crit rates) there at the end, it would have been over before it even started.

Well, that’s that. And now off on an adventure. …or not, because I have to ABOUT FACE and march right back to Pallet Town after picking up some stupid parcel from the mart in Viridian. Yay, POKéDEX get. Now it’s adventure time. Welp, ran into something on Route 1, so I can’t catch anything there. I found a Nidoran♂ on Route 22, though, so I will be using him. Yeah, I know Nidoran♂ is the most common Pokémon on Route 22, but hey, I wanted a Nidoran-something so I am happy. Especially since you can get Nidoking like super-early.

Oh, crap. Right. Rival encounter already. Totally forgot about this one. Ugh.

…or not. What a chump. And speaking of chumps.

Summary

Route 1: No catch
Route 2: No encounter
Route 22: Nidoran (Geight)

Its unassuming wooden frame and immobile print mock me.

Viridian Forest and Pewter City

Viridian Forest! Now for some trainer battles. But first I’ll need a Caterpie for Brock. At least I hope I get a Caterpie. Please don’t be a Pidgey.

…I would’ve liked a little higher than Lv3, but hey, it’s a Caterpie, so I’m happy. And now for the arduous task of training it.

The Bug Catchers were all jokes as per usual, nothing life threatening, and no wild Pidgeottos (I was sort of hoping I’d encounter one first, but not with that 1% encounter rate…) so now, back outside to Route 2 where I figured it was time to maybe try catching something else.

Yay, a sacri—I mean, “diversion”.

Now that I’m in Pewter, it’s time to rest up.

I need Butterfree before even thinking about challenging Brock, so that was the first step.

And then, for the all-important Gym Leader battle! …meh, Brock’s a chump, too.

Summary

Route 2: Ratatta
Viridian Forest: Caterpie (Hlin)

Tune in next time for more exciting adventures with Vixie!

Generation I
“Hah! You’d better have BURN HEAL!”

Arguments for:

• The games that started it all, Pokémon would not exist without the flagship titles.
• Simplicity: 151 (or 150, if you insist) Pokémon was plenty enough. Choosing just 6 for a team was already difficult.
• Classic factor: Still enjoyable after many years
• Notoriety: Pokémon’s most recognisable faces (Pikachu, Charizard, Brock, Misty) originate in the first generation.
• Fun: Kanto had some of the most fun places to explore (Safari Zone, Silph Co., Seafoam Islands, Cerulean Cave)

Arguments against:

• Buggy: The handheld games had many exploitable glitches and crashed quite often.
• Not very user-friendly. Inventory space was a major issue, and it takes time to remember there is no registering Key Items.
• Imbalance in type representation. Gastly line were the only ghosts, Dratini line were the only dragons. Neither type had any decent moves. Bug also lacked a good attack. The Psychic type was considerably overpowered.
• Some awkward mechanics (think Sleep, Freeze, and moves like Bind, Clamp, Fire Spin)
• Lack of variety in metagame: Alakazam, Chansey, Tauros, etc. on every team.
• Lack of replay value: Mewtwo was the only thing to do after defeating the Pokémon League. There was nothing to do besides battling.

Details, Detales

Okay, so I’ve listed some of the pros and cons about the first generation. You’ll notice that most of the “cons” deal with mechanics and interface. These were not as big of problems back then, when we were used to the simplicity of Game Boy games. Heck, Pokémon was easily the most complex Game Boy game of its time. RBY laid out the foundation for GSC, RSE, and so on to build upon. Interaction with friends was key: Pokémon was the game you needed a link cable for. And there was certainly no shortage of Pokémon players. Chances are, most of your friends played (or play!) Pokémon at some point in their lives, and RBY were the games they likely played. Another prevalent problem with the originals is the simple lack of replay value–there wasn’t a whole lot to do after beating Green besides catching Mewtwo and filling up the rest of your Pokédex, which compared to today’s standards, isn’t particularly hard to do (if you have trading access, anyway). Stadium for the N64 remedied this issue somewhat: you could use your beloved Pokémon trained on your handheld games to play against a more challenging AI and in different styles of battle. While this may not sound particularly exciting for some, multiplayer was definitely better on the N64. Oak’s Lab made things a heck of a lot more convenient, too. You could even play your cartridge games at increased speeds in the GB tower.

