Pokemon Yellow Journal: 100th Adventure

Journal Entry #1: Journey begins yet again.

So I've started yet another Yellow Journey. To think this is now the 100th time after 25+ years so figured I'd make this one count as they say. I opted to use one of the predetermined names in Ash(aka Anime character that Yellow is loosely based on). For the rival, Gary is one of the preset options but I can't say no to Blue. I withdraw the Potion from my Item PC and proceeded to enter the Grass north of town to provoke Oak to join me and auto-catch Pikachu(the lone wild encounter with Pikachu in the entire game, never to be encountered again).

After entering Oak's Lab, I noticed a single Poke Ball on the table. For Red/Blue players you have thee because you have the three Kanto starters to choose from. For Yellow, it's unknown but before I can go examine it since it's apparently mine, I'm pushed out of the way by Blue as he snatches the Pokemon(hence is the Genesis of Lets GO Eevee for what might have been).

After being given Pikachu by Oak, I noticed it's stats were on the low side with 18 HP, 10 Attack, 9 Defense, 14 Speed and 11 Special. Pokemon in Gen 1 roll with a random IV value of 1-15 in those 4 stats, hence wild encounters are different every time as a result where a Pidgey might survive a Thundershock as opposed to being KO'd by it.

After experimenting with an IV/EV calculator, I determined that my HP IV was 4 or less(pretty bad roll), Attack IV was 4 or less, Defense was 10 or better(I guess that's ok but really didn't help with a stat of 9 to start), Speed IV was 8 or less and Special IV was 10 or better. Since I can't confirm it like you can in later generations(or make it perfect via Bottlecaps), I had to roll with what I got.

Now the first rival fight is generally inconsequential. You either win it or you don't. I didn't care unless I really wanted to pick Blue's evolution for his Eevee because this fight outcome is extremely important if I want him to have Jolteon. Since I've faced Jolteon numerous times and have used Jolteon myself at least 50 times(hence why he won't be used @Hades0918 ), I'll be looking to force Flareon or Vaporeon.

The fight begins and I unleash a TShock that deals modest damage. Blue reciprocates with a Tackle knocking me down to 13 HP. I do another TShock and get he gets another Tackle that drops me to 7 HP. Another TShock results in Paralysis but he succeeds in using Tail Whip that will ensure my loss on next attack. I could heal here but id likely be wasting my time since id have 6 to 8 HP if he succeeds on a Tackle. I roll the dice and fail to crit and get the bad luck by succumbing to a Tackle.

Losing the first rival fight is not the first time for me but its a rare occurrence. I think I've only lost 6 times prior to that so it shows how infrequently it happens but also because I typically use that Potion and get better AI luck. Whether it would have made a difference, I don't know but for those unaware, this rival fight actually means something for once. Namely the outcome picks Blue's final form for his Eevee. If you lose this fight, it picks Vaporeon. If you win this fight but skip the Route 22 fight, it yields Flareon while winning both here and on Route 22 yields Jolteon.

Since I know how bulky and scary good Vaporeon can be(I've used it before a lot), I'm in for a rough slog because that means I have to face Ninetales and dislike having to face her but that's how it goes. I do plan to get retribution on Route 22 as a consolation.

I opted to stop here as I head to work. Timestamp is 0:08 or 8 minutes. Here's hoping for a relatively quick adventure but with a 100% Dex goal alongside it, eh who knows how long it will take.

Journal Entry#2: Revenge is best served Cold

I'm writing this while on break at work and chronicles what I was able to be do last night before bed after the first journal timestamp. After getting rolled by my rival, I headed north to Viridian City, getting a jolt from the Route 1 theme that reminded me of this video.

Huge personal recommendation to sub and support Rebecca and her channel. Above video is I believe the first one she ever did(and honestly wish she'd do another one as an anniversary special). Above video is partly responsible for me picking Butterfree btw.

Anyways, I head north, defeating Route 1 encounters along the way and grab the free Potion sample from the Poke Mart worker inexplicably roaming on Route 1(get back to work). I grab Oak's Parcel at the Poke Mart before delivering it back at Oak's Lab. Pikachu had managed to hit level 7 at this point after making a concerted effort.

Now that I have a Pokedex, I'm free to start catching and rather than pity my way to 5 free Poke Balls, I simply use the 3k Poke you start with and get 15(no Premier Ball sadly). I work my way north on Route 1 and catch a level 4 Pidgey along with reaching level 8 on Pikachu for Thunder Wave.

I heal at Viridian City, watch the catch tutorial via Old Man and head north on Route 2 to reach Viridian Forest. There I encounter a level 4 Caterpie and promptly catch it after Paralyzing it. I then grind it all the way to level 7 where it evolved into Metapod and learns Harden(only learns Harden at level 7. If you wait to evolve, it won't learn it).

