Unseen Graphics

This is a sub-page of Pokémon Red and Blue.

These are graphics never seen in gameplay, including leftover graphics from Red and Green.

Super Game Boy Border Tiles#

Pokémon Red	Pokémon Blue

Red and Blue still have all the tiles for the original Japanese "Pocket Monsters!" Super Game Boy border logo. Said tiles were removed entirely in subsequent localized versions.

Game Freak Tiles#

While these tiles are used in the Japanese versions, during the "Game Freak" portion of the intro, they never show up in the localized versions despite still being loaded into VRAM. The same situation happens with Yellow, with the tiles being loaded, but only used in the original Japanese version.

Title Screen Version Tiles#

The English version of Red contains the subtitle tiles used in the Japanese-only Green version. The English Blue, as well as all other localized versions, lack the "GREEN" subtitle tiles entirely.

Unused Font Characters#

The Link Battle font set that contains unique characters for "V" and "S" characters used in Link Battles also has tiles for the Latin letters A through M. The font originally contained every letter of the alphabet, but most of them were overwritten with other tiles. The font returns in Gold and Silver, which still only uses the "V" and "S" characters.

Unused Reaction#

There are three kinds of reaction bubbles, like emoticons, that exist in the overworld data. The first is the Exclamation Mark seen when a trainer spots you, the second is a smiling face for the player gambling in the Game Corner, and the unused third reaction consists of a Question Mark. Likely intended for a reaction when someone was puzzled or confused, this sprite was repurposed in Yellow, which expanded the reaction system, and assigned this Question Mark emote to an event where Pikachu is intrigued by Bill's transporter mishap.

Fishing Hook Sprite#

Found in the overworld spriteset for the Fishing Rod is this unused sprite resembling a lure. It still exists in the data of Generation II games, just as unused as before.

Unused Overworld Sprites#

Daisy#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

The rival's sister, Daisy, only moves up and down, leaving her side walking sprites unused. Interestingly, this spriteset was originally used as a placeholder for the Link Cable nurses in the Spaceworld 1999 demo of Gold and Silver, thus making her side walking sprites used, even if just for a short while.

Middle-Aged Woman#

The middle-aged woman NPC only moves up and down, and never left to right. This spriteset actually lacks a proper sideways walking sprite, instead reusing the static side sprite of the generic ponytail girl NPC. This oversight was corrected in Yellow, though the animation remains unused and unseen even there.

Middle-Aged Man#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

The middle-aged man NPC only moves left and right, leaving his front and back walking sprites unused. These sprites were later used in Gold and Silver, as this spriteset was assigned to the newly introduced Pokéfan class.

Giovanni#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Giovanni has sprites for him walking up, as well as left and right, though they are never used in the final game. Giovanni disappears with a black, fade out screen transition in his few game appearances, meaning there's never an opportunity for him to walk away from the player.

Mr. Fuji#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Mr. Fuji has a full set of walking sprites, though he only stands in one spot ingame. Mr. Fuji in Gold and Silver lacks a unique appearance, instead sharing his appearance with the generic Old Man sprites, Crystal assigns these sprites to the Dragon Shrine elders, using every sprite but the walking North one due to an ingame cutscene.

Koga#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Not only does Koga use a unique overworld sprite, he also has a full set of unused walking sprites.The internal names for the overworld sprites reveal that this spriteset was intended for the Blackbelt trainer class, which was later assigned the Burly Man graphics in the final games. Blackbelts were given these graphics back in Gold and Silver, putting them to full use.

Elite Four#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

All members of the Elite Four have a full set of walking sprites, though these characters all stand in one spot and never walk. Lance's walking sprites were later used in Gold and Silver, during the raid on Mahogany Town's secret Rocket Hideout.

Unused Tiles#

Tileset 01#

The tileset shared between the player and Copycat's houses have two tiles that look like a white rectangle. An earlier iteration of the same blockset reveals that this rectangle was once the graphic used for the top surfaces of wardrobes or bookshelves. These tiles are never referenced in any block.

