Bicycle
A Bicycle (Japanese: じてんしゃ bicycle) is a key item obtained in the games to facilitate faster movement. Cycling Roads can only be navigated on while cycling.
In Kanto and Johto
In Generation I and Generation II, as well as their Generation III and Generation IV remakes, there is only one type of bicycle. It is sold by the Bike Shop (Miracle Cycle in the original Japanese versions) located in Cerulean City (in Kanto), and in Goldenrod City (in Johto). In Cerulean City a Bike Voucher is needed, while in Goldenrod City, the owner will give away the bike for free for advertisement purposes. It is the most basic type of bicycle in all of the games, as it only provides faster transportation. There are no obstacles that can be passed only with the bicycle, except Cycling Road in Kanto, which cannot be entered without a bike to ride on.
In Hoenn
In Hoenn, the setting of the Generation III games Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, there are actually two types of bicycles: the Mach Bike and the Acro Bike. They are both obtained for free in Rydel's Cycles in Mauville City, and one can be changed for the other at any time after one bike is originally obtained. However, the player may only take one bicycle with them at a time.
This is the first generation to introduce bike obstacles.
Mach Bike
The Mach Bike (Japanese: マッハじてんしゃ Mach Bike) allows players to move a lot faster than the previous models of bicycles. It can move fast enough to ride straight up a muddy slope, or over weak ground without falling through (Sky Pillar). If the player collides with something, all momentum gained is lost and the speed resets. This is the faster of the two bikes found in Hoenn. On Seaside Cycling Road, a player's time and number of collisions while riding this bike from the northern entrance to the southern exit is timed and recorded. This is part of the data sent over to other players when records are swapped.
Acro Bike
An Acro Bike (Japanese: ダートじてんしゃ Dart Bike) travels at the same speed as the original models of bicycles, but it also allows players to perform tricks, such as a wheelie or bunny hop, that let players reach special areas, like climbing up rocks on Jagged Pass. It can also be used for traveling on white rails found on Route 119 and in the Hoenn Safari Zone. The following is a list of tricks that are able to be performed using this bike:
- Hold B button (less than 2 sec.): standing wheelie
- Hold B button (more than 2 sec.): bunny hop
- Hold B, then D-pad: wheelie or bunny hop
- Press B+D-pad direction (perpendicular to direction of travel) simultaneously: sideways hop
A common trick in the Hoenn Safari Zone is to bunny hop up and down on an Acro Bike. This does not count as steps in the Safari Game; however, wild Pokémon can be encountered.
Unlike the Mach Bike, if the player rides on Seaside Cycling Road their time won't be recorded, due to the bike being "easy to turn" in comparison.
In Sinnoh
In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, there is again a single model of bicycle, but it is different from the regular one in that it has two gears—third and fourth. The differences between the two gears, which can be changed by pressing the B button, are similar to the differences between both types of Hoenn-exclusive bikes, as there is a fast gear (fourth) that allows players to travel up muddy slopes, and a slower gear (third) for easier turning. The only difference is that third gear isn't made for performing tricks (though it is capable of crossing narrow rails). It is obtained after the player saves Rad Rickshaw, owner of Rad Rickshaw's Cycle Shop, from Team Galactic in Eterna City. Diamond and Pearl also introduce bike ramps. In the basements of both Oreburgh Gate and Wayward Cave, as well as on Route 227, Trainers can jump over a bike ramp to reach a certain area that would otherwise be blocked. The distance that the bike can jump depends on what gear it is in. There are three terrains that can only be crossed by a bicycle:
- Sandy Slopes - If trying to travel up a sandy slope, a Trainer's feet will sink into the sand and drag them back down, making these hills impossible to climb on foot. However, a Trainer can clear them by setting the bike into fourth gear and gaining a running start.
- Jump Stands - If a Trainer encounters a boulder sticking out the ground in a strange direction in cave, they can switch the bike to fourth gear and gain a running start to clear over two tiles of terrain.
- Narrow Bridges - Narrow bridges that connect two areas of land are just wide enough to allow passage by bike, using either gear setting.
In Unova
In Pokémon Black and White, the player receives his/her bicycle from the Day Care Man in Nimbasa City after defeating Team Plasma. Like in Kanto and Johto, this bicycle has only one speed and merely allows the player to move faster; there are no bike obstacles in Unova.
Trivia
- A running joke in the anime seems to be that every time Ash meets up with a new female traveling partner, his Pikachu ends up destroying her bike.
- However, Iris, Ash's current female traveling partner, is the first girl who did not have a bicycle.
- Following the actual time when Misty's bike is destroyed, it is never acknowledged by anyone that Pikachu destroyed the bike; instead, it is always said that Ash destroyed it. However, Ash took the bike to escape the Spearow, and had he not taken it, it wouldn't have been destroyed with the Spearow when Pikachu used its ThunderShock.
- A reference to Generation III occurs in Rad Rickshaw's Cycle Shop, with the shelves advertising the Mach and the Acro Bikes.
- In the beta version of Gold and Silver, a skateboard was planned to complement the bike.
- A possible reason for this could be the fact, that the main character of Pokémon Adventures manga in Gold & Silver chapter, Gold, owned a skateboard.
- In Generation II and Generation IV the music for the Bug Catching Contest remixes parts of the original Bicycle theme music from Generation I.
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