The Red and Blue versions of the Pokémon games were developed by Game Freak founder Satoshi Tajiri. The games were adaptations of the original Blue version that was released in Japan in 1996, following the success of the Red and Green versions.

Pokémon Red and Blue were released in North America in September 1998 and together with Pokémon Yellow, released in October 1999, they were the first generation of Pokémon video games. Pokémon Gold and Silver, released in July 2001, were considered part of the second generation of the games.

The first and second generations of Pokémon RPGs challenged players to master the basics of the game, such as the tactics and strategies needed for battling, capturing, and trading Pokémon.

The original Pokémon RPGs have maintained their worldwide popularity since they were first introduced. However, when they were first released on the Game Boy, Nintendo's 8-bit handheld game console, the complexity of the programming at the time meant that the games were riddled with glitches and bugs. There are tons of hidden secrets and a mass of intriguing trivia about the games that enthusiasts have uncovered over the years.

Here are the 20 Hidden Secrets You Still Haven't Found In The Original Pokémon Games.

The Grumpy Old Man's Drinking Problem

In Red and Blue, players meet a grumpy old man outside of the Viridian City Gym in Kanto. The old man won't let you pass because he hasn’t had his morning coffee. However, he has an embarrassing secret that he is keeping from players of the international versions of Red and Blue.

In the original Japanese versions, he won't let players pass because he is drunk. The developers of the game edited out the old man's drunkenness while adapting the Japanese Blue version for the international users of Red and Blue.

The old man delays players by insisting that he wants to demonstrate how to capture a Pokémon. This was originally intended as a tutorial to train novice players. In Red and Blue he catches a Weedle, but in Yellow he catches a Rattata.

Level Your Pokémon To 100 Before The First Gym

The EXP underflow glitch, as it is commonly called, allows players to level any Pokémon to 100 before the first gym. The glitch, which can be performed on Blue, Red, and Yellow, is due to a technical detail in the programming.

This means that Level 1 Pokémon in the Medium Slow group were calculated to have a certain level of negative experience points in excess of 16 million. As a result of a bug in the program, the game interprets the negative experience points as a huge value of positive experience points.

Thus, if a level 1 Pokémon with negative experience points fails to gain enough points to reach a positive range of values, the game misinterprets it to be at level 100 and assigns that level to the Pokémon.

The Mysterious Whirl Islands

In Gold and Silver, the Whirl Islands consist of a complex system of linked islets with surrounding whirlpools on Route 41, between Jhoto and Cianwood City. The Islands can only be accessed after you teach your Pokémon Whirlpool, a Water-type move first introduced in Gold and Silver. To access the caves of Whirl Islands you also need a Pokémon that can use Waterfall, another Water-type move.

The player can then encounter Lugia, Guardian of the Seas, in the subterranean caves of Whirl Islands. Lugia's home beneath the sea is a sprawling system that is difficult to access.

In order to find, battle, and capture Lugia, the player must first obtain Silver Wing. Silver players can obtain Silver Wing at the Radio Station in Goldenrod City, while Gold players can obtain it in Pewter City. Pokémon Gold players can also encounter Horsea and Seel in the dungeons.

The Walk-Through-Walls Glitch

One of the most intriguing tricks in Pokémon Red and Blue is the Walk-Through-Walls Trick. There are several versions of the trick that have been performed on YouTube. To perform the glitch, the player must first make the game believe that it is still in the Safari Zone even when the player has left the area.

The ledge method, for instance, starts with the player obtaining a poisoned Pokémon with over 124 HP. The player then goes to the Safari Zone and pays to enter the Pokémon Center, depositing all of their Pokémon except for the poisoned one. When the player tries to exit they will be prompted if they are ready to leave and they must select "No."

The player then must save and restart their game, exit the Safari Zone and go through insanely convoluted steps which end with the player jumping off of a ledge. The activated glitch allows the player to walk through walls and other obstacles.

How To Use Friendship Stat To Make Your Pokémon Love You

In Gold and Silver, the player needs to boost their Friendship stat in order to evolve certain types of Pokémon. A prototype of the concept was introduced in Yellow, but it was restricted to Pikachu. However, players can manipulate the Friendship stat in Yellow by using a Potion on their healthy Pikachu.

A full health Pikachu does not need the Potion and thus will not use it when applied. Instead, the Potion will boost the Friendship stat and make Pikachu like you more. It is possible to use a Potion to boost the Friendship stat to the maximum very quickly, although in Yellow, a high Friendship value will not make your Pikachu evolve.

Pokémon that evolve through Friendship were then properly introduced in the second generation versions of the game.

Legendary Beast Encounters In Pokémon Gold And Silver

A split image of Pokemon Gold and pokemon Silver.

Gold and Silver feature three new Legendary Pokémon, Entei, Suicine, and Raikou, which replaced Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno, from Red and Blue. The Pokémon can be encountered while wandering in the wild near Johto.

Players can encounter the powerful creatures randomly as level 40 Pokémon, but they will run away when confronted. Players may attack by using Sleep, but it is not recommended to change Pokémon for the purpose of the attack. Players might be able to catch them after multiple random encounters.

