Video Game Reviews: Pokemon

From Number 1 son:

Ah, Pokemon. A truly great video game series that has a special place in my heart. Why? Because I am a member of the Pokemon generation. Anyone who reads this that is older than a junior in High School might remember in the late 90s, when a bunch of kindergartners were manically obsessed with a new Nintendo video game called Pokemon. Those kindergartners were and are my classmates (actually, I got into Pokemon just as most of the non-nerds were getting out of it).

Now, naturally, as with all fads, Pokemon gradually faded. Somewhat. Actually, Pokemon is still extremely popular among nerds (you know, the people who always play video games, whether or not they are "cool"), and is the second-best-selling video game franchise of all time, ranking only behind Mario. Sales are about to shoot up again, as on March 6, 2011, Nintendo will unleash upon North America the first games out of the fifth generation: Pokemon Black and Pokemon White. Naturally, I am extremely excited.

And so, I have decided to deal with this excitement by taking a look back at the past four generations of Pokemon, and the greatest moments out of these games. This is my list of the Top 9 Greatest Moments in the Pokemon Franchise (I decided that all of my lists will be top 9 because I pride myself on being strange, and because my first list was a top 9).

Now, a few notes before I get on with this list. First, the rules. Any moment must have appeared in a game that I have played. Also, the TV show moments will not be considered (they would require their own list. Hmmmm . . . . .). Other than those, there are no other rules. In fact, I'm even going to allow moments that appear in multiple games (otherwise this list would be way too hard). So, without further ado, let's get on with the nostalgia!

9. Evolution (good luck thinking of a mainstream game without this)
Part of the greatness of Pokemon is that it is very easy to tell if you are raising your Pokemon right. A pretty good indicator that you are doing things right is if your Pokemon suddenly starts glowing and changes shape (typically becoming bigger and possibly gaining extra body parts that it did not have before). This is evolution, the ninth greatest moment in the Pokemon franchise. It is great, with music that fits very well, building up tension until your Pokemon reveals its new form, complemented with a triumphant fanfare from the music. It is a great moment as it is often the culmination of hours upon hours of work leveling up this Pokemon to the point that it will evolve. It is also great because you immediately begin thinking about all of the new trouble you can cause with your much more powerful Pokemon. So, why is this the bottom of the list? Well, all of the other moments are much better. Also, evolution is somewhat diluted, as you will see it quite often during your adventure (sometimes up to two times per Pokemon). However, this is still a great moment, and well worth the effort needed to reach it.

8. Beating a Gym Leader (any game that is named after something colorful)
Most of the bosses in Pokemon games are a type of trainer known as a Gym Leader. There are eight of these in every region (where they are present, or in all mainstream games). Each of the Leaders has a Badge, which makes your Pokemon more powerful, allows you to get to new places, and gets you one step closer to your ultimate goal: the Pokemon League. Once you have acquired all of the Badges, you can challenge the Pokemon League, a group of four trainers known as the Elite Four, and once you defeat them you can challenge the Pokemon League Champion. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the Gym Leaders. Beating a Leader is always satisfying. Some of them are actually pretty tough (someday, Misty, I will get you, and your stupid Starmie too!). Plus, like with evolution, you get the great satisfaction of hearing another triumphant fanfare (there are a lot of them in Pokemon, in case you hadn't guessed) while you get your Badge. Like evolution, however, this moment is somewhat diluted by the fact that you see it eight times in a game (16 times in the Johto games, but I'll get to those later). Even so, it is a great moment, and fully deserves its spot on the list.

7. Opening to Pokemon Colosseum (guess which game)
Pokemon Colosseum was the first Pokemon game to come out for the Nintendo Gamecube. This game was very different from any other prior game in the series (and only the sequel has been similar), and this fact was evident from the opening cutscene. We start off with the desert headquarters of the evil Team Snagem, a group that steals Pokemon (hey, go with what works). Suddenly an explosion rocks the base, sending the team into action. We then see the main character: a young man older than most Pokemon protagonists wearing sunglasses walks in, takes a machine, and runs. The Snagem goons chase him but he jumps onto his hover motorcycle and rides off, ending his work by completely destroying the headquarters with more bombs. Yeah, you just read all of that. When we saw this opening, we knew we were in for something unlike any other Pokemon game we had ever played. It involves three things rarely ever seen in a Pokemon game: motorcycles, protagonists wearing sunglasses, and high explosives! This is by far the greatest opening to a Pokemon game I have ever seen, and for that it holds the number seven spot on this list.

