This is a sub-page of Development:Pokémon Gold and Silver.
The data that follows is pulled from the files listed below:
Battle Mechanics#
Status Immunities#
- Through at least July 23rd, there were no type immunities at all; Poison types could get poisoned, Fire types could get burned, Ice types could be frozen, etc.
- Some time between July 23rd and August 17th, the developers planned to bring back Generation I's type-matching immunity system: If the user's move matched any of the target's types, the move would either fail (if a status move) or not be able to inflict status (In the case of moves with secondary effects). The two exceptions to this would be sleep-inducing moves, which would be able to make Normal-type Pokémon fall asleep regardless, and confusion-inducing moves, which wouldn't use this system.
- By August 17th, sleep and paralysis' type-matching immunities were completely removed, allowing Electric-type Pokémon to be paralyzed by Electric-type moves and Grass-type Pokémon to be hit by Sleep Powder and Spore. Poison-type Pokémon were made immune to all Poison effects, regardless of type, which in this game only really effected the Bug-type move Twineedle. Burn and freeze kept the type-matching immunity system...
- ...which ended up causing trouble with Tri Attack; Normal-type Pokémon were immune to its burning and freezing effects. A check for Normal-type moves was added on August 20th to deal with this.
Sleep#
- The order in which sleep-only moves check whether or not the move failed was changed on August 29th. This doesn't affect how the move works, but does affect the order and frequency at which each piece of failure text appears.
99/07/23 |
99/08/29 |
|---|---|
1. Check if target is paralyzed or frozen. |
1. Check if target is holding an item that prevents Sleep. |
2. Check if target is holding an item that prevents Sleep. |
2. Check if target is paralyzed or frozen. |
3. Check for extra 25% chance that an AI opponent will miss entirely. |
3. Check if target is already asleep. |
4. Check if target is already asleep. |
4. Check if move missed. |
5. Check if target is behind a Substitute |
5. Check for extra 25% chance that an AI opponent will miss entirely. |
6. Check if move missed. |
6. Check if target is behind a Substitute |
- The number of turns that sleep lasts (counting the turn it wakes up) was originally 1-7 turns, which with Generation II's new sleep mechanics meant that a Pokémon could wake up and attack on the same turn it fell asleep. This was changed to 2-7 turns on September 5th.
Type Matchups#
- A spreadsheet from June 14th (Document\ダケモン金銀\資料old\金銀タイプ相性普(614).xls in the JP source) consists of an in-progress type chart. Type matchups are unchanged from Generation I, while the new Dark and Steel types have a number of blank spaces in the defensive columns:
:* Steel: Fire, Water, Electric.
:* Dark: Normal, Flying, Poison, Ground, Rock, Fire, Water, Grass, Electric, Ice, Dragon.
- Between June 14th and July 23rd, the following type matchups were changed:
:* Poison was changed from 2x to 1x against Bug.
:* Bug was changed from 2x to ½x against Poison.
:* Ghost was changed from 0x to 2x against Psychic.
:* Ice was changed from 1x to ½x against Fire.
- One last type matchup was changed on September 22nd: Fire went from 1x to 2x against Steel.
Wild PP Use#
Up to at least July 23rd, wild Pokémon didn't consume PP when using moves, which is identical to how they were handled in Generation I. This behavior was changed at some point before Spaceworld 1999.
Obedience#
Normally, the game rolls twice to see if an outsider Pokémon that's out of the player's obedience range can use a move; if the roll fails twice, the Pokémon will act disobedient. This is how every move worked through at least Spaceworld 1999.
At some point after August 17th, a special check was added after the first disobedience roll: If the move used was Snore or Sleep Talk, the game would not roll a second time and a special message ("
Note that when this was first added, the game didn't actually check to see if the Pokémon was asleep; that check was added on September 17th.
Weather#
When first implemented, rain and harsh sunlight raised the power of Water and Fire-type moves by 100%. Realizing this was a bit much, on September 8th, the power increase was reduced to 50%.
