Pokémon Gold and Silver beta: Difference between revisions

One of the many notable additions promised was a skateboard that could be used in addition to the [[Bicycle]] of the previous games and which would allow the {{player}} to travel to "unusual places". Though this never made the final cut, other things announced, such as the [[time]] system with its {{wp|real-time clock}} as well as {{cat|Generation II Pokémon|100 new Pokémon}}, including [[List of Pokémon with cross-generational evolutions|new evolutions of old Pokémon]], and new [[TM]]s and [[HM]]s containing new [[move]]s, were included. The communication abilities of the games were also to be improved, and [[Time Capsule|backwards compatibility]] with the Generation I games was also announced.

The {{pkmn|anime}} also provided early looks at the new {{OBP|Pokémon|species}}. {{p|Ho-Oh}}, the eventual [[version mascot]] of {{game3|Gold and Silver|Pokémon Gold|s}}, appeared in the [[EP001|first episode]]. Later, {{TP|Misty|Togepi}} hatched from an {{pkmn|Egg}} {{Ash}} himself found, and [[Misty]] became the first main character to own a [[Generation II]] Pokémon. {{p|Snubbull}} and {{p|Marill}} made their first appearances in ''[[PK01|Pikachu's Vacation]]'', and {{p|Donphan}} appeared at the start of ''[[M01|Mewtwo Strikes Back]]''. During [[Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands|the second season]] of the English dub, Ash and Misty also encountered {{Tracey}}, who owned a {{TP|Tracey|Marill}}; {{OBP|Lugia|M02}}, the version mascot of {{game3|Gold and Silver|Pokémon Silver|s}}, was the focus of [[M02|the second movie]], in which {{p|Slowking}} also appeared. {{p|Bellossom}}, {{p|Ledyba}}, {{p|Hoothoot}}, and {{p|Elekid}} also made an appearance in ''[[PK04|Pikachu's Rescue Adventure]]''.

At this time, the initial game screenshots released didn't look all that much different from the Generation I games. The pictures clearly show the games' engine being in a more developed but still early stage. The lack of {{pkmn|battle}} screenshots would seem to indicate that a redone battle system had not been implemented yet.

On some other screenshots of different stages of development, part of a city resembling [[Ecruteak City]] is seen. Whether it was an actual prototype of Ecruteak City or a completely distinct location is not known.

A screenshot depicting an earlier design for the [[Pokémon Center]] also shows an [[Unown]] ruin on the upper-right corner, which was possibly related to the [[Ruins of Alph]] or an equivalent location at that point in development.

A simplified version of the northwestern-most section of {{rt|35|Johto}}, near the [[gate]] to [[National Park]] also appeared on one of the screenshots. The differences from the final design of the route include water instead of trees and fences, with the path to the right not being open.

Another screenshot also depicts possible prototypes of [[Goldenrod Radio Tower]] as well as of a gate, possibly the gate that leads to Route 35 or rather the [[Magnet Train]] station in [[Goldenrod City]].

File:1997 GS Violet City.png|A possible prototype of [[Ecruteak City]] or a completely scrapped location.

[[Ken Sugimori]]'s artwork for {{p|Slowking}}, {{p|Marill}}, {{p|Bellossom}}, and {{p|Hoothoot}} was also released, as were several screenshots of the new {{pkmn|battle}} system featuring fully-colored sprites.

The battle screens are very similar to the final ones but the absence of [[gender]] notation is apparent. {{OBP|Pokémon|species}} gender was a previously announced feature, and the graphical indicator of the gender during battle was likely added later as a convenience to {{player}}s.

The [[move]] [[stats]] screen, which in the final release shows players the remaining and total amount of [[Power points|PP]] for each move, as well as its [[type]], was apparently not fully completed at this point in development.