Fixing Gen 2 Wild Pokémon Encounters

I Fixed Wild Encounters in Gen 2 Pokemon
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Twitter: / thesmithplays
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Credits: Craig Livingstone (Production), Weebra (Editing) Business Inquiries: [e-mail]

[@imbored6440]

I would recommend putting Chansey somewhere in Johto so that players can get Blissey and often forgotten gen 2 pokemon locked to Kanto.

[@joshb7384]

Maybe near the Miltank farm? I think it makes sense there

[@EWOODJ]

Eh....

[@robsidian7400]

Agree! Chansey would be great in the route before Ice Cave, makes the route feel special and it fits better than Magmar or Electabuzz

[@appelofdoom8211]

@@robsidian7400 I actually saw someone else suggest putting magby, elekid and smoochum there and honestly putting chansey there alongside them makes a weird amount of sense. After all who else is going to takes care of wild baby pokemon?

[@KimchiFarts]

@@appelofdoom8211oooo I like this!!

[@parkerdixon-word6295]

For Burned tower, I suggest that you actually throw in *Magby* instead of Magmar- with new fire options added in Houdour and Slugma, Magmar doesn't need to be as powerful just for the sake of providing a fire option, and actually putting baby pokemon in the wild was mentioned as one of your goals. You could similarly throw Elekid in the route south of Goldenrod, with electric pokemon showing up with similar logic to poison types near a city. Edit you could even replace Jynx in Ice path with Smoochum to complete the set, if you particularly feel like it. You even catch that one close to evolving at the new level scaling. I appreciate trying to make the patch of grass near Ice cave interesting, but I don't feel like Magmar and Electabuzz are the right tools for the job. For a little research, it looks like this is the first route where Tangela (edit: and lickitung) appears, which is a neat start, but we could search for another rare Gen 1 pokemon to put here, probably a normal type like Chansey, or even Snorlax. A wild Snorlax encounter in the mountains would be something special, but this spot is deep enough in the late-game that it doesn't feel absurd. I guess it makes the Snorlax in Kanto less special, but it was always more of an obstacle than a catch in the Jhoto games, IMO. Edit: Thinking on it, I'm less attatched to the snorelax idea, and realized Lickitung is already unique to that route. A small place to find Chansey? I would rather see starter pokemon as wild encounters at Mt. Silver, as your reward for beating the game, than on the way to the Elite 4. Especially since we, by design, are taking away every unique wild encounter that made Mt. Silver special in the base game.

[@2Siders]

Baby Pokemon serve no purpose but to annoy everyone so I second Magby in the burned tower. Slugma unfortunately doesn’t make too much sense in the tower. It’s a volcano slug that slug ma balls.

[@tablesalt2628]

I agree with everything you said other than putting Snorlax as a wild encounter. Keep it a special Pokemon. Since Larvitar is available earlier in this game Tyranitar can just be placed there instead.

[@pebpebs4810]

I gotta say, I agree with almost all of these takes in the comment Only point I would change is the "replacing Magmar/Electabuzz with a normal type" - how about another point for a fighting type like mankey? I feel like that'd fit perfectly here with the poliwhirl, fighting helps with the upcoming ice cave AND its not that bad to give mankey or machoke another spot

[@guilhermesantanadasilva803]

​@@2Siderswhy not dude? It's a fiery slug, i know that magma come from volcanoes, but it's still a fitting place to put It, since there's no volcanoes in johto, only in Blayne's gym If i remember

[@robsidian7400]

I think putting Chansey in that route is the best idea; it's a special pokemon for a special route, and it works well with Lickitung being only encountered on that route, making it some kind of normal type hotspot. Snorlax should remain an overworld only encounter though, but it would be a funny alternative blockade until you deal with team Rocket

[@SoulXCross.]

I think Grimer under the city of Goldenrod makes PERFECT sense. Think like... Manhattan. Massive cities aren't always clean, and the run off leading to Grimer is a very cool idea.

[@1stCallipostle]

"Aren't always clean" I would go as far to say they "Always aren't clean"

[@freshIight]

"Massive cities aren't always clean." HAHA!!! How about "never"? Good point, though.

[@kirbyofthestarsfan]

Idk, it makes sense for Grimer to show up on the city, but not really on the route preceding it considering the very healthy daycare is present there Maybe having it so Grimer spawns on the water, that'd make more sense, but nothing indicates Route 34 to be poisonous considering how many eggs hatch there

[@juandiegotorres9632]

Like in Castelia City.

[@C.Ezra.M]

That's in Scarlet and Violet, at least. Wild Grimer can be caught near Levincia

[@yokaipinata1416]

Your placement of the starters was genius for the additional reason that it's the boundary between the two regions, so it feels fitting for all six of them to hang out in that general area. ❤

[@lazerbeam134]

It also explains why it seems like everyone in Johto and Kanto has some member of the Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander lines

[@triattackzach]

So i like the fact that Mareep shows up AFTER Faulkner and not before. By all means ad the Pichu, but having Mareep after Faulkner rewards exploration. In the original games if you were having trouble, you could easily explore the ruins of alph and the next route where Mareep is. It feels like a nice prize for not thinking linearly.

[@PhoenixMasta]

I do think it was an oversight that Game Freak themselves recognise, because in HGSS they added a patch of grass before the guy that stops you if you didn't have the badge. Meaning that Mareep was accessible before Falkner. So I very much agree with Mareep before Falkner.

