Hey everyone,

I recently started playing Pokemon (Fire Red on my Android through a GBA emulator!). I have a lot of questions and I would love to share builds and tips. But first, I'd like to know if we have enough members interested (and knowledgeable) on LebGeeks to start a sticky topic.

Here are a few questions to start:
  • Why is evolving useful? I know you can cancel it. What are the advantages of canceling an evolution? Why would you use a moon stone? For instance I have a Nidorino lvl24. Should I use a moonstone on him? It feels like it's more an aesthetics thing...
  • How do you catch Abra? It keeps teleporting away... Should I wait for Kadabra? How do you catch Kadabra?
  • I'm not done in the story-line. I just got my second badge and headed to the S.S. Anne (or whatever's the boat's name). Just like any RPG, I'm always afraid of missing something that's not retrievable later on. Is there something I shouldn't miss?
  • How do sexes matter?
  • Is there a finite number of TM I can get? Or can I find as many instances of TM for any move I want? I stupidly lost "SING" on my Jigglypuff while leaving it at the day-care (I got 5 levels easily though). Where can I get a SING TM?
  • What's a good build for Jigglypuff? He has insanely high HP!
  • Can I manually increase the stats of a pokemon? Or is leveling up the only way to do it?
I hope this will get the discussion going. I think it's a great game, although it has (so far) little customization value. I'm hoping some old timers would show me some good things to do.
Hi, I hope this helps,

-Evolution as you know is getting your Pokemon to a certain lvl for it to, evolve. BUT!

Evoution comes with a cost, when you evolve your pokemon, it gets stronger across the board (HP, attack, DEF....)

on the other hand, it will learn moves not as frequent as its pre-evoultion.

lets say you have a patrat, this patrat can and will learn super fang at lvl 21 if it stayed a patrat.

now, your patrat will evolve at lvl 20 into a watchog, so, superfang wont come at lvl 21, it will come at lvl 22.

it seems to be nothing, but i took a relatively weak pokemon, so considering another strong pokemon( like your nidorina), it will take much more time.

ill post another reply to keep this post tidy.
-Ahhh, Abra.... I used to dream of catching that little bugger, then by mistake i used some TM that made him sleep....THROW YOUR POKEBALLS!!!!!!!

or you can use scary face on him, scary face wont allow any pokemon to escape battle, plus lowering its speed!

-missing something? in pokemon? HAH! every thing will stay where it is even if yo'ure done with the story line, i forgot what fire red used to have so, you'll have to explore your self, and im assuming you don't have HM fly yet.

-In the old games, males had the highest ATTACK, and females had the highest DEFFENSE.

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

upon your journey, you'll encounter the day care, this day care will take care of your pokemon and lvl it up as you leave it there. (1 EXP for ONE step taken)...so, you ca throw up to two pokemons, if you threw in a male and a female in there and they are compatible with each other (you can check if they are compatible from the old man standing out side)

SO! male ratecate and female patrat, are in the day care...and ahemmm, stuff happens, and then youll receive an egg from the old man standing out side*...the baby will have the form of the female( the baby will be a patrat jsut like the mother), and the male ratecate will pass on his moves,(not all of them). (breeding is a really huge thing to cover, there's actual hard work to get your desired pokemon, with perfect IV and EV)

In generation IV of pokemon games, there's a pokemon called combee, this little pokemon cant evolve only if its a female.

Females are harder to find/hatch.


*: -youll receive your egg when a certain number of steps are taken, and youll need to walk even more to hatch it.
- the stronger the pokemon you throw in the day care, the stronger the baby will be when lvl'd up.
- IV's (atk, def, HP...) are passed randomly.
-TMs are limited in GEN I,II and III....in GEN IV and V however you'll have inf amount of TMs to use.

- you actually can! by the use of vitamins! these increase stats slightly. and there is another really really hard way, its called EV and IV training...Im sorry, i wont cover these, im still grasping the concept of it.

pssssst, these will help a lot if you're interested:

1) http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Vitamin

2) http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Nidoran%E2%99%82_%28Pok%C3%A9mon%29

3) http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Day_Care

4) http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Gender


If you really like pokemon games, i recommend playing on the Nintendo DS, you're missing quite a lot of the fun! but have fun with you're pokemon red now ^_^
heh, didn't know i was talking to a mod.

