My History with Pokemon: Top 5’s from 5 Gens: Jotho

Ah yes. Gold and Silver. In my opinion the BEST games in the series. Not until Black and White did I keep up with a Pokemon release like this. I memorized the Japanese names to the point to where I only started to learn all of the English ones when HeartGold/SoulSilver came out (which are the best Pokemon games to ever come out, period). I even had a bootleg strategy guide for the Japanese version and bought the very first issue of Pocket Games just to see all of the new 100. We all remember the first episode of Pokemon, where Ash sees a mysterious golden Legendary flying through the skies over a rainbow. That was our first glimpse at a Gen II Pokemon; the legendary Ho-Oh. Now, I know in recent years, people have tried to claim that all Ash saw was a Shiny Fearow and even one of the movies said that it was really just Mew (who decides to be a dick and just Transform into other Pokemon to screw with peoples heads), but the moment we found out that Ho-Oh was a REAL Pokemon, we realized that there was another Pokemon game on the way. In fact, once Togepi, Snubble, and Marril (the ever elusive “Pikablu” you tried to get by trading a Lvl 100 Pikachu to the dude in the Pewter City Gym) were revealed, it was like Heaven had opened. One of the best things about even the anime’s opening was that it surmised the whole feeling of Gold and Silver in one line “It’s a whole new place with a brand new attitude, but you still gotta catch ’em all, and be the best that you can be!”

Now, I can go on and on about how much I love Gen II, but I need to talk about my first starter and my favorites of this, the most amazing of all Generations, Gen II.

My Starter: Hinoarashi/Cyndaquil

The last of the non Fire/Fighting Fire starters; the only Fire Starter with just pure Fire, no additives; the lean, mean, exploding Fire Mouse machine himself, and the only Jotho starter that I even considered having until my Nuzlocke run of original Gold: my main man Cyndaquil. Out of all of the starters that I’ve had, Cyndaquil was the only one that felt like I really did raise from a little pet to a mountain of ever-exploding fury. I’ve never had a Cyndaquil that I didn’t give it’s Japanese name to. In fact, in SoulSilver (which I got because I originally had Silver as a kid), my Cyndaquil turned out to be a girl (which is rare as fuck to happen), so I still gave her the Japanese name as a nickname, but combined it with something feminine (Hinoarashe, Megmarashi, and Beckphoon). I loved the fire on this thing’s back so much that I was actually mad at the show when it revealed that the fire can actually be turned off. Also, nothing can replace Typhlosion in my heart after my Beckphoon took out Red’s Charizard at Level 58. And that’s without EV Training, folks. Just pure adrenaline and love.

Otachi/Sentret

As surprising as it may be, I love the Rattata of Gold/Silver. Why? To be honest, I have absolutely no clue. I remember seeing this guy for the first time as a Pokemon card in a sneak peak segment in a card game magazine (it may have been Inquest, but I’m not sure; it was a friend of mine’s copy). For whatever reason, I warmed up to the little guy. Maybe it has something to do with my love of rabbits and raccoons (you don’t grow up watching Bugs Bunny and playing Super Mario 3 without growing to like these critters). Maybe it’s the fact that flying squirrels are fucking kick-ass. Who knows. I just love this little guy. Also, the fact that it’s evolution was one of the Pokemon with an unsettling Pokedex entry (no one knows where it’s body ends and it’s tail begins) might add to my fav factor.

Denryu/Ampharos

Is it a Giraffe? NOPE. Not at all. Ampharos is actually a hairless sheep standing on two legs. Quite possibly one of the weirdest explanations of what a Pokemon is suppose to be (at least up til the dumb shit that comprises the 3rd Generation come along) and that’s what makes me love him. That and the fact that he’s one of the coolest Electric-Types in the game. Ampharos’ first form, Marrip, was shown in the same magazine that I saw Sentret in. I thought the idea of an electric sheep was silly enough to keep one on my team, so I kept him all the way through til he became an Ampharos. My current Ampharos is a mean mothafucker that I ALWAYS keep in my team, and has the honour of being apart of not only my Elite Four team, but my Red Battling team. If I remember correctly, he has the noted distinction of taking out 3 of Red’s Pokepals.

Blacky/Umbreon

You read right. The Japanese name for Eevee’s night time Evolution is, in fact, Blacky. Now, until I found this out again, I had said that his Japanese name was YanYan. Now, the reason I most likely thought this is one of two reasons. Remember the Bootleg guide that I got? If I’m remembering correctly, the guy who wrote it had an Umbreon on his team and he referred to it as YanYan, very barely touching on the original name. Conversely, in that original issue of Pocket Gamer, it could have listed the name as YanYan to keep the whole “Blacky thing from being in print… Either way I love Umbreon the most out of EVERY SINGLE EEVEELUTION. Seeing as I wouldn’t get to play Silver til I got home from school, Umbreon became a very obvious choice for my Eevee to evolve into. Something about the fact that I was a black cat/black fox monster was also DARN COOL. Also, for tradition’s sake, all of my Umbreon have the nickname of YanYan.

Doble/Smeargle

An art student’s best friend. Smeargle is one of those Gimmick Pokemon that only people who play te game to enjoy playing the game use. I’m one of those people. Never hard up on trying to pump my Pokemon full of vitamins and EV stats, I focus more on making a team that I would want to have in real life. As such, Smeargle, the artist Pokemon, is a no-brainer. Also, the potential of this little dude is amazing. A Smeargle could technically learn all of the secret moves of any Pokemon. Because of that, I could have a Roar of Time, Spacial Rend, Shadow Force, and Judgement on a single Smeargle, making it the God of Smeargle. Smeargod as it were. Besides, LOOK AT THAT FUCKING BERET.

Bangirus/Tyranitar

The main man, the king of kaiju, the Godzilla of the Pokemon, the biggest, baddest bruiser who’s ever existed. Weighing in at 445.3lbs, towering like a motherfucker, 6’07”: TYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYRANITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR. The ultimate proof that you were willing to raise a killing machine back in the days of Gold and Silver. Based on the legendary Tarasque (which, in its DnD incarnation, can never truly be killed and will just sleep in the heart of the Earth until it awaken  and a Japanese name coming from a combination of HATE and GODZILLA, Tyranitar is one motherfucker that’s to be feared and respected. I never managed to raise one in the original Gold/Silver, but in HeartGold/SoulSilver, I had to raise one  to have back up for the Elite Four. Her wrath is fucking phenomenal and just walking onto the battlefield is enough to scare lesser Pokebros. Another reason why I love this Pokemon? It’s a fucking T-Rex. What’s not to love?

Next time is (in my opinion) the worst Pokemon generation: Ruby and Sapphire.