List of glitches in Generation IV

This is a list of glitches that occur in the Generation IV main series Pokémon games.

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl

Barry Underground glitch

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, if the player goes underground while Barry is not present at the Fight Area on the spot where he would appear, then comes up on the weekend, the player will be on top of Barry.

Broken escalator

This is one of two glitches in Generation IV officially acknowledged by Nintendo, with the other being the surf glitch. In Diamond or Pearl, after entering the Union Room on the second floor of the Pokémon League building, when the player goes up to the second floor of a Pokémon Center, the player will end up in a wall and not be able to return.

In the case where the player has not saved the game while trapped, it is possible to work around this bug:

1. Restart the game from the previous save state.
2. Go to the Super Contest Hall in Hearthome City.
3. Speak to the leftmost attendant (there is no need to actually participate in a Super Contest).
4. Save the game and restart.

Dress-up Hiker glitch

The glitch only occurs in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. When talking to the Hiker at Jubilife TV who allows Pokémon to be dressed up, if a button on the D-pad is pressed so that the player is facing away from the Hiker just before the screen to select which Pokémon will be dressed up opens, the player will not walk on the set path; this can lead to walking through walls or the Hiker, or canceling the action altogether.

Honey shop glitch

This glitch is only present in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. This is caused by the player using Sweet Scent or Honey in a Poké Mart. When the player talks to the shopkeeper and selects "buy", no names or descriptions for any of the items in stock will be displayed.

By Mickydu38

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Mimic glitch

Main article: Mimic glitch

Silent Route 214 glitch

This glitch occurs in Diamond and Pearl if the player goes onto Spring Path off Route 214, where the music changes. If the player views the TM & HM section of the bag, closes it, then returns to Route 214, there will be no music. Sound effects such as collision sounds still occur and if the player encounters a wild Pokémon, the normal battle music will play. The same glitch can also be activated by changing the music so that it is not the default in any other way. For example, by using the Bicycle.

Surf glitch

Main article: Surf glitch

Tower Tycoon event skip

In Diamond and Pearl, if the player achieves a 20 battle streak in the Battle Tower and battles the Tower Tycoon by choosing the option "REST" and then the option "NO" instead of choosing the option "KEEP GOING", a normal Trainer will appear instead; with the same roster of the Tower Tycoon. Interestingly, this Trainer gives the unused dialogue "Now come! Show me, the Tower Tycoon, what you're really made of!" If this Trainer is defeated, the player will receive 1 BP instead of the normal 20 BP.

Transform held item glitch

In Japanese versions of Diamond and Pearl, if a Pokémon holding an item uses Transform and has its item stolen, as long as it does not faint before the end of the battle, both the transforming Pokémon and the thief will retain the item after the battle.

U-turn Choice glitch

In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, if U-turn is used to change to a Pokémon holding a Choice item that also knows the move U-turn, that Pokémon will be forced to use U-turn despite not having used a move.

In Pokémon Platinum

Ace Trainer Deanna glitch

In the Japanese versions of Pokémon Platinum, it is possible to become engaged in non-stop consecutive battles with Ace Trainer Deanna on Route 225 until the player loses.

By pokemonplatinumbug

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Black Belt glitch

Pokémon Platinum only. Due to consecutive spaces, Black Belt Eddie in Sinnoh's Victory Road will say "Done in" with every letter on an alternating line.

By 2009TNT

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Level display glitch

In early releases of the US version of Platinum, when seeking for Pokémon on the GTS, the game will not display the level range of the wanted Pokémon. This can result in confusion, where even if a person has the right Pokémon to offer, but it is not at the right level, it will not able to be selected without any clear reason.

This glitch is not present in the PAL releases or the original Japanese, indicating that it was mistakenly left out in the North American version. Nintendo offers a fix for it by sending in an affected game.

Route 227 Underground glitch

In Pokémon Platinum, going underground on Route 227 between Route 226 and the horizontal row with the first patch of tall grass, then coming back up will cause the player to be partly in the ground. Leaving this area causes the player to return to normal.

By Unknown2Anonymous

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum

Cheryl glitch

At the entrance of the Eterna Forest, sometimes an NPC will walk on top of Cheryl.

By randomyoshi

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Egg determination glitch

Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum only. This glitch requires a Pokémon and an Egg in the same spot in adjacent boxes. By having the cursor on the Pokémon in one box, pressing L or R to switch boxes as the display is rolling over to the next piece of data will allow the player to see the held item (always none), nature, Ability, or type of the Pokémon inside an Egg.

By gamez101

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

HM05 Defog glitch

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, HM05 (Defog) appears as a Water-type HM rather than a Flying-type one. However, in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, HM05 was replaced with a Water-type move, Whirlpool.

