Pokémon Channel (Japanese: ポケモンチャンネル ～ピカチュウといっしょ!～, Hepburn: Pokémon Channel ~Together With Pikachu!~) is a Nintendo GameCube game serving as a spiritual successor to Hey You, Pikachu!. Like said game, Pokémon Channel was developed by Ambrella and published by Nintendo (The Pokémon Company in Japan). The game combines elements of the adventure, digital pet, and simulation genres.
Pokémon Channel takes place in Mintale Town. A large portion of the game involves the player to help Professor Oak by being the test audience for his newly created television network, the Pokémon Channel, intended to be watched by humans and Pokémon alike. The player befriends a Pikachu, who enjoys watching TV, but they can also explore Mintale Town and have Pikachu interact with various Pokémon along the way. There are four major areas to explore: Springleaf Field, Viridian Forest, Cobalt Coast, and Mt. Snowfall.
Pokémon Channel includes some exclusive Pokémon media. One of them is the Pichu Bros. short, "Pichu Bros. in Party Panic!." There is also a virtual Pokémon mini included with an original title, Snorlax's Lunchtime, in addition to a few more titles for the Pokémon mini that had been ported to the game.
Story[]
A Torchic, Treecko, and Pikachu appearing outside the player's home for the first time
The game opens with a group of four Magnemite delivering a TV to the player's house. When the TV turns on, Professor Oak shows up to ask the player to be the test audience for his Pokémon Channel network. The player is forced to watch the first part of "Pichu Bros. in Party Panic!." After the player learns more from Oak about using the TV, they hear Pokémon cries from outside, turning out of be from a Pikachu, Treecko, and Torchic. While the others run off, Pikachu decides to stay with the player, so Oak decides that Pikachu is allowed to be part of his test audience.
After completing a few tasks, the player returns to Oak's channel, Prof. Oak Report, where Oak says that Pikachu has behaved remarkably well. Overexcited, Pikachu uses its Thunderbolt attack on the TV and destroys it. Unfazed, Oak has the Magnemite deliver a Retro TV, which displays black-and-white graphics, to hold over the player and Pikachu as they wait for a proper replacement. The next morning, the replacement TV is delivered, and Oak tells the player that their viewership has brought life to the network and helped spawn new shows. The player then finds a bus stop and visits Viridian Forest.
Mt. Snowfall, one of the visitable locations
The third day opens with Pikachu asleep in the cupboard and Oak expressing pleasure at the Pikachu's growing attachment to the player. On the fourth day, Pikachu invites its friends back over. Little else occurs on these two days besides visits to Mt. Snowfall and Cobalt Coast, although Oak does continue to laud the player's investment in the network, which has become a huge success.
On the morning of the fifth day, the Pokémon News Flash has a breaking news story: a disc containing the unaired fifth episode of Pichu Brothers was dropped and lost by the delivery Magnemite on their way to the show's broadcasting studio. After obtaining the Duskull Lamp from a friendly Duskull in the yard, the player takes a bus back to Mt. Snowfall, where the disc was presumed lost. To the east is the Ruins of Truth, where a Gengar blocks the player's path until they scare it away using the Duskull Lamp. Inside the Ruins of Truth, Pikachu gets stuck inside a statue of Golbat. Upon being shaken free, the missing disc pops out. The player hands it back to Magnemite, who is waiting sheepishly outside, and heads home to watch the last episode, along with a video called "Meowth's Party."
Oak informs the player that every program produced for his network has been aired, thanking the player and Pikachu for their time, and announces that they will receive a gift soon. The gift, which arrives the following morning, is a Star Projector, a device for viewing images flashed across the sky. That night, Professor Oak notices that a Pokémon has arrived at the player's house—the rare and legendary Jirachi—which leaves him in shock. The player, Pikachu, and Jirachi then visit Camp Starlight, the locale for which the Star Projector is intended. Using it, they project the entire series of Pichu Brothers and Meowth's Party onto the sky for everyone to see, and the story ends. In European and Australian releases only, the event allows the player to download a Jirachi to a copy of Pokémon Ruby Version and Pokémon Sapphire Version (as well as the patch that fixes the Berry glitch) via the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance link cable.
Gameplay[]
A lot of the gameplay involves watching TV with Pikachu, such as the exclusive short Pichu Bros. in Party Panic!!
