Pokémon Gold and Silver was a game with the most firsts in the Pokémon video game franchise since it began. It was most memorable for that fact that it’s the one game (excluding its remake) that explored two Pokémon regions, Johto and Kanto.

This is also back when the rivals actually had some semblance of a cruel streak. Older Pokémon fans will tell their kids, “Back in my day, rivals weren’t your friends. Why, this one rival back in Gold and Silver even stole his starter!”

Another aspect that fascinated fans about exploring Johto was meeting the last character you played, Red, and having what felt like the most epic Pokémon battle out of all the games at the top of Mt. Silver. That moment remains special; as the other games do not have you meet the past protagonist from the game before. Moon and Sun did get close though, having Blue and Red appear and available for battle in Alola.

Those elements are only the tip of the iceberg of what Gold and Silver had though. Some details are not so obvious, such as glitches with the Pokéballs and how the code revealed ideas that never made it into the released games.

From what inspired Hoothoot to Bellossom having a color makeover, here is a list of some details in Gold and Silver you might have missed.

30 A Shiny Charizard Was Purple Instead Of Black

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Charizard is a fan-favorite of the Pokémon community so everyone is after a shiny version. Fans today love the Gothic look of having a black dragon. In Gold and Silver though, Charizard’s first shiny version was purple with green inner-wings.

Shiny Charizard actually has gone through a lot of changes.

It was later blue-ish black with red eyes, red inner-wings, and a greenish stomach. Later generations made Charizard grayish black until we have the darker black we are familiar with today.

29 Originally Had Different Starters

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This tidbit is in connection with the many Pokémon that did not make it into the final version of the game. The fire and water starters were completely different in the ROM of the 1997 Nintendo Spaceworld demo that fans unpacked. The unused starters were called Kurusu and Honōguma.

Little is known about these unused starters other than their names and images. Honōguma has the kanji for bear (kuma in Japanese) in its name. We also got to see the sprites for their evolutions.

28 New Bark Town Used To Be Silent Hills

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In one of the demo’s of Gold and Silver back in 1997 at Nintendo Space World, New Bark Town’s name was actually Silent Hills.

Besides the name, the town also appeared to have a different design. But as we know already, this name and design did not stick.

Fans speculate that the change in name was due to the release of the first Silent Hill horror franchise game which was eight months prior to the release of Gold and Silver.

27 Status Effects Did Not Help Catch Rate

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In the previous generation, giving a Pokémon a status affliction such as burn, paralysis, sleep, confusion, or poison would increase the catch rate by five. A glitch in Gold and Silver changed that to zero.

This glitch is one of the more serious ones since it was common in Pokémon strategy to use status effects for hard-to-catch Pokémon, especially legendary ones. With that in mind, many players were frustrated and did not know why the difficulty seemed higher until this glitch was discovered.

26 NPC Trainer Changes Color At Burned Tower After Defeat

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This is one of the far more small details that are easy to miss in Gold and Silver. In the Burned Tower there is an NPC called Firebreather Dick. Crazy name and title aside, what makes him interesting is that his sprite changes color after being defeated in a Pokémon battle.

His red hues become gray.

Was this a glitch or is a joke that he is burned out from the battle? There has to be some creepypasta theory for this little gem.

25 Lance's Pokémon Don't Follow Game Rules

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If you’re a stickler for the rules, then the Elite Four Champion Lance battle must have frustrated you. One such rule broken was that his Aerodactyl knew the move Rock Slide, a move that Aerodactyl could not learn until the Ruby and Sapphire games.

His Dragonite also broke game rules. When you battle him for the first time, he has one that is under level 55 and you cannot evolve a Dragonair until level 55. The only way to get a lower level Dragonite would be through some kind of distribution event.

24 There Was Almost A Safari Zone

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Safari Zones come and go with Pokémon games. Silver and Gold did not have a Safari Zone, but an unused and incomplete map of the Kanto Safari Zone from the pre-existing Red and Blue games was discovered in Gold and Silver’s code.

It is possible to get through to the incomplete Safari Zone using cheats but the only wild Pokémon you would be able to catch that way would be from fishing. This was just one of many unused maps found in the game's code as well.

23 Introduced Dark And Steel Type

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Before Gold and Silver, Psychic Pokémon were unrivaled. Dark Type Pokémon were introduced in Johto for balancing purposes. These first Dark Types included Umbreon, Murkrow, and Tryanitar.

Steel was an interesting addition due to the fact that it had a strength or weakness against every other type in the game.

This also changed Magnemite and Mageton’s type. Other steel types that came into play in Gold and Silver included Forretress, Steelix, Scizor, and Skarmory. Its years later and we’re still hoping for a Steel-Type Eevee though!

22 Your Rival Cares For His Pokémon By The End

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Art by: Minthama

The rival in the Johto region, Silver, is well-remembered for his red hair, angry temperament, and snobbish attitude. If his rude personality wasn’t enough, he also was known for not treating his Pokémon with respect.

However, by the end of the game, he begins to find out he’s doing something wrong. A detail that may have gotten past many players is that his Golbat becomes a Crobat, as they fight a Crobat in their final battle against him. A Golbat can only turn into a Crobat through friendship. This little detail greatly signifies Silver’s character development.

21 Gold And Silver Were Meant To Be The Last Pokémon Games

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A lot of love and effort went into Gold and Silver partly because they were meant to be the last Pokémon game. Pokémon Company president Tsunekazu Ishihara has revealed this information in numerous interviews.

