287: Can't Catch 'em All

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

Lemme bring up another point. When I "completed" Painkiller - that is to say, found every secret, obtained every tarot card, and killed every single enemy - I felt "empty". (As I described it on this forum.) I think part of the reason for it was that, because I had to use the Internet to do it, it didn't feel like a "proper" victory.

And yet some of those secrets are literally impossible to find without the Internet - "City on the Water", for example, requires you to jump out over a deadly drop, AROUND a wall that meets the edge of that drop, and double back into an alcove on the other side of the wall. Unless you actually try it, there is absolutely no clue to tell you that the alcove's there; and you can't look for it without, yes, jumping out over the deadly drop. If the alcove wasn't there, you'd die, instantly and unavoidably. And there is no way to know that the alcove is there without making a leap of faith.

It strikes me that that kind of game design is something of a flaw in Painkiller itself - why put in a "secret" that is impossible to find without using the Internet? But then this kind of thing has been happening since Doom and before that. (Anybody else remember how to get the rocket launcher on level 1 of "Doom 2"?) Why do you put something like that in your game? Just to make the people who actually know about it feel more "elite"?

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

That's one of the few grievances I have with the Pokemon series:

1. Having japan get the games a full year or so before the US. Why? don't the Japanese versions have an English language setting anyways? Translating does not take that long, even if it does not.

2. Having event Pokemon be only in X country or location, self explanatory.

3. Not letting us import our save from the previous game all the damn time.

We beat the elite four and became the champion, again.

I'm tired of it, at least give us the excuse that you can't have Pokemon go between regions, and have use be the SAME guy as the last game!

You know what would solve these in one fell swoop? an MMO.

It'd solve every damned problem, the series already has MMO like gameplay and world setup, so why not?

It'd be PERFECT!

 

[Aurora Firestorm]

You know, Mew was catchable. Among all the ridiculous "omg get the Gold and Silver Pokemon out of a Red and Blue cartridge by doing this massive list of stupid things" fake cheats found online was one gem. Next to the weird runaround you could do to find Missingno was another complicated cheat that would actually get you Mew. It involved something to do with a Gambler on a certain path and dodging the battle system by using Fly, I think.

You just had to stumble on the right combination of moves, and you could get Mew without an event or a GameShark.

Also, the "why can't I complete the stupid game" answer is this: because Nintendo wanted you to be social. They wanted people to trade with each other. They wanted friends to play Pokemon together and swap critters. It's not that Nintendo hates you; it's that they were doing everything they could to make Pokemon a social phenomenon.

It's a great strategy if you ask me, and it gives a big finger to the completionists who want to finish the game All Alone.

 

[Tortoiseloz]

They should make real pokemon so we could catch em all by running around and jumping on them!

The only acheivement of pokemon games for me was that I had the only level 100 in the class on red
It was a Charizard named "Charmy" and I loved him to peices

 

[The_Echo]

That's all well and good, John, but at least you didn't have to pass through Herculean obstacle courses in order to get all the stars in Mario or all the Jiggies in Banjo.

The amount of effort one would have to put into the game in order to catch them all now (Especially with Black and White here, and their own new event Pokémon, Victini, which non-Japanese gamers probably won't have the best chances of getting.), I hardly think it'd be worth it just for a few completion points in a game that will undoubtedly become outdated in due time.

 

[Kelethor]

I heard John Funk likes Mudkips.

Oh you are just the worst kind of person. ;-;

There are no bad people. Only bad memes.

I was offered the chance at a shiny magmar via Cheating the other day. and now, im glad I didn't take it. Thanks John Funk!

 

[Keepitclean]

I caught all of them on every version I had. Since where I lived there was very few children let alone children with Game Boys I very rarely had a chance to trade.

There was none of these special Pokémon events in my country either.

 

[Apathetic Flamingo]

Mew actually CAN be found in the Red and Blue games, without hacking, without cheating, and without going to a tournament. It's convoluted, and doesn't sound like it would even work, but I've tested it. I couldn't believe it worked.

www.gametrailers.com/video/episode-7-pop-fiction/706469

EDIT When Red and Blue came out, me and my older brother had opposite copies, (I had Blue and he had Red.) so we helped propel each other to being Pokemon masters. At the time, we had no idea about the way to get Mew back then, so we chalked him up to Pokemon we CAN'T get. We were little kids back then, and our parents wouldn't take us to the only tournament in the city that ever happened. So, when you can't go to a tournament, I think you can still be considered a Pokemon master, because it's unfair. There was only ever ONE tournament that was anywhere near my home back then.

 

[Unorthodoxx]

I once caught them all on Red version, but back when I was young I seemed to care more about getting them all to their max level. Now a days I like having a well structured team, and I've taken to favoring ghost type pokemon over others. The thought of obtaining everything doesn't really cross my mind.

 

[Xavisam]

ahh this brings back the memories,

as a kid i never actually own a proper pokemon game, but i did have one of the multigame cartridges with pokemon on it. i was so obsessed with pokemon i would buy large packs of batteries and play pokemon, earning as many badges as i could before the batteries ran out (because you couldn't save on the multigame cartridges) and repeat untill i was out of batteries

pokemon's pulling power is amazing, and in retrospect very creepy

maybe, its that awesome theme song?

