Proto:Pokémon Gold and Silver/Spaceworld 1999 Demo

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This is a sub-page of Proto:Pokémon Gold and Silver.

This page or section details content from the April 2020 Nintendo Leak.
Check the April 2020 Nintendo Leak category for more pages also sourced from this material.

Compiled on August 17, 1999, this prototype was shown at Spaceworld 1999. Compared to its 1997 counterpart, the general structure is almost identical to the one seen in the final games. However, there's still a good share of differences to observe.

Sub-Pages

Notes

Pokémon‎
The Pokémon we almost ended up getting.

Graphic Differences
Analyze to death.

Object Differences
So much to say, and so little time.

Text Differences
BALL SMITH KURT wants to battle!

Move Data Differences
WOOPER used FLY!

Wild Data Differences
Not quite there just yet.

Trainer Rosters
Red and Blue sure were slacking off.

Map Differences
Ilex Forest sure looks a lot more barren.

ROMs

Download Pokémon Gold (Spaceworld 1999 Demo)

File: Pokémon Gold - Spaceworld 1999 Demo.7z (info)

Download Pokémon Silver (Spaceworld 1999 Demo)

File: Pokémon Silver - Spaceworld 1999 Demo.7z (info)

The Spaceworld '99 builds can be found in the following paths in the leaks:

Gen2.7z/mons2.zip/Document/ポケモン金銀/NSW G.COM
Gen2.7z/mons2.zip/Document/ポケモン金銀/NSW S.COM

The ROMs have two bytes incorrect in their global checksums.

To fix a ROM yourself, open it in a hex editor (such as HxD on Windows) and edit the following:

For Gold, set the bytes at 0x014E from 11 B2 to 14 BB.
For Silver, set the bytes at 0x014E from 78 27 to 7B 30.

Or install 'rgbds' and use on the ROM 'rgbfix -fg'

