Generation I

The first generation (Japanese: first generation; ポケットモンスター赤・緑シリーズ Pocket Monsters Red and Green Series) of Pokémon games, commonly referred to by fans as Generation I, is the initial set of Pokémon games released.
This generation started with the Japanese games , later joined by . These three games were combined into the international . The special edition was later released as well. Two side games were also released: the and its sequel, released internationally as Pokémon Stadium.
==Terminology==
The Japanese name 「ポケットモンスター赤・緑シリーズ」 (Pocket Monsters Red and Green Series) has been used in the pokemon.co.jp website, referring to the games Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, , and .Pocket Monsters Red and Green Series - Pokemon.co.jpGames - Pokemon.co.jpGame List - Pokemon.co.jp
Although the term "Generation I" is usually considered , it was used in the cast commentary for , and the subtitles give the Roman-numeral form.
==History==
The Generation I games were developed beginning as early as 1990 from an idea that Satoshi Tajiri had thought of and pitched to Nintendo with the help of Shigeru Miyamoto. The inspiration for many of the key mechanics introduced in this generation came from Tajiri's childhood interest in bug collecting, with the trading system between two Game Boys being thought of when he imagined a caterpillar crawling across the Game Link Cable between two systems.
This generation was localized into English, with initial attempts to keep the Pocket Monsters name for international use blocked due to the franchise leading to the release as "Pokémon". Further alterations made in the localization included the combination of Red, Green, and Blue into the English versions of , using Red and Green's wild Pokémon encounter lists but Blue's slightly improved graphics. The simultaneous release of the games and led to an almost-overnight surge in popularity, cementing the Pokémon franchise firmly as a Nintendo mainstay alongside and .
Two battle arena games were released in this generation: the mostly-incomplete Pokémon Stadium (Japanese), which went unreleased outside of Japan and only allowed use of 40 Pokémon, and the improved Pokémon Stadium, which featured several special battle modes and a Gym Leader Castle where players could take their fully-trained teams for matches against the Kanto Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and .
The games proved popular enough that, eight years after their original release, they received remakes in the form of , as the original versions are incompatible with Generation III and onward. Pokémon Yellow received a remake twenty years after its original release in the form of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
The storyline of the Kanto region is contemporaneous with the Hoenn story of Generation III, as revealed by details in both the Hoenn-based games as well as the of Generation I. The storylines of the Generation II and Generation IV games occur three years after this generation, with details about this link explicitly noted throughout the Johto-based games.
==Gameplay==
Generation I introduced the key Pokémon gameplay elements which have remained to this day, as well as a system of game releases now considered by fans to be the "standard formula". While many of the features enjoyed in the more recent generations are later additions to the series, the following have their origins in Generation I:
* The has a party of up to six with them, which can be used in against opponent Pokémon Trainers or wild Pokémon.
* A PC-based Pokémon Storage System, made up of 12 boxes of 20 Pokémon each and developed by Bill, a Pokémon fanatic, is available to store reserve Pokémon not in the party (up to 240 total).
* , with many related to each other by way of evolution.
* A complex system, including:
** Five stats—HP, Attack, Defense, Speed, and Special—which each Pokémon has. Different Pokémon have different stats, even among the same species.
** 15 different types, which each Pokémon species has inherent to itself.
** , restricted to four per Pokémon, each with its own type, accuracy, and base power.
* The Pokémon League challenge, consisting of Kanto's eight Pokémon Gyms, scattered across the region with each specializing in a different type, and the Elite Four and Pokémon Champion, awaiting challengers at Indigo Plateau.
* A linked trade and battle system between two Game Boy systems, allowing players to exchange Pokémon they caught for a Pokémon owned by another person or to battle against each other to test their skills. Some Pokémon have to be traded so that they can evolve.
==Region==
===Kanto===
Generation I introduced the first region to the Pokémon series, which, though unnamed in the original English games, is named in Japanese as Kanto, after the . The name has since passed into English, first being used in Super Smash Bros., and subsequently being noted in all games since.
====First partner Pokémon====
At the outset of the player's journey, he will have no Pokémon on hand, and venturing outside of Pallet Town is impossible, as Professor Oak will stop him and bring him back to his lab, where three Pokémon await both the player and his rival.
The first partner Pokémon of the Kanto region began the recurring three-type trio of , , and , with the player's choice being between , , and . Much as in later generations as well, the rival will choose whichever of the three has the type that is super effective against that of the player.
The choice of a first partner Pokémon can make the beginning few Gyms change in difficulty, but it does not affect much in the long run aside from the rival's party. Bulbasaur is known by many to be the easiest to start with, as its Grass-type weakens the first two Gyms and resists the attacks of the third. Squirtle is known as the second easiest, as Water types also weaken the first Gym; however, it can prove difficult mid-game if the player has not caught a Pokémon that can resist the later Gyms. Charmander is widely regarded as the hardest of the trio, as Fire-type moves do little damage against the first two Gyms' Pokémon, and there are few opportunities to capture a Pokémon that can counterbalance its weaknesses against the first several Gyms.
							
