Pokemon Crystal (Game Boy Color)
| Set Difficulty | 5/10 |
| Approximate time to master | 40 hours. This can be done either quicker if you play the entire game on fast-forward (I did the main story at normal speed), or slower if you don't use fast-forward/datetime changing |
| Minimum numbers of playthroughs needed | 1 |
| Number of missable achievements | 32 |
| Does difficulty affect achievements? | Not applicable |
| Hardest achievement of the set | Battle Tower Winner/Johto Strength |
Pokémon Crystal Version is the third and final Generation II core series game for Game Boy Color. It was released as a solitary version to Pokémon Gold and Silver, which were released one year before. It was released in Japan on December 14, 2000, in North America on July 29, 2001, and in Europe on November 2, 2001.
It featured various fixes and some new additions, most notably the introduction of the option to play as a girl. It takes place in the region of Johto like Gold and Silver, with access to Kanto granted later in the game, with the player's starting town being New Bark Town.
This set features 113 achievements by dude1286 with a great revision by msdmario. You cannot get a much more complete set than this one for Pokémon Crystal, with it not only covering progression and challenges for the progression, but also a ton of miscellaneous stuff involving the time of day or the day of the week, as well as the exchanging of phone numbers with NPCs and much, much more. You'll be busy for a while with this set, but you will be done with a satisfying feeling that you have truly done everything the game has to offer... well, besides a truly complete Pokédex obviously.
All of these achievements are gained by just going through the story, though do mind you: I did exclude the gym challenges with the story achievements as well to keep the guide clean. So in reality, there are 16 missable achievements here. Every single one of these achievements will have tips and tricks on how to do it effectively however, so it's worth a check in case you are curious on how to approach these with the level caps and item restrictions.
All of the missable achievements. In reality, most of these boil down to... just don't kill the static one-encounter Pokémon, catch them. It's a Pokémon game, so this much should be obvious. The static Pokémon include Sudowoodo and Snorlax, as well as every legendary Pokémon.
The actual missables of this section are:
- Notice Me Suicune-pai! - Must be done while in Cianwood City for the first time, involves fighting an optional trainer battle.
- Fateful Encounter I - Must be done preferably before Gym 7, or as quickly as possible after the previous achievement. Involves finding Suicune on the route to Mahogany Town, where the 7th gym battle is.
- Fateful Encounter II - Must be done preferably before Gym 8, or as quickly as possible after the previous achievement. Involves finding Suicune on the route next to the Bug Catching Contest.
- Rocket Hideout Conqueror - Must be done before finishing the Rocket Hideout, as you need to fight every trainer inside.
- Rocket Takeover Twarted - Must be done before finishing the Radio Tower event, as you need to fight every trainer inside.
- Aced the Test - Must be done right after Gym 8, that just involves answering all questions correct in the Dragon's Den Shrine.
- Shuckie Approves - Can be done at any time. Just avoid giving Shuckie back to his original owner without having gotten it to max friendship.
Step 3: Datetime/Phone Achievements
All of these achievements have to be done on a specific date, or time. The date and time can be changed, albeit through a hidden way which I will be telling you about in section 4 of this guide. Likewise, "Phone" achievements are also included with this step, which involves refighting trainers through phone calls or receiving items from them. There is also a trick for these, which I will also be telling you about in section 4.
Step 4: Miscellaneous Achievements
These are all of the remaining achievements that can be done at any point in the game, and will not involve missables. Most of these are pretty straightforward, but some benefit from having some good tips that will make them a lot easier for you!
- Try to avoid using TMs for as long as possible, or at least one that you might want to use for the Battle Tower near the end of the game. Popular TMs such as Earthquake and Toxic can only be gotten once, and never again, and might make a massive difference in the Battle Tower depending on your team.
- I recommend having a party of 5 or 6 Johto Pokémon at all times. The main reason for this is so that you can spread out the levels over multiple Pokémon without fearing that you end up touching the level cap. Alternatively, you can just keep Johto Pokémon underlevelled while overlevelling Kanto Pokémon and just use them for the Gym battles instead.
- Most gyms in the Kanto region have a level cap beyond 40, with the exception of Janine's gym. Given that the Legendary Dogs are all at level 40, it might be worth considering catching these before tackling Kanto so you have three great Pokémon that can tackle every gym. Other than those, I often recommend to catch high-levelled Pokémon for these gyms if you don't want to deal with the roamers, such as Skarmory and Lantern. Of course, if your main team remains below the level cap anyway, just use them.
- Changing the date and time is a bit more cryptic than necessary. You can switch between emulators if you are comfortable doing that (Sameboy/mGBA both handle datetime differently), or you can use the reset function generator found on this site. Ignore that it says Crystal is disabled because it definitely works. Press Down, Select, and B simultaneously on the title screen which will bring you to a prompt to input a password. This is based on your name, your ID, and the amount of money you have. The password will not change as long as you don't get money, so you can easily save, reset, input password in cases such as getting Buena's number.
- You can manipulate NPCs into calling you by going to New Bark Town, talking to your mother and changing the daylight savings. Constantly alternating between winter/summer time will instantly prompt an NPC to call you. This will be very useful for getting Elemental Stones, as they cannot be bought and you need a few for Pokédex completion.
Be Nice (1) Give your rival a name.
Story-related, cannot be missed.
Flying Monk (5) Defeat Falkner and gain the Zephyr Badge.
Grounded (10) Beat Falkner with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=9, No Items) [see forum topic]
As long as you chose either Cyndaquil or Totodile as starter Pokémon, this gym likely won't give you trouble. However, I do highly recommend getting a Dunsparce from the Dark Cave right before Violet City. It is normal type so won't take high damage, and it having access to the move Rage (which will do more damage every time it gets hit) will make it shred through Pokémon. Other Pokémon before this point won't really help you too much but if your starter/Dunsparce somehow don't do the job, they're nice to have.
Rocket Well (5) Defeat the newly formed Team Rocket in Slowpoke Well.