I heal up and keep grinding until eventually I get the Butterfly Pokemon at level 10 where it learns Confusion(again if you wait to evolve, you lose out on Confusion). At this point Pikachu was a few fights away from level 11 so I scratch out the XP it needed to get Quick Attack.

I heal up at Viridian and go to Route 22 to fill out my Dex. I catch Rattata(level 3), Nidoran(F, level 2), Nidoran(M, level 4), Spearow(level 4) and Mankey(level 5). Mankey in particular is a strong early catch given it's effective against the first Gym and rolls Blue's Eevee and any Normal type once it gets Low Kick at level 9.

Speaking of the first Gym, can we take a moment to appreciate Yellow version and the lack of handholding that is prevalent in future generations? I mean Yellow has you start with an Electric type where the first Gym is immune to its STAB attack and has high Physical Defense on top of resistance to its secondary Quick Attack. Talk about a rough draw that even Charmander would go "Glad that's not me".

Anyways, after catching what I could, I provoke Blue into another fight on Route 22. He has a level 9 Spearow(Pidgey for Red/Blue players) and a level 8 Eevee. I open with Pikachu and shock Spearow into the red where he responds with a Leer. I then finish the bird off. Next is Eevee where I paralyze it with Thunder Wave and get a Tail Whip in return. With -2 Defense, I swap to Butterfree and get a Tail Whip. Use Confusion and get another Tail Whip. Use Confusion again to put it into the red only to get another Tail Whip to put me at -3 Defense. Where was this AI on our first bout ugh. Finish it off to claim the win.

I heal up and am about to start my steamroll of Viridian Forest. Timestamp is 1 hour 24 minutes.

Journal Entry#4: Mount Moon Escapades

@Hades0918 Think you might like this one

I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am the annoyance that drives Trainers insane. I AM ZUBAT! In all seriousness, Zubat is the most annoying Pokemon in existence and Gen 1 did it no favors by making it so weak. Golbat is ok stat wise but without STAB moves of any real note, it's near the bottom of usage rate and why Gen 2 gave it another evolution.

Anyways, training Sandshrew didn't take long and I venture into the cave to seek out the items and Pokemon within(and to make it to the other side so remember that the next time someone tells you a chicken crossing the road joke). First catch is that annoying Bat at level 10(which is on the high side for this area). I battle the Bug Trainer after grabbing Water Gun TM before heading East and battling the Lass with a level 14 Clefairy(she's no cakewalk so watch it on her). She gave me a bit of trouble with its Sing attack so I backed out to heal before venturing further.

I make the turn and head south into a Super Nerd where Sandshrew got to experience his upcoming foes in Magnemite and Voltorb. Scratch attack ultimately leaves them fainted. Head east to grab the items, including an Escape Rope and battle the Bug Trainer with Pikachu(getting Crits due to its speed). I then go down the first ladder and make my way to the first area that has TM01(Mega Punch) and a Rocket Grunt. Swept them aside before backtracking and facing a Lass with two Grass types that you'll have the opportunity to catch on Route 24/25(Butterfree or Spearow easily dispose of them). I then head down the 2nd Ladder and run into two more Mount Moon catches: Geodude(level 11) and Paras(level 13).

Geodude isn't a bad Pokemon. Incredibly slow but naturally learns a Rock type move(Rhyhorn can't say that) and gets Earthquake at level 31 if you keep it from evolving until then. Yeah it's a trade evolution to get Golem but if you overlook that, it's a decent option for a team.

Paras is extremely underrated. Yeah it's Speed is atrocious and the typing is really unpleasant(especially in Gen 1 with three x4 weaknesses) but having the best Sleep attack in the game via Spore and being the lone Bug type that can take on Psychic types without being vulnerable to Psychic is something that cannot be understated. It's also a fantastic Cut user since yeah HM's are a thing with team building. Perfect Pokemon for training in Diglett Cave since it has double ground resistance.

After defeating the 2nd Rocket Grunt, I backtrack and continue south and west into a Youngster that Pikachu swept easily. I then put Butterfree at the top to take on a Hiker with Rock Types(Mankey is the best counter here unless you opt to use Water Gun TM on a Pokemon that can learn it. Gyarados, if you take the time to grind one is ideal).

After grabbing the Moon Stone, I head down the third ladder and defeat the third Rocket Grunt on the other end with Sandshrew. I then swap to Butterfree and manage to find and catch two Clefairy. The reason you need two is that you'll trade one for a Mr.Mime(great team pick for that reason. Boosted XP is great).

I find the hidden Moonstone(yes there's two Moon Stone on Mount Moon) and battle the Super Nerd guarding the Fossils. There is no right/wrong pick here. Dome gives you Kabuto/Kabutops while Helix gives you Omanyte/Omastar. Yet if you're going for 100% Dex completion like I am, you take Helix Fossil.

After claiming my prize, I hear an infamous theme and the following chant:

Prepare for trouble, and make it double. To protect the world from devestation. To ignite unite all peoples within our nation. To denounce the evils of truth and love. To extend our reach to the stars above. Jessie! James. Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light. Surrender now or prepare to fight. Meowth: That's right!