[@AndrusPr8]

You can't get a mareep before Falkner. Before the route where mareep is there's a guy that blocks you. After you beat Falkner this guy gives you a Miracle Seed before letting you go on

[@PhoenixMasta]

@@AndrusPr8 My comment stated that in HGSS you can get a Mareep. I know that you can't in GSC, I said that it was an oversight that HGSS corrected.

[@nickdog131]

I like larvitar and pichu being added before the 1st gym, but I'd put mareep back to it's normal route. Part of the fun with the first gym is the challenge that there's no clear good answer for that fight because the birds knew mudslap. Mareep before feels like there's an easy out now.

[@tablesalt2628]

Ya I agree. I don't mind Machop and Mankey before Whitney though, she's really tough and we should have an answer for her, but the first gym should be more of a challenge.

[@nousername191]

To be fair, HGSS did it, so there IS precedence.

[@nickdog131]

@@nousername191 put mareep before violet?

[@Philostipher]

The obvious answer is geodude

[@grundgutigertv6170]

Mareep is weak to mud slap

[@sheshells_]

I think on Route 44, instead of Poliwhirl/Electabuzz/Magmar, have Smoochun/Elekid/Magby at two or three levels below evolution (30) so that that old trio is nodded to. And, it gives you an ice type right before Ice cave which makes sense to me

[@snowlepiexists2091]

Maybe they should also have all 3 babies have a 75-100% chance to carry Ice Berry, PRZ Cure Berry, and Burnt Berry for each respected mon to reward players who fine the patch of grass with a good berry grind spot.

[@appelofdoom8211]

Someone else suggested putting chansey there so we can have blissey for Johto and honestly combining these suggestions together makes sense for turning the island into essentially a wild pokemon daycare center for Chansey to run.

[@thaumatomane]

@@appelofdoom8211 I love this!

[@thepokesannin4434]

I like this

[@pn2294]

Baby Pokémon shouldn’t exist in the wild.

[@AkamexAris1023]

And Skarmory and Slugma... your videos justify to me how much wrong was with Gen 2 as a whole. This romhack is going to make it perfect

[@Gemini090693]

Skarmory is in Johto. Below Blackthorn City alongside with Gligar

[@lozangekitten-gamer7626]

@@Gemini090693 In Silver as an exclusive prior to the release of the og crystal, and idk if it also was there in Crystal

[@enoljosejordan]

​@@lozangekitten-gamer7626He is

[@AkamexAris1023]

@@Gemini090693 One of those mons everyone thinks is in Gen 3 because NOBODY finds it in Gen 2

[@slimjong-un5743]

​@@enoljosejordanshe is **

[@Mr_King96]

I hope this romhack gets released before summer vacation ends.

[@Josegomez-md5qs]

​@@thefirespecialist9007😂😂😂

[@MovieguruThe]

I hope it gets flashed to a cartridge so it can work with Pokemon Stadium 2 as well

[@xhale671]

​@@thefirespecialist9007wait are u fr now? 😭 im too dumb to understand

[@Mr_King96]

@@xhale671 Pretty sure they are being sarcastic :) In one of his videos, smith said that it shouldn't take too long, i believe

[@xhale671]

@@Mr_King96 oh thank you for clarifying it😭

[@SinisterPixel]

I feel like for the Kanto starters you could have used their Lets Go spawn locations. Bulbasaur is a rare encounter in the Viridian Forest, Charmander is a rare spawn in Rock Tunnel, and Squirtle a rare spawn in the Seafoam Islands. I honestly think similar rare spawns for the Johto starters would make sense too instead of cramming them all where they are now in route 27. Have them as rare spawns scattered around Johto. Chikorita could be a rare spawn in Ilex Forest, Tododile a rare spawn at the Whirl Islands, and Cyndaquil could be a rare spawn in Mt Mortar.

[@TheKingMarkell]

Good idea. But I think he said that he crammed them after the 8th gym is to avoid players running all 3 for the elite 4 so he made them lvl 5 late game encounters

[@Rascal1214]

​@@TheKingMarkellI feel like this suggestion still works for the Kanto Starters as they're all, well, stuck in Kanto.

[@marceloventura21]

I really like this idea! Another option for Johto starters is to follow the anime location

[@TheKingMarkell]

@@Rascal1214 good point.

[@SinisterPixel]

@@TheKingMarkell you could just make them 1% encounters and have them be low level for the encounters on that route. If a player wants to put in the effort to use them on their playthrough, why not let them?

[@suppermoppy1]

What about putting Tyrogue just below Goldenrod instead of Mankey? Being a baby fits well as its by the day care and gives access to (several) unique fighting types you dont often see in the early game. Really excited to play this, you're making amazing progress!

[@joshb7384]

Agreed!

[@appelofdoom8211]

that would beg the question of what gift the tyrogue dude gives you now though. I'd vote for him giving you two hitmons of your choice of a decent level meaning you can train a tyrogue and get the other two easily for pokedex completion.

