The Pokémon fandom was recently given one of the greatest treasures it would ever receive, in the form of a leaked demo of Pokémon Gold & Silver, which contained a ton of information about the early days of the series that had never been revealed before.
In 1997, an early version of Pokémon Gold & Silver was displayed at an event called Space World. This version of the game was almost totally scrapped, as the scope of the ambition of the game had increased over time.
We had only ever seen brief snippets about this demo over the past twenty years. That all changed on May 31st when the demo of Pokémon Gold & Silver was leaked online.
The devoted Pokémon fanbase has torn through the files of the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo and they have uncovered lots of new secrets that weren't revealed when the demo first leaked. We should thank the people at The Cutting Room Floor and Resetera for the amazing work they have done in revealing new secrets that were hidden away for twenty years.
The Pokémon Gold & Silver demo was made in 1997, which means that it comes from the time when the Pokémon franchise had yet to become a global success. This means that there is some material within the demo that would have been considered inappropriate if it had made it into the retail version of the game, which may have been the reason why some of the unused Pokémon were cut.
We are here today to reveal the secrets of the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo that were dormant for over two decades. From the original fate of Misty, to the many changes to the established roster.
Here are Twenty-Five Insane Secrets Of The Leaked Pokémon Gold & Silver Demo!
25 Misty's New Job
The Elite Four in Pokémon Gold & Silver consisted of two new characters, a returning member from Red & Blue, and a former Gym Leader. The version of the Elite Four from the demo turned out to be quite different.
The original members of the Elite Four were going to be Bruno, Lance, and Lorelei from Pokémon Red & Blue, with Agatha being replaced by Misty! There is no battle data present for the Elite Four, so we don't know what their teams would have looked like.
There is no Champion listed in the data, which suggests that the Rival character would have taken this spot once more.
24 The Censored Weapon Pokémon
The original designs of Remoraid and Octillery were very different, as Remoraid resembled a revolver and Octillery looked like a tank.
The reason for the change in design can be explained by the fact that the demo was released in 1997. The Pokémon franchise had yet to become an international hit, so the series wasn't bound by the censorship and cultural issues of different nations.
The fact that the Pokémon anime had an entire episode that was skipped due to its portrayal of guns means that this change was a wise one, as depictions of firearms are usually a big problem when releasing media for kids in the United States of America.
23 The Lost Designs
The real prize of the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo is seeing all of the Pokémon that were planned but didn't make the cut into the final version of the game.
There was a shark Pokémon named Ikari, which had an anchor hanging from its body. Ikari was a Water/Steel-type, which was similar to Grotesque, which resembled a huge black serpent.
Girafarig had a base form called Twinz, which resembled two spirits fighting each other.
The creature that appears on Slowbro's tail/Slowking's head was originally going to be its own Pokémon, called Turban, even though it had no connection to any other Pokémon line.
Bomushikaa is a Water/Fire-type Pokémon that resembled a seal with a ball of fire on its head. Wolfman and Warwolf looked like creatures that had stolen the fur of other Pokémon, which ties into their Ice-type.
22 Johto Was Japan
There was a time when Pokémon Gold & Silver were planned on being the final games in the series. This is why the Johto generation feels more complete than the later ones, as it was once planned to be the grand finale of the franchise.
We can see evidence of this in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo, as the area that became Johto was once planned to encompass the whole of Japan.
Kanto was originally reduced to one town with a few familiar buildings and is not fully realized like in the final version of the game.
21 Imposter Professor Oak
Professor Oak remained a prominent character in Pokémon Gold & Silver, even though a new Pokémon professor was introduced in the story.
It seems that the player was once destined to face off against a fake Professor Oak, as the sprites included in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo include data for an imposter Professor Oak.
An Imposter Professor Oak card appeared in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, which suggests that this idea was planned for a long time. It's unknown why this character exists within the data of the demo, though it's likely linked to one of the Team Rocket plots in the game.
20 Porygon2 Was A Lion
That loveable lion in the picture above is the original design of Porygon2. This is one of the biggest shifts from the demo to the final game, as the Porygon evolutions look very similar to the original form in the later games.
The reason for this shift may have something to do with the controversy surrounding the infamous "Electric Soldier Porygon" episode that featured flashing images that caused epileptic seizures in Japanese children. Porygon has been persona non grata since then and is almost never mentioned in the anime.
