Pokémon Puzzle Challenge

Question: What do you get when you combine Pokémon and Tetris Attack? Answer: Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, one of Nintendo's attempts at increasing the marketability of a game by rebranding it.

Panel de Pon GB
For those who don't know, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge is pretty much the same thing as Tetris Attack, which in turn is the international rebranding of the Japanese game Panel de Pon. Characters from the latter game can be found in the ROM, suggesting that this game was originally meant to be a Panel de Pon game, but got rebranded partway through. (In case you're wondering, this was a Pokémon game in Japan as well.)

That said, Panel de Pon GB does exist in a very early generally unpolished state, as the characters and music are all there. The game can even be accessed on a regular Game Boy or Super Game Boy. Interestingly the game's CGB Bootstrap ROM palette is remarkably similar to Tetris Attack for Game Boy and its Japanese version, Yoshi no Panepon, except that it is more yellow than green.

The European version of this hidden mode removes a misplaced "ぇ" character introduced in Western localization and renames some of the menu options.



If using a pre-Color Game Boy, Panel de Pon GB can accessed from the GBC-only screen by pressing A (24x), B (24x). (You will hear a chime after pressing each button the required amount of times.) If on a Game Boy Color or newer, the GBC-only screen must first be triggered from the title screen by entering Up (2x), Right (4x), Down, Left (10x), Up (4x), Right, Down (6x), B. Once the screen is displayed, pressing A (24x), B (24x) will launch Panel de Pon GB.

Alternatively, it can be accessed by using Game Genie code which will start Panel de Pon in GBC mode, or  in any other GB mode.

Other Leftovers
In addition to the above, very barebones version of Panel de Pon GB still buried inside the game, there are many leftover graphics from a more complete version, which likely would've had features similar to the final Pokémon Puzzle Challenge.

Besides the uncompressed mugshots, there are many blocks of compressed graphics still left over from Panel de Pon, including the title screen, which reveals that the game was supposed to be called Panel de Pon GB before the Pokémon rebranding. (All offsets are for the Japanese version.)

Debug Menu


Game Genie code (where "??" is  or ) will start Pokémon Puzzle Challenge in a screen setting viewer/CHR set viewer.

You can view all stage backdrop sets, special events and Boss introductions. Pressing either Left or Right depending on the screen allows testing of various functions such as listening to Pokémon cries, scrolling the garbage vertically, setting the menu cursor and other specific functions.


 * Character and Pokémon portraits can also be displayed from screens.
 * Test Pokémon animations and listen to their cries from screens . The blinking Pokémon is the current animation event.
 * Save, game over, and congratulations screens.
 * Stage introduction previews. No special function. Screens.
 * Character and Pokémon portraits. No special function. Screens.
 * All garbage block sets are a for display on screens. Scrollable..
 * Stage introduction previews. No special function. Screens.
 * Pokémon Hall preview. Scrollable. Screen.
 * Round Clear ~ Introductions. No special function. Screens.
 * Stage Backdrops. No special function. Screens.
 * Stage Backdrops. Screens.
 * Round Clear ~ Pokemon. No special function. Screens.
 * Stage introduction backdrops. No special function..
 * Ending. No special function. Screen.
 * Results. No special function. Screens.
 * Pokémon Eggs. No special function. Screens.
 * Pokémon profiles. Menu cursor sound plays. Screens.
 * Boss battle introductions and defeat cuscenes. No special function. Screens.
 * Test animation. No special function. Screens.
 * Pikachu. No special function. Screens.

GBC-Only Screen


There is a black-and-white GBC palette programmed for the GBC-only message screen, likely added for the aforementioned Easter-egg game mode Panel de Pon GB. Game Genie code will start the game on this screen in GBC mode.

Unused Music
There are three unused music tracks in the game's data. Game Genie codes (where "??" is the song ID number) will play your selected song at the main menu. Song ID is a duplicate main menu track, while the Panel de Pon track ID values are, , and.

Unused Song 1
ID, GBS track 1.

Unused Song 2
ID, GBS track 4.

Unused Song 3
ID, GBS track 26.

Regional Differences


The European version has a language select option, as expected. It is screen and sub-screen, the latter of which is a congratulations screen in the American and Japanese versions.