Silktree

You've got a point about paraphrasing. But given that 64DD finally released in December of '99, I don't find it out of the realm of possibilities that the magazine was hyping about some of its supposedly incoming projects on about that time. After all, things were much rougher back then. They could as well have recycled already known information, when given the chance (ie., when other N64 projects made an appearance in west).

I'll begin by checking the issues from the later half of '99. If the magazine indeed mentioned "Red, Blue and Yellow", then it can't possibly be on an issue much sooner than October '99 (which is when Yellow released).

That's a good job compiling the known information.

To be honest, I never thought PMRPG was being designed with Generation I in mind for the simple reason that back then the term "Generation" was still extremely premature. Admittedly, Pocket Monsters 2 was to be the next main entry of the series -- but there's nothing to say that PMRPG couldn't, in today's terms and content-wise, be Pocket Monsters 3 (in contrast to Colosseum and XD which couldn't, for many reasons, be "PM4"). I am almost certain that it would feature new Pokémon not (normally?) available in even Gold and Silver. Whether these Pokémon would be obtainable in GS is questionable, but we can be sure that PMRPG would contain Generation II monsters, which is further supported by the fact that it would have RANDnet support.

I don't think PMRPG was delayed because of GS. More like that the two projects took time to develop together, which is both why GS took more time and PMRPG was eventually canceled. I don't think X has anything to do with PMRPG. Maybe a few concepts crossed over (obviously, online play), but I wouldn't say that X is more related to PMRPG than it is to GS. After all, it was supposed to feature Suicune, Celebi and Unown, albeit more heavily[?] than Crystal did. It's not impossible though... Thinking about it, Mother 3 started as an 64DD project, and was eventually (much later) released as a GBA title.

I'm glad that I was in old Pokémon Communities. Things back then were so mysterious and natural. I like the kinds of discussions we make today, but everything progresses much faster. Your discovery is pretty neat, actually! I had made some discoveries myself in Red which I'm also proud of, like the overleveled Pokémon glitch, although I hadn't reported it (must have been even before Gold and Silver). One thing that I remember though was when I speculated on a forum back in 2004 about Silver being Giovanni's son. It was sort of obvious, but I'm still glad that I understood an implication that was finally explained less than two years ago! Good days.

Anyway. That GS Ball speculation is actually very surprising! I wonder how many more gems are to be found in old forums like Azure Heights. Celebi would make sense in Ruins of Alph, and I might even say that it sounds like it was made for them. People often complained about how nothing happens when you complete the Unown Dex. That's what could have happened. You could obtain the GS Ball (From someone at the research center? The Goldenrod Pokémon Center? Whatever.) and summon Celebi in the Ilex Forest. It would potentially even add to the story. Unown call Suicune to pursuit a fitting Trainer for this job. Suicune finds that Trainer and brings them to the Ruins of Alph. The Unown try to send a message to that Trainer (something that corresponds to "catching" every letter, so that any word can be formed), and when they finally are able to do that, they make it so that the GS Ball is transfered via the Pokémon Center. Sounds good.

Also, speaking of the Odd Egg. Maybe I've shown this to you, or quite possibly you've seen it before (or maybe it was even you who showed it to me, I have a bad memory). But look at this. In a way you could say that the Pikachu-colored Pichu is an old concept that was carried over (and expanded!).

Never having seen such old discussions, I find it pretty awesome to think that 10 years have passed from that time and we're still on such subjects. It's actually the first time I ever come across Azure Heights! I was little back then, and couldn't use internet too well, let alone the fact that my English were preliminary. My oldest memories of participation in Pokémon forums are from 2003 or 2004, if I recall correctly, in (the old) PokéCommunity and Pokémon Elite 2000. As for Pokéfor, I remember coming across its page of the beta Pokémon designs from Gold and Silver with my sister (who is slightly older and was able to translate a few things). That must have been around 2000 or 2001 but, again, I wasn't too involved other than seeing images and such until about the FR/LG and Emerald days, so, when I came around it was all about Serebii.

