History WhatCouldHaveBeen / PokemonRedAndBlue

* Red's prototypical design is referred to as "Yuuichi". Yuuichi resembles Red but has a more basic hat, lacks AnimeHair, has lighter pants with kneepads, and doesn't wear sleeves. He has two different sprites; an early one depicting him as a rougher trainer holding a Poké ball and whip with shaded-over eyes, and a later sprite depicting Yuuichi standing more neutrally.

* The gym coach was originally named "Danpei", after the coach from ''Ashita no Joe''. He even had dark skin and wore an eyepatch like him, and was likely changed for copyright reasons.

* There's an overworld sprite for a Virtual Boy in early versions of the game.

* ''Capsule Monsters'' concept art shows a few designs which are likely placeholders, such as unused cat Pokémon, Godzilla-based Pokémon called "Godzillante", a gorilla Pokémon called "Gorillaimo", a dragon Pokémon that possibly served as inspiration for Charizard, and a weird round Pokémon called "Kabiin"[[note]]Who is probably just a Game Freak in-joke, as the creature resembles a Jigglypuff with the face of designer Kōji Nishino[[/note]]. There's also concept art of an early Rhydon with a spiked shell on its back, a Lapras without its ears (and a horn on its nose), Blastoise without cannons, and a reptilian creature fighting what looks like a Gengar.

* A Bird type was originally planned and still exists in the final game data. It may have been replaced with Flying, or cut for being redundant (the four bird families in the game all ended up as normal/flying). [=NPCs=] still refer to them as Bird Pokémon instead of Flying, and [=MissingNo.=] is shown to have a Bird type as well. This is also evident in the Japanese names of Flying-type moves in the game, several of which refer to birds specifically in some way (for instance, Sky Attack is God Bird), and in the fact that wind-based moves like Gust and Razor Wind were or are classified as Normal-type rather than Flying.
* Though nothing explicit has ever been found/stated, there's evidence to suggest a few types were added to the game rather last minute, most notable Dragon, Ghost and Rock.
** Dragon type is the last Special type in the typing index and rather infamously only features a single move to it's name in Gen 1; the fixed-damage Dragon Rage (meaning Dragon's type advantage over itself will never come into play), and only a single Dragon type line exists in Gen 1; the Dratini line. All this leads to the type feeling rather underwhelming and slapped-together, the leading idea being the type was quickly conceived to give Lance a "signature weapon" of sorts.
** Ghost is similar to Dragon in a lot of ways; being the last Physical type in the index, having an utter drought of moves[[note]]A grand total of 3 in Confuse Ray, the very weak Lick and fixed-damage attack Night Shade. Additionally, all of these moves were labeled as Ground type moves in early data, likely as a placeholder.[[/note]] and only a single line to represent it in the Ghastly family. There's also some infamously sloppy coding with Ghost, as Psychic is immune to the type instead of being weak as intended.
** Rock is often speculated to have spun out of the Ground type at some point in development. There are only two Rock type moves (only 1 of which has extensive distribution), both moves were different types in early move data[[note]]Rock Slide is Normal and was probably a different move altogether, Rock Throw is Ground[[/note]], every single Rock type in the game is part Ground except for the fossils, and several Rock type Pokémon don't learn a single Rock move through level up or [=TM=].

* Giovanni was originally a Flying-type trainer, which is why the Earth badge looks like a feather. He also originally wasn't a gym leader. The Viridian Gym would have been the first gym in the game with a different, younger leader (who looked kind of similar to Giovanni). This mean Sabrina likely would have been the 8th gym leader, tying into Saffron originally being the games final destination.

* The Pokémon League HQ was once a tower with [[AllTheWorldsAreAStage each floor being a challenge based on an earlier "dungeon" in the game]].

* Silph Co. would have contained a gauntlet in which the player would fight three trainers then one of the Gym Leaders, similar to the Gym Leader Castle in ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium''. There were going to be wild Mewtwo on the top floor.

* Silph Co. would have contained a Battle Tower-like setup where the player would fight three trainers then one of the Gym Leaders, a la ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium''. There were going to be wild Mewtwo on the top floor.

* Various Pokémon were originally intended to use PokemonSpeak, many of which, if they had an English voice, retained their Japanese voice. In the final product, only Pikachu does. This is likely because, as the [[https://tcrf.net/Development:Pok%C3%A9mon_Yellow#Sounds leaked files show]], they were insanely bitcrushed to the point of outright SensoryAbuse.

* Various Pokémon were originally intended to use PokemonSpeak, many of which, if they had an English voice, retained their Japanese voice. In the final product, only Pikachu does.

** Student was either an early Lass or an early Cool Trainer.

** Firefighters were ultimately cut and had their index slot given to Psychics.

* Present in the coding is an unnamed item which acted similarly to the Surf HM. Prototype data names this item specifically as "Lapras", likely meaning field moves were originally handled by item versions of specific pokemon.