Story-related, cannot be missed.
Bug Catcher (5) Defeat Bugsy and gain the Hive Badge.
Back to the Books (10) Beat Bugsy with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=16, No Items)
If you chose Cyndaquil as starter: congratulations, you won! If not, remember the Dunsparce from earlier? It will still shred through this gym battle without any issues. If not, getting a Hoothoot and/or Wooper will never hurt either, even if only getting them for later gym encounters and to spread out levels to avoid hitting the level cap.
Milk Maid (5) Defeat Whitney and gain the Plain Badge.
Plain Boring (10) Beat Whitney with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=20, No Items)
Going to sound like a broken record but I cannot recommend it enough, use Dunsparce. Send it in as your first Pokémon, have it get attacked and use rage and there you go. Even the unstoppable Miltank will fall before the god also known as Dunsparce. Aside from that, you can get a Heracross in Azalea Town after having gotten the Headbutt TM which is never a bad option.
The Legendary Suicune Awakens (5) Complete the Eusine sidequest in Burned Tower.
Story-related, cannot be missed.
Friendly Ghost (5) Defeat Morty and gain the Fog Badge.
Exorcism (10) Beat Morty with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=25, No Items)
Dunsparce has unfortunately outlived its usefulness at this point, so we need to get a bit more creative. Unless you have picked Totodile as starter and have access to bite/crunch, there aren't many other Pokémon that have a super effective move against ghost Pokémon at this point. Depending on if you want to go through the effort (although I can highly recommend it for other gyms too), you can evolve Zubat into Golbat at level 22 and then increase its happiness so much it becomes a Crobat before level 25. Aside from that, use any of the Pokémon I've mentioned before as well as Sudowoodo, who you have (most likely) caught before this gym. If you're really struggling, you can choose to move beyond Ecruteak City and catch a few Pokémon, but Morty's Pokémon have a high chance to use Curse to halve their hitpoints so you'll probably be fine anyway.
Karate Island (5) Defeat Chuck and gain the Storm Badge.
Do You Even Lift Bro? (10) Beat Chuck with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=30, No Items)
Chuck most likely won't give you too much trouble given that there are more options to you available now. A personal favourite of mine is the Chinchou evolution line which has good coverage for this gym and the next one, but there's also Togetic, Mantine, and the before-mentioned Crobat. A flying move or a few will easily carry you through this gym and if not, there are always the previous Pokémon you used that could be at a good level.
Let There Be Light! (2) Cure Amphy at the top of the Olivine City Lighthouse.
Story-related, cannot be missed.
Iron Maiden (5) Defeat Jasmine and gain the Mineral Badge.
Fractured (10) Beat Jasmine with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=35, No Items)
As Jasmine follows right after Chuck, your pool of Pokémon has not increased by much. The level cap for this gym is higher, but do be wary as the gym that follows after has a lower level cap of 31, so don't grind Pokémon you are planning to use there. What you can alternatively do is go for gym 7 first as this one is not needed for there, but it won't really give you any advantages for this gym. If you chose either Cyndaquil or Totodile as starter you will probably be fine anyway; just add any of the before-mentioned Pokémon like Lanturn, Sudowoodo, or Heracross, with the latter two having access to fighting moves which is always welcome. Wooper/Quagsire especially are good options due to being part Ground and therefore not taking damage from the Magnetons, as well as having access to Earthquake.
Rocket Rage (5) Defeat Team Rocket in Mahogany Town.
Story-related, cannot be missed.
Old Man Winters (5) Defeat Pryce and gain the Glacier Badge.
Easy Ice (10) Beat Pryce with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=31, No Items)
Yet again, the pool of Pokémon hasn't increased much since the last gym, so your options are fairly similar. If you did keep around Dunsparce despite not having use during the last two gyms then hey, he can be useful here again! The Cyndaquil line will obviously shred this gym, and the advantage of Piloswine being part ground is that most previously-mentioned Water Pokémon (Quagsire especially) will also not have any problem.
Rocket Radio (5) Defeat Team Rocket in the Radio Tower.
Story-related, cannot be missed.
Training Dragon (5) Defeat Clair and gain the Rising Badge.
The Dragon Tamer (10) Beat Clair with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=40, No Items)
Clair has one glaring weakness, and it just so happens to be the cave right before Blackthorne City. This cave has an amazing Pokémon by the name of Swinub, who is part Ice and therefore Clair's worst nightmare. This is a Pokémon I can generally recommend for the entire game afterwards so be sure to go for it. Heck, go for two, the sky is the limit. Joking aside, the route south of Blackthorne also has another great unit in Skarmory which, while not super effective, won't take a lot of damage from the dragon Pokémon so great option. Crobat is great, Lanturn is a personal favourite, Sudowoodo and Dunsparce kinda fell off but can still be useful, and there's always your starter of course.
Elite Five (10) Defeat the Elite Four and Champion Lance.
Johto Title Challenge (25) Defeat the Elite 4 with Johto Pokemon only. (Set, LVL: <=44, No Items in battle, One Session)
You can do this achievement at any time and therefore have many more options available to you, but for consistency sake, let's assume you have to do it on your first try given that you already have a well-built team. Well, I did say before that Swinub and Skarmory are both excellent Pokémon for Clair, and that remains true for the Elite Four too--especially Lance. You will most likely have caught Suicune as well which is great for the Elite four, and possibly Entei/Raikou too. Finally, I can't stress this enough but Crobat is a really good Pokémon in generation two. These 6 Pokémon are all excellent, but if you don't want to hunt for the legendary dogs or decide not to use some of these, your starter, Lanturn, and Quagsire are all still good choices. And remember, you are allowed to use items outside of battle so take this to your advantage.
Volt Military (5) Defeat Lt. Surge and gain the Thunder Badge.
Blackout (10) Beat Lt. Surge with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=46, No Items)
Lt. Surge is the first gym you'll see when arriving in Kanto, and due to the level cap being higher than than of the League, just use the team you used there--especially Piloswine. Due to the low difficulty, it's unlikely you'll face any trouble here.
