[SSLP] An experience somewhat like before... Let's Play Pokémon Fool's Gold

[Carbon dioxide]

Hello one and all, and welcome to my Screenshot Let's Play of Pokémon Fool's Gold!



What is Fool's Gold?
Despite the name, Fool's Gold is actually a romhack of Pokemon Crystal. It started as a romhack that redesigns every single Pokemon in the game, but since then has been expanded to have more than 400 Pokemon total, entirely new areas, and other neat things.

There is a trailer for Fool's Gold on Youtube, but I won't link it here since it both contains spoilers and is somewhat outdated for the newest version of the romhack. However, it gives the game the tag line:

A somewhat familiar Johto experience ...where everything is a little bit different

I think this is a good description of this romhack.

Notably, this is not an extreme difficulty hack or anything. The devs assure us that you could beat the game with any team you want and don't have to worry too much about movesets. That's fantastic because that is how I like to play Pokemon, and also that means I can easily take into account your suggestions for which Pokemon to put in my party.

What will this Let's Play look like?
I am planning to show off everything that is unique to this romhack. New Pokemon, new moves, new areas, and so on. However, even though the game makes it possible, I won't attempt to catch 'em all. I tend to burn out when I try that. Instead I'll post Pokedex entries whenever we first encounter a new Pokemon. I'll try to fight all the trainers but I won't be spending hours looking for low-encounter rate Pokemon. Hopefully a later trainer will have it and if not I can always go back later.

Throughout the LP, I will take suggestions from you all on what Pokemon to have in my party, as well as their nicknames. Feel free to post suggestions at any time!
This LP will be cross-posted between SA and the LP Beach, so I'll take suggestions from both threads.

I played a previous version of this romhack up till about the 5th badge, so it will become a mostly blind LP after that.

Spoiler policy
Please don't talk about anything Fool's Gold we haven't seen yet. Any discussion about official Pokemon games or other romhacks is perfectly fine.

Table of Contents
Part 1: Welcome to the world of Pokemon
Part 2: Arisu
Part 3: Violet City
Part 4: SLOWPOKETAIL? In this economy?
Part 5: BUGS!
Part 6: Cube

[Carbon dioxide]

Reserved just in case.

[Carbon dioxide]

Part 1: Welcome to the world of Pokemon

Well, let's jump right into it, shall we?




As the game boots up, it first shows the developers of this romhack.




Hmm, is that a Ditto?




I start a new game.


If you bought this with real-world money, you have been scammed.
Please do not distribute this without crediting the devs and providing an official link.
If you have any questions about anything Fool's Gold, join the Discord server: discord.gg/xMA9Udq

Speaking of, if you want to play the romhack yourself, you can download it here. You're looking for the "FOOLS GOLD 1.3.1.ips" file. According to the wiki, that ...other patch file is "considered non-canon and it is recommended you use the normal patch for a first playthrough".




After asking me if I want to play as a boy or a girl, the game asks if I want to enter a password. This can only be done when starting a new game, and passwords modify the game in some way.
Some passwords you can find during normal gameplay, others have only been handed out by the devs. Either way, this is intended for a kind of New Game Plus so let's skip it for now.




The game jumps into the normal Pokemon Crystal intro, although it shows the redesigned Aipom sprite.




Some of the default nickname choices are the devs' names.

Once the intro is done, let's take a look at the map on the wall in our room.




Hmm, that looks a bit different than I remember it.




Nothing much in New Bark Town has changed. Our mother gives us the Pokegear, the rival is rude as always and all the dialogue is original. This is one thing you'll notice throughout the LP: everything starts off looking quite vanilla but the further we get, the more different things get.

Let's go pick a starter.





Cyndaquil, the Ice Mouse Pokemon
Type: Ice
Pokedex: Said to be a timid POKÉMON. It uses the icicles that protrude from its back to protect itself.





Totodile, the Pilot Pokemon
Type: Flying
Pokedex: Even though it was born with no wings its greatest ambition in life is to fly. Its wings are hand-made.





Chikorita, the Nunchaku Pokemon
Type: Fighting
Pokedex: It is slothlike and rarely moves, but occasionally manages to hit its enemy with the nunchuk on its head.

So, dear readers, of course I'll leave this to a thread vote.

Please leave suggestions for the following:
- Our gender and nickname (max 7 characters).
- Our starter and its nickname (max 10 characters).
- The rival's name.

Progress:
- Pokemon seen: 3/433 (0.69%)

[Carbon dioxide]

Part 2: Arisu

Everyone agreed we should play as a girl. There were four suggestions for a name. I went with Quackles's suggestion Alice since I liked the idea that we're in Wonderland.




After Totodile and Cyndaquil going head to head for a while, in the end Totodile was the clear winner with 19 votes. I'm not sure if all three people mentioning Air Toto were actually suggesting that as a nickname but I decided to roll with it.




Air Toto comes equipped with an Oran Berry (yes, Fool's Gold uses later-gen berry names), and starts with the basic moves Scratch and Leer.




The romhack devs even made custom animated menu sprites! (I removed the berry for this gif). You can already see a lot of love went into this game.
Anyway, we receive the Potion from Elm's aide, and start making our way to Mr. Pokemon.




Our first encounter on Route 29 is this Pidgey.


Pidgey, the Thwacking Pokemon
Type: Fighting/Flying
Pokedex: This feisty Pokémon picks fights with those around it, but often loses due to its small size.