* Concept art shows that Erika was originally the fifth gym leader. Her early design shows her wearing a funeral style kimono, along with her Poké ball mysteriously floating suggests that she may have originally been a ghost trainer. She ended up being the fifth gym leader Ash fought in the anime, but likely only because he fought Sabrina much earlier.
* Silph Co. was going to be the original host of the Pokémon League, in Saffron City. This likely means that it would have been the last city visited in the game, explaining why it's initially walled off in the final game, and why it's the last Fly spot. It also would have served as the final dungeon with each floor being based on the earlier "dungeons" in the game. The post game would have had a battle tower like set up as well, where the player would fight three trainers then one of the gym leaders, a la ''VideoGame/PokemonStadium''. There were going to be wild Mewtwo on the top floor.

* The Sun and Moon source code leak contains [[https://twitter.com/MrCheeze_/status/1317467136353308674 a list of all Pokemon games released up to that point]]. Interestingly, after Firered and Leafgreen (which are 4 and 5 respectively), the list jumps straight ahead to 7, which is Heartgold. This suggests that another version, possibly a remake of Yellow, was planned for the GBA but scrapped.

* A Bird type was originally planned and still exists in the final game data. It may have been replaced with Flying, or cut for being redundant (the four bird families in the game all ended up as normal/flying). NPCs still refer to them as Bird Pokémon instead of Flying, and [=MissingNo.=] is shown to have a Bird type as well. This is also evident in the Japanese names of Flying-type moves in the game, several of which refer to birds specifically in some way (for instance, Sky Attack is God Bird), and in the fact that wind-based moves like Gust and Razor Wind were or are classified as Normal-type rather than Flying.

* A Bird type was originally planned and still exists in the final game data. It may have been replaced with Flying, or cut for being redundant (the four bird families in the game all ended up as normal/flying). NPC's still refer to them as Bird Pokémon instead of Flying, and [=MissingNo.=] is shown to have a Bird type as well.

** Dragon type is the last Special type in the typing index and rather infamously only features a single move to it's name in Gen 1; the fixed-damage Dragon Rage (meaning Dragon's type advantage over itself will never come into play), and only a single Dragon type line exists in Gen 1; the Dritini line. All this leads to the type feeling rather underwhelming and slapped-together, the leading idea being the type was quickly conceived to give Lance a "signature weapon" of sorts.

* According to old map designs, Celadon was going to have the harbor and Vermilion would have had the department store. There's also data for a scrapped town which has the infamous truck sprite on it, either speculated to be the infamous "C" town seen on early maps or an intermediate version of Pallet Town. Route 20 does not have the Seafoam Islands, instead having a tower which may have been a lighthouse. Route 21 had seven small islands on it, possibly an early attempt at the Sevii Islands. Route 23 is a winding mountain path with no sign of The Pokémon League or Victory Road, instead having a cave at the top. This was likely repurposed for Mt. Silver in the sequel.

* [[https://archives.bulbagarden.net/wiki/File:Capsule_Monsters_map.jpg The map for Capsule Monsters]] shows a city in the sea south of Celadon City, likely related to an unused fly location in the game which crashes the game when selected.

* There was going to be a town in an island west of Vermilion and south of Celadon. The player likely would have taken the S.S. Anne to it, and then to Celadon. When it was cut, the story progression was altered so that players would have to backtrack to Cerulean and take the Rock Tunnel to Lavender instead. This explains why the HM for Flash is labeled HM 05 despite being the second HM obtainable in the game (in this Generation, [=HMs=] are generally labeled in the order they're obtained) -- originally Rock Tunnel would have been an optional dungeon (possibly even a late game dungeon, like the Power Plant), so Flash would have been a more optional move. It also explains why the player can visit the S.S. Anne but not board it when it embarks.

** After Moltres was moved out of Cerulean Cave, Zapdos (who was not yet found in the Power Plant) was considered to be the legendary of that location, as evidenced by a comment in the first floor's early script file reading "Thunder Live Dungeon".[[note]]"Thunder" is Zapdos's name in Japan.]]

** There's a trainer called Silph Chief who used what would become Blaine's final design. Blaine's original design was army-inspired, and it can still be found in the original games' manual, as well as [[EarlyDraftTieIn the anime.]]

* Moltres was going to have its own optional fire dungeon, but it was cut and moved to Victory Road. There it was going to have its own separate room, which also ended up getting cut. This idea was later refitted for ''[=FireRed=] and [=LeafGreen=]'', which added Mt. Ember in the Sevii Islands and moved Moltres there.

* Red's original ''Capsule Monsters'' design had a Poké Ball on his hat and straight hair. This explains why Red's sprite displays these designs but not his official art.

* Red's prototypical design is referred to as "Yuuichi". Yuuichi looks a lot like Red, but lacks his AnimeHair and doesn't wear sleeves. He has two different sprites: one standing straight and the other with a Poké ball, whip, and his eyes shaded by his hat. It's likely that Red's sprite was meant to change as you progress, like how Blue has several sprites.