Breakdown

Story: 3/10 – Admittedly the weakest in the series. Team Rocket is just a generic crime syndicate out to make money. At least they’re amusing sometimes. The rest of the plot is simply beating Gym Leaders and becoming the champion. The legendary birds are kind of just there, but the backstory behind Mew and Mewtwo is interesting.

Graphics: 5/10 – Depends on the game. Sprites that weren’t done by Ken Sugimori (it’s pretty obvious which ones were and weren’t) were generally bad. This gap between “good sprites” and “total crap” made things awkward, especially when it came to choosing favourite Pokémon and simply the canon design of the Pokémon (upside-down Koffing? not-vagina Cloyster?). Blue’s sprites were an (overall) improvement from Red and Green, and Yellow’s were even better. The overworld and architecture are clean and varied.

Music: 7/10 – A few memorable tunes, like the classic trainer battle theme, and of course, the Pokémon main theme. Overworld music mood changed with your progress throughout Kanto (I find this a brilliant touch) although some dungeon tunes were outright creepy (Viridian Forest, Pokémon Tower). The Champion battle theme is certainly the most unique to date, but not necessarily the best. The S.S. Anne tune will always be a personal favourite.

Replay: 2/10 – RBY’s greatest weakness. A dire lack of “distractions” and reasons to come back to the game after beating it. Multiplayer battles help with this a little bit.

Overall: 5/10 – RBY proper are quite archaic in this day and time and there’s is little reason to play them except to relive the memory (which is by no means a bad reason). Fortunately, FRLG are still fairly “current” games, and you can transfer Pokémon from them to DPPt/HGSS and by extent, Black and White. So while the first generation was indeed fantastic, it is nonetheless overshadowed by more recent advancements in Pokémon technology.

Generation II
“With just a little beep, you get a gift.”

Arguments for:

• “Biggest” world with two regions to explore.
• Introduced many mainstay elements of the game (breeding, hold items and berries, shinies)
• Cleaner interface with more convenient Bag and PC system.
• More interaction with players (Mystery Gift, Trainer House)
• Memorable plot (Kimono Girls, legendary encounters, Radio Tower siege, Silver Cave, etc.)
• “Fixed” metagame (accuracy issues, Hyper Beam glitch, Wrap/Bind/etc.)
• Interesting side-distractions (Radio, Bug Catching Contest, Battle Tower in Crystal)

Arguments against:

• Too fast-paced: Most of the time, there was very little to do story-wise between Gym Leaders.
• Laughably easy: Lance’s highest level was 50, and the only Kanto leader with higher levels than Lance was Green.
• Nowhere to grind: Wild Pokémon have consistently low levels throughout, capping in the 40s at Mt Silver (which is only accessible after you have the 16 badges).
• Boring second half: Kanto isn’t much more than an afterthought. Besides the Power Plant quest, there isn’t much to do there at all. Pewter Museum is closed, Safari Zone is closed, can’t explore Seafoam, Mt Moon and Rock Tunnel were condensed, etc.
• Many new Pokémon weren’t available until Kanto, defeating the point of them being new.
• Still lacking in replay: Red required a very boring continuous grind through the (weak) Elite Four or powerful Trainer House battles unless you had amazing skill. Likewise, the Battle Tower in Crystal required serious competence to stand a chance.
• “Balanced”, but slow metagame: GSC had a very defensively-oriented metagame unlike RBY’s rough-’em-up-quick style. Battles could drag on for ages.

Details, Detales

For people my age, Gold/Silver/Crystal were often their first games. Gold was my first game, at least. So indeed, it does have a special place in my heart as it was the game that got me into Pokémon in the first place. I was overwhelmed with how much there was to explore, and a favourite pastime of mine was playing through the game with my best friend, having rival battles after each gym. Between the sixteen gyms, day of the week events, breeding, Ruins of Alph, and everything else; GSC felt incredibly immense at the time, seeming to trounce the originals every which way. Stadium 2 with its vast collection of modes and mini-games (that you could use your Pokémon in!) only enforced this (room decoration was a delight — I am seriously disappointed this element disappeared in HGSS). GSC isn’t without problems, though; in fact, it has some dire weaknesses. The games are incredibly easy. The hardest battles are the first few Gym Leaders. After that, it’s pretty much downhill as far as a challenge goes. I mean, come on, Janine had Pokémon in the thirties. I wish they had just made Johto more expansive and not bothered with Kanto at all, because what they did to the region was an absolute disgrace.