The lion Porygon may have been an attempt to distance the evolution from the original as much as possible.
19 The Different Gym Leaders
The vast majority of the characters sprites in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo come from the original generation of Pokémon games, as the game was still in development and they were likely just stand-ins until real sprites could be added later.
The only original sprites from the demo belong to the Gym Leaders, though only a few of them are complete. Falkner's design is similar to his appearance in the final version of the game, though he has an unknown bird Pokémon on his arm.
Bugsy's original design is totally different, as he is now much taller and wearing a white suit. Morty's design was much more basic, as he has short hair and is missing his bandana & scarf.
Jasmine originally had a lot more flair in her design, especially with the ribbons in her hair, but this outfit was simplified in the final version of the game.
It seems that the seventh Gym Leader was originally Blue, who would have resided in the only Gym in Kanto. He would later become a Gym Leader in the full version of Kanto in the retail version of the game.
Whitney was still planned to be a Gym Leader, but she lacks a sprite. The other Gym Leaders were called Okera and Gama.
18 The Ice Bikini & The Weakening Items
The introduction of held-items in Pokémon Gold & Silver increased the amount of planning a player needed to do for competitive battles, as the items you brought in could mean the difference between victory and defeat.
The demo for Pokémon Gold & Silver contains a lot of unused held-items that weaken enemy moves of a corresponding type, such as the White Feather weakening Flying-type moves or the Fire Mane weakening Fire-type moves.
The most intriguing cut held-item is the Ice Bikini, which weakened Ice-type moves. This meant that we almost lived in a world where you could make your Pokémon wear a bikini in battle...
17 The Heart Stone & Poison Stone
A lot of the new evolutions that appeared in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo involved the use of either a Heart Stone or a Poison Stone to evolve. These stones do not appear in the other Pokémon games, which means that they were a scrapped mechanic.
The Heart Stone & Poison Stone seem to have been replaced by the Friendship mechanic, as the original method for acquiring Espeon and Umbreon involved the use of the cut stones.
A lot of fans would likely have preferred the presence of the Heart Stone & Poison Stone, considering how annoying it can be to raise the Friendship stat.
16 The Skateboard
The early promotional material for Pokémon Gold & Silver promised that the bike would be replaced with a skateboard, as it was still the '90s and this was considered a totally radical move on the behalf of the developers.
The fans have spent years looking for any trace of the skateboard in the data of Pokémon Gold & Silver, yet nothing has ever come up.
The demo of Pokémon Gold & Silver has finally ended a twenty-year long search, as the skateboard and all associated sprites have been found.
15 Pokémon Picross
Pokémon Gold & Silver featured a few block puzzles in the Ruins of Alph which the nearby scientists couldn't work out, even though a little kid was able to solve them in about five minutes.
It seems that more minigames were planned for Pokémon Gold & Silver, as the demo holds several that went unused.
The demo for Pokémon Gold & Silver has a fully working version of Poker, where the suits are replaced with Pokémon. There are also block-sliding puzzles, a slot machine, a card memorization game, and four picross games.
There is also an unused game on the title screen that allows you to play as Pikachu as he collects musical notes and chases Jigglypuff. Completing this game turns Ho-Oh's flames into musical notes.
14 What Is Wrong With Bayleef?
Chikorita appeared in the original concept art for Pokémon Gold & Silver though its design was slightly different and it was called Happa instead. The fans had always assumed that the full Chikorita line had been designed at that point, but the demo of Pokémon Gold & Silver proved otherwise.
Meganium is almost identical to how it looks in the retail version of the game, but Bayleef is totally different. Chikorita/Happa originally evolved into a creature called Hanamogura, which looks like the head of Meganium is bursting from a large flower.
It seems that the original idea for the Chikorita line was for it to bloom from a flower, but this design was scrapped in favor of something more conventional.
13 The Lost Starter Pokémon
We have known for a long time that Cyndaquil and Totodile weren't the original starter Pokémon in Pokémon Gold & Silver, as concept art for different Pokémon, called Honooguma and Kurusa was revealed in Japanese gaming publications.
The demo for Pokémon Gold & Silver has revealed a lot of information about the lost Johto starters. Honooguma was a Fire-type Pokémon that evolved into a bear with a large mane, named Dynabear, who had a flame symbol on its head.
The original Water-type starter of Pokémon Gold & Silver was Kurusa, which was meant to evolve into a Loch Ness monster style of being.
