History VideoGame / PokemonRedandBlue

** Players who head to the top floor of the Celadon Department Store to buy drinks for the thirsty guards will be confused on why it doesn't work. They accept Green Tea instead, which is a key item obtained from an old lady in the building next to the Pokémon Center.

*** The Cycling Road adds a Ponyta and a rare Dodrio encounter, which are the highlights of [[Recap/PokemonS1E33TheFlamePokemonathon the Big P Pokémon Race]].

* DesperationAttack: If a Pokémon runs out of [[ManaMeter PP]] for every one of their attacks, they will be forced to use a move called Struggle. It's a Normal-type attack with a weak Base Power of 40 and [[CastFromHitPoints causes the user to hurt themselves]].

The first installments of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' franchise hit the Platform/GameBoy in 1996 in Japan (as ''Red'' and ''Green''; see below) and in 1998 in North America. Taking place in a part of the world called Kanto, based on the Japanese region of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Kanto]], the [[ExcusePlot plot is simple]]: [[HelloInsertNameHere you, an eleven-year-old with a]] baseball cap, are offered your very first [[{{Mon}} Pokémon]] by Professor Oak, the local authority on Pokémon. He gives you a choice of three different types: [[GreenThumb Bulbasaur]], [[PlayingWithFire Charmander]], or [[MakingASplash Squirtle]]. His own grandson, your long-time [[TheRival Rival]], gets second pick, and takes advantage of this to snag [[ElementalRockPaperScissors whichever one happens to be strong against your chosen partner]].

** The appearances of many Pokémon were codified by the anime and the later ''Yellow'' version. In ''Red'' and ''Blue'', some of them are unrecognizable from how they're widely known now. Take a look at [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Spr_1b_074.png Geodude]], [[http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/4/45/Spr_1b_091.png Cloyster]], and [[http://cdn.bulbagarden.net/upload/c/ce/Spr_1b_092.png Gastly]], for example. {{Downplayed|Trope}} because the designs of the Pokémon in the anime and the later ''Yellow'' version are actually based on the concept art drawn by Ken Sugimori. [[DependingOnTheArtist Apparently the spriters took some liberties with how the Pokémon looked.]]

** When you catch an Abra, it only knows one move: Teleport. Teleport allows it to flee battle, making it very hard to catch without putting it to sleep first or getting lucky will a full-health catch. It will effectively be useless in battle for you, but grind it to level 16, and it evolves into the much more useful Kadabra. You can then immediately trade Kadabra to a friend and then trade it back, giving you the very powerful Alakazam.
** The rare Dratini, which could only be captured by fishing in the Safari Zone or purchased at the Game Corner, is also extremely weak. If babied until level 30, it would evolve into the only-slightly-better Dragonair. Get it to 55, however, and it would evolve into the mighty Dragonite. Dragonite has the second highest base state total in the game, the single highest Attack stat, a vast movepool from [=TMs=], and only two weaknesses to the rare Ice type and weak Rock type. The complete lack of good STAB moves (including no Dragon moves besides the [[FixedDamageAttack weak set damage Dragon Rage]]) does limit it a lot, however, and makes it less effective than several other fully-evolved Pokémon, so in practice it's not really worth the effort.

** When you catch an Abra, it only knows one move: Teleport. Teleport allows it to flee battle, making it very hard to catch without putting it to sleep first or paralyze it. It will effectively be useless in battle for you, but grind it to level 16, and it evolves into the much more useful Kadabra. You can then immediately trade Kadabra to a friend and then trade it back, giving you the very powerful Alakazam.

** When you catch an Abra, it only knows one move: Teleport. Teleport allows it to flee battle, making it very hard to catch without putting it to sleep first. It will effectively be useless in battle for you, but grind it to level 16, and it evolves into the much more useful Kadabra. You can then immediately trade Kadabra to a friend and then trade it back, giving you the very powerful Alakazam.

** Giovanni is the leader of Team Rocket, the Pokémon world's equivalent to TheMafia. Meaning he's a [[TheDon mafia don]]. Meaning he's Theatre/DonGiovanni.