Main Gameplay Differences

As per this being a demo, during normal gameplay one can only go up to the gate leading to Violet City. There, the Cooltrainer NPC and the Guard are in the way, preventing the player from continuing forward. You can bypass them using the Walk Through Walls code from the final games, showing that the rest of the game is accounted for.
Kanto badges don't add to the badge counter on the Save screen, leaving the counter stuck to 8.
Virtually all itemballs and hidden items have different contents, on top of some being missing and some being exclusive to this build. Documented on its dedicated subpage.
A good handful of trainers have different rosters, such as Falkner having a Pidgeot, and the likes. Documented on its dedicated subpage.
The Scientist, Team Rocket Executive, Skier, and Boarder trainer classes don't exist yet, and trainers with those instead use the Super Nerd, Rocket Grunt, Swimmer♀, and Swimmer♂ classes respectively. Moreover, the second Rival class, used for the Mt. Moon encounter, is missing, and Silver instead uses his standard class during this fight.
In the Team Rocket HQ, if the player triggers a wild battle by stepping on a booby-trapped tile and runs away, then another battle will immediately start. In the final games, it's impossible to run away from wild Pokémon encountered on booby-trapped tiles.
In the final games, beating Silver at Mt.Moon will make him appear at the Indigo Plateau on Mondays and Wednesdays, for a rematch. This isn't the case in this build.
Beating Red on Mt.Silver only makes him respond with periods before vanishing, rather than showing the game's credits.
The Goldenrod Game Corner offers a Vulpix instead of an Ekans (Gold), and a Growlithe instead of a Sandshrew (Silver).
You don't need to get the Plain Badge in order to obtain the SquirtBottle from the florist.
The Sage in Barrier Station doesn't block access to the Tin Tower, letting you explore it even if you haven't got the Fog Badge yet. He also stands on the left at all time, whereas he moves to the right after you've obtained the city's badge in the final game.
The Sage in the first floor of the Tin Tower doesn't block access to it prior to Team Rocket disbanding. Actually, the NPC itself is missing entirely.
The Olivine dock Sailor doesn't let you chose whether or not you'd like to sail the Fast Ship. As such, talking to him will cause you to immediately board the ship.
The main legendary Pokémon battle, Ho-Oh in Gold and Lugia in Silver, are both at level 50 instead of 40.
The wild Snorlax is at level 60 instead of level 50, and it doesn't carry Leftovers.
Shuckie, the Shuckle offered by Mania in Cianwood City, doesn't carry a Berry.
Pokéfan Chris in Pewter City asks for a Kadabra, instead of a Gloom like he does in the final games. Still on the topic of trades, the Onix, Aerodactyl, and Rapidash you get from in-game trades are also all female, instead of male.
When checking an egg in your party, the player's name and ID will be shown, instead of both being displayed as "?????". The hatchling will also start at level 2, instead of level 5. The level at which hatched Pokémon start off was only changed starting with Generation IV, where it was reduced to 1. Thus, it's likely that this was supposed to be the case back in Generation II, though given how level 1 Pokémon were rather unstable back then, the devs likely tried saving themselves some hassle by going with level 2.
Hacking the game to make the Mystery Gift guy appear will reveal that the player already are awaiting something. This gift takes the form of... an invalid glitch item called "あ゙ギ", which the game registers as a type of Poké Ball. Trying to use it crashes the game, and so does tossing it or attempting to sell it. A Pokémon "can" hold it, though the game once again crashes right after the dialogue box closes. What a gift.
Tuscany is missing entirely from Route 29, though all her dialogue still remains. This means that she was very likely just removed for the sake of the demo, which is supported by her six siblings already being properly implemented.
The RageCandyBar you can buy in Mahogany Town only costs ₽200, as opposed to ₽300.
The Scientist on Route 2 hands you Sacred Ash, whereas he doesn't do anything in the final games besides tell you to go meet Professor Oak. In Heart Gold/Soul Silver, this same NPC gives you Sacred Ash.
Bill's Grandfather is found at his home in Fuchsia City, instead of house-sitting at the Sea Cottage. Moreover, he doesn't hand you any evolutionary stones like in the final games.
Staryu and Starmie have a 50♂/50♀ gender ratio, instead of being genderless. An odd last minute change to say the least.
The demo crashes when trying to heal your party when you don't have any Pokémon. In comparison, the final versions of Gold and Silver were made more stable in this regard.

Miscellaneous Differences

The demo's time setter lists 10 am. as part of the "MORN" cycle as opposed to the "DAY" cycle. This was later corrected, as even in this build 10 am is daytime, not morning.
Buying a Slowpoke Tail in Mahogany, or Moomoo milk at the Ranch, doesn't bring up your money total in the upper corner of the screen.
The Kanto Underground's map location is mistakenly set to be New Bark Town. The "UNDERGROUND" header is actually missing entirely in this build, suggesting that the Kanto Underground may have been a rather late addition.
In the final games, the areas in the Poké Gear's map are ordered as Ice Path > Blackthorn City > Dragon's Den. However, here it goes Blackthorn City > Dragon's Den > Ice Path.
Past Azalea City, and before Mahogany Town, the Fly location order differs between versions. This build goes Azalea > Cianwood > Goldenrod > Olivine > Ecruteak > Mahogany, but the final games go Azalea > Goldenrod > Ecruteak > Olivine > Cianwood > Mahogany.
As for Kanto's Fly location order, Saffron City and Celadon City both swapped spots, going from Lavender > Saffron > Celadon > Fuchsia in this build, to Lavender > Celadon > Saffron > Fuchsia in the final games.
In battle, Red is only referred to as "RED" ("レッド"), instead of "PKMN TRAINER RED" ("ポケモントレーナーのレッド").
Similarly, in battle, Cal is simply called "PKMN TRAINER" ("ポケモントレーナー"), instead of "PKMN TRAINER CAL" ("ポケモントレーナーの　ヒカル").