Of course, without Pokeballs, all we can do is scratch it to death.




Physical? Yep, that's right, Fool's Gold introduces the physical/special split 2 generations early.
In case you're wondering, most of the other internal stats have been kept vanilla Gen 2. For example, IVs/DVs and EVs/Stat exp have not been changed.

Other than the redesigned pokemon, Route 29 seems entirely unchanged. Next, we encounter Sentret.





Sentret, the Squirrel Pokemon
Type: Normal/Flying
Pokedex: Their tails help them leap into the air, where they glide freely using skin flaps under their legs.




Sentret gets Air Toto to level 6.




I get the Potion and make my way to the Route 46 gatehouse. As always, Route 46 is almost entirely blocked by ledges but at least we can take a look at the pokemon.





Corsola, the Flame Pokemon
Type: Fire
Pokedex: CORSOLA are kind-spirited and often appear by weary travelers, eager to warm them up.

Such as this friend. It's unfortunate I don't have balls yet.
Corsola did manage to hurt Air Toto a bit with its annoying combination of Smokescreen and Ember. But Air Toto leveled up again and learned his first STAB move: Gust.

Back on Route 29, I pick an Oran Berry off the tree (they grow back every 24 hours like in the base game), and with that we're already in Cherrygrove City.




Let's get the tour from this guy so he can give us the map.




Hey, what's that pier? Let's check that out in a minute. First, let's heal up and hit the Poke Mart.




Mart - Fool's Gold OST

Here is the first new song of Fool's Gold. Most music is kept unchanged, but when you hit a new tune and it's a good one like this Poke Mart theme, it's a nice surprise.

Anyway, all NPC dialogue in Cherrygrove is unchanged. You've probably noticed the nice red trees as well as what I assume are cherry blossoms on the ground. Let's go see what that pier is about.





The S.S. SAKURA is a ship for only the most elite Trainers.
Nobody really knows where it goes.




Through a short underground corridor, onto the final part of this pier.





Sorry, kid.
This ship's only for the best of the best.

I guess we'll have to come back later. Let's go to Route 30 and meet Mr. Pokemon.




I get the Oran Berries from the tree and from the guy inside the house. The kid battling here says "Go, SENTRET" now, so apparently he doesn't have a Rattata anymore.




In the grass we encounter Hoppip.


Hoppip, the Potato Pokemon
Type: Grass/Ground
Pokedex: A grumpy POKÉMON who stays underground, absorbing nutrients and growing.

It dies to a couple gusts. I found some Antidote on the route as well as a Pecha Berry from the tree next to Mr. Pokemon's house.




I get the Mystery Egg from Mr. Pokemon, and the Pokedex from Prof. Oak.




On the way back to New Bark Town, there's the rival fight. At level 5, Cyndaquil doesn't know any ice moves yet, so it's an easy win.




The police officer asks for his name. Now, there were 2 votes for BUTTS and 2 for ????. Everyone knows ???? is canonically pronounced "HUH?!?" so let's name him that.
We hand the Mystery Egg to Elm, and get 5 Pokeballs from his aide. Finally, before leaving New Bark Town, I ask Mom to save some of my money. She might buy something neat from it for us.

On the way back to Cherrygrove I fill out my initial team a bit, if only to prevent Air Toto from getting over-leveled early on.




Now here's my darkest secret: I can never come up with nicknames for pokemon.

So here's how you can help: At any time during this LP, please leave suggestions for what pokemon I should have in my party and what their names should be. These can be pokemon I've caught, but also pokemon we've seen. I'll try to catch them if they're on a route I already have access to.

It'll be difficult to change nicknames until we get to the Name Rater, so that part might take a bit.

On route 30 we start encountering trainers.

Youngster Joey indeed has a Sentret.
From what I can tell, most dialogue from random trainers is unchanged or just slightly altered. I don't remember what everyone said in the original.
I'll spare you from talking about every single trainer if they don't have new pokemon or stand out in some other way.

During the trainer battles, Corsola levels up to 6, at which point she learns Sweet Scent. Like in the base game, this move can also be used on the field to force encounters.

Bug Catcher Don sends out a Venonat.





Venonat, the Aphid Pokemon
Type: Bug
Pokedex: These POKÉMON are very easy to miss, as they blend right into the leaves they cluster on.

Venonat only knows Leech Life at this point. I switch to Corsola to kill it with fire.

Don also has a Ledyba.





Ledyba, the Firefly Pokemon
Type: Bug/Electric
Pokedex: Many people use LEDYBA as a light source at night. It is a popular POKÉMON for those who like to camp.


On Route 31 I decide to pop into Dark Cave for a moment. It's too dark to see anything but right away I get attacked by Onix.




With Leech Life to heal itself and with a catch rate of only 45, this thing was annoying to catch, but I managed it with my last pokeball.


Onix, the Earthworm Pokemon
Type: Ground
Pokedex: These massive POKÉMON tunnel through the soil, absorbing moisture through their rubbery skin.




What can I say, sometimes it's immediately obvious what to name a pokemon.




This is a Persim Berry tree. It cures confusion.

For some reason I gave Youngster Joey my number. He already decided to call me. Apparently Sentret is doing well and they beat a Venonat. Good for them.

In the next trainer battle against Bug Catcher Wade, Pidgey grows several levels. At level 5 she learns Arm Thrust, a Fighting move introduced in Gen 3. At level 9 she learns Gust.
Wade throws this... thing at me.