According to Go Hub, the origins of the beasts are due to the tower in Ecruteak City burning down. The fire that was started by a bolt of lightning and was eventually put out by a freakish downpour. The Pokémon that were killed in the accident were later resurrected by the legendary Ho-Oh and became Entei, Suicine, and Raikou.

Blackface Racial Stereotyping

The design of the international Red and Blue versions went through extensive modifications in order to be adapted for use by non-Japanese players. They were also subjected to censorship due to cultural differences between the West and Japan.

An issue that arose was the appearance of the humanoid Jynx, who had black skin and thick lips.There were users who thought that it was a version of blackface and complained about racial stereotyping in the character's design.

The source of inspiration for Jynx is uncertain, but some suggest that it was derived from the mythical Japanese Yama-uba -- a ghost associated with ice and said to have dark skin. However, Game Freak changed Jynx’s appearance in Yellow, Gold, and Silver, and any subsequent versions. Jynx is now depicted as having purple skin.

The MissingNo Bird-type Glitch Pokémon

The Pokémon franchise eventually accumulated a total of more than 800 collectible monsters. A Pokémon can belong to one or multiple types, including: Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Dark, Ice, Fairy, Psychic, and Ghost. Each type is associated with unique attributes that have their own strengths and weaknesses in battle.

The creators of Red and Blue appeared to have planned for a Bird-type, but the idea was dropped during development. They instead went with the Flying-type, which is a broader classification that covers all beasts that can fly. However, players can still create a Bird-type glitch Pokémon known as MissingNo by exploiting other glitches in the game.

The MissingNo Bird-type glitch Pokémon is bereft of special attributes, which means that it has no specific strengths or weaknesses.

 12. The Trainer Escape Glitch

The Trainer Escape glitch occurs when the player encounters a Trainer who spots the player performing a move, such as Fly, or taking an item. When the Trainer first appears on the screen, he assumes a default position in which he looks away.

In the second frame, the Trainer turns to face the right direction. The player must use a move or an item in the first frame, which results in the Trainer spotting the player before he is able to escape. The game interprets the move to mean that the player has initiated battle.

This leads to a glitch in which the player must battle a separate Trainer after the escape, before the game recovers from the glitch.

The Safari Surf

Players can encounter rare, wild Pokémon in the Safari Zone while surfing the East coastline. Firstly, go to the Safari Zone and then exit the area. The player must then pass through Route 19 to Surf on the East coastline of Seafoam Islands.

Alternatively, you can pass Route 20 to Cinnabar Island from Fuchsia City, taking care to avoid areas that have terrestrial versions of wild Pokémon. While surfing, players encounter wild Pokémon from the Safari Zone that are unlike wild Pokémon normally associated with water. Players can also battle and catch rare Safari Zone wild Pokémon, such as Chansey, Kangaskhan, and Tauros.

The Safari Surf is similar to the Walk-Through-Walls Trick, since they have to do with the game mistakenly thinking that the player is still playing in the Safari Zone.

The Mew Glitch

The Mew glitch may be one of the most well-known glitches, but its importance is closely linked to other glitches.

It can be found found in Blue, Red, and the earlier Japanese versions of the games. Players first detected the glitch in 2003 and it is closely linked to the previously mentioned Trainer Escape glitch. It allows players to catch the Mew that appears. The method for catching Pokémon using the glitch also works on 3DS Virtual Console.

One place to encounter the glitch at an early stage in the game is on Route 24, when Jr. Trainer appears west of Nugget Bridge. The player must first catch an Abra and then teleport to escape Jr. Trainer. The player must then defeat the first Swimmer in the Cerulean Gym before returning to Route 24 to encounter the glitch.

The Old Man Glitch

The grumpy old man in Viridian City is associated with a glitch in Red and Blue. The glitch can be used to bring up the MissingNo and the 'M (00) Bird-type glitch Pokémon. The Old Man glitch is seen in the International English versions of Red and Blue, but not in the earlier Japanese versions. The developers rectified the glitch in Yellow.

It occurs when the player makes a Fly move to Cinnabar Island, immediately after the old man tries to show the player how to catch a Pokémon. Players encounter wild Pokémon as they Surf on the eastern coastline of the island.

The wild Pokémon that appear are linked to the player's name - specifically the index numbers associated with the characters of the name. By using a carefully selected name, the player is able to encounter the MissingNo or 'M (00) Bird-type glitch Pokémon.

Crazy Glitch City

This is a variation of the Safari Zone Surf. To encounter this glitch in Red and Blue, the player goes to the Safari Zone and then exits. When the player is asked if they want to leave, they must respond  “No” and then head back to the Safari Zone. The player then saves, quits, and restarts.

When the game restarts, the player exits the Safari Zone once again and walks 500 steps. However, the game still thinks the player is in the Safari Zone and offers the same scenery, including natural features and landmarks.

The player can only exit this "Glitch City" with a Pokémon that can fly or teleport. The glitch occurs because the program fails to detect that the player has exited the Safari Zone. This is also what triggers the Walk-Through-Walls Trick.

