Pokémon Crystal/Version Differences

This is a sub-page of Pokémon Crystal.

Revisional Differences

Carryovers

A lot of the changes which took place in Gold and Silver still apply here, and thus won't be discussed.

Product Code

The product code for the Japanese version of the game is CGB-BXTJ-JPN, with the "J" and "JPN" parts referring to that region.

The export versions differ in not only those region-specific parts of the product code, but also in the first three characters identifying the title (which are CGB-BYT?-??? instead). This abnormal change was deliberate, and intended to reflect the removal of online features.

(Source: Source code: pmcsrc/HEADER.DMG)

Title Screen

The title screen had its logo changed to the international equivalent. The copyright dates were also updated accordingly, both here and on the introduction cutscene.

Japan	International

Trading Sequence

In the Japanese version, the Pokémon trading screen is vertically aligned. Meanwhile, in the international release, due to the lack of space, it is horizontally aligned. During the actual trade animation, the initial window was made wider, as to allow for the longer Pokémon/Player names.

Interestingly, the mobile trading screen was updated for international release despite being inaccessible outside of Japan, showing just how close the Mobile Adapter content came to making the cut overseas.

Japan	International

Jynx Sprites

While the Japanese version of Crystal uses the updated International Pokémon sprites as a basis for their new animated ones, Jynx still uses her original dark-skinned design. Moreover, Japanese Crystal also uses the trainer sprites from Japanese Gold and Silver, which them reverted back to the updated ones when the game was brought overseas.

	Front (Original)	Front (Updated)	Back (Original)	Back (Updated)
Regular
Shiny

Map Changes

Pokémon Center

Japanese Version	International Version	Mobile Trade Room	Mobile Colosseum

Because of the added online functionality, the second floor of every Pokémon Center in the Japanese version has two more doors. The left door will lead to the standard Trade Room/Colosseum, whereas the right one will lead to their respective "Mobile" equivalents. These work the exact same way as their non-mobile versions, only with the benefits brought by the Mobile System GB. The mobile Trade Room even comes with its own nifty purple interface, and unique trade animations.

While these rooms were made unavailable in the international version, their warp data remain in the exact same spot it used to sit. Thus, they can still be accessed in the international versions by using "Walk through Walls" and "Every Warp Tile is a Hole" codes and stepping on the tile right next to the door.

Goldenrod City

Japanese Version	International Version

In the Japanese version, the Pokémon Center in Goldenrod City is replaced with the "Pokémon Communication Center", or PokéCom Center/PCC for short. This new area is meant to showcase the added gameplay features linked to the Mobile System GB. However, due to the accessory not being released overseas, the PCC was reverted back to a standard Pokémon Center, and so was the building's exterior.

Ultimately, the PCC served as the original incarnation of what would later become the Global Terminal System (GTS) introduced in Generation IV. Rather fittingly, the Generation II remakes, HeartGold and SoulSilver, would have their GTS be found in Goldenrod.

PokéCom Center

This is what the ground floor of the PCC looks like. The leftmost desk operates as a standard Pokémon healing service, while the center desk acts as the Trade Corner. The machine to the far right is the Pokémon News Machine, where players could read about each other's Pokémon adventures, or take quizzes. As for the stairs in the bottom left corner of the room it simply leads to the typical Pokémon Center 2F map, with the regular link cable rooms. The pink door in the upper left corner leads to the Administration Office.

This is what the Administration Office looks like, with is accessible from the aforementioned door in the upper-left corner of the map. The room is first blocked-off by an old man, who will stand in front of the door until the player connects to the Mobile System GB for the first time. The main purpose of this area is to offer some information regarding the way the accessory works, which can be accessed by checking the three PCs found here. While inaccessible in the international releases, there's an unused warp right above the stairs on the ground floor of the regular Pokémon Center that leads here. Without hacking the ROM or using glitches, it can be accessed with GameShark code 0160E4D4, which alters the behavior of the warp tile so that it behaves like a hole tile.

The Japanese version actually has a bug related to the PCC. As soon as you enter it, the game tries to execute the script ID found at SRAM address A800, which is normally expected to be zero. However, if playing on a fresh cartridge with clear SRAM (i.e. never having saved the game), this address can contain any value due to the arbitrary state of SRAM; the game then tries to execute an invalid script ID, usually resulting in a game freeze. Even though the PCC is not used in the localized versions, the programmers still added a check to see if A800 is zero before attempting to execute the script.