Breakdown

Story: 5/10 – Team Rocket’s prevalence was fairly weak, but at least the Hideout and Radio Tower were fun. The legendaries weren’t involved with the plot at all, though, except arguably Suicune in Crystal (not really). Lance is pretty bad-ass when he shows up, and Silver is easily the best rival to date.

Graphics: 7/10 – Battle sprites were much more consistent, much fewer instances of “what the hell happened here?”. I generally prefer Gold’s sprites to Silver’s, but Crystal’s are better than both for certain. Multi-frame animations were also keen (still exclusive to Crystal). The overworld looks pretty much the same as it did in RBY, except with more colour.

Music: 7/10 – Greater variety in battle themes very much welcomed. Literally all of them are a delight without getting too repetitive. Shame the Kanto leader theme was short and you could only hear it up to 8 times. Some fantastic dungeon themes, too — Dragon’s Den, Tin and Brass Towers, “Viridian Forest” to name a few. Most of the Johto town music is great, Ecruteak/Cianwood contending for best to date. I got sick of hearing Viridian City in almost every Kanto town, though.

Replay: 3/10 – Kanto is honestly boring and there is little to keep your attention before and after Red. Crystal has the Battle Tower for hardcore players, but it was too hard for casuals. There are a couple side-quests (Tyrogue comes to mind) but nothing to write home about.

Overall: 6/10 – GSC will always have a special place in my heart as the first generation of Pokémon I ever played, but I simply can’t ignore its flaws. It’s quite an overrated generation, but I won’t deny that they were the “glory days” of Pokémon. HGSS addressed many of its issues, albeit not perfectly. Still, with HGSS around, I see little-to-no reason to actually play GSC again. Not to mention functioning copies are rare.

Generation III
“Wait! Please don’t take my GOODS!”

Arguments for:

• Greatly enhanced aesthetics. Overworld and dungeons are vastly improved in design and extras (like weather, craters and other geological features, etc.)
• A few neat side-quests and side-dungeons.
• Completely revamped mechanics; Pokémon are further personalised via Natures, Abilities and custom EV spreads.
• “Each turn” statuses (Poison, Burn, Leech Seed etc.) fixed, as well as more descriptive interface for learning and re-learning moves. Bag and PC storage are also massively improved again.
• Broadens type representation by introducing a fair number of Ghosts, Dragons, Darks, and Steels (along with respective attacks).
• Return of Safari Zone, and a good one at that.
• Consistent difficulty throughout; many Gym Leaders are quite challenging and the Elite Four is no pushover.
• More replay value: Contests are a nice side activity, Secret Bases are awesome, and there is the Battle Tower.
• Emerald has the original Battle Frontier, which pretty much makes it have the highest replay value of any Pokémon game to date.
• Closest thing to a plot in handheld Pokémon. The game legendaries are actually involved in the plot. Team Aqua and Magma were pretty great, as well.
• Balanced metagame with decent pacing. My personal favourite.

Arguments against:

• Felt too “different” for a lot of players, as if they were playing a different game.
• Many players claim RSE Pokémon are too unoriginal.
• Many 1st/2nd generation Pokémon initially unavailable; required trades from CoXD/FRLG
• Weak professor with a weaker rival; Rival’s starter doesn’t get past second stage. Wally is a bit of a mystery.
• Many of the new mechanics (e.g. EV training) are too boring of a grind for casual players.
• Large reliance on HMs (Rock Smash, Strength especially) is irritating.
• Some Battle Frontier facilities are tricky (Battle Palace…), and getting all Gold symbols is mindnumbingly difficult.

Details, Detales

Whoa, things are different. The game looks different, the battles look different, there are double battles, amongst other things. Some people liked the different. Some people didn’t like the different. Personally? I enjoyed the different! My Pokémon looked pretty and the environment was pretty and less blocky. The Hoenn region is gorgeous with unique architecture and cities, and a great share of distractions from the main storyline (like the Trick House and Secret Bases!). There is honestly not a whole lot I can legitimately criticise, but there are some standout issues. May is cute and Brendan is an asshole, but neither are superb rivals. Their primary function seems to be giving you key items (Itemfinder, Go-Goggles, HM02) more than battling you. Birch is also admittedly a dull professor who doesn’t factor much into the story at all. The Gym Leaders as a whole aren’t as interesting, either, although I do like Wynona and the twins. Phoebe and Glacia have boring teams, but Sidney and Drake are cool. Steven and Wallace are pretty fantastic champions, as well. And then (for Emerald at least) there’s the Battle Frontier — this place will keep you busy for ages. Every facility is fun in its own way, and the variety is amazing. It truly is hard to become completely bored with the Battle Frontier. Pt/HGSS’s doesn’t come close.

