🎮 Renkon Plays Pokemon Fools Gold, Part 1

2024 October 12

Quite a while ago, I started playing through Pokemon Fool's Gold, a romhack of Pokemon Crystal with alternate forms and types (think region forms) for all 251 of Gen 1 and 2 Pokemon. I also started a long screenshot thread on Mastodon, but then got sidetracked and set it aside for a while. This post is going to collect all of my screenshot posts up to this point, and that will hopefully motivate me to get back into it. If you wanted to get into Fool's Gold on your own, this entire post is going to be full of spoilers, and I recommend you not read this and instead go check out the romhack for yourself first.

All good? Here we go!

Day 1

Starting the game with my trusty Fighting Chikorita named JET.

Level 5 Chikorita with a nunchuk on its head instead of a leaf. Nickname is JET, type is FIGHTING

JET the Chikorita facing off against a Marill with huge antenna-like ears

I defeated my rival DAIKON's Flying Totodile, and then caught a Normal/Flying Sentret named PILLOW, a Fighting/Flying Pidgey named SASUKE, and the aphid Bug-type Venonat named EDAMAME.

JET the fighting Chikorita facing off against a blue Totodile with a schoolboy's cap and a pair of tattered wings

Instead of getting any work done (gulp) I got right back to catching more 'mon. Normal Sandshrew named TOTTORI, Bug/Electric Ledyba named TOYOKO, Grass/Ground Hoppip named DANSHAKU, and a Ghost-type Mareep named NIGHTMARE.

Two more additions to the team (CASIO the Steel/Flying Hoothoot and LED the Electric-type Igglybuff), plus a Bug Catcher with some very cool bugs (what happened to you, Sneasel!! 😭)

Finally arrived in Violet Town, time to take on the Sprout Tower!

Steel/Flying Hoothoot holding a giant clock shield named CASIO

TOTTORI facing off against Sneasel in battle. Sneasel has been redesigned as a kind of brown centipede-looking creature with green pincers and compound eyes

CASIO facing off against a Spinarak colored blue with a ghostly aura and a red mark on its back like a black widow

Very glad to be done with Sprout Tower, with its incredibly annoying Steel-type Bellsprouts that all use Pin Missile 😑 Also Ghost-type Cubone that tend to run away after one or two turns, augh. I did at least manage to catch a Bellsprout named GONZO and a Cubone named SENBEI.

CASIO facing off against a gray Bellsprout on wheels, and its eponymous bell shaped more like a cannon

But I did clear out the tower, and guess what happened when I beat the last sage....!

Player standing in front of a sage character in Sprout Tower. On either side of the sage are two large Bellsprout statues, and between them is a large picture of a Bellsprout hanging on the wall

Was leveling up TOYOKO to get ready to take on Falkner. Caught a Psychic Aipom named KRUSTY and........ GASP, a shiny Igglybuff!!! This diva took like ten Pokeballs to catch 😭

Anyway, put TOYOKO back in the PC because now I have a shiny BLUE LED to level up and use against Falkner!!!

Psychic-type Aipon wearing a jester hate, named KRUSTY

Shiny blue Electric-type Igglybuff named BLUE LED

Also dropped by the Ruins of Aleph. I don't remember if there is an Unown Dex in Gen 2. I do want to catch all these cool Unowns too... for now, I caught VHS.

Kabuto sliding panel but with more antennae and sharp horns

Wild Unown that looks like a gray slate tablet with a symbol on it

Something I do not miss from these earlier gens is how Pokemon at the start of the game just don't have very interesting moves at ALL. Lots of Tackle, Scratch, Tail Whip, Growl, etc. Most Pokemon don't start getting STAB moves until level 10+, which can take ages. This isn't only a Fool's Gold thing, this is across the actual Gen 1-2 as well. It just makes things miserable when Fool's Gold throws lots of Steel and Ghost right from the jump 😔

Day 2

Grinding my team to level 10+ and stealing all of Joey the Youngster's allowance, bahaha. Caught a Yanma named TAKETONBO, prepped my team, and realized it is finally time... to take on Falkner!

Player defeating Joey the Youngster again

Current team: BLUE LED level 11, JET level 16, and the rest at level 10: CASIO, KRUSTY, TOTTORI, and NIGHTMARE

Standing outside the Violet City Gym reading the sign for Falkner: The Elegant Master of Flying Pokemon

Defeated Falkner and his beefy Pidgeotto with little stick figure legs 😭😭😭

I'm FALKNER, the VIOLET POKEMON GYM LEADER.

