Options: Difference between revisions

The picture used in this intro section is unsatisfactory. Please feel free to replace it so it conforms to Bulbapedia conventions. Reason: Needs picture from Generation VI

The Options (Japanese: 設定 options) menu in the core series Pokémon games provides the management of settings that the player can modify to change aspects of the game. It can be accessed by selecting the corresponding entry on the menu. The available settings differ throughout the various games.

From Pokémon Red and Green to Pokémon Emerald, the Options menu can also be accessed from the title screen. It is no longer possible to do this in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen and in any game from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl onwards.

List of options

In every game

Text Speed

Text Speed (Japanese: 話の速さ text speed) is the setting that controls the speed of the text in the speech box. There are three available speeds: Slow (Japanese: 遅い slow), Normal (Japanese: 普通 normal), and Fast (Japanese: 速い fast). The default speed is Normal.

Prior to Pokémon X and Y, the Normal speed is called Medium in the English versions, being rendered as MID from Pokémon Yellow to Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.

Battle Effects

Battle Effects (Japanese: 戦闘アニメ battle animation) is the setting that controls the appearance of battle animations. There are two available states: On (Japanese: みる view) and Off (Japanese: みない do not view). The default state is On.

In Pokémon Red and Blue, the setting is called Battle Animation. In Pokémon Yellow, it is simply called Animation. From Pokémon Gold and Silver to Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, it is called Battle Scene.

In the Japanese Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, the setting is called せんとうアニメーション (note that アニメーション is the full form of アニメ anime, and that the latter is the form used since Pokémon Yellow). Also in these games and in the Japanese Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal, the On state is called じっくりみる show and the Off state is called とばしてみる hide. In the Japanese Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, the setting is called せんとうエフェクト battle effects.

Battle Style

Battle Style (Japanese: 試合のルール game rules), rendered as BattleStyle in Pokémon Yellow, is the setting that controls the switching of Pokémon in-between one Trainer's Pokémon fainting. There are two choices: Switch (Japanese: いれかえ switch), which allows the player to call a different Pokémon when the opposing Pokémon faints, and Set (Japanese: かちぬき knockout), which will have the next Pokémon immediately sent out. The default choice is Switch but in a Double or Triple Battle, the battle style will always be Set.

In Generation IV, if the choice is Set and the player's Pokémon is knocked out against a wild Pokémon, the player will be forced to send out his or her next Pokémon without being given the option to immediately escape.

The Switch choice is called Shift in the English versions of games released before Pokémon X and Y. In the Japanese Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, and Gold, Silver, and Crystal, Switch is called いれかえタイプ switching type and Set is called かちぬきタイプ knockout type.

In specific games

Sound

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: What are the differences between the three earphone choices in Yellow?

Sound (Japanese: サウンド sound) is an option that appears from Pokémon Yellow to Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. This setting controls how audio is played through the speakers of the handheld. In most games, the player can choose between Mono (Japanese: モノラル monaural) and Stereo (Japanese: ステレオ stereo). The default choice from Pokémon Yellow to Pokémon Emerald is Mono, having been changed to Stereo from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl onwards. Mono sets the audio to one sound channel so that the same sound comes out of both speakers, while Stereo sets the audio to use two sound channels so that different sounds may come out of different speakers to give the illusion of audio coming from different directions.

In Pokémon Yellow, instead of Stereo, the player can choose Earphone1 (Japanese: イヤホン１ earphone 1), Earphone2 (Japanese: イヤホン２ earphone 2), or Earphone3 (Japanese: イヤホン３ earphone 3).

Print

Print (Japanese: プリントのこさ print density) is an option that only appears in Pokémon Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal. This setting controls the contrast of prints through the Game Boy Printer. There are five available choices: Normal (Japanese: ふつう normal), Darker (Japanese: ややこい darker), Darkest (Japanese: こい dark), Lightest (Japanese: うすい light), and Lighter (Japanese: ややうすい lighter). The default choice is Normal.

Menu Account

Menu Account (Japanese: メニューせつめい menu explanation) is an option that appears exclusively in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. This setting controls whether or not descriptions appear for the menu functions. There are two available states: On (Japanese: ひょうじする display) and Off (Japanese: ひょうじしない do not display). The default state is On.