Sneasel, the Festering Pokemon
Type: Bug/Dragon
Pokedex: A strange POKÉMON which hides in the darkest caves. It is considered no more than a cryptid by most.

As the dex implies, Sneasel can also be found in Dark Cave, although its encounter rate is very low unless it's night.
Very early to find a Dragon type though.




Wade also has a Spinarak.

Spinarak, the Spider Pokemon
Type: Bug/Ghost
Pokedex: These pests are difficult to get rid of, as their bodies are only made of shadows and grief.




We make it to Violet City without further incident. This seems as good a place as any to stop for now.

Progress:
- Pokemon seen: 12/433 (2.77%)

[Carbon dioxide]

Part 3: Violet City

Alright, looking at nickname choices, for Pidgey we have 3 votes for Popeye, for Hoppip there's 2 for Maship. For Corsola it's more difficult, with two each for Bonfire, Calcifer, Kimchi and Hestia.

I am not able to change nicknames in-game at this point, so I'll unofficially use the names Popeye and Maship and leave Corsola unnamed for the time being.

Let's explore Violet City.


Ghosts are rumored to appear in SPROUT TOWER. They said normal-type POKEMON moves had no effect on ghosts.

Someone in the Pokemon Center confirms that 3 years ago a kid got Team Rocket to break up. Good to know history hasn't changed too much.
By the way, the trading/link battle floor of the Pokemon Centers seem unchanged. I have no idea if they made that system compatible with the changed Pokemon and everything. Doesn't really matter because everything is available in a single copy of the romhack anyway.

In the southernmost house, someone wants to trade their Oddish for a Yanma. We haven't encountered Yanma yet so that'll have to wait. Earl's school seems much the same as in the original, just the early game tutorial stuff.
However, other than Pokeballs and basic healing items, the Mart here stocks X Defend, X Attack, and X Speed. Not that I have the money for those.




Finally, the Sudowoodo is here like usual. The nearby NPC says that he tried to punch it but that it didn't work. A hint as to its type?

We'll check out the ruins later. Let's first have a go at the Sprout Tower.




I'll switch-train Maship a bit since y'all seem to like him. At level 5, she learns Tail Whip. Yay, now she knows two non-damaging moves and nothing else.
Luckily with some more training we get her to level 7 where she learns Absorb.


Bellsprout, the Cannon Pokemon
Type: Steel
Pokedex: Though not very intimidating, they blast puffs of smoke at POKÉMON larger than themselves.

Steel? This is Corsola's time to shine, I guess.

Most of the Sprout Tower sages have Bellsprout, which all are knocked out quickly by Corsola's Ember or Popeye's Arm Thrust. Corsola has significantly better base stats so she does slightly better. At level 11 she learns Rock Throw. Sure, I'll take it.

I also encounter a wild Bellsprout which I catch. It only has the bug-type move Pin Missile at this low level.

On the top level, some of the sages have a Hoothoot.





Hoothoot, the Owl Pokémon
Type: Steel/Flying
Pokedex: A well-armored POKÉMON. It has been observed sledding down icy hills on its shield in winter.

Nothing in Sprout Tower can withstand fire.

We find HUH?!? battling the Elder, and then it's our turn.




The Bellsprout statues haven't been updated.
Corsola OHKOs the Elder's two Bellsprout and Hoothoot, and the Elder rewards me with HM05, Flash. Corsola and Maship can learn it, so I teach it to Maship.

With that done, I go heal up and get my Bellsprout in the party instead of Sentret. Bellsprout seems more interesting, at least.
Next up, the Gym.



Hey! I'm no trainer but I can give some advice! Believe me! If you believe, a championship dream can come true.
You believe? Then listen. The grass-type is weak against the flying-type. Keep this in mind.

Hm.

Alright, the first trainer in the gym is still a Bird Keeper and has a Pidgey. I guess they kept gym types the same.
The second trainer isn't much more interesting, with a Pidgey and Hoothoot.



And with that, we're already at Falkner. I don't think his dialogue changed.





Marill, the Sky Mouse Pokémon
Type: Normal/Flying
Pokedex: MARILL's large ears are just strong enough to barely lift it off the ground.

...I don't know what I was expecting Falkner to lead with, but it wasn't this.

Marill attacks with Mud-Slap, Defense Curl, and, of all things, Icy Wind. None of these are moves he learns normally, but he can learn them through TMs. I guess Falkner has been around.

At level 8, my Bellsprout learns a second move, Spikes.
Falkner's second pokemon, Hoothoot, also knows Mud-Slap and Defense Curl, which it also only learns by TM.




And here is Falkner's ace.


Pidgeotto, the Walloping Pokémon
Type: Fighting/Flying
Pokedex: PIDGEOTTO are easily irritated and will land a solid punch on those who cross them.
Evolves from Pidgey at level 18.

Pidgeotto ALSO knows Mud-Slap which it only learns by TM. I get sick of Falkner's accuracy-lowering bullshit and set up a Smokescreen myself, before switching in Popeye who is immune to Mud-Slap.
Since Pidgeotto keeps trying to hit Popeye with Arm Thrust and Popeye uses Gust in return, we win easily.




First badge in the pocket! Unsurprisingly, we also get TM31, Mud-Slap. All of the pokemon in my party except for Bellsprout can learn it. I decide to give it to Maship. Even if it's a weak attack, at least that gives it some STAB.