Twisted Spoons (5) Defeat Sabrina and gain the Marsh Badge.
Mind Crush (10) Beat Sabrina with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=48, No Items)
While most other gyms can be done in any order, I'm just going to write this guide with the most likely order, meaning that Sabrina is next. Yet again, due to the city being north of Vermillion City, you will most likely be under the level cap and have no issue going at it with your current team. If you are over-levelled, you can go for a Houndour right next to Saffron City and train it since you want to go for dex completion probably anyway, or just catching a Skarmory or two south of Blackthorne. The Legendary Dogs are also an option given that you haven't been using them in your team yet, and getting a Pokémon to max friendship and then using the move Return will also pretty much guarantee you the victory.
Aromatherapist (5) Defeat Erika and gain the Rainbow Badge.
Grass Trimmer (10) Beat Erika with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=46, No Items)
Erika has a lower level cap and you unfortunately might be higher than it depending on what route you are taking or how you've training your Pokémon. The advice from Sabrina applies though; just catch a Skarmory or use the Legendary Dogs if you haven't used them yet, or a Pokémon with high friendship with the move Return.
Poisonous Ninja (5) Defeat Janine and gain the Soul Badge.
Believe It! (10) Beat Janine with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=39, No Items)
An annoying gym because the level cap is below anything you have faced since Claire. Doesn't really mean it's difficult of course, but it does eliminate the usage of Legendary Dogs if you've been saving them got the gym battles. So instead, I'll give you the classic advice of catching Skarmories, Swinubs, and Houndours and training them. It's not really a difficult gym battle otherwise really.
Power Restored (2) Return the stolen generator piece to Kanto's Power Plant.
Story-related, cannot be missed.
Watery Love (5) Defeat Misty and gain the Cascade Badge.
Heartbreaker (10) Beat Misty with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=47, No Items)
Similarly to the previous gym battles, you might be over the level cap. If you are, the previous advice of using the Legendary Dogs/catching a Skarmory still applies, with the addendum that you can catch a level 40 Lanturn with a Super Rod which will also destroy Misty.
Rock Hard Defense (5) Defeat Brock and gain the Boulder Badge.
Go Kick Rocks (10) Beat Brock with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=44, No Items)
Likewise to Janine, Brock is later in the region so the main team you are using is very likely to be overlevelled. And also likewise, catch a few Lanturns with a Super Rod or Skarmories again and there's your win. Of course, if you did not use Suicune yet, it's the perfect Pokémon for this gym and a high recommendation.
Seclusive Flame (5) Defeat Blaine and gain the Volcano Badge.
I Don't Need Burn Heal (10) Beat Blaine with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=50, No Items)
Blaine might be at a point where you are still below the level cap, in which case you can just use the team you've been using to go through the game with. If not, your next best options are the Legendary Dogs (Suicune primarily) or catching level 40 Lanturns with the Super Rod. Surf away!
One Time Champ (5) Defeat Blue and gain the Earth Badge.
Smell You Later! (10) Beat Blue with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=58, No Items)
I would be very surprised if you are levelled higher than Blue. Level 58 is quite a high cap so using your main team is certainly the way to go. A diverse team in general is recommended, as Blue does not follow a singular type and instead has a team mirroring his generation 1 team, minus the starter. Therefore, you should absolutely come prepared for multiple types. If you have been listening to my advice earlier (I hope you have), you have a team consisting of at least Piloswine, Skarmory, and Crobat, with the other three Pokémon being up to your own preference, like the Legendary Dogs or Quagsire/Lanturn/your starter. If you have been managing this team well and training them a bit, you will have a counter for all of Blue's Pokémon. If you are still struggling, consider a Houndour or a Blissey with maximum friendship and and move Return.
Battle on the Mountain (10) Defeat Pokemon Trainer Red on Mt. Silver.
Kanto Title Challenge (10) Beat Red with Johto Pokemon only. (Set Mode, LVL: <=65, No Items)
Red fortunately is able to be battled again after every league clear, so if your current team does not fit the bill, you're able to do it later with a specialized team. Like Blue, Red has a diverse team of pretty high-leveled Pokémon so it is recommended to use the team you have been going through the game with. Like my recommendations earlier, Piloswine, Skarmory, Crobat, and the three Legendary Dogs or your starter are all excellent choices. If those don't do the job, train a Houndour and/or a Blissey with maximum friendship and the move Return.
Fake Tree (5) Catch the Sudowoodo on Route 36 and register their Pokedex entry.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens between: Gym 3 and Gym 4
This is missable due to the fact that once you defeat Sudowoodo, it's gone forever. Come prepared with Pokéballs and be sure to catch it, because if you don't, you'll void this achievement as well as the Catch 'em All achievement.
Notice Me Suicune-pai! (5) Defeat Eusine in Cianwood City.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens between: Gym 4 and Gym 5/6
Once you first arrive in Cianwood City, head north of the city near the smashable rocks and Eusine will be at the very top of the screen. Defeat him in battle to earn this achievement.
Shuckie Approves (5) Get Shuckie's owner approval to keep him through high happiness.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens after: Gym 4/5
Not marked as missable, but you can technically miss this is you give back Shuckie too early while its happiness is not high enough. You can get Shuckie in Cianwood City, and to trigger this achievement, you need to increase its happiness to the max. You can check this in Goldenrod City in the far-east house. Once you are confident, go back to Cianwood City, save just in case, and talk to the guy who gave you Shuckie with the Pokémon in your party. He will tell you you can keep it due to the high happiness.
Fateful Encounter I (2) Find Suicune in Route 42.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens between: Gym 5/6 and Gym 7/8
I'm not sure what the exact deadline is for this achievement, but most likely once you are summoned to catch Suicune after Gym 7, so be sure to do this as quickly as possible after having the battle with Eusine in Cianwood City. Suicune will be on Route 42 on the island in the middle, after the Cut tree.
