Humble Beginnings: A Pokémon Gen 1 Retrospective

Please join me as I look back on the first generation of Pokémon games: Red, Blue, and Yellow. It's easy to forget that the Pokémon series wasn't always the behemoth it is today, these first games actually started out very small. Despite their many flaws, there must be something special that enabled their meteoric launch. With this retrospective I hope to uncover what exactly set these Gen 1 games apart and birthed the most successful media franchise in history.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
3:07 Opening Hours
10:33 Gym Challenge (And Lack Thereof)
14:22 Rock Paper Scissor (Gun)
18:20 Dungeons and Rockets
21:12 Progression Overview
25:54 Back to the Gyms
29:24 QoL? Never Heard of it.
33:16 The Pokemans
37:56 Innovative Multiplayer
41:10 Conclusions and Thank Yous
#pokemon #generation1

[@marks9082]

This game changed my life. Been playing since Gen 1

[@AustinAshworth]

I was completely obsessed with the show and cards before I ever touched a video game. I quickly fell in love with the games too but that wasn’t until Gen 3

[@marks9082]

@@AustinAshworth great video man. Keep up the good work! You should do the rest of the pokemon franchise if you have the time haha

[@mbe102]

Right there with ya! I often attribute Silver to SAVING my life.

[@archeogaming]

Same

[@TheWhitePenny]

Dude we were printing pokedex entries every afternoon in the school computer lab at launch. That year when Gen 1 released was something that can't be explained or replicated.

[@jaypooter]

Pokemon Yellow was my first Pokemon game, got it Christmas 1998 and my life changed for the better. Thank you, Pokemon.

[@josetorres8641]

I was 10 when I bought Pokemon yellow. I couldn't wait to get home from school to play Pokemon stadium. Those were the days.

[@AustinAshworth]

I was about the same age when I started with Pokemon emerald and it was literally all I could think about haha

[@tucor7549]

Good days

[@geoffkannenberg6167]

As someone who originally played red/blue in America, I agree that FireRed is a very good adaptation for modern gamers to start with

[@Avinkwep]

I actually think Let’s Go Pickachu and Eevvee are pretty good ways to experience this generation

[@sjacqVO21]

@@Avinkwepnah. the og only

[@archeogaming]

I feel like LeafGreen FireRed was were the hand-holding started in earnest. Everything was over explained with teachy tv and pregame explanations and Oak explaining frigging everything. Nothing was left for the gamer to find on their own. Plus the problems with friendship evolution for crobat and eevee was killer for me.

[@archeogaming]

@@sjacqVO21I agree OG is best

[@geoffkannenberg6167]

@@archeogaming 100% correct. That’s why I think the modern gaming generation would need it over the original. They aren’t patient enough to make the first Gen work for them anymore 😂

[@apolloniusbeitsman5444]

Gen 1 and 2 are king! Forever grateful to my parents for giving me and my little brother a game boy color and Pokemon Red and Blue as a gift ... Cant believe that's like 25+ years ago

[@AustinAshworth]

Super grateful for my parents doing the same thing but with the GBA. GBA and Pokemon is what got me into video games to begin with!

[@axeldeeker5644]

This came out of left field for me, a new pokemon series huh. I have my grievances with the pre platinum titles, but you put gen 1 in a brilliant light which makes me reconsider. I can't wait to hear what you have to say about the other titles. My favorite gen 1 mon has gotta be Venonat.

[@AustinAshworth]

I’m glad you enjoyed! Venonat is a really unique pick, but he is pretty cute in a weird sort of way haha

[@dylangreen7970]

Glad I got to experience the 1st Gen in real time as a 5 year old... swinging on the swing with my Gameboy not knowing anything lol

[@AustinAshworth]

I was obsessed with the show and cards during Gen 1 and 2, but my parents didn’t allow me to play videogames until I was a bit older so I only got into the games with Gen 3. I’m jealous that I didn’t get to experience the Gen 1 and 2 games real time!

[@joshuacaleau2328]

I really applaud this essay. It is insightful, nostalgic, but also very well balanced in both praises and criticism. I really enjoyed this - thank you for making it.

[@AustinAshworth]

You’re very welcome! So glad you enjoyed!

[@lordcooler8160]

Good review, one thing I will say this idea of psychic types being so OP on gen 1 is a bit exaggerated in my opinion. The strongest psychic types (outside of the legendary Mewtwo) in gen 1 is the Alakazam line, and it has horrendous physical defense, and consequently I never struggled against Sabrina in any of my gen 1 playthroughs.

[@AustinAshworth]

Noted, maybe I went overboard in criticizing psychic’s dominance. Alakazam does have that glaring weakness for sure. Thanks for the feedback!

[@MadMalMan]

​@@AustinAshworth - Yeah it might surprise you to know that the top PvP pokemon in the game were normal types, with Stab on the best moves, crazy diverse movepools and well balanced stats. Alakazam was still very good though, and Mewtwo outright banned 😂

[@EricWalkerUk]

Yeah I do find this one gets over-done in every review of gen 1. In reality you don't encounter the psychic type often in game and you can decimate Sabrina with a physical attacking normal, ground or flying type.