But wait a second...




Yep. TMs are reusable in Fool's Gold, a very very nice QoL improvement that was introduced in the official games in Gen V.

After the gym, Elm's assistant is waiting for me in the Pokemon Center to give me an egg. Of course we're gonna hatch it. It kind of feels like my first playthrough of Silver all those years ago, having no idea what's going to come out.
I put Earthworm Jim in the PC to make space in my party.

Alright, time to leave Violet and go find some new Pokemon. You may have noticed when we went to check on Sudowoodo that there's now a small patch of grass on this side of route 36. I take a couple minutes to check it out and only find Venonat and Pidgey. There's probably something else here but hopefully we can find it more easily later. I catch a Venonat and move on.




You probably knew that Johto is based on a real area of Japan. You might even have known that every city in Johto is based on a real Japanese city. But did you know that the Ruins of Alph are based on a collection of real ancient ruins in the Japanese village of Asuka? Some of them even have ancient wall paintings in them.




Since this romhack is based on Crystal, the puzzles in the back leading to item rooms are there. Let's do this before the sliding puzzle. This first room tells me to ESCAPE.
The back room has a couple berries, a Heal Powder, and an Energypowder. I'll never feed my friends bitter medicine so I'll sell those two when I get a chance.




The text in the Unown rooms seems unchanged. Time for the slide puzzle,




A Pokemon that hid on the sea floor. Eyes on its back scanned the area.

Hmm, do you have any idea what pokemon that might be?




Yep, it's... Kabuto?





Unown, the Symbol Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Rock
Pokedex: These POKÉMON resemble stone inscriptions, and seem to have strange, primordial powers.

While Unown still starts with Hidden Power, in this game at least they learn plenty of moves by level up or TM.

This is the Unown I, by the way. I also catch Unown C and Unown J to have the three forms needed to get the Unown Pokedex mode from the scientist.




Oh man, the text in the ruins was just normal Unown but the words in the Dex are made from the redesigned alphabet. This one says "INCREASE", just like in the vanilla game. Apparently these Unown designs are based on Glagolitic script.

I put an Unown in my party for just a second because the new menu sprite gave me a chuckle.



Next time, we'll make our way to Azalea.

Progress:
- Pokemon seen: 17/433 (3.93%)

[Carbon dioxide]

Part 4: SLOWPOKETAIL? In this economy?



Let's see what Route 32 has in store for us.

The guy that blocks our progress until we got the badge gives me a Miracle Seed. I give it to Maship right away.




Youngster Albert attacks with Sandshrew.


Sandshrew, the Mouse Pokémon
Type: Normal
Pokedex: A kleptomaniac POKÉMON that slashes through bushes and steal items during the night.

His second pokemon is a Zubat.





Zubat, the Eyeball Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Flying
Pokedex: Spelunkers often feel a sense of paranoia from glimpses of ZUBAT lurking in the shadows.

I guess I didn't stay long enough in Dark Cave to encounter this pokemon.
After this battle, Mom calls me because she bought her first item for us. Turns out to be a Super Potion. Not terrible for the early game.

In the grass, I encounter Hoppip, Pidgey and a Marill, who I accidentally crit before I manage to throw a ball. Luckily I do catch one a bit later.

Air Toto levels up and learns Wing Attack. I then run into a wild Wooper.





Wooper, the Cirrus Pokémon
Type: Flying
Pokedex: WOOPER weigh nearly nothing. they love to float around and are active on humid days.

Wooper naturally learns moves that are somehow weather-related. For example, it starts with Gust, Powder Snow, Sunny Day and Rain Dance, and later on learns moves such as Twister, Thunder, and Blizzard.

I go ahead and catch it.




Picknicker Liz has a Yanma.


Yanma, the Seed Pokémon
Type: Grass/Flying
Pokedex: They swoop off of trees and can fly freely, but once they land, they have a hard time getting up.

Oh, I know those, that's maple seeds.

Moving on, the next trainer has a Poliwag.





Poliwag, the Mud Pokémon
Type: Ground
Pokedex: Clumps of POLIWAG are often found by riverbeds, splashing in the water.

Yeah, some designs I really like, others I'm less sure about.




One of the fishers on the bridge sends out a Tentacool.


Tentacool, the Jellyfish Pokémon
Type: Water/Psychic
Pokedex: Their movements are beautiful, but touching their tentacles will give you a nasty sting.

Not a huge redesign this time around. Reminds me slightly of Tentacruel's original design.

Through some switch training Bellsprout grows to level 11 and learns... Aurora Beam? 65 BP ice move, I won't say no to that.




Here's the guy with only a bunch of Magikarp.


Magikarp, the Lamprey Pokémon
Type: Ground
Pokedex: This invasive larva often attach to the legs of unsuspecting waders, eventually evolving into GYARADOS.

Don't worry, it's basically as weak as the original. Starts with Splash, learns Leech Life at L15.




And continuing our theme of pokemon that can be fished up, the next fisher has a Shellder.


Shellder, the Razor Clam Pokémon
Type: Fighting/Steel
Pokedex: SHELLDER-infested seafloors are dangerous because a misplaced step can earn you a nasty gash.




And with that, we reach the end of the route. The guy trying to sell a Slowpoketail for 1 million is still here.

In the pokemon center at the end of route 32 I get the Old Rod. The only thing I can catch with it on this route is Shellder, so I go ahead and do so. At level 10, it has Fury Cutter, Water Gun, Lick, and Sharpen.