Hidden Power Crash

Oddly enough, when in the Ruins of Alph, trying to open the Pack when in a battle against a wild Unown will crash the game. This bug stems from the game attempting to call the function that calculates the Hidden Power damage. The programmers seemingly forgot that the function was in a different ROM bank.

(Source: Technical details provided by SatoMew and pfero.)

Radio Tower Softlock

In this build, the Radio Tower's director doesn't walk out of the room after he congratulates you for defeating the Rocket Executive. Instead, walking out of the room will unload him and place him in his office on the other side of the room.

However, a weird bug also comes with this different behavior: here, walking in the bottom right corner of the recording booth right after his speech will shift him from his initial position to... right above the door tile, blocking access from it and softlocking you in the process. Fixing this issue requires the use of a walk through wall cheat, as going through the door on the left side of the room (normally inaccessible from the booth) will properly unload the director, placing him in his usual spot at his office.

Trainer Payout Differences

Virtually all trainers award you a lot more money than in the final games. This is due to their base reward being set to ₽64 as a placeholder, which only causes a few trainers, namely Pokéfans, to hand out less money. The following are the trainers with non-placeholder, early base rewards:

Trainer class	SW99	Final
Leader	₽192	₽100
Rival	₽128	₽60
Elite Four	₽256	₽100
PKMN Trainer	₽320	₽100
Champion	₽320	₽100

Shop Lineup Differences

Some shops sell a different selection of items:

The Cianwood City mart doesn't sell any Hyper Potions.
The Mahogany Town mart doesn't sell any Hyper Potions.
The Vermilion City mart sells Surf Mail instead of Litebluemail.
The Mt. Moon mart sells Flower Mail instead of Portraitmail.
The Indigo Plateau mart doesn't sell any Revives.

Early Lineup	Final Lineup
Charcoal Poké Ball Potion Escape Rope Repel Antidote Paralyze Heal Awakening Flower Mail	Charcoal Poké Ball Potion Super Potion Escape Rope Repel Antidote Paralyze Heal Flower Mail

The Azalea Town mart doesn't sell any Super Potions, instead selling Awakenings.

Early Lineup	Final Lineup
Great Ball Super Potion Super Repel Antidote Paralyze Heal Awakening Ice Heal Surf Mail	Great Ball Super Potion Hyper Potion Antidote Paralyze Heal Awakening Ice Heal Super Repel Surf Mail

The Olivine City mart doesn't sell any Hyper Potions. The items were also rearranged slightly.

Early Lineup	Final Lineup
Great Ball Potion Super Potion Repel Antidote Paralyze Heal Awakening Burn Heal	Poké Ball Great Ball Potion Super Potion Antidote Paralyze Heal Awakening Burn Heal Ice Heal Revive

The Ecruteak City mart doesn't sell any Hyper Potions, Ice Heals, or Revives. Though they do instead sell Repels in the demo.

Early Lineup	Final Lineup
Ultra Ball Super Potion Hyper Potion Full Heal Revive Max Repel X Defend X Attack	Great Ball Ultra Ball Hyper Potion Max Potion Full Heal Revive Max Repel X Defend X Attack

The Blackthorn City mart doesn't sell any Max Potions or Great Balls. Though they do instead sell Super Potions in the demo.

Early Lineup	Final Lineup
Poké Doll Charcoal Ragecandybar Flower Mail Surf Mail	Poké Doll Lovely Mail Surf Mail

The 4F floor of the Celadon City Department Store offers a different set of items.

Item	Early Price	Final Price
Nugget	₽4500	₽4500
Pearl	₽4000	₽650
Big Pearl	₽8400	₽3500
Stardust	₽4000	₽900
Star Piece	₽8400	₽4600

The Bargain shop in the Goldenrod Underground is noteworthy, in that it sell the same items, but ironically enough it does so at a much higher price for the most part.

Item Differences

Some items haven't been finalized yet. More info on them can be gathered here.