Fateful Encounter II (2) Find Suicune in Route 36.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens between: Gym 5/6 and Gym 7/8
I'm not sure what the exact deadline is for this achievement, but most likely once you are summoned to catch Suicune after Gym 7, so be sure to do this as quickly as possible after having the battle with Eusine in Cianwood City. Suicune will be on Route 36, right next to the entrance to the Bug Catching Contest.
Everyone Gets One (5) Catch the Red Gyarados in Lake of Rage.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens between: Gym 6 and Gym 7
This is a forced encounter, and the achievement wants you to catch the Gyarados. You obviously wouldn't kill a shiny Pokémon... right?
Rocket Hideout Conqueror (5) Defeat all trainers in Team Rocket's hideout.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens between: Gym 6 and Gym 7
There are a total of 16 fights in Team Rocket's Hideout, with 5 of them being triggered by the statues on the first basement floor. Be wary that you do not flip the switch on B1F behind the scientist, as this will permanently deactive statues and you will be unable to fight team rocket members you hadn't fought yet before. Aside from that, there are 2 fights on B1F, 3 on B2F, and 4 on B3F. Make sure you take care of all of these before fighting the mandatory story battle at the end of B3F, as that will be the point of no return.
Rocket Takeover Thwarted (5) Defeat all trainers in the Radio Tower and Underground Warehouse.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens between: Gym 7 and Gym 8
Starting from the underground, there are 7 battles in the underground B2F, including your rival. Then after, the warehouse basement will have 3 grunts. The radio tower itself has 1 battle on 1F, 4 on 2F, 4 on 3F, and 3 on 4F. Make sure to have done all these battles, as going beyond the fourth floor will bring you into mandatory battles that will end the Rocket takeover.
North Wind Purification (5) Chase down and capture Suicune.
Cool Catch (5) Catch Suicune without using a Master Ball and register their Pokedex entry.
-=MISSABLE=-
You need to catch Suicune without a Master Ball to get both achievements. Fortunately Suicune is a static encounter and therefore won't escape nor use the move Roar, so just windle down its HP, put status effects on it, and keep throwing Ultra Balls until you are lucky.
Aced the Test (2) Receive a Dratini that knows Extremespeed from the Dragon's Den shrine.
-=MISSABLE=-
Happens after: Gym 8 battle
In the Dragon's Den Shrine, there are a total of five questions to be answered. Answer them all correctly, and you will get the Dratini with Extremespeed. The answers are:
- What are Pokémon to you? - Pal
- What helps you to win battles? - Raising
- What kind of trainer do you wish to battle? - Anybody
- What is most important for raising Pokémon? - Love
- Strong Pokémon. Weak Pokémon. Which is more important? - Both
They Paid the Burg Price (5) Catch the Snorlax in Vermilion City and register their Pokedex entry.
-=MISSABLE=-
After having obtained access to the PokeFlute radio station by fixing the power plant and obtaining the Kanto EXPN card from the Lavender Town radio station, you can wake Snorlax. Make sure to catch it, as not catching it will permanently make it unavailable, and will therefore also void the Catch 'em All achievement.
Fire and Lightning (5) Capture Entei and Raikou.
Electric Catch (10) Catch Raikou without using a Master Ball and register their Pokedex entry.
Scorching Catch (10) Catch Entei without using a Master Ball and register their Pokedex entry.
-=MISSABLE=-
The most annoying Pokémon to catch. You need to hunt them down across Johto, and find them at least once for them to be in the Pokédex so you can actually see where it is... not that it will really help much since they move screens every time you move one. To make matters worse, they flee on the first turn, and also have access to the move Roar. The latter is unavoidable, but there is at least a consistent strategy to getting an encounter with them:
- Catch a Haunter or, more ideally, a Jynx, which I will also base this guide on. Its speed when caught must be 44 at level 20, 45 at level 21, or 47 at level 22. Once you got one that matches those stats, give it 10 Carbos and raise it to exactly level 40. Give them both the moves Mean Look and Hypnosis/Sweet Kiss depending on which of the two you chose.
- Buy a lot of Max Repels and Ultra Balls, and make sure that Jynx/Haunter is your highest-levelled Pokémon in the party. That way you can use a repel and still encounter Entei/Raikou while avoiding other encounters.
- Go to a random route where you can easily switch screens, preferably one where you need to travel through a gate. For example, west of Ecruteak City. Just keep going through this gate and go into the grass for a few seconds, if there is no encounter then go through the gate to the city, back to the route, rinse and repeat. Once you've got them registered, you can also check the Pokédex to see if they are on that route or not.
- Once in battle, put them asleep first, then use Mean Look, do some damage (for example, Dream Eater is a consistent damaging move) so they are in the red zone of their health bar and keep chucking Ultra Balls. You very likely won't get them on your first try, so just keep repeating the steps again until you are finally lucky. At the very least, their hitpoints will remain low on the next encounter so you only need to put them so sleep and use Mean Look again.
Master of Storms (5) Capture Lugia.
Guardian of the Seas (5) Catch Lugia without using a Master Ball and register their Pokedex entry.
-=MISSABLE=-
After having received the Silver Wing from a man in Pewter City, head back to the Whirlpool Islands east of Cianwood City. Venture down and at the very bottom, you'll find a level 60 Lugia. Both Lugia and Ho-oh have the unfortunate downside of having Recover as move, so it's recommended to bring a Pokémon that can put them asleep to prevent them from spamming it while you lower their HP. Once their HP is low, just chuck Ultra Balls again as usual.
Rise of the Rainbow (5) Capture Ho-oh.
Guardian of the Sky (5) Catch Ho-Oh without using a Master Ball and register their Pokedex entry.
-=MISSABLE=-
After having captured the three Legendary Dogs and entering the hall of fame, go to the Tin Tower in Ecruteak City and the sage at the back of the room will give you the Rainbow Wing. Make your way to the top, where a level 60 Ho-oh is waiting for you. Both Lugia and Ho-oh have the unfortunate downside of having Recover as move, so it's recommended to bring a Pokémon that can put them asleep to prevent them from spamming it while you lower their HP. Once their HP is low, just chuck Ultra Balls again as usual.
