shoz999
Back when Tigers used to smoke.
I've always wanted to do a discussion thread encompassing the big three Pokemon mediums, the games, anime, and the manga, outside of the TCG anyways. So how about we start off the butt-of-jokes of the anime, the GS Ball!
What is the GS Ball?
It's a special and mysterious Poke Ball made of Gold and Silver, it's engraved letters "GS" being a reference to that and with that, there's a lot of interesting information behind the GS Ball including what it's purpose is, why it never reached to a conclusion in the anime and it's first appearance in the games!
The Games! Pokemon Crystal Version! It's first appearance!
The GS Ball was first officially introduced in the Japanese version of Pokemon Crystal as an event item through a paid online service called the Pokemon Mobile System GB which can be used by connecting your Game Boy Color to a mobile phone through the Mobile Game Boy Adapter. However this was only available through the Japanese version of Pokemon Crystal. Western players wouldn't get this event until the Virtual Console releases, the conditions of getting Celebi being smoothed for easier access. In general though, the player would get the GS Ball, give it to Kurt, the Pokeball expert, who suggests to bring it to the Ilex Forest Shrine. From there, Celebi would be summoned once you place the ball into the shrine but it's not really explained how, if that Celebi came from the GS Ball or from the shrine itself. Other than that, that's all the GS Ball does or... does it? Believe it or not there exists a more in-depth explanation on not only what the GS Ball does but why the GS Ball is made of Gold and Silver
The Manga! Pokemon Adventures! An in-depth explanation on the purpose of the GS Ball!
One of the reasons that people love the manga, Pokemon Adventures, so much is that it goes into great detail on almost everything from the games, including the GS Ball. Unlike the anime, the GS Ball is given much more background and a satisfying conclusion as it is literally the center of the endgame plot of the GSC story arc. In fact, the GS Ball is literally the main objective of the antagonist, the Mask of Ice, to create a GS Ball from scratch. According to the manga, the GS Ball is a Pokeball to capture time itself, specifically Celebi, and to make one you need the rainbow and silver feathers from Ho-oh and Lugia, hence why the GS Ball is called the Gold-Silver Ball because it's literally made from the golden and silver-colored feathers of Ho-oh and Lugia. This actually makes a lot of sense and falls in line with not only where Celebi came from in the event-special of Pokemon Crystal but actually what the producers of the anime had originally planned.
The Anime! Pokemon! The original plan for a story built around the GS Ball!
So if you remember being a kid, all excited what the mystery behind the GS Ball was only for the anime to leave you hanging, you probably were left wondering why they never explained it? Believe it or not there was actually a story arc planned and built around the GS Ball. Although it's nowhere as in-depth as Pokemon Adventures take on the GS Ball, it does fall in-line with the manga's explanation that this Pokeball was specifically built for Celebi. According to an interview with Masamitsu Hidaka, a director and storyboard artist for the anime, this whole time Ash was carrying Celebi in the GS Ball from the Orange Isles to the Johto region. The anime was planned to feature this Celebi from the GS Ball meeting Ash and his friends for the first time however they decide to save Celebi for the Pokemon 4Ever movie at the last second. Having no clue what to do with the GS Ball plotline since it seemed pointless to them if Celebi was going to appear in the movie, they decided to shelve the story line hoping kids would forget about it. And that's why the mystery behind the GS Ball was never explained in the TV series, because of the Pokemon movie starring Celebi.
The remakes? The GS Ball forgotten by GameFreak? Probably not.
Since then, the GS Ball seems to have been somewhat forgotten by GameFreak. The GS Ball Event has been replaced in the remakes by a much more in-depth storyline featuring Giovanni, Silver and a Spiky-eared Pichu. The last and only major adaptation of the GS Ball is in Pokemon Adventures which reveals how the GS Ball is made and what it's purpose is, however the manga is nowhere as popular as the anime. In the anime, the storyline planned for the GS Ball was shelved at the last second. If you really think about it, the last time the GS Ball actually appeared was the VC releases of Pokemon Crystal. Honestly, I don't think GameFreak has actually forgotten about it, they probably have a vault of Pokemon information somewhere in their company, lots of companies of major franchises with history to it actually do this.
What are your thoughts?
Personally, I don't know about you guys but I actually remember the GS Ball quite well, not as the forgotten butt-of-jokes in the anime that I've seen fans from time to time joke about but as the major endgame prize carrying a lot of stakes, emotion and intense action for the villain of Pokemon Adventure to the point that I thought the GS Ball and the Mask of Ice served as inspiration for the Ultimate Weapon and AZ from Pokemon X and Y. Even then, I thought the story behind the intended storyline for the GS Ball in the anime is quite interesting, I kind of want to see what the original plan was. So anyways, what are your thoughts? Do you want to see the original intended storyline for the GS Ball in the anime? Did you wish the GS Ball could be included somehow in the remakes? Do you find Pokemon Adventures in-depth explanation for the GS Ball to be quite interesting? If your new to the manga, are you surprised at all that there is in fact a storyline revolved around how important the GS Ball is?
