Game Mechanics
In each of the games in the Pokémon RPG series, from the first games to the latest ones, the main goal is to finish the game’s storyline by defeating a particular game’s Elite Four and Champion. This is accomplished after collecting eight gym badges and defeating other trainers found throughout the world. A major subplot of all the storylines is to defeat a criminal organization trying to take over the world through the misuse of Pokémon. These organizations include Team Rocket, Teams Magma and Aqua, and Team Galactic.
Afterwards, the game remains virtually open-ended, with the ultimate goal of the player being to obtain at least one member of each of the different species of Pokémon, thus completing the Pokédex. The number of Pokémon increases with each game generation, starting from 151 in the first series to 493 in the latest series. Almost always, the player must defeat the Elite Four to complete the Pokédex.
Completing the main storyline opens up other features in the games. This is primarily done by allowing passage into otherwise inaccessible places. In Pokémon Red and Blue, the player is granted entrance into the Cerulean Cave in order to catch Mewtwo. In Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal, defeating the Champion allows access to the Kanto region; and collecting Kanto's eight Gym Leader badges allows access to the Mt. Silver, located in the Johto region. This is where the player finishes his journey, facing the former Kanto Champion: the Red, Blue or Yellow player. In Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the player is given a special ticket that allows passage on the game’s ferry to the Battle Tower (Battle Frontier in Emerald). This limitation is also occasionally applied to console games that are not part of the core GameBoy games, but which supplement the Pokémon franchise. One example includes Pokémon Box for the GameCube; players of Pokémon Emerald are not allowed to use its storage features until they have become Pokémon League Champion.]
Starter Pokémon
One of the consistent aspects of the Pokémon RPG series of games, from Red and Blue on the Game Boy to Diamond and Pearl on the Nintendo DS, is the choice of one of three different Pokémon at the start of the player’s adventures; these three are often labeled Starter Pokémon. Players have the option to choose among a Water-type, a Fire-type, or a Grass-type Pokémon, all of which are supposedly indigenous to that particular region, yet otherwise unattainable except through trading with another game. Afterwards, the player's rival will always choose the Pokémon whose type is "super effective" against the player’s Starter Pokémon.
The exception to this rule is Pokémon Yellow (a remake of the original games that follows the story of the Pokémon anime), where players are given a Pikachu, an Electric-type mouse, famous for being the mascot of the Pokémon media franchise; however, the player can acquire Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle later in the game. The rival trainer receives an Eevee, a Normal-type Pokémon with multiple evolutions.
The Starter Pokémon in each of the games are:
| Pokémon Red, Blue, FireRed, and LeafGreen
| Pokémon Yellow
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| Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal
| Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald
| Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
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Pokémon battles
Battles between Pokémon are the basic and central function of the entire Pokémon concept. They are used to train Pokémon to become stronger, as competition and to reach certain objectives within the game. Battling can also be done between human players via a link cable or wireless technology.
Pokémon battling style
Pokémon uses a turn-based battling platform. When a player either approaches another trainer for battle, or encounters a wild Pokémon, the screen changes to a battle scene depicting the engaging Pokémon and a menu of options. The player may either choose to attack, use an item, switch the Pokémon out for another, or when battling wild Pokémon, attempt to run from battle. Each player, or the sole player and NPC, chooses an option and confirms it. If both Pokémon attack, the one who goes first is determined by Speed, although some moves, items, and effects can override this. If a player or NPC decides to use an item or switch out a Pokémon, that action is performed before any other. When the player battles a wild Pokémon, the Pokémon may either use a held item or run in addition to attacking.