Tileset	Unused Tiles

Tileset 02#

The NPC house tileset, a modified version of Player's House tileset 01, has a few extra tiles from that tileset that aren't used for NPC houses, like: the PC, both types of stairs, and the white rectangle. The PC is the only one referenced in a block, and as a leftover from blockset 01.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Tileset 04#

Within Vermillion City's Harbor set are a few unseen tiles: Red and Green styled signs, a dock piling or a bollard, and an odd water tile with a thin black outline on the right and bottom sides. The outlined water looks like it should be used alongside the docked S.S. Anne, but it doesn't fit there, hinting it was meant for an earlier design.

The bollards and sign are present within the metaltiles, and a mockup using them can be seen below.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Original	Mockup

Tileset 06#

Route 23's tileset was built upon the Overworld tileset 00, with a few orphaned leftovers from that set: the upper-floor house tiles, and two instances of the checkered roof tile, which is only found in the Red and Green version of tileset 00.

An edited version of the rock formation set exists here, too. It may have been intended for the Victory Road Cave entrance, which in the final, is a building wall and not at all a natural formation.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Tileset 07#

The shared Lab, Gym, and Elite 4 room tileset contains a few unused tiles: a piece of a wall, a part of a desk, and a pier tile found in tileset 00. The early Gym blockset made use of these tiles, meaning these three are leftover from an earlier version of this tileset. These tiles are not referenced in any block.

Tileset	Unused Tiles

This tileset features an alternate flower design, resembling one that is in Red and Green's version of its Overworld tileset 00, sans outline. It's a placeholder, with the game overwriting this copy with the animated flower. It's a leftover from Red and Green's development, and can be seen in pre-release screenshots.

Original	Mockup

Tileset 08#

A tileset shared between both Pokémon Centers and Marts. It has an unused couch tile, which doesn't fit anywhere. An earlier version of this tileset reveals this was intended for left-facing couches. It's not referenced in any block.

Tileset	Unused Tiles

Tileset 09#

The shared Pewter City Museum and Gate House tileset has an unused version of the Gate House window frame. This tile is not referenced in any block.

Tileset	Unused Tiles

Tileset 0A#

The shared Viridian Forest and Safari Zone tileset has a water-resting variant of the rock pile tile, as well up and down ladder tiles that are never used in either area. These were once used in an early version of Cerulean Cave, when it still shared this tileset.

There's also the unused Pokémon Center sign, that's present in appropriate metatiles, alongside the rocks and ladders.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Original	Mockup

Tileset 0B#

A tileset primarily used for both Silph Co. and Cinnabar Mansion. It has a few unused tiles, like sideways entrance carpets, carpeted floor or grass, a hole in the floor, and a floor switch that was replaced by the Rhydon statues.

The last two tiles form a destroyed wall, appropriate for an old, decrepit building. Most tiles are referenced in blocks, and the water ones are interesting as early encounter data for Cinnabar Mansion indicates wild Pokémon were meant to be caught here.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Original	Mockup

Tileset 0C#

The tileset used for the Pokémon Tower was built on top of the shared Cinnabar Mansion and Silph Co. tileset 0B, with a few orphaned tiles as a result. These include an unfinished version of a vertical closed door, the edge of a floor hole, and a dark tiled floor. The metatiles reveal that the darker tiled floor would have been used for floor shading, something which is seen in an earlier iteration of the Pokémon Tower.

A light source block is also in the metatiles, this one likely related to the unrealized lighthouse.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Original	Mockup

Tileset 0D#

The cave tileset has a few unused tiles, like a small rock, an icy rock formation, and a decorative boulder that resembles the Strength boulders. These tiles are not referenced in any block.

Tileset	Unused Tiles

Original	Mockup

Tileset 0E#

The Celadon Department Store tileset has two unused tiles: A left table leg, and a dark checkered tile. These are not referenced in any block.

Tileset	Unused Tiles

Tileset 10#

A shared tileset for the Bike Shop and Cable Club. It contains tiles for a PC with a stool in front of it, and two, ill-matching sign halves. The sign isn't in the metatiles, but the PC is, though using standard checkered tiles, not the white floor used for the Cable Club.