							
							
							
							
							
In , instead of the normal trio found in Red, Green, and Blue, players can only start with the Pikachu, which likewise has difficulty with the first Gym. The rival will take Oak's and evolve it into one of its three stone-based evolutions depending on the results of the player's battles against him.
====Gym Leaders====
The eight Kanto Gym Leaders each specialize in a different type of Pokémon. Each gives the player a Badge and a TM after their defeat.
					
					
==Comparison==
Generation I can be considered the template for every generation since. Many mainstays of the main series games were introduced in Generation I.
Some aspects introduced in this generation are found in every generation since, unless otherwise stated:
* The choice between three first partner Pokémon that have , , and as their primary types.
* A Pokémon Professor named after a tree who gives the first partner Pokémon and a Pokédex to the .
* A villainous team serving as the main antagonists of the game.
* A rival who starts their journey at the same time as the player, and is fought multiple times throughout the game. Some later games include more than one rival.
* The player challenges eight Gym Leaders, as well as the Elite Four and Pokémon Champion.
** This is not the case in , and , where Gym Leaders are replaced by the island challenge. There is also no current champion in these games, so the player battles Professor Kukui/Hau instead.
** This is not the case in , where the Elite Four is replaced by the Champion Cup.
* The player is able to have six Pokémon with them at most, while additional Pokémon can be kept in the Pokémon Storage System.
* The ability to and trade between games.
* Evolution via leveling up, trade, and Evolution stones. Other Methods of Evolution were introduced in later generations.
* . Other species were introduced in later generations.
* 15 types. Other types were introduced in later generations.
* 165 moves. Other moves were introduced in later generations.
* A prototype of the friendship system was introduced in , which only worked on the player's (specifically, any Pikachu with the same Original Trainer and Trainer ID as the player in that game). In Generation II, the friendship system was expanded to cover all Pokémon.
Some aspects introduced in this generation have been revised since:
* In Generation I, the Bag had only 20 slots, and each item or stack of items occupied one slot. This forced the player to constantly store obsolete Key Items, TMs, and HMs in the in order to obtain new items. Later games would expand the Bag's storage space and provide additional Bag pockets to organize items. Starting in Generation IV, the Bag's storage is effectively limitless and can store all obtained items, obviating the need for the Item Storage System.
* In Generations I and II, the player was unable to capture any more Pokémon if the current box in the Pokémon Storage System was full. Starting in Generation III, the player could use Poké Balls while the current box was full. If a wild Pokémon was captured in this circumstance, the next box would become the current box, and the captured Pokémon would be sent there.
* In Generations I-IV, TMs are single-use while HMs can be used an unlimited number of times. Starting in Generation V, TMs have unlimited uses as well (outside of ).
* In the Generation I, the HMs , , and are required for completion of the games. They may also be used to access optional areas. All Generation II–VI games also require some HMs for completion. Starting in Generation VII, HMs are not present at all, being replaced by the Poké Ride/Secret Techniques. In Pokémon Sword and Shield, there is nothing akin to HMs, except for the Galar Flying Taxi, a service where a cab flown by a Corviknight can bring the player anywhere with an open roof. In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, HMs can be accessed through the Pokétch.
* In Generations I-III, physical and special moves are determined by the move type. For instance, all moves are special. Starting in Generation IV, physical and special moves are determined by the move itself, rather than their type.
* Special is a stat that existed only in this generation. In Generation II, Special was split into Special Attack and Special Defense.
==Battle system flaws==
The battle system of the original games had some game balance issues, mainly due to the limited variety of Pokémon type combinations and movesets. Additionally, the behavior of multiple mechanics was inconsistent with their implementations in later games. Issues and mechanics that were fixed or altered in either the Pokémon Stadium series or in Generation II are listed below.
===Balancing issues===
* Pokémon were strong because their moves were resisted only by other Psychic types and their only weakness was to the type, of which there were only three damaging moves: , , and . Additionally, most of the Pokémon that learned these moves were part and therefore weak to Psychic moves. moves, while meant to be super effective, were completely ineffective against Psychic types due to what may be a programming bug. Even if this were to be disregarded, the only supereffective Ghost-type move would be , whose power was only 20 at the time, and the only Ghost-type Pokémon that existed at the time were also part Poison-type.