[@tortellini_soup]

Appreciate the honest criticisms throughout the video. Many of these retrospectives and reviews sugarcoat the flaws of earlier generations. Great video!

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much!

[@zachcouch8654]

Started playing Pokémon Yellow yesterday. I loved this video. I am planning on getting the dream team together.

[@AustinAshworth]

Thanks! Hope you have a blast playing!

[@tswan137]

Keep making content please! Your channel is super promising

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! You don’t know how encouraging comments like your’s are to me.

[@tswan137]

@@AustinAshworth homie... I can already add this to my "going to sleep cuz the voice is just that good" playlist. But you're doing an amazing job with edits and making it fun to watch regardless. Please don't give up

[@khalilsstories]

Cant wait for the Gold and Silver video! Subbed

[@NimhLabs]

It should be noted that when Gen 1 Pokemon came out in NA, a common "issue" with various JRPGs and cRPGs is the end game loadouts generally were exactly the same for every save file. Which, is technically considered a problem in a JRPG or cRPG when part of those games are about having different options and choices for how you set up your characters in them Pokemon Red, Blue and Yellow were in a small set of JRPGs (at the time) that by the time a player got to the Elite 4, they generally had wildly varying teams at that point This was one of the things that helped push it forward. A whole "what team did you use" type approach. Which, wasn't as present in JRPGs and cRPGs at the time as people would have liked it to be Oh, and my favourite? Zubat

[@AustinAshworth]

Wow Zubat is an unorthodox favorite to say the least haha. I do really like Crobat but the millions of Zubat that plague the caves drive me crazy! I love how much control players have over personalizing their team but, like I mentioned in the video, Yellow is kind of the exception unfortunately where basically 4 of your 6 party slots are picked for you,

[@NimhLabs]

@@AustinAshworth eh, considering Venusaur is hot trash for both in-game usage and competative usage, you could get away with boxing that one Charizard is also kind of not worth it, as Fire is not really a decent type yet in Gen-1 either. Except Charizard can learn a moveset of Cut/Strength/Fly/Dig making him to be a _VERY_ useful utility mon Blastoise isn't really that needed either... throw Surf onto a Nidoking (which you caught as a Nidoran(Mars) before Brock) You _can_ use the starters... but honestly, outside of Charizard, they just end up feeling like clutter on the team -=- Also, Zubat are very useful for getting experience points. Avoiding battles is weird, as the main gameplay loop in a jRPG is the battles. If you don't do the battles, why even you playing an jRPG and not an Interactive/Visual Novel? Zubat represents the main function of what a jRPG is all about--and early enough in the game to be a mascot of this feature

[@AustinAshworth]

@@NimhLabs Fair points, I just love the designs of the starters so much that it’s hard to resist using them on my team even if there are better options.

[@rayciannello2268]

Now that Delta emulator is out, I am reliving my childhood

[@hzafary]

What a fun, nostalgic and well articulated look back at the most impactful game of all time in my video gaming life. Thank You

[@hzafary]

Looking forward to seeing a Gen 2 Retrospective as well!

[@AustinAshworth]

I appreciate all the kind words! Glad you enjoyed!

[@A_Bottle-Of_Orange_Crush]

Great video. I was 10 when I first got Red version and have loved Pokémon ever since. Scyther was my favorite back then

[@AustinAshworth]

Thanks! Scyther is a great pokemon but is made even cooler with Scizor

[@HeavensLostProperty]

🎉Shoutout for my boy BULBASAUR🎉

[@AustinAshworth]

Respect!

[@gamesmoney1025]

Sorry love Bulbasaur as a character but it has too many weaknesses.... I love Squirtle the best

[@geostokes8573]

Of all the Pokemon nostalgia videos I've watched so far, this one captures the vibe I've been looking for the most. Please keep it up

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! That really means a lot to me! Glad you enjoyed!

[@schminke89]

Well a Game has to be judged by the time of release. And Pokemon became such a success because they got so much right on the first try. Pokemon Green was an even bigger, more uglier mess and still it was enough to start the wildfire.

[@AustinAshworth]

Those Pokemon green sprites are nightmare fuel haha

[@schminke89]

@@AustinAshworth also a strange similarity i had to think of how gamefreak resisted the Idea of releasing Pokemon outside of japan or keep on developing the Game, they thought they were done with it but the sales somehow forced them to keep going. Strangely reminded of the demon's souls release where Sony originally said "no this is trash" but the number of people importing it somehow also forced them to release it, it was Just a too good opportunity to Not use it. Think its two examples of groundbreaking games that just have to explode because of how good they are even though roadblocks are thrown at them

[@AustinAshworth]

@@schminke89 Very apt comparison. Sony is regretting that decision so much! I adore the Souls series too and hope to cover them on this channel one day.

[@IzzyItachi]

Always a good day when you find a new Pokémon retrospective with a fresh perspective. Keep it up man! My favorite from Gen 1 has to be Snorlax. Just too relatable lol. Can’t wait for the Gen 2 video.

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! Snorlax is a classic for sure!

[@CrNcHyFROG5]

Incredibly well-written and narrated. Great content, man! I look forward to watching your retrospectives on all of the future generations of Pokemon games! I really enjoy these longer-form documentary-style videos breaking down the best games from my youth. I started with Gen3 so it's even cooler being able to see such a detailed breakdown of a game that I never really explored much as a kid!