What is the GS Ball?
It's a special and mysterious Poke Ball made of Gold and Silver, it's engraved letters "GS" being a reference to that and with that, there's a lot of interesting information behind the GS Ball including what it's purpose is, why it never reached to a conclusion in the anime and it's first appearance in the games!
The Games! Pokemon Crystal Version! It's first appearance!
The GS Ball was first officially introduced in the Japanese version of Pokemon Crystal as an event item through a paid online service called the Pokemon Mobile System GB which can be used by connecting your Game Boy Color to a mobile phone through the Mobile Game Boy Adapter. However this was only available through the Japanese version of Pokemon Crystal. Western players wouldn't get this event until the Virtual Console releases, the conditions of getting Celebi being smoothed for easier access. In general though, the player would get the GS Ball, give it to Kurt, the Pokeball expert, who suggests to bring it to the Ilex Forest Shrine. From there, Celebi would be summoned once you place the ball into the shrine but it's not really explained how, if that Celebi came from the GS Ball or from the shrine itself. Other than that, that's all the GS Ball does or... does it? Believe it or not there exists a more in-depth explanation on not only what the GS Ball does but why the GS Ball is made of Gold and Silver
The Manga! Pokemon Adventures! An in-depth explanation on the purpose of the GS Ball!
One of the reasons that people love the manga, Pokemon Adventures, so much is that it goes into great detail on almost everything from the games, including the GS Ball. Unlike the anime, the GS Ball is given much more background and a satisfying conclusion as it is literally the center of the endgame plot of the GSC story arc. In fact, the GS Ball is literally the main objective of the antagonist, the Mask of Ice, to create a GS Ball from scratch. According to the manga, the GS Ball is a Pokeball to capture time itself, specifically Celebi, and to make one you need the rainbow and silver feathers from Ho-oh and Lugia, hence why the GS Ball is called the Gold-Silver Ball because it's literally made from the golden and silver-colored feathers of Ho-oh and Lugia. This actually makes a lot of sense and falls in line with not only where Celebi came from in the event-special of Pokemon Crystal but actually what the producers of the anime had originally planned.
The Anime! Pokemon! The original plan for a story built around the GS Ball!
So if you remember being a kid, all excited what the mystery behind the GS Ball was only for the anime to leave you hanging, you probably were left wondering why they never explained it? Believe it or not there was actually a story arc planned and built around the GS Ball. Although it's nowhere as in-depth as Pokemon Adventures take on the GS Ball, it does fall in-line with the manga's explanation that this Pokeball was specifically built for Celebi. According to an interview with Masamitsu Hidaka, a director and storyboard artist for the anime, this whole time Ash was carrying Celebi in the GS Ball from the Orange Isles to the Johto region. The anime was planned to feature this Celebi from the GS Ball meeting Ash and his friends for the first time however they decide to save Celebi for the Pokemon 4Ever movie at the last second. Having no clue what to do with the GS Ball plotline since it seemed pointless to them if Celebi was going to appear in the movie, they decided to shelve the story line hoping kids would forget about it. And that's why the mystery behind the GS Ball was never explained in the TV series, because of the Pokemon movie starring Celebi.
The remakes? The GS Ball forgotten by GameFreak? Probably not.
Since then, the GS Ball seems to have been somewhat forgotten by GameFreak. The GS Ball Event has been replaced in the remakes by a much more in-depth storyline featuring Giovanni, Silver and a Spiky-eared Pichu. The last and only major adaptation of the GS Ball is in Pokemon Adventures which reveals how the GS Ball is made and what it's purpose is, however the manga is nowhere as popular as the anime. In the anime, the storyline planned for the GS Ball was shelved at the last second. If you really think about it, the last time the GS Ball actually appeared was the VC releases of Pokemon Crystal. Honestly, I don't think GameFreak has actually forgotten about it, they probably have a vault of Pokemon information somewhere in their company, lots of companies of major franchises with history to it actually do this.
What are your thoughts?
Personally, I don't know about you guys but I actually remember the GS Ball quite well, not as the forgotten butt-of-jokes in the anime that I've seen fans from time to time joke about but as the major endgame prize carrying a lot of stakes, emotion and intense action for the villain of Pokemon Adventure to the point that I thought the GS Ball and the Mask of Ice served as inspiration for the Ultimate Weapon and AZ from Pokemon X and Y. Even then, I thought the story behind the intended storyline for the GS Ball in the anime is quite interesting, I kind of want to see what the original plan was. So anyways, what are your thoughts? Do you want to see the original intended storyline for the GS Ball in the anime? Did you wish the GS Ball could be included somehow in the remakes? Do you find Pokemon Adventures in-depth explanation for the GS Ball to be quite interesting? If your new to the manga, are you surprised at all that there is in fact a storyline revolved around how important the GS Ball is?
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