Pokémon Crystal
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Pokémon Crystal, released in Japan as Pocket Monsters Crystal (ポケットモンスター クリスタル, Poketto Monsutā Kurisutaru), is a title in the Pokémon series of RPGs for the Game Boy Color. An enhanced remake of Pokémon Gold and Silver, Crystal was released December 142000 in Japan and July 212001 in North America. Crystal wasn't succeeded by 2003’s Game Boy Advance titles Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Pokémon Crystal was optimized to be playable only on the Game Boy Color. A person buying a Game Boy Color during the release of this game had the option of buying a Game Boy Color that came with Pokémon Crystal in the package.
Story
Pokémon Crystal starts off with the player receiving one of three Pokémon (Chikorita, Totodile, or Cyndaquil) from Professor Elm. Elm will then tell the player to visit Mr. Pokémon, who will give the player a mystery egg. Soon after, Elm will call the player to return quickly to his office. On the way, the player will encounter a red haired boy who will challenge the player, and it is discovered that he stole one of the Pokémon from Elm. Afterwards, Elm tells the player to go out and earn Pokémon Badges from the Eight Johto Gym Leaders from around the Johto Region. This begins the player's journey. After defeating the Eight Gym Leaders, the player will be invited to the Indigo Plateau, home of the Elite Four. After being victorious over the Elite Four and the Champion Lance, the player will be invited to try the Kanto Challenge where can be seen the changes from the days of Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow. After defeating the next eight leaders, the player is given a ticket to Mt. Silver, where a fight with Red, the player from Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow, ensues.
New features
Pokémon Crystal was the first in the Game Boy series to allow players to choose the gender of their character. Also added was a subplot involving the legendary Pokémon Suicune and a man named Eusine hoping to catch it. One of the game’s biggest additions was the Battle Tower, a new building added west of Olivine City which allowed players to participate in Pokémon Stadium-like fights. Another change, noticeable when first starting the game, was that all Pokémon had animated battle sprites once a battle began. For example, when Cyndaquil entered battle, the flames on its back flickered. This feature later returned in Pokémon Emerald and Pokémon Diamond and Pearl.
Previously, trainers who called on the cell phone all said the same thing with only the names of the Pokémon they reference. Trainers are now given distinct personalities (one talks about shopping, another about grooming), and call for reasons other than battling, such as giving the player items or informing them of a rare Pokémon appearing.
There were also some changes made to the Ruins of Alph. This included more common Unown, as well as a new subplot — completing enough puzzles lets the player read a secret message left behind by the Unown. It suggested that the Unown were left behind by the ancient civilization that constructed the Ruins of Alph, and that the statues that lined the interior were made by the Unown. The Unown are shrouded with mystery, they even appear to generate a radio signal (only in the Ruins of Alph).
Another feature introduced in Crystal and reused in later games is the Move Tutor. After the Elite Four is defeated, a man would start appearing twice a week who would teach the player’s Pokémon one of three moves – Flamethrower, Ice Beam, or Thunderbolt. In Crystal, this required 4000 coins from the Game Corner in Goldenrod City.
Mobile Phone System (Japan only)
In the Japanese version of Crystal, the player could link up with others through the use of a mobile phone. The Goldenrod City Pokémon Center was replaced by a much larger building which included the machine to use this feature. Using the mobile phone link-up would give the player an extra item, a GS Ball. After taking the Ball to Kurt in Azalea Town to examine, the player would place the GS Ball in the Ilex Forest shrine. This would cause a level 30 Celebi to fly down and attack the player.
Two GameShark codes can be used to activate the GS Ball related events and eventually catch Celebi in the English version of Crystal. Why this was not available in the United States has never been officially revealed; Nintendo says that they had FCC issues (the mobile adapter system did not make the cut, but the maps and text for the system are in English Crystal), but it is most likely because children with cell phones were not nearly as common outside Japan in 2001 and to the plethora of different styles of phones in use in the US.
Pokémon Stadium 2
Like Gold and Silver, the game could be used in Pokémon Stadium 2 via a Transfer Pak much in the same way as the other games, but with a few changes. When Crystal is put into the Transfer Pak, info is added to Earl's Pokémon Academy that shows the availability of Pokémon in the Crystal version and remains in the game even when Crystal is not in the Transfer Pak. The game takes considerably longer time to load at the GB Tower compared to the other versions, and comes with its own loading screen, which shows the current Pokémon in the party. Another notable change is in the battle modes of Pokémon Stadium 2. When using non-registered Crystal Version Pokémon, the trainer's picture that represents the player is female, regardless of whether or not the trainer is a male.
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