A mockup showing how it would've looked in the Trade Center or Colosseum is included below.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Original	Mockup

Tileset 11#

The Pokémon Lab tileset has two tiles that make up some pole fencing. Referenced in a few blocks, with some arranging these in front of a wall.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Tileset 12#

The Underground Path tileset has a few unused tiles, like checkered tile, corner wall tiles, and end caps for the neon tube-looking lighting fixtures. All but the checkered tile were used in a scrapped underground path that would have connected Route 5 and 7.

Tileset	Unused Tiles	Related Block

Original	Mockup

Unused Blocks#

Tileset 00#

Red and Green	Red and Blue

• Bollards on water (04, 16 and 17).
• Sandy ledges (46 and 4A).
• Bollards on grass (53).
• Water edges bottleneck (66). Originally used in an earlier iteration of Pallet Town.

Tileset 01#

Original	Mockup

• Bare wall (03). Only the wall with a window (05) ever gets used.
• A Standalone SNES (06). Perhaps there once was a block for the TV, and one for the console. In the final games both are on the same block (ID 0D).
• A Standalone stool (0E). May have been intended as a desk chair for Red's room.

Tileset 02#

• Back wall (03). Only the wall with a window (05) ever gets used.
• A windowed wall duplicate (08) (used is 05).
• The PC on its desk (10 and 11). Leftovers from Blockset 01, same ID. Might have possibly been used in your rival's house.

Tileset 03#

• Bare wall (05). Intended for the Celadon Condominiums. The back wall for the rooms are never bare.
• Wall with a table (2E). Doesn't fit anywhere, and lacks the other end for it.
• Raised floor variations (30, 34 and 35).
• Wall counter (31, 39, 3A) (31 has a duplicate at ID 38).
• Bare wall (32). May have been used for the back staircase in the Celadon Condominiums.
• Raised floor with two bottom shelves (37). Doesn't fit anywhere.
• Roof condo connector variation (3C). Lacks part of the border (used is 21).

Tileset 04#

• Full floor duplicate (00) (used is 0C).
• Floor with a sign (14).
• Floor with bollards (02).

Tileset 05#

• Bottom wall duplicate (1B) (used is 26).
• Wall formations (1C, 1F, 29, 2B, 2C, 2D, 2F and 30).

Tileset 06#

• Rock formations (03, 05 to 07, 09, 0B to 0D, 2D to 30, and 39). An earlier iteration of Route 23 originally made use of some of these blocks.
• Sign on sandy ground (08). Ditto.
• Sandy ground (0E). Ditto.
• Tree formations (0F, 19, 20, 23, 24, 33 and 34) (23 and 24 have duplicates at 31 and 32). Ditto for some of these.
• Water border corners (10 and 11). Again, ditto.
• Rhydon statues on dirt floor (25 and 26). Only the statues on tiled floor (42 and 43) are used.

Tileset 07#

• Right side wall duplicate (4F) (used is 4C).
• Left side wall (71). Only the right side equivalent (53) is used.

Tileset 08#

• Full floor duplicate (03) (used is 0F).
• Counter with shadow (06) (used is 07). Intended for Pokémon Center, in front of the second healing machine.
• Floor with shadow (11) (used is 19). Intended for the Pokémon Marts. Almost identical to block ID 19, aside from having one less shadow tile, making it align with the counter.
• PC on its desk, lacking seat (1C) (used is 23). Intended for the Celadon Hotel, which once featured a PC.

Tileset 09#

• Bottom left counter duplicate (12) (used is 47).
• Bottom right counter (13).
• Top left counter duplicate (1A) (used is 61).
• Corner counter (20, 22, and 24).
• Floor with two chairs (4E).
• Top middle counter duplicate (25) (used is 51).
• Right corner counter (55).
• Back wall with two doors (5D). Intended for the Viridian Forest gate houses, though only the one door variant (73) gets used.