Johto Explorer (25) Obtain all of the items within Johto. (Red Pokeballs and hidden items)
-=MISSABLE=-
This achievement is only missable if you do not capture all three of the Legendary Dogs. If you don't, you will not be able to enter the Tin Tower where Ho-oh is, which also has items. I'm not going to tell you every location as I have a nice map below (courtesy of ZaidusRecon on Reddit) and also a link to Smogon, but there are a few sneaky ones you may want to watch out for, including:
- Taking the boat from Kanto to Johto (this counts as Johto items)
- After leaving this boat, use surf and go left to find an item within the harbour. Needs to be done after leaving the boat, otherwise you can't get back in.
- There are a few items in the Goldenrod Department Store Basement, where boxes are moved around every time you re-enter from the elevator.
- The map is wrong with displaying the location for the Revive in Cianwood City. It's in the rock beneath the house.
- The Ruins of Alph has secret doors in every puzzle room that will lead to more items.
- Mt. Silver falls within Johto, so be sure to get the (hidden) items here as well.
Besides that, the only advice I can really give is to mark off every location. The achievement is 209 items in total, and it would be redundant to post every single location here in text.
Gotta Catch 'em All - Crystal (50) Catch all 206 obtainable Pokemon.
This is missable for obvious reasons: don't kill static Pokémons and Legendaries. If you don't catch them during your first and only encounter, you can't get this achievement. This involves every Pokémon that has an achievement (Sudowoodo, Snorlax), and the Legendary Pokémon. Obviously don't delete the egg you get from Professor Elm for the Togepi.
Other tips and tricks to make this achievement managable:
- When in need of elemental stones (see: No Longer Scarce achievement), have only their numbers in the phone and no one elses. Then, go to your house, ask mom to switch between summer/winter time, and you will get consistent calls. They'll either challenge you for a battle or to give you an item, which will be the elemental stones.
- Get the Exp Share by trading in the Red Scale (see: Rare Hunter). For Pokémon that need levels, just go to the League and fast-forward through battles with your strongest Pokémon(s) while another Pokémon holding the Exp Share is in the backrow.
- For getting Pokémon their happiness up, I found the main road of Goldenrod City to the route below to be pretty long. Put the Pokémon in first slot, hop on your cycle, and fastforward for a while. There is a happiness checker in the same City.
Mesmerizing Dance (3) Watch the Clefairy event on Mt. Moon Square and obtain a Moon Stone.
On any Monday night, head to the top of Mt. Moon with a Pokémon that knows Rock Smash. Once there, the Clefairy will perform a dance and you can then break the rock for a Moon Stone.
One Last Battle (5) Win the optional battle against your rival at Indigo Plateau.
Silver will battle you right before you enter the League on Monday and Wednesday. His team is pretty similar to his last encounter, and there's no level cap so just stomp him with your best Pokémon.
Bug Catching Contest Champ (5) Win 1st place in the Bug Catching Contest.
The Bug Catching Contest north of Goldenrod City takes place on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and can be entered once a day. Winning the contest is generally completely up to RNG, but you have the highest chance with a Scyther, Pinsir, Butterfree, or Beedrill. Try to catch them on a level as high as possible (14-15) and you will most likely win.
Bug Catching Contest Little Cup (10) Win the Bug Catching Contest without a Scyther, Pinsir, Butterfree, or Beedrill.
The Bug Catching Contest north of Goldenrod City takes place on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and can be entered once a day. For this, you either need to catch a Metapod/Kakuna at level 18, or a Venonat at level 16. You must also make absolutely sure Cooltrainer Nick is NOT present. He's the blue NPC standing to the left of the fountain. Save outside the gate, bike there, and reload if he is present. It might take a few tries due to RNG, but you'll win eventually.
Crawl Back to Your Cave (10) Win the Bug-Catching Contest with Cooltrainer Nick present.
The Bug Catching Contest north of Goldenrod City takes place on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and can be entered once a day. Cooltrainer Nick is the blue NPC left of the fountain. What you want to do is save outside the gate and bike to that location, and reload if he's not there. When he is, try to hunt for the best Pokémon there are (Pinsir/Scyther/Beedrill/Butterfree) at level 14-15, and keep trying until you win. Nick is a cheater so it may take a few attempts.
Show Me Your Moves! (5) Learn a new move from Bill's Dad outside Goldenrod City's Game Corner.
After having beaten the League once, Bill's Dad will be outside the Goldenrod City's Game Corner on every Wednesday and Saturday. Give him 4000 coins gained from the Game Corner and he will teach you a move.
A New Ride (5) Catch a Lapras in Union Cave and register their Pokedex entry.
Lapras can only be found on a Friday in the deepest section of the Union Cave, and is a static encounter. Unlike the other static encounters however, you can accidentally kill it and just wait until the next Friday where it will respawn.
Frustrated/Excited Beyond Belief (5) Use Frustration or Return at its max power. (Slot 1 Pokemon only)
Either get a Pokémon's friendship to the absolute lowest (have it faint in battle multiple times back to back, store it in PC) or to the highest (keep it in your party while walking, win battles with it), then go to Goldenrod City and in the far-east house, the NPC will tell you the values. Then, go to the Goldenrod City Department Story on Sunday, and the NPC on the fifth floor will give you a move based on the friendship. Use this move in battle to gain the achievement.
Tea Time! (2) Get your Pokemon groomed by Daisy Oak in Pallet Town.
You can go to Daisy Oak in Pallet Town at any day of the between between 3 and 4 PM, where she will give your Pokémon a grooming.
S.S. Aqua Conqueror (5) Defeat all possible trainers while riding the S.S. Aqua. (1st trip excluded)
Taking the boat from Johto to Kanto and vice versa has different trainers. Therefore you need to take the boat to Kanto on either Monday or Friday, and to Johto on Sunday or Wednesday.
