Last Updated: 2/11/2003
This is a list of some books that I've had the opportunity of using and evaluating while I've played. The opinions herein are strictly my own, but hopefully they will help anyone in need of a quality guide.
The books are listed in no particular order and include title, publisher, page count, ISBN number, and retail price. When possible, a cover picture is included. Highlights of the book are included, followed by a review. My personal book rating is between 0 and 5 stars. (0 stars being birdcage lining and 5 stars meaning you'll sleep with it under your pillow every night.)
Pokémon Crystal Official Strategy Guide (Prima Publishing)
Pokémon Official Perfect Guide (VersusBooks)
Pokémon Gold Silver Crystal Official Strategy Guide (Prima Publishing)
Pokémon Gold & Silver Official Strategy Guide (Prima Publishing)
Pokémon Gold and Silver Version: Official Trainers Guide (Bradygames)
Pokémon Gold Version and Silver Version: Official Pocket Guide (Bradygames)
Pokémon Yellow: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Prima Publishing)
Pokémon Red/Blue: Prima's Official Strategy Guide (Prima Publishing)
How To Become a Pokémon Master (Hank Schlesinger)
Pokémon Trainers Guide (Gamebooks)
The Official Pokémon Handbook: Deluxe Collector's Edition (Scholastic)
The following manuals are used with the Gold, Silver, and/or Crystal versions of Pokémon.
| Title | Rating | |
|---|---|---|
| It's a Tie! | Pokémon Official Perfect Guide (VersusBooks) |   |
| Pokémon Gold Silver Crystal Official Strategy Guide (Prima Publishing) | |
| Title | Rating |
|---|---|
| Pokémon Crystal Official Strategy Guide (Prima Publishing) | |
Elizabeth M. Hollinger
Prima Publishing
www.primagames.com
©2001 144 pages
ISBN: 0-7615-3666-3
Retail: $12.99
Covers Versions: Crystal
Reviewed: 2/11/2003
Highlights
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I reviewed my first guide by Prima Publishing, Pokémon Gold Silver Crystal Official Strategy Guide, last November. That book included information on Gold and Silver and was therefore generalized and not very specific to the world of Crystal. The Pokémon Crystal Official Strategy Guide by Prima Publishing, however, focuses on all the specifics for the world of Crystal, and I think does so very well.
As is the case with all Prima books, the book layout is brimming with vivid color and fun pictures (even if the pictures are the same ones we've been looking at for years now). They've streamlined (read: shortened) the overall size of their Pokédex (28 pages), but they manage to pack quite a bit of useful data in. Included are moves learned by levelling up, and a separate section covers the breedable moves. Radar-area graphs show relative stat strengths and weaknesses. Note that the typeface used is quite small in the Pokédex, so beware if you're farsighted and lost your reading glasses.
Prima continues to provide great essays on many different topics such as Playing Strengths Against Weaknesses, Physical Vs Special Attacks, and all the basics for people who have never played the games before. There are also many essays on more advanced topics such as Inheriting Moves and Stats and Capturing the Three Legendary Pokémon. Complete item descriptions are also included in several tables, including their price and location. One of my favorites continues to be the Attached Items of Pokémon from Red/Blue/Yellow (the items that R/B/Y Pokémon traded to G/S/C will be holding). I still haven't cracked how these items are determined, so I still have to refer to this table from time to time. (However, I know their table isn't 100% accurate. Yesterday I noticed that my Lapras from Pokémon Yellow traded over to my Silver game was holding a Rare Candy, not a Bitter Berry as the guide's chart states.)
Other useful stuff includes a calendar of events, a listing of all moves (also in small print and gives the briefest of explanations), and HM/TM descriptions and locations. They provide two walkthroughs: a "quick and dirty" version that summarizes everything, and a more detailed one that covers about half the book. The detailed walkthrough covers everything you need to know about finding items that needs to be found, doing things that need to be done, and other tidbits of info. I'm not big into walkthroughs myself, so I don't get too excited about them unless they aren't included in a guide. There are times for everyone when you can't remember or figure out why Ho-oh isn't showing up in the Tin Tower, or which of the Whirl Islands Lugia is in.