[@AustinAshworth]

I’m so glad you enjoyed and thank you for all the kind words! It really means a lot to hear that people are getting value out of my work.

[@CrNcHyFROG5]

@@AustinAshworth Absolutely! I can tell a lot of effort and talent went into the video, glad to see it getting the attention and traffic it deserves!

[@teezy786]

I love the video man. So many fond memories with my friends playing the game and finding new pokemon.

[@AustinAshworth]

Good times, good times…

[@partlyawesome]

Love to see another video

[@archeogaming]

Great retrospective can’t wait to see more from you

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! That means a lot to me

[@pchurch692]

Great video! Thanks for the content. My fav of the OG 151 is Jolteon.

[@AustinAshworth]

Jolteon is a great pick! It’s the best of the original eeveelutions for sure but Umbreon edges it out slightly for me. Obviously using Jolteon in a Pokemon Yellow playthrough was out of the question though

[@pchurch692]

@@AustinAshworth for sure, definitely umbreon 1, jolteon 2 for me for eeveelutions. Makes sense, Pika following Ash/Red is iconic!

[@AustinAshworth]

@@pchurch692 lol just realized I put Vaporeon slightly above Jolteon in the video and now I’m over here saying Jolteon is the best of the 3 haha. Just goes to show how great all the designs are that it’s so hard to make up my mind!

[@khalilsstories]

What a great retrospect!!! Good details, amazing research and brought me back in time!! I even learned some things I’ve never known!

[@AustinAshworth]

I’m so glad! Thank you for watching and I really appreciate the kind works!

[@WhoIsCalli]

Great vid. Thanks

[@eMPlaysModetro]

Instant subscription. I love the way you offer constructive criticism rather than pure adoration or cold hearted hatred. Keep up the great work. :)

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! I appreciate the kind words and I’m glad to have you on board

[@mbe102]

Please please please do Gen 2

[@AustinAshworth]

I've got a few other videos planned first but I promise I will continue this series with Gen 2. Hope you look forward to it!

[@davidianhowe]

This was great dude

[@AustinAshworth]

I'm so glad you enjoyed! Thank you!

[@John-ss4xj]

Pokemon Gen 1 forever Goated

[@ErickQJaquez]

Thanks! Amazing video.

[@AustinAshworth]

Wow! Thank you so much for your generous support! I can’t tell you how much it means to me!

[@ErickQJaquez]

@@AustinAshworth I respect a lot the level of quality of your work, it truly shows your effort. Props to you!! 🙌🏻

[@alexepena]

Just subscribed to your channel! Very detailed. It's crazy how we found out about all these secrets and glitches by merely talking to our friends and classmates when the Internet was still not what it was today

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much, happy to have you on board! I miss those simpler days!

[@keithseratt5926]

Wow this is a truly great retrospective/review. I was there for you "birth" of Pokémon and it was amazing. I never had any of the Game Boy games but I did play stadium and snap and of course the trading card game. I remember so vividly finding my first Pokemon card it was a Ponyta and I traded that Ponyta for two lesser cards took those two lesser cards and traded it for one good card took the good card traded that for five lesser cards took those five cards and continued to trade up like that until I eventually had a pretty good deck, almost for free. I have course did eventually Buy starter and booster decks but I'll never forget how I started. Anyway good job and I'm excitedly awaiting the next installment.

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! Thanks for sharing your memories, I personally never got into the actual TCG, just liked collecting the cards for my favorite pokemon and appreciating the art.

[@ianpage5]

Great vid! Electabuzz is my all time fav! Post the second gen soon, that gen rips the best!!!

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! I’ve always liked Electabuzz too!

[@NoxisFlak-Heyhowareya]

Found your channel with this video! Looking forward to gen II!

[@AustinAshworth]

Thanks! So glad you enjoyed it!

[@ShiroiTengu]

This was really great and brought back some wonderful memories. I hope you'll do a video for Gen 2 as well

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you, so glad you enjoyed! Gen 2 video is a lock, hope you stick around for it

[@ShiroiTengu]

@@AustinAshworth yep, subbed for it! Watching the Bioshock video now

[@zidkins]

Who is here playing pokemon red on delta emulator for IOS ?

[@AustinAshworth]

I'm glad Apple changed their stance on emulators. Nintendo is probably fuming lol

[@MrHeisenb3rg]

I’m playing Fire Red:Rocket Edition on delta worth a look if you haven’t played.

[@marshall5912]

You know it! I’m replaying LeafGreen on my phone, haha.

[@CJB333]

Oh to be back in that late 90s Christmas playing it by passing streetlights on the way home

[@AustinAshworth]

So nostalgic!

[@niftygoose4292]

Great video. One thing to add about the uniqueness of the pokemon designs is the pokedex entries for each one. Just further makes them feel apart of the world.

[@AustinAshworth]

Absolutely, now I wish I did mention that because you are absolutely right!

[@MannyMetronome]

2:43 ONE HUNDRED PERCENT CORRECT

[@stellarsub-orbital9922]

I was 8 when i got Yellow Version. I'm definitely a Genwunner, but I will say that Fire Red and Leaf Green are the best gen 1 games.

