PC: Difference between revisions

A PC (Japanese: パソコン Perso Com) is technology used in all of the Pokémon RPGs. 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.

PC Functions

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, or Bebe in Sinnoh. 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.

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. 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 unlimited space for all items. Instead, the personal PC manages only mail, seals (D/P/Pt), and photos (HG/SS).

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.

In the anime

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 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.

Also, in the episode The Ties That Bind, Ash is shown using a PC. He looks up for Gary's profile, when all of a sudden, the computer crashes. On the screen, it shows a bomb exploding, and then it shows multiple pictures of Gary's face.

Lastly, Nurse Joy and many officials for the Pokémon League and Pokémon Contests are often shown using PCs.

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.