Pokémon Red and Green beta

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Pokémon Red and Blue Versions were the first Pokémon games to be released in the US, on September 30, 1998. Several prototype elements of the game have been discovered by ROM hackers who have examined the game's code.

Prototype Names of Some Pokémon

Before Pokémon Red and Blue Versions was released, some Pokémon were given different names during promotions of Pokémon in the U.S. When the games were released, the Pokémon recieved the names that they are called today.

#	Icon	Final Name	Beta Name
014		Kakuna	Kokoon
016		Pidgey	Pidge
019		Rattata	Rattatak
023		Ekans	Arbo
028		Sandslash	Sandstorm
035		Clefairy	Aria
036		Clefable	Ariala
037		Vulpix	Firefox
046		Paras	Parasyte
050		Diglett	Digda
058		Growlithe	Flamie
059		Arcanine	Blaze
063		Abra	Hocus
064		Kadabra	Pocus
066		Machop	Kara-tee
067		Machoke	Kung-foo
068		Machamp	Ju-doh
072		Tentacool	Jilly
073		Tentacruel	Man O War
078		Rapidash	Gallop
079		Slowpoke	Slowmo
081		Magnemite	Coil
082		Magneton	Recoil
084		Doduo	Dodo
087		Dewgong	Manaty
092		Gastly	Spirit
093		Haunter	Spectre
094		Gengar	Phantom
104		Cubone	Orphon
105		Marowak	Guardia
108		Lickitung	Tonguetyd
109		Koffing	Ny
110		Weezing	La
113		Chansey	Lucky
114		Tangela	Meduza
118		Goldeen	Goldy
119		Seaking	Neptune
123		Scyther	Stryke
130		Gyarados	Skulkraken
131		Lapras	Ness
133		Eevee	Eon
138		Omanyte	Ess
139		Omastar	Kargo
140		Kabuto	Att
141		Kabutops	Lantis
142		Aerodactyl	Ptera
147		Dratini	Dragoon
148		Dragonair	Dragyn

Professor Oak wants to fight

Professor Oak has a full team of Pokémon programmed into the game, although the battle cannot occur during a normal game. The player must use a GameShark code to start the battle. Professor Oak has a level 66 Tauros, a level 67 Exeggutor, a level 68 Arcanine, a level 69 starter evolution, and a level 70 Gyarados. He has the same team in Pokémon Yellow Version. When he is defeated, he says: "That can't be!". This implies that the player may have been able to face him at some point, presumably after the Elite Four, seeing as how his Pokémon are high-leveled.

The Bug Catcher wants to fight

Before Red and Blue's U.S. release, screenshots were released of a rival battle with the text "The Blue wants to fight." While this text would work with a typical trainer such as "The Lass" and "The Hiker", it would cause problems with Gym leader battles: the names would end up as "The Brock" or "The Misty". In the final version, the word "the" is dropped.

Chief

There is a prototype Trainer class omitted from the final version of the Generation I games. It is, however, in the game's code. A Chief is mentioned by a Team Rocket Grunt in Celadon City and can be battled through the Old Man glitch. He can be also battled by cheating with a GameShark or similar device. Chief's sprite is identical to that of a Scientist.

Female character

There were originally plans for a female character to be playable in Red and Green, as older sketches suggest. Blue from Pokémon Special seems to be based on her. The character was redesigned and included in the remakes of the game, to continue the standard of including a female protagonist option.

Template:Type2

The Bird-type may have been a prototype version of Template:Type2. This can be seen in the final version of the game: Missingno, the infamous glitch, is part Bird-type. The Bird type is present in the Generation II games' programming; this is unsurprising, since the game engine for Gold and Silver is based on that of the Generation I games.

Badges

Unused items with the names of all the badges exist in the game's coding. This could mean that the badges were originally going to be items that were carried in the player's bag. The Boulder Badge and Cascade Badge are the only ones that do something when used - they allow the player to throw bait and rocks, respectively, as in the Safari Zone battles. When used out of battle, they have another strange effect - after the throwing animation, the music changes to a strange, unused tune not heard anywhere else.

Surfboard

There is an item in the game that enables the user to Surf without using a Pokémon. This may mean that the move Surf was not implemented as an attack originally, or that the HMs did not initially exist. However, the Surfboard may instead have been a prototype object for testers to advance quickly through the game.

Concept art

The early concept art by Ken Sugimori

In June 2006, early concept art of Red and Green by Ken Sugimori was uploaded on Pokémon France's official website. The concept art depicts rough versions of various concepts that made it into the final game. They seems to include various battles, the Safari Zone, Red riding on a Lapras, a Blastoise, Celadon City, Silph Co. and a town with a fountain with could have been reworked into Celadon City. Some other Pokémon are identifiable in a raw or semi-normal form, such as Gastly and others are proto-typical of an entire class of Pokémon, such as a basic Template:Type2.

References

Beta versions of Pokémon games

Generation I Red and Green • Yellow Generation II Gold and Silver (Spaceworld '97 demo) • Crystal Generation III Ruby and Sapphire • FireRed and LeafGreen • Emerald • Colosseum • XD Generation IV Diamond and Pearl • Platinum • HeartGold and SoulSilver Generation V Black and White • Black 2 and White 2 Generation VI X and Y • Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Generation VII Sun and Moon • Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Generation VIII Sword and Shield Unreleased Pokémon Picross