I send Popeye out against Bird Keeper Peter just before Union Cave, and she levels up to 15, where she learns Mach Punch.




Let's see what pokemon are in here. Onix can also be caught here, but there's also new pokemon such as this Drowzee.





Drowzee, the Seal Pokémon
Type: Water
Pokedex: They once lived in colder oceans, but many have migrated downwards in hopes of finding more food and mates.

I think this is actually the first water type we encounter in the wild? I go ahead and catch it.
I encountered this Drowzee by walking around, but with fishing you can also find Drowzee (and Shellder) here.




I don't remember if this encounter was skippable in the original. Looking at some maps, I think it was in Crystal, but not in Gold/Silver.
The Hiker just has an Onix. The next Hiker, Russell, leads with a Diglett.





Diglett, the Stalagmite Pokémon
Type: Rock
Pokedex: They periodically peep out of the ground in caves, but are cautious to avoid jabbing cavers' feet.

Russell also has a Zubat and another Diglett.

Maship grows to level 13 and learns Synthesis.

After this battle, a wild Diglett pops out, so I catch it.

Further south, Firebreather Bill sends out the Bug/Electric Ledyba, strange. He also has a Scyther.




Woah.


Scyther, the Fire Ant Pokémon
Type: Bug/Fire
Pokedex: Its sting is incredibly painful but it will only use it if it can't ward off its enemy with its limbs.

Better hope you don't accidentally sit in this pokemon's nest if you go for a picnic.

Strange, after defeat Bill tells me there's strange roars from the depth of the cave on weekends.

Pokemaniac Larry here has a Slowpoke.





Slowpoke, the Plug Pokémon
Type: Electric
Pokedex: Weak electric shocks run from its tail. It is very energetic but gets tired out easily.

What, are they selling its tail as an extension cord?? No, wait, the guy claimed it was tasty and nutritious. Hm.

...Larry tells me there's roars from the depth of the cave on Fridays. Huh. I guess we'll find out when I come back with Surf.




Downstairs, I find TM39, Swift. A 60 base power move that never misses. Quite useful. Maship can't learn it but I immediately teach it to the four other pokemon in my party, overwriting status moves I'll never use anyway.
I make one mistake though, I pressed A too fast on Popeye and accidentally overwrite Arm Thrust with Swift. Not worth resetting to my last save, since Popeye still knows Mach Punch.




Firebreather Ray sends out Dunsparce. What's this?


Dunsparce, the Boiler Pokémon
Type: Steel/Fire
Pokedex: People have used DUNSPARCE as a power source for ages. Its flame never dies out but its shell is cool.

After defeating him, Ray admits that his Dunsparce keeps this cave lit up.




Made it out.


There's a rare POKEMON called SCYTHER here. Scientists once thought it was related to another POKEMON called SCIZOR, but they are in fact two different species.

It's true, Scyther does not evolve to Scizor in this game.




Not just Scyther here, apparently.


Mankey, the Weed Pokemon
Type: Grass
Pokedex: Fields they form large communities in take on a bitter scent. They often fly away without control.

No, this is not Pokedex #420.
I try to catch Mankey, but it refuses to stay in its ball, even when I try a found Great Ball. When I try to lower its HP further I accidentally knock it out. Oh well. I spend a few minutes looking for another but I mostly find Venonat and Sentret. I'll come back later if I have to.

The last hiker before Azalea has nothing new.




So, let's call it a d... huh?




A few steps after setting foot in Azalea, Togepi hatches.


Togepi, the Egg Pokémon
Type: Ground
Pokedex: It rarely moves much due to its vision being obfuscated. It manages to avoid harm this way.

Togepi's menu sprite is actually the regular egg sprite twitching back and forth. At level 5, it only knows Tackle.

With that, let's really end it here.


Remember, I will keep taking suggestions for team composition and nicknames. Especially now that the egg has hatched, so I have space for six pokemon again.

Progress:
- Pokemon seen: 32/433 (7.39%)

[Carbon dioxide]

Part 5: BUGS!

Let's start with some changes to my party y'all suggested.



First of all, I took Bellsprout out and replaced it with Shellder, who will be called Landingstrip. When I looked at the freshly caught Landingstrip carefully, I found a Pearl. I heard some people never manage to find this treasure.

I'll keep Togepi in my party, and he will be known as Tricky.

I go back to Route 33 and immediately encounter a Mankey. I catch it and nickname it Dankey.

Since serefin99 requested a Scyther I also attempt to catch one. It has only a 1% encounter rate on Route 33 (it's slightly more common in Headbutt trees), but I manage to find one in just a couple minutes.
The problem is Scyther has a catch rate of only 45, and I don't have a reusable source of Great Balls yet, nor any status condition moves. Even near 1 HP, most of the times it escaped my pokeballs before even the first shake. Sorry, but this is not going to work right now.




To give Dankey a place in my party, I put Maship in the PC. I'll probably bring him back out to train him to evolve when opponents give enough experience to make that trivial.




Back to business. The Rocket is standing guard at the Slowpoke Well, and the sign says that locals believe that a Slowpoke's yawn makes it rain, which is a bit strange. Why would an electric pokemon have this effect? Maybe it causes a thunderstorm?

The Mart has Charcoal and Super Potion for sale, but as I mentioned, no Great Balls. The folks in the Mart are talking about Kurt's Pokeballs instead.
Well, everyone in town is either talking about the disappearance of all the Slowpoke or about Kurt, so let's pay him a visit.