- From Johto to Kanto, there are 6 trainers in the upper deck, 3 in the lower deck
- From Kanto to Johto, there are 6 trainers in the upper deck, 4 in the lower deck
Make My Day (5) Receive all the gifts from the Week Siblings.
For every day of the week, there is a sibling found somewhere in Johto that has an item for you. Either wait until the day arrives or use the date change mechanic.
| Day | Location | Item |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Route 40 | Sharp Beak |
| Tuesday | Route 29 | Pink Bow |
| Wednesday | Lake of Rage | Blackbelt |
| Thursday | Route 36 | Hard Stone |
| Friday | Route 32 | Poison Barb |
| Saturday | Blackthorn City | Spell Tag |
| Sunday | Route 37 | Magnet |
Fire Sale (2) Buy something in the Rooftop Sale at Goldenrod City's Dept. Store.
Get the number of Camper Todd on Route 34, south of Goldenrod. Head to mom in New Bark Town and keep changing from winter to summer time and back until he calls you mentioning a Rooftop Sale is going on. Head to the rooftop of the department store and buy something.
No Longer Scarce (2) Receive an elemental stone from a registered Pokegear trainer.
There are a total of four trainers you can get an elemental stone from. They'll call you on the phone when they either want to battle (can be ignored), or when the found an item. You can manipulate calls by heading to mom in New bark Town and constantly changing between winter/summer time. The trainers are as follows:
| Who | Where | Stone |
|---|---|---|
| Picnicker Gina | Route 34 | Leaf Stone |
| Schoolboy Allan | Route 36 | Fire Stone |
| Lass Dana | Route 38 | Thunder Stone |
| Fisher Tully | Route 42 | Water Stone |
Winding Down (2) Receive a PP Up from Blackbelt Kenji.
Kenji is found on Route 45. Ask for his number, and then call him every day between 10 AM and 6 PM. He will either tell you to call again tomorrow or asks you to come over. When he asks you to come over, he will give you the PP Up. Change the date to a day later if not.
McNugget (2) Receive a Nugget from either Pokefan Beverly or Pokefan Derek.
You need to show Pokéfan Beverly a Marill in the National Park, or Pokefan Derek a Pikachu on Route 39. Once you have their number, head to mom, change the daylight savings time, and you will eventually get a call that they have an item for you. Pick it up and the achievement will trigger.
Performance Enhancing Vitamins (5) Receive a vitamin from all possible trainer rematches.
There are a total of 5 trainers that will call you for a match. Beat them a specified amount of time, after which they will give you a vitamin. For the quickest way to do this, make sure to only have those 5 numbers in your phone, then go to mum to change the daylight savings time repeatedly until they call.
| Who | Where | Amount of rematches | Vitamin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youngster Joey | Route 30 | 5x | HP UP |
| Sailor Huey | Olivine Lighthouse | 4x | Protein |
| Bird Keeper Vance | Route 44 | 3x | Carbos |
| Hiker Parry | Route 45 | 3x | Iron |
| Picnicker Erin | Route 46 | 3x | Calcium |
Buena's Biggest Fan (5) Register Buena's number in the Pokegear.
Buena will give you her number after winning her phone game 30 times. This phone game takes place every day between 6 PM and midnight, so you might need to change the dates unless you are fine tuning in every day. Open the radio, listen to her phone game, then go to the Goldenrod City Radio Tower and give her the answer from the phone game. Do this 30 times and you will get her number.
So That's Where Pokemon Come From! (2) Show Prof. Elm the hatched Togepi egg and receive a reward.
You will be given an egg near the start of the game, at Mr. Pokémon's house. Hatch this egg into a Togepi, then talk to Professor Elm in New Bark Town with your Togepi in the party and he will give you a reward.
Do Not Disturb (2) Encounter a sleeping Pokemon by headbutting a tree.
During the day, headbutt any tree on lower level routes to find a sleeping Hoothoot.
Free Advertisement (2) Boost the sales for the Bike Shop Owner in Goldenrod City.
Drive the bike a lot and eventually the Bike Shop Owner will give you a call letting you know you can keep the bike, triggering this achievement.
Avalanche (2) Have Golem show up while playing the slot machines.
Golem will randomly show up playing the slot machines. No mechanics involved here so just keep playing the slot machine until it happens.
Hitting the Jackpot (5) Match 3 7's in slots.
Nothing to say here really, just keep playing the slots until you win. Increase your chances by throwing in more coins at once so every lane is covered. If you're short on coins or money, save the game beforehand.
Luck of the Draw (3) Win a x24 bet in Card Flip.
Save the game beforehand, then bet everything on a single card until you win. Don't change cards, as your chance with the current one will increase over time. It's all pure luck so nothing to say here.
Our Words Shall Remain Here For the Ages (5) Solve all slide puzzles and obtain all the items hidden within the Ruins of Alph.
There are four puzzles scattered throughout the ruins, all showing a different Pokémon. These are: Kabuto, Omanyte, Ho-oh, and Aerodactyl. The solutions are as follows:
All Unown (10) Catch all 26 types of Unown.
As the description implies, you need to catch every letter of the alphabet here. The Pokédex has an additional tab for Unown to check which ones you already have. More Unown letters spawn after each puzzle is solved within the ruins, so you can use that to your advantage to either limit the ones you want to see or just have them all unlocked at once. A-K is available after the Kabuto Puzzle, L-R after Omanyte, S-W after Aerodactyl, and X-Z after Ho-oh.
Didn't Know I Had It in Me! (2) Get a "Super Effective" using Hidden Power.
Hidden Power is the default move of Unown. Given that you caught 26 Unown for the All Unown achievement, you can either use one Unown and try to attack every type until you hit a super effective, or focus on one type and switch in all of the Unown's you caught. The chance of hitting a super effective is pretty high though so this shouldn't take too long.
Living Blender (1) Have Shuckle turn a berry into Berry Juice.
