The original Pokémon games were a huge success in Japan when they were first released with Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow selling over 50 million copies worldwide. The company gradually grew and grew and spread across the world in the form of toys, anime and trading cards to name just a few.

The second generation of Pokémon games brought with it many changes, new Pokémon and extra added elements to our adventure. The game received high praise and reviews from critics and fans alike, making it a huge hit for the Pokémon franchise, it could be argued as being one of the most comprehensive video game experiences to date. Surprisingly, however, the game was planned to be the final Pokémon game ever made!

Gold and Silver were so successful that they even got a remake for the Nintendo DS console in 2010. This remake added the ability to let your Pokémon follow you around, which is one of my favorite elements of any Pokémon game … What can I say I’m a sucker for a cute Pokémon chibi.

As with every video game or fan favorite series, many conspiracies, fan theories, and hidden information will pop up online, some are what you would expect while others are far from it. We have compiled a list of the most interesting facts, theories, and information surrounding the Gen 2 Pokémon games. From unused and now discarded Pokémon designs, to useless status effects and chilling side quests, this list contains some fun trivia that you do not want to miss out on. Grab a coffee, relax, and further develop your knowledge about the world of Pokémon.

20 Loads Of Unused Pokémon Designs!

You read it right, there were originally 50 designs that were unrealized or repurposed in Gold and Silver. These designs included an evolution for Ditto, and even the shell that bites the end of Slowpokes tail becoming a Pokémon of its own accord. Some of these designs sounded a little strange though — such as Lickitung growing a mustache.

In the original Beta, there were loads of new, unreleased Pokémon ideas!

The team at Gamefreak had so many unique and quirky designs that they had to hold back and save them for the Pokémon games to come to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

19 Different Starters!

There was a point where Totadile, Chikorita, and Cindaquill would not have been our three starter options when beginning our Gen 2 adventure. The original trio would have been named Honōguma, a fire type Pokémon who looks like a fire type version of Pikachu. Kurusu, the water type Pokémon who doesn't really resemble anything really, maybe a failed Haribo star mix character, and the grass type Happa is the final addition to this lost trio who resembles Chikorita.

These three were available only in the Nintendo Space World 1997 version of Pocket Monsters Two before it was renamed and changed to G&S, the trio have now unfortunately been lost forever.

18 Skateboarding In Pokémon?

In the 90s, skateboards were the coolest thing around, GameFreak also agreed with this. In the Pokémon Adventures comic series readers saw Gold skating around on his very own board, he even rode it while throwing Pokéballs towards his opponents, how cool is that?! In interviews before the release of the two games, GameFreak confirmed that they were trying to implement a skateboard into the new games.

However, this idea must have had programming issues or perhaps something caused it to fall through due to no skateboard being present in the games.

17 Missing Children Quest

In the beta version of Gold and Silver, there was a side quest that involved players searching for the missing children in the remains of the Burned Tower. This is rather chilling when you think about the fact that the tower is a place of tragedy where many lost their lives.

This quest never made it into the final release however, hacker nerds have managed to sneak their way into the files to find dialogue. One mourning mother who lost her child in the tower tells players; “People have been known to disappear there.” Maybe it was for the best we weren't allowed to wander into the tower after all.

16 Inappropriate Trainer Designs

Sometimes Japanese culture and references are a little too much for Western audiences, this is the case when looking at some trainer designs in G&S that had to be changed. In the original Japanese release, the Fishermen trainers smoked and the Mediums and Sages prayed.

When looking at the Western releases for these games however the characters have been altered so praying and smoking is no where to be seen. One weird one would be the changes to the Swimmer and beauty characters where winking was removed, looks like winking is just a little too much for the children of Western civilizations.

15 Secret Safari Zone!

I don't know about you but one of my favorite areas in the Pokémon games was the safari zone. It was a chance to catch new and exciting Pokémon that could only be found in that area. Unfortunately, the area was closed down for G&S… or was it?

In the Beta files, it shows there is a hidden safari zone map that was never used! It is only accessible via hacks, it’s a shame that the fun safari area was intended to be used in the games.

14 Shiny Charizard Colour Changed

Shiny Pokémon are great and sometimes not so great. Whether you're chain fishing or simply running round in the grass defeating Pokémon after Pokémon, finding a shiny is a hidden joy to Pokémon masters.

I have never been a fan of shiny Espeon, pea green doesn’t suit it.

Originally shiny Charizard was planned to look a lot different than we know it today. The sprite for it in G&S shows it being a light shade of purple with green wings, however, in generation three it was changed to red and black for unknown reasons.

13 The Name Changed!

Looks like GameFreak had a hard time deciding how to proceed with their Gen 2 sequel.

Gold and Silver were originally going to be named Pocket Monsters 2 … Doesn’t really have the same ring to it does it? The games were planned to be released in 1997, however, due to development (and some programming) issues, this was not the case. One year later the game was released with different titles: Pocket Monsters Gold and Pocket Monsters Silver.

12 A Haunted House Was Planned?

There are many ghost stories that have been created and told regarding Pokémon, which isn't surprising considering that Cubone wears the skull of its deceased mother! Or the ghostly spirit of a girl in Pokémon X and Y who tells players that they aren't “the one” then disappears.

G & S was originally supposed to have a haunted house in it which was shown in the coding, however, the location doesn't exist. Rumors state that it was going to be modeled after the Himej Castle in Japan which dates back to 1333. It's a shame that Nintendo decided not to give the Ghost-type Pokémon a house to play in.

11 Giving Your Mum A Name

We are all familiar with the ability to name your own character at the start of every Pokémon game to add a more personal, immersive feel. However, did you know that you would have been able to name your mother?

