Pokémon Black and White beta

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Like previous major releases, especially those that set a new generation, Pokémon Black and White went through multiple development stages, many of which included several elements that were eventually dropped or revised before the games' release. Some of these components can still be found within their internal data.

Pre-release

Pokémon names

According to Ken Sugimori in an interview, Oshawott's Japanese name was originally ラッコマル Rakkomaru.[1] The name may be a combination of ラッコ rakko (sea otter) and 丸 maru (round; a common suffix in male Japanese names).

First partner selection screen

 
The prototype first partner Pokémon selection screen

The sprite used in the first partner Pokémon selection screen for Tepig is different in some early videos. The prototype sprite has a more triangular hind foot, with only one being visible on the sprite, and slightly different shading. Also, the silhouettes of the unselected first partner Pokémon are lighter compared to the final.

VS Sprites

Early VS sprites for Hilbert and Cheren can be seen in an early video which was broadcasted on Pokémon Sunday. Whilst Cheren's VS sprite has a few minor alteration with his eyes and shading, Hilbert's sprite received a complete overhaul. An early VS sprite for Bianca, lacking her Xtransceiver, was shown in the early video footage that came with an issue of Dengeki Nintendo DS.

In Excadrill's first appearance in a promotional video, its stripes were mirrored. However, this was not long-lived, as it was changed to its current appearance in the next video.

Sprites

 
Beta Lass sprite

One of the C-Gear prerelease appearances showed a Lass with a different sprite than it currently does.

Music

In some early footage of Route 4, The Dreamyard can be heard playing instead of the correspondent seasonal variant of Route 4.

Region name

Some retailers in the United Kingdom (specifically GAME and Gamestation) used pre-release box art using the name Alleos for the region as opposed to its final English name, Unova. This name was also used at pre-release and post-release demo events in the United Kingdom.

Locations

Castelia City

In several pre-release screenshots and video footage, Castelia City's texture is noticeably different from the final version, with at least four different variations seen before the final release.

Chargestone Cave

Pre-release screenshots of Chargestone Cave show rocks lying around the cave to be of a different shape and having a darker tone with less glow compared to the final version.

Skyarrow Bridge

On an early screenshot of within Skyarrow Bridge, a female Backpacker can be seen. This Backpacker was replaced by an Ace Trainer in the final release. However, in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, exactly the same spot is occupied by a Backpacker, just like in the screenshot. In addition, two pre-release screeshots of Skyarrow Bridge depict a slightly different skyline of Castelia City.

Pokémon Center

 
The prototype Pokémon Center shopping item list screen.

When buying items at a Pokémon Center, the part of the screen where the player can be seen is rotated.

Dream World

On early videos of Dream World, a Pikachu could be seen being encountered in the game and also later at Entree Forest indicating that it had been befriended. In the final versions, Pikachu cannot be encountered in any location in-game or in the Dream World, and the only way to catch one is transferring via the Poké Transfer.

Post-release

Items

Since the engine that powers the games is improved upon that of the Generation IV games, all items from Generation IV, including Poké Balls, Key Items and unused items, are present in the internal data, with the exception of HM07 and HM08, which are now blank space "?" items. However, most of these items are unobtainable. Other leftover items, like the God Stone, are specific to Pokémon Black and White and can be likewise obtained through modification of the saved game or cheating. Additionally, the Dragon Skull has a description but the player cannot look at it in-game since they are made to hand the Skull in before they can view the description.

Hidden Abilities

Some Pokémon are programmed to have Hidden Abilities in Generation V, but cannot legally obtain them. These Abilities may have been distributed in a later generation or are currently still not obtainable. The Litwick's line Hidden Ability was changed between Generation V and Generation VI in favor of Infiltrator.