[@Jatbee0815]

@@appelofdoom8211 maybe he could gift you one that easily evolves into hitmontop? I don’t know how hard that would be to program but having an easier way to get that Pokémon would be a godsend

[@lucasgreer1736]

​@@Jatbee0815Idk how you could do that, even with balanced ivs evs would still make it hard to get equal stats

[@Sononono]

​@@Jatbee0815That's honestly pointless, you can already evolve any into hitmontop regardless of their DVs if you don't just battle random mons and not pay attention to your stats. Also getting Hitmonchan/lee/top before Whitney feels like cheating, having Mankey or Machop instead feels more fair, Whitney isn't as hard as what people make it seems like

[@Vaati1992]

You could also replace the Magmar in Burned Tower with Magby, and maybe have its counterpart Elekid at routes 38 and 39 to complement that Magnemite there (while Smoochum could be a a very low encounter chance in Ice Path alongside its evolved form Jynx)

[@wolfrost9915]

Suggestion: You can place the fossils in the Alpha Ruins , in the two rooms that are unlocked with Strength passing through the Union Cave, you can place a rock that breaks with rocksmash that has the possibility of an encounter; or if u wonna put them in Kanto u can make them spawan in Mount Moon near Broks's Gym.

[@leroy4569]

or put them in the back rooms of their corresponding puzzles.

[@wolfrost9915]

@@leroy4569 yup👌

[@ashtongaskill3980]

Only thing that feels odd to me here is where you placed Kangaskhan (who I associate with fields more than caves), otherwise all fantastic choices imo

[@kimotokirby1601]

i think there isn't a proper space for it, so he just putted it in an special, remote location

[@aghadlarhen9397]

@@kimotokirby1601 Technically, he could have put it in the same route as miltank or even in that patch of grass before ice path

[@ashtongaskill3980]

@@kimotokirby1601 I think the little island where he put Electabuzz and Magmar would be a good spot, or the spots mentioned by aghadlarhen. Or as a game corner prize maybe?

[@RAJKevis]

I like kangaskan in that random grass patch more and I think the lapras cave could stand to also just have them as a rare spawn outside the set date. Also I recommend giving dunsparce a 1% spawn rate everywhere because it's amusing

[@dogemasta4907]

@@RAJKevis That Dunsparce idea is the most clever idea I've seen recommended so far. I genuinely want this to be included

[@jamesavery3727]

Definitely need that wild Tyrogue for obtaining Hitmontop before the 8th gym!

[@zawezplays]

you can get it from the odd egg

[@appelofdoom8211]

@@zawezplays still random though

[@TheKingMarkell]

Tyrogue should’ve been the fighting type encounter in goldenrod instead of mankey

[@dundee6402]

@@TheKingMarkellMankey is better though since Tyrogue only knows tackle before it evolves at level 20

[@TheKingMarkell]

@@dundee6402 I looked it up and yeah you’re right. And I don’t think there are any fighting TMs you can get to teach him at that point

[@Luigi1000]

I feel most of these work, except one. Grimer under goldenrod is perfect given the whole department store, train station and radio tower, just fits perfectly. I always saw Olivine as a clean water seaside town so I doubt it would work as well there. The one I do have a problem with is the idea of Pichu on route 31, that being that it story wise is 100% inconsistent with the plot point off eggs and elm being the specialist in Pokemon evolution. I'd say have it there but ONLY show up if you already picked up the egg and heard his aide mention about how elm say it may hatch if with you or if you are worried about having player miss it due to not doubling back you can place Pichu on route 32 after you beat Falkner and picked up the egg. That way there is no way to have them miss it but still hit the key plot point of eggs hatching and the idea of the existence of baby Pokemon fitting in well. There should be no concerns with the electric type not being there now that Mareep is now on 31 as well.

[@justyouraveragejoe9454]

In my opinion, if the Johto games wanted to have Kanto Pokemon be common, they should have put an emphasis on Pokemon that weren't very accessible in RBY. Electabuzz, Psyduck, Doduo, Clefairy, Chancey, Onix, Venonat, and so on. Give them a chance in the spotlight.

[@fullmetalguy8357]

They do this with every new generation until gen 5. That's why you can find Skarmory and Slugma easily in gen 3, Medicham and Chimecho in gen 4 and Riolu in gen 5, which you can find right after the first gym in B2&W2.

[@jaretco6423]

​@fullmetalguy8357 Yeah. It wasn't till Gen. 5 where they got the Pokemon variety right and not as an slog to get nor felt unbalanced in the selection.

[@evilduck1000]

I'd put Heracross as a rare normal encounter in Ilex Forest. Suits the theme of Ilex forest well, but good to encounter it normally just before the Normal type gym.

[@appelofdoom8211]

I think being able to get them from headbut trees like in vanilla gsc is fine. 30% encounters aren't hard to roll for and having to go just a tiny bit out of the way for it makes sense as heracross is really strong.

[@damonke7674]

@@appelofdoom8211the problem is that her across is in the “rare” trees and you basically have to use an external program to find where those are

[@Blanktester685]

@@damonke7674 then it could be changed to be 30% from any tree.

[@brettpetek8976]

My game file doesn't even have a headbuttable tree for one in the hack. Definitely needs to be fixed.

[@firststreet66]

I would perhaps put Magby in the burned tower, rather than Magmar. You mentioned with Pichu that baby Pokemon were such a big feature, having more of them in the wild would be a really nice addition. I do, however, understand that breeding is also a key feature so you don't want to just have baby mons everywhere.

[@benjaminwilliamson8653]

I love how the starters are being handled! I was curious on how they would be made available to complete the dex, since we arent exactly able to trade. Thank you for all of these excellent decisions!