* Pokémon were strong, as their only weakness was to the type. Most Fighting-type Pokémon couldn't learn many STAB moves other than , which was inaccurate and dealt recoil damage, and they were difficult to use due to the presence of strong Psychic-type Pokémon. Normal-type Pokémon learn many moves of other types and could often use moves such as or to defeat Ghost-types and s that resisted their Normal-type moves.
* The only damaging move was the set-damage . This meant that Dragon-type Pokémon could never take advantage of STAB, and that the only moves that could hit them with supereffective damage were moves.
* The strongest move was , which only had a base power of 65 and can only be learned by a few Pokémon.
* The stat represented both Special Attack and Special Defense, giving Pokémon with a high Special stat an edge in battle. For example, had a base Special stat of 100, used (considered "Special") moves, and was weak to mostly Special types.
* Critical hit ratios were based on a Pokémon's base speed, allowing faster Pokémon to deal critical hits more frequently.
** One-hit knockout moves were also based on speed, making them useless if the user was slower than the target.
===Battle glitches===
* and used the same damage counter, allowing Leech Seed to drain twice as much damage when a Pokémon was affected by both at the same time.
* and Dire Hit divided the user's critical hit rate by 4 instead of multiplying it by 4.
* Using or Swords Dance while or ed, respectively, would negate the status impairments from those effects and then double the enhanced stat.
* If knocked out a Pokémon or destroyed a , the user would not need to recharge on the succeeding turn.
* and did not make the user faint if they destroyed a Substitute.
* Although removed status conditions, it would not alleviate the stat debuffs caused by a burn or paralysis.
* If a user was hit with a status move before its attacking turn, the damage dealt would equal that of the last attack used against it.
* If a Pokémon's HP was 255 or 511 (or any number that leaves a remainder of 255 when divided by 256) points below its maximum, HP recovery moves like and . This is because the game only checks the low byte of the 16-bit value.
* When a Pokémon was hit by a move that did not deal neutral damage, the message that displayed would reflect only the matchup against one of the target's types.
===Mechanical issues===
* Critical hits would ignore all stat changes, including increases to the attacking Pokémon's Attack or Special and decreases to the target's Defense or Special. This can result in a critical hit dealing less damage than an attack that does not land a critical hit.
* could be used in response to or to instantly defeat an enemy Pokémon, even if the move hit the user's .
* Moves lost their additional effect after they broke a , preventing a Pokémon from fainting after using to break a substitute.
* With the exception of , every attack had at least a 1/256 chance of missing.
* , , , and immobilized the target for 2 to 5 turns as a side effect. If a Pokémon that used one of these moves switched out, the target would still be considered trapped during that turn.
* was programmed with offensive properties instead of being programmed to ignore type matchups, making it ineffective against types.
* Waking up from sleep took a full turn.
* Using Substitute while having 25% or less of one's maximum HP left would cause the user to faint.
* As soon as connected, the user would become unable to use any other move until it fainted. Subsequent uses of Rage would not consume PP, and if the user misses a subsequent Rage due to accuracy reduction or the target's increased evasion, the move's accuracy would become 1/256.
* Multistrike moves dealt the same amount of damage for each hit in a turn, meaning that if the first hit was a critical hit, the other hits would be critical hits as well.
* In-game opponents had infinite PP, meaning they could use moves without limit.
* In-game opponents with certain AI patterns will always use moves typed to be super effective against the target, even when those moves do not deal damage directly.
==Kanto thematic motif==
The first generation of Pokémon games dealt with genetics and engineering. Several Pokémon in this generation revolve around this theme: is capable of evolving into multiple forms due to its unstable DNA; is the result of a Poké Ball experiment gone awry; and is a virtual reality Pokémon. These games also introduce three Fossils which can be resurrected into prehistoric Pokémon: , , and . Finally, out of the four legendaries that appeared, the most powerful was man-made through genetic engineering: . The uncatchable Mythical Pokémon, , also has the DNA of every Pokémon in existence. 
Bill himself invented the sophisticated PC used in most regions and accidentally turned himself into a Pokémon. could also mimic the abilities and structure of any Pokémon it encountered, making it capable of breeding with most Pokémon from Generation II onwards. The Master Ball is the most powerful Poké Ball in the franchise, and was first engineered by Kanto scientists. With this generation being the very foundation of the Pokémon franchise, most successors have only expanded upon Kanto's basics.
==Title screens==
On the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console releases of the Western versions of , Game Boy Color mode is enforced.
===English title screens===
====Game Boy Color====
			