I find it amazing that you were in sites like Azure Heights. There I thought I was in Pokémon forums from the old times! I wonder which alias you went by. Seeing how you recently changed your name to Silktree, I take it probably wasn't Unown_Lord either...

Don't you feel very nostalgic about those days?
It definitely gives me a certain feeling looking back at things I was doing so many years ago...

Good to hear. I admit I only did a cursory search, including contacting the site in question, so I'm sure you probably did quite a bit more looking. Feel free to create a topic on this find under the Lock Capsule group for archive purposes. Maybe include your thoughts as you're thinking them so we can later turn it into an editorial.

Somewhat unrelated, but absolutely amazing.
"Speaking of the Unown, is there any side-quest in Crystal that links them to Suicune? I recall one of the characters in the game talking about a connection between them, but I've caught all the legendaries and solved all the Unown puzzles (Light, Water, Escape, Ho-oh) and nothing has come up."

Can you believe that ten years ago people discussed that?!

I'm not particularly fond of associating Kyurem with Hoenn. I don't want all of the legends (or events) to be connected; that's kind of forced. Obviously, there is the Dewford Space Center, but it's still a hell of the coincidence for Kyurem to end up there. I'd prefer a new region instead of Hoenn, UNLESS the console game covers the close-to-Unova region -- with more backing on the Genie Trio (the absolutely most space-consuming and pointless Legendary Pokémon). Then I wouldn't mind Regis getting a bit of spotlight, hence Hilbert/Hilda traveling to Hoenn -- without Kyurem having (much) to do with that. Maybe an event with Kyurem, but not THE *MAJOR* Kyurem event (which I hope to be covered in the console game or, anyway, close to Unova).

What I mainly fear is how a third version would handle Opelucid City, Black City/White Forest, N's beliefs and the like. Will there be open-endness? Based on your choices, you might end up with either the Black or the White world. I don't want a compromise that would be between them (like Emerald was to Ruby and Sapphire -- which was good because R/S's theme wasn't contrast). I'll be fine if we first have a console RPG, and then a sequel/very extended game to Black and White as an "alternative" third version which will not destroy the Black and White myth.

As for the Ishihara Pokémon X thing... I had seen this before, and meant to show you but I forgot (probably assumed you had saw it before). Anyway, there's not much in it. Pokémon X was never mentioned officially as "Pokémon X", and not one of our theories are based on its name -- but rather the June 2000 Hiroshi Yamauchi interview. I assume that this was a placeholder game used to refer to the GBA game by the media, and became popular. We can continue calling it this, I think. It is the closest thing we have to a name.

It would be hard to estimate the number, and there wouldn't be a point either... Basically, here's how I would like them to work:

Start by Pokémon #001, Bulbasaur and finish with the last Pokémon known by then (which I hope to not be much further than #700). Two jobs: 1. Re-examine the stats, and change (some of) them so that they are natural and represent the Pokémon's "raw" power/characteristics on the Pokémon World -- and be on scale so that all (I mean, except for the "gimmicky" ones) of the Pokémon can be used in one way or another in a competitive battle. 2. Re-examine the movepools, remove/add moves not fitting/fitting with each Pokémon and make it so that several moves can only occur in an older game (as it is now) and that several combinations or learned moves aren't possible even when crossing the Pokémon over, and have to be removed (much like the HMs). The last part isn't very essential, as that's not really a big problem.

tl;dr: I mostly hope that they re-examine stats and movepools for each character -- even if they don't make impossible combinations, cross-generational removals and the like. Though this is mostly wishful thinking. I don't think they'll alter stats ever. Movepools, maybe.

I don't see Farfetch'd as a parallel to Aipom, but I agree that it could get an evolution. But I expect it to be covered nicely and be extremely hard to obtain. I would be more happy with this than it not getting an evolution at all, but I'd prefer the latter case if what I describe doesn't happen. Spinda and Chatot... I don't know, To be honest, I can imagine a Chatot evolution, but a Spinda one would be hard. Either way, all three of those Pokémon deserve a nicely treated evolution -- and if that's the case, I won't say no.

