As an adult it's so easy to poke holes in the Johto roster, but as a kid it didn't feel like half of these pokemon even showed up in a natural playthrough. So the ones that did would get taken on as a novelty. With the levels being so low across the board after mahogany town the move pools weren't exciting but we weren't exactly pressed for power. I think because of that though, the gen 2 games end up feeling like a shared experience. The starter being an unstoppable force, Togetic showing up eventually, Ampharos because mareep is cute and electric on it's own is real good, strong bug from the contest, cool color Gyarados making me question if I really did see that grey snubbull earlier.
With such a low rate of encounter you probably wont run into any of those Pokemon. I have played Crystal so many times. Really you are given decent Pokemon already, a starter, shiny Garados, Dratini, and Sudowoodo. You can also just buy better Pokemon too.
Electric to me always felt like a one trick pony. Never liked the type. As for power, if you are being pitted against the stronger gen 1 pokemon(Gyarados, Dragonite) you ARE pressed for power.
I feel like some of the Gen 2 Pokemon were used more for marketing purposes, but in the games, they felt like an afterthought. Doesn’t help that they were easily overshadowed by Gen 1 Pokemon. I’m just glad that the later generations did the Gen 2 Pokemon justice with new evolutions, regional forms, Megas, etc.
Nice video! Crobat honestly usually ends up bein my team MVP, my play sessions do tend to be shorter though so doing the friendship stuff (like haircut brothers) is not an issue for me, and I usually only have Golbat for one level before it evolves into Crobat immediately on its next level up. Supersonic makes Zubat at least a lil useful, once it gets Confuse Ray at lv 19, I find it holds its own quite well.
Espeon is the only mon I am willing to defend because it can double team + baton pass or use Toxic on many fast and strong mons before going down, and since there is still no true counter to psychic types, one can run both Espeon and Kadabra/Alakazam Otherwise I am baffled at how much Gen 2 hates its own dex, it's too weak and I don't buy the excuses some people use to justify it. It's not "meant" to be weak or a hidden difficulty option, it's just a poorly designed mess, where gen 1 had lots of min maxed pokemon, gen 2 played around the concept of bulkier, gimmicky options that simply did not work
@@GenociI mean, it seems like this is the gen that kinda needs it the most. Half the new Johto mons feel like a warning to not use them, so who would bother unless they liked how they looked or something?
While the remakes do some good things, they indeed could've done more. I will never understand why they only made some cross gen evolutions available, but not all of them.
Oh hell yes this is the kind of Pokemon content I’ve always been looking for, I really hope there’s more like this in the future. This is my first time seeing your channel and I like this style 🌪️
Part of the issue with Pokemon being so easy is that it advertises the journey as something only the best of the best should pursue. Being a Pokemon Master or a Champion is touted as a big deal. So when the game becomes harder to actually be consistent with that, it ends up trivializing so many monsters with the game's awful overlap issues. The reason THAT is an issue is because Pokemon ALSO advertises itself with the idea each monster is unique and has its own strengths to stand out. As we know, this is just not the case and even I made an essay detailing this. Your video essays just go into greater detail on these contradictions.
It seems that, at least in terms of raw stats and movepool, most Gen2 Pokemon are decent, or at least on par with the average Gen1 Pokemon. Many of them have limited movepools and middling stats but so do most Gen 1 Pokemon. Even the issue of Gen2 Pokemon often being behind new mechanics like headbutt trees and swarms is understandable from a lore perspective and help as more engaging ways to obtain Pokemon. Though nothing needed to be locked to the post game. . The real problem is that Game Freak’s Kanto obsession rears it’s ugly head for the first time, because gen1 Pokémon are so common, the very small handful of completely busted Kanto Pokémon that even most Gen 1 Pokemon couldn’t compete with, end up overshadowing many Gen 2 Pokemon Obviously some Gen2 Pokemon weee just plain undercooked, like Unown and Yanma. But the majority of Gen 2 Pokemon could be “fixed” by giving them some freakin’ breathing room and saving the more overbearing Gen 1 Pokemon for later. Put Abra later Have Misdreavus be in Sprout tower instead of the Gastly line Have Rocky holding a metal coat so you get Steelix (though in this case the trade might have to happen later in game) Just let Belossum be a strong single stage you can catch near Ecruteak instead of tacking it to the end of the oddish line it has nothing in common with Let the pokemail be carried by Murkrow or even Delibird instead of Spearow.
