In the world of video games, monsters are usually the bad guys. The quicker you can blow them to pieces, the better. Welcome to a refreshing new treatment of monsters in Nintendo's breakthrough game Pokémon (also known as Pocket Monsters in Japan). Pokémon is the general name assigned to over 100 species of creatures that populate the game's many cities and locations. You, in the role of a young pokémon trainer named Ash Ketchum, are given the mission of catching and collecting all possible existing types of pokémon. Ever heard of the saying "Fight fire with fire?" Well, in this game, you catch wild pokémon with other trained pokémon that you've caught and specially taught to fight. In your efforts to become a pokémon master, you will discover one of the most addicting and challenging gaming adventures ever designed for the Game Boy. Features Single-player or Two-player with the Game Boy Game Link (sold separately).

Two players trade or battle captured pokémon. Two different versions, Red and Blue. One manual game save. Built in clock to track the hours and minutes of gameplay. High level of personalized player interaction-select your own names for your character and your pokémon. Excellent to Good game control-Ash seems to slide a little when he walks. Difficulty level: Medium to Hard. The Game Pokémon comes in two cartridge colors: Red and Blue. The main difference between the two cartridges (besides the color) is that each version will contain some pokémon species that are exclusive to that cartridge. In order to collect all the monsters available, a player with the Red version will need to trade caught pokémon with another player who owns the Blue version, and vice versa. Another difference is the frequency of certain pokémon creatures appearing in each cartridge. For instance, finding the coveted Pikachu monster will be possible in both versions, but more probable in the Blue cart. Other than these differences, the game's story line and characters remain the same in both versions. Though it would not have been difficult to place all 150 monsters on one cart in the first place, it can safely be guessed that Nintendo wanted to increase the marketability of the game by making its completion impossible without interaction between two different versions.

Pokémon starts the player out at a beginner level, able to choose one of three already caught pokémon. The type of pokémon you choose is important because each category of pokémon has different abilities and skills. The fifteen different types of pokémon are: 1) Normal, 2) Fire, 3) Water, 4) Electric, 5) Grass, 6) Ice, 7) Fighting, 8) Poison, 9) Ground, 10) Flying, 11) Psychic, 12) Bug, 13) Rock, 14) Ghost, and 15) Dragon. Throughout the game, you will of course capture many of these pokémon types, and in the process discover that a pokémon's effectiveness in battle will depend on both its type and the type of pokémon it is fighting. A Grass pokémon, for example, will be extremely good at attacking a Rock pokémon, whereas a Fire type will excel at beating a Grass type. The chart that comes with the game does a fairly good job at tracking the strengths and weaknesses of certain pokémon against others. The musical score is energetic, catchy, and diverse. Rather than hindering gameplay, it adds to the game's adventurous and charming qualities. The songs are invaluable in developing Pokémon's identity as a game that breaks and refashions the RPG mold. Also, the music does a wonderful job of changing appropriately to create suitable atmospheres: of special note are the tunes designed for the pokémon burial house and for your archrival, Professor Oak's bratty nephew.