Pokemon Yellow Journal: 100th Adventure

Journal Entry#8: Glitch Ahoy!

After arriving in Vermilion, I head East, past the Harbor and S.S. Anne to Route 11. Route 11 has a whopping 10 Trainers, of which 5 can be used immediately for Glitch catches. The Pokemon you can obtain via Glitch are Tentacool, Staryu, Onix, Growlithe and Magmar.

Tentacool is obtained much later in the game via Surfing or Fishing Rod but getting it here means you can take advantage of its Speed and great Special that only becomes better when it evolves(just be sure to give it a Water move. It doesn't get Water Gun until level 22). Staryu is another Surf/Fish catch that you get later in the game but lacks a Water move until level 17(perfect Bubblebeam candidate). You could evolve it as soon as you acquire a Water Stone but note it doesn't learn anything as a Starmie so keep it as a Staryu until it learns what you need it to(like Recover at 27 if memory serves). Onix is found in Rock Tunnel or Victory Road so getting it here is a big blessing. Just note that Onix royally sucks given the other options available to you. Then there is Growlithe that is not obtainable until Cinnabar Island or well after it's primary playthrough use in Erika's Grass Gym(Red version can get it on Route 7-8) so getting it here is really nice for Blue and Yellow players. Finally there is Magmar, a Pokemon you cannot get on Yellow version at all. I'll note the trainers as they come up.

In addition to the glitch catches, there is one Pokemon you can catch in the Grass in Drowzee. Coincidentally, you can glitch catch one from a Route 11 trainer but why when you can catch one at a higher level.

As you enter Route 11 you have a Youngster in the Grass ahead of you. He would spawn Gastly, a Ghost type that I prefer to get in Lavender Town where it's closer to its evolution level(and we already have Gengar). He has an Ekans so battle him as you see fit. I then enter the Grass and catch Drowzee(level 19).

To your east are two Youngsters. Save the one to the North(he spawns Shellder with his Zubat) as you'll need him to glitch catch another Pokemon via a trainer in the next journal entry. The one to the South spawns Staryu so glitch fight him with a Ground type or Psychic type as he has a Nidorino(backtrack to Cerulean and tag it's Center for Teleport). Glitch catches on Route 11 are time consuming due to the walking involved(no menu, hence no Bike).

The Gambler to the east of the Nidorino Youngster uses Grass Types and glitch spawns Onix. The path then splits. To the South, it takes you back to the beginning of the route where a Gambler resides that uses Water types and spawns Growlithe. To the North is another Gambler that uses Fire types and doesn't spawn anything of note unless you're a Gen 2 player(Scizor and yes the Missingno if caught and traded to a Gen 2 game would be Scizor).

Going down and then East will take you to a point where you'll have an Engineer to your North. Engineers use Electric Pokemon. He glitch spawns Drowzee but since he can be caught in the Grass here, no point as I see it. Heading East along the path will take you to the other Engineer and he spawns Magmar so incredibly important trainer.

To the North of the 2nd Engineer, the path will take you to the Route 12 gate but there are two Trainers. The first is a Gambler who uses Electric types. He glitch spawns Mr.Mime but you can trade for one and get double XP so there isn't a reason to glitch fight him. Behind him in the Grass is another Youngster whose Raticate will glitch spawn Tentacool. The tree to your right has a hidden Escape Rope and inside the Gate on the 2nd floor is an aide of Professor Oak who will give you an Itemfinder if you have 30 species(which you do).

With Route 11 Trainers out of the way, it's time for S.S. Anne and there are tons of trainers to fight here, including one that glitch spawns a popular Bug Pokemon.

To start, I go down below deck where you'll find Sailors bored out of their mind. None of them(save for one) glitch spawn anything we already haven't faced so Electrocute them with extreme prejudice. The one you might consider is the Sailor in the last cabin on far left who spawns Gyarados but I figure raising a Magikarp is more prudent and time efficient.

Backtracking to the beginning there are 6 rooms on 1st floor. From left to right, Rooms 2, 5 and 6 have trainers and none with Glitch outcomes we haven't seen or care about. Utilize a Ground type(Sandslash) on Rooms 5 and 6 while Pikachu can handle the Lass and Youngster in Room 2(be sure to grab TM08 or Body Slam in Room 2). Pikachu hit level 26 during its Room 2 incursion and now has Thunderbolt. May decide to use him instead of using Magneton(again team is still tentative).

Before heading to the 2nd floor, turn south and grab the Great Ball in the Kitchen. On 2nd Floor, head up to the forward deck by going up again and out to battle two Sailors with Pikachu(or Grass type, your call). Return to the 2nd floor and make the turn towards the second set of cabins. The trainer that is of interest is the Gentleman on the 4th cabin who uses Fire types. His Ponyta glitch spawns a Pinsir, a Bug type found in Safari Zone and was exclusive to Blue version until Yellow version came out. Then there's a few more trainers to deal with before I trigger our next rival fight. He boasts of having 40 of the 151 but we have 37 at this point and could have way more if I put any effort into training and evolving everything we've gotten so far(I even skipped the Magikarp via Salesman on Route 3 so yeah).

Our rival's team is unchanged since the last encounter. He still leads with Spearow, following with Rattata, Sandshrew and Eevee. The consequences of the first two rival fights will become apparent in the next encounter. Anyways, once he's defeated, I grab the Cut HM from the Captain and depart the ship where it sails away, never to be seen again. I save the game with a time stamp of 7 hours and 22 minutes. My plan next session is to level up Butterfree as it's a tad behind its teammates and will highlight one of the better training/grinding spots in RBY(and even FRLG) before handing Lt.Surge the easiest L in the game.

