Pokemon Yellow: Playthrough Part 3

The trek continues! We get two more badges and the team continues to grow as we pick up all three Red/Blue starters.

We left off last time just before entering Vermilion City. I was able to play quite a bit since then so the story-line has advanced somewhat. I picked up the Bike Voucher and Old Rod in the town, healed up and set off to the SS. Anne!

Onboard the SS. Anne make sure you take out every trainer, the extra experience at this point is a god-send and once the SS. Anne leaves it is gone for the rest of the game (unless you glitch it but I won't be). There are guests trainers in most of the cabins, two sailors on the ship's bridge and a great ball in the trash in the kitchen. Eventually you make your way to the Captain's quarters - but first you're stopped by another fight with Gary.

Gary's team has been upgraded since we last saw him but shouldn't be too easy to take down. His Spearow has evolved to a Fearow but Pikachu jolts it pretty easily still. I'm not sure when he evolves Eeevee but not yet! Once Gary is taken down we go into the Captain's quarters, he is sick so we rub his back to try to make him feel better. He is grateful but doesn't feel up to showing our Pokemon how to CUT so he just gives us HM 01 (Cut). After this point if you leave the ship it will sail away (the Glitch is to leave a trainer battle to this point and then loose, you will then be back at the Pokemon Center, the SS. Anne will sail away if you ever visit it and then leave without a whiteout later in the game).

If you have surf (only acquired later in the game) you can go right here and there is some area to walk around on and a truck that does nothing.

Now that I have Cut some more of the game is opened up to me, and I am able to back-track should I so wish. First things first though, Vermilion City's gym. I taught my Charmeleon Dig which, being at Lvl 26 at this time, he is able to use to one hit KO all the lower trainer's Pokemon, and Kill Lt. Surge's Raichu in two hits. After sweeping the gym I talked to the Police woman in the center of town who asked if I would take care of a Squirtle that she had caught being mischievous.

The Team continues to grow, one more starter to go and I actually already passed it.

I took off to the right of town, past the SS. Anne's dock and the Cave to train Squirtle (and to take down all the trainers there). Once all those trainers had fallen I entered Diglett's cave (taking down a few Digletts got Squirtle to Lvl 16 and his evolution to Wartortle) which comes out back in Pewter City (behind some cuttable bushes). At this point there are a few things you can grab that were not accessible before:

• There is a person sleeping in a Grove in Viridian City behind a cuttable bush, they will give you the TM for Dream Eater.
• There are a few items along the path to the right of Viridian Forest (which you can now bypass)
• HM 05 (Flash) is available if you have caught at least 10 kinds of Pokemon from one of Professor Oak's aides in a building on that path.
• There is a back entrance to the Pewter City museum behind a cuttable bush to the right, you can get OLD AMBER here, but it's not usable until much later.

If you have a Clefairy there is a guy south of the Diglett Cave in Pewter who will trade for a Mr. Mime he named Miles.

Once I grabbed all the goodies I took back through the tunnel to Vermilion, and then back north through the Underground to Cerulean.There is a cuttable bush to the right of town that blocks the passage to the Rock Tunnel that we can now get through - but first I need to get Bulbasaur. There is a woman in one of the town's buildings (just to the left of the Pokemon center) who has Bulbasaur and agrees to give him to me to train, I believe I probably could have got him right after beating Misty but it slipped my mind.

The last starter and along with Pikachu and Pidgeotto a formidable team.

Now off to the Rock Tunnel, there are several trainers along the way and I am able to get Bulbasaur to evolve into Ivysaur before we get ready to enter the tunnel. The tunnel is dark and needs flash to light it up, I don't want to waste one of Pikachu's move spaces on Flash so I teach it to Miles, my new Mr. Mime (and put Mankey in the computer).

I saved just before the Rock Tunnel but then decided to keep playing!

Rock tunnel, with it's large number of rock Pokemon, was good training for Wartortle and Ivysaur allowing them to just about catch up to the rest of the team by the time we were through. I made sure to get all the items and face all the trainers as I didn't want to be coming back. We arrived in Lavendar town and I took out the trainers on the way to the Pokemon Center. After healing I set off to the west, took out the trainers in the way of getting to the underground, and made my way to Celadon City.

Celadon City has a lot of little things to explore, first I went around the north of town to the back entrance to one of the buildings to pick up Eevee (I decided not to have her join my team just leaving the 5th slot open). Then I went to the Department story roof, grabbed 1 of each drink and an extra Fresh Water. The little girl there gives a really good TM (Ice Beam) for one of the drinks along with two other TMs. I taught Ice Beam to Wartortle and went to the west of town, behind the cuttable bush to get HM 2 (Fly) from the woman in the secluded house which I taught to Pidgeotto.

Celadon's gym is all women with all grass type Pokemon. Charmeleon and Pidgeotto make easy work of all the gym trainers and then the leader herself for one of the easier badge pickups in the game. Next I went to the bar on the south of town and found a guy who lost all his money gambling, he gives me his COIN CASE (which means I can gamble now too if I want) so I head off to the slots! We run into Team Rockett at the game center, turns out there is a multi-level basement full of Team Rock grunts (and items!) eventually leading to another fight with Jessie & James and then our first fight with Team Rockett's mysterious leader - Giovanni. He is fairly tough for this point in the game but not too bad, mostly ground and normal so Ivysaur/Wartortle each get a kill and Charmeleon/Pikachu mop up. 

The team after taking down Giovanni and the Cemetery Tower.

After his defeat, Giovanni gives us the Silph Scope so now we can head back to Lavender town and take on the Cemetery Tower (you can also go to Saffron City if you give that extra fresh water to one of the guards). Cemetery Tower is a lengthy trek with quite a few trainers but they all have pretty weak ghost Pokemon so it's not too taxing. The Silph Scope reveals the major ghost at the end to be a recently passed Marowak (who you have to battle to send on it's way) and if you are lucky while climbing the tower you can catch a Cubone (he's supposed to be looking for his mother).

After the Marowak fight we face Jessie and James again! They must be getting tired of loosing by now. We talk to the man at the top of the tower who says he was there to try to calm Marowak's ghost (which we just did) and he teleports us to his house (back in Lavendar town). Talking to him again gets us the Poke Flute (which will wake up any pokemon in battle - or the Snorlax blocking us from advancing)

That's all for now, I've really only played probably 15 hours really playing - still high for this point in the game but I like to try to get everything and keep my Pokemon at higher levels than they need to be.

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We've hit another tipping point to the game where a lot more area is opening up and I can also use Fly to get from place to place a lot quicker. I hope to get another session in tomorrow since I have Monday's off of work - expect to see my take both routes south to the Coast after seeing what trouble I can drum up in Saffron City. If we can get to the point where we get Surf I'll want to back track and pick up some goodies before moving on to the Islands.

Hope you're enjoying the tale, I'm having a blast reliving it! Keep an eye out for the next game log and let me know if you have any questions or comments on your own adventures in Kanto!