It’s almost a sure thing with each new Pokemon generation that comes and goes: after about a year, an alternative version will be released with a few tweaks and adjustments. Nothing major, just enough to get you to fork out your hard earned Pokedollars to nab what is essentially the same game once more. We’re all suckers, obviously – but we’re suckers with a cute Pikachu that follows us around, so it’s probably worth it.
Generation 2 may have been the most ambitious evolution in the series, completely balancing the broken mechanics from the original games, adding two new types, and even allowing us to revisit Kanto once more. Because of the enormity of this leap, it would be a tall order for Pokemon Crystal to make an impact. Overall, it may have been forgotten in the series’ echelons, but it peppered several small nuances that have since become standard, many of which we probably didn’t even realize premiered on the humble sparkly cartridge. With the game set to triumphantly release on the 3DS virtual console, it seems an appropriate time to herald its finer details.
Female Protagonist
Our leadoff is an obvious one, a long-awaited move that made the titles more inclusive. Pokemon Crystal introduced us to Kris, a peppy young trainer with a name devoid of creativity, and the series’ first female protagonist. Of course, the choice is purely an aesthetic one, but it allowed an eager generation of girls to finally feel like they were the trainer on-screen. It’s hard to quantify now, but back in the peak of the franchise’s popularity, there was this engrossing notion that these were your adventures, your Pokemon, your life. Prior to Kris, female players would have to add the caveat that it was ‘them during their phase when they were actually a boy.’
Considering the lead character’s silent nature, it is rather surprising that this hadn’t been a feature in Gold and Silver prior to this. After all, the Pokemon at your disposal now had their own genders, yet you were perpetually oozing machismo? In modern entries, you can even alter your trainer’s appearance, allowing even more of a sense of familiarity. Personally, I was hoping that I could make mine into an octogenarian from some unspecified region of South America, but alas, it was not to be. Fingers crossed for gen 8, then.
Sprite Animations
In the current era of fully rendered polygonal Pogeys, the longing for animations seems rather archaic. But imagine, if you will, seeing your beloved starting ally evolve into a mighty behemoth at long last, and only getting to appreciate that with one static image. They felt lifeless and cold, which perhaps made the fact that they were thrown into deadly combat a little easier to swallow. Then, along came Pokemon Crystal, and upon their summoning, your beasts would briefly wiggle. It was pure magic.
Obviously, with so many Pokemon smushed onto the meager memory of the Game Boy Color cartridge, they weren’t going to be very robust, and some were much better than others. But it added an element of vivification that made us associate with our party just that little bit more. Dragonite was a particular highlight, as its giddy boogie made it look like it had just received a piece of candy. We should all hope to someday be as delighted as that Dragonite.
Battle Tower
Now we’re moving onto an addition with substance, as Pokemon Crystal was the very first instance of a Battle Tower in the series. It’s common knowledge in the games that the challenge level is not particularly steep, with some gym leaders being felled primarily through their own incompetence. How these bumbling loons managed such a prestigious position is anyone’s guess. Even Johto’s Elite Four can be easily dispatched with a quick swap in to an advantageous matchup that allows you to spam your most powerful moves. Rinse and repeat, and you are the Champion! May none ever question your reign, and why you were allowed to freely shuffle through Pokemon when none of your opponents were afforded the same courtesy.
Cocky trainers strutting their stuff into the Pokemon Tower were about to get wrecked, however, as it played by a different set of rules. Three entrants, no items, no free swaps, and finely tuned AI that wanted nothing more than to see you dead. Do you remember the first time you ran afoul of that tournament-standard Blissey? Under its jolly pink exterior laid the empty soul of a fiendish ghoul. It was finally time to really test your mettle, and we were all better tacticians for it. Or we gave up and cried, then wrote about it in our feelings journal.
Pokemon with Special Moves
Quick: what was the first standalone game that allowed you to wield a Pokemon with a unique attack? If you hastily responded with gen 1’s surfing/flying Pikachu, you get partial credit. Remember, gaining these illustrious abilities required fulfilling challenges in Pokemon Stadium, attending obscure Japanese events, or a ritual sacrifice that we dare not speak of. In actuality, your first opportunity to acquire a special Pokemon without outside assistance was in Crystal. At the daycare, the player will be given an odd egg. Hatching it not only reveals a baby Pokemon with a higher chance of being shiny than usual, but one that has Dizzy Punch. This is particularly significant, as it is the only way that these creatures can learn the move. As such, you may find yourself soft resetting in annoyance when that stupid Smoochum rears its ugly head for the fifth time.
Another less chaotic instance of this is in the Dragon’s Den, where you can answer a short quiz to be given a Dratini. The questions all challenge your decency as a human being (do you prefer strong or weak Pokemon, what is your strategy for victory, did you vote Republican, etc.). Answering correctly will gift you with an extreme speed Dratini, a fantastic priority move that capitalizes on the serpent’s beefy attack stat. Failure to satisfy the conditions will result in a Dratini that has boring old leer, instead. Have you ever stopped to think about the implications of that? If you are deemed to be a dreadful person, this Pokemon will literally stare at you in disdain. What a chilling fate! Into the box with you, judgmental worm.
Legendary Pokemon Theme Music
Perhaps the most obscure addition: Pokemon Crystal spruced up your battles against the three legendary dogs in a way that you may not have even noticed. Traditionally, all wild Pokemon encounters played to the same tune. Whether it was a common Pidgey or the almighty Mewtwo, it was accompanied by the familiar, stock-standard capture theme.
Once you had ventured into a patch of unassuming grass in Crystal however, should one of these spectacular monsters be lurking there, you would immediately know it, thanks to the snazzy new music they had received. It was truly befitting the tense situation you found yourself in, trying to snag one of these Pokemon before they fled from the battle, and it was completely exclusive to that trio – not even original cover kids Ho-oh and Lugia could claim the same. It was little touches like this, modest and reasonable, that helped to make Crystal the definitive version of generation 2. We’re eager to take another crack at it on the 3DS, and finally show that sinister Blissey who’s boss, once and for all!
