Pokémon Blue Version (Japanese)

This article is about the Japanese release. For the North American release, see Pokémon Red and Blue Versions.

Pocket Monsters Blue (Japanese: ポケットモンスター 青) was the third Pokémon game released in Japan, on October 10, 1996. It was released as a minor revision of Pocket Monsters Red and Green, which were released during February of the same year. Various fixes including a graphics upgrade and the removal of known glitches in the previous games were also implemented. The game also provided the engine for the North American releases Pokémon Red and Blue.

Pocket Monsters Blue was initially only sold to CoroCoro subscribers.

Plot

Like Pocket Monsters Red and Green, at the beginning of the games players can choose Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle as their starter Pokémon from Professor Oak. They cannot catch any of the starters or their evolutions in the wild or by trading with in-game non-player characters; therefore, to complete the Pokédex with all 151 featured Pokémon, the player must link games and trade with other players, as well as attend Nintendo Events. The basic idea of each game is to become the best trainer in all of Kanto; this is done by raising Pokémon, defeating the eight Gym Leaders for Gym Badges, and eventually challenging the Elite Four and the Champion, the player's rival. Also, throughout the game, the player will have to battle against the forces of Team Rocket, a criminal organization that uses Pokémon for evil, and will eventually face off against their leader, Giovanni.

The player, known by default as Red, has a childhood rival, who happens to be the grandson of Professor Oak. This character's default name is Green. He will battle the player at certain points in the game to test the player's Pokémon; being defeated is an indication for the player to level up his or her team. He will always choose for his starter a Pokémon that has a type advantage over the player's chosen one. For example, if the player chooses Charmander, a Template:Type2 Pokémon, he will choose Squirtle, a Template:Type2 Pokémon, giving it an advantage over the Fire-type Charmander.

Features

Changes from Red and Green

• Catch rates were adjusted.
• Cerulean Cave was redesigned; its layout in this game being that which was implemented in the North American releases Pokémon Red and Blue.
• In-game trades were reworked.
• Most Pokémon sprites were redesigned.
• Rocket Game Corner prizes were altered.
• Select Pokémon only obtainable through in-game trades could now be caught in the wild.

Gyms

As in Pocket Monsters Red and Green, there are eight Pokémon Gyms in Kanto, each with their own type affiliation. The Gym Leaders are Brock (Rock), Misty (Water), Lt. Surge (Electric), Erika (Grass), Koga (Poison), Sabrina (Psychic), Blaine (Fire) and Giovanni (Ground).

Elite Four

The Elite Four, located at the Indigo Plateau, also remained unchanged. The Elite trainers are Lorelei (Ice), Bruno (Fighting), Agatha (Ghost) and Lance (Dragon); the Champion is Green, who has Pokémon of mixed types.

Pokémon

Each game contains pre-recorded data on all 151 Pokémon of this generation (including Mew). Despite this, not all Pokémon are available to the player, regardless of version; trades must occur between players in order to complete their Pokédex without the use of cheats. Mew is the only Pokémon in Pocket Monsters Red and Green that must be acquired through the use of attending a Nintendo sponsored event, as the Mew glitch found in Red and Green was removed for this release.

Pokémon not found in Blue

These Pokémon must be traded from the other Japanese games of Generation I, as they cannot be found in Pocket Monsters Blue.

Nintendo Event exclusives

The following Pokémon are available only after having been transferred to a player's cartridge at a Nintendo sponsored event.

Trivia

• It is worth noting that following trades with the old men in Cerulean City and Cinnabar Island in Pokémon Red and Blue, they claim the Pokémon traded to them "went and evolved," despite the fact that this makes no sense whatsoever for Raichu or Poliwhirl. This is explained by the text of the game being taken directly from Pocket Monsters Blue, where the claim of evolution after those trades indeed makes sense.

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