Generation II/Advances in Gameplay/Major Alternations from Generation I


 * A change in the types of four moves (,, , and . All formerly , they are now Flying, Ground, Fighting, and Dark, respectively.
 * The addition of Steel as a secondary type for and.
 * An improved stat system, with the former Special stat being split into Special Attack and Special Defense.
 * In-game opponents now have Power Points like players.
 * Although still classified as a Normal type move, now deals typeless damage.
 * The Bag is no longer one 20-item container, but has four separate sections for different items: Normal items, Poké Balls, TMs and HMs, and Key Items.
 * A Key Item can be set to and then subsequently accessed with the select button, for convenience on the field.
 * Opponent Pokémon Trainers are given individual names.
 * When such a Trainer encounters the player and challenges him/her, the player now turns to look at the Trainer.
 * Exp. All is upgraded into the Exp. Share and is made a held item.
 * The definition of "upgrade" and not "replacement" in this situation is due to the items having the same name in the Japanese versions, suggesting an improvement on the item's mechanism and not necessarily a complete and independent substitute.
 * In the previous generation, a Pokémon could gain enough experience to jump straight from one level to another, thus missing out on any moves it could have learned in the levels between. From this generation onwards, if a Pokémon is currently in the battle, it levels up more than once if it gains enough experience to do so, meaning it does not miss any moves it could learn by level up. While other Pokémon still jump straight from one level to another, they do not miss any moves.
 * Town Map is replaced with an electronic device, the Pokégear, which also has cellphone and radio capabilities, alongside map functions.
 * The way the game handles color on the world map has been improved. Overworld sprites such as the no longer change their palettes when moving between areas.
 * The type chart has changed somewhat from Generation I:
 * {| class="roundy" style="text-align:center; background: #; border: 3px solid #"

! Attacking type ! Defending type ! Old effectiveness ! New effectiveness
 * - style="background:#000"
 * style="background:#" |
 * style="background:#" |
 * Super effective
 * Not very effective
 * - style="background:#000"
 * style="background:#" |
 * style="background:#" |
 * Super effective
 * Normal effectiveness
 * - style="background:#000"
 * style="background:#" |
 * style="background:#" |
 * Not effective
 * Super effective
 * style="background:#; " |
 * style="background:#" |
 * style="background:#000" | Normal effectiveness
 * style="background:#000; " | Not very effective
 * }
 * }