Pokemon FAQ
What is Pokemon?
Pokemon are little critters (well, not all of them are little) that run across the world. They are like animals with superpowers and abilities, like being able to breath fire or pump gallons of water from cannons attached to their backs. Some might even make it rain or snow on the spot. For all you know, there might be a cute Vaporeon sitting on your lap one second and a huge tital wave destroying the whole neighborhood the next. Coincidence? I think not. xD
So I heard there was thing called 'catching' them.
And so you are right. Pokemon are caught in special balls called 'Pokeballs'. Pokeballs come in different forms, like Great Balls, Ultra Balls, Net Balls, ect. You first have to weaken the Pokemon in battle, then you throw a Pokeball at it when it's weak enough. When a Pokeball is thrown, a red laser-like thing shoots out of a button-thing and surrounds the Pokemon in energy. The Pokemon struggles inside of the ball, causing it to roll and rock around. The Pokemon is caught if the ball becomes still. Rather cruel in my opinion; squeezing Pokemon in air-tight balls. Ah well, I guess Nintendo can think of an excuse of how Pokeballs are actually really comfy for the Pokemon.
Okay, I caught them. So they're like stuck in there forever? How do I get them out?
To tell you the truth, I have no idea how trainers get the Pokemon out of their Pokeballs. I guess there's this weird telepathic link between the trainer and the Pokeball, and the Pokeball opens up whenever the trainer wants it to. Then again, there seems to be a different case with Misty and her Psyduck...
Are Pokemon dangerous?
Well, besides the fact that they have the ability to breath fire, create tital waves, and mess with your brain, Pokemon aren't really that dangerous. Charizard has singed Ash for the millionth time, but it there never seems to be any major damage done... hm... There's also the fact that their powers never seem to have a permanent effect on the environment. You'd imagine that a huge wave would send the whole place to ruins, but the environment always seems to stay standing. Not only that, the water seems to disappear magically as well. o_O So no, I wouldn't call them dangerous. A bit scary I must say, though.
How long do Pokemon live?
A question that I have always been interested in. It says on Ninetales's flavor text that it can live for a thousand years. I guess that's considered a long time. But then again, Pokemon don't exactly 'die' either. They do get old, I guess, based on that Machoke with a bad back that an old man owned in one of the anime episodes.
Evolution? *pokes*
Yes, indeed! Pokemon would be no fun if they didn't get any better. "Evolution" is the process of changing from one Pokemon to a new, stronger Pokemon. There are different ways Pokemon can evolve; the most common being leveling up to a certain level or using one of the elemental stones. Really, evolution is supposed to be a process that takes millions, if not billions, of years. But in the Pokemon world, evolution takes only about thirty seconds and making Pokemon evolve is just a matter of patience.
LEGENDARIES??? *stabs*
Ouch.... x_X Anyway, like every other game, there has to be some "supreme" creature of all and in Pokemon, those supreme creatures happen to be the legendaries. There is only one of each legendary, so if you defeated one, you won't run into another one. There is usually two main legendaries, one that stars in each of the games. For example, the main legendaries in the GSC generation are Lugia (starring in Silver) and Ho-Oh (starring in Gold). Below them, there is a single legendary with stats that add up to 600 (like Mew in the RBY series). And, below that is a trio of sub legendaries, with stats that add up to 580. They are usually given a name, like the legendary birds for Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres (my favorite out of all the trioes). Lately, Nintendo has gotten a nack of making more legendaries than usual. Namely being Groudon and Kyogre, and Latios and Latias. These legendaries just make it even harder to complete the Pokedex. Evil Nintendo. >:[
Ah, okay. Are all legendaries available in a game?
Unfortunately, no, which is why I said that the more the legendaries the harder it is to complete the Pokedex. Usually, half the legendaries for a generation are split in half in each of the games (like my Gold, Silver example). The sub legendary (like Mew) is usually unobtainable by just playing the game. You either have to 1) use Game Shark to hack them in there or 2) go to an Nintendo event. The trio of legendaries usually are supposed to be available in both games (thank god).
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