[@zalxder]

Nintendo should hire you to write for the next Pokemon Game. this was one of the most comprehensive retrospectives ive ever heard, it shows you have a deep understanding of the aspects in and outside the game that really made Gen 1 so special.

[@AustinAshworth]

Wow! I'm flattered! Thank you so much for the kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@Alexander_KB]

To overcome Gen 1 Psychic types, get Jolteon and level him up til he learns Pin-Missile. It's more than enough to dispense of psychic pokemon.

[@AustinAshworth]

If I’m playing Yellow it would be hard to justify Jolteon because there’s no way I’m boxing Pikachu! It’s always been weird that Jolteon is like the one nonbug to get a decent bug move in Gen 1. Like why Jolteon lol

[@spudeeelad]

Oh, a couple more things. -The technology got pushed even further when they shipped the game internationally because English took far more storage space on a cartridge than Japanese does, which partially contributes to some of the weird bugs - because memory allocations have to be re-used hence you can overwrite stuff and manipulate the memory in the way you mentioned

[@AustinAshworth]

That’s really interesting! You’d never expect the language in the text is displayed would impact design and programming choices. Thanks for sharing!

[@JamesJonesTech]

We need a series out of this one bro. 🔥

[@AustinAshworth]

That’s the plan! Glad you enjoyed!

[@skullkid8094]

Can't wait for that Gen 2 video

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much!

[@ThingsInMyHouse]

Deleterious. Man you got me pulling out a dictionary. Intransitivity? Let's go.

[@AustinAshworth]

This made me crack up haha. Glad you appreciate the word choice

[@Bro_Ten]

Love the video.

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed!

[@clvr51]

I'm a Gen 3 kid like you, and my favorites have changed through the years, but I think you can tell that my absolute favorite is Slowpoke lol

[@AustinAshworth]

Do you go Slowbro or Slowking? Or just stay Slowpoke lol. He’s a fun pokemon for sure!

[@cowboycurtis4944]

It's the playground rumors that really cemented Gen 1 as a bestseller. Hearing about Pokegods or the mysterious rectangular Pokémon Missingno and how it will mess up your game was fascinating, and in an era before widespread internet usage that was extremely fascinating to a little kid. I didn't even own a copy until like 2003, but I was still privy to all of the cool rumors floating around the game. Also, my favorite is Arcanine. Giant fire-breathing dog is cool as shit.

[@AustinAshworth]

It was before my time but I especially love hearing about the era just prior to Gold/Silver release. With new pokemon being teased in the anime and rumored spreading from Japan and Spaceworld demo, the rumor mill was running wild! Arcanine is a great pick!

[@arcadefan9213]

Great video. My favorite OG Pokemon is Starmie.

[@AustinAshworth]

Thanks! Starmie is a great pick and a really strong Pokemon

[@bryanspilner7370]

The pikachu art in the thumbnail was on the cover of the yellow players guide, I traced it and was the best drawer in school. Lmao

[@AustinAshworth]

Fat Pikachu best Pikachu haha

[@_RiseAgainst]

Pretty hard to play a Gameboy under the covers. Although rock tunnel was unaffected.

[@spudeeelad]

Good review. Just a few things to mention. -The splitting of versions was not originally a money grab. I can’t remember the full reasoning but Nintendo never actually saw the appeal of the games and it was their suggestion to make two versions to encourage interaction, which was a goal of the creator. It was a happy accident for them that this ended up being a huge money spinner - and of course the overall success of Pokemon another happy accident. -Don’t forget that gameboy was released in 88-90 (can’t remember exactly) and original Red and Green were 96’ I think. This severely limited space and processing power which meant that… -Trading was the most difficult part to implement of the originals. The amount of data being transferred in a Pokemon trade was simply not something Gameboy was designed to do. -The original team was like 13 people who designed and made the entire game and tested it. I’d say even the flaws in it are acceptable given at least half of the people were simply not programmers. -Whilst AI etc is valid criticisms, I feel like that’s just adult brain talking. I used to load my Pokemon with all same type moves like Ember, Flamethrower, Fire Spin etc. I’d suggest trying out Pokemon Crystal Legacy or Pokemon Yellow Legacy and seeing how the game plays when the AI has counters to most common strategies and typings and has its own strategies too - then put your 10 year old self against that. You’d cry and quit the franchise along with all your friends before you finished the game or got any decent Pokemon

[@AustinAshworth]

Splitting versions doesn’t come across as money grab at all for me, it’s a really smart way to facilitate trading as you mentioned. It’s the “ever so slightly enhanced” third version released like a year later that feels greedy to me. No one is expected to pick up both red and blue, but Nintendo hopes players of those original games will be tempted to pick up yellow too. The fact that this special third version was so predictably released for the first 4 generations just makes you feel they are intentionally holding some stuff back from the first set of games to make the third version special. That may or may not be true, but it just feels bad when your new Pokemon game is made obsolete so soon after release.

[@spudeeelad]

@@AustinAshworth Yeah thankfully we didn't get that version in the West. Yellow was only really made because of the Anime coming out and they wanted to make the player feel like they were Ash themselves, which lets be honest, we all dreamed of being at least once haha

[@spudeeelad]

@@AustinAshworth I do see your point but to some extent, that's basically what patches are today isn't it? Addressing balancing and stuff and making QoL changes that simply weren't possible back in the day. I think there are probably more changes between Gold/Silver and Crystal than there is between Blue/Red and Yellow.