Give a berry to a Shuckle, then have it win a few battles. After a random victory, it will blend the berry into juice.
Maybe There is a Shiny (2) Obtain the Odd Egg from the Day-Care Couple.
Simply obtain the Odd Egg from the old man at the Day-Care on Route 34 and hatch it. Congrats if you got a shiny, but it is not necessary to unlock the achievement.
Rare Hunter (2) Trade a Red Scale for an EXP Share.
After obtaining the Red Scale after dealing with the shiny Gyarados in the Lake of Rage, head to Mr. Pokémon north of Cherrygrove City. Give him the Red Scale and he will trade you the Exp Share in return.
Moomoo Farm's Prized Possession (2) Fully heal the Miltank at Moomoo Farm.
Give the Miltank at the Moomoo Farm 7 ordinary berries at once. I can't confirm if you can do it in multiple sessions but it felt like more than 7 to me, so just do it all at once. The Miltank will be healed after all berries have been given.
New Magikarp Record! (5) Beat the Fisherman Guru's record in Lake of Rage.
Catch a Magikarp at the Lake of Rage, then show it to the Fisherman Guru. It's pure luck whether it is a new record or not, so just keep trying until you win. Fortunately, it generally won't take very long.
Ticket to Ride (2) Earn a Ticket for the Magnet Train.
Receive the Pokédoll from the man on the left side of the table in the Pokémon Fan Club in Vermillion City, then give it to the copycat girl in Saffron City in exchange for the ticket.
Crossed Off the Bucket List (5) Show Bill's Grandpa all 5 Pokemon he requests.
Bill is north of Cerulean City. Here, he will request you to bring him 5 Pokémon that need to be in your party. The following Pokémon are necessary:
| Pokémon | Location |
|---|---|
| Lickitung | Route 44 (day) |
| Growlithe | Route 8, 35, 36, 37 (day) |
| Pichu | Hatch Pikachu/Raichi |
| Staryu | Various locations (night) - Use Good/Super rod |
| Oddish | Route 24, 25, Ilex Forest (night) |
Fishing Fan (5) Collect all 3 fishing rods.
You can find all three of the fishing rods in the following locations:
- Old Rod - Route 32 Pokémon Center from the fisherman.
- Good Rod - Olivine City in the house north of the Pokémon Center from the fisherman.
- Super Rod - Route 12 from the fisherman.
You Bought What Again!? (5) Own all in-game Pokedolls purchased by Mom.
Mom will purchase a total of four dolls with the money stored at her. She will buy them at certain thresholds, with 100,000 Pokédollars being the most so be sure to have that saved there at the very least. The dolls themselves cost less, so you don't need to worry about all 100,000 Pokédollars being spent. She will call you over time letting you know she has bought a doll.
No Need to Gift Wrap (5) Receive all Pokemon gifts from NPCs.
You can receive the following Pokémon as gifts:
| Pokémon | Where |
|---|---|
| Spearow | Gate connecting Goldenrod City to Route 35 |
| Eevee | Bill's house in Goldenrod City after having met him in Ecruteak City |
| Dratini | Reward from the Dragon's Den. Answer all questions correctly to get Aced the Test achievement |
| Shuckle | Cianwood City |
| Tyroque | Karate King in Mt. Mortar |
The other Pokémon, Togepi and one random baby Pokémon, are gained from eggs.
Trade Master (5) Complete all ingame trades.
You can receive the following Pokémon as trades:
| Pokémon you get | Pokémon you trade | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Onix | Bellsprout | Violet City |
| Machop | Abra | Goldenrod City |
| Voltorb | Krabby | Olivine City |
| Dodrio | Dragonair (Female) | Blackthorn City |
| Xatu | Haunter | Pewter City |
| Magneton | Dugtrio | Power Plant |
| Aerodactyl | Chansey | Route 14 |
Batch Order (5) Receive a batch of 10 or more special Poke Balls from Kurt.
As the description implies, give 10 apricorns to Kurt at once. Come back later to receive the batch of 10 Pokéballs.
Enguarde! (10) Steal or catch a wild Farfetch'd holding a Stick.
Farfetch'd can be found on Route 43 during morning/day, north of Mahogany Town. It has a 20% appearance rate, and a 2% chance to hold a Stick. If you play on emulators that support it, there will be a trigger in the bottom-right of the screen letting you know when the Farfetch'd you are facing has a Stick, so then either capture it or use the move Thief.
Time to Club Some Seels! (10) Obtain a Thick Club from a wild Cubone or Marowak.
Cubone/Marowak can be found in the Rock Tunnel during morning/day. Cubone has a 30% appearance rate while Marowak has a 5% appearance rate. Both have a 2% chance to hold a Thick Club. If you play on emulators that support it, there will be a trigger in the bottom-right of the screen letting you know when the Cubone/Marowak you are facing has a Thick Club, so then either capture it or use the move Thief.
A Lucky Find (25) Steal or catch a wild Chansey holding a Lucky Egg.
Chansey can found on Route 13, 14, and 15 at any point of the day. Unfortunately, Chansey has a very low appearance rate of 1%, with it then only having a 2% chance to hold the Lucky Egg. You can slightly increase the odds hunting it during day on Route 14 with your highest Pokémon being level 28, meaning that only it, Pidgeotto, Venemoth, Hoppip, and Skiploom can appear alongside it. Regardless, it has the potential to be a very long grind and I don't really have much more advice beyond just keep trying. If you play on emulators that support it, there will be a trigger in the bottom-right of the screen letting you know when the Chansey you are facing has a Lucky Egg, so then either capture it or use the move Thief. Might as well chuck your Master Ball at it tbh.
Technical Machine Enthusiast (25) Collect all of the finite TMs and HMs.
