Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire/Unused Text
This is a sub-page of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.
Development
 | To do: Confirm what text is actually used when the Lilycove Department Store is having a sale. |
Several unused messages appear in a group of strings which starts at 0x1A089A in English Ruby 1.0. Many of them were obviously used for testing during development, but they're interspersed with strings related to the Pokémon Center, Poké Mart, and Lilycove Department Store which are used in the final game. Unlike the other test messages, these are not referenced by any script, but are fully localized in all releases of the game.
This is sample message 1. Welcome to the world of POKéMON AGB! We hope you enjoy this! This is sample message 2. Welcome to the world of POKéMON AGB! We hope you enjoy this! This is sample message 3. Welcome to the world of POKéMON AGB! We hope you enjoy this!
Note that these messages refer to "Pokémon AGB", rather than Ruby and Sapphire. "Pokémon AGB" was the tentative name for both games before the Game Boy Advance was officially revealed, with "AGB" standing for "Advanced Game Boy".
Welcome to the POKéMON CABLE CLUB TRADE CENTER. Welcome to the POKéMON CABLE CLUB COLOSSEUM. Welcome to the POKéMON CABLE CLUB TIME CAPSULE.
The Trade Center, Colosseum, and Time Capsule were the three areas of the Pokémon Cable Club in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. The Generation III games are infamously known to lack the Time Capsule, and have a Record Corner in its place. These may have been dummy messages; the messages used in the final game go on to explain the service and ask if the player would like to use it.
Welcome! We’re having a discount sale today!
This text seems to be meant for when the Lilycove Department Store is having a sale, but it's unreferenced.
Fufufu... Mumble, mumble... Oh! Closed today!
Text for one or more obstinate NPCs. This might read like a continuous monologue, but it's stored as four separate strings.
You like the \v4-type POKéMON \v2? It contains a POKéMON!
These strings might have been used if the player were choosing their starter Pokémon in a lab, like in previous games. The first is in desperate need of a comma.
We’re making preparations. I’m a pseudo-GYM LEADER for interviews. Ready for a test battle.
These refer to test scripts which seem to have been removed.
What should I do for fun today?
I don't know, maybe you'd like to browse TCRF?
Warp to BATTLE TOWER. Warp to LILYCOVE. The time is \v2! The HALL OF FAME will be accessed.
Lastly, a few shortcuts for the developers. In the final game, the S.S. Tidal can be used to travel to the Battle Tower or Lilycove from Slateport, so these "warp" messages may have been used before the S.S. Tidal was programmed.
Eon Ticket Event
At 0x1C5033 in English Ruby 1.0, there are two text strings intended to be spoken by Norman as part of the Eon Ticket event. No script in the ROM references this text. The actual Eon Ticket event, as distributed through an e-Reader card in North America, includes its own text as part of the event data, instead of using this text in the ROM. The text from the event is very similar, perhaps having been retranslated from the same Japanese source. However, the event's text has several punctuation errors, suggesting that whoever wrote it had a poor understanding of the game's character set. The event also includes specific text for Norman when he cannot give the Eon Ticket because the player's Key Items pocket is full; this text is not present in the ROM.
| Unused (ROM) | Used (e-Reader Event) |
|---|---|
DAD: \v1! Good to see you! There’s a letter here for you, \v1. DAD: I guess this is a PASS for a ship. But I’ve never seen this ship before. You should find out what this is about in LILYCOVE. |
DAD“\v1! Good to see you! There’s a letter here for you,\v1. DAD“It appears to be a ferry TICKET. but I’ve never seen one like it before. You should visit LILYCOVE and ask about it there. |
Wild Double Battles
A string of text located at 0x400590 in English Ruby 1.0 suggests that wild double battles, which debuted in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, were a considered feature.
Wild \v5 and \v3 appeared!
Other Unused Battle Text
There are no Abilities that can freeze an opposing Pokémon, but a text string seemingly meant for this occurrence exists anyway:
\v16's \v23 froze \v14 solid!
These two catching-related lines appeared in Gold and Silver as unused leftovers from Generation I; they're still present here in Generation III, just as unused as before.
You missed the POKéMON!
It dodged the thrown BALL! This POKéMON can't be caught!