Red/Blue players eat your heart out since yeah Jessie and James are in this. Let's GO brought them back but Pokemon Yellow is just better. I lead with Butterfree because Confusion rolls Poison Types and Ekans falls fast. Swap to Sandshrew who's taken a beating at this point from attrition and takes down Meowth. Swap back to Butterfree, avoiding a Smog attack from Koffing and defeat it with Confusion.

Upon their defeat, I exit the cave onto Route 4 and make haste to Cerulean to heal and depositing my Mount Moon catches. Before I end todays session I grab one more Pokemon in Bulbasaur! Yellow version is unique by gifting all regional starters to you for free. Bulbasaur is the first one in Cerulean provided Pikachu's friendship with you is high enough. If it's not use a Potion on Pikachu when it's at max HP. Do this 10 or so times and it should be high enough to claim the Kanto starter. Bulbasaur is located in the building just to the left of the Pokemon Center. You obtain it at level 10 so with a bit of grinding it'll get it's Vine Whip attack at level 13, making it a viable Pokemon to use against Misty if you train it enough.

Current time stamp is 3 hours and 12 minutes. You'll find out my Cerulean decision in the next part. Oh and my Pokemon are level 17 but Butterfree is level 18. Might do some wild training to even out the levels before I continue.

Journal Entry#6: Gotta Catch Some More

Above video explains in depth what I'm doing in this relatively short entry. After having beaten Misty, it's time to start catching some more Pokemon, including Pokemon I wouldn't normally be able to get. Since this is a 100% Dex run, I must perform this glitch unless those of you following along are lucky enough to have someone to trade with that has Red and Blue.

Now the first thing I do, before I forget, is grab the hidden Rare Candy in the little grove in the northwest part of the town. Online walkthroughs have its location in case you have no idea what I'm talking about. Next we go back to where we fought the Grunt for the Dig TM and then head South to Route 5 because we can finally leave the City. On Route 5, we want to go and enter the Grass in the middle so to do that we jump over the ledge at the top of the route. There in the Grass we are looking to catch two Pokemon: Jigglypuff and Abra. The latter one is crucial due to Teleport but catching one is a pain due to that move. Having a Pokemon with a Sleep move is highly advised.

After catching a Jigglypuff(level 3) and an Abra(level 7), it's finally time to tackle those Route 25 trainers I purposely skipped. I head back to town, heal up and add Abra to my roster along with Charmander at level 10.

I then travel north of Nugget Bridge and turn left and take position north of the grass peninsula where a Trainer resides. This trainer is known as a Long Distance Trainer and will proc the moment he enters the screen but as the video above demonstrates, there's a window of opportunity.

Now Teleport takes you back to the Pokemon Center you last used so the current center is the one in Cerulean. Set Bulbasaur or a Pokemon effective against Rock Types at the top of your team and prep to do the Glitch(saving the game helps). After Teleporting from the LDT(Long Distance Trainer), we proceed to Route 25 and battle the first Hiker with Bulbasaur, ensuring that we make the Hiker walk to us(if we walk right in front, the game locks up). After defeating the Hiker, Teleport back to Cerulean and set Charmander to the top(or anything that is level 10 or so). Then go back to Nugget Bridge where the menu will open. Close it to initiate a wild battle with Cubone.

Cubone and all Glitch Pokemon spawn in at level 7. There's a way to affect the level it spawns at but for the purposes of 100% Dex and the fact it requires more steps, I'm not going to do it. Now the reason I spawn Cubone is for two reasons. 1) He's rare and 2) You need two of them. One you need to evolve into Marowak and the other is for an in-game trade. The trade is for a Machoke, which results in Machamp(hence if you want a strong Fighting type, there's your chance). You battle Cubone with Charmander because he's not strong enough to KO it in one hit. Weaken, put it to sleep and capture.

I repeat the Trainer Fly glitch and battle the Youngster with a level 17 Slowpoke. This Trainer is infamous because he spawns Mew. Our 600 base stat monster who doesn't learn Psychic(it's lone Psychic type move) until level 40 but can still dominate runs if trained up to speed.

I repeat the Fly glitch one more time this session and this time battle the other Hiker with a Grass or Type effective against Rock(Bulbasaur food). This Hiker is important because his Geodude spawns Gengar, a Trade Evolution(hence if you can't trade, no other way to get it).

After grabbing my Route 25 glitch catches, I return to the Grass on Route 25 and grab Oddish(level 12), Bellsprout(level 12) and Venonat(level 16) that spawn there. Healed up and am contemplating my next move. I'm leaning on doing some training on Oddish/Bellsprout/Venonat such that I gain a few more levels(thinking level 22 or so). Route 6 has more Glitch catches so after I train, I'll highlight what you can get there. Timestamp of 4 Hours and 38 minutes.