Basics
Controls
Directional Pad (D-Pad)
The Directional Pad (or D-Pad for short) is your navigation button. That is to say the D-Pad allows you to move your character around various areas, whether it be a town, city, forest or cave, but it also allows you to navigate the various menus, both of the in-game and battle variety.
Start Button
The Start Button's primary function is to call up the main menu anytime when you're not in battle.
Select Button
The Select Button is rarely used. It has a few in-game functions, but it's most important in-game function is when you set an item to the Select Button. When you do that, press Select at any point out of battle to use said item.
B Button
The B Button is known as the "cancel" or "back" button. In the various in-game and battle menus, if you select something and you don't to commit to that selection, press B to go back to the previous menu. This only works if your selection didn't make something happen. That is to say, once you select an attack in battle, you can't press B and go back - it's too late. But if you select an item in a menu and don't want to use it, press B to go back. Also, outside of battle and menus, once you obtain the Running Shoes, you can run around with them through towns, forests, caves and essentially anything outside of battle (except houses and other buildings) by pressing and holding down the B Button.
A Button
The A Button is used to search and confirm. Press the A Button in front of someone to talk to that person, press the A Button to pick something up off of the ground or table, or in the in-game and battle menus, pressing the A Button will confirm a selection, whether it be an attack or whatever. The A Button is also used to progress text when talking to someone, or end a conversation when it's over.
In-Game Menu
The "In-Game Menu" is the menu that appears on the right side of the screen when you press start at any time in the game outside of battle. Below is a list of what you will find in a "full" menu (meaning all options are unlocked), and explanations and information on each.
Pokédex
The Pokédex is a device that, once obtained, allows you to view in-depth information on all of the Pokémon you have fought, seen and own. In the Numerical Mode, they are found in order of their designated "Pokémon Number" and you can only see a Pokémon in the Pokédex, as originally said, if you've seen them, fought them, or if you yourself own them.
Once on the Pokédex list, you'll see a variety of Pokémon names and dashes. The names represent those Pokémon personally viewed or owned. If there's a Pokéball next to the name of a Pokémon, that means you own that particular Pokémon. If there is no Pokéball, that means you've only seen that Pokémon in battle, but haven't yet captured it. If you don't have a Pokémon captured, you can view its picture, but no other vital information is known on that Pokémon until you personally capture it and include it in your collection. That information is...
First Page
The first page displays the creature's weight, height, and a little paragraph on him. The particular Pokémon's picture is also present. For a non-captured Pokémon, only his picture, name and number are present. No weight, height or type information will be available for non-captured Pokémon, and no paragraph information as well. Press Next Data to see the rest of the info.
Next Data
- Area: Area represents the location in which you can capture the Pokémon in question. Go to Area and select it to view a map of the various Routes and town locations. The area that particular Pokémon can be captured (if any) will flash on the map. This option is available for both captured and non-captured Pokémon.
- Cry: Cry represents the sound the Pokémon makes. It's more of a novelty and has no real use in the game, but it's fun to hear the unique sound each Pokémon makes. Press Start to hear it.
- Size: Size represents the size of the Pokémon in relation to its trainer. Go to Size and select it to view a silohette picture of the trainer on the right and the Pokémon on the left. This is a comparison shot to show you how big the Pokémon is in comparison to the trainer, and vice versa. Since this comparison is based on actual height of the Pokémon, this option is only available for captured Pokémon.
Pokémon
The Pokémon option on the in-game menu brings you to a visual list of the up-to six Pokémon you currently have in your Pokémon party. You can see a picture on the left of the Pokémon you have as your party's active fighter, along with his name, HP and level. On the right are the up-to five Pokémon in your reserves, with their names, HP and levels as well. Select any Pokémon to make a menu come up. Below are the four options once the menu pops up.