I'm new here, like hours new, and didnt like the lack of pokemon content here...so got excited when i saw your post.

hope i delivered.


edit: OP! didn't notice your build request,

I cant just recommend you a build from scratch, I recommend taking a look at this thread, its quite helpful!

- http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=232456&
To catch abra save the game when you encounter him. Throw pokeballs at him and when he teleports load the game. To bad it wont evolve into alkazam.
Romario wroteTo catch abra save the game when you encounter him. Throw pokeballs at him and when he teleports load the game. To bad it wont evolve into alkazam.

considering OP is using an emulator, you're probably right, but its on his phone, so i don't know if he can save during battle.
And also OP, abra has a catch rate of 20% while Kadabra got 13% so you're better off catching abra, and leveling it up to Kadabra.

Alakazam is beyond reach on emulators :(
i started playing pokemon fire red on my android 3 days ago! what a coincidence!
I'm with stickiying this thread, I feel I have a lot to learn, I'm still tryimg to beat misty( or mitsy whatever she's called XD)

yes you can save during fights in the GBA emulator on android.
Metalloy wrote I'm still tryimg to beat misty

Tryed using grass type pokemon? They'll get the job done.

And yeah, hope this post sticks! Hope it generates intrest. =\
Man you brought back memories from school days. I used to be a huge fan of this game (and the cartoon series as well). Will download it on my Android as well :)

EDIT: I installed the GBA Emulator, but how do I get the game?
Hey @vogosvagen4, thanks a lot for your answers! I guess we should start by a proper welcome. If you feel like sticking around this community and becoming an active member, feel free to tell us more about yourself.

Abra
My emulator allows me to save in the middle of the fight, (only in the paid version which I don't have). I feel it's cheating, so I'm going to try something else. I just got a "Great Ball". Is it worth it to waste it on Abra or am I going to need it badly later (reminder I'm on FireRed)? Do I just throw the ball at him, or do I try to make it sleep first?

Breeding
The daycare I have access to only accepts one pokemon at a time. According to this page there's another day care I will run into. I'll look into breeding then. Is it well explained in the game, or should I read up on my own?

EV/IV
I only read about this online and no mention whatsoever was made about it in the game (I'm ~20hours in). Is it going to be explained at some point or do I start reading right now?

Misty
@Metalloy, great coincidence indeed :)
If you, like me, picked Charmeleon in the beginning, Misty is a tough fight. I managed to get the badge by raising a Oddish to Lv. 20. It single-handedly won (almost) all the fights in the gym. If you're on FireRed, you should have no problem whatsoever to get an Oddish.

Emulators
@Kassem: Look for a "Pokemon ROM". If you want to minimize the differences between our (me + Metalloy) game experience, pick Fire Red. Different versions might differ to varying degrees.

Also, ROMs are bad. I'm buying an Abra plushie to make myself forgiven :(

@vogosvagen4: I'd consider buying the DS if I find the game has high replay value. It's still early to decide, but I have no doubt that so far I'm getting a limited experience :)
Sticky
It's too early to decide if the thread is going to be stickied. But it's on the right track. If we manage to generate traffic, and find real interest in putting it forward, the thread will become sticky.

New question
Can I trade pokemons from an emulator?
Here we go!

-ABRA:
, it's honestly risky to catch that Abra without using TM's that will make it sleep, PAR, FRZ, EXTC..... like i said, you have a 20% chance of catching it without those statuses, so its really dicey.

so, really if you miss the first time, you'll go across the same problem again.

What you should do: 1) learn a TM that will make your Abra sleep, paralyzed*
2) throw pokeballs like there's no tomorrow *

*paralysis, isn't ideal to catch abra, because there will be a % of it using teleport (but it MIGHT work), sleep on the other hand wont allow Abra to do a thing.

* Great balls are really not that big thing to worry about, youll be able to buy more when you defeat the next gym leader i believe.


Convenience? HAH!:

Here's the thing, Game Freak (the developers) hates convenience, there's ALOT of stuff hidden in pokemon. so there is nothing explained in the game about , BREEDING, EV and IV training.*

So the internet is your guide.

* take it easy on EV and IV training, just focus on playing and enjoying the game now ^_^


Trading:

you cant, back in the days (GEN I) you had to plug in your game boy to another one to trade, there was no WI-FI trades and battles until GEN IV....so emulators and trading are like water and oil.



well, hope this helps. if there's anything else you guys want ill be here! honestly this Thread is whats keeping me here, so hope more people try out Pokemon! and adding a new genre of games to this board :D


I'll look into this introductory thingy now. ^-^


More stuff to look into:

- http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9_Ball#Introduced_in_Generation_I
- http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Sleep_%28status_ailment%29
akhhhh, you just gave me the urge to play pokemon again! I got white 2 waiting for me in my NDS Lite!

rahmu, I am very very very very (did I say very) interested in pokemon. Please make this a sticky.

vogosvagen4: awesome answers!

