Pokemon (episode)

Pokemon is the first episode of Did You Know Gaming? and the first episode covering the Pokémon series.

Transcript
Did you know there's a battle with Professor Oak programed into the original Pokémon games? For whatever reason, the battle was never implemented within the final version of the games but can still be triggered by GameShark codes or glitching. His team is a Tauros, an Exeggutor, an Arcanine, a Gyarados, and whichever Pokémon you or your rival never chose fully evolved. The Pokémon are quite powerful, one of them even reaching level 70. Because of this, it seems the battle was intended to come near the very end of the game, possibly even after the Indigo Plateau battle with your rival.

Speaking of hidden code, there's an antipiracy message in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. Talking to the attendant outside the Seagallop Ferry on an emulator or a pirated cartridge will cause him to say "Buy the way: If you like this game, buy it or die." Some users over at Bulbapedia found that it is definitely in the code of some of the dumped roms but since all modern Game Boy Advance emulators have been updated overtime to play games flawlessly, as if they were on the device itself, the only way to test this would be to find a build of the emulator that was circulated before the date of the rom's release online.

In Pokémon Red, Green, and Blue, there were originally going to be 190 Pokémon and not 151. 39 of them were cut out and later were used in Gold and Silver. By checking certain values in the game's code, you can see the order in which the Pokémon were entered into the game. Ken Sugimori, the game's character designer confirmed that Rhydon was the first Pokémon designed and since Rhydon was entered into the game first, it would make sense that these entries order are similar to the order in which the Pokémon were originally created. Victreebel is last on the list which would suggest that all 190 Pokémon were designed before the original games were completed.

Here's an interesting theory: Mew and Ditto are both genderless, they both weigh 8.8 pounds, both of their base stats are level across the board, and they share almost identical colors. They are the only two Pokémon who learn Transform naturally and Dittos can be found in the same cave as Mewtwo, becoming more common the closer you get to him. Dittos can also be found in the Pokémon Mansion on Cinnabar Island, where it's said experiments on Mew took place. These connections seem to suggest that Dittos are actually failed attempts at cloning Mew.

In the pilot of the anime, Clefairy was intended to be Ash's starting Pokémon, but Pikachu was chosen instead in order to appeal to younger female readers and their mothers. Pikachu's popularity led to it being the mascot for the entire franchise, eventually leading to several Pikachu-themed games, including Pokémon Yellow. And while we're on the subject of Pikachu, here's one last tidbit: In Hey You, Pikachu! for the Nintendo 64, if you say "PlayStation," Pikachu will get angry.

That's all for today, but we'll be back with more Did You Know Gaming? soon. So make sure to subscribe, like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and check out more gaming trivia at DidYouKnowGaming.com.

Games covered

 * Pokémon Red Version, Pokémon Blue Version, and Pokémon Green Version (GB)
 * Pokémon Yellow Version (GB)
 * Pokémon Gold Version and Pokémon Silver Version (GBC)
 * Hey You, Pikachu! (N64)
 * Pokémon FireRed Version and Pokémon LeafGreen Version (GBA)