Move Specs#
Old Moves#
Effect Changes#
Date |
Effect |
|
|---|---|---|
Whirlwind |
1999/07/14 |
Ends fight in wild battles. Forces switch in trainer battles. |
1999/09/06 |
Ends fight in wild battles. Forces switch in trainer battles. |
|
Roar |
1999/07/14 |
Ends fight in wild battles. Forces switch in trainer battles. |
1999/09/06 |
Ends fight in wild battles. Forces switch in trainer battles. |
|
Disable |
1999/07/14 |
Disables the target's last used move for 1-8 turns. |
1999/09/14 |
Disables the target's last used move for 2-8 turns. |
|
Leech Seed |
1999/07/14 |
User plants a seed on target that leeches 1/8 of their max HP and restores same to target's foe. |
1999/09/30 |
User plants a seed on target that leeches 1/8 of their max HP and restores same to target's foe. |
|
Thunder |
1999/07/14 |
30% chance of paralyzing the target. |
1999/08/17 |
30% chance of paralyzing the target. Always hits in rain, 50% accurate in harsh sunlight. |
|
Teleport |
1999/07/14 |
If used in a wild battle, the user flees. |
1999/09/06 |
If used in a wild battle, the user flees. |
|
Defense Curl |
1999/07/14 |
Raises the user's Defense by 1 stage. |
1999/08/30 |
Raises the user's Defense by 1 stage. Doubles the power of Rollout until user switches out. |
|
Metronome |
1999/07/14 |
Performs a random move. |
1999/08/17 |
Performs a random move. |
|
1999/09/30 |
Performs a random move other than moves that the user already knows. |
|
Mirror Move |
1999/07/14 |
User performs the target's last used move. |
1999/08/17 |
User performs the target's last used move. |
|
Rest |
1999/07/14 |
User falls asleep, curing other status conditions and restoring all HP. User wakes up 2 turns later. |
1999/09/22 |
User falls asleep, curing other status conditions and restoring all HP. User wakes up 3 turns later. |
|
Conversion |
1999/07/14 |
Changes the user's type to match the type of one of the user's moves, picked at random. |
1999/09/21 |
Changes the user's type to match the type of one of the user's moves, picked at random. |
|
Tri Attack |
1999/07/14 |
30% chance of burning, freezing, or paralyzing the target. |
1999/08/30 |
20% chance of burning, freezing, or paralyzing the target. |
|
Substitute |
1999/07/14 |
User creates a substitute with 25% of their maximum HP. |
1999/08/17 |
User creates a substitute with 25% of their maximum HP. |
|
1999/09/30 |
User creates a substitute with 25% of their maximum HP. |
|
Struggle |
1999/07/14 |
User takes recoil damage equal to 1/2 damage done to target. |
1999/09/30 |
User takes recoil damage equal to 1/4 damage done to target. |
- Originally, if the player ran away or used Whirlwind, Roar, or Teleport against the shiny Gyarados or any of the minefield Pokémon in Rocket HQ, they'd briefly go back to the field before fighting the exact same Pokémon again. According to bug 919 in 金銀バグ0601-0828.xls, this was not a bug, but intentionally designed to force the player to deal with the Pokémon in question. Nevertheless, between August 17th and September 6th, the developers changed the way these battles worked by preventing the player from escaping at all.
- Disable's minimum turn count was changed from 1 to 2 turns.
- Thunder's weather-based accuracy was added between July 14th and August 17th.
- While Defense's Curl's hidden effect of doubling Rollout's damage was planned since at least August 10th, the earliest known implementation of its effect was August 30th.
- Both Metronome and Mirror Move could originally call moves that the player already knew. The change doesn't appear to have been done to fix any particular bug; using a move that the user already knows through Metronome in Spaceworld 1999 doesn't deplete that move's PP, and if the known move has 0 PP, Metronome can still execute the move successfully. Thief was blacklisted from Metronome's move list before Spaceworld 1999.
- Rest originally shared Generation I's two-turn sleep timer. In Generation I the user would be fully asleep for two turns; However, in Generation II, due to changes in how sleeping worked, the user would both wake up and get a chance to attack again on the second turn. For balance reasons (as noted in p20922E.txt), the sleep counter was later increased to three turns.
- Originally, if Conversion was used when the user knew Curse, there was a chance that the Pokémon could change into the ??? type, a type with no weaknesses, resistances, or immunities.
- Tri Attack's secondary effect chance changed from 30% to 20%, the only move on this list to have its secondary effect frequency changed.
- At first, Substitute had no effect on binding moves; the Pokémon behind the substitute would still take damage and be unable to switch out or escape. The trapping effect was removed before Spaceworld 1999, and the damaging effect was removed before September 30th.
- Struggle originally kept the 1/2 recoil damage from Generation I before it was reduced to 1/4 recoil.
Other Changes#
Date |
Type |
Pow |
Hit% |
PP |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Karate Chop |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
50 |
100 |
25 |
1999/08/23 |
Fighting |
50 |
100 |
25 |
|
Scratch |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
40 |
100 |
30 |
1999/10/11 |
Normal |
40 |
100 |
35 |
|
Whirlwind |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
85 |
20 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
20 |
|
Bite |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
60 |
100 |
25 |
1999/08/23 |
Dark |
60 |
100 |
25 |
|
Rock Throw |
1999/07/14 |
Rock |
50 |
65 |
15 |
1999/08/10 |
Rock |
50 |
90 |
15 |
|
Struggle |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
50 |
100 |
0 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
50 |
100 |
1 |
- Karate Chop and Bite kept their Generation I Normal typing through mid-August. Gust and Sand Attack were already changed by this point.
- Both Whirlwind and Rock Throw got their accuracy buffs at the same time.
- Struggle's PP changed from 0 to 1 PP. It's possible that, depending on how the game processed the move at the time, setting Struggle's max PP to 0 would cause the game to enter an infinite loop and softlock. This could also just be a cosmetic change.
- Scratch somehow lost 5 PP from Generation I, a mistake inherited from the '97 version of Gold & Silver. This was corrected in October, very late in the development process.
New Moves#
Rock Slash#
Type |
Pow |
Hit% |
PP |
Effect |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rock Slash |
Rock |
140 |
70 |
5 |
Normal attack. |
Cross Chop |
Fighting |
100 |
80 |
5 |
Increased critical hit rate. |
The only move in the 1999 revamp that was completely changed was Rock Slash (がんせきぎり), a Rock-type move with 140 power, 70 accuracy, and no other effects. It was changed to Cross Chop around August 23rd, 1999. According to p20824B.txt, the reasons the move was changed were that its "image" didn't fit (it was a move described as being able to slice through solid rock, but it was also a Rock-type move for some reason?) and it was too similar conceptually to Rock Smash.
