Pokémon Vortex
Pokémon Crater is a Pokémon RPG that is played with just a mouse. Registered players can click on maps to gain Pokémon and battle with a computer-controlled player to raise their Pokémon's levels. The site was created by webmaster Aaron in 1999. Since then, it has undergone a number if changes, and is now at Version 6.1. Today, players can walk around a map and battle the members around them, though the actual opponent is may still be controlled by the computer. Before version 4.0, only one Pokémon would be used by each trainer in all battles. However, now the aim is to beat a team of up to six Pokémon, though switches are not allowed until either one faints.
Additional features include battling Gym Leaders to collect badges and battling anime characters. Healing items can be bought, along with Pokéballs. Master Balls are available, though they are actually closer to the Ultra Balls of the game. Each member of any species of Pokémon will always have the same four moves, which can be checked using the site Pokédex. The main aim is to get onto the Top Trainer's list and/or complete the Pokedex, though that is a very hard feat to manage.
The site has its own unique Pokémon, a Dragon/Ice Pokémon called Dragonice. Dragonice evolves at level 100 - a level easier to reach than in the games - into the Dragon/Fire Pokémon Dragonire. Until Shiny Pokémon were added, Shiny Scyther was a novelty, as this was Aaron's favorite Pokémon. Both Dragonice and Shiny Scyther could be found in a house on the maps at a specific time. In Version 4.0, the houses are no longer there. This means that Dragonice can only be found in the wild, though it is rare. Shiny Scyther is the same as any other Shiny Pokémon, and so is just as rare. They also have three special class Pokémon, Dark Pokémon, Metallic Pokémon and Ghostly Pokémon.
Alongside the game, at one time the site had a fairly busy message board. These were to talk and get help about the game, as well as talking about Pokémon and more general topics. The moderators, who usually worked with little interaction with Aaron, had a hard policy against spam, and were prepared to ban those who did not follow the list of rules. The boards were removed during a big upgrade in August 2004, and the bards are currently up and running again. In the anti-spam climate of the time, those who did post properly were noticed, and many were recruited to a private club, named Valthors by its creator, Vandurer. However, with the major source of recruitment closed down, after a year the club became largely inactive.