Pal Park manipulation

Main article: Pal Park

Allows the player to migrate any number of Pokémon via Pal Park, this is used to overcome the 6 Pokémon per 24 hours limit.

Underground item duplication glitch

The Underground item duplication glitch is a glitch that occurs in Generation IV in the Underground, it is possible to "clone" a Goods item between two players. There is a chance of losing the item if both players do not follow directions properly.

To clone a goods item, one player must always give the item, and the other must always receive. This cloning glitch can be repeated indefinitely. To clone, one player must give the other an item. The player who gave the item turns the game off without saving, but the receiver should save the game. If the cloning was successful, both players should have the item. However, there is a chance that the cloning will not work and the item will be lost.

Another variation on this glitch can be used to "clone" traps. By having one player place a trap(s) and having the other player pick up the traps and saving, if the first player resets his game without saving both players will have the trap(s).

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

Ace Trainer Kate glitch

In HeartGold and SoulSilver, there is a slight glitch with Ace Trainer Kate on Route 34. She will only battle with the player if they walk straight down the path. If the player walks to either side of her, she will apologize as she would after the player has defeated her. If the player walks down the path towards her after talking to her on the side she will somehow see them while facing the wrong way and then battle.

Boulder glitch

In the Japanese version of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, a boulder in the Slowpoke Well can be pushed over a ledge into the water. The boulder (unlike in FireRed and LeafGreen) will act as if it was on dry land. The boulder was removed in international releases.

By Zowayixx

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Floating walking Pokémon

	This glitch is in need of research. Reason: Does it stop if the walking Pokémon is switched out, enters a battle, or walks into a building? You can discuss this on the talk page.

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, the player must have a Pokémon following them around and it must be poisoned. If the Pokémon walks off a ledge at the same time as it survives the poisoning, then the Pokémon will end up levitating in the air as if it is still jumping off of a ledge. The Pokémon will continue to levitate in the air until the player chooses to jumps off a second ledge, or uses either of the following field moves: Surf or Fly.

By ChickasaurusGL

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

GB Sounds glitch

If the player turns on the GB Sounds while surfing on Route 20, then surfs to Cinnabar Island, and then turns the GB Sounds off (while still surfing), the music will disappear until it is changed. It is also possible to do this without returning to Cinnabar Island, by just going to Route 20 and turning on and off.

This glitch will not work if the player encounters a wild Pokémon while the GB Sounds is active. It will only activate if the GB Sounds is used via the Bag, not as a registered item.

By TeamFail95

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Indigo Plateau guard glitch

This glitch only occurs in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. If the player attempts to enter the GS Cup in the Indigo Plateau Wireless Club and checks the list of special Pokémon, the guard blocking the Elite Four entrance will not move until the player re-enters the room.

Invisible grass

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, three tiles on Route 44 and four tiles in the Swamp area of the Safari Zone appear to be empty, but when the player or the walking Pokémon is standing on the tiles, tall grass will appear underfoot. This grass appears between the top of the grass and the water on Route 44, and between the rightmost lake and the grass in the Safari Zone. Wild Pokémon may be encountered in this grass, and Safari Zone objects may not be placed on it.

Pokéwalker cloning glitch

When a Pokémon is successfully transferred to the Pokéwalker but the game is turned off before saving, the Pokémon would appear in both the Pokéwalker and the PC Box it was in prior to the transfer. However, attempting to bring the Pokémon in the Pokéwalker back into the game would cause it to be released into the wild, even if the original Pokémon does not exist in the game any more, such as being traded or released. This is because the data of the Pokémon that was transferred was not saved onto the game, thus the game will not recognize the Pokémon that is on the Pokéwalker and release it. (The game only recognizes Pokémon caught from the Pokéwalker and the Pokémon's data that is stored in the game after the transfer. This is to prevent external or third-party devices from 'sending' Pokémon onto the game.)

Walking Pokémon Stats glitch

If the start menu is opened while the walking Pokémon jumps off a ledge, and the player looks at any Pokemon's stats, the Pokémon will get a little bit higher up, so viewing the stats of a Pokémon continuously will result in the Pokémon going off the screen.

In Pokémon Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver

3D problems

In HeartGold, SoulSilver, and Platinum, standing in certain places in areas such as the Great Marsh, Ribbon Syndicate, or the Fight Area may cause the foliage or walls to bend and merge into other graphics near them. This is most likely because they run on a 3D game engine.

Acid rain

Main article: Acid rain

Wi-fi Plaza glitch

If the player goes to the Wi-fi Plaza, runs in the direction of another player and reaches him/her ~1 second before he/she warps out, the 2 players will mix with each other until the second one warps out.