Battle Tower

Another major difference in the localizations of Crystal is the Battle Tower, as it no longer relies on the Mobile System GB. Thus, it's open from the get go, whereas in the Japanese version it remains closed until the player connects to the mobile service. This sadly leaves the area completely inaccessible in the original version, including the VC release, due to the shutdown of the service.

In the Japanese version of the Battle Tower, players could compete with each other over the Mobile System GB, for a small fee of ¥10. If the player did well enough, they could go on to become Room Leaders, earning their spot on an Honor Roll that could be viewed from the main lobby. In the international versions, the multiplayer functionality, Room Leaders, and the Honor Roll were removed; players instead fight a series of seven generic AI trainers, and are rewarded for defeating all of them with a set of five stat-increasing vitamins.

Despite the change, all of the dialogue relating to the Mobile System GB functionality was translated and remains in the ROM alongside the rewritten text.

GS Ball Event

In the Japanese version, the GS Ball, which triggers the Ilex Forest Celebi event, was distributed via the Mobile System GB as an event item during certain timeslots to Japanese players who had beaten the game, and could successfully complete a minigame and a trivia quiz. For the localized versions, which lack mobile connectivity, the GS Ball event got reprogrammed and adapted to the regular Pokémon Center, though it remains inacessible during normal gameplay. This event can be activated by setting the byte at 0x3E3C (01:BE3C when the game is running) in an English save file to 0x0B which is then backed up to 0x3E44 (01:BE44) and vice-versa.

In the Virtual Console release, the event was restored in the international versions (and altered in Japan due to the loss of the Mobile System GB), allowing all players to catch Celebi, including its Shiny variant, and transfer it to the Generation VII games using Pokémon Bank. The Virtual Console emulator sets the needed flags in the save file when the player enters the Hall of Fame, and thus the ROM is not modified.

Odd Egg

While the Odd Egg, a special, Crystal-exclusive egg that can hatch into any baby Pokémon, is obtainable in all versions, there are a few differences in how it's handled in each version. Namely, to obtain it in the Japanese version, the player needs to use the Mobile System GB to obtain an Egg Ticket from the Day Care Man, then take it to the PokéCom Center, where it can be given to the trade corner attendant in exchange for the egg. Since the Mobile System GB was never released outside of Japan, the method of obtaining the Odd Egg was changed to simply talking to the Day Care Man, who will give it to the player.

Moreover, the chance that the Pokémon contained in the egg will be shiny upon hatching is 50% in the Japanese version and 14% in the international versions. In the international versions, the odds differ depending on species and shininess, as follows:

Species	Odds Regular	Odds Shiny
Cleffa	16%	3%
Elekid	12%	2%
Igglybuff	16%	3%
Magby	10%	2%
Pichu	8%	1%
Smoochum	14%	2%
Tyrogue	10%	1%

(Source: Bulbapedia)

Route 40

Japanese & European	English

On Route 40 is a male NPC who mentions the Battle Tower if you talk to him. In the Japanese version he only appears after enabling the Mobile System GB, while he is always present in the overseas releases. Inexplicably, the English versions moved this NPC four tiles to the right of his original position, which makes him appear abruptly when entering Route 40 from Cianwood City. This NPC was moved back to his original spot in the European versions.

English Version 1.1

Version 1.1 of the game (on which the initial versions of some other translations, such as the Australian one, are built) features a number of minor changes:

• The background of the unused Mobile Stadium/Studium feature was accidentally altered.
• The Pokédex page number in memory was originally controlled by bit 0x0 of CF65 (the whole address is also modified on the second page of the Trainer Card). In Version 1.1, it is controlled by bit 0x0 of C7E5 instead (the whole address is also modified while walking around).
• A bug in Battle Tower trainer text was fixed, as detailed here in the Pokémon Crystal disassembly project:

; Instead of loading the Trainer Class, this routine
; loads the 6th character in the Trainer's name, then
; uses it to get the gender of the trainer.
; As a consequence, the enemy trainer's dialog will
; always be sampled from the female array.

The unused trainer name correction, intended for online multiplayer, renames players with invalid characters in their name as Kris in the Japanese versions, and Chris in the English ones. However, they're left completely undefined in other languages, with only the German version adding "Chris".