Double battles
With the creation of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the developers introduced a new dynamic to battling — the double battle. In this format a player battles with two Pokémon simultaneously in a two-on-two confrontation. (In addition, during certain story sequences, a double battle may involve one of the player's Pokémon fighting alongside an NPC's.) The process remains much the same, in that the player selects an action for each Pokémon, but with double battles they also must usually choose a target for each move. Play then is ordered by speed, so if the player has both a very fast Pokémon and a very slow Pokémon, the fast Pokémon may act first and the slow Pokémon fourth. The third generation games only included double battles against other trainers, but Diamond and Pearl expanded this to encounters with wild Pokémon as well. The most noticeable difference between the two types of battling is that many moves and abilities are either changed by or completely dependent upon this feature. For example, the move Earthquake does not allow the player to choose a target, but affects all other Pokémon involved in the battle — including the other Pokémon the player controls. Plusle's Pokémon ability Plus works in tandem with the ability Minus, belonging to its counterpart Minun. While both are present on the battlefield they increase their respective Pokémon’s statistics.
Items
- See also: List of Pokémon items
Throughout the player’s journey in the Pokémon world, he or she will collect many different types of items. Some, like the Pokédex and Pokégear, are accessible from the menu and are more like features than individual usable items; the vast majority are placed in the Bag, or inventory.
Holding items
Held items were introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Each Pokémon is able to hold any one item except for Hidden Machines (HMs) and Key Items, but the majority of normal items, like Potions and Poké Balls, have no effect.
Items designed to be held can do many different things: some, such as Berries, imitate the effects of restorative items, and others give the Pokémon an offensive or defensive advantage during battle. Certain Pokémon will also evolve if traded to another player while they are holding a certain item; for example, when Onix is traded to another game while it holds a Metal Coat, the Coat disappears and Onix evolves into Steelix.
All Pokémon have six statistics (colloquially called “stats”) which affect their performance in battle. These are HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.
- HP (short for Hit Points): A Pokémon faints when its HP reaches zero and cannot be used in battle until it is revived at a Pokémon Center or with a special item. In the Pokémon universe, Pokémon never die as a result of battling.
- Attack: Determines the strength of a Pokémon’s physical attacks. The definition of what constitutes a physical attack has changed throughout the game’s history. Up until Diamond and Pearl, physical attacks are of those Pokémon types logically associated with physical damage, which include Normal, Fighting, Ground, Steel, and others. However, in Diamond and Pearl, each damaging attack is individually classified as Physical or Special. This means that certain moves like the Fire-type move Fire Punch, which was previously a Special attack, are now affected by the Attack statistic.
- Defense: Determines the Pokémon’s defense against physical attacks.
- Special Attack: Similar to Attack, determines the power of a Pokémon’s special attacks.
- Special Defense: Determines the Pokémon’s defensive power against special attacks. In the first generation games, Special Attack and Special Defense were combined into one statistic called Special.
- Speed: After the player(s) enter their battle commands, the Speed statistics of the participating Pokémon are compared. With some exceptions, the Pokémon make their moves in order of fastest to slowest.
Not only do these statistics affect the battle, but the battle can affect the statistics. Many attacks and items exist which can temporarily, or even permanently, raise and lower each one.
When Pokémon level up, their statistics increase, as determined by the Pokémon’s base stat values, effort values, Pokémon nature, and individual values. These variables working in tandem is what provides an individual Pokémon with its own unique stats.
There are also two other statistics, Accuracy and Evasiness, which are not affected when Pokémon level up. Instead, each Pokémon attack has an accuracy rating which determines how often the selected move will hit the opponent. It is normally given out of 100, but having a 100 accuracy move does not guarantee it will hit (it should be noted that some moves, like Shock Wave, have a 100% chance of hitting the opponent in a neutral situation. This will be stated in the move description). More powerful moves tend to have less accuracy, for example, the one-hit KO move Sheer Cold has an accuracy of 30/100, so will often miss to be fair. During battle, there are moves which increase and decrease the Accuracy and Evasiness stat, just like there are moves which increase and decrease Attack or Defense. Increasing Accuracy makes a move more likely to hit, while increasing Evasiness makes the move more likely to miss, so therefore increasing Evasiness is equivalent to decreasing Accuracy and vice versa. So in reality, the two statistics aren't much different from each other.
