Mystery Zone: Difference between revisions

{{GlitchResearch|Multiple sources state various things about the Generation IV Mystery Zone and void; this should be clarified and more information pertaining to Generations V and VI should be looked into and documented accordingly.}}

The '''Mystery Zone''' (Japanese: '''なぞの{{tt|場所|ばしょ}}''' ''Mystery Zone'') is an internal header that is programmed into every [[core series]] game since [[Generation IV]].

[[File:Mystery Zone.png|right|thumb|{{ga|Lucas}} riding the [[Bicycle]] on a Mystery Zone in {{game|Platinum}}.]]

In the [[Generation IV]] games, it is used for undefined areas that are located beyond the boundaries of normally accessible areas.

The Japanese versions of {{game|Platinum}}, {{2v2|HeartGold|SoulSilver}} identify the undefined areas as {{j|－－－－}}; however, they still identify a {{OBP|Pokémon|species}}'s {{pkmn2|caught}} location set to the Mystery Zone as なぞのばしょ.

 

The geography is made predominantly of 32-by-32 blocks of either trees, [[Water tile|water]], plateau, or blank void space. The area itself is named "Mystery Zone", with the location header popping up to display this name when the area is entered.

 

No {{OBP|Pokémon|species}} or [[item]]s are found in the Mystery Zone.

In {{game2|Diamond|Pearl|Platinum}}, the background music theme is usually the variant of ''[[Pokémon Diamond & Pokémon Pearl: Super Music Collection|Route 206 (Day)]]'' (identified internally as '''SEQ_DUMMY'''), which is thought to be an older composition of it. Less commonly, ''[[Pokémon Diamond & Pokémon Pearl: Super Music Collection|Pokémon Center (Day)]]'' or ''[[Pokémon Diamond & Pokémon Pearl: Super Music Collection|The Underground]]'' are played instead.

{{YouTubeEmbed|Q5bmwh9xqPk|channel/UCTZHcSIHcyfcFCYnc-rV7Cw|Sinnoh}}

===Oddities and glitches===

[[File:Beta219.jpg|right|thumb|Pre-release screenshot of {{rt|219|Sinnoh}}, depicting the unused tile set that is used in the Mystery Zone on the final releases.]]

When walking through mountainous terrain in the Mystery Zone, the {{player}}'s sprite may become hidden by the terrain. The screen may also appear to zoom in as one enters the area, due to the fact that the terrain is completely flat. Certain areas of the Mystery Zone may cause a [[game freeze]] while others will lock up the game with a black screen if the player refreshes the graphics there. [[Save|Saving]] in one of these areas will cause the game to lock up like this whenever the resulting save file is opened, causing it to become unusable. Examples of such areas are those bordering the {{DL|Elite Four|Sinnoh Elite Four}}'s rooms in {{game2|Diamond|Pearl|Platinum}}.

By traveling from one area to another through the Mystery Zone, the {{wp|Tile-based video game#Tile set|tile set}}s will not be updated even if the new area is programmed to use a different tile set. Currently loaded {{wp|3D computer graphics|3D}} props, such as buildings, are subject to this as well. Simply refreshing the graphics will solve this.<br>[[Sinnoh]]'s Mystery Zone has its own tile set which can be seen by entering it from the overworld, refreshing the graphics there, and then returning to the overworld. This tile set was actually depicted in a pre-release screenshot of {{game|Diamond and Pearl|s}}, indicating that it is a leftover from [[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl beta|the development period]]. It also remains within the internal data of {{game|HeartGold and SoulSilver|s}}.

 

Occasionally, the game can be tricked into thinking that the {{player}} is somewhere else while in the Mystery Zone. A common result of this behavior is in {{game2|Diamond|Pearl|Platinum}}, where the game displays the [[Turnback Cave]] or [[Floaroma Meadow]] header and triggers {{Weather|fog}}, while the floor remains black and the map displays that the player is on {{rt|221|Sinnoh}}. This occurs when the player goes outside of the map matrix and the game cannot indicate where the player really is on the world map.

 

{{YouTubeEmbed|3rGBFldj6gY|channel/UCE3dE_KKB7bHakm_GfrU74Q|name=SatoMew|???}}

In the [[Generation V]] games, the undefined areas use the map identification header and background music of the location from which they were entered. For example, in {{game|Black and White|s 2|Pokémon Black 2 and White 2}}, if the player keeps heading north of {{rt|19|Unova}}, going outside the boundaries of the map, the game will still recognize the location as being "Route 19" until the player arrives at another normally accessible location.

The "Mystery Zone" in these generations is simply an unused map identification header in the internal data that can be set as a {{OBP|Pokémon|species}}'s {{pkmn2|caught}} location through illegitimate means or as a map's header by hacking the game's files. The {{pkmn|Egg}} received through the {{DL|List of glitches in Generation VI|Bad Egg/Mystery Egg occurrence}} in {{g|X and Y}} is noted to have come from the Mystery Zone.