			
====Super Game Boy and Game Boy Tower====
			
			
===Japanese title screens===
====Game Boy Color====
			
			
====Super Game Boy and Game Boy Tower====
			
			
==Trivia==
* Of all the generations, Generation I introduced the most moves to the core series, with 165. It is also the only generation in which the total number of moves is greater than the total number of .
* Alongside Generations II and , Generation I is one of the shortest generations in the West and is currently the shortest.
* Prior to Generation VI, Generation I had the most extra space in the Pokémon Storage System if the player captures one of each Pokémon, with 240 spots available for 151 Pokémon, therefore leaving 89 extra spots.
* Prior to Generation VIII, Generation I was the only generation not to feature the paired versions' mascots on the title screens, but instead included the first evolutionary stages of two first partner Pokémon.
* Generation I is the only generation in which:
** There is no female player character.
** None of the game mascots are Legendary Pokémon.
** Pokémon by index number order are in order of creation instead of by Pokédex number. The last Generation I Pokémon to be created, , was instead placed in the first slot that was dummied out prior to release.
** was not the most common type, as a plurality of Pokémon are .
* The Japanese releases of the Generation I games mark the only generation where two solitary core titles were released ( and ).
* Generation I is the only generation to have multiple pairs of remakes of its core series games.
===Character names===
* , , , Baoba, and Reina were introduced as unnamed characters in this generation.
** Red, Blue, and Daisy had their names introduced in Generation II. Daisy was previously named May in The Electric Tale of Pikachu manga before she received her definitive name in the games.
** Baoba had his name introduced in Generation IV.
** Reina remained unnamed in the games, but was named in Pokémon Origins.
* The members of the Team Rocket were simply referred to as "Rocket", with no mention of the word "Grunt" in this generation.
** In Generation II, the designation "Rocket Grunt" was introduced. In Generation III, this was expanded to "".
* Jessie and James appear as unnamed characters in , although their names were already known from .
** In the core series, Jessie and James were first named in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!.
* In this generation, the individuals from each such as , , etc. are not named.
* In the Japanese games of this generation, there is a shorter name for most Trainer classes that is seen when the respective Trainer is defeated in battle. For instance, the Youngster ( Shorts Youngster) and Lass ( Miniskirt) are abbreviated as Shorts and Miniski, respectively.
==References==
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