If you don’t know what Pokémon is in the modern pop culture lexicon, you’re either lying or just woke up from a nap that started suspiciously right before Pokémon came out. It’s fine, we won’t dig too deep into your personal life, but the point is that it’s impossible not to have at least heard about Pokémon nowadays. It’s a franchise so big that even Nintendo’s flagship struggles to pull Pokémon numbers consistently. The series is beyond itself, encompassing toys, video games, and even stage plays. This is a franchise that transcends gaming, summoning newcomers from all walks of life.
Of course, with any series that has grown throughout time, certain details tend to get lost in the fold. Now that Pokémon makes up over seven Generations and decades of content, newcomers won’t be familiar with the earlier games, and veterans will start to misremember details. This is something that looms over Generation I discourse quite a bit. It’s been so long since said games were popular that we’re all starting to forget what Generation I was really like — the good and the bad of it all.
30 Generation I Was Red And Green In Japan
For many, Generation I is made up of Red and Blue, the two games that started it all. This isn’t an incorrect statement, at least for that first half. Considering the international versions of Generation I were repped by Charizard and Blastoise, many were introduced to the series through Red and Blue.
It’s worth remembering, though, Blue did not release alongside Red in Japan. Rather, the original versions of Generation I were Red and Green. Charizard and Venusaur were the actual mascots, and Blastoise only got his own version later down the road. Though that in itself is an interesting story.
29 Blue Was The First “Third” Version
In the same way many erroneously assume Red and Blue were the actual start of the series, many assume that Yellow was the first third version. While it laid the foundation for what third versions would become later in the franchise’s run, the real first third version was none other than Blue.
It all began with Blue.
Developed as a means to iron out the kinks with the first batch of games, Blue removed several glitches and fixed some design elements. When it came time to localize Generation I in the west, Nintendo chose to use Blue as a base, swapping Green out for the improved version.
28 Blue Is Green And Green Is Blue
Hardcore fans of the series know that there is no Gary Oak outside of the anime. Rather, the rival in Generation I is named Blue. Well, no, his name is Green. Although that’s also the name of the female protagonist from the manga. Except her name is Blue in Japan, isn’t it? Well, funny story…
Pictured: Blue/Green
Since Green wasn’t localized outside of Japan, Nintendo chose to name their rival “Blue” to match the version the west was getting. When it came time to translate the manga, the female Blue was renamed Green to keeps things consistent. In reality, though, Blue is Green and Green is Blue!
27 Gen I Was Going To Have A Female Protagonist
If you dig through concept art from Generation I, you’ll find quite the interesting concept left on the cutting room floor: a female protagonist. Shown consistently alongside the player character and the rival, a young girl is always depicted typically with a Squirtle. She is clearly meant to be the third major character in the Generation. This is only given more credence by the fact that her design was used by both the manga adaption AND the anime’s opening. She was meant to have a proper role, but was cut from the game at some point in development.
26 Rhydon Was The First Designed Pokémon
Even though Bulbasaur is the first Pokémon in the Pokédex, he actually wasn’t the first Pokémon designed by Game Freak. Bizarrely, the first was actually Rhydon. If you’ve ever wondered why so many of the placeholder sprites in Generation I look like a Rhydon standing up, it’s precisely because Rhydon was the design basis for everyone that came after him.
Back in the day, this was actually one of the more popular pieces of trivia surrounding the series, but time has interestingly obscured it. It’s quite fascinating what distance from the source can do to information. Nowadays, few fans know that Rhydon was the first designed Pokémon in Game Freak’s lineup.
25 Clefairy Was The Original Mascot
Another piece of trivia that was quite popular in the day, but has since lost its prominence, is the fact that Pikachu wasn’t always the series’ mascot. Originally, it was Clefairy. This wasn’t just some design intention that got changed, either. Promotional material for Gen I, going so far from commercials to a promo manga, feature Red using a Clefairy as his signature Pokémon. It was only when the anime was gearing up that Game Freak swapped Clefairy out for the arguably more popular and aesthetically compelling Pikachu.