BLUE LED facing off against a muscular PIDGEOTTO with thin stick figure legs

Also went back to the Pokemon Center and picked up this paper wei--I mean, mysterious egg. It's past midnight so I should try to sleep, so I will hatch this tomorrow!

Professor Elm's assistant asking 'Would you take the POKEMON EGG?'

Stats page for the EGG. 'It moves around inside sometimes. It must be close to hatching.'

Couldn't sleep so I'm back on my nonsense. There is indeed an Unown Dex, and also a very mysterious room in the Ruins...

Unown dex entry of a glyph that looks like an upside-down trident

Mysterious words written in the Unown alphabet

Player standing in front of a huge chasm between two pillars

Player standing in a huge chamber with words written in Unown alphabet across the floor

Some weirdos I battled around the Ruins. What the heck happened to you, Zubat?! The Shellder redesign as a deep sea tube worm is very cool.

CASIO facing off against a ZUBAT, a wispy spider-looking thing with one giant eye

TOTTORI facing off against a Magikarp that looks like a brown lamprey

TOTTORI facing off against a Shellder shaped like a deep sea tube worm with one glaring eye

TOTTORI facing off against a Tentacool with purple octopus-like tentacles spreading below

Joey calling for like the seventh rematch against his Lv6 Sentret, a cloud-shaped Wooper doing Rain Dance (!!! weather moves in this game!!), got an old rod so I too can catch some weird lamprey-looking Magikarp of my own, and caught a very muddy Poliwag named DORONKO.

Joey the Youngster calling to say 'Let's get together and battle!'

Talking to fisher in a Pokemon Center asking 'Would you like one of my RODS?'

Backtracked to Dark Cave (it wasn't worth tje effort) and went fishing around Violet City hoping to catch a Magikarp (no luck). I did manage to catch a bunch of new friends: ROUGELIKE the Fighting/Steel Shellder, NIMBUS the Flying-type Wooper, VVVVVV the Rock-type Diglett, and KEESE the Psychic/Flying Zubat.

I should probably just get going to Union Cave, huh?

Fighting/Steel Shellder named ROUGELIKE because it looks like a tube of lipstick

Flying-type Wooper shaped like a cloud named NIMBUS

Rock-type Diglett that looks like an upside-down V jutting out of the ground, named VVVVVV

Psychic/Flying Zubat that looks like a wispy spider with one eye, named KEESE

Also SOMEONE finally decided to stop being dead weight!! Welcome to the team, DINO the Ground-type Togepi!

TOGEPI came out of its EGG! The mysterious egg with four stocky yellow legs poking out the bottom with a tail sticking out the back

Finally made it to Union Cave. NIGHTMARE evolved into a really cute evil Flaaffy. Still can't find any Magikarp, but did get this Water-type Drowzee named SELKIE!

NIGHTMARE as a devil-horned Flaaffy, still Ghost type

Blue Water-type Drowzee with a seal tail, named SELKIE

Thoroughly sick of running into Zubats and Digletts 😑 At least the trainer battles have some great weirdos. Slowpoke's tail is an extension cable now, but they kept the messed up Gen 2 storyline of people EATING Slowpoke tails?!?!

KRUSTY facing off against an Onix looking like a segmented earthworm popping out of the ground

TOTTORI facing off against a Scyther that looks like a red wasp

KRUSTY facing off against a round black Dunsparce

CASIO facing off against a yellow Slowpoke with an extension cable for a tail and electric sparks flying off

Mmm... another thing I do not miss from Gens 1-2: having to go to the PC and change boxes once you've filled it up with 20 Pokemon 😫

One nice thing about Fool's Gold though is that it lets you use TMs infinitely. I do wish they'd let you overwrite HM moves (just like with normal/TM moves) or, even better, do away with needing HMs entirely. But I guess that would be asking a lot for a Gen 2 romhack...

Made it through Union Cave and into Azalea Town! Got some new additions to the team: WIGGLY the pure Ground-type Onix, TANPOPO the Grass-type Mankey, and SPOOKS the Bug/Ghost Spinarak. Also, oh no, I've been playing so long that it's morning in the game 😭

Player exiting Union Cave, where the sun has risen and it is morning

Cleared out Team Rocket from the Slowpoke Well (😬) and saw one of them with this very cool Meowth. Tried to head to the forest when my rival Daikon appeared, with his INCREDIBLE CROCONAW???