12 The Return Of Giovanni
The original previews for Pokémon Gold & Silver revealed that Giovanni was planned to return to the series. This didn't happen, which meant that Team Rocket's attempts to contact him were in vain. Giovanni would later appear in a special event in Pokémon HeartGold & SoulSilver.
Giovanni's overworld sprite appears in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo in the area with the Radio Tower, which suggests that Team Rocket's plan would have succeeded and their leader would have returned from his exile in order to be beaten by another kid.
11 The Lost Baby Pokémon
Baby Pokémon were an unpopular addition to Pokémon Gold & Silver, due to how little they actually added to the game. Baby Pokémon were a pain to breed, had no useful combat abilities, and just took up space.
It seems that Game Freak were attracted to the idea of Baby Pokémon, as a lot more appear in the demo of Pokémon Gold & Silver.
Baby Pokémon once existed for the Vulpix, Tangela, Goldeen, Paras, Doduo, Meowth, Ponyta, Grimer, and Growlithe lines.
The designs for Pichu, Elekid, Magby, Igglybuff, Smoochum, Mime Jr. and Cleffa were also more rounded and look different from their final appearance.
10 The Ditto Evolution
Pokémon Gold & Silver introduced the concept of held-items to the series, which allowed for certain Pokémon to evolve while holding a specific item. The Metal Coat was a held-item that was used to evolving certain kinds of Pokémon into Steel-type Pokémon, such as Onix into Steelix.
The most disturbing unused Pokémon design in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo belongs to a creature called Animon, which is a slime monster that seems to be constantly screaming as if it were begging to be put out of its misery.
Animon is actually the evolution of Ditto, which would have required trading a Ditto while holding the Metal Coat. Of all of the unused Pokémon designs in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo, this is the one we have the most questions about.
9 The Voodoo Doll & The Hopping Vampire Pokémon
There are two unused Pokémon designs in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo that were almost certainly cut due to concerns about keeping the age rating of the game.
Norowara is a Ghost-type Pokémon that is based on a voodoo, complete with a large pin stuck through its body. It evolves into Kyonpan, which is also a Ghost-type Pokémon that is a mixture of a panda and a jiangshi, which is the hopping vampire of eastern mythology.
The idea of a voodoo doll Pokémon with a nail stuck through its body was bad enough, but similar haunted dolls (like Banette) appeared in later generations. A vampire Pokémon is something that would never have passed the censors, especially if it ever drank blood on-screen.
8 The Lost Kanto Evolutions
The Pokémon series has introduced some new evolutions for the Kanto Pokémon in later games in the series, with Pokémon like Magmar and Tangela being able to evolve in games like Pokémon Diamond & Pearl.
The demo for Pokémon Gold & Silver contains several unused evolutions for established Pokémon, most of which are awesome.
Farfetch'd was originally going to evolve into an elegant leek-wielder, named Madame. Weepingbell would evolve into a weird looking tree, named Tsubomitto. Pinsir would grow a horn and mask when it evolved into Plusks. Qwilfish also had a derpy evolution that had a lightning bolt design on its head.
Lickilicky appears in the game, but its design now bears a mustache and a strange looking hat.
7 Leafeon's Debut
The last creature in the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo's Pokédex is a Pokémon called Leafy, which is clearly an early design for Leafeon, who would not officially debut until Pokémon Diamond & Pearl.
The original design for Leafeon made it look more like a plant creature, with its feet resembling roots.
It's odd that Leafeon was removed from Pokémon Gold & Silver, considering that the fans had speculated over a Leaf Stone Eeveelution during the days of Pokémon Red & Blue, as it was odd that this was the only Evolution Stone that was skipped over.
6 The Original Legendary Beasts
It seems that the people at Game Freak had settled on the idea of there being three Legendary Beasts in Pokémon Gold & Silver at an early point in development, as very early designs for Entai, Raikou, and Suicune appear within the demo.
These designs might be the most unsettling part of the Pokémon Gold & Silver demo, due to how oddly out of place they are. Raikou looks like it was heavily inspired by the Super Saiyan transformation of Dragon Ball Z, while Entei looks like it is coming on to us with its come-hither stare.
Suicune might be the most disturbing of them all, with its dead white eyes and unkempt hair. This version of Suicune looks like it escaped from DeviantArt and tried to infiltrate the Pokémon series.