24 Nintendo Thought Pokémon Would Fail
Believe it or not, but there was a time where Pokémon wasn’t a guaranteed hit. In the build-up to Generation I’s release, Nintendo genuinely believed that Game Freak’s passion project would not be able to recoup its losses. It would be a modest success at best and the world would move on from Pokémon.
Humble beginnings for a series that literally prints money.
It goes without saying, but Nintendo was proven wrong and Game Freak created what is arguably the most lucrative video game franchise of all time. For a bit of extra trivia, Game Freak actually believed Generation II would mark the end of the franchise as the staff felt it was very unlikely lightning would strike twice. Boy, did the world prove them wrong.
23 Psychic Types Were Overpowered
Due to a design oversight in Generation I’s code, Psychic Types ended up being super effective against the one Type that was meant to do serious damage against them: Ghost Types. Not only were Psychic Types naturally quite strong with high stats and insanely dangerous moves, Ghosts weren’t actually able to take them out anymore. So long as you had a single Alakazam, it was totally possible to dominate Generation I like it was child’s play. The Psychic domination got so bad, Game Freak was forced to introduced two new Types into Generation II just to rebalance Typing.
22 Rock Isn’t Immune To Electricity
One of the biggest misconceptions in the series, and this isn’t just exclusive to Generation I, is the belief that Rock Types are immune to Electricity. This is a misbelief bred specifically from the Trading Card Game lumping Rock and Ground Types together while Yellow made the first Gym incredibly difficult for Pikachu.
It won’t be very effective, but it’ll still connect.
Since Pikachu is at an inherent disadvantage during Brock’s Gym, and Brock is more associated with being a Rock Gym Leader than Ground in the west, it has been more or less ingrained in the minds of players who began with Generation I that Electricity is inherently useless against Rock.
21 You’re Not Meant To Fight Brock With Pikachu In Yellow
Interestingly, this does speak volumes to Yellow’s very specific design in regards to the first Gym: you aren’t meant to use Pikachu. It’s quite clear that Brock’s Gym is designed to teach players to rely on Pokémon other than their starter. You’re forced to go out and catch something that will stand a chance against Brock. It’s simply impossible to brute force your way through with Pikachu. That’s not bad design, at all. It’s quite clever in that it’s one of the few instances in the series where the games nudge you towards actively ignoring your starter in favor of a balanced team.
20 Yellow Was An Anime Tie-In Product
As influential as Yellow ended up being for the franchise, pioneering the model that all third versions would lift off of for the remainder of the series, it did not come out from Game Freak as a passion project. Quite blatantly, and even cynically, it was little more than a tie-in to cross promote the anime while making money off a reimagining of Generation I. Of course, Game Freak was still passionate and their passion shows in how true to the anime the game is, but it very much doesn’t have the same Generation defining qualities as later third versions.
19 Yellow Was The Canon Version For Years
Despite Game Freak’s very business oriented approach to Yellow, its inception did not stop it from being considered the definitive version of Generation I for years. As Red uses a party made up of all the Kanto starters in Generation II, and including gift Pokémon he got through his adventure, Game Freak more or less confirmed that Yellow was Red’s definitive adventure.
The Pokémon timeline just keeps getting more confusing.
The Generation II remakes in Generation IV also seemed to indicate this was the case despite using Fire Red’s design as the new model for Red. It wasn’t until Let’s Go solidified Red as someone who chose Bulbasaur as his starter that Yellow’s role was brought into question.
18 Red Isn’t Ash
On the subject of Red, it’s worth noting that Red is not Ash. In fact, Ash isn’t even based off of Red passed some very minor design similarities. Where Red is actually stoic in personality by design, Ash is energetic and friendly. Where Ash is an above average trainer, Red is a legitimate Pokémon Master.