In all Generation IV games

Corrupted save file cloning glitch

Sometimes, when a game's save file gets corrupted, the Pokémon in that save file are kept. When this happens, the game can still be saved, but the save file will be unable to be loaded. With the assistance of another Nintendo DS and Generation IV game, the Pokémon can be traded from the corrupted game. After the trade is completed, if the game is reset, the Pokémon traded from the corrupted game will be in both games, but the other traded Pokémon will be lost.

Facade glitch

Every time Facade's animation is shown, the user's sprite moves up by one pixel. Continuous use can result in creating a gap between the bottom of the sprite and the bottom of the screen.

Fire Fang glitch

In Generation IV, Fire Fang affects Pokémon with Wonder Guard, even if it is used on a Pokémon that does not have a weakness to Fire-type moves. This does not apply to Ice Fang and Thunder Fang. This was corrected in Generation V.

GTS cloning glitch

In Generation IV, a cloning method reminiscent of the methods from the first two generations appeared, involving the use of the GTS. If the Pokémon is deposited in the GTS and the connection is interrupted at the right time, the Pokémon in question would be in the player's party or PC box and in the GTS, requiring the player only to withdraw the Pokémon from the GTS to obtain the clone. In Pokémon Platinum Version, however, the glitch of cloning via GTS was removed; if it is attempted, the game simply reports a communication error and returns the player back to the main desk.

Kadabra trade glitch

If a Kadabra is traded while it is holding an Everstone, it will still evolve into Alakazam.

Morphing glitch

File:Torterrathemew.jpg

An example of the morphing glitch. This is not a Torterra, but a Mew morphed into one and nicknamed "TORTERRA"

There have been somewhat numerous reports of a glitch happening in the GTS that causes a player's offered Pokémon to become "glitchy". The Pokémon's sprite will morph into a different Pokémon, and the gender might be swapped as well. It will also say it is the same species it used to be (example: A morphed Heatran would still be Heatran/Heatran) and will be holding a Seal Bag, a beta item. There is no confirmed way to deliberately access this glitch; however in many of the reports, people have claimed that the glitch happened right after the GTS came up with no searches for any of the Pokémon, but did not send out a Communication Error. After it stops blocking all access to other Pokémon, it is believed that is when the glitch is most likely to happen. Trying to withdraw the glitch Pokémon may result in a Communication Error but when the game lets a player withdraw the glitch, the Pokémon returns to normal.

Another glitch similar to the morphing glitch has been happening where the Pokémon in the GTS is morphed into the wanted Pokémon (as shown in the picture to the right). Instead of its name being the same as before, its name is now that of the wanted Pokémon, but still the same species as the Pokémon originally offered. There's also the possibility of the morphed Pokémon holding a Seal Bag. Most of the time, trying to trade for it will either cause a communication error or say that the Pokémon has been traded. In addition to this glitch, sometimes these glitched Pokémon will be the only that appear when searching for Pokémon of a certain level.

Pal Park nickname/Trainer name glitch

	This glitch is in need of research. Reason: Need to see if this still works in HG/SS, and to find out if every language version is affected by this glitch You can discuss this on the talk page.

In foreign versions of Pokémon, if a Pokémon has a non-English, non-Japanese character (for example, á, é, í, ó, ú, etc.) in either its nickname or original Trainer name, and it is sent through Pal Park, those characters will become corrupt and turn into random kana.

In most circumstances, this is not a problem, since in foreign (such as Spanish) versions of Pokémon prior to Generation IV, when naming the player or nicknaming a Pokémon, the character set is restricted to English characters. However, there are a few in-game trades where non-English characters appear in either the original Trainer name or nickname, and a few preset Trainer names also contain non-English characters. For example, in FireRed and LeafGreen, there is a Trainer in Cinnabar Island who offers a Seel for a Ponyta, and in Spanish versions, the Seel given to the player is nicknamed SEELÍN. When this Pokémon is transferred through Pal Park, the Í is corrupted and becomes the kana コ, changing the nickname to SEELコN.

Pomeg glitch

Main article: Pomeg glitch

Rage glitch

Main article: Rage glitch

Trade cloning glitch

In Generation IV, if a player is trading Pokémon and one of the Nintendo DS systems is turned off at a certain time, the Pokémon that was traded to the game that was not turned off will appear in both player's parties. However, this glitch is very difficult to perform and quite commonly corrupts save data. There are reports that this method is effective in the Generation V games, but such reports are unconfirmed.

Trade evolution glitch

In Generation IV there is a glitch with the GTS that allows Pokémon to evolve by being traded, but without actually trading them. Players must first place a Pokémon that evolves by trading it (with the correct held item, like Metal Coat for Scyther or Electirizer for Electabuzz) onto the GTS. To prevent the deposited Pokémon from being traded away, players should request an impossible trade, such as a level 9 and under Mewtwo.