I will be sharing my knowledge about EV training and breeding for IVs when there is a need.
rahmu wrote@Kassem: Look for a "Pokemon ROM". If you want to minimize the differences between our (me + Metalloy) game experience, pick Fire Red. Different versions might differ to varying degrees.
Yeah I figured it out on my own eventually and installed Fire Red, but it's good that I asked, will make it easier for others to get started.

Anyway, I chose Charmeleon as well. I got it to level 16 already, but I lost to Brock when trying to catch his Onyx. Apparently I cannot catch other players' pokemons...?

What do you guys think about catching pokemons at the beginning of the game? All the pokemons I run into are at level 4 or 5, which isn't very encouraging. But I think I should have pokemons from different categories, no?
Kassem wroteApparently I cannot catch other players' pokemons...?
xD ahhhh, dude, thats what i did on my very first play through.

anyways, yeah get a variety, don't have 2 of the same type, and stay away from Raticate, he wont do you any good in the future.

Oh, and! LET YOUR POKEMON HOLD ITEMS*! seriously this could change the tide of the battle to your advantage.

*Items excluding poekballs, potions and repels.


@yasamoka:

Thanks man! I got black 2, so if you need any black 2 version pokemon, tell me ^_^
yea I started with charmandar, but I did catch picachu on my way, and I thought I will win them easily, apperently even with picachu it is hard, I had to rasie picachu to level 24, my ratata to level 19 and clefairy which i the sing attack helped me in the winning process :)

@Kassem, no you cant catch other trainers' pokemons, and it is important to catch a pokemon or 2 and keep fighting with wild pokemons to make them stronger so you can be better at fighting with strong trainers.
vogosvagen4 wrote
Kassem wroteApparently I cannot catch other players' pokemons...?
xD ahhhh, dude, thats what i did on my very first play through.

anyways, yeah get a variety, don't have 2 of the same type, and stay away from Raticate, he wont do you any good in the future.

Oh, and! LET YOUR POKEMON HOLD ITEMS*! seriously this could change the tide of the battle to your advantage.

*Items excluding poekballs, potions and repels.


@yasamoka:

Thanks man! I got black 2, so if you need any black 2 version pokemon, tell me ^_^
Raticate is quite good! the hyper fang attack isnt bad at all.
@Kassem:
You're going to run into trouble soon if Charmeleon is your only strong pokemon. Believe me.
Ultimately, the goal of the game is to enjoy all the combinations you can have of a whole variety of pokemons. Be very curious about everything you can find.

For instance I got Onyx thanks to Mankey. Very early on, Mankey learns "LOW KICK" which is not that useful except for that fight. Didn't have to reach insane (boring) high levels.

@Metalloy:
Even with Pikachu level 19, I couldn't defeat Staryu in the Misty fight (I lost it twice). Honestly, the only way I found was to go Leaf. Oddish is a little boring, but he's okay.
Metalloy wrote
vogosvagen4 wrote
Kassem wroteApparently I cannot catch other players' pokemons...?
xD ahhhh, dude, thats what i did on my very first play through.

anyways, yeah get a variety, don't have 2 of the same type, and stay away from Raticate, he wont do you any good in the future.

Oh, and! LET YOUR POKEMON HOLD ITEMS*! seriously this could change the tide of the battle to your advantage.

*Items excluding poekballs, potions and repels.


@yasamoka:

Thanks man! I got black 2, so if you need any black 2 version pokemon, tell me ^_^
Raticate is quite good! the hyper fang attack isnt bad at all.

Really?! I always stay away from these starter normal types pokemon (bidoof, patrat...) because of their relatively low stat compared to other pokemons that ill come across. =/ another reason I stay away from normal types in general is because they don't deal double damage to any other type, I'm more of a one hit K.O type.
well at first I thought it was a mistake, but once it reached level 13 and got hyper fang attack I was impressed, and now evolved to raticate and got the scary face attack which you mentioned earlier that It will help with abra capturing :D
and the bigdest advantages is this pokemon is fast!