TOTTORI facing off against a black and white Meowth with two tails. Its overall design looks kind of like a taiji symbol

Player standing in Azalea Town where all the Slowpoke have returned

BLUE LED facing off against a Croconaw wearing pilot goggles, helmet, and two wings strapped to its outstretched arms

Second shiny!! Caught SCRAPPY the shiny Grass-type Houndour in Ilex Forest. I was stressed the whole time because the Houndours here know Roar and I was scared it would chase me away before I could catch it 😭

Battling through Azalea City gym and got the HIVEBADGE!

CASIO facing off against a Pineco that looks like a blue bagworm

CASIO facing off against a blue Scizor with boxing gloves and helmet

Player in the Azalea City gym that looks like a garden, speaking with Bugsy in the center of the gym. 'RENKON received HIVEBADGE.'

Also after the fight with Bugsy, CASIO evolved into Noctowl! I... guess I was wrong about the clock motif, and it was actually shield and not a clock. Hmm, oh well.

CASIO the Steel/Flying-type Noctowl that looks like a blue armored bird wearing a knight's helmet

Got a lot done today so am now taking a break with more Pokemon. Caught my third shiny (!!!), a pink Drowzee named YUNESSAN. Also caught a spare Venonat named POKETKNIFE to be my HM utility Pokemon. Time to reenter Ilex Forest!

Green aphid-looking Venonat named POKETKNIFE with the HM moves Cut and Flash

Went to a super sento (public bathhouse) today and brought the Miyoo with me to play in the tatami/napping room. Some great weirdos I encountered in battle in and around Goldenrod City:

TOTTORI facing off against a Paras that looks like it's in a plastic shopping bag instead of under a mushroom

SASUKE facing off against a red and blue punk-looking Growlithe

DANSHAKU facing off against a Magnemite that looks more like a blue puddle of sludge

DANSHAKU facing off against an oozing green Slugma trailing smoke from its eyebrows

More weirdos in and around Goldenrod City:

DANSHAKU facing off against a dark Chansey with an evil smirk and two horns coming out of its head

DANSHAKU facing off against a male Nidoran that looks like a gray steel statue

BLUE LED facing off against an Oddish that has sparse red fronds instead of its usual green leaves

Traded a spare Houndour for a Tyrogue named GRAY. It... only knows Struggle?? I also can't use any TMs on it. Hmmmm. I think I've been scammed 😭

Trading screen with a muscular Pokemon going through the Link Cable to RENKON

A gray banded Normal/Fighting Tyrogue named GRAY

GRAY the Tyrogue only knows the move Struggle with 1 PP

SASUKE evolved into a meathead who skipped leg day 😭

Congratulations! Your SASUKE has evolved into Pidgeotto!

SASUKE the beefy Fighting/Flying-type Pidgeotto on tiny little stick figure legs

DANSHAKU also evolved into a Skiploom, which in Fool's Gold looks like a... bunch of chives, I think? Or is it still a potato? I named it after Hokkaido potatoes so I sure hope they end up as potatoes in the end. Also forgot to include one more trainer battle against a Seel.

DANSHAKU is now a Skiploom, a larger root vegetable with a head full of chives that is still Grass/Ground type

DANSHAKU facing off against a gray Seel balanced on a red and white beach ball

Look what they did to Ditto 😭 Crying, they turned the Pokemon breeding machine into a steel box!! 😭😭😭 Oh well. Welcome to the team, HAKOBOY!

Wild DITTO appeared! Ditto is a purple cube

One of the guards around Goldenrod gave me a Spearow holding a letter that I need to deliver to their friend on Route 31. I'm assuming the Spearow is holding the letter because it was supposed to fly out and deliver it themself?? Why not just give me the letter 😵‍💫

Oh well, this Spearow is totally mine now I guess. Welcome to the team, KENYA.

More additions to the team! HALFLIFE the Normal/Ghost Girafarig, YOUTUBER the Ground-type Magikarp, OKONOMI the Normal/Fighting Snubbull, and DUCKY the Normal/Water Porygon!

HALFLIFE the Normal/Ghost-type Girafarig that shows both halves standing next to each other rather than two ends of one creature

YOUTUBER the lamprey-looking Ground-type Magikarp

OKONOMI the brown Normal/Fighting-type Snubbull

DUCKY the Normal/Water-type Porygon that looks like a yellow rubber ducky

Day 3

I don't remember if Crystal threw this much variety at you or if Fool's Gold is more generous, but I am surprised at how I am always super tight on money because I've spent it all on Pokeballs. I need to figure out a better way of making money to maintain my expensive habit of catching lots of monsters 😅

Anyway, right now I am at Goldenrod City. This is my current team. I replaced JET with SASUKE because she's a lot more versatile with that Mach Punch and Fire Punch. I'm sorry JET, I will put you back on the team once I deliver KENYA's letter and can put her back in the PC 😭 Time to take on Whitney!