While this move was never part of any Pokémon's learnset before it was changed, it did appear in early egg move pools for Paras, Geodude, Krabby, Pinsir, and Larvitar.
Effect Changes#
Date |
Effect |
|
|---|---|---|
Curse |
1999/07/14 |
Normally, user's Speed is lowered by 2 stages and Attack and Defense are raised by 2 stages. |
1999/09/08 |
Normally, user's Speed is lowered by 1 stage and Attack and Defense are raised by 1 stage. |
|
1999/09/13 |
Normally, user's Speed is lowered by 1 stage and Attack and Defense are raised by 1 stage. |
|
Protect |
1999/07/14 |
Protects user from the effects of the target's moves on the turn it's used. Move has priority of +2. |
1999/08/17 |
Protects user from the effects of the target's moves on the turn it's used. Move has priority of +2. |
|
Belly Drum |
1999/07/14 |
User loses half of its current HP to maximize its Attack stat. |
1999/10/14 |
User loses half of its maximum HP to maximize its Attack stat. |
|
Foresight |
1999/07/14 |
Allows user's Normal-type moves to hit a Ghost-type target until the target is switched. |
1999/09/09 |
Allows user's Normal and Fighting-type moves to hit Ghost-type targets until the target is switched. |
|
Detect |
1999/07/14 |
Protects user from the effects of the target's moves on the turn it's used. Move has priority of +2. |
1999/08/17 |
Protects user from the effects of the target's moves on the turn it's used. Move has priority of +2. |
|
Lock-On |
1999/07/14 |
User's next move will always hit unless target is switched or successfully used Protect or Detect. |
1999/09/30 |
User's next move will always hit unless target is switched or successfully used Protect or Detect. |
|
Fury Cutter |
1999/07/14 |
Each successful use doubles the move's power, with a cap of 255 power. |
1999/09/30 |
Each successful use (Up to 5) doubles the move's power, with an effective cap of 160 power. |
|
Magnitude |
1999/07/14 |
Attack's power is selected randomly between 7 values of different probability. |
1999/09/30 |
Attack's power is selected randomly between 7 values of different probability. |
|
Encore |
1999/07/14 |
Prevents target from using any move other than its last used move for 2-6 turns. |
1999/08/17 |
Prevents target from using any move other than its last used move for 2-6 turns. |
|
Vital Throw |
1999/07/14 |
Normal attack.* |
1999/08/18 |
Move has a priority of -1. Bypasses accuracy checks. |
|
Hidden Power |
1999/07/14 |
Power and type depends on the user's IVs. Power ranges from 1 to 79. |
1999/09/22 |
Power and type depends on the user's IVs. Power ranges from 31 to 70. |
|
- Curse was nerfed twice in the game's development. The first change was reducing the stat changes from 2 to 1 stage, and the second doubled the amount of HP that Ghost-types lost when using the move.
- To prevent battles from becoming a stallfest, Detect and Protect were changed to fail if the user was behind a Substitute.
- Belly Drum once took away 1/2 of the user's current HP, which made the move much easier to use. This was changed to 1/2 of the user's max HP, the last move-related change in the game.
- Foresight originally only let Normal-type moves hit Ghost-type targets. Allowing Fighting-type moves to hit Ghost-types and the move's evasion-negating effects were added near the end of the game's development.
- Lock-On was less powerful at first, having no effect on underground and airborne opponents. This was changed by putting the Lock-On check before the Dig / Fly check; however, to keep things from getting too crazy, Earthquake, Fissure, and Magnitude were prevented from hitting airborne opponents.
- Fury Cutter originally had no usage cap, with the only limiting factor being a power overflow cap of 255. It was later changed to stop doubling after the fifth successful use, though the overflow check is still in the code.
- It took a bit longer than Earthquake or Fissure for Magnitude to work on underground targets.
- Vital Throw went from a basic attack to a -1 priority move that always hits. It was meant to have a different effect early on, but it doesn't look like it was ever coded - see next section for details.
- Hidden Power originally had a 1-79 power range. To keep the move from being pathetically weak, the formula was reworked to give the move a power range of 31-70.