Breakdown

Story: 7/10 – I can accept the endeavours of Team Aqua and Team Magma as a legitimate plot (Emerald for best results). For Pokémon, this is impressive. Additionally, the game doesn’t start out with you just suddenly becoming a trainer out of nothing on the road to championship–you’ve got Dad to face first, and you grow from there.

Graphics: 8/10 – The overworld is crisp and clean. Dungeons are varied, Meteor Falls is especially gorgeous. Cities have real personality to them, like Rustboro and Fortree. Attack animations are much more lively. Emerald’s Pokémon animations are quite lame compared to Crystal’s, though.

Music: 9/10 – Go Ichinose has composed what is easily the best and fully-fleshed out soundtrack on a handheld Pokémon game. Town music is rarely recycled, and particular routes (Route 113) and landmarks (Meteor Falls) have tracks that scream personality. Not to mention the battle music; while some may argue GSC’s Trainer/Leader music are better, nobody can deny how awesome the Team Aqua/Magma and Elite Four themes are. Emerald’s Frontier Brain theme is keen, too. The Abandoned Ship, Dewford Town, and Underwater themes are some personal favourites (there are loads more I am forgetting).

Replay: 8/10 – Assuming you’re playing Emerald, the Battle Frontier alone guarantees hours and hours of extra playtime, well after you’ve defeated Wallace. Steven makes a Red-like appearance as a bonus. This may not be perfect for people who aren’t fanatics about battling, though (and if you’re not, why are you playing Pokémon!)

Overall: 8/10 – If you haven’t figured it out by now, I think RSE are really good games. They are the optimum Pokémon experience still to this date (yes, DPPt was a step backward). They are not perfect, and they do lack some form of charm that the prior generations possessed, but they are still the most coherent titles with an appealing selection of Pokémon, interesting plot, and plenty of things to do ingame. I hope secret bases come back for Black/White because they were awesome, but I doubt they will. Ditto Trick House.

(More to come later: 4th gen, and why it was a step backwards! Also more details on FRLG, HGSS, and CoXD)

So! Since you get the short end of the stick no matter what, let’s do a quick comparison of each starter to ease the painstaking decision that must be made every New Game.

I. Kanto

We have a huge… plant-thing, a fiery dragon-like thing, and a tortoise with cannons in its shell. Now there are people who swear by Charizard, and there are people who swear by Blastoise, and there are people who feel bad for Venusaur. But as far as coolness factor goes, I’d have to say all three are pretty much on equal grounds.

Venusaur is like something you would find brewing in some sort of neo-bioengineering lab–something you’d be running for dear life from should you run across one after a freakish experiment disaster. While scary at night, it’s scarier during the day: solar-powered, and equipped with ultra-high-energy laser beams. I would not be surprised if Iran actually has abandoned their nuclear programs, because they’re working on Venusaurs instead. Did I mention that it’s bigger than both Charizard and Blastoise?

Charizard might be a dragon, but a pretty tame one at that. Sure, it breathes fire and has a fiery tail. But the bright orange tones and lack of a rough, scaly exterior simply scream “hug me! I’m cute”. Still, Charizard is a dragon and dragons are inherently cool (right? right?)

As for tortoises, they’re not the #1 thing that comes to mind for most people when it comes to “Think of an animal that’s awesome.” But that doesn’t stop ol’ Blastoise from being amazing. He takes a page out of Engineer’s book and “just adds water guns”. Blastoise has no problem resorting to artillery fire when it comes to show who who’s boss. And he gets the last laugh, too, taking comfort in the fact that he’s going to live for another 200 years after you die.

Of course, while the animé and Pokédex like to rave about each Pokémon’s inherent amazing power (did you know that Magcargo is hotter than the sun? Water should vaporise on contact, not utterly obliterate it), what really matters is how well your comrades will perform for you in the thick of battle on your 3″ DS screen. So, let’s explore that.