Team of SASUKE the Pidgeotto, BLUE LED the Igglybuff, TOTTORI the Sandshrew, DANSHAKU the Skiploom, CASIO the Noctowl, and KENYA the Spearow holding a letter

SASUKE's move set of Fire Punch, Arm Thrust, Gust, and Mach Punch

Player reading the sign outside of Goldenrod City's gym about the leader Whitney, 'The Incredibly Pretty Girl!'

Encountered two new Pokemon during gym trainer battles (LOOK AT THAT KOFFING). Now for Whitney herself!!

DANSHAKU facing off against a Koffing that looks like a red balloon with a star on it

SASUKE facing off against a brown gerbil-looking Pikachu

Player standing in front of the Goldenrod City gym leader. 'Hi! I'm WHITNEY!'

Defeated Whitney! I really like the Mantine and Koffing redesigns.

BLUE LED facing off against Mantine, which looks like a red and blue diamond kite

Gym trainer telling the player, 'Oh, no. You made WHITNEY cry.'

Also as seems to be the custom every time I defeat a gym leader, someone on my team evolves. TOTTORI is now a Normal/Dark Sandslash!

What? TOTTORI the Sandshrew is evolving!

TOTTORI has evolved into Sandslash! A dark mouse with a pig-like snout and huge sharp claws

Caught a Koffing named PENNYWISE and also battled this trainer's Tangela.

YOUTUBER facing off against a Tangela that looks like it's covered in thick black tubes with red squirting out the ends. Its eyes are red and it's got a disturbing smile

Also got the squirt bottle and picked up JUBOKKO the Sudowoodo! Wonder why this Grass-type didn't like being sprinkled with water...

The weird tree in Pokemon Gen 2 attacked!

Wild SUDOWOODO appeared! It looks like a dead and eerie tree with a crow perched on its branch

With Sudowoodo gone, I can go back to Violet City and trade my spare Yanma for an Oddish named HOLLY.

Grass Pokemon being sent through a link cable from KYLE to RENKON

Sparse black Oddish with red clusters on its branches instead of leaves. Original Trainer KYLE says 'Take good care of ODDISH.'

Last batch of screenshots before I think I call it a night. Arrived in Ecruteak City and took on the Kimono Girls with all their Eeeveelutions! And oh goodness, these all took me by surprise. I'm glad I'm not doing a Nuzlocke run because I would've had to release most of my team here 😭

Player on the stage of the Kimono Girls Dance Theater in Ecruteak City

YOUTUBER facing off against Flareon, a purple dragon or snake looking creature

YOUTUBER facing off against Espeon, which looks like a four-legged bee

Really loved that the Eeveelution variants were all types that haven't been made (except for I guess Vaporeon, ahaha). The Umbreon really threw me for a loop and gave me trouble. Just like the real Umbreon when I first encountered it in Gen 2 😔

YOUTUBER facing off against Umbreon, which is covered in bandages like a mummy

YOUTUBER facing off against Vaporeon, which is gray and covered in icicles

YOUTUBER facing off against Jolteon, which is covered in metal gray panels

And finally, after defeating the final Kimono Girl, YOUTUBER evolved into... an abomination 😭 The Atrocious Pokemon indeed.

YOUTUBER evolved into Gyarados! A huge brown lamprey-looking creature with a giant toothy sucker instead of a face

YOUTUBER the Ground/Dragon-type Gyarados

Day 4

Wow has it really been that long since I played Fool's Gold?! Let's get back to catching more weirdos over Golden Week!

Walked around Burned Tower, encountered DAIKON and his Steel Weepinbell, and kicked their butts 💪

YOUTUBER vs an enemy Weepinbell that looks like a cannon on a wooden frame

Taking on the Ecruteak City Gym! First trainer's got some great weirdos (WHAT HAPPENED TO GOLDEEN 😭😭😭)

Reading a sign outside of the gym. 'The Mystic Seer of the Future'

TOTTORI facing off against what looks like a dead Goldeen with X's for eyes

TOTTORI facing off against a spiky blue Misdreavus

God I forgot about Ecruteak Gym's invisible floors 😭 I have horrible memory, I keep falling in the same spots because I will never learn. This Channeler was no help whatsoever 😑 I did at least get to see a cool Natu.