The game incorporates elements of the adventure, simulation, and digital pet games. The graphics are in 3D, the perspective is first-person, and the player navigates and selects objects using a cursor. The internal clock of the Nintendo GameCube tracks time such that every in-game day lasts at least as long as one real-time day.
A major part of gameplay involves the player watching TV in their house. The player can channel-surf freely among some of the channels set up by Professor Oak. While several channels are available, only a few are essential to the completion of the game, and more channels become available over the course of the next few days. The player saves the game by reporting on recent accomplishments to Oak at Prof. Oak Report. The unique anime special, Pichu Bros. in Party Panic!, is divided into five parts. The player can also listen to plot-advancing news coverage from Psyduck at Pokémon News Flash (PNF).
Pikachu sometimes displays emotional reactions, such as happiness or anger. Pikachu may sometimes leap at the player or the TV, causing him to become temporarily dizzy.
Many items can be obtained by purchasing them at Shop 'N Squirtle, where they can purchase items using the game's currency, Poké. The player is required to purchase three bus passes here so that they can travel travel among the game's locations, but also non-essential items like Pokémon dolls, new styles of TVs, and other decorations. The items are always delivered by Delibird, either within a few minutes or by the next day.
The main collectibles available in Pokémon Channel are Nice Cards, collectible cards that depict a certain Pokémon. There are three types of Nice Cards: Single, which simply show a picture; Motion, which are holographic; and Platinum, which are holographic and play the depicted Pokémon's cry. Nice Cards can be obtained either from Pikachu speaking to other Pokémon and assisting them with tasks or from Shop 'N Squirtle, which sells packs consisting of five random Nice Cards.
A bonus feature is the ability to play the Pokémon mini, after Pikachu discovers it under their bed. The system comes with the exclusive title Snorlax's Lunchtime, but five more games can be purchased from Shop 'N Squirtle if they are on sale there. A total of ten games for the Pokémon mini are in the Japanese version, since more games for the Pokémon mini were released in that region.
Channels[]
| Screenshot | Channel | Description | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Report Channel | Also titled Prof. Oak Report, the Report Channel does not involve watching a program, but rather as the main way for the player to interact to Professor Oak for information any mainly to save their game progress. | Start |
|
Anime Channel | There are five numbered parts of the Anime Channel, each showing a part of "Pichu Bros. in Party Panic!." Meowth is planning a special party and has sent invitations to the Pokémon. The Pichu Bros. are informed of this and try to get invitations for themselves and their friends. | Start (part 1) Day two (part 2) Day three (part 3) Day four (part 4) Day five (requires obtaining it from the Ruins of Truth) |
|
Shopping Channel | Hosts Shop 'N Squirtle, a storefront run by Spencer, a member of the Squirtle Squad, where he presents three items that the player has the option to purchase. | Start |
|
News Channel | The News Channel is where the player can watch reports from Pokémon News Flash, hosted by Psyduck and featuring Team Rocket's Meowth as the reporter. | Start |
| Quiz Channel | The player can watch Quiz Wobbuffet, where Wobbuffet challenges three random Pokémon contestants, and then the player, to random quiz questions involving Pokémon. The player earns Poké any time they answer a question correctly. | Start | |
| Fitness Channel | The player can watch Smoochum Shape-Up, where a group of Smoochums host a variety of exercises, with Pikachu attempting to replicate them. | Start | |
|
Weather Channel | The player can watch Slowpoke's Weather Report, where Slowpoke predicts the weather for an area, also affecting it during gameplay itself. | Day 2 |
| Art Channel | The player can watch Smeargle's Art Study, where Smeargle evaluates the quality of the art created that the player created using the Smeargle 2. | Day 2 | |
| Egg Channel | Hosts "Eggzamination: Hatch Up! Pokéegg!", where the player has to guess which Pokémon will hatch from the Pokéegg, depending on the color or the cry of the Pokémon inside. | Day 3 | |
| Fortune Channel | Hosts Chansey's Fortune Cookie, where the player can choose a fortune cookie once per day and have Chansey read their fortune to them. | Day 4 | |
| Relaxation Channel | Hosts Mareep Farm, where several Mareep jumping over a fence, potentially causing Pikachu to fall asleep over a period of time. | Day 4 | |
| Ranking Channel | The player can watch "Chum Chum Ranking," a channel where a Smoochum ranks various things. | Day 4 | |
| Quiz 2 Channel | Features the game show "Odd One Out," where the player has to guess whether there is an even number of Oddish or an "odd one out." | Day 4 |
Gallery[]