# Pokémon Types First Ability Second Ability Hidden Ability
0144   Articuno
Ice Flying Pressure None Snow Cloak
0145   Zapdos
Electric Flying Pressure None Lightning Rod
0146   Moltres
Fire Flying Pressure None Flame Body
0152   Chikorita
Grass Grass Overgrow None Leaf Guard
0153   Bayleef
Grass Grass Overgrow None Leaf Guard
0154   Meganium
Grass Grass Overgrow None Leaf Guard
0155   Cyndaquil
Fire Fire Blaze None Flash Fire
0156   Quilava
Fire Fire Blaze None Flash Fire
0157   Typhlosion
Fire Fire Blaze None Flash Fire
0158   Totodile
Water Water Torrent None Sheer Force
0159   Croconaw
Water Water Torrent None Sheer Force
0160   Feraligatr
Water Water Torrent None Sheer Force
0243   Raikou
Electric Electric Pressure None Volt Absorb
0244   Entei
Fire Fire Pressure None Flash Fire
0245   Suicune
Water Water Pressure None Water Absorb
0377   Regirock
Rock Rock Clear Body None Sturdy
0378   Regice
Ice Ice Clear Body None Ice Body
0379   Registeel
Steel Steel Clear Body None Light Metal
0485   Heatran
Fire Steel Flash Fire None Flame Body
0495   Snivy
Grass Grass Overgrow None Contrary
0496   Servine
Grass Grass Overgrow None Contrary
0497   Serperior
Grass Grass Overgrow None Contrary
0498   Tepig
Fire Fire Blaze None Thick Fat
0499   Pignite
Fire Fighting Blaze None Thick Fat
0500   Emboar
Fire Fighting Blaze None Reckless
0501   Oshawott
Water Water Torrent None Shell Armor
0502   Dewott
Water Water Torrent None Shell Armor
0503   Samurott
Water Water Torrent None Shell Armor
0574   Gothita
Psychic Psychic Frisk None Shadow Tag
0599   Klink
Steel Steel Plus Minus Clear Body
0607   Litwick
Ghost Fire Flash Fire Flame Body Shadow Tag
0608   Lampent
Ghost Fire Flash Fire Flame Body Shadow Tag
0609   Chandelure
Ghost Fire Flash Fire Flame Body Shadow Tag
0627   Rufflet
Normal Flying Keen Eye Sheer Force Hustle
0636   Larvesta
Bug Fire Flame Body None Swarm
0637   Volcarona
Bug Fire Flame Body None Swarm
Please note that abilities marked with a superscript are only available in the stated generation or later.
  • For Generation III and IV games, ignore Hidden Abilities.

Shiny Pokémon

Every Pokémon in the game are programmed to have a Shiny variant, but some of them cannot be obtained legally. These Shiny Pokémon may have been distributed in a later generation or are currently still not obtainable.

#   Pokémon Type
0494   Victini
Psychic Fire
0643   Reshiram
Dragon Fire
0644   Zekrom
Dragon Electric
0647   Keldeo
Water Fighting
0648   Meloetta
Normal Psychic

Locations

P2 Laboratory

If the player uses the "walk through walls" cheat, enters the P2 Laboratory and keeps walking down, there will be an untextured room with a few tables in it.

This seems to be an early version of Nuvema Town with both an incorrect tile set and building set. It also has different movement permissions. For whatever reason it is placed on the same map matrix as the P2 Laboratory interior.

By JuiicyJake
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Nacrene City

A different version of Nacrene Museum exists in the game. It contains vastly different textures and modified movement permissions.

By Incineroar
This video is not available on Bulbapedia; instead, you can watch the video on YouTube here.


Unused text

Several lines of unused weather effect text appear within the internal data of Black, White, Black 2, and White 2. Notably, quotes for fog exist within the text, implying that fog functionality was planned to exist in Black and White. While the final game does include foggy locations, such as Route 15, the fog weather condition does not appear in battles.

Fog crept up as thick as soup!
The fog lifted.
The sandstorm rages.
The hail crashes down.

Unused Mystery Gift text

The game contains various placeholder text of the Mystery Gift covering as far into the future as 2020 for any possible Mystery Gift events in Generation V.

Anti-Piracy

The game will freeze at random intervals and prevent Pokémon from gaining experience points if it detects it is being played on an emulator or flash cart making progressing in the game past a certain level impossible.

References

See also


Beta versions of Pokémon games
Generation I
Red and GreenYellow
Generation II
Gold and Silver (Spaceworld '97 demo) • Crystal
Generation III
Ruby and SapphireFireRed and LeafGreenEmeraldColosseumXD
Generation IV
Diamond and PearlPlatinumHeartGold and SoulSilver
Generation V
Black and WhiteBlack 2 and White 2
Generation VI
X and YOmega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
Generation VII
Sun and MoonUltra Sun and Ultra Moon
Generation VIII
Sword and Shield
Unreleased
Pokémon Picross


  This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.