Other Changes#
Date |
Type |
Pow |
Hit% |
PP |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Triple Kick |
1999/07/14 |
Fighting |
60 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Fighting |
10 |
90 |
10 |
|
Mind Reader |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
5 |
|
Nightmare |
1999/07/14 |
Ghost |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Ghost |
— |
100 |
15 |
|
Curse |
1999/07/14 |
??? |
40 |
— |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
??? |
— |
— |
15 |
|
Flail |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
15 |
|
Conversion2 |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
— |
15 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
— |
30 |
|
Aeroblast |
1999/07/14 |
Flying |
100 |
90 |
5 |
1999/08/30 |
Flying |
100 |
95 |
5 |
|
Cotton Spore |
1999/07/14 |
Grass |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Grass |
— |
85 |
40 |
|
Reversal |
1999/07/14 |
Fighting |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Fighting |
1 |
100 |
15 |
|
Spite |
1999/07/14 |
Ghost |
— |
100 |
5 |
1999/08/10 |
Ghost |
— |
100 |
10 |
|
Powder Snow |
1999/07/14 |
Ice |
40 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Ice |
40 |
100 |
25 |
|
Mach Punch |
1999/07/14 |
Fighting |
40 |
100 |
15 |
1999/08/10 |
Fighting |
40 |
100 |
30 |
|
Scary Face |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
85 |
40 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
90 |
10 |
|
Faint Attack |
1999/07/14 |
Dark |
60 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Dark |
60 |
100 |
20 |
|
Sweet Kiss |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
75 |
10 |
|
Octazooka |
1999/07/14 |
Water |
65 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Water |
65 |
85 |
10 |
|
Spikes |
1999/07/14 |
Ground |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Ground |
— |
100* |
20 |
|
Foresight |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
40 |
|
Perish Song |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
5 |
|
Icy Wind |
1999/07/14 |
Ice |
20 |
100 |
10 |
1999/09/13 |
Ice |
55 |
95 |
15 |
|
Bone Rush |
1999/07/14 |
Ground |
25 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Ground |
25 |
80 |
10 |
|
Lock-On |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
— |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
— |
5 |
|
1999/08/17 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
5 |
|
Outrage |
1999/07/14 |
Dragon |
90 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Dragon |
90 |
100 |
15 |
|
Sandstorm |
1999/07/14 |
Rock |
20 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/23 |
Rock |
— |
100* |
10 |
|
Giga Drain |
1999/07/14 |
Grass |
60 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Grass |
60 |
100 |
5 |
|
Charm |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
85 |
40 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
20 |
|
False Swipe |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
40 |
100 |
20 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
40 |
100 |
40 |
|
Swagger |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
90 |
15 |
|
Fury Cutter |
1999/07/14 |
Bug |
15 |
100 |
20 |
1999/08/10 |
Bug |
15 |
95 |
20 |
|
1999/08/30 |
Bug |
10 |
95 |
20 |
|
Steel Wing |
1999/07/14 |
Steel |
70 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Steel |
70 |
90 |
25 |
|
Mean Look |
1999/07/14 |
Psychic |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
5 |
|
Attract |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
— |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
— |
15 |
|
1999/08/17 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
15 |
|
Return |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
20 |
|
Present |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
1 |
90 |
15 |
|
Frustration |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
20 |
|
Safeguard |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
1 |
100* |
25 |
|
Pain Split |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
5 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
20 |
|
Sacred Fire |
1999/07/14 |
Fire |
95 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Fire |
95 |
100 |
15 |
|
1999/08/30 |
Fire |
100 |
95 |
5 |
|
Dragonbreath |
1999/07/14 |
Dragon |
40 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Dragon |
40 |
100 |
20 |
|
1999/09/13 |
Dragon |
60 |
100 |
20 |
|
Baton Pass |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
— |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
— |
40 |
|
Encore |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
5 |
|
Pursuit |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
40 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Dark |
40 |
100 |
20 |
|
Rapid Spin |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
20 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
20 |
100 |
40 |
|
Sweet Scent |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
20 |
|
Iron Tail |
1999/07/14 |
Steel |
60 |
75 |
15 |
1999/08/10 |
Steel |
90 |
75 |
15 |
|
Vital Throw |
1999/07/14 |
Fighting |
50 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Fighting |
50 |
80 |
5 |
|
1999/08/18 |
Fighting |
70 |
— |
5 |
|
1999/08/30 |
Fighting |
70 |
— |
10 |
|
Morning Sun |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
— |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
— |
5 |
|
Synthesis |
1999/07/14 |
Grass |
— |
— |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Grass |
— |
— |
5 |
|
Moonlight |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
— |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
— |
— |
5 |
|
Hidden Power |
1999/07/14 |
??? |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
15 |
|
Twister |
1999/07/14 |
Dragon |
60 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Dragon |
60 |
100 |
20 |
|
1999/09/13 |
Dragon |
40 |
100 |
20 |
|
Rain Dance |
1999/07/14 |
Water |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Water |
— |
90* |
5 |
|
Sunny Day |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
— |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Fire |
— |
90* |
5 |
|
Mirror Coat |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Normal |
1 |
100 |
20 |
|
1999/08/23 |
Psychic |
1 |
100 |
20 |
|
Future Sight |
1999/07/14 |
Psychic |
80 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Psychic |
80 |
90 |
15 |
|
Rock Smash |
1999/07/14 |
Normal |
20 |
100 |
15 |
1999/08/10 |
Fighting |
20 |
100 |
15 |
|
Whirlpool |
1999/07/14 |
Water |
15 |
100 |
10 |
1999/08/10 |
Water |
15 |
70 |
15 |
Most of the differences here are changes to accuracy or Max PP done between July 14th and August 10th, but there a few more interesting changes:
- Pursuit, Sunny Day, Mirror Coat, and Rock Smash were all originally Normal-type moves. Mean Look was a Psychic move at first, while Hidden Power shared the same ??? type as Curse.
- Curse, Sandstorm, and Pain Split all had power values that were zeroed out by the final game. Said power values weren't actually used in any known version of the game.
- Both Sunny Day and Rain Dance's accuracy was reduced from 100 to 90. An older version of the game's fight engine does use this accuracy value, but in the final game the hit check is ignored and the moves always work. So, the reduction in accuracy ultimately amounted to nothing.
