Continuing from last time, here are some more specific Pokémon myths. These are some of the most memorable to me, so it's fun to recall these odd stories. I'm sure some of these will be interesting to hear about if you were not there.
Mew is one of the most obvious mystery Pokémon of the early days. Mew was mentioned in the game but was not obtainable by normal means. There were a few giveaways through Nintendo Power and Toys 'R Us to legitimately get a Mew. Others turned to glitches found in the game, though I'm not sure that the oft-cited Mew glitch involving the Nugget Bridge was definitely in use in before 2003. Nevertheless, the Generation 1 Pokemon games contained the infamous Cinnabar Island Coast glitch that could generate the bizarre bird-type Missingno, corrupt the Hall of Fame, and duplicate items into non-numerical characters. You could even encounter trainers as Pokemon or battle monsters above the maximum level. Something had to be going on?
At the time, kids were convinced that you could move a truck, the only sprite of such in the entire game, that sat near the S.S. Anne in Vermillion City. The story went that underneath the truck was a Pokeball containing Mew or that the truck blocked a path that led to some area that Mew could be found in. I always thought this story weird (why would the legendary Mew be under a truck?), but others were really into it. The first generation games included HMs (hidden machines), special items that taught Pokemon abilities that the player could utilize to clear obstacles in the world. One of these was Strength and another was Surf. Most players would not have a Pokemon that knew or could use either move by the point in the game that they encountered the S.S. Anne, and the area became closed off once they did. By using certain methods (the easiest being a GameShark) to get to the ship later in the game with Pokemon that know the required moves, one discovers that the truck story is just a lot of hot air. You can Surf to the truck; you can try to push it with Strength. Nothing will happen.
Pikablu and Bruno (or "Buru") were the names of unknown Pokémon that appeared in the short Pikachu's Vacation that played before the first movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back, when it was shown in theaters. Rampant speculation surrounded these Pokemon. Fans gave them names, and these names spread around. The name Bruno seems to come from the tough look of the pink bulldog. Pikablu was the more important one. The small, blue mouse looked a bit like the mascot Pikachu. A Topps trading card even called the mouse by its fan name. Once Gold and Silver were nearing release, we found out that we had been duped once again: the actual names were Marrill and Snubbull. Neither had any relation to Pikachu or other known Pokemon.
Togepi is a Pokémon that appeared in the Indigo League arc of the original Pokémon anime, though it would not appear in a video game until the second generation games (Pokémon Gold and Silver). That didn't stop a strange rumor about finding an egg in Mt. Moon using the Itemfinder and walking until it hatched. There was no egg, and Togepi was not anywhere in Pokémon Red or Blue. Interestingly, eggs in the later games that featured them did hatch in this manner. I'm not sure if the rumor spread after the Japanese versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver had already been released.
More than just Togepi and the previously mentioned Ho-Oh, the Pokémon anime went on to provide its own share of unique mysteries that left people to wonder about. In "Mystery at the Lighthouse", for example, Ash and friends encountered a giant Dragonite. The episode was structured in a mysterious way, so it almost felt like this giant Dragonite could be found in the first games, but I think anyone looking for such a thing will have to wait for Pokémon Sword and Shield.
The Crystal Onix is the other main anime mystery that I remember people talking about. In the anime, the Crystal Onix was exactly what it sounds like - an Onix made of crystal instead of rock. It only appeared in one episode, but it had quite an impact on the kids at my school. Could we find the Onix in the game? Were there different versions of Pokémon hiding somewhere, perhaps alternate colors? I think we'll see that later on. Going back to the Crystal Onix, it appears on one of the Orange Islands, a region that has not really appeared in the games - the Sevii Islands of the later FireRed and LeafGreen appear to be the game's version. People speculated on reaching the islands through methods that I can't even remember, but no sea route was ever discovered by even the most skilled explorer.
The search for the Orange Islands coincided with further searches for not only Pokémon but secret areas. Surely there must be something beyond Pallet Town, beyond the Indigo Plateau, and beyond the sea where strange new Pokémon must exist! I'll be back to talk about the voyages to find new lands and what became of these brave explorers next time!