I don’t mind the Zubat grind. In GSC, I’d run Crobat as a slow killer. Toxic, confuse ray, protect, fly. Granted, he’s not much of a tank but give it leftovers and now we’re talking!
Not only can you give the Cianwood Shuckle back, he'll let you keep it if you have its friendship high enough. Also, you don't need to clear the Radio Tower to get Sludge Bomb. Just the Mahogany base.
I wish. I hated Sinnoh because there were barely any new pokemon. Kalos and the new regions are even worse in this regard. That's why I like Kanto, Hoenn, and Unova. They made full Pokedexes of new pokemon that didnt force you to use the old stuff.
corsola is actually pretty good, you can catch a level 40 one before red and it can 1v1 reds charizard without issues since it resists all of his moves
For Dark Types as much as I love Houdour/Doom it sucks since its only caught in Kanto making it kind of useless for the gen 2 games AS a Dark/Fire type.
While I'll gladly agree with most of these, I will not have this slander of my boy Crobat! He carried my Nuzlocke all the way the E4! Anyway, back in the day I would not allow Togepi to evolve because I was afraid Prof. Elm would be upset that it wasn't a Togepi anymore. Yes, I carried it on my team. Yes, it was just a waste of a slot.
bro sunflora actually has the highest special attack out of all these grass types lmao xD also to be fair since you can get sunkern plus the sunstone at the same time, it doesnt seem that bad compared to the other grass types, chikorita sucks so hard.
Play a better balanced monster collector sometime that rewards actual skill and creative teambuilding. Pokemon's overlap issues that trivialize so much of its roster are laughable.
@@DrCoeloCephaloit's easy to beat pokemon even with the worst pokemon in the dex. the idea you have to think about "viability" in order to play an rpg is laughable
@@oniondesu9633 Pokemon lets you win by mashing A like a dumb monkey which contradicts how it advertises how going on a Pokemon journey is only for the headstrong, hence I say to play better monster collectors that reward actual skill and creativity.
That's easy the ENTIRE Chikorita line of Pokemon are pure CRAP even in Crystal Chikorita still SUCKS and Shuckle has nothing good about it sure it has high physical defense but ALL of its lv up moves and TM's it can use are pure CRAP as well.
Mods made years later by people that actually understand the game and its systems are kinda irrelevant to the vanilla experience sold to us, don't ya think? At that point, don't you think you may as well be saying "play a different game"?
Be glad Pokemon doesn't reward skill or thought like any other monster collector that still gives way more options to make common trash more usable anyway.
@@DrCoeloCephalo Your "skill based" monster collector games are just designed for 10 year olds instead of for 8 year olds. No reason to act like it makes you mature or refined or anything, at the end of the day these are all kiddie games. If you really care about challenging yourself, read some difficult literature, maybe Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Or just play some games and stop acting high and mighty over it.
@@oniondesu9633Aren't you acting pretty high and mighty saying you will use low tier trash in a game that doesn't require a brain? Nobody is gonna care about you hindering yourself with Ledyba unless you stream or or record it or anything anyway, are they? It's your time you get to waste trying to get such pitiful stats to do damage in a game that favors hyper offense or bulky offense over anything else, isn't it? Why would I brag about maturity when Pokemon fans do not go far to salivate over mature themes like Lavender Town when I can brag about more meaningful things for games like consistency, immersion, player freedom and just good game design? Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 Pro lets you Rank up monsters and inherit powerful skills so even common low tier trash like the canonically weakest common monster Slime has more long term merit. Yo-Kai Watch 3 has an item called a Prestigious Treasure that can get even E Ranks to higher stat totals with 5% increase to all their stats to make them more usable while still keeping their unique traits. It gives the player freedom to make the monsters they care for strong in their own ways with passion and dedication. You know, the kind principles Pokemon advertises to bring out a Pokemon's power. Also I can do better. I can MAKE games whilst taking notes from their good game design that get the player to have fun thinking and using their brain which is something Pokemon also tries to advertise itself on by pretending to be strategic. Being made for kids doesn't keep it from being a better game any more than how Wario Land 4 is ultimately a superior platformer scrimblo game with an entire piece of literature dedicated to its good game design compared to travesties like Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. It's thanks to learning from the good game design of Wario Land 4 that we reach even greater cultured masterpieces to play and use our brains for in the vein of the success story that is Pizza Tower.