:* Spikes, Safeguard, and Sandstorm also had accuracy checks that were later commented out.
- Triple Kick is listed as 60 power, the sum of all three kicks. This was changed to match the weakest kick at 10 power at the same time the move's accuracy dropped from 100 to 90.
- Aeroblast and Sacred Fire's power and accuracy didn't match until the end of August. Prior to that, Aeroblast had 5 less accuracy. Sacred Fire once had 95 power and 100 accuracy, values that were later switched; even more frighteningly, it had 15 max PP!
- Dragonbreath and Twister had their attack powers swapped some time in September.
Spreadsheet Discrepancies#
- The earlier FMJ files give Vital Throw's effect as the following:
:* When the move hits, any physical move that the target uses on the same turn will be evaded.
:* When the move misses, any move that the target uses will auto-crit (when applicable).
- This earlier effect was assigned a unique ID of 131, but in both the early move effects code and the Spaceworld 1999 demo that ID just points to the normal attack subroutine. By August 30th its effect was changed to Swift's, and a special check was added to the priority subroutine to make it go last.
- According to the earlier FMJ files, Icy Wind was supposed to have a 100% chance of lowering the target's Speed by 2 stages. However, it was assigned effect 70, which only lowers the target's Speed by 1 stage. The effect description was fixed by the September 13th FMJ file, and this fix was accompanied by an increase in the move's power.
- All FMJ files say that Present's healing effect is a flat 80 HP. The actual healing effect, going as far back as Spaceworld 1997, is 1/4 of the target's max HP. This error in documentation made its way into the Official Nintendo Player's Guide (Page 116):
Bug Fixes#
Date Fixed |
Bug |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
99/06/21 |
Moves that forced a switch in trainer battles didn't have a check for eggs, allowing them to be pulled out into battle. |
||||
99/07/07 |
The effects of Mean Look persisted even after the Pokémon it was used on fainted and another Pokémon switched in. |
||||
99/07/11 |
Using Minimize with battle animations off would not change the user's sprite. The player would have to access a different menu (items, party, etc.) and then go back to the battle screen to update the sprite. |
||||
99/07/14 |
Transformed Pokémon used their original cry for Growl, Roar, etc. instead of the Pokémon they transformed into. |
||||
99/07/18 |
Thunder, Tri Attack and Flame Wheel all had 100% chances of their secondary effects triggering instead of 30, 30, and 10%. |
||||
99/07/25 |
If a Pokémon used Conversion2 after the target had used the Ghost-type version of Curse, the game would freeze trying to figure out what the ??? type resisted. A check was added to make the move fail against ???-type moves. |
||||
99/07/26 |
If a Pokémon used Metronome and then the other Pokémon used Spite, Spite would try to reduce the PP of the move it chose instead of Metronome. |
||||
99/07/26 |
If a Pokémon used Transform with battle animations off, its sprite would not change to the copied Pokémon's sprite. The player would need to go to a different menu and then back to the battle screen for the sprite to update. |
||||
99/07/26 |
When battle animations were turned off, a user's Substitute would remain on-screen even if after it was knocked out. |
||||
99/08/01 |
Rage only consumed PP the first time it was used after a Pokémon switched in. This seems to have been behavior left over from Generation I, where it acted as a continuous move. |
||||
99/08/01 |
If a Pokémon used Mirror Move and then the other Pokémon used Spite, Spite would try to reduce the PP of the copied move instead of Mirror Move. |
||||
99/08/08 |
If a Pokémon was behind a Substitute and used a multi-strike move, they would switch in and out with the Substitute for each hit. This was fixed to only happen once after the move was used. |
||||
pre-99/08/17 |
Thief isn't supposed to be able to steal held mail. While this check was present in the player's copy of the code, it was missing from the enemy's copy, which would cause desynchronization issues in linked battles. |
||||
pre-99/08/17 |
Present did not get STAB and bypassed Ghost-type's immunity. This was a result of the move not using the standard damage subroutine; a call to a simplified STAB subroutine was added to address this. |
||||
pre-99/08/17 |
Baton Pass lacked a check to see if there was a valid member to switch with, which could lead to the player getting soft-locked on the party menu if all other Pokémon had fainted. |
||||
pre-99/08/17 |
Future Sight originally did not have a check to see if it was charging, meaning that the the user could reset the counter by using the move again. |
||||
99/08/27 |
Baton Pass did not clear the user's Nightmare and Disable flags before switching to another Pokémon. |
