Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

This page details one or more prototype versions of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

The first debug version of Pokémon Ruby to circulate on the internet (and therefore the one on which these pages and most other websites discussing them are based on) is, surprisingly, German. Its filename as released was pokemon_ruby_german_final_d.bin, with the "d" allegedly standing for "debug" or "development". The "final" suggests base game is the final game. Only a decade later, when debug builds for every regional release surfaced in mid 2020, it became clear these debug versions are "only" the commercial versions compiled with different options.

Be sure to set the Save Type to Flash 128K, and the ROM should run in most emulators/flash carts.

Test MenuTest Menu Debug MenuDebug Menu

General Info#

See also: Proto:Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, Proto:Pokémon Emerald Watch on YouTube

Menus#

The debug functions mostly use the game's existing menu system, but lack the polish of a finished product. Some menu items are in Japanese (which displays as gibberish due to font changes), some are in English, and most of the text is in German. Most submenus don't return to their parent menu when closed but just return to the game entirely, sometimes leaving textboxes or cursors on the screen. Some don't make any cursor movement sound, etc. Many options don't give any indication that they've done anything.

Some menus have multiple pages; press Left/Right to switch pages. A activates, B cancels. Some have other controls shown on the screen.

Items described as "???" don't have any apparent effect.

Debug Functions#

If the game was loaded by pressing R+A on the Continue option the player can run through walls and ignoring event triggers by holding R as they move; they can also press R+Select to warp to preset locations (the truck, the Oldale Pokémon Center, Littleroot Town, and the player's room). L immediately dives up or down, whenever applicable.

In Battles#

During any battle, press R + Select to instantly win, or Start to view the opponent's exact HP.

Pressing Start while selecting a move allows for selecting any move for animation playback. Moves can be selected using ←/→/L/R, while ↑/↓ will select a specific sub-animation (e.g. two part moves). Pressing Start will play the animation of your Pokémon using the move on the enemy Pokémon. Pressing Select will play the animation of the enemy Pokémon using the move on your Pokémon. Further, pressing L+R will return to the Fight menu, replacing the active Pokémon's first move with the selected one.

In Contests#

During the exhibition phase, Select will swap the normal display with a view of the Pokémon's scores (of the current turn, repeated twice, and cumulative), while Start will bring up a comparable move-preview feature which also shows descriptions, and pressing B will replace the last selected owned move with the one selected in the preview feature.

Link Debug#

While waiting for a link to be established, numbers appear on screen related to link information.

Build Date#

This string is present at offset 0x2084D0:

$Name: debug-Euro-2003-05-09-A $

Message Translations#

Japanese Conversion Table#

Since the Japanese font was partially replaced, some Japanese letters display incorrectly. This table lists what Japanese letters are displayed as what symbols (when they differ).