Introduction

When starting a new game in Pokémon Polished Crystal, you'll be presented with the Initial Options Menu. This menu lets you customize your gameplay experience by enabling or disabling various mechanics introduced in later Pokémon generations.

The menu is divided into two pages with seven options each. You can navigate between pages using the "Next" and "Previous" options.

Source: engine/menus/init_options.asm

Page 1 Options

Natures

Options: Yes / No Default: Yes Introduced: Generation 3

Natures raise one stat by 10% while lowering another stat by 10%. This adds extra strategy to teambuilding and lets you specialize your Pokémon.

When to enable:

• You enjoy min-maxing your team
• You want modern Pokémon mechanics
• You're familiar with competitive battling

When to disable:

• You prefer simpler stat calculations
• You want a more classic Gen 2 experience

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Abilities

Options: Yes / No Default: Yes Introduced: Generation 3

Abilities provide passive effects both inside and outside of battle. They significantly impact team composition and battle strategy.

When to enable:

• You enjoy strategic depth
• You want to use modern Pokémon mechanics
• You like planning team synergies

When to disable:

• You prefer battles focused solely on moves and stats
• You want a vanilla Gen 2 experience

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Phys/Spcl Split

Options: Yes / No Default: Yes Introduced: Generation 4

With the Physical/Special split enabled, moves are categorized as physical or special independently of their type. Without it, all moves of a type share the same category (like in Gen 1-3).

Impact: This is arguably the most impactful option. Many Pokémon become significantly more or less viable depending on this setting.

When to enable:

• You want diverse movesets for all Pokémon
• You prefer modern battle mechanics
• You enjoy having more strategic options

When to disable:

• You want a faithful Gen 2 experience
• You prefer the classic type-based categorization

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

EV Gain

Options: All / Modern / No Default: Modern

EVs (Effort Values) boost stats by up to 63 points, with one stat point gained per 4 EVs.

Options explained:

• All: Max all stats to 252 EVs each (like Stat Experience in Gen 1-2)
• Modern: Limit total EVs to 510 across all stats (like Gen 3+)
• No: Disable EV gain entirely

When to use All:

• You want all your Pokémon to reach maximum potential
• You prefer not to worry about EV distribution
• You want something similar to original Gen 2

When to use Modern:

• You enjoy strategic EV distribution
• You want an authentic modern experience
• You like the tradeoff between offensive and defensive investment

When to use No:

• You want a simpler experience without managing EV training
• Note: Exp. Candy and Rare Candy still work with this option

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Experience Gain

Options: Old / New / No Default: New

This controls how experience points are awarded after battles.

Options explained:

• Old: Gen 1-4 unscaled formula
• New: Gen 5 and Gen 7+ scaled formula (more from higher-level foes, less from lower-level)
• No: Disable experience gain (Exp. Candy and Rare Candy still work)

When to use Old:

• You want consistent experience regardless of level differences
• You prefer the classic formula

When to use New:

• You want faster leveling against tough opponents
• You prefer less grinding against weak opponents
• You want modern scaling

When to use No:

• You want an extreme challenge
• You're doing a challenge run
• You prefer manual level control with candies

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Affection Bonus

Options: Yes / No Default: Yes Introduced: Generation 6

When enabled, Pokémon with high friendship gain battle bonuses such as:

• Increased critical hit rate
• Chance to survive fatal hits
• Chance to shake off status conditions

When to enable:

• You like the friendship mechanic
• You enjoy the anime-inspired battle bonuses
• You want your bond with your Pokémon to matter in battle

When to disable:

• You prefer battles determined purely by stats and strategy
• You find the random bonuses frustrating

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Page 2 Options

Real-Time Clock

Options: Yes / No Default: Yes

Controls whether the game uses real-time clock functionality.

When to enable:

• Your cartridge or emulator supports RTC
• You want time-based events
• You like day/night cycles

When to disable:

• Your emulator doesn't support RTC
• You want faster progression
• With RTC disabled, each in-game day lasts 4 hours instead of 24

Note: If your hardware doesn't support RTC, disabling this provides a 6× speedup for time-based events.

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Perfect Stats

Options: Yes / No Default: No

When enabled, all stats are calculated as if IVs (Individual Values) were perfect 15s, for both your Pokémon and opponents'.

When to enable:

• You don't want to worry about IV breeding
• You want all Pokémon at their maximum potential
• You prefer focusing on strategy over stat optimization

When to disable:

• You enjoy IV breeding mechanics
• You want variance between individual Pokémon
• You like the depth individual values add

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Traded Pokémon Obey

Options: Yes / No Default: No

When enabled, traded Pokémon will obey you even without sufficient badges and can be nicknamed, but won't receive the experience boost.

When to enable:

• You're using Pokémon from another save file
• You don't want to deal with disobedience
• You're planning trades early in the game

When to disable:

• You want authentic traded Pokémon mechanics
• You like the experience boost from traded Pokémon
• You enjoy the badge progression system

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Evolve in Battle

Options: Yes / No Default: No Inspired by: Anime battles

When enabled, your Pokémon can evolve during trainer battles (not just after).

When to enable:

• You enjoy anime-style dramatic mid-battle evolutions
• You want your newly evolved forms to participate in the battle
• You like the strategic option to evolve mid-fight

When to disable:

• You prefer the traditional post-battle evolution
• You want to control exactly when evolution happens

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Color Variation

Options: Yes / No Default: No Inspired by: Pokémon Stadium

When enabled, individual Pokémon (both regular and shiny) will have subtly varied colors. This variation is pseudorandom and not correlated with stats.

When to enable:

• You want more visual variety
• You enjoy unique-looking Pokémon
• You like the aesthetic customization

When to disable:

• You prefer consistent colors for each species
• You want to easily identify Pokémon by their standard colors

Source: data/options/descriptions.asm

Recommended Setups

Modern Experience

Enable: Natures, Abilities, Phys/Spcl Split, Modern EVs, New Exp, Affection This provides the full modern Pokémon experience with Gen 3-6 mechanics.

Purist/Gen 2 Experience

Disable: Natures, Abilities, Phys/Spcl Split, No EVs, Old Exp Enable: RTC This keeps the game closest to the original Gold/Silver/Crystal experience.

Competitive Training

Enable: Natures, Abilities, Phys/Spcl Split, Modern EVs, Perfect Stats Disable: Affection Bonus Ideal for players who want to focus on competitive team building without RNG.

Challenge Run

Disable: Affection Bonus Set: No EXP (use Exp. Candy only), Modern EVs Enable: Everything else For experienced players seeking a difficult playthrough.

Casual/Story Focus

Enable: All options on Page 1 Enable: Perfect Stats, Traded Pokémon Obey, Evolve in Battle Perfect for players who want to enjoy the story without stat optimization.

Tips

• You can access this menu again later by going to the main menu and pressing Left + B
• These settings significantly impact game difficulty and playstyle
• Consider your experience level and desired challenge when choosing
• There's no "correct" configuration - choose what's fun for you!
• When in doubt, the default settings provide a balanced modern experience