History Trivia / PokemonRedandBlue

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: It's said that if you have a fake copy of the game, or if you play the game in a very outdated emulator (preferably, one that was released before the game itself), the Seagallop ferryman in Vermillion City will say "By the way: If you like this game, buy it or die." This message is actually only in some very early ROM dumps of [=FireRed=], and in reality, was the work of the pirates who managed to leak the game early.

* ExecutiveMeddling: Creator/GameFreak originally did not plan to have PlayerVersusPlayer support -- just trading -- but Creator/{{Nintendo}} requested that it be added. This may partially explain all the FakeBalance in the games.

* AscendedFanon: Strictly speaking, "Leaf" was not considered an official name for the female trainer in the GBA remakes.[[note]]She is given this name as a placeholder in the game's data, but this data also refers to Blue as "Terry" and therefore should be taken with a grain of salt.[[/note]] However, it was a popular enough FanNickname that her Kotobukiya [=ArtFx=] J figurine, [[https://twitter.com/kotobukiyas/status/1048377301530947584 revealed]] in 2018, officially gives her the name リーフ (translated as "Leaf").

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/PokemonRedAndBlue Has its own page]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: [[WhatCouldHaveBeen/PokempnRedAndBlue Has its own page]].

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** There once was a [[http://archives.bulbagarden.net/media/upload/7/70/Kensugiart3.png female protagonist]]. She was excluded presumably due to a lack of space for her data and reused for ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'' as "[[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Leaf_%28game%29 Leaf]]". Her design was used for the character Green (known as Blue in Japan) in ''Manga/PokemonAdventures''.
** There were originally going to be 190 Pokémon, but they were cut for space, leaving 39 instances of [[TheMissingNo Missingno.]] in the vacated data slots. According to [[TheWikiRule Bulbapedia]], all 39 of the cut Pokémon would later end up in ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver''. This explains the lack of {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s in Generation II, as many of them were made alongside the originals. Strangely, Ho-oh was not part of the original planned roster of 190 Pokémon, despite appearing in the first episode of the anime.
** Originally, Mew was not planned to be programmed into the games as an actual Pokémon at all, despite being mentioned in several texts in the Pokémon Mansion. Shigeki Morimoto only slipped Mew into the code just two weeks before the games finished development.
** During development, the Sevii Islands were considered. But, due to a lack of cartridge space and time limits, they were dropped. They were added in the remakes ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]''.
** Trainer battles were originally going to trigger ''every'' time you entered line-of-sight instead of just the first time. Pokemon Breeders in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' would exhibit a similar behaviour.
** Professor Oak was going to be battled at some point late in the game. He uses a high-level team that's very similar to Blue's final one and includes the fully evolved form of the starter that wasn't picked. [[DummiedOut The data is still in the game]] and he can be fought via glitches or a cheat device. This unused fight later served as inspiration for [[spoiler:the Champion battle against Professor Kukui in ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon''.]]
** The [=HMs=] were originally going to be normal [=TMs=] that could be purchased and sold just like the others.
** Looking at the index numbers of the [=HMs=] reveal that there's an empty slot between Fly and Surf, suggesting that another was planned but never implemented.
** The ability to travel across water was originally allowed by a key item instead of a field move, and didn't require any Badges to use. It's entirely possibly that this was meant to be a debugging tool, as it's called "?????".
** [[http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_Red_and_Green_beta#Localization-specific_information Many Pokémon had different names planned for them in the English translation]]. These changes range from minor (i.e. Pidgey was going to be Pidge), slightly different versions of their original names (i.e. Kakuna was Kokoon, a corruption of its Japanese name Cocoon), completely different names (i.e. Tentacruel was Man O War), or direct translations of their original Japanese (i.e. Chansey was going to be Lucky).
** [[http://www.serebiiforums.com/showthread.php?644236-Brock-wasn-t-intended-to-be-the-first-Gym-Leader-in-Red-amp-Green-Thoughts&p=17723176#post17723176 Some concept art of the Gym Leaders Tweeted by Ken Sugimori]] labels them offset by one digit (Brock is 2 instead of 1, Misty is 3 instead of 2, etc.) with Viridian's in the first slot, suggesting that the original Gym order would have the player challenge Viridian Gym first instead of Pewter Gym. There is also artwork of unknown young male alongside the other Gym Leaders, implying that [[spoiler:Giovanni]] was not originally intended to be the Viridian City Gym Leader.
** The localization team considered [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore beefing up]] the {{Mons}}, on the grounds that American audiences might not take well to "cute monsters".
** Series mascot Pikachu was originally going to be a part of a 3 Stage in Generation I. The cut form was called [[http://www.siliconera.com/2018/05/03/pikachu-originally-second-evolution-called-gorochu-large-fangs-two-horns/ Gorochu]]: which was supposed to have fangs and horns. It was scrapped for being overpowered, and eventually, Pikachu became the middle part of a 3 Stage in Generation II with the introduction of Pichu.
** [[https://nintendowire.com/news/2018/05/17/unused-pokemon-unveiled-new-manga/ A few unused Pokémon designs]] were shown in a manga detailing the life history of Satoshi Tajiri. Among them include a spike-covered deer, a crocodile with a mane and bugged-out eyes, a shark with a harpoon at the end of its snout, and a Pokémon made up of ball cacti. [[https://www.reddit.com/r/pokemon/comments/8jzguw/early_pokemon_designs_and_a_few_scrapped_ones/dz55tnv/ Another take of the same source material]] reveals a sloth-scorpion, a bipedal elephant, and a reptile that looks close to Croconaw.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: It's said that if you have a fake copy of the game, or if you play the game in a very outdated emulator (preferably, one that was released before the game itself), the Seagallop ferryman in Vermillion City will say "By the way: If you like this game, buy it or die." This message is actually only in some very early ROM dumps of [=FireRed=], and in reality, was the work of the pirates who managed to leak the game early.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ''[=LeafGreen=]'' was originally considered to be retitled to "[=WaterBlue=]" for the international releases to match how ''Red and Blue'' were the versions released outside of Japan instead of ''Red and Green''. However, it was ultimately decided that the international releases would be titled the same as the Japanese release, as the ''Leaf'' in the title was supposed to symbolize peace in a world of friendly competition, and they also did not feel like redesigning the box art.
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** The series creator, Satoshi Tajiri, said that his favorite Pokemon were Poliwag and Poliwhirl.