This option was unveiled when leftover code was found in the game, the code showed that the game made space in the memory in order to store your chosen name for your mother so it could be referred to throughout your adventure. The code also showed that there was allocated space in the memory for the ability to name your rival who you are constantly having to prove your strength to.

10 Cinnabar Island Is Nowhere To Be Seen?

I'm sure you all want to know another fun Pokémon conspiracy theory, so let's talk about Cinnabar Island! The Island is most famously known for the Pokémon experiments which resulted in the creation of Mewtwo from Mew.

Journal entries say Ditto is a failed Mewtwo clone attempt.

However in G&S Cinnabar Island is nowhere to be seen due to a volcanic explosion that destroyed the entire island. In-game, we learn nothing about the survivors or what happened afterward only that the island is destroyed and inaccessible — a bit creepy if you ask me! That being said original game code shows us that the island was supposed to be in the game but for some reason it was removed…

9 The Creation Of Dark Type Pokémon

While we are on the topic of dark and mysterious facts about the game let me give you an actual dark type Pokémon fact. Dark type, as well as Steel-type Pokémon, were put into G&S with some strange, ulterior motives. They were apparently placed into the game for the purpose of taking Psychic-type Pokémon down for good.

In previous Pokémon games, the Psychic types ruled the roost with no true type weakness to be found, Bug and Ghost moves were effective but not enough to make you instantly victorious.

This is where Steel and Dark come into play, they were created to bring balance to this Psychic Pokémon take over, that is until Fairy types were introduced later on to ruin their lives but shhh they don’t know that yet.

8 Honey Was Created For The Game But Not Used?

Some Pokémon can only be found by fishing, headbutting trees, or smashing rocks. One of the strangest might be using honey. Honey can be used in-game to lure Pokemon towards you in the long grass, it can also be smothered onto trees. Honey wasn't introduced into Pokémon until Generation IV, however, game code for G&S shows that it was planned to appear.

Unfortunately, Teddiursa had to wait to get his paws on the sweet treat!

The item that was found in the coding is called Sweet Honey and worked in the same way that Honey does in Gen IV. Bit strange huh?

7 Baby Pokémon Designs

Evolutions are a key and exciting element of the Pokémon world. Whether you're evolving for strength, new moves, or even just a new cool looking Pokémon everyone loves them. G&S saw loads of new um.. baby pre-evolutions? Pichu, Elekid, and Mime Jr are just a few, even Misty’s Togepi made an appearance!

It was announced that there were going to be even more bay designs originally, six, in fact. These included baby Paras which showed him growing from the mushroom on his back and even a baby Ponyta! Maybe GameFreak thought introducing those extra six would have been too cute and adorable for players to endure.

6 Legendary Pokémon Sharing The Skies?

Reusing elements and assets in the video game world is not new, its a byproduct of development and is bound to happen. Gold and Silver began the trend in Pokémon of having the legendary Pokémon as the title screen of the game instead of the starters.

These screens showcased the opposite aspects of the Pokémon Sun and Moon had day and night, Diamond and Pearl had space and time, and Gold and Silver has sky and ocean. However, the title screen for G&S is the same. The clouds behind Ho-Oh are the same as the seafloor which can be seen underneath Lugia! Maybe they aren't so different after all.

5 Battling Your Own Pokémon Team?

Pokémon boss battles are always something to look forward to in the games. The preparation of making sure you are stocked up on potions and revives, you have a diverse type range in your team, you know the best attack strategy. What if I were to tell you that originally Red was supposed to have the exact same team you beat with the Elite 4 with and registered in the hall of fame.

A level 100 Charizard duel would have been fun to watch though…

That would have thrown everyone off a bit I think. The Game Boy was intended to read the data from Pokémon Red and Blue, however, this idea was not pursued due to the technology of the time.

4 Useless Status Effects

Status effects are extremely useful when trying to catch particularly difficult Pokémon. Making a Pokémon have a quick nap while you try to catch it makes your life a whole lot easier. In the early stages of Gold and Silver’s development, however, there were a few glitches in the programming.

One of these glitches lead to only frozen and sleep status effects impacting the catch rate. That meant that if you poisoned or paralyzed a Pokémon it would have done nothing regarding making it easier to catch, how annoying! This bug meant that using these status effects was about as useful as the method that I used to use: holding the button as long as possible till I saw the sparks on the Pokéball which ensured the Pokémon was mine.

3 Olivine City Has A Hidden Room!

Similarly to the hidden safari zone, this room in Olivine City is only accessible using cheat codes, so all you hackers out there this one is for you. In the room, you encounter two NPCs, one of which is a Rhydon which glitches and changes into a Clefairy, bet you didn’t see that coming!

The other is a woman who, when spoken to using the A button, tells you her Pokémon is sick and a pharmacist in Ecruteak City has made medicine for it, however, in the final release of the game, the pharmacist was actually located in Cianwood city.

2 Pokémon Genders Are All Weird In Gold And Silver

Within the Pokémon world, the gender of your Pokémon can alter its appearance such as the female Pikachu having a heart-shaped tail and the male having a square shaped one. 

Gold and Silver Pokémon gender is determined by Attack IV.

However some bias was seen with this gender introduction, for example, female Pokémon are unable to reach their highest attack stat meaning that basically the males are stronger than the females. This could be seen as contradictory due to these games being the first to introduce a female playable character.

1  Gold and Silver Marked The End Of The Line For Pokémon?

As sad as it sounds, yes Gold and Silver were planned to be the last Pokémon games ever made. Thankfully, however, they weren’t! Tsunekazu Ishihara, the producer of Pokémon games said in an interview that he thought it would be Gamefreak’s last project for Pokémon. Money, however, is a hard thing turn down, especially the amount that was made from the production of these games.

Ishihara said that he wanted G & S to be the “ultimate title” and put all his effort and energy into creating the game.