20 Hidden Secrets In Classic Pokemon Games

20 Hidden Secrets in Pokemon Games

Welcome to Mojoplays, and we are getting into the weeds here, so turn off random encounters. These are 20 Hidden Secrets in Pokemon Games. Now, I feel super unqualified to be narrating this list because I’m only a casual Pokemon fan, so if I say Nidirino instead of Nidorino, make sure to comment and let me know, I’ll definitely read it.

#20: MissingNo.

“Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow” (1996)
I’m ranking this one low because REGARDLESS of its iconic status, it’s fairly well known. I will however be saving a lesser-known MissingNo. entry for later. Although not an intentional feature, the MissingNo. glitch became one of the most famous secrets in the Pokémon series. This glitch occurs in the first-generation games when players follow a specific sequence and encounter a wild Pokémon along Cinnabar Island's coast. The game attempts to read an empty memory value reserved for Pokémon, resulting in a strange encounter. With 190 memory slots allocated for Pokémon but only 151 species, 39 slots lack complete data. Accessing these creates a "Pokémon" with no number, hence the name MissingNo.

#19: Dig Damage

“Pokémon Gold & Silver” (1999)


Here’s a fun one that does the rounds on Pokemon subreddits every few years, so make sure to let us know in the comments if we taught you this! It didn't work in the first generation of games, so some players aren't aware Earthquake can hit a Pokémon during the semi-invulnerable turn of Dig, and if it does, it will have its power doubled for that Pokémon. Dig does not make you invulnerable, and it’s a genuinely helpful skill to have Earthquake ready to ruin someone’s day.

#18: Max Friendship

“Pokémon Yellow” (1996)
In the Gold and Silver games, players must increase their Friendship stat to evolve certain Pokémon. It’s a neat feature that added another layer of depth to the game. A prototype of this mechanic appeared in Yellow, but it was limited to just Pikachu. However, players could manipulate Pikachu's Friendship stat by using a Potion on a fully healthy Pikachu. Since a healthy Pikachu doesn’t need the Potion, it won’t use it, but the Potion still increases the Friendship stat, making Pikachu like the player more. I don’t need to tell ya’ll this, but you can quite easily max out your friendship before you even know each other’s last names… Pikachu’s is Svendelburg, fun fact.

#17: Walk Through Walls

“Pokémon Red & Blue” (1996)
One of the most fascinating glitches in Pokémon Red and Blue is the Walk-Through-Walls Trick. Well, not the MOST, but at least in the top 20. To make this glitch happen, you’ve got a few options. My version involves the player tricking the game into thinking they’re still in the Safari Zone, even after leaving. One method, the ledge trick, begins with the player having a poisoned Pokémon with over 124 HP. After entering the Safari Zone and paying for the Pokémon Center, the player deposits all Pokémon except the poisoned one. When trying to leave, they must select "No" when asked. After saving, restarting, and following a series of complex steps, including jumping off a ledge, the glitch is activated, allowing the player to walk through walls and other obstacles. Ghostly.

#16: Faraway Island

“Pokémon Emerald” (2004)
In Pokémon Emerald, there is a small island off the coast of the main area that is normally inaccessible through regular gameplay. To reach it, the game must either be hacked or the player must have received a special map from Nintendo. The second option was only available during special events in Japan and Taiwan in the mid-2000s. The island itself is relatively unremarkable, being small with little to explore. Its main attraction is the incredibly rare Pokémon that can be found there. Faraway Island is the only place in the series where players can catch a wild Mew.

#15: Shiny Pokemon

“Pokémon” Series (1996-)
Starting with the second generation of Pokémon, players had the rare opportunity to encounter Pokémon with alternate color patterns, known as "shiny" variants. The term "shiny" comes from the distinctive sound effects and animations that play when a player encounters one. In the first five generations, the odds of finding a wild shiny Pokémon were 1 in 8192. Let me repeat that, 1 in 8192, less than one hundredth of 1%. This probability was increased to 1 in 4,096 in later generations. These Pokémon are identical to their regular counterparts in terms of abilities and stats, with the only difference being their unique coloration. If you’ve encountered a Shiny Pokemon accidentally as a casual player, I bet you’re losing your mind right now.

#14: Encounter Rate Changes

“Pokémon Diamond & Pearl” (2006)
In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, players may notice variations in the frequency of wild Pokémon encounters on certain days. While not immediately obvious, the game is designed to adjust encounter rates based on real-world historical dates. As a subtle detail, the developers programmed the game to reference its internal calendar, modifying encounter rates on specific holidays in both the US and internationally. Additionally, the game decreases encounter rates on dates associated with tragic historical events, such as the bombing of Hiroshima and 9/11, adding a thoughtful layer of reflection to the gameplay experience. The layer of reflection being “Where the f*** are all the Pokemon? I go back to work on the 12th.”

