Pokemon Craft DX Books

Alright, I don't speak or read Japanese, so much of the information on this site will be culled from unreliable secondary sources and my own interpretation of the visuals.  That being said, I would really like to talk about the Pokemon Craft DX books, despite not really understanding what is happening.

I don't know how many of these books were made, but there are at least two in the series, with the more general introductory book being the most well-known.  Paper crafts are a do-it-yourself style of art that involves folding a paper template into three-dimensional characters (and ten putting them somewhere nice so they don't get crushed).  The first book includes a little story/how-to guide featuring the three main trainers from the games.  Based on the number of items in the table of contents, I assume this book comes with 5 character templates.  Although I only have scans of the Pikachu template, I think there were also Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle templates as well (due to their inclusion in the comic).

As you can see, Red is joined by the unused female trainer.  Now, since this book came out in 1998, audiences would only be familiar with this character via the Pokemon Special manga, where her name is Green (Blue in Japan).  The art style however is closer to the original Sugimori drawings, so she isn't the exact same character.  This Green seems to be a lot more bubbly and nice than her manga counterpart.

I...have no idea what is happening in this story.  Red's mood is shifting erratically from panel to panel.  The paper the trainers keep passing around is blank, so I don't know if they are fighting over what they should do with it or if one of the templates is already on the paper.  Whatever the case is, the trio is very passionate to make these paper creatures even though they have the real creatures right next to them!

Red is being knocked around really badly by this turn of events.  Paper crafts can elicit many an existential crisis.  I've also noticed that Green and Blue are paired with their traditional starters while Red now partners with Pikachu (and Bulbasaur just hangs around).

Some people have called this an origami book, but origami doesn't involve scissors and glue.  Instead we get a complicated template to carefully cut out.  This isn't really a hobby I'd be interested in so I would rather keep the pages intact than damage this rare book to make the creatures.

Based on the ending of the story (which comes after all the templates) I'll assume that the fifth paper craft is actually for that green stadium/pedestal looking thing, rather than another Pokemon.  It also comes with a little placard, so you can pretend you've received a major award when showing this to your house guests.

The other craft book I've seen focuses on Electric types and features templates for Pikachu, Magnemite, and Zapdos at least.  Interestingly, the Pikachu template is different from before, featuring two components to the body instead of one.  I don't know the reason for the change.  Maybe the comic explains.  Or maybe the trainers just get too excited about paper again.

 

So what have we learned?  Well, if you're looking to fulfill your fix for folding paper into the shape of Pokemon or you need to complete your collection of material that features the elusive missing girl trainer from the original games, here's the book for you!  Otherwise, you can probably make cooler creations on your own.

Pallet Town

Bulbapedia Article (All images borrowed from Bulbapedia)

Overview

 Pallet Town Theme Music

Ah, Pallet Town.  The starting point of every young Pokémon trainer in the late '90s.  While the layout is simple, it provides a charming atmosphere and suggests that a great journey is about to unfold.

We meet all of our key players here.  Red (or Ash or Satoshi) begins in his room for a quick chance to play his SNES and then is given his mother's blessing to go off on a journey (because Stand By Me is playing on television, and those boys don't encounter any horror whatsoever).  Next door, at the Oak residence, young Daisy (or May or Nanami) is checking out the Town Map while her brother Blue/Green (or Gary or Shigeru) is off at Professor Oak's lab awaiting his first Pokémon.  But Oak (or Orchid or Okido) won't show up until you try to leave town.

Oak's Theme Music

Where was he before this moment?  Since the only other way in/out of town is the south beach, I'll assume he just rode in on a Lapras, despite arranging to meet Red and Blue at the lab.  At any rate, you wind up at the lab (after Oak catches a Pikachu in the Yellow version) and from there you can select your first Pokémon.

Laboratory Theme Music

But who shall you choose?  Let's weigh our options:

Bulbasaur - Lv. 5 - Red/Green/Blue

Bulbasaur presents one of the easiest options of the four choices, since it can easily handle Pewter Gym and Cerulean Gym early on.  It does have trouble in Viridian Forest, however.  But, as with all of the RBY starters, Bulbasaur and its evolutions will become a strong main fighter throughout the game filling the grass slot on the team nicely.  And a Leech Seed/PoisonPowder combo is always great.

Charmander - Lv. 5 - Red/Green/Blue

Charmander is a popular choice, due to it's ability to become Charizard, but it will encounter the hardest obstacles in the early game.  Viridian Forest will be fine, but Petwer Gym, Mt. Moon, and Cerulean Gym will give it hassle.  But all of that persistence will pay off once Charizard is able to crush nearly anything in its path later on.  Plus, Fire types are rarer to come by.

Squirtle - Lv. 5 - Red/Green/Blue

Squirtle is the other popular choice for players.  It's more reliable that Bulbasaur as it's not only strong during the beginning, but it continues to be strong up until the final gyms as well.  In speed runs, Squirtle/Wartortle/Blastoise is often the sole Pokémon that gets the player through the game.  When I first got the Blue version of the game, Squirtle was my first choice.

Pikachu - Lv. 5 - Yellow

If you're playing the Yellow version, you are stuck with a Pikachu that doesn't evolve, which isn't great in terms of strategy.  The kid in me loves this choice though, and I recently tracked down a used copy of Yellow just so I could have him as my main team partner.  Although the unevolved Pikachu won't get stronger until Generation II, it still is a fun choice.  But Pewter Gym will give you trouble.

After making your selection, your adorable jerk of a rival challenges you to your first fight.  It shouldn't be too difficult, but it is a great way to suddenly learn the basics of this new world.

Rival's Theme Music

And with that, you're off!  Eventually you'll return to deliver a package, pick up your Pokédex and grab the Town Map from Daisy, but basically everything that needs to be done in Pallet Town is done.  Why you are in charge of chronicling all the species in the world is anybody's guess, but it's going to be a fun challenge!

Other Thoughts

- The grassy areas on the sides of Pallet Town have become the stuff of legends.  They are tantalizingly close and look as if they hold many secrets.  I would have liked to have seen some of the rumors become true, as an unlockable bonus after beating the game.  We could finally have a field to catch an extra Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle or even a Mew!

- When the Yellow version was made, it mades some changes to reflect the anime's storyline, but I would have liked to have seen some additions from the mangas as well.  Instead of only having a Pikachu to start with, I would have liked a choice that featured a Clefairy and Jigglypuff as well (like in Pokémon Pocket Monsters and Magical Pokémon Journey).  Those three characters always go together in my mind.  Also, Nidoran and their secondary evolved forms seem to roam around Pallet Town in the manga versions.

- Oak's lab in the anime serves as a Pokémon sanctuary for his proteges' extra Pokémon   It would have been nice to expand the area beside the building to visit those other Pokémon which were not being carried in the player's party.

- Overall, Pallet Town is a lovely beginning to the game and entire franchise.  It's simple.  It's quaint.  And it fills me with great joy every time I return.