3.5 Years seems pretty small compared to the 6-8 years R/B had to deal with even though development started closer to the Gameboy's original release year, with it being an extra 2 years before it got released in the US. Sure that's only because they were the first games for the entire franchise, but think about it, because at the time of their release, the Gameboy felt pretty old at the time with decreasing sales which the games changed dramatically with record breaking sales unlike anything else ever released on a handheld at the time. That just goes to show how after selling more units of the console itself it can overall have a great effect on a game's sales, since R/B currently DO hold the record for best selling mainseries game after all.

I never found that ABCNEWS interview either and I don't recall where I grabbed that excerpt from, though I have an idea.

And that of course leads to the third version. The dilemma is exactly what you describe. A DS game is kinda *meh*, and even more improbable (I'd say impossible if I didn't know better). A 3DS game on the other hand would feel quite... cheap, if we go by the traditional way of defining a third version. But let's not forget the /other/ Game Freak game, the one lead by Turner. I'm counting on that. Game Freak has been called stale due to working on only Pokémon, but their most notable non-Pokémon works (like Pulseman and Drill Dozer) have multiply been awarded by media. Pokémon are of course being acclaimed, but it's definitely interesting when you see a studio working on more genres and styles than just one. It also helps in opening their mind. Ideas can be adapted in many ways.

I think that if that game is a 3DS game it will help them mature on the system, plus give them a bit of more time. I'm hoping for Generation VI to arrive in 2013 myself. And on the time inbetween, I want to see a console RPG which will certainly be satisfying for some time, as well as, hopefully, one or two worthy spin-offs.

How would you feel about a more "advanced" third version? One with another region (on the likes of the Sevii Islands) for example -- and more updated graphics?
And on an unrelated note, would you like it if Generation VI introduced only a few Pokémon? I think that this would be on the spirit of the balancing we've been talking about, as well as the return to the Japanese counterpart of the Pokémon world (specifically a place inbetween Kanto/Johto and Sinnoh) -- it would make sense for the ecosystem to be largely inbetween that of the two locations with a few added Pokémon.

When it comes to evolutions, I have mixed feelings. I like the concept of one-staged Pokémon, and I'm grateful that there still are. Game Freak slowly turns into decreasing them, but their choices have been (mostly) fair ones so far. Most of your noted monsters should indeed become more functional. But not all of them. I could see Parasect obtaining an evolution, and Corsola is much like Murkrow and Misdreavous; Banette: absolutely. But Spinda? This is sort of a gimmick Pokémon that works well on its own. I'm not sure if an evolution would give it justice. Same with Chatot, kinda. And I'd say that Dunsparce is iconic as a "forgettable" Pokémon.

But most of all; Farfetch'd. I both want and not want to see a Farfetch'd evolution. If you read George Hutcheon's On the Origin of Species article about Farfetch'd, you'll see why it would be potentially great for it to get an evolution treated well, and why it would absolutely suck if it was just one to be passed by. If Farfetch'd obtained an evolution, it should be made a great deal about it. I'd say that there should be a side-quest devoted to the special way on which Farfetch'd can evolve, and it should be made clear that it's not an easy thing to do for neither the Pokémon nor its Trainer.

This is what I appreciate in older Pokémon, and the reason why I don't want the total number to raise so quickly. There are very few Generation V Pokémon which stand out like Farfetch'd does in my mind. I don't expect to be able to view all of the newer ones like I view the older. But I'd at least expect to get used to them before Generation VI. I don't enjoy the idea of Pokémon which I can't even make out and a Generation VI on 2012, returning to the traditional Pokémon grounds, makes this even harder to not happen. There should be more time left for Unova. An RPG for Wii, a spinoff in the likes of Ranger and more development.