Base stat values
Base stat values determine the natural statistical strengths of the various Pokémon species. Every Pokémon is assigned a number in each stat; the higher the number, the higher the stat can potentially be. While these values may greatly vary between species, they are the same for each member of that species. It is the difference among species which explains why all Aerodactyl will have a higher Speed than any Snorlax of the same level; however, it is the combination of other factors that causes some Snorlax to be faster than others.
Adding up all the base stat values for a certain species generates the Base Stat Total, which is used to determine approximately how strong that Pokémon is.
Effort values
Effort values (EVs) are hidden values that affect the strengths of a Pokémon in particular statistical areas. Differing effort value levels between two Pokémon can create a significant difference in the two Pokémon’s statistical strengths.
When Pokémon battle and defeat an opponent, they not only gain experience points, but also receive a number and type(s) of EVs according to the defeated Pokémon's species. Every defeated Pokémon gives at least one EV to each of the Pokémon that fought it.
Consuming vitamins will also give Pokémon EVs; however, Pokémon will refuse vitamins after reaching a certain value threshold. There also exist certain Berries which may be used on a Pokémon to reduce EVs. They are the opposite of vitamins, one type of berry for each statistic.
When a Pokémon holds the Macho Brace, that Pokémon will receive twice the EVs from battles. If a Pokémon has the Pokérus condition, it will also gain double the EVs from battling. If a Pokémon is holding the Macho Brace and has Pokérus, it will obtain EVs at quadruple the normal rate. Also, Power Items (like Power Bracer or Power Belt) will add 4 EVs to a given stat each battle regardless of the type and amount of EVs gained from the defeated Pokémon.
Starting from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, many offensive moves are now powered by a different stat. For example, the move Fire Punch was powered by the Special Attack stat up until the fourth generation games, where it is now powered by the Attack stat. This may encourage players to carefully rethink their Pokémon's movepool and EV distribution, as moves that were strong in the previous generations may no longer be very effective for a certain Pokémon.
Pokémon natures
Pokémon natures were first introduced in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, the third generation of games. Each Pokémon has a nature, randomly assigned when it is generated, which cannot be changed. A Pokémon’s nature affects the rate at which some of its stats increase, either positively or negatively. They also determine which flavor of PokéBlocks/Poffins that Pokémon likes and dislikes. Out of the 25 possible natures, 20 will increase one stat’s growth rate but decrease another’s. The other 5 modify the same stat in both increases and decreases, and thus the Pokémon's overall growth is unaffected.
Individual values
Individual values (IVs) are essentially a range in power for each statistic, which determine a Pokémon's maximum potential. These values are randomly generated along with each Pokémon when it is encountered or bred (values vary between 0 and 31), and set in stone for the rest of the game. These hidden values are why even Pokémon that seem identical and have been raised the same way still may have different stats.
Pokémon types
There are seventeen different Pokémon types, two of them (Steel and Dark) introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Each type is a special attribute determining the strengths and weaknesses of each species, offsetting each other in a complicated series of rock-paper-scissors relationships. Every single Pokémon is at least one of the different types, with some, known as dual-types, belonging to two. No Pokémon belongs to more than two types. Every single Pokémon move is also of one of these types (except for Curse, which has a mechanic of its own). The rock-paper-scissors mechanic and Pokémon move type determine the effect of a Pokémon move in battle.
Moves and attacks
Like the characters in many RPGs, Pokémon are able to learn a wide variety of moves. These moves may inflict damage, induce status problems, restore health, or perform actions that in some way affect the overall battle. All moves have a Power, Accuracy, Type, Description, and starting with the fourth generation a Category. The types of moves that a Pokémon may learn are completely dependent on the species of Pokémon. Even those that evolve from others do not necessarily learn all the same moves that their predecessors learn. For example the lizard Pokémon Charmander cannot learn the move Fly, even though Charizard can, as it gains wings in this final stage.