* BeefGate: The Diglett's Cave example from the originals returns and is even harder this time around. Not only are the Diglett and Dugtrio just as strong as before, they now come with the ability Arena Trap, which prevents you from fleeing. You still need to get through it in order to get the Flash HM for navigating Rock Tunnel.

* BeefGate: The Diglett's Cave example from the originals returns and is even harder this time around. Not only are the Diglett and Dugtrio just as strong as before, they now come with the ability Arena Trap, which prevents you from fleeing.

* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: While Mr. Fuji is a kind old man whose biggest role in the story is giving the player the Poké Flute, hints on Cinnabar Island[[labelnote:*]]As well as Faraway Island in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Emerald]]''[[/labelnote]] suggest a greater history: that he was once known as Dr. Fuji, founded the Pokémon Lab, lived in the Pokémon Mansion, was the one to discover Mew... and ultimately used horrific genetic engineering to create the violent and dangerous Mewtwo, the aftermath of which seemingly [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone shamed him]] into showing kindness towards other Pokémon [[TheAtoner in repentance]]. And not once is any of this directly brought up in the main story by anyone, least of all the man himself. In fact, it took over seventeen years before [[Anime/PokemonOrigins an adaptation addressed it]].

** When you first beat the game you won't be able to refight the Elite Four and Blue like you could in the originals. But once you complete the Sevii Islands postgame plot, you can refight them again, where all of their Pokémon are 12 levels higher, have improved movesets, and their teams have swapped a Pokémon or two out for their final evolution or a superior Gen II Pokémon. Beating this harder Elite Four doesn't give you anything more though than some really good experience and money, but they can be refought as many times as one wishes.

The first installments of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' franchise hit the UsefulNotes/GameBoy in 1996 in Japan (as ''Red'' and ''Green''; see below) and in 1998 in North America. Taking place in a part of the world called Kanto, based on the Japanese region of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Kanto]], the [[ExcusePlot plot is simple]]: [[HelloInsertNameHere you, an eleven-year-old with a]] baseball cap, are offered your very first [[{{Mon}} Pokémon]] by Professor Oak, the local authority on Pokémon. He gives you a choice of three different types: [[GreenThumb Bulbasaur]], [[PlayingWithFire Charmander]], or [[MakingASplash Squirtle]]. His own grandson, your long-time [[TheRival Rival]], gets second pick, and takes advantage of this to snag [[ElementalRockPaperScissors whichever one happens to be strong against your chosen partner]].

After a successful run, ''Red'', ''Blue'', and ''Yellow'' were followed by the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor-enhanced (though they can still be played on a previous incarnation of the UsefulNotes/GameBoy, as well as later ones) ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', taking place three years after Red became champion and featuring a kid from Johto, a region west of Kanto, the return of Team Rocket, and improved the graphics that ''Yellow'' didn't (back sprites, etc.).

Jump ahead a couple gens, and ''Red'' and ''Blue'' reappeared in the form of their {{Video Game Remake}}s on the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance: ''[=FireRed=]'' and ''[=LeafGreen=]''. These allowed players to relive the classic games with many of the new benefits, tweaks, and balances of the second and third generations, though it took some {{Retcon}}ning here and there, and added in some new areas to explore after finishing the familiar challenge(s).

On November 12th, 2015, it was announced that ''Red'', ''Blue'', and ''Yellow'' would be making their way to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS's UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole in the eShop [[MilestoneCelebration in celebration of the franchise's 20th Anniversary]]. Trading and battling with other players was retained by modding them to work with the system's local wireless functionality, while the Restore Points option is disabled. Pokémon caught in the Virtual Console versions can also be transferred to future mainline Pokémon games, starting with 2016's ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', via Pokémon Bank. They were released on February 27th, 2016, exactly 20 years after their release in Japan.