Mew is one of the most obvious mystery Pokémon of the early days. Mew was mentioned in the game but was not obtainable by normal means. There were a few giveaways through Nintendo Power and Toys 'R Us to legitimately get a Mew. Others turned to glitches found in the game, though I'm not sure that the oft-cited Mew glitch involving the Nugget Bridge was definitely in use in before 2003. Nevertheless, the Generation 1 Pokemon games contained the infamous Cinnabar Island Coast glitch that could generate the bizarre bird-type Missingno, corrupt the Hall of Fame, and duplicate items into non-numerical characters. You could even encounter trainers as Pokemon or battle monsters above the maximum level. Something had to be going on?
At the time, kids were convinced that you could move a truck, the only sprite of such in the entire game, that sat near the S.S. Anne in Vermillion City. The story went that underneath the truck was a Pokeball containing Mew or that the truck blocked a path that led to some area that Mew could be found in. I always thought this story weird (why would the legendary Mew be under a truck?), but others were really into it. The first generation games included HMs (hidden machines), special items that taught Pokemon abilities that the player could utilize to clear obstacles in the world. One of these was Strength and another was Surf. Most players would not have a Pokemon that knew or could use either move by the point in the game that they encountered the S.S. Anne, and the area became closed off once they did. By using certain methods (the easiest being a GameShark) to get to the ship later in the game with Pokemon that know the required moves, one discovers that the truck story is just a lot of hot air. You can Surf to the truck; you can try to push it with Strength. Nothing will happen.
Pikablu and Bruno (or "Buru") were the names of unknown Pokémon that appeared in the short Pikachu's Vacation that played before the first movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back, when it was shown in theaters. Rampant speculation surrounded these Pokemon. Fans gave them names, and these names spread around. The name Bruno seems to come from the tough look of the pink bulldog. Pikablu was the more important one. The small, blue mouse looked a bit like the mascot Pikachu. A Topps trading card even called the mouse by its fan name. Once Gold and Silver were nearing release, we found out that we had been duped once again: the actual names were Marrill and Snubbull. Neither had any relation to Pikachu or other known Pokemon.
Togepi is a Pokémon that appeared in the Indigo League arc of the original Pokémon anime, though it would not appear in a video game until the second generation games (Pokémon Gold and Silver). That didn't stop a strange rumor about finding an egg in Mt. Moon using the Itemfinder and walking until it hatched. There was no egg, and Togepi was not anywhere in Pokémon Red or Blue. Interestingly, eggs in the later games that featured them did hatch in this manner. I'm not sure if the rumor spread after the Japanese versions of Pokémon Gold and Silver had already been released.
More than just Togepi and the previously mentioned Ho-Oh, the Pokémon anime went on to provide its own share of unique mysteries that left people to wonder about. In "Mystery at the Lighthouse", for example, Ash and friends encountered a giant Dragonite. The episode was structured in a mysterious way, so it almost felt like this giant Dragonite could be found in the first games, but I think anyone looking for such a thing will have to wait for Pokémon Sword and Shield.
The Crystal Onix is the other main anime mystery that I remember people talking about. In the anime, the Crystal Onix was exactly what it sounds like - an Onix made of crystal instead of rock. It only appeared in one episode, but it had quite an impact on the kids at my school. Could we find the Onix in the game? Were there different versions of Pokémon hiding somewhere, perhaps alternate colors? I think we'll see that later on. Going back to the Crystal Onix, it appears on one of the Orange Islands, a region that has not really appeared in the games - the Sevii Islands of the later FireRed and LeafGreen appear to be the game's version. People speculated on reaching the islands through methods that I can't even remember, but no sea route was ever discovered by even the most skilled explorer.
The search for the Orange Islands coincided with further searches for not only Pokémon but secret areas. Surely there must be something beyond Pallet Town, beyond the Indigo Plateau, and beyond the sea where strange new Pokémon must exist! I'll be back to talk about the voyages to find new lands and what became of these brave explorers next time!
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