Ah, yes. Generation II. The generation that (almost) everyone hates in the modern day. Everything seems to be wrong with them - the level curve, the new Pokemon, the story, the boss fights... It's common knowledge that the Pokemon franchise took a quality downgrade after Gen 5, but let's not pretend the originals were perfect, either.
Every gen has its own problems. Pre 3D graphics, I personally find Gen 2 to be the worst one out of the bunch because of the reasons you mentioned and more. It's a nice region that's plagued by some weird game design (new Pokemon are rare, level curve, etc.)
@@davigabriel783 I played gen 2 as a kid, but Red and Yellow were my first Pokémon games. I was "too young" to really form a proper opinion of the region, but when HG/SS released, I thought they were THE best Pokémon games. That slowly went away over the years as I started to realise Johto's many shortcomings when replaying its games.
The level curve is the only legitimate issue. Johto pokemon were never meant to be direct upgrades to existing pokemon. There are always weak pokemon in every gen that add to the flavor of the region.
Let me know if you came from the RBY video! If you haven't watched that one yet, you can here: ruclips.net/video/p-nRLeqasFc/видео.html
I have to disagree with the Marill line only because it would make a great Jobber type Pokemon, it can learn Strength, surf, Waterfall and Rocksmash.
As an adult it's so easy to poke holes in the Johto roster, but as a kid it didn't feel like half of these pokemon even showed up in a natural playthrough. So the ones that did would get taken on as a novelty. With the levels being so low across the board after mahogany town the move pools weren't exciting but we weren't exactly pressed for power.
I think because of that though, the gen 2 games end up feeling like a shared experience. The starter being an unstoppable force, Togetic showing up eventually, Ampharos because mareep is cute and electric on it's own is real good, strong bug from the contest, cool color Gyarados making me question if I really did see that grey snubbull earlier.
With such a low rate of encounter you probably wont run into any of those Pokemon. I have played Crystal so many times. Really you are given decent Pokemon already, a starter, shiny Garados, Dratini, and Sudowoodo. You can also just buy better Pokemon too.
Electric to me always felt like a one trick pony. Never liked the type.
As for power, if you are being pitted against the stronger gen 1 pokemon(Gyarados, Dragonite) you ARE pressed for power.
I feel like some of the Gen 2 Pokemon were used more for marketing purposes, but in the games, they felt like an afterthought. Doesn’t help that they were easily overshadowed by Gen 1 Pokemon. I’m just glad that the later generations did the Gen 2 Pokemon justice with new evolutions, regional forms, Megas, etc.
That's also a thought I had while making this video. It feels to me like they made 100 designs and then realized they needed stats, moves, etc.
and with most of them having that kawaii style I feel like they were mostly intended to be sold as goodies
6:52 Don't be silly, Johto's regional bird is also Pidgey. You can't go and imply owls are birds.
Nice video! Crobat honestly usually ends up bein my team MVP, my play sessions do tend to be shorter though so doing the friendship stuff (like haircut brothers) is not an issue for me, and I usually only have Golbat for one level before it evolves into Crobat immediately on its next level up.
Supersonic makes Zubat at least a lil useful, once it gets Confuse Ray at lv 19, I find it holds its own quite well.
Espeon is the only mon I am willing to defend because it can double team + baton pass or use Toxic on many fast and strong mons before going down, and since there is still no true counter to psychic types, one can run both Espeon and Kadabra/Alakazam
Otherwise I am baffled at how much Gen 2 hates its own dex, it's too weak and I don't buy the excuses some people use to justify it. It's not "meant" to be weak or a hidden difficulty option, it's just a poorly designed mess, where gen 1 had lots of min maxed pokemon, gen 2 played around the concept of bulkier, gimmicky options that simply did not work
I'm not ready for the people that will spam Karen's quote about strong and weak Pokémon.
@@GenociI mean, it seems like this is the gen that kinda needs it the most. Half the new Johto mons feel like a warning to not use them, so who would bother unless they liked how they looked or something?
Brooooo I literally just found your channel and just finished this video for Gen1 and bam here it is for Gen 2 in 30 mins lol
Hopefully there's more like these for the future! :)
worse part is HG/SS does not do enough to fix these shortcomings imo - great vid man enjoyed it and agree with pretty much all ur points
While the remakes do some good things, they indeed could've done more. I will never understand why they only made some cross gen evolutions available, but not all of them.