Catching Pokémon
Because each player begins the game with only one starter Pokémon, capturing is one of the most fundamental aspects of Pokémon, and the primary method of recruiting new Pokémon to the player’s party.
In a battle against a wild Pokémon, the player may, instead of defeating it, choose to capture it by using (“throwing”) one of many different types of Poké Balls. The odds of success vary, but are increased if the target Pokémon’s HP is low, if the target is affected by a status-altering effect like sleep or paralysis, and if a stronger or specially-suited Poké Ball is used.
If the capture is successful, the captured Pokémon’s data is added to the Pokédex, the player may give the Pokémon a nickname, and the Pokémon is added to the player’s party. However, if the player’s party is filled to its maximum of six Pokémon, the captured Pokémon is instead sent to one of many boxes accessible via PC. In the first and second generation games, if the current PC box is full, the player will be unable to capture any new Pokémon until he or she accesses a PC and switches to a different box. In all other versions, new Pokémon are transferred to the next available box.
Pokémon evolution
Evolution is a sudden change in form of a Pokémon, usually accompanied by an increase in stat values. Evolution can be triggered in a variety of ways, but most often it occurs when a Pokémon has reached a certain level. For example, a Charmander evolves into a Charmeleon at level 16. Other methods include being exposed to an evolution stone, being traded to another game cartridge, or through attaining a certain amount of Loyalty and leveling up.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game introduced the idea of numerical stages for referring to different points in a Pokémon’s evolution. This has translated into colloquial usage among fans of the games. All Pokémon can be placed at one of four evolutionary stages (though no existing Pokémon line includes more than three out of the four stages): Basic Pokémon, Stage 1 Pokémon which evolve from Basic Pokémon, Stage 2 Pokémon which evolve from Stage 1 Pokémon, and Baby Pokémon which are acquired by breeding certain Basic or Stage 1 Pokémon and hatching their eggs. A Pokémon higher up on this evolutionary scale is called an evolved form of the previous stages; a Pokémon lower down on the scale is said to be a pre-evolved form of later Pokémon in the chain.
Loyalty, sometimes referred to as "Happiness," is an attribute that can rise or fall based upon several conditions and events. This aspect, introduced in Pokémon Yellow, was what determined Pikachu's stat growth and a fundamental aspect for advancing through the game. In Pokémon Gold and Silver it is a means to evolve several Pokémon with the focus on taking care of the Pokémon, rather than merely worrying about it leveling up. When a Pokémon like Chansey or Eevee has a very high Loyalty, it will evolve after the next time it levels up. To further exploit this mechanic, the two moves Return and Frustration base their Power upon the amount the Pokémon either likes or dislikes their trainer. In addition there are several cheap restorative items that "have a bitter taste" and will lower the Pokémon's Loyalty.
Pokédex
The Pokédex is a fictional electronic device that serves as a database of Pokémon. In the games, whenever a Pokémon is first captured, its data will be added to a player’s Pokédex, but in the anime or manga, the Pokédex is a comprehensive electronic reference encyclopedia, usually referred to in order to deliver exposition of the Pokémon world.
In the video games, a Pokémon Trainer is issued a blank Pokédex at the start of their journey. A trainer must then attempt to fill the Pokédex by encountering and at least briefly obtaining (by capture, trading, or evolution) a member of each of the different species of Pokémon. The first time a player encounters a Pokémon, its name, image and common location are added to the Pokédex. More detailed information is available after the player obtains a member of the species. This information includes height, weight, species type, and a short description of the Pokémon.
"Pokédex" is also used to refer to a list of Pokémon, initially a list of Pokémon by number, but other listings are available in later generations of games.