** Umezou is a little boy who wears a cap with a badge on it.
** Red's father was going to be a defined character, or at least mentioned.

** There's a Pokémon that looks exactly like a large male Nidorino. However, it doesn't appear to be either Nidorino or Nidorina.

** Cactus is, as its name implies, just a simple cactus Pokémon.

** There are two cut Pokémon with what appear to be Japanese-style topknots, though it's difficult to tell what they're meant to be with how little their low-resolution back sprites actually show.

** There is a cut Magneton-looking Pokémon without its magnets, likely either a pre-evolution or middle evolution.

** Kotora is a tiger Pokémon. Its evolution Raitora has two separate designs: a round looking version that resembles Kotora and a more tiger-looking design. Kotora and Raitora were later reused for ''Gold and Silver'' (with Raitora's designs being combined) before ultimately being scrapped.

* ''Capsule Monsters'' concept art shows a few designs which are likely placeholders, such as unused cat Pokémon, Godzilla-based Pokémon called "Godzillante", a gorilla Pokémon called "Gorillaimo", a dragon Pokémon that possibly served as inspiration for Charizard, and a weird round Pokémon called "Kabiin"[[note]]Who is probably just a Game Freak in-joke, as the creature resembles a Jigglypuff with the face of designer Kōji Nishino[[/note]]. There's also concept art of an early Rhydon with a spiked shell on its back, a Lapras without its ears (and a horn on its nose), and Blastoise without cannons.

* An early version of Nidorino more resembled a reptile.

* Originally there were no elemental typings, no evolutions, and no starters. It was also planned for there to be monsters that could not be caught, only fought as enemies.

* Present in the coding is an unnamed item which acted similarly to the Surf HM (whether it was meant as a usable item or simply a debugging tool is up for debate).

* [=HMs=] were originally normal [=TMs=] that could be purchased and sold just like the others. Looking at the index numbers of the [=HMs=] also reveal that there's an empty slot between Fly and Surf, suggesting that another was planned.

** A much more obviously Kirin-inspired Arcanine, with hooves instead of paws and the early name of "Wing". It was very likely going to be a legendary Pokémon, as it's referred to as such in the final games Pokédex and was seen with the legendary birds briefly in the Anime's second episode.

** Scyther was originally a dragon with mantis elements instead of a mantis with dragon elements.
** Arcanine was more {{kirin}}-like early in development and was named "Wing" instead of "Windie".
** Tentacool was originally named "Ambler". It was more of a jellyfish/squid mix early on.
** Gyarados was a large, worm-like creature.

* Before the starter system was introduced, Blue was going to be a Gyarados trainer.

* According to old map designs, Celadon was going to have the harbor and Vermilion would have had the department store. There's also data for a scrapped town which has the infamous truck sprite on it, either speculated to be the infamous "C" town seen on early maps or an intermediate version of Palette Town. Route 20 does not have the Seafoam Islands, instead having a tower which may have been a lighthouse. Route 21 had seven small islands on it, possibly an early attempt at the Sevii Islands. Route 23 is a winding mountain path with no sign of The Pokémon League or Victory Road, instead having a cave at the top. This was likely repurposed for Mt. Silver in the sequel.

** Lickitung without the stripped pattern on it's torso and a more forked tongue.

* ''Capsule Monsters'' concept art shows an unused cat Pokémon, Godzilla-based Pokémon called "Godzillante", a gorilla Pokémon called "Gorillaimo", a dragon Pokémon that is likely an early version of Charizard, and a weird round Pokémon called "Kabiin". There's also concept art of an early Rhydon with a spiked shell on its back, a Lapras without its ears (and a horn on its nose), a Blastoise without cannons, a more {{kirin}}-looking Arcanine with hooves, and a prototypical Gyarados that looks like a giant eyeless worm.

* The logo to ''Capsule Monsters'' depicts a prototypical Rhydon with a normal horn as opposed to a drill.

* Clefairy was amongst the first dozen or so Pokémon designed, and was significantly cutened up for the final, with it's original look being far more awkward and monstrous.
* Omuomu is a bird Pokémon that resembles Spearow, and may have been an earlier draft of it.

* Arcanine was originally based off of the mythical Chinese kirin and had hooves instead of paws. It was very likely going to be a legendary Pokémon, as it's referred to as such in the final games Pokédex and was seen with the legendary birds briefly in the Anime's second episode.

* According to old map designs, Celadon was going to have the harbor and Vermilion would have had the department store. There's also data for a scrapped town which has the infamous truck sprite on it. Route 20 does not have the Seafoam Islands, instead having a tower which may have been a lighthouse. Route 21 had seven small islands on it, possibly an early attempt at the Sevii Islands. Route 23 is a winding mountain path with no sign of The Pokémon League or Victory Road, instead having a cave at the top. This was likely repurposed for Mt. Silver in the sequel.

* Clefairy dates back to ''Capsule Monsters''. It was cutened up for its finalized design.

* The logo to ''Capsule Monsters'' depicts a prototypical Rhyhorn without its horn.