[@staxstix]

So cool! A lot of bold choices! Even though I really like most of them, it's super risky. The sum of all these changes can make it feel like an entirely different game. Just some thoughts: * yes, 8:20 is too bold, I think. Why would Magmar, Electabuzz and Poliwhirl all be on a small watery area? Magmar has no business being there and is available already at burned tower. * That super early-game Larvitar alone gives the game a very different flair. I'd tend towards a mid-game introduction somewhere, it's pseudo-legendary that dominates the game. But... it could work! Would require Larvitar and Pupitar to be a bit weaker in the beginning though (learnset must be balanced to the encounter in the game). * You introduce Pichu early on, saying baby pokemon didn't get enough recognition - but then leave out all the others. No placing of Cleffa, Igglybuff, Smoochum, Elekid, or Magby anywhere? Lost potential, I think. * Pretty sure having all starters infinitely available in the wild won't be a popular choice, doesn't feel like a real pokemon game. Getting them somehow as an event or as a reward would be nice. So that it's "special". But I don't have a better solution either that doesn't feel too constructed. * Supplying the player with several type-advantage wild pokemon right before every other gym can quickly feel formulaic and cheap and damage the challenge aspect of the game. Not sure about that approach. * I'm sure you're thinking about this: But the balance of difficulty for this game very heavily depends on the access of pokemon and when they learn moves, all in comparison to the trainers and gym leader difficulty, timing, and level scaling. All these factors can't be viewed in isolation, they're very closely connected to each other and are quite complex to balance right. I hope there is considerate fine tuning in regards to pokemon availability and learnsets so that this fine and sensitive balance is held up. Overall this is shaping up to become such a beautiful game, I'm really looking forward to it.

[@leroy4569]

@@mirihugs yes its either that or give them a place in the daycare for 1 and the other somewhere else.

[@robsidian7400]

Definitely agree on the type matchup point, the Mankey before Goldenrod feels very cheesy. In general it's more fun to try and deal with Whitney without any fighting types

[@appelofdoom8211]

Some people suggested instead putting elekid, smoochum and magby at the little grass patch before ice path with a rare chansey encounter so you can obtain a blissey in johto. Makes sense snce Chansey is a caretaker and as alola shows is more than willing to answer a childs cry for help. It's still a bit bold but it has a theme. the fact that you get magby here instead of at burned tower does feel a bit weird though so maybe Tyrogue's hang out there instead? As for Cleffa and Igglybuff I feel like putting cleffa in union cave and igglybuff after it makes sense as they appear next to mt moon in kanto and it's still early enough that their abysmal stats aren't to big of a hinderance. As for the makey i'd put it in the Illex forest instead so it feels a bit less gamey than throwing one at you right outside goldenrod but I still like the idea of having a machop alternative for Whitney.

[@TheMarafter]

Agree with all of these points. Personally I think Larvitar should be locked behind Waterfall in Mt. Mortar, so it's still accessible before the league but is a big undertaking to start raising it from that point (as I feel pseudo legendaries should be)

[@ivanbluecool]

I remember bringing this up a few weeks ago. Glad to see this is getting touched on as I tried to explain how it would be a better game/move to have jhoto pokemon in early game but somehow a lot of elitist didn't think so. I'd have loved to play with these pokemon early game for more unique playthroughs

[@thevioletbee5879]

“Originally the only fighting type you could get before Whitney was Machop.” Heracross: “Am I a joke to you?”

[@tablesalt2628]

Yes, Heracross was indeed a joke back in gen 2

[@CroakPad]

In addition to Mankey below Goldenrod, I think it would also be nice to add Tyrogue, not only to give another Fighting Type option, but also bring attention to baby Pokémon and the breeding mechanic, as the Day Care is in that location.

[@AkamexAris1023]

Would allow you to actually use any of the Hitmons if someone wanted to

[@appelofdoom8211]

Persnally I like the idea of the machop trade being replaced by a tyrogue and the tyrogue dude in mt. mortar giving you two hitmons of your choice. It'd keep the spirit of the line being a rare gift mon and letting you train one early. It's not like you need the goldenrod machop for anything after all since you can catch it in the wild and already have Mankey as an alternative.

[@AngeloRosales64]

I’m really glad to see you take my suggestions for the Murkrow, Ponyta and Doduo placement. Im really looking forward to playing this game.

[@XellossBoi]

There are so many things that I feel have been really well executed in this project, and the placement of the starters is no exception. You're putting together something really special and worthwhile!

[@ItsMalakiPlayz]

I would add Flaaffy to the area near the farm as well

[@The_True_North]

as much as I like the idea of where you put the Kanto starters, having played the games for over so long, I hate hate hate 1% encounters. They're more frustrating than fun, especially if you slap 3 of them on the same route

[@thaumatomane]

Really? I am the complete opposite. I loved Pokemon that were hard to find. I would often go out of my way to use them. Do I like Chimecho's design? Not particularly. Does it have eerie or interesting lore? Not at all! Is it strong? Withers at a slight breeze. But I hunted it down at the summit of Mt. Pyre and cherished it. Same with white-flowered Flabébé. That said, I think it lends itself more to mystical and mysterious Pokemon. Not the starters particularly... although they tend to be describes as "rare"

[@nicolasromani3523]

​@@thaumatomane I do like Pokemon that are a challenge to find and catch, it makes you feel like an adventurer looking for a rare treasure.

[@wcv6009]

I agree with this. 1% encounters suck. Especially since its inevitable that the 1% won’t happen until I’ve had to do 200+ encounters. Each.

[@Sononono]

Yeah dude I love running around the tall grass wasting hours and hours of precious time just to find a starter that the dude decided to make at level 5 to discourage players to use it for the E4, not realizing that rare candies exist or that people could just grind vs trainers or wild mons!

