Pokémon Red and Blue

Pokémon Red Version and Blue Version
Also known as: Pocket Monsters: Red & Green (JP), Pocket Monsters: Blue (JP) Developer: Game Freak Publisher: Nintendo Platforms: Game Boy, Super Game Boy Released in JP: February 27, 1996 (Red & Green), October 15, 1996 (Blue) Released in US: September 30, 1998 Released in EU: October 5, 1999 Released in AU: October 23, 1998 This game has unused areas. This game has unused code. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has unused items. This game has unused music. This game has unused sounds. This game has unused text. This game has debugging material. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a development article This game has a prototype article This game has a prerelease article This game has a notes page This game has a bugs page This game has a Data Crystal page

If you wanna be the very best, like no one ever was, then these might be the games for you.

Much like the early entries in the Final Fantasy series, these games have a messy history when it comes to localization. As a result, this page covers the initial Japanese versions, titled Red and Green, the updated Blue revision, and the subsequent international localizations (dubbed Red and Blue) that drew from the latter.

Sub-Pages

Development Info

Prototype Info

Prerelease Info

Notes

Bugs

Resources

Unused Maps The town with no name.

Unused Text A wizard has turned you into a Wailmer. Is this awesome? YES / NO

Unused Trainers PROF.OAK wants to fight!

Unobtainable Items No Safari Balls for you.

Unseen Graphics Everyone knows that cats like to hide under vehicles.

Code and Data

MissingNo. I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong number.

Internal Index Number 1, 2, Pikachu... 3, 4, Exeggutor...

Debug Functions Nintendo and Sony: friends, rivals, and Pokémon trainers.

Miscellaneous Data The famous invisible computer.

Unused Move Data ShootManyBallsUpward!

Miscellaneous

Translation Errors Errors from when the games were translated from one language to another.

Version Differences Differences in versions, as well as localization changes.

Unused Song

Red and Blue contain a short unused song with no defined pointers. The song appears to be incomplete, and while it only has two channels whose octaves are set too high, it does have a defined song tempo, being relatively quick. The two channels are located in the ROM at offsets 0xA913 and 0xA9CF, and the tune can be patched into Pallet Town by using a Game Genie code or manually patching a set of offsets, both displayed below.

Game Genie Code	Offsets to Patch
132-2FB-F7D	0x822F to 13
692-30B-7F7	0x8230 to 69
CF2-32B-917	0x8232 to CF
692-33B-4CB	0x8233 to 69

The full two-channel song was later found in the English source code leak, there known as Koukan, which translated to "Trade". Based on the commented out headers and the channel data itself, the track's channels were meant to be split between both Game Boys with one channel playing on one Game Boy and the other playing on the other. A similar behavior was ultimately used in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for multiplayer Pokémon Contests. Additionally, this song was also found in the Pokémon Gold and Silver source code leak as EFFDATA/M_TRADE.DAT, which plays the source version.

Damaged Version:

Restored Version:

Source Version:

Unused Cry Base

An unused cry base. This is not referenced by pointer table, therefore there is no ID associated with this cry base. This would later find its way into Pokémon Crystal, where it's still unused and unreferenced.

Unused Type

Found in both Generation I and Generation II games is an unused type known as "Bird". This type, which lacks any weaknesses or resistances, is only assigned to MissingNo. and is believed to have been either an earlier or alternate version of the Flying type.

Unused Celadon Warp

An unused warp to the fifth floor of the Celadon Department Store (map 136) exists in Celadon City, located on the building to the right of the Prize Corner where a door would normally be found. Exit location data also exists for the map, with the exit point index number being 08.

Given how it wouldn't make sense to end up on the fifth floor of somewhere from Celadon City and not the first floor, it shows that map 136 was altered at some point in the game's development. Further proof of this theory comes in the fact that the other Celadon Department Store floors (in order) have index numbers 122-125 respectively. The fifth floor, which has index number 136, does not follow this pattern.

You can create a door to access the warp with the GameShark code 017C72C8. You can appear where the warp is by using the GameShark codes 0108B5D3 0108B1D3, entering a certain map in Celadon City (such as the Pokémon Center) and exiting.

(Source: Torchickens & IIMarckus)

Unused Scripted SFX

There exists three unused scripted events in which a sound effect would have been played using a text command. For example, the Dewgong cry would have played if the player interacted with an "NPC" version of this Pokémon. However, in that specific case it never gets used as no Dewgong exists in that form in the final games, with only a member of the Pokémon Fan Club owning a Seel.

TX_SOUND_POKEDEX_RATING,       SFX_POKEDEX_RATING
TX_SOUND_GET_ITEM_1_DUPLICATE, SFX_GET_ITEM_1
TX_SOUND_CRY_DEWGONG,          DEWGONG

(Source: Pokémon Red Disassembly)

Unused Learned Moves

Unlike future titles, Pokémon Red and Blue lack a move relearning facility, meaning that there are occasions where a Pokémon may be caught at too high a level to learn certain moves that are in its learnset. These are fixed via Pokemon Stadium 2's move relearner facility.

Confusion / Disable Mewtwo

The most notable case is Mewtwo, which has Confusion and Disable in its Level 1 learnset. However, because it learns Barrier at Level 63 and Recover at Level 70, the latter of which is the level it is caught at, it cannot learn them legitimately. Glitches such as Trainer-Fly can allow the Level 1 learnset to manifest.

(Source: Pokémon Red Disassembly - Mewtwo Learnset)

Wrap Lickitung

Lickitung can only be obtained via trading a Slowbro, and Slowbro's lowest possible level is 23. At this level, Lickitung learns Defense Curl, which overwrites Wrap. Japanese Pokémon Blue and any version of Yellow fix this by having Lickitung obtainable at a low enough level to not overwrite Wrap.

(Source: Pokémon Red Disassembly - Lickitung Learnset)

Starter Dex Entries

Note Ivysaur (002)

To display the Pokédex entries for the starter Pokémon, the game marks them as owned for a brief time, then shows the Pokédex data screen, and then clears the Pokédex. However, for an unknown reason, aside from just marking Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle as owned, the code also marks Ivysaur as owned. This doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, as it gets cleared and the player never gets to see this, but it's still there. Ivysaur was probably not meant to be a starter, and it was likely added into the function by mistake.

Note that this doesn't mark the starters as seen, only owned as it wasn't necessary for the Pokédex entry to work. However, if it was possible to view the Pokédex's list during this time, the entries while owned (with a Poké Ball icon) cannot be viewed and are not named, as in the screenshot on the right (unless the player had already seen them e.g. receiving the gift or as wild Pokémon).

Additionally as a design flaw, if the player already owned Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle or Ivysaur in the Pokédex prior to viewing the Pokédex entry and backed out, all of those owned entries will be disabled after backing out with B. This also doesn't really matter, however, as there is no way to get Pokémon, and as such the player is expected to not own any Pokémon prior to getting the Pokédex.

; this function temporarily makes the starters (and Ivysaur) owned
; so that the full Pokedex information gets displayed in Oak's lab
StarterDex:
	ld a, 1 << (DEX_BULBASAUR - 1) | 1 << (DEX_IVYSAUR - 1) | 1 << (DEX_CHARMANDER - 1) | 1 << (DEX_SQUIRTLE - 1)
	ld [wPokedexOwned], a
	predef ShowPokedexData
	xor a
	ld [wPokedexOwned], a
	ret

(Source: Pokémon Red Disassembly)