French and Spanish Versions

In the French and Spanish localizations, the order of the trainers' names is reversed, with the French version carrying this over from Gold and Silver. This breaks the correct interpretation of the text as seen in the example below. In the former, the game correctly refers to "Joven Chano" (Youngster Joey), while in the latter, it calls him "Chano Joven" (the meaning changes from a Youngster called Joey to Joey being a young person).

• 

  Spanish Gold and Silver.

• 

  Spanish Crystal.

Australian Version

Despite no functionality being removed, unlike in better-known future examples, the Australian version of the game marks the first attempt to censor the theme of gambling in a Pokémon game. This results in some laughably generic lines, possibly to avoid portraying gambling as exciting. The 3DS Virtual Console release in Australia was instead the European build with the original dialogue.

Goldenrod Game Corner

American/European	Australian
I always play this slot machine. It pays out more than others, I think.	This machine looks the same as the others.
I just love this new slot machine. It's more of a challenge than the ones in CELADON.	These machines seem different from the ones at CELADON CITY!
Life is a gamble. I'm going to flip cards till I drop!	Nothing is certain in this area.
Card flip… I prefer it over the slots because it's easier to figure the odds. But the payout is much lower.	Card flip… Different from the other machines.
I couldn't win at the slots, and I blew it on card flipping… I got so furious, I tossed out my COIN CASE in the UNDERGROUND.	COIN CASE? I threw it away in the UNDERGROUND.

Celadon City

American/European	Australian
I lost at the slot machines again… We girls also play the slots now. You should check them out too.	I lost at the machines.
The Playground for Everybody--CELADON CORNER	The Game Area for Grown-ups--CELADON GAME CORNER

Celadon Game Corner

American/European	Australian
It's this machine I want. It cleaned me out yesterday, so it should pay out today.	The weather outside is very nice.
I think this slot machine will pay out… The odds vary among machines.	This machine looks the same as the others.
Gahahaha! The coins just keep popping out! Hm? What, kid? You want to play? I'll share my luck with you!	Whoa! What? You want to play this machine? Here, take my coins.
Hey, your COIN CASE is full, kid. You must be riding a winning streak too.	Your COIN CASE is full.
Hey! CHAMP in making! Are you playing the slots too? I'm trying to get enough coins for a prize POKéMON. But I don't have enough coins yet…	Hey! CHAMP in making! Are you playing too? I'm trying to get enough coins for a prize POKéMON. But I don't have enough coins yet…
Hmmm… The odds are surely better for PIKACHU's line, but… What to do?	Is there any difference between these lines?

Celadon Prize Corner

American/European	Australian
Whew… I've got to stay calm and cool… I can't lose my cool, or I'll lose all my money…	I don't want to lose my coins.

Buena

American/European	Australian
I'm thinking of going to the GAME CORNER tomorrow. It's been a while. You see, I have my favorite machine… It pays out a lot, I kid you not!	I'm thinking of going to the GAME CORNER tomorrow. It's been a while. Some machines pays out a lot.

(Source: Pokémon Crystal disassembly)

Virtual Console Changes

Game Boy Printer

The original game supports the Game Boy Printer. The 3DS doesn't, so the following features needed to be disabled in the Virtual Console release:

• The "PRNT" option in the Pokédex entry screen, which originally printed the entry on-screen, now does nothing.
• The photographer in Cianwood City who printed out a Pokémon's "photo" is still there, but it's now impossible to pick "YES" to print the photo.
• Pokémon storage box lists and mail can no longer be printed from the PC.
• The Diploma you get for completing the Pokédex can no longer be printed.

Miscellaneous Changes

• As with other Pokémon games re-released on the Virtual Console, trading is included via the use of a modified emulator that spoofs the Link Cable without affecting the ROM.
• Using the Poké Transporter, Pokémon can be sent from the Gen II core series games to Pokémon Bank, and then can then be moved to Gen VII core series games.
• The Mystery Gift can be performed with other VC copies of Crystal, using the 3DS system's own infrared port.
• Some Pokémon moves had their animations changed slightly to tone down the flashing by dimming the screen.
• In the Japanese version, Jynx's sprites were changed to that of the international ones.
• Due to a lack of Mobile System GB connectivity, Japanese players are unable to access the Egg Ticket, Battle Tower, or any of the features in the PokéCom Center.
• The event allowing the player to obtain the GS Ball and capture Celebi will be activated after entering the Hall of Fame and then entering the PokéCom Center (in the Japanese release) or Goldenrod City's Pokémon Center (in international release).