"I didn’t intend to make any more Pokémon titles,” Ishihara said.

“I even thought that once we entered the twenty-first century, it would be time for me to do something else entirely. I remember that when Gold and Silver were released, I felt like a burden had finally been lifted from my shoulders.”

Due to Gold and Silver’s popularity though, Pokémon did not end there.

20 Many Pokemon Did Not Make It Into The Games

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When a ROM of the 1997 Nintendo Spaceworld demo for Pokémon Gold and Silver was unpacked by fans, they discovered a lot of unused Pokémon. The demo predated the final version of Gold and Silver by two years and it appeared that a ton was changed.

There were unused baby Pokémon for Vulpix, Tangela, Goldeen, Paras, Doduo, Meowth, Ponyta, Grimer, Growlithe and Mr. Mime. There was a creepy voodoo doll one called “Kurstraw.” There were designs that would be used in later games like the evolution for Tangela. There was just a huge parade of could-have-beens.

19 It Was Once Possible To Name Your Mother

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It was revealed in leftover code that there was an ability to name your mother in Gold and Silver. Mothers in Pokémon games are typically just “Mom.” But if you can name your rival and yourself, why not also name your mother?

Your mom was a little special in this game already since she could hold money for you.

She even sometimes spent the money she held for you at times for items like berries or decorations. No other mother in the games did that.

18 Red's Party Is Inspired By Gen I Events

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Red’s party that you fight on Mt. Silver is all based on what Red went through in the Red and Blue games. He has a Charizard, Pikachu, Espeon, Snorlax, Venusaur, and Blastoise.

That makes all three starters from the game he was a protagonist in as well as others that he met throughout his adventure.

Snorlax is from the event where Red used a Poké Flute. Pikachu is from the Power Plant event. Espeon is from the Eevee Red gets at the Pokemon Mansion in Celadon City.

17 Was Going to Be Known As "Pocket Monsters 2"

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When Gold and Silver was first announced in 1997, it was known as “Pocket Monsters 2.” It had a logo with the name and everything. After multiple delays, the company changed the title to the Gold and Silver we know of today.

This change created the trend for all further Pokémon game titles as well. We’ve gone from colors to rocks to letters to cosmic figures. What waits in the future? Pokémon Jade and Opal? Snow and Fire? The possibilities are endless.

16 There Were Plans For A Skateboard Instead Of Bicycle

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Before the games’ release, a skateboard was planned in addition to a bike for getting around. This was revealed in old Pokémon game magazines. One said, “You now have a new mode of transport.

"In the RGB versions you used a bicycle, but in the GS versions you have a rather trendy Skateboard!”

Other evidence includes the character, Gold, from Pokémon Adventures. He is often depicted riding a skateboard, and that manga is always inspired by the games and their early concept art.

Art was done by luppia.

15 The Goldenrod Gym Is Laid Out In The Shape Of A Clefairy

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Goldenrod City’s gym had a maze of flowers and ornaments on the inside. Its gym leader, Whitney, was infamous for her Milktank and its spamming Rollout technique. Players may have easily been too distracted by battles to notice that the flowers and ornaments make the shape of a Clefairy.

The gym was Normal Type. Back then, Clefairy was a Normal Type Pokémon instead of Fairy Type. This is why the Goldenrod gym loved Clefairys. Must’ve been awkward when they found out that Pokémon’s type had changed.

14 Moon Balls Did Not Work

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An aspect of the Johto region is the amount of Pokéballs available. Love Balls, Moon Balls, Lure Balls, Level Balls, Heavy Balls, Friend Balls, and Fast Balls were all new to the game. The funny part is that a glitch made it so some of these Pokéballs did not work.

Moon Balls were one of those glitch victims.

Instead of working better if the Pokémon it’s trying to catch can evolve using a Moon Stone, it does that if the Pokémon can evolve with a Burn Heal. There is no such thing so Moon Balls are basically just regular Pokéballs.

13 Love Balls Work Better For Same Species

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Love Balls had a higher catch rate if your Pokémon and the wild Pokémon are opposing genders. However, a glitch made this description almost the opposite from the truth. Your Love Balls would only have that higher catch rote if the Pokémon were the same species AND same gender.

So that means Love Balls, if used for their intended purpose, were just as effective as your typical Pokéball. At least they are still cute looking? Some people can just like the look.

12 Bellossom Was Re-Colored

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Bellossom was an Oddish evolution introduced in Silver and Gold. Today we know the little Grass Pokémon for its light green colored face. That was not the case for the Bellossom designs in the beta version.

Instead, the beta had given Bellossom a blue face, probably to resemble Oddish.

Rumor has it that this was changed due to racial controversy in the past like with Jynx. This was probably wise, especially since Bellossom also portrays a Hula dancer.

Art was done by deruuyo.

11 There Is An Unused Bird In The Game Code

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You may think by bird, we mean a Flying Type Pokémon. That’s not true in this case, as there was a Bird Type hidden in not just Gold and Silver’s programming, but also in the previous games Red, Blue, and Yellow games.

What we know about this mysterious bird is that its attacks would have been physical but there is little else. The well-known glitch Pokémon, Missingno, actually is partly Bird Type and the other part is Normal Type. Due to this, there is a lot of fan art portrays Missingno as a bird.

Art was done by warupua.