He runs off to the Slowpoke Well. I go after him.




Kurt asks for my help. Time to defeat some Rockets. The first one attacks with a couple Sandshrew.
Tricky levels up to 7 and learns Growl, alongside its starting move of Tackle.

The second Rocket uses Zubat and Meowth.





Meowth, the Misfortune Pokémon
Type: Psychic/Dark
Pokedex: Situations always seem to escalate whenever MEOWTH is present. It is a universal symbol of bad luck.

Yeah, that seems fitting for Team Rocket.




Rocket #3 has a Sandshrew and a couple Zubat. Zubat's combination of Supersonic/Confusion and Wrap, preventing you from switching out, can be a bit dangerous if you're not careful.

At this point I encounter a wild Zubat and catch it.

The final Rocket only has a L15 Sneasel. Air Toto OHKOs it with a Wing Attack. Next, Kurt gets us back to his house.

Kurt gives me a Lure Ball and offers to make more balls from Apricorns. I give him the White Apricorn from behind his house for a Fast Ball.

A bunch of Kurt's balls in original Gen 2 were glitched and didn't work as advertised. Apparently, this was fixed in Fool's Gold for all balls except for the Love Ball, which is still effective against pokemon of the same gender, since there's nothing wrong with same-sex love.




The Slowpoke have all returned.

I quickly go back to the Well to catch Dial-Up the Slowpoke. At level 10, it has Curse, Tackle, Growl and Thundershock.



Now it gets hard to decide who to keep in my party. For the most diverse typing it'd probably be best to put Popeye in the box, but she's close to evolving. So instead I replaced Corsola with Dial-Up.

The team, for now, is Air Toto the Totodile, Dial-Up the Slowpoke, Popeye the Pidgey, Dankey the Mankey, Tricky the Togepi and Landingstrip the Shellder.

At this point HUH?!? is ready to ambush me if I try to go to Ilex Forest, and with all the recent catches my party is a bit underleveled. I'll tackle the Gym first, hopefully I can beat the rival after getting a few levels.



Bug Pokemon don't like fire.

Welp, I just put Corsola away. Well, with Popeye and Air Toto I can't lose anyway, right?




The Twins trainer class in Gen 2 always confused me. This is before double battles were introduced. I guess Gamefreak already wanted double battles but couldn't get it working in this generation?

The twins start with Ledyba. Nothing new, although at this level it knows Supersonic. They also have a Spinarak.
Through switch training, Dankey grows to level 9 and learns Absorb.

The next trainer has a couple Venonat. Third up is Bug Catcher Josh with a Pineco.




Pineco, the Bagworm Pokémon
Type: Bug/Grass
Pokedex: Because it is a very frail POKÉMON by itself, PINECO quickly makes a "bag" out of twigs to reside in.

Burmy?

In the next battle, Air Toto grows to level 17 and wants to learn Smokescreen. I decide to skip it because I usually focus on damaging moves anyway. I might regret this, but let's see.

And with that, we're already at Bugsy.




He starts with a L14 Ledyba. It knows Rollout, which Ledyba only learns by TM. It also has high special defense, so Popeye's Gust doesn't do that much. I misjudge the strength of the 4th Rollout and Popeye faints. I'm forced to sacrifice Dial-Up to the 5th Rollout, then defeat Ledyba with Air Toto.

Well, if all of Bugsy's pokemon know Rollout I'm going to have to be fast. No more switch training.

Bugsy's second pokemon is a L16 Sneasel. I decide to send out Landingstrip because he resists all moves Sneasel can learn at this point. However, I realize after a few attacks that Landingstrip can't really hurt Sneasel fast. Meanwhile, Sneasel keeps slowly whittling down Landingstrip with Fury Cutter.

After a bunch of turns, I decide to switch in Air Toto, not realizing that the damage of Fury Cutter is doubled many times by now. After a single "not very effective" Fury Cutter, Air Toto only has 1 HP left. Sneasel sweeps my entire team with more Fury Cutters. Oops. That'll teach me to not underestimate bugs.

Let's try this another way.

The second attempt, I defeat Ledyba as quickly as possible with Air Toto. Bugsy sends out a Venonat, who is no problem for Popeye.
The third pokemon is Scizor.




Scizor, the Boxer Pokémon
Type: Bug/Fighting
Pokedex: It punches with full force, and its hard exoskeleton protects it from counterattacks.

Scizor starts with the TM-only move DynamicPunch, which not only hits like a speeding brick, it also confuses Popeye.

To give Popeye some time to catch her breath, I switch to Air Toto. Scizor misses twice with DynamicPunch, so I manage to knock it out.
Bugsy sends in his final pokemon, the Sneasel that defeated me earlier. I defeat it with a Gust before it has time to build up Fury Cutter power.




It's TIME!




Croconaw, the Pilot Pokémon
Type: Flying
Pokedex: It has a hard time flying due to its increasing weight. It reminisces on times when it flew with ease.



You know, I really like that Fool's Gold pops up the Pokedex after a pokemon evolves. I always thought it was silly the original games don't do that.




Popeye also evolves.

Bugsy gives me the Hive Badge as well as TM49, Fury Cutter. That reminds me. After I swapped my party around I never taught my new pokemon the useful TM moves I have. I fix that right away.




