Today, we will be diving into changes and additions made between the first 2 generations of Pokemon. This list is of my opinions and Id love to hear what you guys think are the best additions.

HM New Pokeballs. The Gen 2 Pokeballs have been the focal point of a past blog post. They are coming in as an Honorable Mention because, at the end of the day, they sadly were not that great. I watched a video discussing how half of these Pokeballs did not alter the catch rate like they claimed. Despite not living up to their hype, it was still Gamefreak flexing some creative muscles and trying to add some depth to a simple concept like the Pokeball. I still to this day have fond memories of this addition from the days of the anime.

#5 Making Legendary Pokemons apart of the story- Do not get me wrong, Mewtwo is awesome and is still the Macdaddy of legendary Pokemons. However, he is barely mentioned at all through the main story. In Gen 2, Suicune, Ho-oh, Lugia, and even Celebi come up in dialogue quite often. Ecruteak City is one of the more memorable towns in all of the Pokemon regions due to it being a big central location of the story. While I think legendaries did not hit their stride unto Hoenn, Gen 2 set a precedent for making the legendary Pokemon more of point to the story.

#4 Rematches- The deeper I get into this, the more I realize a “Features Generation 3 expanded on” is going to be an easy blog. Rematches were sorely missing from Generation 1. The reason this is a big deal is because it limited experience and money the player could earn. Beating other trainers dishes out the most experience and cash flow. Generation 2 introduced rematches. Thanks to the Pokegear, the player could receive random phone calls from trainers they have beaten in the past.

#3  Held Items- Pokemons holding items seems like a concept as old as the game itself. However, this feature was an addition added in Johto. They showcased this by having your starter hold a berry. Which was a nice touch in the early stages of the game. But this is not even the best example nor does it illustrate the role items have had. From using the experience share to help aid you in leveling up, to the choice items (scarf, band, sash). Later generations have even added Mega Stones, Z moves, and evolites. Needless to say, held items have become such a crucial part of the game.

#2 Genders- This extends to pokemons and trainers. In the Kanto days there was just one trainer Red. Also pokemons were genderless. In Generation 2 the world was introduced to a female trainer. While I am a Male Pokemon trainer, it would be foolish to not recognize the growing number of female trainers playing this awesome game. It’s only natural Pokemon would evolve to the point where we had female trainers represented in the game. Still, good on you Gamefreak for making this simple but much needed addition. As for pokemon’s gender, well we will get to that in the next point.

#1 Breeding- Breeding is and was the definition of a game changer! It introduced baby forms (Pichu, Magby, Elekid to name a few). Which was really it’s claim to fame in Gen 2. When later games added natures, evs, and ivs, breeding became paramount. It was at the forefront of any serious competitive team. Generation 2 also saw egg moves become a part of the game thanks to breeding. Some Pokemons could only learn a move by having that move passed down from the parent Pokemon. With different egg groups, exclusive egg moves, competitive breeding for perfect ivs and nature, and the introduction of baby Pokemons, I would have to give Breeding the number 1 spot on Top changes and additions from Gen 1 to 2!

Thanks for reading everybody!

Have a great day!