Pokémon trades
Trading is an important aspect to the Pokémon games, being the crux upon which much of the franchise is based. This is because the slogan, and consequently the goal, “Gotta Catch ‘Em All,” is logistically impossible without trading. Each game released in a generation has certain Pokémon that are exclusive to that version. For example, in Pokémon Red players can find the Pokémon Arbok, while it is completely absent in both Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow. Other Pokémon are only available when offered up as a choice. The most obvious example is the choice between three starter Pokémon at the beginning of the game. The only way to get the other two is by trading. The other way that trading is made instrumental in gameplay is that many Pokémon cannot evolve into their final forms without being traded. Gengar, Alakazam, Golem, and Machamp were the first Pokémon to ever be given this requirement. Later generations built upon this idea with the advent of holding items. Some Pokémon only evolve when given certain items to be held and then trading them. Pokémon that previously did not evolve could now become more powerful, like the Pokémon Onix and Scyther, which starting from the second generation games evolves into Steelix and Scizor respectively by holding the Metal Coat and being traded. Another aspect of trading, in-game trades with NPCs, allow players to acquire Pokémon otherwise unavailable. For example, the only way to get a Jynx, Farfetch’d, or Lickitung in Pokémon Red and Blue (other than trading with a friend who already had one) was through an in-game trade.
Before the concept of breeding was introduced, players would sometimes have to settle for merely trading Pokémon back and forth between cartridges. This was because certain Pokémon a player owned (e.g. the starters) were often the only one they had. The game’s Pokédex did not (and still does not) monitor whether a player still owned a specific Pokémon, only whether they had ever owned it.
Trading between games on the Game Boy and related systems is accomplished through a Game Link cable that attaches to ports found on all Game Boy incarnations. The size of the ports varies between consoles, so several hybrid cables have been created that allow linking between the original Game Boy and its counterpart, Game Boy Color, for example. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen included a special wireless dongle (which plugged into the game link port) for local wireless communication. On the Nintendo DS, DS Wireless Communications is used instead.
Pokémon Gyms
Pokémon Gyms are buildings situated throughout the Pokémon world, where Pokémon Trainers can train or compete to qualify for Pokémon League competitions. Although the internal organizations of Pokémon Gyms may vary, all specialize in one certain type of Pokémon, and all are manned by a Gym Leader, a formidable Trainer that acts as a boss.
When an official Gym Leader is defeated, the challenger wins a badge, which serves as proof of a Trainer's skill and is a key part of advancing the plot. Victory also earns the challenger a TM and usually the ability to use an HM move outside of battle, opening up new areas of the world. Some badges also allow the trainer to use traded Pokémon, up to a certain level. In order to qualify for the Pokémon League, a Trainer must collect eight badges. In the video games, a region only has eight Gyms, although the anime asserts the existence of others (such as Gary Oak having acquired 10 badges, but had not defeated the Viridian City Gym Leader). It is said that Pokémon tend to respect Trainers with more badges, and are more likely to follow the advice from their Trainers.
Pokémon breeding
Pokémon breeding was introduced in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Successfully breeding two Pokémon creates Pokémon eggs which hatch into new Pokémon, usually inheriting some traits from each parent.
Pokémon can be bred in-game by leaving two compatible Pokémon at a Daycare Center together. Daycare Centers are businesses generally run by an elderly person or couple (NPCs), which raise Pokémon trainers’ Pokémon for a fee. While their primary purpose is to increase the levels of the Pokémon the player leaves there, if two compatible Pokémon are left there, they will eventually produce an egg, which the trainer can pick up for free. After being carried by the trainer for some distance, the egg will hatch into a young Pokémon, usually of the lowest stage in its mother’s evolutionary line.
Many Pokémon used in competitive play (PvP Pokémon battles) are specially bred for their moves and stats. This is a time consuming process because of the patience required to execute breeding chains, and because of the variations in IVs; even if the parent Pokémon have outstanding IVs, the offspring will only inherit three IVs from its parents, while the others are randomly generated. In Emerald and successive games, a mother that holds the Everstone item or has the ability Synchronize has a 50% chance to pass its nature to its offspring.