I completely agree on that not every Pokémon should have equal power, like I said. What I'm bidding for (generally speaking) is that all of them are usable in competitive battles, maybe in more alternative ways. This can have to do with their movepools, their abilities and the like. To be honest, using Pokémon like Absol, I know that this is already possible -- but I'd like it if Game Freak helped a bit on backing this up even more. Basically, "underdogs" can still exist. But that should be clear. There should be an ecosystem of relatively weak and relatively strong Pokémon, and in a natural number that represents every generation evenly. Even more importantly, I should note the "relatively" part. I want to be able to choose from the whole range of Pokémon without being given a weakness. I don't care if I have to try more in order to achieve that, but I want to have the ability to do it.

The stats should be on a scale. Tyranitar can still be stronger than a Liepard in terms of "raw" power, but not stronger enough to make Liepard useless. You see, this scale in power already exists for several Pokémon for reasons that have to do with mechanics. Should Legendary Pokémon like Kyogre be able to be OHKO'd by the likes of a Thunder attack coming from, say, a Jolteon. This is the other side of the "problem". The solution is simple; make Legendary Pokémon have extemely high stats, if just for your battle with them. Make it hard to even beat, let alone catch them. And once they are caught (or quite possibly, after you beat their "overpowered" counterparts), their stats would return to a more normal stage, like they are now.

This way, the inequality when it comes to power of each monster on the ecosystem on the Pokémon World will still show (i.e., a Legendary Pokémon would have 110 average base, a strong Pokémon 90, and a weaker Pokémon 75), but mechanically several Pokémon will be much more useful in battles. It's a win/win situation, really.

For starters if you're worried about the 3DS not looking very new by 2014, don't worry, I felt the same way about the DS given the fact Diamond and Pearl took were released nearly 3 years after the DS was first released. But honestly, it's really to make this Gen work on the DS a bit more with Grey and R/S remakes, because why release a Pokemon game on a system that's currently a bit too expensive at $250? I'd honestly wait a bit longer before releasing a game like that. I have plans to go into video game development myself eventually, but the idea for me is to wait a while after a new system is released before I'd start to make something for it, because by that time the system in question would've sold enough for new games to sell better since more people have a system to buy the games than how many there would've been a few years earlier. It's something that may effect how my potential game projects would do on certain systems. Because I'd rather have something released on a system that has sold alot rather than be released earlier when the system is still new. It can also have an impact on a game that's released earlier, since it could make the game feel old and not sell as well as those released later on.

For starters about the Prism Scale, they OBVIOUSLY wanted to make sure Feebas could evolve since they made a terrible mistake in HG/SS by not being able to evolve certain Pokemon to ones like Magnezone and Leafeon. OBVIOUSLY they wanted to ensure that all evolution requirements could be met in B/W since this was a new generation that didn't have the ability to freely trade with any other games to level-up Feebas's Beauty Stat. Now enough of this whole bashing Hoenn thing of yours, now exactly WHY do you want the 5th Gen to end so early? It's one of the most successful generations in a long time with how much the games have sold so fast, as well as Famitsu's golden 40/40 perfect score. Sure I'd love to have the 6th Gen early as well, but that's only because it'll feel like forever waiting 4 years for the games with how the entire 4th Gen felt.

As for having an NPC raising Feebas's beauty, the reason they might not've had it in B/W was because of how UNRELIABLE it was. So unreliable that I have to trade any Feebas I have to D/P/Pt just to raise it's Beauty manually, since you have to wait several days just to max out it's beauty in HG/SS with how it works.

But you know, every time I see people wanting B/W and Grey only kind of feels like they have something against Hoenn somehow. WHY do you bash something that I consider far greater than Kanto and Johto ever were? Even compared to Sinnoh it was a whole lot better, and to me ties with Unova for the best region I've played through. The way you talk is that you don't even care about Hoenn or Unova and only focus on Kanto, Johto, or Sinnoh. That is EXACTLY how you say your own views of things honestly.