You Can Use Type Constraints To Exploit The Battle A.I.

In Pokémon Red and Blue, the Power Point (PP) constrains your ability to attack enemy Pokémon. The enemy on the other hand has an unlimited PP, but it is restricted to type-effective moves. The fact that the enemy Pokémon restricts itself to type-effective moves can be used to exploit the battle AI.

The battle AI determines how the enemy moves and which items it uses. For instance, Giovanni, the first Gym Leader in Red and Blue, suffers a major disadvantage due to the constraint imposed by the fact that he is Ground-type. Thus, his team can be easily defeated by a Water-type move or a Grass-type move.

Similarly, it is possible to use a level 36 Venomoth to defeat a level 62 Dragonite, since the battle AI default restricts the Dragonite to Barrier defensive moves.

Champion Lance And Koga In Pokémon Gold and Silver

Red and Blue players are already familiar with the Elite Four found in the Pokémon League building. The player has to defeat them and collect eight badges before they get the chance to face the Champion. In Gold and Silver, there is a noticeable change with regard to the Elite Four.

Each member of the Elite Four has unused walking sprites, which suggest the developers had intended for them to play more active roles in Red and Blue. They ultimately abandoned the idea. Players of Generation II Gold and Silver already familiar with Blue and Red will notice that Lance's (Dragon-type) walking sprites are eventually used and he gets promoted to Champion status.

Similarly, Koga (Poison-type) used to be one of eight gym leaders from the Kanto Region. He was also promoted to the Elite Four in Gold and Silver.

The Wrong Nidorino Sound

Game Freak makes a rather surprising gaffe at the beginning of Red and Blue. The Nidorino that appears at the beginning gets its cry wrong after saying, "This world is inhabited by creatures called Pokémon."

Perceptive players will notice that the male Nidorino gives the cry of a Nidorina: the Poison-type, four-legged, and light-blue Pokémon which is the female counterpart to the male Nidorino.

Players have expressed surprise that the programmers would get the cry of the Nidorino mixed up with that of its female counterpart. However, it is a minor error that players would have overlooked if it had not occurred at the very beginning of the game. The Nidorino is one of the franchise's first beasts, as it appeared in the early promotional materials for the game.

Sony And Nintendo Easter Eggs in Pokémon

In the international Red and Blue versions, the debug menu makes a reference to Nintendo's bitter rivalry with Sony. Sega had been Nintendo's major competitor in the console industry, before they dropped out due to poor business decisions. This allowed Sony to enter the industry.

The rivalry between the original PlayStation and the Nintendo 64 appears to have been on the minds of Game Freak's developers when they were assigning default values to the player and the rival. The developers assigned the hidden values "Ninten" to the player and "Sony" to the rival.

The names are not normally seen, since players are required to supply their own names or choose preset names, which do not include the hidden names. However, hackers have been able to access the names and use them.

Hidden Safari Zone In Gold And Silver

Safari Zone

The Safari Zone in Red and Blue seems to be a nearly inexhaustible mine of intriguing glitches and bugs. The Safari Zone is also the favorite hunting ground for rare Pokémon that you won't find elsewhere in the game.

However, players were disappointed to find out that the Safari Zone was not included in Gold and Silver, although it is featured in subsequent versions of the game.

It seems clear that the Safari Zone was initially planned for Gold and Silver, but the completed area was never added to the final version of the game. The unfinished code for the Safari Zone exists in Gold and Silver and players have been able to access the hidden zone using a GameShark.

How To Clone A Pokémon (Gold And Silver)

To perform the Clone glitch, two Game Boys and two copies of Gold and Silver are needed. A cable to link the Game Boys is also a requirement. First, the player must select the Pokémon they want to clone on one Game Boy and the Pokémon that will be sacrificed when the cloning is performed on the other Game Boy.

After linking the Game Boys, the player must go to a Pokémon Center and then the Cable Club located inside. Once there, they must go to the Trade Center and trade the Pokémon they plan to clone on one game and trade the one they want to sacrifice on the other.

The player must then reset the Game Boy containing the Pokémon they want to clone and it's important to remember not to save. The other game should now have the cloned Pokémon if the procedure was successful.

Rarest Pokémon in Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold And Silver

There are rare Pokémon in Red and Blue, including Kangaskhan and Chansey, which can only be found in the Safari Zone. However, Rapidash and Fearow that are able to use Pay Day (Meowth's move) are considered the rarest Pokémon in Red and Blue. Gold and Silver include another rare Pokémon, Dunsparce.

In Pokémon Red and Blue, trade evolution introduced new rare forms which the player can only encounter when trading Pokémon. Examples of trade evolution include the humanoid Alakazam, the final form of Abra, which evolves from Kadabara when traded and the humanoid Machamp, the final form of Machop which evolves from Machoke.

In Gold and Silver, the player can obtain a Politoed, one of the several final forms of Poliwag. The Politoed evolves from a traded Poliwhirl while it's holding a King's Rock.

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Did we miss any hidden secrets from the original Pokémon games?