[@prototipolq-84i46]

@@nicolasromani3523 masoquist

[@grunkleg.3110]

A bit of feedback: - Grimer below Goldenrod feels a bit weird being on the Daycare route. I think you could justify putting it in the Burned Tower alongside Koffing, sorta like how both lines can be found in the Pokemon Mansion and Fiery Path. - As for incorperating the baby Pokemon, Magby could go into the Burned Tower instead of Magmar, Elekid on the Magnemite route, and Smoochum as a rare spawn in Ice Path, Cleffa in the Ruins of Alph with Natu and Smeargle, and maybe Igglybuff replacing Jiggly early game. If the idea is to mostly get baby Pokemon from breeding, keep the locations the same but evolve the Pokemon. - Tyrogue gets his own special mention. He should be found on the Route just south of Blackthorne. That way you still need to get the one from Mt. Mortar if you want to use a Hitmon earlier, but you don't need to breed to get more. - Route 43 I think it is (the one currently inhabited by Electabuzz and Magmar) is the Route in Johto where you first find Tangela and Lickitung, so perhaps more rare Kanto mons like Mr. Mime, Pinsir, or Chansey could also live there. - Johto starters I think should be locked to Mt. Silver. A great way to give that area special wild encounters in the absence of Larvitar or Misdreavus. Snorlax too arguably. Guy's better than Mewtwo in this game. - Kanto starters might be more fitting after the Pokemon League instead of before, whether they be gifts or found in various places throughout Kanto. Between Gen 1 and 2, Kanto routes ended up being home to new Johto Pokemon, I think it makes sense

[@intergalactic92]

3:19 underrated observation. Pseudo legends are always so hard to find, it doesn’t lend itself to slowly raising one into its final form. Would be so much better if you could find them relatively early.

[@markkart]

a good example of how they did it was with gible. You can find it way earlier in the game when compared to larvitar, which is freaking post game

[@frankiemorga2873]

I think the Gen 1 starters should be closer to their obtained areas in Yellow as a callback; Bulbasaur on the grassy patch near Mount Moon but in Cerulean City, Charmander near Cerulean Cove, and Squirtle in the water in Vermillion City.

[@sebastianaliandkulche]

Thats honestly the best idea.

[@MrNorthwestern]

I always felt like there was a strong story reason for not having any electric types before the first gym. The fact that Mareep showed up immediately after Faulkner (in Gold/Silver at least) felt really in line with his indignation that "people say you can clip birds wings with electric types." I though that the story was setting up that you weren't able to do that since you didn't have access to them at that point in the game, and you get access right after. I enjoyed the fact that you couldn't really win with the type advantage, but only for the first gym (so it wasn't too difficult to manage).

[@ItsJustMikee]

Yeah I totally agree too with that

[@renterain8138]

I really like the idea of having baby Pokemon in the wild, especially since they evolve via Happiness (or Lv30) and seeing some of them early game would give some interesting options. Personally I would recommend; Cleffa - Dark Cave or Union Cave, perhaps the latter as it should be a rare encounter given how powerful a Clefable could be in Johto. Igglybuff - Route 34 or Route 38 both are fairly urbanized routes and I always imagine that due to Igglybuff's floaty appearance it probably gets carried around by the winds much like the Hoppip line. Togepi - I think keeping the gift egg one is fine although if there was one location then maybe Route 39, since by then player who would've hatched one will already have it and given it is an egg it'd fit with that farming theme for the Route. Tyrogue - Definitely Mt. Mortar, of course this would cause issues with the Karate Master's gift Tyrogue although perhaps like the gift Dratini in Dragon's Den you could give that gift Tyrogue a unique move (like Vital Throw or Cross Chop). Smoochum - Ruins of Alph, it's Psychic-Type would fit with the Unown and Natu in the area and it would be a uniquely early Ice-Type for players, in addition the Jynx line has never really had a good opportunity to be used in any game as it's either encountered around the same time as other Ice-Types or has very niche requirements like the trade in Gen I. Elekid - Route 34, the proximity to Goldenrod City would make sense given Elekid seems to thrive in areas with a lot of electricity, plus the Elekid line never struck me as being a particularly verdant dwelling Pokemon, like you'd more likely find it in a badlands location than a forest. Magby - Burned Tower, personally I think Magmar in GSC is very powerful so making it a very low (1%) encounter rate in the lower part of Burned Tower only and having Magby take its place for Burned Tower would make a lot of sense. Also while I agree that it's good to have a mix of Gen I and II Pokemon throughout, I think it would be worthwhile giving more attention to the Gen I Pokemon that weren't as prominently presented in Gen I where Gen I had a lot of places with stuff like Pidgey, Rattata, Oddish, Tentacool, Bellsprout, etc.

[@pn2294]

That would defeat the point of the breeding mechanic if you could find it in the wild.

[@SacredAlmighty]

These changes make me want to play Crystal again. PLEASE drop this asap I love everything you've added!

[@34e78]

Try Crystal Kiazo

[@JcFerggy]

You have done a wonderful job of filling in the Johto routes with the available pokemon, but I feel like some could be spread out a bit more. Also the lack of more baby pokemon. I would have loved for all baby pokemon to be catchable in the game. Maybe they can appear outside of their regional daycare?

[@66Roses]

"Zero to Hero Pseudo" is a _big_ reason why Platinum is my favorite game in the series.

[@rebblepebble1857]

This would be such a great improvement. It's insane that literally only 1 dark type is found in johto despite gen 2 introducing them. And even then I think sneasel, who was the worst of them due to it's typing and the games being pre-phys/spec split, was only put in right before the 8th gym and only in crystal I think.