As the description applies, you need to get every TM that cannot be repeatedly bought with money or coins from the game corner. You can still use these during your playthrough and don't need to have them all at once. Aside from gym battle rewards and HMs, you need to get the following TMs:
| TM | Location |
|---|---|
| TM03 - Curse | Celadon Mansion (at night) |
| TM04 - Rollout | Route 35 |
| TM05 - Roar | Route 32 |
| TM07 - Zap Cannon | Reward from the Power Plant event |
| TM12 - Sweet Scent | Ilex Forest |
| TM13 - Snore | Reward from healing the Miltank |
| TM18 - Rain Dance | Slowpoke Well |
| TM20 - Endure | Burnt Tower |
| TM22 - Solar Beam | Route 27 |
| TM26 - Earthquake | Victory Road |
| TM28 - Dig | National Park |
| TM34 - Swagger | Olivine Lighthouse |
| TM35 - Sleeptalk | Goldenrod shop basement |
| TM36 - Sludgebomb | Route 43 |
| TM39 - Swift | Union Cave |
| TM40 - Defense Curl | Mt. Mortar |
| TM42 - Dream Eater | Viridian City |
| TM43 - Detect | Lake of Rage |
| TM44 - Rest | Ice Cave |
| TM46 - Thief | Rocket Hideout in Mahogany Town |
| TM47 - Steel Wing | Route 28/Rock Tunnel |
| TM50 - Nightmare | Route 31 (deliver the Spearow) |
Kanto Explorer (10) Find all items in Kanto. (Red Pokeballs and hidden items)
I'm not going to tell you every location as I have a nice map below (courtesy of ZaidusRecon on Reddit) and also a link to Smogon, but there are a few sneaky ones you may want to watch out for, including:
- Taking the boat from Johto to Kanto (this counts as Johto items)
- After leaving this boat, use surf and go left to find a hitten item in the water within the harbour. Needs to be done after leaving the boat, otherwise you can't get back in.
- Don't forget the underground path leading from Cerulean City to Vermillion City
Besides that, the only advice I can really give is to mark off every location. The achievement is ??? (sorry beent too long since I played lmao) items in total, and it would be redundant to post every single location here in text.
Johto Conqueror (25) Defeat all non-missable Johto trainers in the overworld.
Yet again a massive list that would be to redundant to post, so I will share the ones most obviously forgotten about instead:
- Guards will only fight you at night, and are located on Route 34, 35, and 39
- Also on Route 34, surf to the south-west for a secluded area with 3 Cooltrainers
- There are a bunch of trainers around the Lake of Rage, including fishermen
- Mt. Mortar is an optional area you might have forgotten about, and has several trainers inside
- Route 45/46 also has a bunch of trainers on different paths
- If all else fails, checking around the Whirl Islands would be a safe bet thanks to the big open area it is
Kanto Conqueror (10) Defeat all non-missable Kanto trainers.
Yet again a massive list that would be to redundant to post, so I will share the ones most obviously forgotten about instead:
- Don't forget that the route east of New Bark Town is part of Kanto
- There's a good amount of trainers in the water around Cinnabar Island
Five Chumps (10) Defeat the Elite Four and Champion Lance with only one Pokemon.
You can choose any Pokémon you wish, and given that the Elite Four/Champion never becomes stronger than their first try, a lot of people will be viable for this. Personally, I can recommend Piloswine due to the moves it has being effective or at the very least neutral against all Pokémon. Dragonite, Tyranitar, Crobat, and the Legendaries are all good options as well. Remember that you can only bring a single Pokémon, but there is no restrictions on item usage during or between battles. If you somehow get in trouble, using X items and Guard Spec will make this even easier. Making the Pokémon hold Leftovers (Celadon City restaurant) will not hurt either.
Seeing Red (10) Defeat Pokemon Trainer Red on Mt. Silver with only one Pokemon.
You can choose any Pokémon you wish, and yet again I can recommend Piloswine a lot. Due to Red starting with a Pikachu and there being no restriction on item usage, it's very easy to just use a bunch of X items near the start of the battle that will practically ensure that you will defeat every Pokémon in one hit. Earthquake OP. Dragonite, Tyranitar, Crobat, and the Legendaries are all good options as well, and a max friendship Blissey with Softboiled and Return will also make this battle easy. Making the Pokémon hold Leftovers (Celadon City restaurant) will not hurt either.
Battle Tower Winner (25) Defeat 7 trainers in a row in the Battle Tower.
Johto Strength (25) Clear Battle Tower with only Johto Pokemon (Lugia and Ho-oh excluded).
The toughest achievements of the set, but still ones that you can do fairly easy with a prepared team of a few Pokémon. You can bring up to 3 Pokémon, and to save yourself some grinding, it's best to breed all of them, get their frienship up to the max quickly after they hatched, and then level them to 10 with all vitamins used on them. The following Pokémon are high recommendations:
- Blissey - The most commonly-used Pokémon due to its high hitpool and being neutral against most types. Give it Leftovers as held item, and at least Return and Softboiled as moves. Double Team, Toxic, Fire Blast, Blizzard/Ice Beam, and Thunder/Thunderbolt are good other moves depending on if you have the TMs
- Skarmory - Doesn't have a lot of weaknesses and can dish out a lot of damage. Personally, I used Skarmory with a Focus Sash as held item, and a Rest/Sleeptalk build with Toxic and Steel Wing as supporting moves
- Houndour - For me just the third extra Pokémon if the other two failed, but still a great choice. I gave it a Quick Claw as held item, with Return, Flamethrower, Shadow Ball, and Sludge Bomb as moves
- Smeargle - Not one I used myself, but Smeargle is a very popular choice as well. Equip it with a Focus Sash or Gold Berry as item and give it Dragon Rage and it will do the job
- Wobbuffet - Give it a focus sash and use counter and congrats, you won
- Heracross - No experience using Heracross myself, but it's a potentially good sweeper so might be worth considering if the others don't sound appealing. Give it a Quick Claw and the moves Earthquake, Protect, and Return with max friendship and you go another good candidate.
I should stress that I am not a competitive player at all, but with Blissey/Skarmory/Houndour it only took me a few tries. Porygon-2 with its Hyper Beam was probably the biggest threat for me.