Let's All Play: Rebirth #2 - Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow

Fire up your Pokédexes, choose your starter (unless you're playing Yellow, natch) and let's jump back to where it all began. Pokémon Red and Blue first launched around 20 years ago and introduced us all to the wonderful world of Pokémon - an accessible monster-catching RPG brimming with character and designed around catching monster and battling your mates with them. Yellow followed soon after: based on the wildly popular Pokémon anime, Yellow used the Game Boy Colo(u)r's extra oomph and used sprites in full colour and took elements from the anime and incorporated them into the game world.

Twenty years on, the Generation One trilogy is available for download on 3DS, so what better game - or rather, games - to pick for Let's All Play's second installment but these Pokéclassics.

Let's chat about our quests to become Pokémon masters - whether it be catching them all, becoming champion or simply remembering the days you first played the original Pokémon games.

What version did you guys pick up? I've started with Yellow myself. I've not had too much time to sit and play it yet, but I've started off with Tesla the Pikachu and promptly kicked Gary's smug arse before wandering into Viridian Forest. How are you lot getting on? I'm really interested to hear from those who didn't play these when they first came out.

Just had a thought: which starter does Gary pick in Yellow? I played Red back in the day and Blue back in the now, I literally have no idea (and would rather find out from one of you guys instead of some impersonal search engine).

I'm about to brave Viridian Forest with six of my seven 'mon, having chosen Periwinkle the Squirtle to begin the game. I'll post up my team in a bit but the main gist of my playthrough is me always being on the verge of tears of nostalgia.

Gary has an Eevee in Yellow, as I recall.

I'm pushing my way through Mt. Moon right now, with Miller the Squirtle, Statham the Beedril and Picard the Pikachu. I'm thoroughly enjoying myself all over again. As Zero touched on on Twitter, it blows my mind that Pokémon runs on a machine that once thought Super Mario Land was the height of sophistication.

I'm in a similar spot to both Jay & Zero, not really had time to Yellow yet which Gary does get Eevee which is the same as the anime?

I also have Blue on my shiny new (not Nintendo's meaning of New) Blue anniversary 2DS.

They never outright show you what Gary got in the animé.

I'm powering through this, and just got the fourth gym badge. I'm at the part of the game where there's a definite lull, I'm in the Team Rocket hideout and fighting loads of Raticates and Zubats. Once I'm past this but though, I'll start enjoying it again much more. It's still a great game.

I'm weighing up changing my team about, and adding Doduo at the expensive of Nidorino or Growlithe. Any thoughts?

D'you know, I never liked Doduo? It always seemed to get wasted really quickly when I used it. Still, Dodrio looks badass. Also, at least you can get Dodrio through normal levelling up - the other two you mention need Stones for that. So, yeah. I'm rambling.

If I had to choose one, I would say 'Nidorino', but I am by no means an expert.

I hate Doduo and Dodrio because the first time I tried to name all the Pokémon during a dull shift at work, they were the buggers stopping me getting 151.

I'd need to see the rest of Cappa's team, but I can't imagine a big brown normal-type bird pulling his weight over fire or poison dogs.

Tri-Attack is a monster of a move though, if I remember rightly.

Gary's Eevee is really interesting - if you beat him in Oak's lab and the optional battle near Viridian City, his Eevee evolves into Jolteon. Lose or miss one, it's Flareon. Lose or miss both, it's Vaporeon. Basically, if you're playing crap, the game gives you an advantage as it expects you to use Pikachu to maul Vaporeon.

Right now, I've got a Lv. 24 Gyrados, Lv. 25 Growlithe, Lv. 26 Nidorino, Lv. 28 Ivysair, Lv. 29 Clefairy and a Lv. 30 Hypno. I used Nidorino to blast through the first four hours of the game, but I've not preferred using him since before I got the third gym badge.

I'd lose Nidorino. If you feel desperate to poison something, you've got Ivysaur.

I'd keep Nidorino and get yourself a Moon Stone and evolve him. Nidoking is a beast.

I've never used one of the Nidoroyalty, despite them looking cool. I ought to fix that!

Off the top of my head - I try not to use Google for these threads, keeps the threads feeling like a genuine video game book club, so to speak - I think Nidoking is more offensive whereas Nidoqueen is built for taking the hits. They're both solid picks though!

I'd have to go Nidoqueen; smash the patriarchy, and all that!

Brock can effing do one, I was playing Yellow really for the first time whilst watching Kinda Funny. Went through the forest caught me a lvl 6 Pidgey went to the gym and then I remembered Pikachu is electric and Brock is rock. That I've now caught a Caterpie and Nidoran as that's all I've seen part from some Metapod's and there all like lvl 5 avg part from Pika who's lvl 14 that I've got go grind to get there levels up or head back to viridian city and head on the league route to see if I catch some decent Pokemon there.

I thinking I'm going to ditch Nidoran but keep Caterpie to use Butterfree which is a Mon I've never used before but has a few psychic attacks.

Yellow was all about catching a Mankey near Viridian City for me as a kid! Low Kick is always the answer for Brock!!

My Squirtle is destined to make short work of La Brocke.

I'm excited to read all this! I'll join in shortly, but I thought I should finish Mother first. Unfortunately I've been proper sick this week. I'm missing out

I can see this thread having legs, so I wouldn't worry on missing out Jimbob!

The more the merrier, Jimminy Jim Jim!

I always totally forget you can go left from Viridian, so I don't have a Nidoran or a Mankey or anyone like that. I did just beat my rival in Cerulean, however, and what a battle it was! His Pidgeotto managed to overpower Pikachu and Wartortle, but it was on such a low ammount of health Beedril finished it off. Beedril then went on to take out Rattata and Abra without incident, leading to a one-on-one showdown between his level 17 Bulbasaur and my level 17 Beedril. I just cinched it.

I never grind in Pokémon games for the reason you mention. I think part of the fun of Pokémon is having those tense battles with your rival or the Gym Leaders.

Just wallowing in the game, to be honest - coming up to two and a half hours in and I've not got a badge yet!

But... but how?!

I like to catch 'em all in each area before moving on. I am going to try the first Gym soon, though, with my motley crew of colourful birds, insects and Squirtle. I was going to say 'Think of Squirtle as my ace in the hole', but it'd be more accurate to say 'Think of Squirtle as the only card I'm holding'.