• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Obscure Pokémon game trivia

I'm more surprised by the relative position of BW, given how highly they're regarded by the community. I think it must owe something to being the second pair of titles on the same console (and thus impacting the sequels similarly).
I recall there was a lot of controversy around them at the time (like classic Pokémon being relegated to postgame only) so I'm not surprised the hype from their fans exceed the actual sales.
 
For a perspective shift, also consider that B2W2 performed as well as they did despite XY being announced a mere six months after B2W2 were released. I don't think any other main series game has had the marketing focus rug pulled out from under it so quickly. Not to mention the rather gruesome closure of all the games' online capabilities only one year after they were released.

As for BW, it's worth noting that their launch sales were fantastic across the board. At the time, they had the best launch sales of any Pokémon series game in Japan, the US, and the UK. We always tend to focus on lifetime sales, but that's just one metric. It doesn't paint the whole picture.
 
Despite third version often being considered the "definitive versions" of a Pokémon game to play, some of them are actually the worst-selling core series games in the Pokémon franchise.
Well, this chart pretty much proves 3rd versions are the worst selling games of all xD Only exception is Yellow, which also managed to rank lower than every single primary version.

Anyway how could Crystal rank so low? For me it's better than Emerald, especially with its huge graphic improvements and being the first time you could actually play with a girl.
 
Anyway how could Crystal rank so low?
Presumably for the same reason why all 3rd versions rank so low: to many people it's too similar to the first pair to justify purchasing. Gold and Silver just came out a year before, I'd imagine all but the most devoted fans would want to spend an additional $40 or whatever on a game that looks pretty similar to the one they just bought.
 
I mean, I like Crystal, too, but it's not like these are things it has over Emerald.
I know, I meant because it was the first time we had them (the girl one at least).

But maybe I was speaking too much about myself, I enjoyed Crystal a lot more than the other ones (I was still a little kid back then).

Presumably for the same reason why all 3rd versions rank so low: to many people it's too similar to the first pair to justify purchasing. Gold and Silver just came out a year before, I'd imagine all but the most devoted fans would want to spend an additional $40 or whatever on a game that looks pretty similar to the one they just bought.

Yeah, you're right. And Crystal does seem closer to Gold and Silver than Emerald or Platinum is to their respective series for that matter.
 
Presumably for the same reason why all 3rd versions rank so low: to many people it's too similar to the first pair to justify purchasing. Gold and Silver just came out a year before, I'd imagine all but the most devoted fans would want to spend an additional $40 or whatever on a game that looks pretty similar to the one they just bought.
Especially when Gold and Silver sold so well.
 
Crystal’s graphical improvements are going to be pretty negligible for most people. That’s probably true of all enhanced versions, but I’m just saying it’s not really a potent selling point on its own, especially since mainline Pokémon games don’t usually pride themselves on their graphics anyways.

All in all there’s probably a vast number of reasons why one game might sell a million more copies than another, only a few of which might actually pertain directly to the game’s perceived quality. What about economic conditions? What about population trends and wider access to the technology (especially among children)? What about markets opening up in new territories? What about the number of consoles that have been sold? What about the general enthusiasm for the IP at that time? For instance, people ask how USUM could sell more than B2W2 despite the fandom’s preference for the latter (let’s set aside that the online fandom is a small percentage of the overall audience). Well, USUM came out only a year after Pokémon GO pumped some rocket fuel into the franchise’s media profile, whereas even though Pokémon was certainly still popular in 2012, B2W2 might not necessarily have had that same kind of extra boost. And that’s just one possible factor. Hell, I’m sure for some of the more casual players it can be as simple as “I just wasn’t really feeling it 3 years ago, but I heard something about this new game and now I’m thinking I’ll give it another whirl.”
 
In Pokémon Crystal only, there is a glitch that causes the retrieved weights of Kadabra, Tauros, and Sunflora to become junk data that are, in turn, interpreted as massive weights, causing these particular Pokémon to receive the maximum +40 capture modifier with the Heavy Ball.
 
D'ya' know that Tierno got the Intriguing Stone that he gives you in Shalour City from Steven?

> Tierno: "<player's nickname>, check this out! Isn't this stone cool? I got it from this person called the wandering stone collector for showing off my dance moves! It might be a Mega Stone! Here, <player's nickname>, you can have it!"

Meanwhile, in ORAS, if you have the event-distributed Shiny Beldum in your party and show it to the Fossil Maniac, you get some special dialogue:

> FM: "Looking at your white Pokémon reminds me of the Devon president's son... I heard he traveled all the way to Kalos, crossing three oceans to find the white Pokémon and some kind of stone... That's what you'd expect from someone who calls himself a wandering stone collector..."

1. This doesn't mess with the timeline or anything; you just have to assume that Steven has gone to Kalos multiple times, which is perfectly feasible. We know that by the end of ORAS, he's planning to travel the world again. So basically he goes to Kalos looking for the Shiny Beldum and a Metagrossite, returns to Hoenn, and then after losing his status as Champion, goes off to visit other regions like Kanto in HGSS, and eventually, many years later, Kalos, where he meets Tierno.