Frame

Frame (Japanese: ウインドウ window) is an option that appears from Pokémon Gold and Silver to Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. This setting controls the appearance of the border around text boxes. The default frame in every game is Type 1 (Japanese: タイプ１ type 1).

In Generation II, there are only eight different schemes, but there are ten in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen and twenty in Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald and all of Generation IV.

Button Mode

Button Mode (Japanese: ボタンモード or ボタンのモード^RSE, translation: button mode) is an option that appears since Generation III, although it is notably absent from Generation V. This setting controls the handheld's button configuration for the game.

In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, there are three available modes: Normal (Japanese: ノーマル normal), LR (Japanese: ＬＲ), and L=A (Japanese: Ｌ＝Ａ, or かたて^FRLG single-handed). In Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Normal is renamed to Help (Japanese: ヘルプ help), since pressing the L or R buttons opens the help menu, which contains essential tips about the game for the player. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, Help is renamed back to Normal and LR is replaced with Start=X (Japanese: ＳＴＡＲＴ＝Ｘ), wherein the player can use the Start button instead of the X button to bring up the menu. This choice is removed in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, leaving just Normal and L=A as available choices; these remain as the only available choices in the reimplementation of the setting in Pokémon X and Y.

The default mode in every game is Normal.

Confirm/Close

Only in Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, a Confirm^DP (Japanese: けってい^DP confirm) or Close^Pt (Japanese: とじる^Pt close) option was added to save the Options menu's settings. Pressing the B button does not save them, though in Pokémon Platinum, the player is prompted to confirm any adjustments made to the settings.

Character mode

Exclusively in the Japanese versions starting in Pokémon Black and White, a new option called character mode (Japanese: 文字モード) is available. This setting controls whether the game displays only kana or also kanji. The two available choices are, in kana-only mode: ひらがな (hiragana) and かんじ (kanji); in kanji mode, they are: ひらがな (hiragana) and 漢字 (kanji). The default choice is ひらがな.

From the Japanese Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 onwards, character mode is the first thing to be set right after starting a new game on the title screen menu, although it can still be configured later in the Options menu. Here, the player also has two choices: かな (kana) and 漢字 (kanji).

Despite Generation V being the first generation in which the Japanese versions can optionally use kanji in addition to kana, all Japanese core series games since Generation I have included the kanji for the yen (円) due to its use as the game currency. In contrast, the currency in the international releases is the Pokémon Dollar and its symbol is $.

Save before IR

Save before IR (Japanese: ＩＲのレポート IR report) is an option exclusive to the Generation V games. This setting controls whether the game is saved or not before C-Gear enables infrared connectivity. There are two available choices: Save (Japanese: 書く write) and Don't Save (Japanese: 書かない do not write). The default setting is Save.

Battle BG

Battle BG (Japanese: 戦闘壁紙 battle background) is an option exclusive to Pokémon X and Y. This setting controls the appearance of the background used in battles, a graphical element first introduced in Generation III.

There are fifteen different backgrounds for the player to choose from:

• Default (Japanese: デフォルト default)
• Red (Japanese: レッド red)
• Blue (Japanese: ブルー blue)
• Pikachu (Japanese: ピカチュウ Pikachu)
• Starters (Japanese: はじめての３たい the very first three)
• Eevee (Japanese: イーブイ Eievui)
• Monochrome (Japanese: モノトーン monotone)
• Stickers (Japanese: ポケモンシール Pokémon Seals)
• Tatami (Japanese: わふう Japanese style)
• Floral Print (Japanese: はながら floral pattern)
• Elegant (Japanese: エレガント elegant)
• Tall Grass (Japanese: くさむら tall grass)
• Polka Balls (Japanese: ドット polka dots)
• Cockpit (Japanese: コックピット cockpit)
• Carbon (Japanese: カーボン carbon)

The default background is Default.

Forced Save

Forced Save (Japanese: 通信レポート communication report) is an option exclusive to Pokémon X and Y. This setting controls whether the game is saved or not before Player Search System battles and "other communication features". There are two available choices: Save (Japanese: 書く write) and Don't Save (Japanese: 書かない do not write). The default setting is Save.

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.