Many fans erroneously believe that the main character of Generation I is meant to be Ash, but Red and Ash are very much their own entities. They’re comparable, sure, but the anime staff clearly designed Ash to be independent of Red. Even in Yellow, Red only bears a passing resemblance to Ash.
17 Hyper Beam Doesn’t Work Properly
Hyper Beam is Generation I is disgustingly broken. So long as it knocks out the Pokémon it’s aiming for, you do not need to recharge Hyper Beam. This is a design oversight that completely dominated the metagame, making it virtually impossible to create a good setup to counter Hyper Beam or without Hyper Beam. Later Generations fixes this, thankfully and rightfully, but this is something very much worth keeping in mind if you plan on revisiting Generation I in the near future.
16 Leech Seed Couples With Poison And Toxic
Whether by design or not, the fact Generation I allows Leech Seed to do extra damage against an enemy with Poison or Toxic inflicted upon them is an insanely cool feature. With the right move pool, you can create a strategy around poisoning your opponents only to follow up with Leech Seed. Not only will you drain their health far more than you would otherwise, you’ll also be giving yourself a free heal every turn. If you’re ever struggling in Generation I, just remember what you can do with a feature that may or may not be a design oversight.
15 Too Many Buffs Will Tank Your Stats
While Leech Seed’s ferocity may very well be deliberate on the part of Game Freak, stat rolling isn’t. Stat rolling essentially refers to how the numbers in the game can only go so high. Once they pass a certain threshold, they reset. Unfortunately, and scarily, this does apply to stats. Should you use too many buffs on a Pokémon with high stats, you run the risk of said stats rolling over back down to 0, basically turning your buff into the mother of all debuffs.
14 It’s Possible To Soft Lock Your Game
Have you ever wanted to get permanently stuck late into a video game with no means of progressing, rolling back your save, or having anything even remotely resembling fun? Probably not, but we’re going to tell you how to do it anyways. So long as you never got a fishing rod, just go to Cinnabar and release all your Pokémon save for one without Fly or Surf. Congratulations! You’ve now stranded yourself on an island with no way of getting off! To make things even worse, get rid of all your Pokéballs and spend all your money on Potions you won’t need.
13 There Is No Way To Get A Legitimate Mew
Although there’s a very famous and easy to pull off exploit to get Mew in Generation I, it’s important to recognize that we’re specifically using the term “exploit.” From a design standpoint, Game Freak never actually intended for fans to catch Mew in-game. The fact you can at all is an oversight.
Mewtwo’s better anyways.
While the Virtual Console release on the 3DS does add a legitimate means of getting Mew for your Pokémon Bank, it’s not exactly in-line with the rest of the game. As is, Generation I has no real way of giving you a Mew that isn’t either backed up by glitches or the developers throwing fans a bone.
12 Mewtwo Was The Series’ First Post-Game
Game Freak has always done a great job with post-game. Ever since Generation II, we’ve all known to keep playing after the credits have rolled. While not every post-game is as luxurious as revisiting Kanto or tackling the massive Battle Frontier, they’re always guaranteed to be more than just a glorified epilogue.
Except in the case of the very first, often overlooked, piece of post-game: Mewtwo. One final challenge for players, Mewtwo could only be accessed after defeating the Elite Four. While his dungeon was long, it wasn’t particularly difficult, and the rest challenge came from trying to catch Mewtwo. Humble origins for a concept that would go on to help define the series.
11 Professor Oak Comes For Your Rival, Not You
When Professor Oak says he came once he heard “you” beat the Elite Four, he isn’t actually talking to you, but to his grandson. Oak walks in literal seconds after you defeat the Elite Four, suggesting some kind of superhuman speed on his part when, in truth, Oak had heard his grandson won much earlier than you arrived and just happened to show up just as you beat your rival. It’s a bit humiliating for Blue, all things considered, but he gets to be a Gym Leader in the next game so it works out.