* NoExportForYou: The original games were not released in South Korea due to the ban on most Japanese cultural products still being in place until 1998. There may have also been difficulties with implementing the Korean language writing system on the Game Boy's hardware.

* NoExportForYou: This game was unreleased in South Korea. There may have been plans to release it, but since it was an early-generation Game Boy game, it might have been because of difficulties with the Korean language writing system (not to mention the fact that the ban on most Japanese cultural products was lifted in 1998).

* AscendedFanon: The fan theory that Giovanni and Team Rocket had ''some'' connection to Mewtwo (whether it be in its creation like in the anime and ''Pokemon Adventures'' manga, or as what they wanted to capture when they gained control of Silph Co. and its Master Ball) has been given credibility with Giovanni possessing Mewtwo in ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''.

** [[https://nintendowire.com/news/2018/05/17/unused-pokemon-unveiled-new-manga/ A few unused Pokémon designs]] were shown in a manga detailing the life history of Satoshi Tajiri. Among them include a spike-covered deer, a crocodile with a mane and bugged-out eyes, a shark with a harpoon at the end of its snout, and a Pokémon made up of ball cacti.

** [[[[https://nintendowire.com/news/2018/05/17/unused-pokemon-unveiled-new-manga/ A few unused Pokémon designs]] were shown in a manga detailing the life history of Satoshi Tajiri. Among them include a spike-covered deer, a crocodile with a mane and bugged-out eyes, a shark with a harpoon at the end of its snout, and a Pokémon made up of ball cacti.

** Series mascot Pikachu was originally going to be a part of a 3 Stage family prior to Pichu. The cut form was called [[http://www.siliconera.com/2018/05/03/pikachu-originally-second-evolution-called-gorochu-large-fangs-two-horns/ Gorochu]]: which was supposed to have fangs and horns.

* FandomNod: As a ShoutOut to the aforementioned truck rumor, the pier that the truck sits on contains a Lava Cookie, which are normally unavailable until you reach the Sevii Islands.

** In the remakes, it's said that if you have a fake copy of the game, or if you play the game in a very outdated emulator (preferably, one that was released before the game itself), the Seagallop ferryman in Vermillion City will say "By the way: If you like this game, buy it or die." This message is actually only in some very early ROM dumps of [=FireRed=], and in reality, was the work of the pirates who managed to leak the game early.

** There's a rumor that's been floating around since these games came out about a hacked version known as Pokémon Black (not to be confused with ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite''), found on a black-painted cartridge. The player is given a Pokémon known as 'Ghost' instead of one of the starters, and it cannot be put into the PC. It attacks opponents with Curse, and if you return to an area after beating a trainer, it's indicated they died as there's a tombstone present. After beating the game, the player character's Pokémon are all gone and the sprite is swapped for an old man sprite. Going back to Pallet Town results in the character being attacked by the spirits of the Pokemon they killed on their way to beating the game, with the character using Struggle until they die. Its existence is questioned, but a ROM like this does exist online. [[http://www.gameinformer.com/blogs/members/b/omegaspartan08_blog/archive/2010/07/30/pok-233-mon-black-a-hacked-game-of-death.aspx Article here]]
** A rumor has always been around that when the games were first released in Japan, loads of little children [[BrownNote got ill and committed suicide]] because of the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNJJ-QkZ8cM Lavender Town music.]] Some people thought this was why the music was subtly changed to remove some of the high pitched notes in the American remakes. In reality, the music was changed because people in Japan had been getting headaches from the shrillness of it.

** There's a truck sprite that only appears once in the game. The only way to see it is to go way out of your way to avoid triggering a certain plot event that closes off the area and returning when you can travel on water. People believed that it had to have been put there for a reason, leading to hundreds of rumors about this thing. As it turns out, it's just a graphical easter egg with no actual benefits associated with finding it.

** Speaking of Vermilion City, the S.S. Anne was said to return there after the player beat the Elite Four so many times.

** Trainer battles were originally going to trigger ''every'' time you entered line-of-sight instead of just the first time.

* SleeperHit: Nintendo of Japan actually said ItWillNeverCatchOn while releasing Japanese ''Red and Green'' and writing it off as a loss. It didn't top the sales charts, but it kept ''selling steady'' in a market where 80% of sales are made in the first two weeks. Game Freak made a few tweaks, released [[UpdatedRerelease Japanese Blue]] and Nintendo got their cash cow.

* FandomNod: As a ShoutOut to the aforementioned truck rumor, the pier that the truck sits on contains a lava cookie, which are normally unavailable until you reach the Sevii Islands.

* CreatorsFavorite: Gengar is the favorite Pokémon of Ken Sugimori, one of the franchise's main artists.