||||
99/08/30 |
If a wild Pokémon used Bide and the player tried and failed to capture it, the wild Pokémon would remain in the Bide state while still being able to select other moves. |
||||
99/08/30 |
Prior to this date, it was not possible to Counter moves that did recoil damage (Double-Edge, Take Down, etc.) |
||||
99/08/30 |
Moves that made the screen flash (invert) had a few issues:
To fix both issues, the main animation subroutine was changed to hide the user's health bar for the duration of their animation. |
||||
99/08/30 |
A Pokémon could use Teleport to run away even if they were under the effect of Mean Look or Spider Web. |
||||
99/08/30 |
Ancientpower did not increase Attack due to a missing call at the start of its subroutine. |
||||
pre-99/08/31 |
Calling a charging move through Sleep Talk led to one of two bugged outcomes:
To fix this, Bide, Dig, Fly, Razor Wind, Sky Attack, Solar Beam, and Mimic (In case the target were to perform a charging move) were blacklisted from Sleep Talk. |
||||
99/08/31 |
It was still possible to select Skull Bash from Sleep Talk. |
||||
99/09/08 |
While Sleep Talk could no longer use charging moves, they could still be called if Sleep Talk used Metronome. Rater than blacklist those moves entirely, a sleep check was added to the start of the charge subroutine instead. |
||||
99/09/13 |
Rest cured poison, but did not reset Toxic's incremental poison counter. This was a bug that had persisted since Generation I. |
||||
99/09/13 |
When using Destiny Bond, if the target used Explosion or Selfdestruct and the damage from the explosive move caused the Pokémon using Destiny Bond to faint, Destiny Bond's text and animation would play even though the target had fainted. |
||||
99/09/15 |
Baton Pass did not clear the user's Attract, Transform, Encore, and "last used move" flags before switching to another Pokémon. |
||||
99/09/21 |
Neither Counter nor Mirror Coat respected type immunities: Counter could hit Ghost-type Pokémon despite being a Fighting-type move, and Mirror Coat could hit Dark-type Pokémon even though it's a Psychic-type move. |
||||
99/09/23 |
...and two days later, the same check was added to Mirror Coat's subroutine. |
||||
99/09/23 |
Selecting Sleep Talk would freeze the game if all of the player's other moves were blacklisted. |
||||
99/09/28 |
In a bug that lingered since Generation I, being fully paralyzed during the second phase of Dig / Fly would lead to the user being stuck underground / in the air respectively until successfully executing that move. |
||||
99/09/28 |
As a result of using a simplified STAB check, Present didn't play the right type effective-based sound effect when it did damage. A call to the standard STAB subroutine was added to the start of the move's subroutine, introducing a worse bug: |
||||
99/09/30 |
Damaging moves that had confusion as a side effect, such as Psybeam and Dizzy Punch, did not check if the target was behind a substitute, allowing them to inflict confusion on the target regardless. |
||||
pre-99/09/30 |
Whirlwind had always been intended to be able to hit airborne opponents, but the check didn't work. Specifically, the check was missing the "ret z" opcode on this line so it didn't actually do anything. |
||||
pre-99/09/30 |
Transform's animation bugged out if the user was behind a substitute.
|
||||
pre-99/09/30 |
Rollout did not have a sleep check, which would lead to the same issues that charging moves had when called through Sleep Talk. A check was added some time between SW99 and September 30th that makes Rollout a single turn move. |
||||
99/10/05 |
Pokémon under the effects of Mist could still have their stats lowered by moves with secondary effects. |
Miscellaneous#
- If the healing variant of Present triggers against a target with full HP and battle animations are off, the game prints a special message ("
can't receive the gift!") This was added sometime between July 23rd and the Spaceworld 1999 demo. - Pay Day (ねこにこばん) used hiragana for "neko" even though it's been spelled with katakana (ネコにこばん) since Pocket Monsters Red & Green. This mistake, which dates all the way back to the Spaceworld 1997 demo, was finally corrected around August 30th.
- On September 22nd, the move ホネホネロック, Bone Bone Rock, was renamed to ボーンラッシュ, Bone Rush, due to potential legal issues. Specifically, the original name was used for the B-side of the 1976 single パタパタママ.
- Rapid Spin's text for clearing Leech Seed and Spikes from the field was added at some point between the Spaceworld 1999 demo and September 30th.
Move Descriptions#
|
|
'...But does it make sense?' |
Common Differences#
- Conversion2, Megahorn, Rock Slash, Mirror Coat, and Psych Up all have descriptions of コメントさくせいちゅう (Comment under construction) in the July 13th file. By August 10th they all received proper descriptions.