Compatibility
Compatibility is usually restricted to one male and one female. In addition, Pokémon species are assigned to Egg Groups, which determines their breeding compatibility with other species. Pokémon may belong to up to two Egg Groups; in order to breed, they must share at least one Egg Group. If compatible Pokémon are left at the Daycare they will breed. However, how fast they breed depends on how well they get along (a hidden calculation based on various factors).
If a Pokémon species is all-male or entirely genderless, the only way to breed it is with Ditto, which can also breed with any other Pokémon capable of breeding. The egg produced will yield a hatchling from the non-Ditto Pokémon's evolutionary line.
A select group of species cannot breed at all, which includes most legendary Pokémon and all Baby Pokémon. Although some legendary Pokémon (such as Heatran) have genders, they still cannot breed. An unusual circumstance regarding legendary Pokémon breeding involves the relation of Manaphy and Phione.
Some Pokémon have pre-evolutions that are hatched from an egg. These eggs are normally obtained by breeding Pokémon caught in the wild, but sometimes are given as gifts to the player character by NPCs. Known as “Baby Pokémon,” these Pokémon are unable to breed (but have evolutions that can).
Sometimes, the parents must be bred under special conditions, or the egg will yield not the Baby Pokémon, but its next stage of evolution. For instance, Wynaut will appear only when the parent Wobbuffet holds a Lax Incense while breeding. For a complete list of these species, see the List of Pokémon by stage.
Inherited moves
Pokémon which hatch from eggs may inherit moves from their parents, allowing them to use advanced attacks from birth. If both parents know moves which the Pokémon could normally only learn by leveling up, they will be inherited by the offspring. A father will pass down TM moves that can be learned by the offspring. An "Egg Move" usually cannot be learned naturally by a Pokémon, but can also be inherited from the father. These are often powerful techniques which can be of types the Pokémon does not usually use, and may be effective against opponents that would normally have a type advantage. Egg Moves generally include any moves a Pokémon could learn from a TM, allowing smart breeders to get more mileage out of rare TMs.
Sometimes a Pokémon species has the capacity to learn an Egg Move, but none of the Pokémon which learn the move naturally are in the appropriate Egg Group to father one. In this case a breeder must make use of “breeding chains”, by breeding a male Pokémon which knows the move with a female in both Egg Groups. The resulting offspring, if male, can be bred with a Pokémon of the desired species, passing the move on. Some breeding chains are even more complicated, requiring several intermediate steps.
One particular Egg Move is especially elusive and unusual. No species learns Volt Tackle naturally, but Pichu may potentially know it as an Egg Move when they hatch. To obtain a Pichu that knows Volt Tackle, a player of Pokémon Emerald must breed a female Pikachu holding a Light Ball item.
Pokémon abilities
Pokémon abilities are special attributes which were introduced in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Each Pokémon has one or two abilities according to its species.
Most Pokémon use their abilities in battle. Abilities can strengthen a Pokémon’s own statistics or weaken a foe’s, inflict status conditions such as paralysis or poisoning, or perform one of many other effects. For instance, a Bulbasaur uses its Overgrow ability to power up its Grass-type attacks when it is weak, and when Arbok is sent into battle, it will use its Intimidate ability to lower the opposing Pokémon’s Attack statistic. Other abilities render some Pokémon invincible against certain types of attacks. A Lunatone’s ability to Levitate will prevent Ground-type attacks from striking it, and Spinda’s Own Tempo ability prevents it from being affected by the Confuse status effect. A Pokémon with the Lightning Rod ability, such as Marowak, will keep its partner safe from Electric-type attacks in a double battle by drawing the electricity away from it.
Not all abilities are helpful. Slaking has the Truant ability, which allows it to attack only every other turn. This is intended as a countermeasure to Slaking’s very high base statistics, but also reduces the chance of it hurting itself during confusion. Other examples are Regigigas' Slow Start ability, halving its Speed and Attack for the first five rounds of a battle, and Buneary's Klutz, preventing the use of held items.