[@SuperKingLeoGAMES]

I loved that you touched on the "open world" aspect of Gen 1. To those who replay it constantly, it makes for creative team building. You can have legendaries battling surge and erika. lol.

[@AustinAshworth]

It would be hilarious to catch Zapdos and then show Lt Surge what a REAL electric type is like haha

[@EricWalkerUk]

When I played through gen 1 the first time, I beat Sabrina before Koga. I've even beaten Sabrina after Blaine on some playthroughs. I never noticed a problem from a level standpoint here either - unlike in Gen 2, where gym 7 becomes an absolute cakewalk due to the level cap.

[@jennilocke]

I remember being a kid when red/blue came out. I had it on my GameBoy and another kid on my school bus had it too. She had picked charmander for her starter and couldn't get past Brock. Since we lived in a rural area we had a long bus ride so she asked me to try. I tried my best but i eventually had to tell her she would have to go catch a bug and hope for the best, or start over and pick a different starter lol

[@AustinAshworth]

Haha that’s brutal, “just pick a different starter”! Thanks for sharing

[@TalonSky]

Eevee itself has always been my favorite of the originals, through there isn't an Eeveelution that I also don't like. I have also always had a soft spot for Raichu, because when I was a kid no one ever wanted one.

[@abnerfuentes1055]

Crystal was the peak of the series, fight me !

[@AustinAshworth]

Emerald for me!

[@woodsyjones]

Gen 1 and 2 go hand in hand. And to me they are the greatest generations of Pokemon! (Gen 3 is close behind). But something about Kanto/Johto being so close to each other, the Pokemon designs, and the worlds themselves are just special. Maybe my nostalgia goggles are on, but I just love them dearly

[@AustinAshworth]

Gen 1 and 2 are really cohesive with the regions and pokemon lineups. Gen 2 feels like a true sequel in that it picks up where Gen 1 left off instead of being a fresh start like all the other generations.

[@ardenbaileys4878]

I believe that my favorite Pokemon from gen 1 was probably Scyther. Possibly Haunter or Mewtwo

[@AustinAshworth]

All great picks! Mewtwo is my favorite

[@LRSNRCNG309]

Ive had my gba sp since i was 8 (2006), and i had yellow as my first game since my birthday or christmas. I just got a copy of yellow since mine is long since traded in elementary, and im going to do everything in it since i didnt know how to do anything or know where to go back in the day and i cant wait to do it

[@AustinAshworth]

Sounds like a great trip down memory lane! Enjoy!

[@noztk]

I remember getting blue edition with my pokemon color for Christmas. My mother had bought it in Portugal which didn't had a Portugal translation and 9 year old me was forced to play with English text without knowing whats going on. I remember restarting my game file over and over because I was stuck after misty not knowing I had to cut my way to the next location..insane how much I actually remember from way back then

[@AustinAshworth]

That’s impressive playing through a language barrier! Even as a native English speaker, I 100% credit Pokemon for teaching me tons of new words at a young age. I usually pronounced them wrong though haha

[@aleab3472]

Beautiful video, do it for Gen 2 too!!

[@AustinAshworth]

Gen 2 followup will definitely happen, just won’t be right away. I appreciate your patience and I’m so glad you enjoyed!

[@octavia1717]

great video! i'm gonna have to watch the rest of ur stuff now that i've found the channel

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy my other retrospective series as well! Fair warning that the earlier videos were pretty rough, I was just figuring things out.

[@CheeseBurgerXJ]

Just bought pokemon yellow today, playin it right now on my gameboy

[@Syncopiia]

Alakazam has always been my favorite. I hunted like crazy for his card in the original set. I still use him on my modern teams all the time. He just has this no nonsense mystique about him.

[@AustinAshworth]

Design-wise, I actually prefer Kadabra. I like the big tail, Alakazam’s body just feels lacking without it. Still an awesome pokemon obviously!

[@fischgott96]

Squirtle Squad let's go

[@baoff666z]

the algo's chosen you!! enjoy the views g 9.6k writing this. this will hit 50k views by may 5th

[@AustinAshworth]

Oh you noticed? Haha, I'm thrilled and flattered that a whole new group of people are checking out my channel. That being said I’ve been on KZbin long enough to know it’s the views will dry up before long, so I try to keep my expectations low. 50k is extremely optimistic but I'd love for you to be right!

[@stuffingtonjfluffypantsiii]

First playthrough I went with Vaporeon. Mostly because I needed a water type (I started with Bulbasuar) and no idea about the Lapras in SlipthCo or that the other 2 rods were close by. Even back then my favorite Mon was Meowth. All about Pay Day baby.

[@AustinAshworth]

Was your love for Meowth influenced by the anime at all? Pretty interesting pick if it was purely driven by the games

[@stuffingtonjfluffypantsiii]

@@AustinAshworth Pretty sure Team Rocket's Meowth was involved with that choice. Plus I was always more of a cat person than a dog person

[@ProfessorWFS]

Subbed

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you! Happy to have you on board!