Time for HUH?!?. He asks about Team Rocket.
His first pokemon is L14 Bellsprout. I bring Popeye out to punch it and need a moment to get used to that back sprite.




Bellsprout's Aurora Beam is quite strong and manages to defeat Popeye. Tricky does some good damage with Mud-Slap and Landingstrip finishes it off.
HUH?!? brings out a Zubat, which I defeat through repeated Licking. Landingstrip levels up and learns Karate Chop.



It's hard to unlearn the reflex of "Quilava? Fire. Withdraw Steel pokemon".





Quilava, the Iceberg Pokémon
Type: Ice
Pokedex: When it is intimidated, it is said to grow colder, frost forming on the ground where it steps.




Landingstrip did well against Quilava, but in the end he is at a lower level so I bring out Air Toto to finish the fight.

The final thing to do in Azalea is the Farfetch'd quest in Ilex Forest.




In the forest I encounter some Venonat, Sentret and Pidgey, all around level 12.




And then I find something new.


Houndour, the Puppy Pokémon
Type: Grass
A POKÉMON with a feisty nature. Its inability to see clearly irritates it to no end.

I try to catch it but it uses Roar, ending the battle immediately.
After returning the Farfetch'd, the charcoal man gives me HM01 Cut. Dankey and Landingstrip can learn it. I give it to Dankey for now.

I run back to Azalea to get the Charcoal from the charcoal man's assistant, and heal and save. Next time, we make for Goldenrod.

Progress:
- Pokemon seen: 38/433 (8.78%)

[Carbon dioxide]

Part 6: Cube

Alright, Ilex Forest time.




The Forest Shrine is there like normal.





I fight a few Venonat until I encounter a Yanma. It took a bunch of balls but I do manage to catch it.




I do some fishing in the lake at the north of Ilex Forest, and I find Wooper and Porygon.




Porygon, the Rubber Pokémon
Type: Normal/Water
Pokedex: An artificial POKÉMON created to explore the seas. It is made completely out of rubber.

I catch it with Kurt's Lure Ball, and nickname it Debugging, since everyone knows that's the main purpose of rubber duckies.

A guy in the forest gives me TM02, Headbutt. Urgh, I dislike the Headbutt mechanic in Gen 2. In any location there's two different types of trees with different encounter tables, so to have any chance at getting all headbuttable pokemon you need to Headbutt a lot of different trees.

I do Headbutt a couple trees. One has a sleeping Ledyba. I throw a pokeball at it at full health and catch it. I also catch a Pineco from a Headbutt tree.




Bug Catcher Wayne has a Ledyba and a Paras.


Paras, the Hermitcrab Pokémon
Type: Poison/Bug
Pokedex: This POKÉMON was forced to urban areas due to the rising amount of pollution poisoning the oceans.

Is it... is it living in a plastic bag? Poor thing.




After that I reach the exit of the forest. The lady in the gatehouse gives me TM12, Sweet Scent.




Let's see what Route 34 brings us. The youngster here only has pokemon we've already seen, but they're around L14-16 now, so decent for getting some experience.

Next, a Pokefan with a Snubbull.





Snubbull, the Bulldog Pokémon
Type: Normal/Fighting
Pokedex: This little POKÉMON is territorial and full of energy and will bark until whatever bothers it is gone.




I'm pretty sure that creature on the guy's shirt is fictional. There's no pokemon that looks anything like that.

Against the next trainer, Dankey levels up to 13 and learns Sleep Powder. That's going to be tremendously useful catching new pokemon.




Avoiding the grass, I make my way to the Daycare. By putting all the pokemon in the PC and taking them back out again I can heal them, so now I can explore this route in peace without having to go all the way back to Azalea or go to Goldenrod before I'm ready. I also find the Pineco I caught is holding a Silver Leaf, which I can sell for money.

The Daycare man gives me an egg. This one will take a while to hatch. I put Dial-Up in the PC to make place for it.

I decide to give my new Ledyba as well as Maship to the Daycare couple, because they're both quite close to evolving. No, they won't make an egg.

I battle the remaining trainers on the route (they have nothing new), then go look for wild pokemon. In the grass I find Pidgey, Sentret and Poliwag. First time we see it in the wild so I catch it, as well as a Snubbull. Fishing along the route gives me Shellder, and a Magikarp.




Of course I catch it.

At that point I get a call from Bill saying my Box is full and I need to go switch it. Huh, we haven't met Bill yet, how did he get my number?




At night, I can fight the cop here.




Wot's dis den?


Growlithe, the Puppy Pokémon
Type: Fire/Ice
Pokedex: Its temperature changes with its mood. For some reason, it is fixated with the sun and moon.

Interesting typing. Popeye beats it.

While I'm out here at night I decide to see if there's different encounters. I've not done this before on other routes because I really prefer the daytime palette of this game.
Anyway, I immediately find Sandshrew and catch it. I catch a Hoothoot as well. Kantesu requested a while back to nickname it Bubo so that's what I do.




That's most things done for this route. Entering Goldenrod the next day, I first rush to the Name Rater to fix some things:
- Shellder gets formally named Lndingstrip
- Togepi becomes Tricky
- Pidgeotto finally gets named Popeye in-game.




I take Maship out of the Daycare for a moment to name him in-game, and finally I take Corsola out of the box for a second to name her Bonfire.
The thread vote ended on a four-way tie, but this is a good time to decide.

Alright, proper nicknames. That's much better.