- Summary: Selecting Summary for a particular Pokémon will allow you to view the Pokémon's most vital stats, even more in-depth than found in a Pokédex entry. You will find things like his name, level, HP, type, abilities, trainer notes on that particular Pokémon, information on all of his attacks, and so on and so forth. A useful command if you want to learn more about what your particular Pokémon can do.
- Switch: Selecting Switch doesn't do anything unless you select Switch, then put the cursor over another Pokémon, and select that Pokémon. When you do this, you'll switch the position of those two particular Pokémon. The primary use of this is to take an idle Pokémon from the right side of the screen and put it in the active position on the left side of the screen, although you can switch positions on the right side of the screen only as well.
- Item: Each Pokémon can hold one Item with him into battle. Selecting the Item command for a particular Pokémon will allow you to give or take a particular Item from a Pokémon. Once equipped, the Pokémon will use his equipped Item in battle when he or she sees fit. It's good to have each of your Pokémon equipped with something, just in case! Remember, you can view information on Pokémon-only items, as well as all items, in the Item section as our guide. The link can be found in the image-map at the top of this document.
- Cancel - Select Cancel to make the menu disappear. It's that simple.
Bag
The Bag is your character's location for all of the items in your inventory. There are three categories of items here--Items, Key Items and Pokeballs.
[Your Name]
The name you've given your character will be on the menu. This section basically brings you to your "Trainer Card" in which you see information on yourself. Basically, it says how much money you have, the number of Pokémon you own, and the amount of time you've been playing. Additionally, it has pictures of each badge you've gotten thusfar in the game. More of a novelty then a section of any real use.
Save
Save's function is obvious. Like in any RPG (or similar game), select Save to save your progress to that point in the game. You can save at any time in the game, as long as you're not in battle.
Option
The Option section discusses the various options in the game, including things like Text Speed, Battle Style, Sound, et cetera. You might want to fiddle with some of this stuff, but chances are you will keep things on their pre-set. If you're not happy with the controls in the game, however, this is the place to go to reconfigure your control settings.
Exit
Exit will remove the menu from your screen and bring you back to the game.
Towns
Towns and cities are abundant in this game, as they are in all Pokémon games. In towns, you can gather information, heal your Pokémon, buy items and fight Gym Leaders, amongst other things. This section of Basics doesn't discuss each individual town, but what you'll find in each individual town, et cetera.
The buildings found in each town are unique, and each serves its own purpose. Below are the descriptions for important buildings in each town.
PC (Pokémon Center)
The Pokémon Center (or PC for short) can be identified in towns and cities by its white exterior, red roof, and the P.C. sign on the outside of the building. In the Pokémon Center, you can do a lot. Just what can you do? Well...
- Heal Your Pokémon - The primary thing you'll do in the Pokémon Center is heal your Pokémon, which can be done for free at any Pokémon Center. You can do this by talking to the nurse at the main desk on the bottom floor of all Pokémon Centers, beyond the tiled-Pokéball in front of the entrance. Talk to her and she'll offer to heal your party-Pokémon (the up-to six Pokémon in your active party). It's free, and you'll find yourself doing this often.
- Personal Computer Functions - To the right of the healing desk is a computer console. When you activate this computer console, you can access a personal computer (PC) called Someone's PC, or a PC called [Your Name]'s PC. On Someone's (later it becomes Bill's) PC, you can withdraw and deposit various Pokémon into and out of your party, and move Pokémon from one storage area to another. It's basically the computer you use to manage your stash of Pokémon. [Your Name]'s PC, on the other hand, is more of a personal-use computer. On this PC, you can check your e-mail (your character's e-mail, that is), and store and withdraw various items if you happen to be holding too much.
- Trade With and Battle Your Friends - The top floor of all Pokémon Centers are dedicated to linking up with one or more friends to either trade or battle each other's Pokémon. You can talk to the characters behind the desks on the second floor to find out which serves what function. One will allow you to trade, while the others will allow you to battle your friends, et cetera.