[@TheLegendarySwordMaster]

Awesome video will you do all pokemon games/gen pokemon retrospectives?

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! My current plan definitely includes covering the classic era (Gen 1-5) and then we’ll see from there. I’m not too happy with the current state of the series and don’t want to commit to videos I wouldn’t enjoy making.

[@TheLegendarySwordMaster]

@@AustinAshworth your welcome and ok i am still enjoying the games but i respect that your being so honest to me i understand but yeah i didn't liked black and white though but thats just me i played all the other ones though but ok keep up the good work bro maybe you can also do it you havent done already do retrospectives of all kingdom hearts or Yakuza or final Fantasy games or persona i would really appreciate that ^^

[@AustinAshworth]

@@TheLegendarySwordMaster haha those are all massive franchises, might be biting off a bit too much to chew with those. I do really like Persona, but don’t have too much experience with the others. I’ll try to ameliorate that at some point for sure.

[@TheLegendarySwordMaster]

@@AustinAshworth ok thx btw ^.^ ^-^

[@LupercalRising]

Best pokemon game hands down.

[@AustinAshworth]

I won’t say it’s my favorite to play by any stretch, but you can’t knock the significance and influence it has for being the one that started it all

[@ronaldchristian3880]

Had a creepy tutor and he showed up with pkmn yellow as a gift I gladly expected and switched tutors

[@AustinAshworth]

Oof at least you got a great game out of the situation...

[@kyosilver1999]

Charmander does fine against Brock ember might be resisted but the paper thin special stat of Brock’s Pokemon means your still going to cut through them, combine that with his habit of using bide, which give you plenty of opportunity to throw a growl or smokescreen in means you should have no real trouble with Brock using a charmander

[@AustinAshworth]

It's certainly not impossible to beat brock with just charmander, but you largely have to resort to cheese or overleveling. Compare that to just using a single move to OHKO with Bulbasaur or Squirtle. The first boss should be a smooth introduction to mechanics, not force you to abuse the game's poor AI.

[@kyosilver1999]

@@AustinAshworth respectfully I disagree with having to cheese or over lvl, as I pointed out ember being a special move will still deal plenty of damage to both Onix and Geodude, there secondary ground type is also meaningless in this battle as it doesn’t provide any extra defense against fire moves, and both of Brock’s mons lack any stab rock move in gen 1. The other two undoubtedly have it easier, they only need to mash A to win, Charmander only requires a bit of thought and strategy to succeed, just don’t hit the rocks when they bide and use a statues move, I wouldn’t call that cheese, that just playing smart

[@AustinAshworth]

​@@kyosilver1999 I think our difference of opinion is because I'm trying to look at the gym battle from the perspective of a brand new, likely younger player rather than a series veteran. They've probably played the game for a grand total of 1 hour by the time they fight Brock. I just don't think that a new player has been adequately prepared at this point to employ those tactics. I hope I don't come across as argumentative by the way, I do really appreciate the thoughtful dialogue and an opposing viewpoint!

[@Zek3nator]

In Gen 1 Charmander doesn’t really struggle with Brock. His team has terrible special, so ember is still a good move. In Gen 3 Rock Tomb puts Charmander on a timer, so he’s harder in Gen 3.

[@dinar471]

Im replying Yellow on an emulator now, and I agree it’s hard to revisit this gen. We are really spoiled in today’s gen lol having to deal with critical hits galore, limited move pools, horrible item inventory, OP moves like wrap and bind, as well as the comically strong Alakazam line is crazy. But despite that…. I can still immerse myself into the game and lose track of time like I did as a kid on my Gameboy, thats the magic of Pokémon and why its had its spell on me for nearly 30 years.

[@AustinAshworth]

Absolutely. despite all the jank (and there is a lot to overcome), the core experience is still magical.

[@dinar471]

@@AustinAshworth jank indeed, found a Dragonair in the safari zone and I get a message that my box is full I can’t use the safari ball lol 😂 I took a break after that, I can’t. What if it was Moltres on victory road

[@EricWalkerUk]

I've always quite liked the story in Gen 1 personally. I always found it a bit far-fetched when the characters in later entries (especially Gen 4) expected a 10 year old to save the world. In Gen 1, you only fight Team Rocket because they happen to get in your way, and their schemes are far more petty than world-ending stakes. Personally, I preferred that because it opened up the experience for me.

[@AustinAshworth]

Simple is cool with me because you can ignore it easily enough. I prefer it to the over the top stories in something like Sun/Moon that constantly get in the way of actually playing the game. That being said, I think there is a nice middle ground where the story is engaging but unobtrusive.

[@EricWalkerUk]

@AustinAshworth Sun & Moon frustrated me. As much as I love Gen 5, that also has the same issue where you can't walk 5 feet without someone stopping you to vomit exposition. Gen 9 was good here imo, same with Gen 3 (aside from the world-ending stakes again lol)

[@Blizzard91]

You got a nice voice and I enjoyed your video. If you make a video on gen 2 I'll be there

[@AustinAshworth]

Thank you so much! There will definitely be a Gen 2 video so I hope you stick around!

[@marcellusrobinson1465]

No lie. Back then I traded someone several of my Pokémon cards for their game boy and blue version! Best trade I ever did!