Overall, Prima has continued to strive to pack more and more information into a given set of pages. I've already noticed some unimportant typos and inaccuracies so far, I'm sure this book is no different than Prima's others in that regard. But, by and large, this guide provides a ton of useful and necessary information on playing the latest installment of the Metallic Pokémon series. At this point, the only reason why I give them only 4½ stars instead of 5 is because they could go just a little further in their move descriptions (how about mentioning that Sunny Day also decreases Water-type attack damage by ½, doubles the healing power of Morning Sun, Moonlight, and Synthesis, eliminates charge time on Solarbeam, reduces accuracy of Thunder to 50%, and prevents further Pokémon from becoming Frozen? All they say it does is increse the power of Fire-based attacks for five turns.) If they would just go the extra mile, I'd be happy to give them a perfect rating.
Rating:
Versus Books Publishing
www.versusbooks.com
©2000 Volume 22 / 208 pages
ISBN: 0-9706468-0-1
Retail: $14.95
Covers Versions: Gold, Silver
Reviewed: 9/30/2001
Highlights
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This was, I admit, the first book I ever used for Pokémon Gold and Silver. Nevertheless, it remains my favorite by far compared to others that I have checked out since.
It has a very comprehensive Pokédex of 250 Pokémon (Celebi is not listed). It lists the moves gained at which level (including power, accuracy, and PP), TM's, and HM's (but not moves obtainable only by breeding). Included are approximate ability scores reached at level 100, but these are only rough estimates and should not be confused with (or used as) either Max Stats or Base Stats. It shows the different evolution stages and the conditions for evolution. One thing I really appreciated as a player is that along with listing all the moves in the Pokédex right next to each Pokémon, it shows the move abilities (type, power, PP, and description). This makes it so much easier to get a real feel for exactly what each Pokémon can do. The authors get an "A" for their Pokédex! (I'll reserve an A+ for one that lists actual Base and Max Stats.)
They include "Top 5" Pokémon lists of all abilities and types ranked by their power in each category. There are many essays on topics such as strategies on capturing the Legendary Dogs, baby Pokémon, Eevee evolution, locations of hard-to-find Pokémon, and breeding moves. A list is provided of every move in the game, complete with description, power, accuracy, and PP. A calendar of events shows all the things happening each day of the week (such as what days the Salon is open, etc). Of course, an included combat table shows move type effectiveness against all the Pokémon types. The only important criticism I would offer is there are several typos throughout the book; perhaps they were rushing to press. Most of us know that, while Poison Power sounds like a pretty cool move, they probably mean Poison Powder.
My copy is starting to become dog-eared from my referring to it so often, that's how much I use it. If you're looking for one book that pretty much has it all, this is it. The sheer amount of information, presented in full color with plenty of illustrative pictures, makes this an invaluable help in the game. The walkthrough covers all the important events and storyline. If you get stuck, chances are the answer is in there. It's a little more expensive than some of the other guides, but it's worth it.
Rating:
Elizabeth M. Hollinger
Prima Publishing
www.primagames.com
©2002 108 pages
ISBN: 0-7615-4044-X
Retail: $14.99
Covers Versions: Gold, Silver, and Crystal
Reviewed: 11/17/2002
Highlights
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Well, I have to give Prima Publishing credit, this latest Pokémon strategy guide is their best yet. They have made a definite effort to include comprehensive and advanced information to the players of the world. Prima's guides are known for their colorful and fun layouts and this one is no exception. There are pages and pages of lists and short essays of suggestions, hints, and ideas packed everywhere. Their type-advantage matrix tables covers every type combination that exists in the game (such as Fire vs Poison/Flying). It's a little overkill but I have to admire completeness. Almost every conceivable aspect of the game is covered somewhere in this tome of knowledgy goodness. TM's, HM's, seasonal Pokémon, Pokéballs, baby Pokémon, trading Pokémon, evolutions, even a full essay on Pokémon happiness (which they call the Taming Factor). They have also gone above and beyond in several key areas.
There is more comprehensive breeding information than I've seen in any other work reviewed here. They actually include the breeding groups 1-15, enabling you to figure out who can breed successfully with who (they also provide a table showing the same information to take all the guesswork out). They include essays on inheriting stats and moves and they generally get it right without coming right out and calling them Pokémon Genes. If a player didn't know about genes, though, then the essays may not make a whole lot of sense. And finally for the coup-de-grâce, it has a complete breedable moves listing for all 251 Pokémon. This is invaluable in and of itself when you are trying to breed a specific moveset. They even have—get this—a complete table of the specific breeding path to breed a particular inheritable move. Talk about taking the guesswork out of it!