6. Catching a Pokemon (every single game except maybe one or two)
For many, this is the whole point of the series. After all, the original tagline of the franchise was "Gotta Catch 'em All!" At the beginning of the game, you are often given a Pokedex (a device that records information about Pokemon you've caught), and told to fill its pages. While this is never my primary goal (or any goal of mine at all, for that matter), I still catch some Pokemon to use on my team and just to say I did (these are mostly legendary Pokemon: Pokemon who are often central to the plot and obscenely powerful, I don't use them, but I will catch them). Naturally, however, some Pokemon just will not be caught (go figure, the one-ton legendary behemoth doesn't want to be crammed into an object the size of a baseball), particularly the legendary Pokemon. Sometimes, you will have to try more than once. But when you do finally succeed, you are rewarded with (guess what) another triumphant victory fanfare. This combined with the fanfare make it deserving of a place on the list. While it is diluted, I rank this moment higher than the other two diluted ones because failing to catch a Pokemon is truly frustrating, so I tend to enjoy it more.

5. Confrontation in the Future (Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time)
The Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, a spin-off of the franchise, has a very interesting formula: you are a human who has been turned into a Pokemon, with no knowledge of your original life other than the fact that you had one. You then join forces with other Pokemon to fight your way through dungeons and help others, and eventually save the world in some way. These games are much more focused on the story than other Pokemon games, and these stories are amazing. The first game was amazing, but the second (from which this moment comes from) was even better. Be aware before you read further that there are mild spoilers, but I will try to avoid spoiling the big stuff. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. About halfway through the game, a Pokemon named Grovyle starts steeling artifacts called Time Gears, which causes time to freeze in the areas. Then a Pokemon named Dusknoir arrives from the future, claiming that Grovyle is also from the future, and that his actions in the present have turned the future into a wasteland. You help him capture Grovyle, but then Dusknoir drags you into the future with him. Once there he immediately tries to kill you, forcing you to team up with Grovyle, who claims to have much more noble motives. In order to return to the present you travel with him and a time travel to a forest, where a special time warp is. Once you arrive, however, Dusknoir and his minions appear, cutting you off. More importantly, however, is this scene's introduction of Dusknoir's leader: Dialga. Dialga is one of the legendary Pokemon of Generation IV, and has power over time. The scene is very dramatic and has some pretty awesome lines and actions. I also found an awesome fanart on the internet of this confrontation (this is the link). The drama of this scene is unlike almost any other scene in the franchise, and that makes it deserve its place on this list.

4. The Hall of Fame (all mainstream games)
Like I said, for many players the real point of the game is to catch every single Pokemon, or at least as many as they can. For me, however, the real purpose of my adventure is to defeat the evil team (Team Rocket, and other evil organizations), and (more importantly), defeat the Pokemon League Champion and take his title. Once you do so, you and all of your Pokemon are immortalized in the Hall of Fame. This is the culmination of all of your hard work: catching and training Pokemon, defeating gym leaders, and fighting through the Elite Four and the Champion with only your healing items to sustain you (no Pokemon Centers to fully heal you). This is a truly satisfying moment, and makes you feel like you accomplished something. Which you have.

3. Battle of the Titans (Pokemon Emerald)
In Pokemon Ruby, Pokemon Sapphire, and Pokemon Emerald there are two powerful legendary Pokemon: Groudon (who rules the land) and Kyogre (who rules the sea). These two Pokemon do not get along, and after a huge battle thousands of years before the events of the game, went to sleep. This series's evil teams (yeah, there are two), Team Magma and Team Aqua, are obsessed with expanding the land or the sea, respectively, by using Groudon or Kyogre, respectively. Now, in the first two games, only one of the teams was evil, while the other tried to help you stop that team. In Pokemon Emerald, released later, both teams are evil and are both trying to fulfill their respective goal. They both unleash their desired Pokemon, but are unable to control them, and so the titanic Pokemon fight each other. Since they both have an effect on the weather (Groudon causes intense sunlight, while Kyogre causes heavy storms), both effects take place at the same time, and during the battle, the weather in the world alternates between intense sunlight and heavy rain. While the two battle, threatening to destroy the world in the process, you try to find the ruler of the sky, Rayquaza, who eventually comes to calm down the fighting and save the day. This was an awesome idea, and one that until now had not been seen in a game (it had, however, made it into the movies). While the graphical limitations mean that no details are shown, one can easily imagine the titanic battle going on. And that is why this is my third favorite moment in the Pokemon franchise.