Tileset 10#

• Full ground duplicate (00) (used is 1B).
• Stumps with tall grass (08 to 0F).
• Bushes with tall grass (10 to 13).
• Cabin with Poké sign (1A) (used is 1C). Intended for the Safari Zone, whose rest houses once served as Pokémon Centers.
• Half ground half stump duplicates (1E and 17) (used is 35 and 39).
• Tall grass and flowers duplicate (2F) (used is 01).
• Curve bottom water tall grass (30 to 32).
• Ground with stumps (34, 36, 38 and 3A).
• Rocky formation with a sign on top (4E and 61) (used is 3E and 43).
• Water tile boulder formations (5F, 60, 68 to 6B, 6E and 73).
• Boulder (62).
• Ladder set (64 to 67). Originally used in an earlier iteration of Cerulean Cave.
• Boulder formations (63, 6C, 6D, 6F to 72). Ditto.
• Cliff and water formations (74 to 7B). Ditto.

Tileset 11#

• Rug blocks (04, 05 and 08).
• Sliding floor blocks (14 and 4D).
• Stair blocks (21 and 32).
• Table with floor (25).
• A wall with back-facing machines (28).
• Carpet blocks (30 and 4C).
• Incorrect destroyed wall (4B).
• A Rhydon statue sitting on top of a machine (5E). Doesn't really fit anywhere.
• Wall block (72).
• Water borders (75 and 76).
• Floor switch (78).

Tileset 12#

• Left corner void block duplicate (14) (used is 04).
• Shadow tiles (0F, 18 to 1A). Originally used in an earlier iteration of the Pokémon Tower.
• Stair blocks (1B, 21 and 32). Ditto.
• Shadow counter (22 to 24). Ditto.
• Corner block (1F).
• Back wall blocks (26 to 2B, 2E and 2F). Ditto, again.
• Light source (2C).
• Doors (2D and 3B). Ditto.
• Bottom block duplicates (37 and 38) (used is 1D).
• Shadow block (34).
• Void blocks (3C to 3E).
• Walls with shadow (40 to 44 and 46 to 4A).
• Left side Rhydon statue (45). Only the right side statue (4B) is used.
• Double beds (43).
• Blocks and graves formations (59, 5C, 62 to 64).
• Blocks and graves formations shadow (6B).

Tileset 13#

• Slab blocks (34 to 36, 3A, 3B and 43).
• Corner wall (46).
• Rocks and floor (50).
• Rock formations (55, 56, 59, 5A, 5C, 5D, 64, 73, 7B and 7E).
• Bottom left hole (68)
• Ground with rocks (6E). Used in Cerulean Cave B1F, though only in the Red and Green and Yellow layouts.

• Rock floor with boulder (12). Interesting in that it is only used in Cerulean Cave B1F's Red and Blue layout.

Tileset 14#

• Full floor duplicate (13) (used is 0B).
• Top shelf display (22) (used is 0E). Intended for the top of the shelves either on Celadon Mart 1F or 3F.
• Bottom shelves on checkered floor (23) Intended for Celadon Mart roof. Lacks a corresponding top block.
• Elevator on checkered floor (35). Intended for Celadon Mart Roof.
• Full grey block. Intended for Celadon Mart Roof.
• Bare elevator wall (45). Intended for the Rocket Hideout elevator.
• Elevator wall gap (4E). Intended for the Rocket Hideout elevator, makes a path that goes alongside the elevator entrance.

Tileset 15#

• Floor with stool (08). Was originally used in a scrapped variation of the S.S.Anne cabins.
• Corner bed with door (3C) (used is 38). Ditto.

Tileset 16#

• PCs on tiled floor (0C and 0D).
• Half floor half void (0F). May have been intended for the edges of the rooms.
• Floor pattern. Doesn’t fit with any known floor‑marking design.