[@AustinAshworth]

Wow, I’m sure someone’s parents weren’t too happy with their kid trading away all that haha. I traded a some weird bouncy ball for Donkey Kong Country on GBC as a kid once but your’s takes the cake for pure value

[@MZX4206969]

Im playing through the new legacy series by smithplays. Both yellow and crystal legacy. Emerald comes after. Very solid games. I also started with red growing up, but my favorite gen of all the games was 2, and crystal was the best version

[@AustinAshworth]

I really should explore ROM hacks more, I've never delved outside the main series but I've heard so many positive stories about the improvements fan games can make!

[@seantaylor424]

#26, Raichu for me. I fell for the show before I played the games, but Ash's Pikachu seemed showboating in a series that was supposed to be about a variety of Pokémon. Lt. Surge's Raichu was the first to really put a hurting on Pikachu and I loved Raichus ever since...Fortunately, the trials and successes I had training my Raichu in Diamond to handle the abundance of Gravelers in Sinnoh gave me a more positive reason to like the species, heh heh! To add to your idea that the Pokémon themselves were what sold the franchise, there were books that never left Japan but were dedicated to describing how Pokémon live even before the anime came out (the anime actually adapts some of these details, like the Charmander flames and Scythers and Electabuzzes hating red). People will line up around the block to posit what Pokémon a character outside of Pokémon would use and they make comics about their Nuzlocke runs that may change the games' stories but never forget to highlight the Pokémon. To a lesser extent, how the towns in games and--at least for me--the technology of the anime that was considered mundane despite being way past the 90's also captures people's imaginations. The game mechanics and stories may have started simple, but that just highlighted the near-elemental appeal of the Pokémon.

[@AustinAshworth]

Raichu is so interesting to me because he's almost forgotten in the shadow of Pikachu being the mascot and all. I have to admit I'm not the biggest fan of Raichu; he feels superfluous to Pikachu but he never really gotten a fair shake to be fair. Thanks for sharing! I got a kick out of your story where you took a liking to Raichu after he humbled Pikachu haha

[@seantaylor424]

@AustinAshworth Heheheheheh! Spite is always an interesting story; glad it amused. I love Raichu, but the species definitely seems like a footnote in the franchise. If Pikachu wasn't the mascot, Raichu would probably have the same relevance as Butterfree and Beedrill, an early-game example of stone evolutions and teaching players to weigh the pros of evolution's increased stats against learning moves sooner in a lower state (or AT ALL in the Chu case). With Pikachu as the mascot, however, Raichus were regularly cast as villains or challenges to overcome or background characters only noteworthy because of their association to Pikachus. Between the introduction of Light Ball just for Pikachu, Raichu not getting a Mega Evolution and only Pikachu getting a Gigantamax, I think Gamefreak regrets making Raichu and is getting better at not letting the species "hold them back." Being treated so poorly (especially in a franchise that's all about appreciating your pets) has only made me like the species more and dislike Pikachus more...But Ash and his Pikachu retiring in the anime has let the wound close, heheheheh!

[@lustreaux]

Fire red good because you can trade pokemon with heart gold and soul silver

[@lucius8111]

I didn't understand the type advantages when I was a kid and I remember on my blue version finally beating misty with my LVL 32 Chameleon and Gravler 😅

[@AustinAshworth]

That’s an insane level of grinding haha! I had a lot of patience for mindless grinding as a kid too, I trained up so many lvl 100 pokemon that I never did anything with. They just sat in the PC looking pretty

[@zaneaura84]

Psychic types do have a weakness: Chansey. They also dont have hyper beam like normal types and they don't allways get something to deal with the type that resists it like most normal types getting an ice or water move to hit rock types. Also hyper beam in gen 1 exists. As broken as psychic was gen 1 normal was also rediculously busted.

[@AustinAshworth]

That’s a good point and I should have made it more clear that the whole psychic rant was speaking more to type imbalance across the board than only psychic type. Normal and Dragon are also crazy OP.

[@mark_kline]

I played this game, I was on the school yards when it came out. We never thought of it as a terrible playing experience or arduous, slow, or having bad mechanics. We accepted that Alakazam was the nicest and strategized. Also, I still think basing Pokemon on real animals or myths(Gyrados) is the best route. I’ve saw an Ice Cream Pokemon and was like….wtf I don’t get it. Is a trainer supposed to eat it 🤷🏿‍♂️

[@AustinAshworth]

I don’t know how clearly it came across but I was trying to convey just that at the end of the video. The games are objective broke and unbalanced but it didn’t prevent the core appeals from shining through to players. I’m with you on the simpler animal designs being best, I need to be able to imagine the pokemon moving about and interacting with the world for it to really be a favorite.

[@legendkiller6666]

I just beat Yellow yesterday lol, ended up beating the elite 4, 14 levels under leveled lol

[@AustinAshworth]

Glad my video was timely! What was your team?

[@legendkiller6666]

Like you said, with the 3 starters available my team was Pikachu, Charizard, Blastoise, & Venusaur. And rounding off the team, Nidoqueen & Butterfree

[@AustinAshworth]

@@legendkiller6666 Wow I respect bringing Butterfree all the way to the Elite 4!