Their Pokédex has superb information in it. It's got the standard fare like leveling moves, TM's and HM's, as well as evolutionary paths. They also include little colored icons showing that each Pokémon is strong and weak against, and graphical icons showing where and how to catch them. They still don't precisely publish the Base Stats, but they do provide a hexagonal radar-map showing the relative strengths and weaknesses of each stat. I'm not sure how much that graph will be actually used by people, but hey you have to admire their thoroughness.
In the back they have yet more tables describing each item in the game, where it can be found, how much it can be sold for, and a description of its use. They also include a table of possible attached items found on wild and traded Pokémon. They even provide a table of data on the Pokémon Pikachu 2 GS, which can be handy for earning such items as Rare Candy (a favorite of mine for use with the Pokémon DV Calculator program). And finally, a calendar in back lets you know what is happening each day of the week as a reminder if you aren't sure they Gary will be showing up at the Indigo Plateau.
Now that I've extolled it's virtues, it's time for some criticisms. First, the walkthrough is gone. There is no walkthrough. (Though the reason for this is clear: there are many differences between the Gold/Silver walkthrough and the Crystal walkthrough. If Prima tried to provide a dual-walkthrough, it would be both confusing and increase the size of the book significantly, thereby raising the price.) If you are stuck in part of the game and need help with the Rainbow Wing or the Legendary Dogs, go somewhere else because it ain't here. I'd say that's fairly serious in and of itself. Some people are new to Pokémon and Crystal might be their first introduction to the game. In that case, they would need to get help from some other source. I also noticed one table that is a suspiciously exact duplicate found in the Breeding FAQ authored by Nick Whiz1 and is available on Gamefaqs.com. I know for a fact that Nick's FAQ has been on Gamefaqs for far longer than this manual has been in print, so I just wonder how much of this wonderous information found in the book was obtained by the hard work of the experts in the field.
In summary, this book is their best yet. I don't know how many errors are in the data, however. I have heard that there are mistakes. However, every publication has some glitches, I'm sure this one has the requisite number of them. Despite this, there is a mountain of useful data in here for the intermediate to advanced player. Novices who would require a walkthrough should make another choice. I would give this book 5 stars if it wasn't missing the walkthrough.
Rating:
Prima Publishing
www.primagames.com
©2000 176 pages
ISBN: 0-7615-3084-3
Retail: $14.99
Covers Versions: Gold, Silver
Reviewed: 9/30/2001
Highlights
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This manual reminds me of a pińata—when you crack open the cover, it explodes with informational candy and technical goodies. It has plenty of pictures, detailing most everything in vivid Technicolor.
Prima has included, as you would expect, a full walkthrough for those of us who get lost, bewildered, or just can't remember where to get the Zap Cannon TM. It is chock-full of useful hints, maps, notes, tables, and suggestions that will help both novices and experts alike.
For the new players, it covers the basic play rules, including a power-type matrix for determining what moves and effective against which types. It outlines in-season and rare Pokémon so you have no trouble finding them. Baby Pokémon are discussed, but strangely there are a few pictures that have been omitted (such as Tyrogue, Smoochum, and Magby), instead replaced by question-marks. What, they couldn't find their pictures? Evolution, special evolutions, evolution stones, and happiness factor is covered, as well as breeding your favorite Pokémon.
I personally appreciate their listing which Pokémon are missing from the Gold, Silver, and R/B/Y versions. They don't have a separate Pokédex section, they integrate theirs throughout the book. This can make looking up stats inconvenient. Their listings don't include some information I consider basic and important, such as TM and HM usage. A complete move index describes every move available in detail.
What I think impresses me the most is the amount of information provided. They include data such as what every Berry does and where you can find it. Best of all, they include an exclusive listing of every item in the game, what it does, and where you can find it. This may not sound like much, but it's invaluable. Sure, everyone knows that a Super Potion heals 50 HP, but when you're holding a Brick Piece and trying everything you can think of to make it dance, fly, raise your Defense, or conjure black lightning, it's very nice to know that it's only use is to get you a few more dollars selling it. They also supply another table that lists every wild Pokémon and what item is attached to it if you trade (even if it's from Pokémon Stadium!). There is even a table of Mystery Gifts including Room Decorations, their source, and rarity.
This book is a gold mine of useful information. They have extremely useful data I haven't seen in any other guidebook. They're missing only a few pictures and their Pokédex definitely needs work, but if it weren't for these shortcomings, this would honestly be the best sourcebook reviewed here.