 

[Daedrin]

I had all 150 of the original within a year of Red+Blue coming out. I was rather into Pokemon, if you didn't figure that out. Started collecting the cards and so forth. Somewhere near the end of that year though, the schoolyard rumours of the 151st pokemon started. Some sort of small cat is what that weird nerdy kid told me. I played a few more Pokemon games before finally moving on. Yet, I never did get myself a Mew. Legit or cheated.

Until recently. I bought HeartGold to try to get my yearly dose of nostalgia in. Then Kotaku reported that the anniversary was coming up and to celebrate...you could get your very own legit Mew. I finally got one. I finished my collection. You can keep your ancient bio-cybernetic lifeforms with lasers. I have all 151 Pokemon.

Finally.

 

[Bloodstain]

I know exactly what you mean.
I've given up on catchining 'em all quite a while ago.

The pokédex that becomes incomplete with every new generation just goes against my perfectionist nature.

Mew actually CAN be found in the Red and Blue games, without hacking, without cheating, and without going to a tournament. It's convoluted, and doesn't sound like it would even work, but I've tested it. I couldn't believe it worked.

www.gametrailers.com/video/episode-7-pop-fiction/706469

The trick that's mentioned at the end of the video is possible, I did it. That's the way I got Mew.
Although the instructions I followed said it has to be very specific trainers you do the trick with.

 

[Axzarious]

Technobabblestuff

If the shiny entie your talking about is the one that actually gives entei a viable moveset..

In response to the thread, yeah, I did complete my pokedex in emerald and diamond I believe. at least in the D/P/P series, they had the courtesy that you merely had to encounter the pokemon, and it was a certian number benchmark you had to achive, which excluded some of the event ones like arceus.

Unfortunately, I dislike the events where you have to be there physically... And the complete lack of them in most countries. I can say I support said hacking if its the only way you can get the pokemon... (Lack of physical event and wifi both fall under this rule).

Then again, you could just use smogons shoddy battle system or whatever its called. Complete customization at your fingertips!

 

[HK_01]

There's actually a way to catch Mew without using a module or anything of the sort. You need to start a new game and follow very specific instructions and you'll encounter it and can catch it. I don't really consider that cheating. I did it. After that though, I cloned it so I could give Mews to my friends...

 

[blarghblarghhhhh]

Catching them all is absolutely not impossible.

I have all 493 in my SoulSilver version. Not a single one is hacked or gamesharked.

It just takes time.

A lot of time.

.... And the ability to trade on Wi-Fi. : )

Trading RNG/Pokeradar shinies for legendaries = profit!

im going to call your bluff. Celebi has only been given away one time in america, possibly twice but it was a long time ago either way. the chances of you having one of those are not very likely. It has been given away in japan but its holding a ribbon that makes it un-tradable over wifi. Not only that but you cant trade online for pokemon that arnt in your pokedex and its impossible to see a celebi in any recent pokemon game. You could buy a japanese version and have already downloaded the event celibi and traded it into an american version I suppose but I consider that cheating.

 

[blarghblarghhhhh]

I'm from Australia.
We hardly ever have Nintendo events.

Do you know how bummed I am that American Gamestops are offereing Shiny Enteis, Suicunes and Raikous? Which will unlock Zorora if transfered to Black/White? And a Celebi? All this month!

I only have a Jirachi and Mew (Which, don't get me wrong, is awesome. I just miss out on ALL the others which is a bummer)

just keep waiting the events will swing your way. they dogs and celebi tie into the new movie. its premiering feb 5th in america. find out when its premiering in australia and you will find out when the pokemon are coming.

 

[Ophi]

Catching them all is absolutely not impossible.

I have all 493 in my SoulSilver version. Not a single one is hacked or gamesharked.

It just takes time.

A lot of time.

.... And the ability to trade on Wi-Fi. : )

Trading RNG/Pokeradar shinies for legendaries = profit!

im going to call your bluff. Celebi has only been given away one time in america, possibly twice but it was a long time ago either way. the chances of you having one of those are not very likely. It has been given away in japan but its holding a ribbon that makes it un-tradable over wifi. Not only that but you cant trade online for pokemon that arnt in your pokedex and its impossible to see a celebi in any recent pokemon game. You could buy a japanese version and have already downloaded the event celibi and traded it into an american version I suppose but I consider that cheating.

I believe you assume that I used the in-game GTS in Goldenrod city.

I did not.

I used friend codes/the WiFi room.

There, you can be traded Pokemon you have not yet seen, and Ribbon event Pokemon, with people all over the world. All you need is their friend code.

There are numerous websites online that are filled with people seeking to trade legit Pokemon through friend codes.

My Celebi, and Arceus, are Japanese and both from legit events.

 

[Erana]

"Catch 'em All!" is one of the worst things to happen to pokemon. That, and how some pokemon will always just be so much better than others.
I know they make money 'n such, but pokemon should be about playing with your favorites and discovering all the little mysteries- of course, without the aforementioned problems, its still too big for that.
Most people now know all the pokemon available before the game even hits shelves in Japan...

 

[Gilhelmi]

An excellent and well written article, As usual. Thank you Mr. Funk.

 

[Uszi]

Nah.
I would never have tried twice to get all of those Pokemon. I was never that concerned with fully completing my pokedex -- that stopped after ruby/sapphire when you had to catch that goofy fish that would only spawn in 1 in 98 blocks of water in a very specific area. It seems slightly... dishonest to me. It's breaking the 4th wall in the worst kind of way---come to this specific game convention to get this specific Pokemon, game marketing at it's worst.

Good article though. Don't feel bad. Pretty sure everyone used Missingno. to cheat back in the old school days.