I glitch summon what I can for three reasons. 1) The Pokemon I glitch spawn are generally rare(ex: Cubone in Lavender Town, Onix in Rock Tunnel), 2) Come much later in the game. Meaning by the time you get to them, you won't get as much use out of them. This includes Pokemon in the Safari Zone whose catch mechanic is annoying or those in Cerulean Cave(Lickitung and Mewtwo are Yellow version notables here) or 3) Pokemon that don't even appear in Yellow version can be summoned via the Glitch. Weedle/Kakuna/Beedrill, Ekans/Arbok, Raichu, Meowth/Persian, Koffing/Weezing, Jynx, Electabuzz, and Magmar are not available in Yellow. You can also add in two Eevolutions(you only get one Eevee), Fighting Dojo(pick one, lose out on other), a Fossil(Helix or Dome choice excludes the other one) and Trade Evolutions except Machamp thanks to in-game trade(so Gengar, Golem and Alakazam have to be Glitch caught).

Glitch spawn Pokemon come in at level 7 so take time to level up but once they reach level 25(at this point in my journey) they can become a pivotal cog in your team.

If you play Yellow version normally, many Pokemon I've caught so far wouldn't even be available yet. Staryu, Tentacool, and Shellder wouldn't even be available yet for a Water type but thanks to glitch encounters, you can use them in a playthrough. Same with Growlithe and Magmar with respect to Fire types. How about Onix against Lt.Surge? Wouldn't be able to but can via Glitch. Ditto Rhyhorn.

TLDR: Glitch expands the pool of Pokemon I can use on a playthrough. Even Pokemon I can't get(like Raichu) are an option if I take the time to level them up but Raichu would require Ditto and unfortunately Ditto isn't available until Cinnabar Island 😭

Journal Entry#10: This is the way…

Time stamp of 12 hours and 41 minutes... The slog is real...

Having acquired two new team members, I backtrack to Vermilion to do training in Diglett Cave. As I noted in the previous entry, they give solid XP and Speed EV's, making it the ideal place to max Speed for competitive purposes.

While there I trained everyone up to level 30 and it was rough with Magnemite because Diglett can OHKO him with Dig and with no Thundershock, I'm left with just Tackle and Sonicboom. Yet the reward was evolution into Magneton and benefitting from a base 120 Special stat. Lapras took a bit of coddling but once I reached level 15 or so, she began to hold her own and by the time she hit level 22, she was beginning to outspeed and OHKO them with Water Gun. I also evolved Abra while there since I still had him in my party for the upcoming segment and topped off Sandslash to level 30 too.

With everyone up to speed, I return to Rock Tunnel on Route 10. Rock Tunnel is dark, requiring Flash to light up the area. However, it's not mandatory to clear the cave as you can still navigate without it(and will be necessary to do glitch catches). Rock Tunnel has 15 Trainers within and 4 more on the other end of Route 10 before you reach Lavender Town. Also I have to point out that the game loves to flip me the bird. I spent a long time trying to find/catch Machop only for my first wild encounter in Rock Tunnel to be Machop. 🤦

The first Pokemaniac is of no consequence so defeat his Cubone as you see fit. The second Pokemaniac in the next area is of consequence if you screwed up or skipped glitch catching Pinsir via the S.S. Anne(his Slowpoke matches the Special stat). Now the next two trainers do matter with respect to glitch catches. The first one is optional as I see it because this Jr.Trainer yields Slowpoke, a Water type you can get later on via Surfing or at Seafoam Islands. Since we have the opportunity, I figure why not take it. Her Grass types are easy pickings for a Fire, Flying or Psychic type and her Bulbasaur has a Special stat of 37(what you need for Slowpoke). To perform the glitch catch, you dig/escape rope back to the center(heal up if needed) and backtrack to Cerulean/Nugget Bridge. Glitch Teleport back to Route 10(menu disabled) and go into Rock Tunnel and battle the Trainer in the Dark. Once done Dig/Escape Rope out and make your way back to Cerulean(cutting the Grass for no Wild encounters or just like it was with Lapras).

The Pokemaniac after her is also important because his Charmander/Cubone duo ultimately yields Scyther, the Safari Zone encounter with a low spawn rate and loves to run. Once both glitch catches out of the way, it's now smooth sailing as the rest of Trainers don't spawn anything we don't already have(or will need).

After the Pokemaniac are two Hikers. Lapras or anything strong on Rock Types handles them. Go up the Ladder and engage the three Hikers in this area with the same strategy and go down the Ladder.

In the next area, head West where you'll run into another Jr.Trainer. Dispose of her Normal types as you desire(I used Magneton), then battle the Hiker(Lapras) and Pokemaniac(Magneton) before going up the Ladder.

In the final area you'll come across three Jr.Trainers. The first two are readily visible. The first one is Bellsprout/Pidgey(Butterfree here) while the other is Pidgey/Rattata x2/Bellsprout(Magneton + Butterfree). The third Jr Trainer is to the west and has Meowth/Oddish/Pidgey(same Pokemon as before).

Exit and battle the 4 Trainers on Route 10. The Jr.Trainer has Flying types(Magneton), Lapras rolls the two Hikers and the Pokemaniac falls to Lapras + Magneton.

I finally reach Lavender Town and heal up at the Pokemon Center. Team is currently Magneton(32), Lapras(33), Butterfree(31) and Sandslash(30). Up next is frying some Fisherman and battling a couple Trainers on Route 8 as I sneak my way into the Underground path to Route 9 and Celadon where I'll acquire my 5th Team member and do more training to get it up to speed. Haven't decided what I'll do first(Rocket Game Corner or Erika's Gym. Leaning Rocket Game Corner).