-The HM for Dive, and the entire diving mechanic have returned. (An NPC even mentions that Dive originated in Hoenn)
-An NPC in the Desert Resort mentions the Go-Goggles.
-One of the exhibits in the Nacrene Museum is a fossilized Armaldo.
-The Soul Dew appear to be unobtainable in the games so far.
-Steven Stone is mentioned.
-The Unova Elite Four theme contains a section that is remixed from the Hoenn Elite Four theme.
-The Glass Flutes return.
-Lava Cookies are present in the game, and mentioned to be a specialty of Lavaridge Town.
-The Riches are similar to the Winstrate Family with how they're fought.
-Contest stats still exist in B/W since if a Feebas with max Beauty is traded to B/W and leveled up, it will still evolve to Milotic.
-In the Summer, Lacunosa Town is full of holiday makers from Hoenn.

And you said there was no hints to Hoenn in B/W now didn't you? I see far more hints to R/S remakes than I did hints to HG/SS that D/P/Pt may have had.

Nothing too spectacular. I was just hoping that they balance a few Pokémon by changing their base stats a bit. Beedrill for example. I don't get how it is a third stage and a seemingly powerful Pokémon, but its stats are so low. I don't ask to make all Pokémon equally powerful (when it comes to raw power) -- that would basically ruin the interest of the metagame and the longing for better strategy -- but it would be great if respective Pokémon had respective power. It's basically hard to put this in words. It's a matter of each Pokémon; there are only specific cases which they have to fix. And even more than stats; movepools. Again; specific species learn moves (or move combinations) that overpower them, while others miss even basic attacks which they seem perfectly legitimate of using. Some monsters should be forgetting certain moves when carried to a future game -- something not necessarily based on the move, but also the move combination.

It's not as if these are a huge problem, but everything around could use a bit of fine-tuning. I'm against all Pokémon carrying the same traits and "raw" power, but I'd like to see the tiers loosen even more. Not disappear -- obviously, you can't expect to win a one-on-one of Hydreigon versus Raticate while using Raticate. But if they made Pokémon like Raticate just a little bit more usable (not that they can't already be used; just make them even more usable) in other roles, I think that things would get even more interesting even when having a mainstream battle. I for one don't care about tiers; I choose my Pokémon based on the species I like and the roles I'm looking for. I think that pretty much anything can work, with more or less work on it. I hope that Game Freak will back me up on this next on.

Unown is de facto a Legendary Pokémon. I don't care about it becoming usable in battles and in fact I believe that this would be against its purpose. If anything -- and mainly for background purposes --, maybe it would be interesting to add battle combinations for Unown in Double/Triple/Rotation battles. Just something that would tie with their nature. For example, a certain combinations of letters would give a different attack power (and possibly even effect) to Hidden Power. There are quite a few ideas, and this is about where the battle system should head next.

What I mainly hope from the next Generation is that they balance out the battle system. They don't need to add too many new moves this time -- just make a few tweaks here and there (in moves' power, accuracy, effects) so that everything is balanced. Same with Pokémon stats; I hope that they will pick on them a bit when they are given the chance. Gen V is much more balanced (despite the fact that the Wi-Fi system is messed up) than Gen IV, but there's still some need for fine-tuning.

I didn't mind ! and ? not adding anything too new. If anything, I liked them for the reason that they sort of prove more Unown forms exist. I would like to see a sort of clue (besides the anime) that Unown's shape doesn't represent just the Latin alphabet. I'm not saying that they should invent over nine thousand Unown shapes -- a reference in the style of "I heard that there are even more Unown shapes than the ones that appear here and now." would be pretty good. Maybe if Professor Silktree appeared, we might have such questions answered.

Would you like to see an Unown colony appear in a future console game that doesn't take place near the traditional Pokémon regions?
I'd find that proper. And would like to see them associated with other events, not necessarily related to Arceus or Suicune. Potentially, a more "casual" appearance of them (so was the one in the Tanoby Ruins, of course).

It isn't, and it appaears that it won't be out until Wii U launches.