Fizzy Bubbles

Fizzy Bubbles (or simply FB) is a fan-made, text-based Pokémon RPG that began on Bulbagarden forums in the days of Red and Blue, in which adventuring takes places in various pre-fabricated "zones". At first, the game centered on Water Pokémon, and there was only a single Fizzy Zone, hence the name Fizzy Bubbles. More zones were added over the next few years, but the game was shut down when BMG's site went down. It was revived on October 22nd, 2002 on UPN before expanding to the Serebii.net forums, and later back to the Bulbagarden forums.

Although training Pokémon is a part of the game, the focus is much more on the roleplaying aspect, and there are many other facets to game play. Trainers can battle each other, participate in Contests and Gym challenges, enjoy the services of a variety of shops (such as Jirachi's Casino or the Cable Club), and more.

Zones

The main part of the game happens in what are known as "zones", virtual areas of the Fizzy Bubbles landscape constructed by FB officials, and in which players can have various adventures. The adventure is determined by both the player and the updater, either by a Zone Assistant or Zone Owner (ZA/ZO). The updater creates obstacles that the player must find a way around, whilst it is the player's job to make decisions as to where to go, and the general mission.

The roleplaying zones in which members can adventure in are spread over the respective forums of UPNetwork, Serebii.net and Bulbagarden, in the form of threads. Registered members are only allowed to enter up to three zones at once, except on special occasions such as in-zone campaigns. Zones are usually capped if an updater is unable to take any more updates.

Current Zones

UPN Active Zones The Cloud Garden Evolution Zone The Arcane Realm Free For All Zone Inactive Zones The Haunted Mansion Excelsior Raptor Island The Twilight Realm Volcanic Mountain

Serebii Active Zones Whale Island Phantom Isle Cortoza The Arcane Realm The Lost Cities of Talas The Lost City of Alpha Astoria Inactive Zones The Cloud Garden The Glacier Islands Laguna Peninsula Lyanazia Miasma Heights

Bulbagarden Active Zones Cascadia The Arcane Realm Inactive Zones Sapphire Island The Cloud Garden Riviera

Trainer Battles

Exclusive to UPN, Trainer Battles allow two Trainers to battle against each over with their Pokémon for prizes and bragging rights. Unlike entering a zone, members will pre-arrange a battle with another Trainer. Trainer battles work in a similar style to zones; however a Referee takes the role of Updater and will keep a constant check on the Pokémon's health and energy making sure no rules are broken.

To prevent one Pokémon having an unfair advantage over the other, Pokémon are split into tiers depending on their current level. Trainers then take turns ordering attacks, with the referee updating the outcome. The first Pokémon to lose all its health or energy is knocked out, and the winner’s Pokémon receives two levels. The Trainer will also receive a battle trophy for his or her win depending on the battle's tier.

Trainer Battle Tiers

Tier	Level	Trophy
Beginner	Lv.25 or below	File:Beginnertoken.gif
Intermediate	Lv.26 to Lv.50	File:Intermediatetoken.gif
Advanced	Lv.51 to Lv.75	File:Advancetoken.gif
Expert	Lv.76 or above	File:Experttoken.gif

Gyms

Just as with the core series games and anime, Fizzy Bubbles also possesses gyms, and trainers in Fizzy Bubbles can undertake gym challenges. However, these challenges are subject to strict regulations & rules, and so differ from the games and anime greatly. Gyms are UPN-exclusive, and run by the forum staff there. Though none are currently open, the three gyms are: the Afterlife (Ghost) Gym, which awards the Grave Badge; the Leaf House (Grass) Gym, which awards the Leaf Shield Badge; and the Fire Gym.

FB Gym Challenges are divided into four tiers: levels 1, 2, 3, and Ultimate. Each of these levels has its own pre-requisites for participation, which consist of a minimum level for at least 3 of the challenger's Pokémon to meet (25, 50 and 90 for level 1, 2, and 3 challenges respectively), and 3 trainer battle wins of a certain difficulty (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced for levels 1, 2, and 3 respectively). The Ultimate tier is the exception, as it requires not the defeat of 3 trainers but the possession of all badges from the FB gyms in order to participate. Additionally, for Ultimate level, the challenger must possess at least six level 100 Pokémon. In the Unlike the challenges of level 1, 2 and 3, the Ultimate Gym Challenge culminates with battle against 4 UPN mods, each of whom will use a legendary Pokémon, making the Ultimate level more similar to the Elite Four.