Some abilities come into effect outside of Pokémon battles. For example, Pokémon with the Pickup ability, like Meowth, will sometimes retrieve rare items off of the ground. Also, starting from Pokémon Emerald, a handful of abilities that were once only used in battle have effects outside of battle as well. A Pokémon with the Lightning Rod ability will cause the player character to receive more phone calls, and a Pokémon with the ability to Intimidate will cause the player to encounter lower-level Pokémon less often.
Shiny Pokémon
A Shiny Pokémon is an alternately colored variant of a Pokémon. They can be caught in any Pokémon RPG from Gold and Silver onwards, though the probability of catching or finding one is 1 in 8,192. The one major exception to this rule is the shiny Red Gyarados present in the Lake of Rage in the Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal games. Also, in Crystal, the Egg given to players by the Day-Care people has a 50% chance of hatching a shiny Pokémon. Otherwise, contrary to rumor, there are no ways of increasing the chance of getting shiny Pokémon.
Shiny Pokémon are not necessarily better than regular Pokémon, although in Gold, Silver, and Crystal, they have better-than-average individual values. In the GBA generation, however, "shininess" is determined by another value, and shiny Pokémon are not effectively stronger than any other Pokémon in battle. Most fans consider shiny Pokémon to be collectors' items since they are so rare.
The term "shiny" is not explicitly stated in the games, and it is in fact a term invented by the Pokémon fan community due to the flash of stars appearing as the Pokémon enters a battle, unintentionally implying a sheen or crystalline property to the colors of the Pokémon. This minor animation was originally intended so that one could identify a Pokémon was shiny even if playing Gold and Silver on a monochrome Game Boy The term "shiny Pokémon" is not officially acknowledged in English media, although it seems to be a widely-used slang term in Japan; Ken Sugimori uses it in the title of a piece of artwork featuring a shiny Charizard. "Alt. Color" does appear among the options the player can choose filling out forms in the third generation of games.
Since first-generation games do not recognize shiny Pokémon, there is no distinction unless the Pokémon is traded to a later version.
In second-generation games, two Shiny Pokémon cannot breed, due to compatibility being partly determined by individual values, which are similar with every Shiny Pokémon. However breeding a Shiny Pokémon with a regular Pokémon in the second-generation, has a higher chance (1 in 64) of producing a shiny Pokémon. On all later versions, breeding a shiny Pokémon has the same chance of getting another shiny Pokémon as finding one in the wild.
In FireRed and LeafGreen, some Pokémon are preset to appear as their alternate color counterparts in the Trainer Tower. However, since they are under the control of the player's opponent, they cannot be obtained.
Shiny Zigzagoon were given out from GameStop and EB Games in July 2004.
In the Pokémon anime
A number of Shiny Pokémon have been seen in the Pokémon anime over the years. Most notably, the Noctowl owned by Ash Ketchum is a Shiny Pokémon.
Ash, in the first season, had an encounter with a Shiny Butterfree one episode, in which he released his Butterfree.
Other notable trainers with Shiny Pokémon are Jackson, a trainer Ash battles in the Silver Conference, who has a Shiny Magneton, and Winona, the Fortree City Gym Leader, who has a Shiny Swellow. The famous Red Gyarados was caught by Lance when Ash was at the Lake of Rage, and was seen again when Lance appeared during the battle between Groudon and Kyogre. A Shiny Donphan appeared in Hoenn, and a Shiny Magikarp was also seen briefly in a flashback in the episode "Judgement Day."
In Johto, the gang encountered a shiny Shuckle. This was technically the second Shiny Pokémon to be seen by all the main characters (with the first being Ash's Noctowl).
In Hoenn, when Ash, May, Brock and Max find themselves stranded on Dontoe Island, inhabited by Donphan, during mating season, they accidentally injure one, and decide to help it pursue a Shiny Donphan. The injured Donphan eventually impresses the female, and they fall in love.