PC
A PC (Japanese: パソコン personal computer) is technology used in all of the main series Pokémon games. They are found in every Pokémon Center, as well as in any main character's bedroom, in all Secret Bases in the form of a laptop, and sometimes in other buildings as well. Their primary purpose is for storing Pokémon and items.
Networking
PCs are shown to be networked throughout a region, and require special systems in place to connect between regions, as is shown in the Sevii Islands, where Celio and Bill work together on the Network Machine to allow Sevii PCs to be able to connect to Kanto's computer network. However, the issue is not present in communication between Kanto and Johto; however, this network was set up entirely by Bill, and due to the compatibility, are likely in fact a single network. Also, despite not being in Kanto or Johto, the PC in the Sinjoh Ruins can still connect to the Kanto and Johto network.
PC functions
Pokémon Storage System
- Main article: Pokémon Storage System
Every Pokémon Trainer is allowed to access a Pokémon Storage System set up by either Bill in Johto and Kanto, Lanette in Hoenn, Bebe in Sinnoh, or Amanita in Unova. Until the player meets the regional PC developer, the option will be known as "Someone's PC", while afterwards, it will be known as the developer's PC (Bill's PC, and so on). They can withdraw or deposit Pokémon in a series of boxes, allowing them to own more than the six permitted in their team. When a Pokémon is captured and the party is full, it is sent directly to the last box accessed on this part of the PC. In Generation V, post-game, additional wallpapers are awarded.
Pokédex Checking
In almost all Pokémon games, the player can use a PC to have the Pokémon Professor of that game check the progress of the player's Pokédex. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the professor that checks the progress of the Pokédex changes from Professor Rowan to Professor Oak upon obtaining the National Pokédex. However, in HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Pokégear takes this purpose instead.
Item storage system
In Generations I, II, and III, rather than having to access a community database, item storage is done on the player's own personal computer, noted as player's PC. The system is a bit simpler than that of Pokémon storage, and does not have multiple boxes to organize items. Also, unlike Pokémon storage, when an item is found but the bag is full, it will not automatically be sent to this part of the PC (Such does occur in Colosseum and XD however). Mail that is taken from a Pokémon will also be stored here from Generation II onward.
In Generation IV, this function is no longer necessary since the bag has nearly unlimited space for all items. Instead, the personal PC manages only mail, seals, and photosWrong template. See Template:Sup/doc..
In Generation V, with the dropping of seals and photos, it's only function is to store mail.
Hall of Fame
- Main article: Hall of Fame
This function only becomes accessible after defeating the Elite Four. It shows up to 25 records of past victories over the Elite Four.
Decorations
In bedrooms and Secret Bases, the PC has a secondary purpose of managing decorations.
Saving
In Pokémon Colosseum, PCs also function as save points. This feature was removed in Pokémon XD, which retains the "save anywhere" feature of every other main series game.
Battle Box
In Pokémon Black and Pokémon White, this function allows you to store a separate team of six Pokémon to use during the Random Matchup mode.
In the anime
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The PC is not frequently used by Pokémon Trainers in the anime, since Professor Oak tends to keep Ash's extra Pokémon at his laboratory, and in the Best Wishes series for Unova-native Pokémon, at the laboratory of Professor Juniper's. and other characters tend to keep theirs at home. However, it is sometimes used for communication instead of the video phones; for example, in Beauty and the Breeder, it is shown that Brock uses e-mail on the PC to keep in contact with Suzy, and May mentions to her mother in Hi Ho Silver Wind that she keeps in touch with her friends by e-mail, along with phone calls and letters.
Also, in the episode The Ties That Bind, Ash is shown using a PC. He looks up for Gary Oak's profile.
Lastly, Nurse Joy and many officials for the Pokémon League and Pokémon Contests are often shown using PCs. The PCs in the anime are shown to have graphical user interfaces similar to Mac OS. PC's were also used in Casting a Paul on Barry! where Paul used it to get information on Barry's Pokémon and vice-versa it was also used by Ash in the same episode to look up info on Conway and Conway then used it to study Tobias.
Glitches
In Generation I, there was an invisible PC in a hotel in Celadon City. This fact is explained by the close resemblance between the hotel and a Pokémon Center. This was less a glitch, and more likely an oversight by the programmers, who may have forgotten to remove the code to activate the PC at that particular point, though the sprite of the PC itself is no longer there. This "glitch", like most of the others, was removed in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. In addition, when Missingno. is encountered, it will corrupt the Hall of Fame data.
Also, the cloning glitches of Generation II and Generation III both need specific actions taken when using a PC in order for them to work.
