What are they?

Pokemon started off as a Japanese Game Boy Game in which the aim was to discover and 'capture'
as many Pokemon as you could find. There were two versions of the game with different
Pokemon to capture in each one. Pokemon themselves are creatures who inhabit grass, caves
and water in the game. The challenge in catching them was that they fought back with a
set of attacks that was determined by what 'element' the Pokemon was. There are 17 Pokemon
elements: Water, Fire, Grass, Normal, Fighting, Air, Electric, Dragon, Ghost, Bug, Earth,
Rock, Steel, Dark, Poison, Ice and Psychic. Water Pokemon would fight with attacks such as
'Water Gun' and 'Surf,' while Fire Pokemon would use attacks such as 'Ember' and 'Fire Spin.'

Levels and Evolving

Each seperate Pokemon starts off at level 1, but you will catch most of them at a higher
level than that. Every Pokemon gains 'experience points' for each battle it wins. The number
of points you get depends on how hard the battle was. When a pokemon gains a certain number
it will grow a level. Most pokemon start with basic attacks such as 'Scratch,' 'Tackle' and
'Growl' and learn better attacks when they advance a few levels. Pokemon's attacks get stronger
as they grow, too. Some pokemon change, or 'evolve' when they reach a certain level. The
Pokemon transforms into a more powerful Pokemon that is similar to the original. Some evolved
pokemon learn different attacks than their original stages. Some Pokemon evolve using special
Elemental Stones. There are four types of Stone that you can buy in the shops: Leaf Stone,
Fire Stone, Thunder Stone and Water Stone. There is also the Moon Stone. There are only
four Moon Stones in the game and they are all hidden away so that you have to find them.

What do the names mean?

Most Pokemon's names have a something to do with their appearance, element or attacks. For
example, Squirtle is a water-turtle Pokemon. See? Squirt-Turtle. And Bulbasaur is a dinosaur
with a bulb on its back. Bulb-Dinosaur. Cloyster is a shellfish Pokemon. Clam-Oyster. And
Charmander is a lizard with a flaming tail. Char-salamander.

Getting started in the Pokemon world

When you reach your tenth birthday in the Pokemon world, you recive a licence to catch
Pokemon and a Pokemon of your own. This Pokemon is either Charmander, Bulbasaur or Squirtle.
You start your adventure in either Pallet Town or New Bark town. If you start in New Bark
town, you set off into the part of the Pokemon world named Johto (Joe-Toe) while if you
begin in Pallet town you venture into Kanto (Can-Toe.)

Catching Pokemon

On your journey you will have to catch more Pokemon to help you. You do this using a Pokeball.
A Pokeball is a red and white ball which you throw at a Pokemon to trap them inside. In order to
successfully capture them without them escaping you must lower their health. There are
many different types of Pokeball. The Great Ball is the next step up from the Pokeball and captures
more successfully. The Ultra Ball is another step up and captures even more successfully. The
best ball is called the Master Ball. There is only one of these in the game and no matter what
you throw it at, it will always capture successfully (exept if you throw it at a brick wall or
something.)

Battling

In the Pokemon world there are many other trainers who are eager to battle their Pokemon against
yours. In a battle, the first Pokemon on your list will appear on screen. You have four options at
this point. You may use an attack, use an item, change Pokemon or (in the case of a wild Pokemon)
run away. If you choose an attack, you have a choice of four attacks. (Pokemon can only learn 4 attacks
at a time so you will end up having to erase some.) If you choose an Item, you have a choice of any Item
you have in your pack (excluding things such as Bicycle or Card Key.) Items are things you buy in
a shop or find lying around which help your Pokemon in battles. Potion and Super Potion will restore
some of your Pokemon's health. Pokemon have a limited number of each attack in battle and PP up will
give you back a few. Other Items such as X attack and X speed increase the attack power, speed, accuracy
and defense of your Pokemon. Pokemon only have limited health and when it runs out they faint and
are not able to battle until you heal them. Pokemon can also do damage such as Sleep, Confusion, Poison,
Paralysis, Freeze and Burn. Poison, Freeze and Burn do lasting damage every turn as well as attack damage
and only stop if you use Antidote, Ice Heal or Burn Heal. Sleep puts your Pokemon to sleep and it can't
attack until it wakes up or you use Awakening. Confusion makes your Pokemon confused and instead of attacking
it sometimes attacks itself. It will wear off after a while. Paralysis will Paralyze your Pokemon and
sometimes they can't attack. You can heal it with Paralyze Heal. If you defeat a Trainer you will get money
off them.

Getting Around

In the Pokemon world you will pass through many Cities and Towns full of people. In every town there
is a PokeCenter, which is a Hospital where they entirely heal your Pokemon for free. They even revive
fainted Pokemon. Most towns will also have a PokeMart, where you can spend your money buying Items
for your Pokemon. To travel around the Pokemon world you can ride a bike, surf on a pokemon (but only
if you get the Item HM03,) fly on a Polemon (but only if you get the Item HM02,) take a boat, take a
train or just simply walk. In some places sleeping Snorlax are blocking the road and you must wake
them up with the item PokeFlute. Sometimes you can take shortcuts through tunnels or caves.

Becoming Pokemon Master

On your journey, in some cities, you will find what are called Pokemon Gyms. They are places where
a very strong trainer set up a Gym so that people could come and challenge them. If you win a match
against a Gym Leader you get a badge. There are 16 badges and you need at least 8 to enter the
Pokemon League. The League is where the four best trainers in the world stay and if you defeat all
of them, you become Pokemon Master. Once you are Pokemon Master you are allowed into Unknown Dungeon
Cave to capture Mewtwo- The best Pokemon of all. The Gym Leaders of Kanto are: Brock of Rock Pokemon,
Misty of Water Pokemon, Koga of Poison Pokemon, Sabrina of Psychic Pokemon, Lt. Surge of Electric
Pokemon, Blaine of Fire Pokemon, Erika of Grass Pokemon and Giovanni of Earth Pokemon. The Gym Leaders
of Johto are: Falkner of Air Pokemon, Bugsy of Bug Pokemon, Whitney of Normal Pokemon, Clair of Dragon
Pokemon, Pyrce of Ice Pokemon, Chuck of Fighting Pokemon, Jasmine of Steel Pokemon and Morty of Ghost Pokemon.