I was going to end it here but this update isn't too long yet, so let's explore Goldenrod!

Someone in the Pokemon Center is asking for an Eon Mail. We'll have to remember that.




Mart - Fool's Gold OST

Next up, the department store. On the second floor, they finally have Great Balls for sale, as well as Revives. I don't have too much spare money so I just buy a couple Great Balls.
The 3rd floor sells X items, and the 4th sells vitamins such as Protein. There's also a guy who helpfully informs us that Poliwhirl, Gloom, Sunkern and Eevee evolve with a Sun Stone.

On the 5th floor, they sell the TMs for the elemental punches as well as Headbutt, I guess in case you missed the free one in the forest. Fool's Gold is nice enough to not let you buy TMs you already own.

An NPC reminds me that on Sundays someone gives away a TM here. So I pop back in on a Sunday and I show the lady a friendly pokemon. She gives me TM27 Return. I use it to overwrite some weak normal-type moves some of my pokemon still have.

There's also someone who wants to trade his Tyrogue for a Houndour. Maybe I'll run back to Ilex after beating the Goldenrod gym and try to get a Houndour for this trade. With Great Balls and Sleep Powder it should be more feasible now.

On the 6th floor, I get a bunch of Soda Pops from the vending machine.




Finally, on the rooftop there's a guy trying to collect all the different Pokemon dolls from a Gacha machine. Pfft, that can become an expensive hobby real quick.
No, we don't get to spend our money on dolls.




A blue Machoke, huh?

Outside, I walk past the Game Corner to the Underground entrance.




Super Nerd Eric here has a Magnemite.

Magnemite, the Slime Pokémon
Type: Psychic
Pokedex: Their physical composition is unknown. They can alter their bodies to take the advantage in battle.

Unsurprisingly, it knows Sludge. Landingstrip's Lick takes it out. Eww.





Slugma, the Waste Pokémon
Type: Poison
Pokedex: Radioactive vapor rises from its head. It is quite toxic and is constantly boiling.

Oh no, Pokemon Uranium is leaking.

Pokemaniac Issac sends out a Chansey.





Chansey, the Rancid Pokémon
Type: Dark/Poison
Pokedex: No one knows what the egg CHANSEY keeps used to be or where it got it from. Perhaps it was its own young.

Chansey has the same base stats as the original: huge HP and special defense, but low physical defense.

Tricky grows to level 14 and learns Dragon Rage.

I pick up the Coin Case.
I ignore the bitter medicine seller and go to the Pokemon Salon, where I give Tricky a haircut.




... Don't ask me how that works.

Next up is another Super Nerd with a couple Magnemite, and a Nidoran Male.





Nidoran♂, the Robot Pokémon
Type: Steel/Electric
Pokedex: Nobody knows whether it is manmade or natural. It moves and acts like a normal POKÉMON.

Tricky throws some mud into his joints.

Finally, the Super Nerd has a Ditto.




CUBE


Ditto, the Transform Pokémon
Type: Steel
Pokedex: Many believe it did not evolve organically and was created in a lab to emulate any POKÉMON it sees.

Its starting moves are Transform, of course, and Sharpen. And its typing is Steel. A bulky type, and allowing it to increase its attack before transforming is an interesting choice.
I see it's a rare encounter on Route 34. I may need to go back there later to catch one for breeding, if it turns out that no NPCs own certain baby pokemon. But that's for later.

Little oversight from the Fool's Gold devs here. After the battle, this guy says he knows his pokemon's type alignments but "only uses one type of pokemon" which obviously isn't the case anymore. I'll let the devs know.

The final trainer in the Underground just has a couple Slowpoke.

Okay, let's quickly check out the Game Corner now. I buy one batch of 50 coins just to see if the games are any different.
The Game Corner prizes are the Thunder, Blizzard and Fire Blast TMs for 5500 coins each, and Sunkern for 100 coins, Grimer for 800, and Wobbuffet for 1500. The devs are nice, because all three of those can be caught elsewhere too.




On the left of the Game Corner, we have the slot machines. Those are some redesigned pokemon if I ever saw one.





And here's Card Flip with all the redesigned cards.
Okay, let's get out of here. I prefer Voltorb Flip from Heart Gold / Soul Silver anyway, at least that was mostly a strategy game.

Next up I go get (I mean 'borrow') a bicycle.

I check out the train station and radio tower. I do the quiz in the radio tower for the Pokegear expansion card. I believe in the original this was actually a required item to wake up Snorlax over in Kanto, so I'm guessing we'll need it here too.

I also get the points card for Buena's Password show. It's unchanged from the original, an easy way to get rare items such as Ultra Balls, Full Restores and Rare Candies for free, if only I can remember to tune in to her show every day.




A gatehouse to the west of the Radio Tower?


What? You're saying this route wasn't here before?
You're out of your mind, kid

...must have been a dream.




Route 52 is here. Looks like a surfing route. Anything to find here with my Old Rod?

After a few minutes fishing I only find Wooper and Porygon. Let's move on.


Beyond the train tracks are the Gym and the Name Rater. There's also the northern entrance to the Underground and the Flower Shop.
People here are talking about the Sudowoodo and that it won't move unless I have a Squirtbottle.

Alright. That's basically everything done in the city except for the Gym, which we'll tackle next time.

I have currently caught 29 types of Pokemon, but what we care about is the seen rate, of course.

Progress:
- Pokemon seen: 47/433 (10.85%)