The player must then search for a Pokémon on the GTS and trade for it. After this has been done, returning to the Pokémon that was placed on the GTS by the player and taking it back will cause it to evolve.

It is possible that this was intentional, however due to the fact that it was removed in Generation V makes this very unlikely. The risk of not being able to reacquire a Pokémon while trying to evolve it through trade evolution over the GTS is very great and this could have been a planned countermeasure. The requirement (a trade) must still be met in order for the Pokémon to evolve, but this system would prevent a player from potentially losing the Pokémon they wanted to evolve.

Tweaking

Main article: Tweaking

Vanishing glitch

There have also been instances of a "vanishing" glitch on the GTS. After uploading a Pokémon to the server and checking its summary without changing the Pokémon, the "summary" button is sometimes replaced with "deposit," suggesting that the Pokémon has been traded. Selecting "Deposit" will cause a communication error, and the player will return to the front desk. Logging on to the server again will cause the Pokémon to reappear, with no noticeable changes.

In the side games

In Pokémon Battle Revolution

Arceus glitch

	This glitch is in need of research. Reason: Substitute breaking You can discuss this on the talk page.

If the player uses Baton Pass to pass a Substitute on to an Arceus holding a plate, it will appear invisible after coming out. If the same Arceus then uses an attack which does not deal damage, the game will freeze after the animation has finished.

By paintkiller93

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Collisional errors

Occasionally, when a Pokémon uses a certain move on another Pokémon, part of its modeling will go straight through the other Pokémon. For example, when an Electivire uses Cross Chop on a Metang, part of its head will go through Metang.

Life Orb glitch

	This glitch is in need of research. Reason: Other move animations, if any. Are there such animations which apply to moves which deal self-inflicted damage? You can discuss this on the talk page.

The animation for Heat Wave activates after the Life Orb recoil rather than before it. This means that if a Pokémon used Heat Wave with at most 10% of its HP left, it would faint and the Heat Wave animation would seemingly come out of nowhere.

By ShionHibikiIsHugable

This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.

Mystery Gift exploit

Although only one Mystery Gift is intended to be received by the player through its 300 seconds of transmission, there is nothing to stop a player with another Nintendo DS and a different game card from receiving the same gift. For example, when purchasing a Salac Berry for 19,200 Poké Coupons and receiving it on one game card, another player with a different DS can quickly use their game to receive a copy of the same Salac Berry for free, provided that the 300 seconds haven't ended.

Glitches in the Pokémon games Multiple generations Transform glitches • Glitch Trainers • Cloning glitches • Error messages • Arbitrary code execution Generation I Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches -- • 0 ERROR • Broken hidden items • Cable Club escape glitch • Dual-type damage misinformation Experience underflow glitch • Fight Safari Zone Pokémon trick • Glitch City • Item duplication glitch • Item underflow Mew glitch • Old man glitch • Pewter Gym skip glitch • Pokémon merge glitch • Rhydon glitch • Rival twins glitch Select glitches (dokokashira door glitch, second type glitch) • Super Glitch Time Capsule exploit • Walking through walls • ZZAZZ glitch Generation II Glitches • Battle glitches Bug-Catching Contest glitch • Celebi Egg glitch • Coin Case glitches • Experience underflow glitch Glitch dimension • Glitch Egg • Teru-sama • Time Capsule exploit • Trainer House glitches • GS Ball mail glitch Generation III Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Berry glitch • Dive glitch • Pomeg glitch • Glitzer Popping Generation IV Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Acid rain • GTS glitches • Pomeg glitch • Rage glitch Surf glitch • Tweaking • Pal Park Retire glitch Generation V Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Frozen Zoroark glitch • Sky Drop glitch Generation VI Glitches • Battle glitches • Overworld glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Lumiose City save glitch • Symbiosis Eject Button glitch • Toxic sure-hit glitch Generation VII Glitches • Battle glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch Generation VIII Glitches Charge Beam additional effect chance glitch • Charge move replacement glitch • Choice item lock glitch Toxic sure-hit glitch • Rollout storage glitch • Party item offset glitch Generation IX Glitches Glitch effects Game freeze • Glitch battle • Glitch song Gen I only: Glitch screen • TMTRAINER effect • Inverted sprite Gen II only: Glitch dimension Lists Glitches (GO • Mystery Dungeon • TCG GB • Spin-off) Glitch Pokémon (Gen I • Gen II • Gen III • Gen IV • Gen V • Gen VI • Gen VII • Gen VIII) Glitch moves (Gen I) • Glitch types (Gen I • Gen II)

This glitch Pokémon article is part of Project GlitchDex, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on glitches in the Pokémon games.