[@evawhite1144]

I like these videos so much. I really, really like all these new, exciting changes that are being implemented. This is gonna be the best romhack. Perhaps not the best, but one of the best. I'm always excited to hear of all the new additions, and so far it looks awesome 👌. I applaud all the hard work put into this project, cause it's definitely worth it.

[@Lilwebstarr]

Yes thank you for changing the game corner prizes!! I remember commenting on your live asking about it lol. This was much needed

[@haydenbennett3547]

Larvatar was originally supposed to be found in Mt Mortar but for whatever reason GameFreak thought it was best as an exclusive pokemon to obtain late game for powerful trainers.

[@LunarWingCloud]

Love how you cover many different asepcts of balancing a back into various videos like this. Kind of surprised you didn't just take the HeartGold/SoulSilver approach for Mareep though and just add some extra grass accessible before fighting Falkner on Route 32.

[@GFCOLCQuote]

This is amazing. I really like all that you've done here. This is honestly rivaling my interest for Crystal Clear.

[@Shittoo]

So happy that it will be possible to capture all 251, and I think the place you chose for the starter pokemons is great

[@ItemSpammer]

I can’t wait to see the finished product. You’re doing something really special here for all of us OG players

[@donnydixon627]

Can you add an event where you have a NPC offer to do a trade back for a trade evolution exclusive Pokémon “like a Seadra to Kingdra” and that NPC runs off with your Pokémon leaving you with like a Scizor. Then you have to chase him down/locate him to find out he was team rocket. Then you can only that Pokémon to defeat him and you get to keep both.

[@alternaterealityfilms]

Can’t wait to play this when it’s done. I’ve been following every video and it’s always a fun watch

[@wombatpandaa9774]

I appreciate so much having the trainers imply the Pokémon that can be caught there. This always seemed like a no brainer for me.

[@danbaczkowski506]

When I was a kid playing through silver when it came out, that neat island spot at 8:15 was where I got my first Suicune encounter. At the time I obvs didn't know how roaming encounters worked so I thought that Suicune was just a regular rare spawn for that patch of grass. Since it felt like a bit of a secret area, in my child brain it made sense that it could be found there

[@Truffelkampi]

I really can’t wait to play this. Every video it keeps on getting better and better. Keep it up!

[@addambarcelos]

The idea of having baby pokemon available in the wild sounds nice. Maybe adding elekid, magby and smoochum?

[@leroy4569]

I think that in the burned tower there should be lower encounter rate for magby instead of magmar. maybe add elekid to the route with the magnemite as a lower encouter rate same with smoochum in the ice cave with the same encounter rates as the teddiursa and phanpy. and the already added pichu. for the johto starters. in my oppinion it would be better if they were a daycare egg for 1. and maybe somewhere else for the other starter ( maybe kimono theater after returning from either of the 5th gyms? or as a new pick up at the daycare) and that it rotates with the chosen starter by going in the the stronger typing than the chosen starter. so if you chose totodile make it chikorita then cyndaquil. if you chose cyndaquil then totodile and then chikorita. simply due to the fact that the are supposed to be "rare". also the placement of mareep should be after the violet city gym. since you added pichu here.

[@D2guy566]

I can't wait to actually play this game bro I've been following around since you've started the series and wow I'm really excited to play this!!!

[@Skarfar90]

Brilliant placement of the starters. I did it slightly different in my own ROM-hack, placing Chikorita/Bulbasaur in the Sprout Tower, and both can be found at level 5 in the morning/day and at level 6 at night. Charmander/Cyndaquil can be found in the burned tower at level 10, and Squirtle/Totodile can be found while surfing in the Ectruteak lake at level 10. The aforementioned Sprout Tower also has a chance to spawn Bellsprout and Oddish (any time) and Sunkern (during the daytime), providing players with early options for grass types. Burned Tower has a theme of smoke and fire. Slugma can now be found here, alongside Koffing, the two starters, Ponyta, Vulpix (daytime only) , Growlithe (daytime only) and Houndour (night-time only). Magby can be found on the bottom floor at any time of the day. I am still fairly early in the process of creating my version (which is getting the name "Pokémon Crystal - Rebalanced"), but the end result will be great. I will follow a more similar level curve to that of the Gen.1 games, which means that the player will have to take a more linear route (going west of Ecruteak first is now the correct path to take). and all the league members, gym leaders and general trainers are scaled similarly to their Gen.1 counterparts. Kanto is now made into a true end-game area, where most trainers are all above level 50-55. Gyms there are in the 70-80 range (excluding Blue), and some leaders has legendaries. Blue is essentially Champion Blue, with a +20 level bump to his team. (81-79-81-81-83-85). And Red is a lot tougher. He now has a level 90 Mewtwo on his team (replacing Espeon), and his levels range from 90-95-100.

[@sirjdog21]

early houndour. you sold me. best rom ever. Gen2 had some of my favorite pokemon but it was a shame some of them were locked post elite 4

[@scottbisco6793]

I love where you put the starters. It totally makes sense, because the professor said they were rare, it totally tracks that he might have found them nearby victory road (aka towards the end of the game)

[@raikaria3090]

I like how Slugma being Kanto-only isn't even in the intro. Always forgotten.