…well. Charizard appears to have the “best” stats, but really, they’re all pretty even. HP and Attack are practically identical, Blastoise trades some offensive power for more Defense, and then Charizard gets the nod for Speed. Venusaur sits happily somewhere in the middle of it all. Ironically enough, you actually get more EXP from defeating a Blastoise than a Charizard.

Then you have application. Each Pokémon plays differently to its strengths; Charizard is a clear-cut attacker, Blastoise is a tough-as-nails stalwart, and Venusaur swings either way (and I don’t mean like that).

It's okay, Venusaur. We accept you anyway.

Venusaur is a textbook Grass Pokémon with its arsenal of annoyances (status powders, Leech Seed), but then there’s that nasty Poison side to it, too. Venusaur can use its high Special Attack to abuse powerful STAB techniques, like Leaf Storm and Sludge Bomb, while crippling those that resist it with status. Venusaur can even strike hard physically utilising Swords Dance and attacks like Power Whip. Don’t let the docile plant image deceive you; despite the typing, Venusaur can both take and dish out an effective hit.

For an offensively-oriented Pokémon, Charizard has decidedly average Attack. Fortunately, it has a multitude of tools at its disposal to remedy such an identity crisis. Dragon Dance, Swords Dance, and Belly Dance Drum are all fantastic moves that turn our huggable ‘zard into a hulking incinerator of blazing magnitude. Only Sozin’s Comet could make our beloved Salamander more deadly. Of course, Charizard is not without flaws–indeed, the fourth generation has been particularly unkind to it. The additions of Stealth Rock (which instantly halves Charizard’s HP upon entering) and Stone Edge are omnipresent threats that grind the Flame Pokémon’s rampage to a screeching halt.

“Bulky Waters” are a recurring concept in Pokémon battling. These are Pokémon like Slowbro, Suicune, and Milotic that stand (or slither?) proud in the frontlines, ready to eat whatever that comes their way for breakfast. Of course, for every great movement in Pokémon warfare, there has to be a pioneer that started it all. And for the “bulky water” archetype, that pioneer is Blastoise. Solid defenses on both ends of the spectrum, and only two weaknesses make Blastoise one sturdy turtle. Access to neat utility moves like Rapid Spin and Yawn make it a great support Pokémon, although its offensive power might be lacking for some. Still, with powerful STAB Water attacks, Blastoise can pack a punch in a pinch.

And there you have it. All three Pokémon are pretty fantastic, both in battle and by just being awesome. Charizard might win the popularity contest in the community, but I think they all deserve a ginormous fanclub. After all, they’re the very first Pokémon.

Bonus! Some Effective Sets to Use

Considering playing your friends or the Battle Frontier with one of these fabulous Pokémon? Here are some fun sets I’d recommend trying out. (Please note these aren’t necessarily true “competitive” sets for serious-serious battling; if you’re into that, check out Smogon instead.)

	Sleep Powder
	Leaf Storm
	Sludge Bomb
	Synthesis
Cripple your opponent with Sleep, then attack away! If you don’t like Leaf Storm’s SPA drop, you can opt for Energy Ball instead, but it’s a significant power price to pay (210 to 120, a difference of 90). Sludge Bomb is effective  STAB as well, with 145 power and a 30% chance of poisoning. Synthesis is for recovery as needed, although Leech Seed can work here, too. A lot of Pokémon resist Grass and Poison, but that’s what Sleep Powder and switching are for!

	Dragon Dance
	Flare Blitz
	Earthquake
	Roost
Build up power with Dragon Dance and proceed to sweep with powerful Flare Blitzes. Earthquake handles some other types well, including Rock-types that resist Flare Blitz. Roost is to recover some HP lost from building stats and Flare Blitz recoil. If you feel this isn’t necessary, you can try Thunderpunch instead to hurt Water-types more. If you don’t need the Speed, you can also try Swords Dance over Dragon Dance.

	Hydro Pump
	Counter
	Mirror Coat
	Rest
This multi-purpose retalitory turtle ensures that you can seriously injure just about anything that tries to attack you. Rest allows you to recover HP for another round of beatings. If you’d rather opt for Leftovers over a Chesto Berry, consider some Heal Bell / Aromatherapy / Wish support. If Counter is not obtainable for you, Toxic is a good alternative option.