Oh hell yes this is the kind of Pokemon content I’ve always been looking for, I really hope there’s more like this in the future. This is my first time seeing your channel and I like this style 🌪️
Part of the issue with Pokemon being so easy is that it advertises the journey as something only the best of the best should pursue. Being a Pokemon Master or a Champion is touted as a big deal. So when the game becomes harder to actually be consistent with that, it ends up trivializing so many monsters with the game's awful overlap issues. The reason THAT is an issue is because Pokemon ALSO advertises itself with the idea each monster is unique and has its own strengths to stand out. As we know, this is just not the case and even I made an essay detailing this. Your video essays just go into greater detail on these contradictions.
It seems that, at least in terms of raw stats and movepool, most Gen2 Pokemon are decent, or at least on par with the average Gen1 Pokemon. Many of them have limited movepools and middling stats but so do most Gen 1 Pokemon. Even the issue of Gen2 Pokemon often being behind new mechanics like headbutt trees and swarms is understandable from a lore perspective and help as more engaging ways to obtain Pokemon. Though nothing needed to be locked to the post game. .
The real problem is that Game Freak’s Kanto obsession rears it’s ugly head for the first time, because gen1 Pokémon are so common, the very small handful of completely busted Kanto Pokémon that even most Gen 1 Pokemon couldn’t compete with, end up overshadowing many Gen 2 Pokemon
Obviously some Gen2 Pokemon weee just plain undercooked, like Unown and Yanma. But the majority of Gen 2 Pokemon could be “fixed” by giving them some freakin’ breathing room and saving the more overbearing Gen 1 Pokemon for later.
Put Abra later
Have Misdreavus be in Sprout tower instead of the Gastly line
Have Rocky holding a metal coat so you get Steelix (though in this case the trade might have to happen later in game)
Just let Belossum be a strong single stage you can catch near Ecruteak instead of tacking it to the end of the oddish line it has nothing in common with
Let the pokemail be carried by Murkrow or even Delibird instead of Spearow.
I don’t mind the Zubat grind. In GSC, I’d run Crobat as a slow killer. Toxic, confuse ray, protect, fly. Granted, he’s not much of a tank but give it leftovers and now we’re talking!
I was just watching the RBY video yesterday and was wondering when this one would come out
I literally just watched the gen 1 video an hour ago
I don't feel like Gen 2 Pokemon were great but they were collectibles and ones that you could use as a support or defensive role.
Kenya is the single strongest pokémon in any GSC playthrough lmao
Not only can you give the Cianwood Shuckle back, he'll let you keep it if you have its friendship high enough.
Also, you don't need to clear the Radio Tower to get Sludge Bomb. Just the Mahogany base.
Great video! Can’t wait to see RSE.
YEEEEEEEES WE ARE BACK BABY I LOVE THIS SERIES EVEN IF THERE ARE 2 VIDEOS SO FAR
Imagine if this generation only let you use Gen 2 Pokémon
I always try to play with new Pokémon each generation. The GSC games have been the exception every time.
Deadass would be the worst gen at that point, ngl.
I wish. I hated Sinnoh because there were barely any new pokemon. Kalos and the new regions are even worse in this regard.
That's why I like Kanto, Hoenn, and Unova. They made full Pokedexes of new pokemon that didnt force you to use the old stuff.
@@MeatbagSlayerwhy? I loved that Black and White made a full dex(larger than Kanto's) of brand new mons.
I was literally just watching your other videos yearning for your gen 2 pokemon video XD
corsola is actually pretty good, you can catch a level 40 one before red and it can 1v1 reds charizard without issues since it resists all of his moves
For Dark Types as much as I love Houdour/Doom it sucks since its only caught in Kanto making it kind of useless for the gen 2 games AS a Dark/Fire type.
While I'll gladly agree with most of these, I will not have this slander of my boy Crobat! He carried my Nuzlocke all the way the E4!
Anyway, back in the day I would not allow Togepi to evolve because I was afraid Prof. Elm would be upset that it wasn't a Togepi anymore. Yes, I carried it on my team. Yes, it was just a waste of a slot.
Aw FUCK YEAH been waitin on this video man!
bro sunflora actually has the highest special attack out of all these grass types lmao xD also to be fair since you can get sunkern plus the sunstone at the same time, it doesnt seem that bad compared to the other grass types, chikorita sucks so hard.
I love this game, thanks for the video
Chikorita evolution line is so bad that is painful
The fact that GF created two additional mono Grass types that are worse than Meganium is also baffling.