2. For a while, I thought this thread also ran deeper than it actually does, 'cause in ORAS, you can find the Intriguing Stone in Verdanturf, and you're supposed to bring it to Steven's dad at Devon, who gives you a Pidgeotite. So I was like, "Ah, of course, you find the Intriguing Stone, and trade that for Mr. Stone's Pidgeotite. Steven gets the Intriguing Stone from his dad, and carries it with him. When he eventually goes to Kalos, he gives the Stone to Tierno, who gives it to you to have it appraised by the Mega guru, only to learn that it is indeed just a pretty rock." But looking at Mr. Stone's dialogue when you show the Intriguing Stone to him, it seems that the Intriguing Stone in ORAS actually is a Pidgeotite. You're not trading stones, Brendan/May are just a novice and can't tell that it's a Mega Stone, and need to get an expert appraisal. Meanwhile, the Intriguing Stone that Steven picks up and gives to Tierno is not a Mega Stone. So I guess it's more like kind of like a meta joke. Maybe about how the Pidgeotite didn't technically exist in XY, so Gurkinn couldn't recognize what it was. After all, the Intriguing Stone's item definition describes it as: "A rather curious stone that might appear to be valuable to some. It's all in the eye of the beholder."
 
Okay, so, usually in the NatDex for a generation, pseudos and Legendaries are at the end. But the last regular Pokemon before them is usually also a pretty rare one- for example, Gen 1 has Snorlax in this position, with its bridge encounter, Gen 7 has Dhelmise, which could only be fished up from one location, Gen 5 has Volcarono, either received as an Egg or found in the Relic Castle, and Gen 4 has Rotom, with its Old Chateau encounter. Some other regions will put a Dragon-type here, like Gen 8 with Duraludon or Gen 6 with the Noibat line, which makes sense, because Dragon-types are usually later-game and also tend to be in this area anyways by merit of being legendaries/pseudos.

Hoenn gives this spot to... Luvdisc? And like, you can only fish for it in one route, sure, but this is the generation that had Regi puzzles and Feebas tiles and the Mirage Island and they gave it to Luvdisc?

Granted, Johto doesn't really have anything especially rare in that spot, either- Blissey's a new evo for a Pokemon only found in Kanto, but you can find Chansey on three routes there. So it's really not so much that they gave Luvdisc this unique spot as it is that the spot didn't really exist yet. But still!
 
Similarly, I have to wonder about this: In every single Pokédex in which they appear, Leafeon comes before Glaceon... except for the Crown Tundra Dex. This is despite the actual Galar Dex putting Leafeon first, as usual and as is in-line with their National Dex order.

So, why is it different for the CT Dex? Is it just a mix-up? The best "rationale" I can think of is "tundra = cold = Ice types = Glaceon," but that's... just so arbitrary, as a reason for swapping their Pokédex positions... o_O
 
Here's something interesting. Of the four "starter" types (Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric), Water is the only one of the four that doesn't have a variant of Double-Edge. Grass has Wood Hammer, Fire has Flare Blitz, and Electric has Volt Tackle (even though it's technically a Pikachu line exclusive move, it still counts as it is still a variant of Double-Edge). However, on the flip side, Water is the only "starter" type that has a variation of Quick Attack: Aqua Jet.
 
Here's something interesting. Of the four "starter" types (Grass, Fire, Water, and Electric), Water is the only one of the four that doesn't have a variant of Double-Edge. Grass has Wood Hammer, Fire has Flare Blitz, and Electric has Volt Tackle (even though it's technically a Pikachu line exclusive move, it still counts as it is still a variant of Double-Edge). However, on the flip side, Water is the only "starter" type that has a variation of Quick Attack: Aqua Jet.

Electric has Wild Charge, which you can use instead of Volt Tackle.
 
Electric has Wild Charge, which you can use instead of Volt Tackle.

Yes, that's true, but Wild Charge is not a variant of Double-Edge, as it's weaker in both BP and recoil, which is what my point was all about. I was only talking about Double-Edge clones: moves with120 BP, 1/3rd recoil damage, etc, which Wild Charge clearly doesn't have. So, Wild Charge isn't really part of this equation, since move distribution wasn't my point.
 
During the ending credits of Pokémon Stadium 2, several notable characters, including the Gym Leaders and Elite Four members, are seen battling each other. A few of these matchups actually match something seen in the Pokémon Adventures manga, specifically an exhibition tournament at Indigo Plateau, where Gym Leaders of Kanto and Johto battled against each other. Said matchups (and their manga results) are as follows: Brock vs. Jasmine (Jasmine wins), Misty vs. Whitney (Misty trounces Whitney), and Lt. Surge vs. Morty (a draw due to Destiny Bond).
 
So we all know that Winona's Altaria is too under-leveled to know Dragon Dance, let alone even have evolved into Altaria, but along with that, Altaria as a pokemon can't even know the move "earthquake," according to bulbapedia's page on Altaria.
 
So we all know that Winona's Altaria is too under-leveled to know Dragon Dance, let alone even have evolved into Altaria, but along with that, Altaria as a pokemon can't even know the move "earthquake," according to bulbapedia's page on Altaria.
Wait, I thought Swablu evolved at level 33? (feel free to correct me on this).
 
So we all know that Winona's Altaria is too under-leveled to know Dragon Dance, let alone even have evolved into Altaria, but along with that, Altaria as a pokemon can't even know the move "earthquake," according to bulbapedia's page on Altaria.
Wait, I thought Swablu evolved at level 33? (feel free to correct me on this).
It evolves at level 35. But I'm pretty sure it can learn Earthquake.
 
Back
Top Bottom