As of May 29th, 2018 a third set of Kanto games were announced, this time being enhanced remakes of ''Pokémon Yellow'', called ''VideoGame/PokemonLetsGoPikachuAndLetsGoEevee''. It is available on the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch and features compatibility with ''VideoGame/PokemonGo''.

** Even though the games were originally monochrome, this applies when playing them on a UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor (or UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance). As with other original Game Boy games, a person can select from one of twelve color palettes that were built into the Game Boy Color. In the case of ''Pokémon,'' if no palette is already chosen, then the games will use a default palette that is assigned depending on which version you're playing:

** Playing the games on a UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy enhances the color palette even further, and is roughly tied with ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'' for one of the best uses of this trope in a Super Game Boy game. Tying in with the ColorfulThemeNaming of Generation I, each area of the game uses a different tint for the overworld, with specific towns getting palettes based on the colors they're named after. Pallet Town is a very pale teal in ''RGB'' or a very soft purple in ''Yellow'' (as it's the closest one can get to white without blanking out most of the area's features), Viridian City is green, Pewter City is greenish-gray, Cerulean City is blue, Lavender Town is a soft purple, Vermilion City is deep orange[[note]]the color vermilion is actually a deep shade of red identical to cinnabar; the reason why Vermilion City is orange however is because its Japanese name is "Kuchiba City", with "kuchiba" referring to a shade of orange reminiscent of dead leaves[[/note]], Celadon City is pale green, Fuchsia City is pink, Saffron City is yellow, Cinnabar Island is burgundy, and Indigo Plateau is deep purple. All routes use a yellow-green tint, while all cave areas are brown. Pokémon battles especially show off the SGB's potential by shading the bottom-left and top-right portions of the screen different hues based on the characters/Pokémon present, and the top-left and bottom-right portions where the life bar changes from green to orange to red depending on the amount of health a given Pokémon has.

* ConsoleCameo: There is a [[UsefulNotes/SuperNintendoEntertainmentSystem SNES]] ([[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] in the original Japanese and the remakes) in your bedroom where you first start the game. All future games continue this trend and feature a console from their generation.

* SinglePaletteTown: Every town (except for Pallet Town) is named after one particular color. If played on a UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy (or, in case of ''Pokémon Yellow'', on a UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor), the screen changes its pallete to match the current town.

* ColorWash: The game was enhanced not just for the UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy, but non-Japanese versions were also enhanced for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor. It uses a similar color palette to how ''Red'' and ''Blue'' looked on the Super Game Boy, but applied even more garishly in ''Yellow.'' The in-battle trainer sprites, instead of a subdued grey-purple/pale, are now colored bright yellow and red, even though yellow and red are notoriously clashing colors. ''Yellow'' features redrawn Pokémon battle sprites as well, which likewise use more vibrant colors. There's also the rosy brown tint used for some Pokémon being changed into deep olive of all things, which looks out of place for blue and purple Pokémon using that color scheme. Strangely enough, the Machop line retained that color for the entirety of Generation II.

* NonstandardCharacterDesign: A retroactive example with Jynx. In the UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor release, Jynx's color palette consisted of four colors like every other sprite in the game (for Jynx, it's red, black, yellow, and white). For the UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole release, an extra color (purple) was added to change Jynx's skin color to avoid the accusations of {{Blackface}} that have plagued the Pokémon for decades. This is notable as the Game Boy Color could not support sprites with more than four colors; it was done by changing the palette for only part of Jynx's sprite. [[note]]Pokémon sprites are actually composed of several sprite tiles. In the Virtual Console version, the tiles corresponding to Jynx's face and hands were given a different palette than the rest of her, mostly identical other than black being replaced with purple.[[/note]]

* RegionalBonus: Even though it's still marketed as a UsefulNotes/GameBoy title, the international release includes a UsefulNotes/GameBoyColor mode that uses saturated versions of the UsefulNotes/SuperGameBoy palette.

* ConsoleCameo: Instead of an SNES in the player's bedroom from the original ''Red'' and ''Blue'', there is now an [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]]. The SNES still appears at Celadon Department Store.