#13: Mewtwo

“Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow” (1996)


Though not as enigmatic as the Pokémon it was cr eated from, Mewtwo has earned a lasting legacy as one of the most famous post-game secrets in the series. Like Mew, Mewtwo is mentioned in the journals found in the Pokémon Mansion. From these journals, players learn that Mewtwo was a highly powerful and aggressive Pokémon, potentially responsible for the mansion's destruction. After becoming the Kanto Pokémon Champion, players can explore a mysterious cave north of Cerulean City, home to many strong Pokémon. At the cave's end, players will find Mewtwo, easily the most powerful Pokémon in Red, Blue, and Yellow. Shockingly, many players still don’t know Mewtwo is in the original series.

#12: The Safari Surf

“Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen” (2004)
Players can encounter rare, wild Pokémon in the Safari Zone while surfing along the East coastline. To do this, first enter the Safari Zone, then exit and head through Route 19 to Surf on the East coastline near Seafoam Islands. While surfing, players will encounter wild Pokémon from the Safari Zone, which are typically not found in water. Rare Safari Zone Pokémon, such as Chansey, Kangaskhan, and Tauros, can also be battled and caught. This "Safari Surf" is similar to the Walk-Through-Walls Trick, as both involve the game mistakenly thinking the player is still within the Safari Zone.

#11: Lvl 100 Before First Gym

“Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow” (1996)
The EXP underflow glitch, as it's commonly known, allows players to level any Pokémon to 100 before even facing the first gym. This glitch from Blue, Red and Yellow occurs due to a programming flaw, much like MissingNo. or walking through walls. Pokémon in the Medium Slow experience group, starting at level 1, were mistakenly assigned a negative experience value exceeding 16 million. Because of this bug, the game interprets these negative experience points as an enormous positive value. As a result, when a level 1 Pokémon with negative experience doesn't accumulate enough points to reach a positive range, the game assigns it level 100. Boom. Easy.

#10: Fight With Red

“Pokémon Gold & Silver” (1999)
One of the biggest surprises in Pokémon Gold and Silver is the opportunity to battle the protagonist of the original games, Red. After collecting all the badges, players can head to Mt. Silver and explore a cave beneath it. At the end of the cave, they’ll encounter Red, who challenges them to a battle. This fight is one of the toughest in the entire Pokémon series, with Red’s team of six Pokémon, all level 73 or higher. The battle is grueling for those unprepared, but defeating the original and most legendary trainer offers a tremendous sense of accomplishment. Beating yourself off has never been so hard.

#9: Fight With Prof. Oak

“Pokémon Red, Blue & Yellow” (1996)
This situation is similar to the MissingNo. glitch. Shocking, right? Professor Oak is mostly a supportive and kind figure throughout the game. However, by manipulating the game in a specific sequence, players can trigger a battle with the professor. Bet you didn’t know that did ya!? In this fight, Professor Oak has a full team of Pokémon. This suggests that it wasn’t just a glitch or error but rather a feature intentionally created by the developers. It remains unclear whether this was a scrapped part of the game or something designed purely for testing purposes. I like to imagine that it’s AI gone mad.

#8: Mew Glitch

“Pokémon Red & Blue” (1996)
The Mew glitch is one of the most famous glitches in the original generation, whilst being almost completely unknown to modern audiences. It appears in Blue, Red and the earlier Japanese versions of the games. Discovered by players in 2003, 7 years after original release, the glitch allows players to encounter and catch Mew. The method for catching Pokémon via this glitch also works on the 3DS Virtual Console. One early spot to trigger the glitch is on Route 24, where a Jr. Trainer appears west of Nugget Bridge. Players must catch an Abra, use Teleport to escape the Jr. Trainer, defeat the first Swimmer in the Cerulean Gym, and then return to Route 24 to trigger the glitch. There you go, a little Mew just for you.

#7: Glitch City

“Pokémon Red & Blue” (1996)
Technically, this is a variation of the Safari Zone Surf glitch, but this was a tough list, so let me split hairs a little. To trigger it in Red and Blue, the player enters the Safari Zone and then exits. When asked if they want to leave, they must choose "No" and return to the Safari Zone. After saving, quitting, and restarting the game, the player exits the Safari Zone again and walks 500 steps. However, the game still thinks they’re in the Safari Zone, presenting the same scenery, natural features, and landmarks, although a little... Let’s say ‘odd’ looking. Players can only escape this "Glitch City" with a Pokémon that can fly or teleport. The glitch happens because the program fails to recognize that the player has left the Safari Zone. This also activates the Walk-Through-Walls glitch, ALRIGHT FINE I’M REALLY SPLITTING HAIRS HERE.