[@toxicperson8936]

Just want to say, I love all these types of videos. The “fixing” the teams of elite 4 members or gym leaders, or the wild encounters, etc. I’ve always thought about how I would change characters teams to make them better so it’s nice that other people would think about that too. Also, if you add Pichu in the early take, you’re gonna need to add thunder stone, as well as the other evolution stones, a lot earlier. You can’t get them until Kanto in G/S, or you have a small chance of getting a SINGLE one of each in crystal, but that’s not guaranteed either. They should’ve just sold them at the goldenrod department store similar to how they did it in the original games.

[@bazchaz]

Should be a bigger emphasis on baby Pokémon, perhaps Magby in the Burned Tower instead of Magmar, Elekid next to Olivine and Smoochum on the Lapras Floor of Union Cave

[@gagelashley6486]

Get more hyped for this every video. Love to see it!

[@teeth227]

with starters, i feel like they should be one time gift pokemon like in yellow or be encountered kinda like legendaries where you find a single one at the end of a cave or something. makes them feel more special than if they were from random encounters but also makes them accessible if they werent picked or if they were from previous gens.

[@terderrer]

Thank you. Especially on mareep, that was my fave gen two mon and it hurt that i couldn't catch it where i usually do.

[@hungrytaco6879]

I hope you bring back the best encounter from gold and silver, that being the punch tms in the department store

[@spikeyrex5873]

That was GENIUS! I cannot wait for what's up next

[@st4r64]

You don't know how much I can't wait to play this hack. I'm a big fan of Crystal, and I've been watching pretty much all of the Crystal fix videos.

[@thewetzelsixx9009]

Thank you for informing me that dying would be bad for my health. Almost let myself do that before you informed me. Joking aside, love the content. Only discovered you in the time since I was in a wreck (see? I wasn't lying in that last part) and am stuck at home out of work for a significant period of time. I've been playing Pokémon a lot. Your videos are something I always look forward to. Keep up with the great work.

[@xboxcrusher]

Yeah, I'm convinced. I'll be following along so as to get this Rom on release. It sounds like it'll be loads of fun!

[@luisalbertobirrueta]

I think the starters should be accessible much earlier than right before the elite four. Some people don't play post game, so they're not going to grind a level 5 pokemon all the way, to face the elite 4.

[@greenownes]

As a kid i could have sworn i found houdours in the route below Morty I was so sure that i had to look it up a few years ago

[@itzrobzen]

tbh I would have put all the baby pokemon on the route where the daycare is with different chances to encounter plus considering day and night encounter rates. The location of the daycare seems to me like a perfect spot to put all the babies on this route including the fact that it really has nothing good to offer anyways. Also put Heracross inside of Ilex Forest for the (part)fighting type pokemon right before Whitney. You can either teach it Rock Smash or get it to Lvl 27 for Counter - both should do perfectly against Whitney. It keeps up the challenge but offers a solution on the same time.

[@Rascal1214]

I agree with what everyone here is saying in the comments, and while I personally don't agree that the starters should be available in the wild (they've always felt like endangered species to me, which is what made them "special") I think you handled them in a great way. I'd also say instead of adding Mareep to Route 31, I'd increase Pichu's encounter rate and do what Storm Silver did and add a patch of grass below Violet City that allows you to get Marrep before Falkner. I'd also add a Tyrogue somewhere (maybe around Goldenrod or in a cave) as getting a Hitmon before the E4 would be nice. For the Kanto Starters, I'll just steal what another comment said and say, go with the Let's Go approach, Bulbasaur rare in Viridian Forest, Charmander rare in Rock Tunnel, and Squirtle rare in the Seafoam Islands. They should feel like a reward for getting to Kanto imo.

[@monte_2000]

I was in for a rude awakening a few nights ago when I learned that Magmar was moved all the way to Kanto in Crystal. I ended up having to reset a bunch to get a Magby for that Odd Egg.

[@antonl.3567]

Would love to see the final result of your romhack ! Always thought of changing the game but not do disfigure it like it in other romhacks just help it correct some old mistakes. Thanks to help me see a better crystal in the future !

[@shaneattwell4906]

2:17 I agree. In Falkner’s gym, he comments on how electric types clip bird Pokémon wings with their electricity and both his second gen and fourth gen TMs (Mud Slap and Roost respectively) are moves designed to combat that weakness. Yet Mareep, the first electric type Pokémon you can encounter, appears afterwards? (I know they add a patch of grass in gen 4 to catch it before the story block, but the point still remains for gen 2.)

[@freshIight]

I absolutely agree with every choice except for the Kangaskhan in the cave. It doesn't feel like a cave Pokémon in Gen 2.

[@zackperry7163]

Your doing a great service to the committee sournding and really enjoying all the updates to a under rated version of the game. Really my only complaint i can even think is for nozlockes of the games the spawn rates of the gen 2 pokes i would increase some of them to 10-20 percents cause its still looking gen 1 heavy for nozlocke players

[@carlospereira1430]

Great! I like and agree with all the changes!! Well done

[@tedscheett9420]

I really want to play this now. I have always struggled making a solid team for Johto and I feel that the majority of changes you've made enables so many options. Mankey before Goldenrod alone is a Godsent.

[@Eric-gp3hi]

Great video I like how you added Mareep, Pichu, Houndour, Murkrow before Violet City it helps with team diversity. I also would say that you put Kabuto, Omanyte and Aerodactyl as rare spawns in the Ruins of Alph. Im lookingfoward to playing this rom hack.

