The game was released in Japan on December 14, 2000 and on July 21, 2001 in North America. It was followed by the Gameboy Advance games, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
Pokémon Crystal pretty much became the “Ultimate” version of Pokémon Gold and Silver. It was what Pokémon Gold and Silver should have been in the first place.
The game continued most everything that was featured in Pokémon Gold and Silver. The game instead added many new features to the series that hadn’t been seen before.
In addition to the new 100 Pokémon introduced to the series in Pokémon Gold and Silver, Pokémon Crystal featured the ability to allow players to finally choose what sex they want to play as, Male or Female. This is a feature that has been since been used in the series, including Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and is expected to be in Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green.
Perhaps the game’s biggest addition to Pokémon Crystal is the Battle Tower. A new building was added west of the city of Olivine which allowed Pokémon Stadium-like fights. If you want to fight in the Battle Tower, you would choose three Pokémon and then head to the tower. You would fight seven trainers and would even be fully healed between each trainer. If you were to win, you would win a useful five-pack of items.
A focus on the Pokémon, Suicune, was added to the game. Some Crystal only events includes running into a guy named Eusine, who is hunting Suicune as well.
Another feature introduced in Crystal and later reused is the Move Tutor. After you beat the Elite Four, a man would start appearing twice a week that would teach your Pokémon one of three moves if they could learn the move. In Crystal, this required Game Center coins.
You would also receive a new egg from the Daycare Couple, which was yours for free. This was in addition to the egg you would receive earlier in the game, making two eggs you would get in the game without doing any breeding.Game Information