Pokémart
The Pokémart is a store where you can buy all sorts of items, including healing items and the all important Pokéballs that will sustain your craving for capturing Pokémon. Make sure to visit these often to see if the Pokémarts updated their stock of items, or have anything new to offer. It's one of the only places you'll be spending your money, so don't be shy. Stock up on what you think you need, especially Potions, Antidotes and Pokéballs! You can identify the building in any town by its bluish-colored roof and white exterior, with a white Pokéball painted on the roof, and a sign on the building which says "Mart" in red letters.
Gym
Gyms are the place in towns where that particular town's resident Pokémon Master resides. These Pokémon Masters are called Gym Leaders, and they are the toughest of the tough. You'll need to challenge eight different Gym Leaders in eight different town Gyms to collect all eight Pokémon Badges that you'll need to complete the game. The Gym Leaders are the toughest foes in the game, with the best trained and strongest Pokémon at their command, so don't rush into battles with any Gym Leaders before being fully prepared, or they will put you in your place, quickly.
Other Buildings/Houses
Other than the three buildings above, the other buildings in the house are fairly random. Particular towns will have certain important buildings, but other than that, you'll find many houses where regular people reside. You can enter these houses and search for items, but make sure to talk to everyone in these buildings (and around the town) for information on what to do next! You'll be clueless if you don't talk to various characters (unless, of course, you're using our walkthrough), so try to talk to everyone both in domains and out of domains in order to collect information.
Capturing
The art of capturing Pokémon is a no-nonsense craft that you will need to master if you ever hope to capture Pokémon. Different Pokémon have different resistances to being captured, as some are incredibly easy to capture, while others are next to impossible to capture. However, there are certain things that you should keep in mind.
- Weaken the Target Pokémon - Trying to capture a full-health Pokémon and make him your own is next-to-impossible, and it shouldn't be attempted. Why? Because you'll miss, and you'll waste a Pokéball in the process. What you'll want to do is weaken your Pokémon as much as you can. You can weaken him to 50% to make him vulnerable to capture, but lowering him to as low as 10%-15% is the best thing to do. Usually, when you encounter a Pokémon you want to capture, you'll want to switch out the Pokémon you currently have and put in your weakest party-ready Pokémon. This is so you don't kill the Pokémon before you capture it. Chip away at the Pokémon's health slowly, but surely. When the Pokémon gets to around 25% health, you can start throwing Pokéballs at it. If you miss, try again. If you miss again, weaken the Pokémon more, and when he's literally next to death, try again. You should capture it. If not, you might have encountered a strong-resistance Pokémon, or a rare Pokémon that'll need a stronger type of Pokéball to capture. And on that note...
- Use the Right Pokéball - The standard Pokéball will capture a vast majority of the Pokémon, as long as you've weakened them enough and tired them out. For some Pokémon, however, a stronger ball will be needed, such as a Great Ball or Premier Ball, amongst others. Don't waste these stronger Pokéballs, however. Try your regular Pokéballs several times, try weakening the enemy more, and try capturing it again before you waste a more powerful ball.
- Be Patient - If you kill a Pokémon when you're attempting to capture it, don't fret; it happens. With rare exceptions, you'll get the chance to capture that Pokémon again. Just simply run around the area where you originally ran into it, and chances are you'll run into it again. As a last resort, check out the entry for that Pokémon in your Pokédex to find more locations on where you can find that Pokémon, as well as more vital stats and information that might be of assistance in capturing that Pokémon. Exhaust all options before simply giving up on capturing a particular Pokémon!
- Once Captured, Don't Neglect! - Some Pokémon might not look like much. Some might not even have any attacks. But use that Pokémon in battle (switching it out after the battle starts if you have to, to get it half of the battle's experience) and build it up. Eventually, these weak Pokémon evolve into Pokémon that are so incredibly strong that it'll amaze you. That's why they're weak to begin with - they are meant to turn the player off from them so that they miss a Pokémon with incredible strength. Don't make that mistake, try to use all of your Pokémon fairly evenly and experience what each one brings to the table.