Rating: 
Philip Marcus
Brady Publishing
www.bradygames.com
©2000 176 pages
ISBN: 0-0-7440000-5-X
Retail: $12.99
Covers Versions: Gold, Silver
Reviewed: 9/30/2001
Highlights
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This is the larger collectors edition published by Bradygames. They also publish a pocket version also reviewed here. The disappointing thing is that they don't really include that much more content here than in the pocket version, but at almost double the price.
All 250 Pokémon are listed except for Celebi. There isn't a comprehensive Pokédex, however, just lists scattered throughout the book showing their name, power types, height, and weight. TM's, HM's, and evolutions are listed in the back of the book). This version is in full glossy color, and the walkthrough maps are a little better than in the pocket version. It doesn't focus hardly at all on the Kanto region, only a few pages in the back and a few blurbs. Like the pocket version, it does include some extras like Mystery Gift items and their likeliness of being acquired.
This edition is certainly bigger than the pocket version, but I don't see where you are getting any more content. What I do see is a lot of wasted white space. White space can be a good thing, but this has it in spades. Makes one think that they were trying to meet a page quota rather than include as much information as possible. I'm actually giving this book a lesser rating than the pocket version because for all the added money I don't see any additional added value.
Rating:
Phillip Marcus
Brady Publishing
www.bradygames.com
©2001 146 pages
ISBN: 0-7440-0042-4
Retail: $7.99
Covers Versions: Gold, Silver
Reviewed: 10/2/2001
Highlights
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This book appears to be very similar to the Pokémon Gold Version and Silver Version: Official Trainers Guide also reviewed here, but this is the pocket version. It has fewer pages and is obviously meant to be a more concise edition. This one you is just the right side to fit in your back pocket along with your Gameboy. Despite its small size, it does pack quite a bit of quality information within it's covers.
It does cover all 250 Pokémon (poor Celebi has been ignored again), but only their name, types, height, and weight. Their moves, TM's, HM's, and evolutions are not listed (however, there is a separate list elsewhere that lists stone-evolved, tameness-evolved, and trade-evolved Pokémon). It's walkthrough is adequate and more-or-less covers everything necessary to complete the game. It does offer some nice extras, however, like covers the Puzzles of Alph, the land of Kanto, complete move lists showing type, power, accuracy, and PP. It even lists items available through Mystery Gift and their rarity.
This book isn't bad, really. It's got all the basics, though because this is a pocket-book it doesn't include as much detail as a larger, thicker guide would. It has several discussions about breeding, and I was impressed to see that they even included the topic of Stat Points and how these invisible points affect the overall ability scores of your Pokémon. He even speaks about DV's (though he doesn't call them that) and how no two Pokémon are the same. The author knows what he's talking about.
Rating:
These books are intended for use with Pokémon Red, Blue, and/or Yellow.
Editors Choice: Pokémon Yellow: Prima's
Official Strategy Guide (Prima)
Rating:
Prima Publishing
www.primagames.com
©1999 116 pages
ISBN: 0-7615-2277-8
Retail: $12.99
Covers Versions: Yellow, Red, Blue
Reviewed: 1/26/2002
Highlights
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This book is just as complete as it's Red/Blue counterpart is (also reviewed here). It has plenty of useful hints, suggestions, and advice. There are plenty of color pictures showing many different places, and complete maps of all areas. It's walk-through is fine, addressing all the bits it should. There aren't any % encounter charts, just a yes/no whether a Pokémon can be found in a certain area. It covers both Red/Blue and Yellow and highlights differences between the two as you go, which is very handy. The Pokédex is fairly complete, listing moves learned and TM's usable. No comprehensive data, but I suppose that would only be for hardcore gamers.
If I had a major criticism of this work, it would only probably be that there seems to be a bit more empty white space on each page than is necessary, especially in the Pokédex. But overall, it includes everything it should in a guide.
Rating:
Prima Publishing
www.primagames.com
©1999 92 pages
ISBN: 0-7615-2282-4
Retail: $12.99
Covers Versions: Red, Blue
Reviewed: 10/23/2001
Highlights
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This guide does a fine job of providing all the help anyone could need for playing Pokémon Red or Blue. It has a complete walkthrough for anyone who gets stuck in a particular spot and doesn't know what to do next. Maps of every area make sure you don't get lost anywhere. It does a fine job of describing the differences between the Red and Blue so you don't waste time trying to catch a Pokémon that isn't in your version. The Pokédex in the back supplies all the basic necessary info on each Pokémon. There are also descriptions of each move, item, TM's, and HM's that round everything out.