[@legendkiller6666]

@@AustinAshworth my Butterfree ran through Bruno with Psybeam & Mega Drain & slow down Blue’s Alakazam with Stun Spore for my Charizard to take it out with Slash plus Butterfree has always been my favourite as a kid since Ash had it

[@PrOGopogo]

Played gen 1 Went straight on to gen 3, then gen 4. Then played gen 2 for in the Gen 4 remake. Gen 4 is peak

[@AustinAshworth]

3-5 are the peak era for me where the roughness of the first 2 has been polished off and the series was still fresh

[@marplatense31]

A small correction about the Missingno. glitch: It doesn't really give you infinite items. I learned that personally when I bought Pokemon Red on the 3DS, I did the Missingno. glitch to get infinite Master Balls, then I started using the Master Balls to catch every Pokemon I found, and after a while I began to notice the number of Master Balls was beginning to decrease. So you don't get infinite items, it only duplicates it by a shit ton.

[@AustinAshworth]

Yeah I believe it gives you 128 of the item in the 6th slot. The infinite comes in when you consider you can repeat the glitch whenever you start to run low. I should have been a bit clearer about that

[@EricWalkerUk]

This glitch also doesn't work in Yellow via the old man

[@AustinAshworth]

@@EricWalkerUk I’m all too well aware... Did 95% of my footage recording from Yellow but had to switch to R/B for Missingno. Very inconvenient, how dare Nintendo fix their game haha

[@EricWalkerUk]

@AustinAshworth I know right haha I was so disappointed they'd fixed it when I played it for the first time

[@gamesmoney1025]

Why is Poliwrath weak to fighting moves?

[@brucieplays3720]

pokemon :)

[@Aeimyn]

Logic game at 26:00 is crazy

[@AustinAshworth]

I might have gotten a bit carried away haha

[@Alexander_KB]

They're all great, but I prefer Charmander as my go-to starter for Gen 1.

[@t14dann18]

Like if you picked bulbasaur!!!

[@AustinAshworth]

My people!

[@ExaltedTilemaker]

Bulbasaur is severely underrated, far more players seeming to favor charmander or squirtle. I usually go for bulbasaur because there are far better offensive types in gen 1 besides fire, and Lapras, though gotten much later in the game, is my usual pick for a water type. Bulbasaur has some pretty impressive attack potential as well with razor leaf's critical hit rate, able to mow through even Pokémon that resist it with two or three hits, longevity with leech seed and later mega drain, and sleep powder to make the late game fights a whole lot easier. Only downside is that growth won't improve its best attack with razor leaf because of how critical hits work in gen 1, but then you remember that the special stat is also defensive in gen 1, and also the badge boost glitch which can let growth boost all stats. Charmander is obvious on what I want to teach it. Strongest fire type move possible, slash or body slam for physical power, dig or fly for coverage if possible (can't even learn fly in red and blue so that's just sad), and possibly swords dance to set up. Squirtle is pretty obvious, too. STAB surf, ice beam and dig or earthquake for coverage against its two weaknesses, and either a withdraw or strong normal move like body slam. In comparison, Bulbasaur has so many more options. Pure power, setup sweeper, status support, drain stall, toxic stall. I can adjust it over the course of the game to be whatever my team needs. That versatility makes Bulbasaur my favorite and ideal pick of the three.

[@t14dann18]

@@ExaltedTilemaker Yeah, I feel like the fact that you can’t lead with him against Lorelei (ice) and Gary (pidgey evolutions) makes it feel like he’s bad end game, but really if you just avoid those, he’s still good at the end.

[@AustinAshworth]

@@ExaltedTilemaker I love the tank/utility role for Venusaur. My moveset was Mega Drain, Leech seed, toxic, and cut. Definitely came in handy!

[@ExaltedTilemaker]

​@@t14dann18 Plenty of other options to deal with them. The standout Jolteon makes those potential threats look like a joke. Plus Venusaur comes in handy against Lance for exploiting his "good AI" in red and blue if you don't have haunter or gengar.

[@tomclark362]

A trick i found against the psychic types is to use normal moves. I can't explain it ajd it makes no sense. But i took out sabrinas alakazam with 2 body slams.

[@AustinAshworth]

STAB normal type physical hits are no joke!

[@tomclark362]

@@AustinAshworth So OP in that gen. Almost as OP as thrash on Nidoking.

[@SkydrawnIV]

Someone please reply to this when a gen2 video is made

[@Alexander_KB]

Bulbasaur is easy mode, Squirtle is normal mode, and Charmander is hard mode.

[@AlwaysAiming]

You forgot to mention charmander learns metal claw at 16. I always grind up until then and it’s easy from there. Mega punch for misty. Regardless I don’t like to face the first gym until I’m level 15-16 no matter the game or starter. The earlier you grind the easier it will be later on.

[@AustinAshworth]

Metal claw was introduced in Gen 2, you’re probably thinking of the FRLG remakes.

[@AlwaysAiming]

@@AustinAshworth yea I just realized that after I comment

[@AustinAshworth]

@@AlwaysAiming Just another reason FRLG are excellent remakes haha.

[@bigdaddystep.]

Nothing after RB is canon. Which means yellow is not the definitive gen 1 version.