2. Pokemon Trainer Red (Pokemon Gold and all alternate versions and remakes)
In the original Pokemon games (Pokemon Red, Pokemon Blue, and Pokemon Yellow), the main character's canonical name was Red (his rival's canonical name was Blue). Pokemon Gold and its alternate versions and remakes are unique because unlike the other new generations, the Generation II games were actually sequels, and happened three years after the original games. So, once you defeated Lance (the Champion), you were able to cross from Johto (the region you were in) into Kanto (the region from the first game), and see the changes over the past three years. You can also see all of the old characters (except for a select few), and even fight some of them, such as the Gym Leaders (Misty's Starmie is still the bane of my existence, three years later), and even Blue, the rival (he is now a Gym Leader). However, there is one character unaccounted for: Red. Well, after earning all of the original Gym Badges, Professor Oak gives you permission to go into the last area: Mt. Silver. Going into Mt. Silver, you explored into the deepest cave, or in the remakes to the top of the mountain (which I like better), where a young man stands alone. It is Red. True to the original games, he does not speak, only replying to your challenge with ". . ." He is the greatest Pokemon trainer in any game (in the remakes his Pikachu is level 88, the highest fixed level Pokemon owned by a trainer), and one of the few who I have never defeated. He is number two because Red is my favorite protagonist from the Pokemon games, and seeing him again is incredible. As is the boss music, which is truly epic. However, the very concept of fighting your old character is awesome, and it by itself would gain this spot. But what (or who) is number 1?

1. Red vs Blue (Pokemon Red, and all other versions and remakes)
Yep, Red still manages to be involved in the top spot, which is his final battle as a playable character. Here is the story behind it (SPOILERS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED). From the very beginning, you have been bitter rivals with Blue, the grandson of Professor Oak (who says that you have been rivals since the day you were born, which I have to wonder about, since it seems to be personal, and not a blood feud). He has been one step ahead of you at all times. He gets the badges before you, he knows more than you. However, the main thing that everyone remembers about him (and the defining quality of his TV show counterpart, Gary), is that he is a jerk. There is no way about it. He never compliments you and does everything in his power to verbally tear you down (to be fair, that is the only way he can tear me down since I will gladly wipe out his team), and constantly leaves you with the catchphrase, "Smell ya later." Yeah, pretty much everybody hates this guy, and with good reason. However, the most annoying thing about him? He becomes Champion five minutes before you do. I'm not joking. He beats you by the slightest bit (even though before your Elite Four challenge he walked away from the Pokemon League), and so when you walk into that room you are prepared to destroy this punk once and for all. The music is awesome, and fits the battle perfectly. One of my favorite parts of this battle was at the very beginning in the remake. Right before the battle began it showed the two sprites of the characters on screen, positioned so that they are pointing at each other dramatically. When you finally defeat Blue, you enjoy it. A LOT. For one thing, Blue does not brush aside this victory like he does for all of your other ones, and is genuinely struck by what just happened. What's even funnier is Professor Oak, who arrives shortly after the battle. He immediately scolds Blue, his own grandson, for failing to hold onto the title of Champion long enough for Oak to get over there and congratulate him, while he praises you, the kid next door, for bonding with your Pokemon. This is by far the best, and most satisfying moment in Pokemon history, which is why it is number one.

So, that's my list of the greatest moments in the history of the Pokemon franchise, from across four generations. I hope you enjoyed this list, even if you disagreed in some way. I, for one, am personally very excited about the coming fifth generation (which is largely based on the United States), and am very much looking forward to playing the new games.

Hopefully, they will provide me just as much enjoyment as these 9 moments have.