Tileset 17#

• Grey corner blocks (1A to 1C). Appears to be some sort of counter or table. Doesn't fit anywhere.
• Poles (1F and 23). Doesn't really fit anywhere.
• Blank blocks (21, 22, 2A, and 2B). Likely simple padding.
• Walls with poles (24 to 27). Appears to have been intended for the Fuchsia City Safari meeting room, but once again doesn't really fit.
• Desktop duplicate (28) (used is 08).
• Exhibit leftover (2C to 33). Was originally used in an early iteration of the Safari Zone Pokémon displays.

Tileset 18#

• Light fixtures (06 and 07). Was originally used in an earlier iteration of the Underground Path.
• Corner walls (0A and 0B). Ditto.
• Corner shadow (08 and 10).

Unseen Areas#

Route 2#

Pre-Viridian Forest	Post-Viridian Forest

Route 2 has some unseen map details past the fenced areas near the entrance and exit gates to Viridian Forest. These two areas feature an unreachable cuttable tree and two patches of tall grass respectively, both fully functional. While it's not unusual to have some areas partially mapped-out before a loading zone gate, what's peculiar here is that the entry gate has map details for the area in front of the exit gate, and the exit gate map details for the area before the entry gate, as if Viridian Forest didn't exist and the player was intended to enter and exit only one gate.

Moreover, the normally unseen area behind the exit gate has slightly different mapping when compared to the area before the entry gate, with the flower patch instead being a tall-grass patch. It's unknown whether this is a remnant of a slightly earlier design for this specific bit of Route 2, or if it was just accidentally replaced when the area around the exit gate was being mapped in.

Underground Path#

The Underground Path connecting Route 5 to Route 6 has an unseen, seemingly out-of-place bit of map right at the bottom of the map. An earlier iteration of this map reveals that it once had a staircase in the middle, which instead of being blanked saw its entire block line being removed. Despite this, the map's height was not adjusted after this change, leading to the oversight.

Vermilion City Harbor#

Despite normally being completely unseen by players, the Vermilion City Harbor is entirely mapped out, with there even being crates and a truck never seen anywhere else in the game. As it turns out, it is possible to use Surf on the water surrounding the docks, though Surf is unavailable in that part of the game, so the area can't be explored under normal circumstances.

That said, it is possible to explore the harbor by using a number of tricks:

Method 1:

• Position yourself one block above and one block to the left of the ship's ticket salesman.
• Walk one tile to the right and press Start immediately after you come to a stop.
• Save and restart your game. When you reload, you should now be facing right.
• Use Surf and you will surf onto the ticket salesman. Press Down to bypass him.

Method 2:

• Acquire a Pokémon who knows Cut via a trade. Now you can skip getting the HM on the S.S. Anne, which normally causes the ship to leave.
• Progress through the game and return to the harbor once you can use Surf.

Method 3:

• Acquire Cut on the S.S. Anne, then lose to a Pokémon battle on the ship. This will send you back to a Pokémon Center and prevent the ship from leaving.
• Progress through the game and return to the harbor once you can use Surf.

Despite popular playground rumors, the fabled truck parked in the harbor is only used for decorative purposes, and as such doesn't have anything hidden under it, save for a Lava Cookie in FireRed and LeafGreen.

Indigo Plateau#

This area features quite a lot of detailing on the League building and the walls in front of it, that is never seen during normal gameplay. Given how two of the statues have inaccessible text assigned to them, it's possible that this area was originally intended to be more open, only to be streamlined for the final game. The Indigo Plateau also features different border block data than Route 23, with the former using 0E (sandy ground), and the latter 0F (tree cluster). However, it's impossible to see the former anyway, given how restrictive the map is with player movement.

When compared with the old map found on the development page a sign seems to line up with one of the statues, suggesting the text may have originally been shown there.

Lance's Room#

Prototype	Final

The map of Lance's room features a small unused room in the upper-right-most corner. This map is actually the exact same as the one where the final rival/champion battle takes place, although this one is set on its own map and the one here lacks warp tiles entirely. It appears that the developers originally intended for this map to be present as a room in the much larger map for Lance's room.

It's then rather puzzling as to why the "Champion Room" was set as its own map, especially given how the passenger cabins in the S.S. Anne actually use this trick, all being set on the same map as an optimization technique.