Time Capsule

The Time Capsule (Japanese: タイムカプセル Time Capsule) is a mechanic in that allows undefineds to trade  back in time to. It is not present in.

Although no Generation I games were released in South Korea, the Time Capsule is still present in the Korean versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver.

In the games
A permanent fixture in every Pokémon Center, the Time Capsule is the only facility which allows direct inter-generational trades. Starting with in Generation III, this is no longer possible in the games, although it is possible to migrate Pokémon forward a generation through use of Pal Park (from Generation III to Generation IV), the Poké Transfer (from Generation IV to Generation V) and the Poké Transporter (from Generation V to Generation VI). Pokémon can no longer be "sent back in time", i.e., they can no longer be directly traded back to a previous generation game.

In the Japanese and Western versions
The Time Capsule is located on the second floor of each Pokémon Center. However, it will be under repair and unavailable until the undefined has met Bill in Ecruteak City. Even then, the player has to wait for another 24 hours in the game's internal clock before being able to use the Time Capsule.

After this point, it is possible to trade with the core series Generation I games; however, there are still some restrictions: When linked up to a Generation I game, the trade will happen as it did in Generation I, and the Generation II game will act as if it is a Generation I game.
 * The player cannot have any or s in their party.
 * The player cannot have any Pokémon holding Mail in their party.
 * None of the that are in the party can know any . However, it is possible to trade a Pokémon into Generation I with a moveset that is only obtainable in Generation II, as long as said Pokémon and moves were introduced in Generation I (e.g.,  with ).

Held items of Pokémon traded from a Generation I game are determined by that Pokémon's catch rate in said game. This is why hold a  or why  hold a  if traded from  but not from. For more information on this subject and a complete list of the items, see List of Pokémon by wild held item (Generation II).

Limitations and their consequences
Because of the restriction that moves introduced in Generation II cannot be traded back to Generation I, a Move Deleter in Blackthorn City will delete moves that are incompatible with earlier games. While trades with previous generations were not supported in any games after, the concept of a Move Deleter was retained as part of gameplay, as otherwise it would be impossible to make a Pokémon forget an HM move.

Glitches
The Time Capsule's limitation that prevents Generation II from entering can be bypassed with the Time Capsule exploit, though Generation II Pokémon brought in this way must still only know. When traded to a Generation I game, they will become glitch Pokémon. The four Pokémon that evolve by trade in Generation I (,, , and ), if traded from a Generation I game to a Generation II game at the correct level, will learn a Generation II move after evolving, but can be traded back to Generation I immediately after. This gives access to glitch moves in the Generation I game.

In the Korean versions
In the Korean releases of, although the Time Capsule is officially unsupported, it is enabled by linking with a Generation I game using the regular trading room of the Generation II games. The attempt to trade will be cancelled and Bill will appear as soon as the player attempts to leave the Pokémon Center in Ecruteak City.

After unlocking it, the player can use Time Capsule with Western versions of the Generation I games. However, like when trading between Korean and Western Generation II games, because the Western games do not support Korean characters, Pokémon names and Original Trainers will not display properly in the Western games; if a Korean character corresponds to a control character in the Western games, this can have other unexpected effects.

In the Pokémon Gold & Silver: The Golden Boys manga
The Time Capsule was first mentioned by Professor Oak in The Legendary Pokémon Appears!, when a time tunnel appeared above the Violet Gym during 's Gym battle with Falkner. Out of the time tunnel came a, which joined Gold's team. In Farewell To Pikachu?!, Eusine revealed how he and Bill had used Bill's Time Capsule to send Pikachu back in time in order to help it lead him to a Legendary Pokémon he was looking for.

In the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga
The Time Capsule appeared in Find the Legendary Pokémon!!, where Bill demonstrated it to. became interested in it, and Bill agreed to send Red and his Pokémon back in time.

In the TCG
This listing is of cards mentioning or featuring the Time Capsule in the Pokémon Trading Card Game.