Player standing on a huge black void within a wooden gym, with trainers spread around also standing on the void

Channeler trainer saying 'Defeat me if you want a hint!' while standing on the black void with the player

YOUTUBER facing off against a Natu, which is green and painted like a totem pole animal

Got the Fog Badge!! Also got some teasers about a legendary star-spangled bird Pokemon...

YOUTUBER facing off against a ghostly red Marowak with a big leering face

TOTTORI facing off against a Miltank with a skull on its head, its torso chopped in half, and a skeletal tail floating behind

Defeated Morty! 'All right. This BADGE is yours.'

I lost the screenshot I took of Morty's Ariados. Here's the Dex entry for it, at least. I also thought that maybe I'd have Dex entries for the Legendary Dogs since I woke them up from the Burned Tower, but I guess that comes later. It's been so long since I played Gen 2... Gonna grab dinner and then take on Tin Tower!!

Dex entry for Ariados, a Bug/Ghost Pokemon that looks like a black spider with ghostly purple arms rising out of its back

Okay I'm back! I thought that I could enter Tin Tower with the Ecruteak Badge but got turned away, so uhh, time to do something else. Cleared out the trainers in Route 38, then caught a Miltank named MATSUZAKA.

TOTTORI facing off against a Doduo that is leaking green slime out of its mouths and dripping from its claws

YOUTUBER facing off against a Mr. Mime that is dressed like a miner with a hardhat and pickaxe

YOUTUBER facing off against a Corsola that looks like a campfire

MATSUZAKA the Ghost/Ground Miltank that looks like a cow with its torso sliced in half and wearing a cattle skull on its head

Also in this world I guess instead of Moomoo Milk we get Moomoo Meat. Dude... no... 😭

Player talking to a Beauty Trainer who says, 'MOOMOO MEAT is good for beauty'

Arrived at the Moomoo Farm and, DUDE. NOOOOOO 😭

Arrived in Olivine City and cleared out the trainers in the Lighthouse! This Qwilfish annoyed the heck out of me because right when I got it down to low health, it self-destructed and took SASUKE down with it 😑

Also I NEED. that Krabby 👀 Pom-pom crabs are so good.

NIGHTMARE facing off against a Qwilfish that looks like a black naval mine bobbing on a chain to the ground

DANSHAKU facing off against a Krabby holding what look like white pompom anemone on its claws

SASUKE facing off against a Chinchou that looks like a grimacing deep sea fish with huge blank eyes and fangs poking out of its bottom jaw

Some more good Pokemon. I like the idea that Machop just put on a snorkel and that changed its type, haha.

NIGHTMARE facing off against a Machop wearing snorkels and goggles

YOUTUBER facing off against Kabuto, which looks like a green-blue cockroach with long antennae

New shiny!! Meet KUSAMOCHI the green Wooper!

KUSAMOCHI the shiny green Wooper that looks like a fluffy white cloud on top of a two-legged body

HOLLY evolved into a cold eepy Gloom! (yes I know I am too old to be using words like "eepy," please don't murder me zoomers I'm sorry)

HOLLY evolved into Gloom! He looks like a giant closed-up plant bud wearing a scarf

Day 5(-ish)

Wow okay it has been kind of forever since I updated this thread. So long, in fact, that all of the other posts besides the original pinned have passed the three-month threshold and been auto-deleted 😭 I'm gonna upload the rest of the screenshots I had on my Miyoo but never uploaded til now, then combine them all into a blog post as an archive. (editor's note: that's what you're reading right now!)

To start with, here is HOLLY fighting a trainer's Wartortle.

HOLLY the Grass/Ice Gloom facing off against a Wartortle. It is a dull green and its tail is tail is spiky on the end

I also apparently caught these three good weirdos: UMIBOUZU the Water/Dark Chinchou, MULDER the Water/Psychic Tentacool, and POMPOM the Normal-type Krabby.

Could it be?! YES! Welcome to the team, SHUCKIE the Rock-type Shuckle!

SHUCKIE the Rock-type Shuckle. Its shell has fused completely to its body and has a knobby texture

I also apparently fought this MYSTICALMAN and their Magneton apparently wrecked SASUKE 😭

SASUKE the Flying/Fighting Pidgeotto facing off against Magneton, what looks like a melting pile of green-gray sludge with three eyeballs

YOUTUBER the Ground/Dark Gyarados facing off against the same Magneton

That's the end of all the screenshots I had stored on my Miyoo. I haven't played in quite a while so I will need to get my bearings back, but I want to pick this thread back up soonish 🙏 Until next time! 👋