The spot occupied by the Brightpowder (hex 03) in the final games instead holds a "Life Berry" (いのちのみ). This item is completely useless, and thus the best thing to do with it in this build is to sell it. Not that it'd bring up much, seeing how it's only worth ₽5.

The spot at hex 06 here is occupied by the "Town Map" (タウンマップ). A simple leftover from Generation I, which can't even be sold, as it's still classified as a Key item. Ultimately overwritten by a Teru-Sama.

The spot at hex 38 here is occupied by the "Poké Flute" (ポケモンのふえ). A simple leftover from Generation I, which can't even be sold, as it's still classified as a Key item. Ultimately overwritten by a Teru-Sama.

The spot at hex 46 here is occupied by the "Oak's Parcel" (おとどけもの). A simple leftover from Generation I, which can't even be sold, as it's still classified as a Key item. Ultimately overwritten by a Teru-Sama.

Oddly enough, the Twistedspoon and White Apricorn swapped ID spots with one another.

The spot at hex 81 here is occupied by the "Proof of Adulthood" (おとなのあかし). A cut Key item which is completely useless. Ultimately overwritten by a Teru-Sama.

The Scope Lens (hex 8C) still uses the placeholder name "Teru-Sama" (カビチュウ), as well as the filler buy and sell price common to all Teru-Sama items. Moreover, it uses a completely different, visibly placeholder description, reading: "ちゅうど　カビがはえている　しゅんかんの　しんしゅポケモン", which translates to: "A new Pokémon that has mold growing on it."

The spot at hex AB here is occupied by the "Tickle Stick" (こちょこちょぼう). A cut Key item which is completely useless. Ultimately overwritten by a Teru-Sama.

The spot at hex B0 here is occupied by the "Voucher" (ひきかえけん). A cut Key item which is completely useless. Ultimately overwritten by a Teru-Sama.

The spot at hex B3 here is occupied by the "Honey Pot" (ミツのつぼ). A cut item which is completely useless, and can't be sold. Ultimately overwritten by a Teru-Sama.

The Surf Mail (なみのりメール) is know here as "Lapras Mail" (ラプラスメール), which may have been a bit redundant, as its pattern is already styled after this Pokémon.

The Liteblue, Portrait, Lovely, Eon, Morph, Bluesky, Music, and Mirage Mail all use the placeholder name "Mail" (メール), as well as the same barebones description.

Music Differences

Prof. Oak, gyms, Pallet/Viridian/Celadon City, Route 1/2/3 and 12, Mt.Moon, the Game Corner, Kanto battle themes, and the Credits use Gen I music as a placeholder.
Lass and Hikers both use their Gen I encounter themes as a placeholder.
The Elite Four, Kanto Gym Leaders, and Pokémon Trainer Red don't use custom battle themes.
Officers don't use a custom encounter theme, instead reusing the default trainer encounter theme.
The Kimono Girls encounter theme doesn't exist, and in its place lies the Gen I bike theme.
The Magnet Train theme also doesn't exist, and in its place lies the Gen I Indigo Plateau theme.
The Dance Theater, Bug-Catching Contest, Contest Ranking, Rocket Radio, Diploma Printing, and Post Credit tunes haven't been implemented yet.
Changing the sound setting does not reset the music, with the changes only taking effect after a new track starts playing.
The stereo separation differs in a number of songs, with the title theme in particular being more centered during its main melody.

Proto	Final

The New Game/Continue screen's music is slightly higher pitched.

Proto	Final

The Goldenrod Radio Tower, National Park, and the Bug-Catching Contest use an earlier version of the Bicycle theme as a placeholder. Weirdly enough, the final version is already implemented and used when actually riding the Bicycle.

Cherrygrove/Mahogany (Proto)	Cherrygrove/Mahogany (Final)

Azalea/Blackthorn (Proto)	Azalea/Blackthorn (Final)

Many tracks in Johto use slightly different instruments or have other noticeable differences. Examples include Cherrygrove City/Mahogany Town and Azalea Town/Blackthorn City.