New Genoci :D
There're no bad Pokémon, only bad trainers
Play a better balanced monster collector sometime that rewards actual skill and creative teambuilding. Pokemon's overlap issues that trivialize so much of its roster are laughable.
@@DrCoeloCephaloit's easy to beat pokemon even with the worst pokemon in the dex. the idea you have to think about "viability" in order to play an rpg is laughable
@@oniondesu9633
Pokemon lets you win by mashing A like a dumb monkey which contradicts how it advertises how going on a Pokemon journey is only for the headstrong, hence I say to play better monster collectors that reward actual skill and creativity.
very nice video thx!
That's easy the ENTIRE Chikorita line of Pokemon are pure CRAP even in Crystal Chikorita still SUCKS and Shuckle has nothing good about it sure it has high physical defense but ALL of its lv up moves and TM's it can use are pure CRAP as well.
do the same for RSE
Kenya mention!
Hey, at least Bellossom is great in Emerald Seaglass.
Mods made years later by people that actually understand the game and its systems are kinda irrelevant to the vanilla experience sold to us, don't ya think? At that point, don't you think you may as well be saying "play a different game"?
@@DrCoeloCephaloin what sense?
ill use a ledyba if i want to
Be glad Pokemon doesn't reward skill or thought like any other monster collector that still gives way more options to make common trash more usable anyway.
@@DrCoeloCephalo Your "skill based" monster collector games are just designed for 10 year olds instead of for 8 year olds. No reason to act like it makes you mature or refined or anything, at the end of the day these are all kiddie games.
If you really care about challenging yourself, read some difficult literature, maybe Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Or just play some games and stop acting high and mighty over it.
Based response.@@oniondesu9633
That's not the point of the video lol
@@oniondesu9633Aren't you acting pretty high and mighty saying you will use low tier trash in a game that doesn't require a brain? Nobody is gonna care about you hindering yourself with Ledyba unless you stream or or record it or anything anyway, are they? It's your time you get to waste trying to get such pitiful stats to do damage in a game that favors hyper offense or bulky offense over anything else, isn't it?
Why would I brag about maturity when Pokemon fans do not go far to salivate over mature themes like Lavender Town when I can brag about more meaningful things for games like consistency, immersion, player freedom and just good game design?
Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 Pro lets you Rank up monsters and inherit powerful skills so even common low tier trash like the canonically weakest common monster Slime has more long term merit. Yo-Kai Watch 3 has an item called a Prestigious Treasure that can get even E Ranks to higher stat totals with 5% increase to all their stats to make them more usable while still keeping their unique traits. It gives the player freedom to make the monsters they care for strong in their own ways with passion and dedication. You know, the kind principles Pokemon advertises to bring out a Pokemon's power.
Also I can do better. I can MAKE games whilst taking notes from their good game design that get the player to have fun thinking and using their brain which is something Pokemon also tries to advertise itself on by pretending to be strategic.
Being made for kids doesn't keep it from being a better game any more than how Wario Land 4 is ultimately a superior platformer scrimblo game with an entire piece of literature dedicated to its good game design compared to travesties like Sonic the Hedgehog 2006. It's thanks to learning from the good game design of Wario Land 4 that we reach even greater cultured masterpieces to play and use our brains for in the vein of the success story that is Pizza Tower.
Ah, yes. Generation II. The generation that (almost) everyone hates in the modern day. Everything seems to be wrong with them - the level curve, the new Pokemon, the story, the boss fights...
It's common knowledge that the Pokemon franchise took a quality downgrade after Gen 5, but let's not pretend the originals were perfect, either.
Every gen has its own problems. Pre 3D graphics, I personally find Gen 2 to be the worst one out of the bunch because of the reasons you mentioned and more. It's a nice region that's plagued by some weird game design (new Pokemon are rare, level curve, etc.)
You either love gen 2 because it was your first game or you hated because of the terrible desing decisions in the game
@@davigabriel783 I played gen 2 as a kid, but Red and Yellow were my first Pokémon games. I was "too young" to really form a proper opinion of the region, but when HG/SS released, I thought they were THE best Pokémon games. That slowly went away over the years as I started to realise Johto's many shortcomings when replaying its games.
Gen II is universally beloved by nearly everyone who wasn't raised on 3D pokemon
The level curve is the only legitimate issue. Johto pokemon were never meant to be direct upgrades to existing pokemon. There are always weak pokemon in every gen that add to the flavor of the region.
I used Pidgeot and Steelix in my Crystal playthrough