#6: Exploit The Battle AI

“Pokémon Red & Blue” (1996)
In Pokémon Red and Blue, Power Points (PP) limit your ability to attack enemy Pokémon, while the enemy Pokémon have unlimited PP but are restricted to using type-effective moves. This restriction on the enemy’s moves can be exploited by the player. The battle AI determines the enemy's moves and item usage. For example, Giovanni, the Viridian City Gym Leader, faces a significant disadvantage because his Ground-type Pokémon are vulnerable to Water- or Grass-type moves. Similarly, a level 36 Venomoth can defeat a level 62 Dragonite, as the battle AI forces the Dragonite to use only defensive moves like Barrier. It’s a simple math problem, with all the answers online.

#5: Sony Nintendo

“Pokémon Red & Blue” (1996)
In the international versions of Red and Blue, the debug menu contains a reference to Nintendo's rivalry with Sony. Sega had been Nintendo's main competitor in the console market until it exited due to poor business decisions, allowing Sony to enter the industry. I love Sega, I’m just being factual. The rivalry between the original PlayStation and the Nintendo 64 seems to have influenced Game Freak's developers when setting default values for the player and rival characters. The developers assigned the hidden values "Ninten" to the player and "Sony" to the rival. These names are not normally visible, as players must choose their own or use preset names, which don’t include the hidden values. Thanks to hackers, we get to see just how bitchy Nintendo actually is.

#4: Hidden Safari Zone

“Pokémon Gold & Silver” (1999)
As we’ve discussed ad nauseum, The Safari Zone in Red and Blue is a wellspring of fascinating glitches and bugs. It’s also a prime location for hunting rare Pokémon not found anywhere else in the game. However, players were disappointed to learn that the Safari Zone was not included in Gold and Silver, even though it appears in later versions. It’s clear that the Safari Zone was originally planned for Gold and Silver, but the completed area was never added to the final game. Despite this, the unfinished code for the Safari Zone remains in the game, and players have been able to access the hidden area using a GameShark. Go, stay brave, be strong.

#3: Old Man Glitch

“Pokémon Red & Blue” (1996)
The grumpy old man in Viridian City is linked to a glitch in Red and Blue. ANOTHER RED AND BLUE ENTRY! THIS GAME WAS A MESS… A beautiful mess. Now remember when I said at the start of this video that I’d have a lesser known MissingNo glitch? Well this grumpy old man can be used to summon the infamous glitch pokemon. This Old Man glitch occurs when the player uses the Fly move to reach Cinnabar Island right after the old man teaches the player how to catch a Pokémon. While Surfing on the eastern coastline of the island, wild Pokémon encountered are tied to the player's name, specifically the index numbers of the characters in it. By selecting a specific name, players can encounter MissingNo. It’s borderline genius. That’s why I’m gonna name my first born child “10 Million Dollars and Heaps of Cake.”

#2: Clone A Pokemon

“Pokémon Gold & Silver” (1999)
To perform the Clone glitch, you'll need two Game Boys, two copies of Gold and Silver, two first born sons, and a linking cable. Actually don’t worry about the sons. Begin by selecting the Pokémon you want to clone on one Game Boy, and the Pokémon to be sacrificed on the other. After linking the Game Boys, head to a Pokémon Center and enter the Cable Club. From there, go to the Trade Center and trade the Pokémon you want to clone on one Game Boy and the sacrificial Pokémon on the other. Next, reset the Game Boy containing the Pokémon to be cloned, making sure not to save. If done correctly, the cloned Pokémon will appear on the other Game Boy, boom, eugenics... I think? I’m quite dumb.

#1: Rarest Pokemon

“Pokémon Red & Blue” (1996) & “Pokémon Gold & Silver” (1999)
In Red and Blue, rare Pokémon like Kangaskhan and Chansey can only be found in the Safari Zone. However, Rapidash and Fearow that can use Pay Day (Meowth’s move) are considered the rarest Pokémon in these games. Gold and Silver introduced another rare Pokémon, Dunsparce. Red and Blue also introduced trade evolutions, which allowed players to encounter unique forms of Pokémon that could only be obtained through trading. For example, Alakazam, the final evolution of Abra, evolves from Kadabra when traded, and Machamp, the final form of Machop, evolves from Machoke through trading. In Gold and Silver, players can obtain a Politoed, one of the final forms of Poliwag, by trading a Poliwhirl holding a King’s Rock. If you didn’t know any of these, legally you have to like the video. Consider yourself learnt up.