[@jamesr6959]

Well thought out, I love the placement of Mareep and Misdreavus the most. For me, I’d have the island near Lake of Rage have just Electabuzz and Poliwhirl appear without Magmar. For the starters I’d prefer them as gifts from NPC’s for milestones. It could be the existing Professors, Mr. Pokémon, Lance, or Gym Leaders. 😄

[@gracesillypants]

Love your vids so far. Definite subbing! Personally I feel like in game trades arent really like super interesting, especially early on. I think itd be super cool if instead of larvitar in the wild it replaced the machop trade instead. Still early game but makes the trade very appealing, especially since machop will be in the wild.

[@w01f777]

I think for the Kanto starters you could put them in the grass just below pallet town. It’s real close to Oaks lab and in the show he’s got the giant plot of land he keeps Pokémon on. It’s also fitting with what you did with the johto starters, veiny a short surf away from the starting point. Keep up the good work. Crystal is my favourite game and you’re slowly perfecting it 👍

[@sethstevenson9349]

I think Grimer is best placed in the Goldenrod Underground where you get the coin case. Or it can be during the Radio Tower event when you get to the area with the burglars and rival fight as Muk. Very underutilized area imo, could use some electric and poison types

[@justinnyugen7015]

Great suggestions! It’s nice to have access to Pokémon while there’s still an adventure left to have with them.

[@FubukiTheIcyKing]

Y'know i just realized how many Johto Pokemon aren't really available and the Kanto Pokemon aren't really special or unique in placement. Its why I use randomizers it makes it way more easy to use a variety of mons.

[@SupermewX300]

I'm liking a lot of these changes, looks lke it's going to be a lot easier to make diverse and interesting teams. I do have a request, since you opted against adding Eevee to the wild, could you shift Bill's Eevee's level down to 15 or 10? Espeon and Umbreon otherwise don't get any stab moves until their 30s.

[@thaumatomane]

Yah. That's why I always bred that Eevee to start from scratch.

[@thaumatomane]

I love making that island have a weird random elemental trio of wild Pokemon. I remember always thinking as a kid that maybe obscure hidden patches of grass would have unusual Pokemon in them and being disappointed when they just had the same as the rest of the route. I welcome Easter eggs like this!

[@jamielilinrgaard19]

Adding Larvitar before first gym will make this game hell to do a professor oak challenge in 😅 but very nice casual changes over all. Can't wait to play it

[@crazykip143]

I would love to see more babies put in early routes. Great start with Pichu but Igglybuff, Cleffa and Tyrogue would be great as well

[@Fire_Crotch]

The more of these videos that I watch, the more excited I am to play!

[@SolarisDreamweaverVT]

I’d love to see this rom being released! I’d definitely do a few playthroughs of this as a gen 2 fan

[@gabrielking1247]

I’m loving this series!!!! So hyped for the game!

[@donovanbradford8231]

I like the idea of starters being available. I would go for the more Pokemon Yellow where they are event pokemon in that you have to win or earn them. As far as the baby pokemon go I don't know if putting them in the wild is all that great because no one seemed to have them in any version of Gen 2. Also I think having an electric pokemon before Flakner does defeat the purpose of trying to build your team smart because you can't one short his pokemon so you start to build your team or look at other options that come in handy later on in the game. The spot with Electabuzz feels off maybe have him in and around Victory Road and having a Grimer near the Day Care is off either near the harbor hence why the lighthouse pokemon gets sick or even the caves is another good place. Otherwise a lot of the choices are great as it gives a good mix of Gen 1 and 2 pokemon.

[@igi-chan]

4:30 My dude really said “Ditto aint enough!!!” 😂 lol

[@KiranasOfRizon]

Loving all of these changes you've made. Will you be releasing something like an .ips patch for those of us who would like to play with your changes?

[@DAmieba]

Really minor detail, but I think it would be hilarious if for the last rematch with youngster Joey his radiate was way stronger. Like 60+. It would be a neat little Easter egg that I don't think would affect much

[@protopawn]

All sounds like solid logic to me. I love it!

[@lukesmit6121]

I'm loving these ideas! My only objection would be making Mareep accessible before the Flying gym. That makes it a constant go-to every time you play and significantly lowers the difficulty of your first big challenge. I've always appreciated that challenge against your first gym leader. In Yellow Version, which was my first Pokemon game, I'd have to take time training to buff up Pikachu and/or evolve Caterpie to Metapod to Butterfree before I could take on Brock. I also normally chose Charmander when playing Blue Version, so Butterfree was my go-to solution there as well. Granted, I wasn't yet aware of how handy Mankey's Low Kick (in Yellow only) or Nidoran's Double Kick (again, only in Yellow at Lv. 12) would be against Rock-types, but I wasn't yet as interested in training them.

[@luisalbertobirrueta]

I think you should add Kangaskhan to the same route you find Tauros and Miltank. All 3 really good normal types. It's weird to find it in the bottom floor of union cave. Not everybody seeks out Lapras, and most people will forget that Kangaskhan is even there.

[@NoctournalDonut]

Would the route outside Goldenrod also do? Kangaskhan could be a kinda parent to any of the baby Pokemon that were hatched from eggs that their trainer denied.

[@luisalbertobirrueta]

@@NoctournalDonut that can work also. At that point of the game the player will have access to strong pokemon like scyther, heracross, and pinsir; so you can justify having an early threat like kangaskhan on the team with it looking out of place. Miltank is the biggest threat this far in the game and I belive no pokemon should have a an inherent advantage going up against it.

[@Rad_Brad813]

I'm so excited to play this!! Are you also going to fix the broken catching that gen 2 had? Where can I go to get updated when it is released?

[@hideathwing]

that is such a nice change to Johto ngl youre doing gods work there