Contest Halls

Contests in Fizzy Bubbles work very similarly to those found in the games. Trainers play against each over and have to show off their Pokémon to advance through the contest. How an appeal goes is dependent on the contest's Coordinator, who will update the outcome of each round similarly to an Updater. There are a total of Five Contest Halls: Beauty, Cool, Cute, Smart, and Tough, which are each run by their own Coordinator. The contests are further split into four ranks: Normal, Super, Hyper, and Master.

Each contest hall has a different format, with some sticking firmly to the game mechanics and others based on the anime format. The winning Pokémon will earn a Ribbon of that contest type and rank. The Trainer will then be able to challenge the next rank up, given the Pokémon meets all the requirements for the next rank. Normal Rank contests are held the most often, with Master Rank contests held the least often.

Shops

The second main part of the gameplay of FB is the shops, which offer a plethora of services to the player's Pokémon, such as the sale of items, raising a Pokémon's stats (such as their level, contest stats, or tameness), recolouring, etc. It is worth noting that a Pokémon used in a shop cannot be used in any other shops or zones until it has completed its shop stay. Shops usually open once on a weekly basis, with the majority of shops opening on a Monday. Although Serebii and Bulbagarden both feature the same available shops, UPN offers a range of exclusive shops not found on either of those boards. With the exception of the UPN-exclusive shops, players can only post in the shops on their "Home Board" (the forums they registered at FB with), to prevent players from potentially circumventing shop-specific usage limits.

Currency

Aside from being used to raise the levels of Pokémon, Rare Candies are also used in FB as currency. One free Rare Candy is given to each player in the Pokémart on Monday. However, this is not the only way to obtain them. More recently, Coins have also been established as an alternative currency, and many shops will use both, with some specialising in one or the other (e.g. the FB Bank and the Coin Exchange for the storage of each separately).

List of shops

Shop	Description
Pokémart	Buy various things such as Potions and Poké Balls. Gives everyone one free Rare Candy every Monday
Daycare	Members drop Pokémon off on a Monday and one week later the Pokémon gains one free level
The Egg House	Members can pick up an egg, then one week after picking it up, the Egg will hatch into one of many Pokémon
Shop-of-all-Trades	Shards, Shoal Items, Apricorns and Ash can be traded for Evolution Stones, Shell Bells, Poké Balls, or Flutes
Cable Club	This is where people can barter and trade for Pokémon and other items
Beauty Salon	Members drop Pokémon off on a Monday and one week later the Pokémon gains Happiness
Training Center	Members drop Pokémon off to learn a HM Move on a Monday and pick it up the following Monday
The Move Tutor	Members can pay to teach their Pokémon various Egg Moves and Move Tutor Moves
FB Bank	All a member's candy transactions are posted in the Bank
The Coin Exchange	All a member's coin transactions are posted in the Coin Exchange
Coins for Prizes	Allows members to buy prizes with their coins
The Berry Shop	Allows members to buy Berries. Gives everyone a free Berry every week
Pokétreats Shop	Members can create Pokéblocks and Poffins out of Berries
The Pokéspa	Members drop Pokémon off for three days in order to raise their Contest Stats
Lanette's PC	Like in the games, Lanette's PC is a storage system for any Pokémon or Items

Shops exclusive to UPN

Shop	Description
Adoption Center	Unwanted Pokémon can be dropped off here, to be adopted by other members
Real Estate Agency	Members can purchase a Secret Base within a list of various locations with their coins
The Base Shop	Members can purchase various furnature and accessories for their base with their coins
The Post Office	Allows members to purchase Mail which can be sent to another member's secret base
Jirachi's Casino	Members are able to gamble away their coins on various games such as a Pokémon Roulette or Slot Machines
Breeding Center	During the month of October each year the Breeding Center allows members to Pokémon breed their Pokémon

Time Out

Due to the sporadic nature of zone updates, each branch of FB is equipped with Time Out areas for players to enjoy when the game is running a little slow. In these, players can entertain each other, with simple discussions of the game and such to full-on player-operated zones, as with The Trainer-only Nightclub on BMGf, and The Fizzytopian Parks & Gardens of SPPf, for example.

This article is a part of Project Fandom, a Bulbapedia Project that aims to write comprehensive articles on every aspect of the Pokémon Fandom.