- The following moves originally used the descriptions of their Spaceworld 1997 counterparts as filler:
99 Move |
97 Move |
Changed By |
|---|---|---|
のろい |
クギをうつ |
1999/08/10 |
エアロブラスト |
こばんなげ |
1999/08/10 |
こごえるかぜ |
シンクロ |
1999/08/10 |
あまいかおり |
えさをまく |
1999/09/09 |
メタルクロー |
いしあたま |
1999/08/18 |
しんそく |
ひっこぬく |
1999/08/18 |
げんしのちから |
かぜにのる |
1999/08/30 |
- The following moves had the text クリティカルヒット, (Critical hit) changed to きゅうしょに あたり, (Hit a pressure point) to match the in-battle critical hit text, "きゅうしょに あたった!" According to p20902.txt, all of these were changed around September 1st:
Early |
Final |
|
|---|---|---|
Karate Chop |
チョップで てきを こうげき |
チョップで てきを こうげき |
Razor Leaf |
はっぱで てきを きりつける |
はっぱで てきを きりつける |
Focus Energy |
こうげきに きあいを こめて |
こうげきに きあいを こめて |
Crabhammer |
ハサミを てきに たたきつける |
ハサミを てきに たたきつける |
Slash |
するどいカマや ツメなどで こうげき |
するどいカマや ツメなどで こうげき |
Aeroblast |
しんくうはを はっしゃして こうげき |
しんくうはを はっしゃして こうげき |
Cross Chop |
りょうてチョップで てきを こうげき |
りょうてチョップで てきを こうげき |
- The following moves had the word "paralysis" changed from the katakana マヒ to the hiragana まひ to match how paralysis is written in battle and on the status screen. According to p21009.txt, all of these were changed around October 8th:
Early |
Final |
|
|---|---|---|
Thunderpunch |
でんげきをこめた パンチで こうげき |
でんげきをこめた パンチで こうげき |
Body Slam |
からだごと たおれこんで こうげき |
からだごと たおれこんで こうげき |
Stun Spore |
しびれる こなを ふりまき |
しびれる こなを ふりまき |
Thundershock |
でんげきを あびせて こうげき |
でんげきを あびせて こうげき |
Thunder Bolt |
つよいでんげきを あびせて こうげき |
つよいでんげきを あびせて こうげき |
Thunder Wave |
よわいでんげきを てきに ぶつけて |
よわいでんげきを てきに ぶつけて |
Thunder |
てきに むかって かみなりを おとす |
てきに むかって かみなりを おとす |
Lick |
ながいしたで なめまわして こうげき |
ながいしたで なめまわして こうげき |
Glare |
おなかの もようで てきを いかくし |
おなかの もようで てきを いかくし |
Zap Cannon |
あたりにくいが ダメージは おおきい |
あたりにくいが ダメージは おおきい |
Spark |
でんきを まとって とっしんする |
でんきを まとって とっしんする |
Other Changes#
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Fury Attack |
とがった ツノを つかい |
とがった ツノなどを つかい |
Early description only mentions horns, but Beedrill, Spearow, etc. can learn it. |
User jabs the foe with a sharp horn |
User jabs the foe with a sharp horn, etc. |
||
Double Team |
ぶんしんで てきを まどわせ |
ぶんしんで てきを まどわせ |
Corrected to match the move's actual effect. |
Creates illusory copies to perplex the foe, |
Creates illusory copies to perplex the foe. |
||
Confuse Ray |
あやしいひかりで てきを '''まどわし |
あやしいひかりで てきを |
Small change in formatting. |
A sinister ray of light that |
A sinister ray of light |
||
Constrict |
2ー5ターンのあいだ ながいからだや |
てきに からみついて こうげきする |
Old description mistakenly duplicates the description of Wrap. |
User uses its long body or vines |
User twists around the foe and attacks. |
||
Fury Swipes |
てきを するどいツメで ひっかいて |
するどいツメやカマなどで ひっかいて |
Changed because Mankey, Scyther, etc. don't have claws but can still learn it. |
Scratches the foe with a sharp claw |
Scratches with a sharp claw, sickle, etc. |
||
Foresight |
ゴーストタイプの てきに |
わざが あたりにくくなった てきに |
Description changed to match the new effect. |
Allows the user's Normal-type moves |
Allows the user to hit targets |
||
Fury Cutter |
れんぞくで あてれば どんどん |
れんぞくで あてると |
Simplified to be more accurate on how the move works. |
If it hits in succession, |
When it hits in succession, |
||
Sacred Fire |
しんぴてきな ほのおで こうげき |
しんぴてきな ほのおで こうげき |
Old description dates back to Spaceworld 1997. |
Attacks with a mystical fire. |
Attacks with a mystical fire. |
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Quick Attack |
ものすごい はやさで うごいて |
ものすごい はやさで うごいて |
A Pokémon can outspeed a Quick Attack if they also use a high-priority move and have a higher Speed stat. |
Move incredibly quickly |
Move incredibly quickly |
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Vital Throw |
こうげきを うけずに こうげきできる |
あとぜめに なるが |
Old text details the move's originally intended but never implemented effect. |
User can attack without being attacked. |
The user attacks last, but |
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Haze |
くろいきりが からだを おおい |
くろいきりに おおわれ のうりょくの |
The later text shifts emphasis to the user instead of the fog and is more clear on what the move does. |
A haze covers the user's body, |
The user covers its body in a haze, |
||
Rock Slash / |
かたいいわを きりさく いきおいで |
りょうてチョップで てきを こうげき |
Obviously, the description needed to be rewritten when the move changed. |
Attacks the enemy with |
Attacks the foe with a two-handed chop. |
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Psywave |
てきに 1ーレベル×1.5の |
ふしぎな ねんぱで てきを こうげき |
The old description is more clear on what the move does. |
Randomly deals 1 to Level×1.5 |
Attacks the foe with a strange |
||
Nightmare |
てきが ねてるあいだ たいりょくを |
てきが ねてるあいだ たいりょくを |
Old description carried over from Spaceworld 1997. |
While the foe is sleeping, they will take |
While the foe is sleeping, they will take |
||
Metal Claw |
かたいツメで てきを こうげき |
かたいツメで てきを こうげき |
Old text is inaccurate. Even in July, the chance to raise Attack was 10%. |