Plenty of colorful eye candy can be found everywhere, including pictures, tips, and hints. The layout is fun and jazzy and fits well with the spirit of the game. It may only have 92 pages, but it's packed with invaluable guidance about every facet of the game.
Rating:
Hank Schlesinger
St. Martin's Paperbacks
©1999 222 pages
ISBN: 0-312-97256-3
Retail: $5.99
Covers Versions: Red, Blue
Reviewed: 10/1/2001
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This paperback has much to be desired as far as helping one to become a Pokémon Master. I suppose part of my critique is based on the quality of other resources, other books, that do a much better job of guiding a would-be champion Pokémon player.
The intended audience of this book appears to be eight to twelve year olds. It only covers the Pokémon Red and Blue versions, nothing from G/S/C or even Yellow. The book has plenty of humor and keeps everything light and funny. It describes the game, what the goals of it are, and how to avoid some of the more commonly-encountered problems or obstacles. He includes many interviews, quotes, and suggestions from actual players of the game, and their own experiences and insights. Included is a glossary of common terms and items. The "Ten Pokémon Questions Answered" section covers a few general topics of confusion and "Ten Stupidest Questions Ever Asked About Pokémon" is a lighthearted group of tongue-in-cheek jokes.
It almost completely lacks coverage of anything specific or tangible. It doesn't really attempt even a Pokédex, but it does list several selected Pokémon and what their abilities are. This book would be best suited to a youngster who really has no idea what Pokémon is about and just wants to get the gist of it all. It is definitely not intended as a comprehensive guide, only a simple, humorous primer of the game.
Rating:
Mark MacDonald, Brian Brokaw, J. Douglas Arnold & Mark
Elies
Sandwich Islands Publishing
www.gamebooks.com
©1999 198 pages
ISBN: 1-884364-25-X
Retail: $12.95
Covers Versions: Red, Blue, Yellow
Reviewed: 10/7/2001
Highlights
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This book is a little different than the others reviewed here. It aspires to provide a greater depth of the world of Pokémon. It includes everything a good guidebook should about achieving the goals of the game, but includes much more.
The walkthrough is complete, describing every challenge to overcome to win the game. The maps, as is the rest of the book, are in pleasant color. There are plenty of descriptions of all areas and highlight differences between the Red, Blue, and Yellow versions. There is enough humor peppered throughout to keep the reader chuckling between battles. The Pokédex is fairly complete: it provides moves and the level they are reached, TM's, HM's, and power types. Since this is the R/B/Y version I guess I can't expect breeding moves since you can't breed Pokémon in this one. The pictures are, strangely, screenshots from the Pokémon Stadium 2 game—maybe that's all they could get. Unfortunately, there is a move index but it only lists the names, so you really don't get any info on the powers of each move.
I am impressed by the additional info they included. Provided is an episode guide for the first season (episodes 1-55) of the animated series, complete with titles and a brief synopsis of each show. A short section shows various Pokémon toys that are available in the US and Japan (a Pikachu toothbrush?! Where will it end?) They include an Attack chart to help determine which moves are effective against various Pokémon types. There is an introduction to the Trading Card Game, which covers the rules of play and descriptions of the cards, including gameplay tips. Shown are various theme decks and pictures from various conventions and tournaments. Finishing up the guide is an intro to the Pokémon Snap video game—the game for aspiring shutterbugs everywhere.
Not bad for a R/B/Y guidebook. Rather than cover just the game, it expands into the rest of the Pokémon world. The pictures of various toys, dolls, and accessories is interesting, and the other topics are icing on the cake.
Rating:
Maria S. Barbo
Scholastic, Inc.
©1999 159 pages
ISBN: 0-439-15404-9
Retail: $12.99
Covers Versions: Red, Blue, Yellow
Reviewed: 10/24/2001
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When is a book not a book? When it's a Pokédex! This book has 159 pages, 122 of them are the Pokédex. Despite that, the information provided is just the basics. For example, it lists the learned moves but not the level they are learned at, or even what the moves do. The other pages are an introduction to the game, including an interview with Professor Oak. Biographies of Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessie, James, and Gary give a little background on the cartoon characters.
This book is intended for youngsters who want to learn about the game. It provides some important information, enough to get a novice going, but it lacks many important details that a true Pokémon Trainer needs.
Rating:
©2001 Phil Erwin All rights reserved