User attacks the foe with rigid claws. |
User attacks the foe with rigid claws. |
||
Vital Throw |
あとぜめに なるが |
あとぜめに なるが かならず |
Minor formatting change. |
The user attacks last, but |
The user attacks last, but the move |
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Minimize |
からだを ちぢめて ちいさくなり |
からだを ちぢめて ちいさくなり |
Same change as Double Team. |
Shrinks the user's body. |
Shrinks the user's body. |
||
Conversion |
じぶんに テクスチャーを はりつけて |
おぼえている わざの タイプの |
The early description matches how the move works in Generation I. |
User applies a texture to itself that |
Changes the user's type to match |
||
Curse |
すばやさを ガクッとさげ こうげきと |
ゴーストタイプと それいがいとでは |
Old description doesn't mention that it works differently for Ghost types. |
Sharply lowers the user's Speed and sharply |
Works differently for Ghost types |
||
Flail |
たいりょくが すくないほど |
じぶんの たいりょくが すくないほど |
Changed to clarify that it's the user's own HP that affects the attack. |
The less HP, the more |
The less HP the user has, the more |
||
Protect |
そのターンの こうげきを うけない |
そのターンの こうげきを うけない |
Added a line to mention the move's declining success rate. |
The user will evade all attacks this turn. |
The user will evade all attacks this turn. |
||
Belly Drum |
おなかを たたいて てきを いかく |
じぶんの たいりょくを けずって |
Old text doesn't note the self-inflicted damage or the exact Attack increase. |
User beats its belly to threaten the foe. |
User reduces its own HP in order to |
||
Spikes |
てきが にげるときに わなを しかけ |
てきの あしばに わなを しかけ |
Description changed because the trap is set up immediately after use. |
When the enemy escapes, sets a trap |
Sets a trap around the enemy's feet |
||
Detect |
てきの うごきを みきることで |
てきの こうげきを かならずよける |
Old description is circa Spaceworld 1997, when it was a Lock-On clone. |
User anticipates the foe's movements, |
User evades the enemy's attack. |
||
Endure |
つぎのターンで こうげきを うけても |
そのターンで こうげきを うけても |
The effect only works on the turn it's used, so the old description is inaccurate. |
The next turn, if the user gets hit, |
On this turn, if the user gets hit, |
||
Attract |
オスなら メスに メスなら オスに |
オスなら メスに メスなら オスに |
Old text is misleading. The chance to not attack was 50% since at least July. |
If user and foe are opposite genders, |
If user and foe are opposite genders, |
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Crunch |
てきの とくしゅぼうぎょを |
するどい はでてきを かみくだく |
The old description only describes the move's effect. |
May lower the foe's Special Defense. |
Crunches the enemy with sharp teeth. |
||
Shadow Ball |
てきの とくしゅぼうぎょを |
くろいかたまりを なげて こうげき |
Again, the old description only describes the move's effect. |
A move that may lower the foe's |
User hurls a black blob at the foe. |
||
Rock Smash |
てきの ぼうぎょを 1だんかい |
いわを くだく いきおいで こうげき |
Once more, the old description only describes the move's effect. |
May lower the foe's Defense by 1 stage. |
User attacks with rock-crushing force. |
Early |
Final |
Notes |
|
|---|---|---|---|
Bubblebeam |
みずを いきおいよく はっしゃする |
あわを いきおいよく はっしゃする |
Changed to match the move's name and animation. |
Forcefully sprays water at the foe. |
Forcefully sprays bubbles at the foe. |
||
Peck |
ながい くちばしを つかって |
くちばしなどを つかって |
Changed to account for the Goldeen line. |
Attacks the foe with a long beak. |
Attacks the foe with a beak, etc. |
||
Dream Eater |
てきに あたえた ダメージの |
ねているてきに あたえた ダメージの |
Clarified to note that the target has to be asleep to work. |
Restores half the damage dealt to |
Restores half the damage dealt to |
||
Icy Wind |
すごい れいきで てきを こうげき |
すごい れいきで てきを こうげき |
Early text mentions the never-implemented two stage Speed reduction. |
A great chilling wind that damages |
A great chilling wind that damages |
||
Steel Wing |
つばさを おおきく ひろげて |
かたいつばさを おおきく ひろげて |
The adjective かたい (Hard, rigid) was added as a descriptor to the wings. |
User spreads its wings wide to |
User spreads its rigid wings wide to |
||
Attract |
オスなら メスに メスなら オスに |
オスなら メスに メスなら オスに |
The old text sounds more like it affects the foe's Accuracy, which it doesn't. |
If user and foe are opposite genders, |
If user and foe are opposite genders, |
||
Return |
よくしてくれる かいぬしの ために |
よくしてくれる トレーナーの ために |
Old description incorrectly uses かいぬし (Pet owner) instead of trainer. |
The user attacks the foe with all its might |
The user attacks the foe with all its might |
||
Encore |
てきが さいごに つかった わざを |
てきが さいごに つかった わざを |
A small fix: Encore can last either 2-5 or 3-6 turns depending on turn order. |
The foe will repeat its last move for |
The foe will repeat its last move for |
||
Pursuit |
てきが にげるときに つかうと |
あいてが こうかんするときに |
The effect only works on switched-out Pokémon, not fleeing Pokémon. |
If used when a foe is fleeing, |
If used when a foe is switching out, |
||
Future Sight |
2ターンごに てきを こうげきする |
せいしんりょくを たかめて |
One last time, the old description only describes the move's effect. |
Attacks the foe 2 turns later. |
Heightens the user's mental strength. |
(Translation support: N. Onymous)