Unused Graphics

This is a sub-page of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

To do: There's a lot more out there than just overworld sprites.

Bug TM#

Bug-type TMs don't exist in Generation III, though this type does have a defined color in the TM Case. It is a bright shade of yellow, rather than green as it is in later games. As for the ???-type, it has no color, and defaults to Normal-type.

Early Oak Sprite#

An unused sprite of Oak with a design that differs from the final release. The sprite and palette data are uncompressed at locations 3CA6DC to 3CAEFB in FireRed and 3CA5AC to 3CADCB in LeafGreen. Additionally, there is an unused function that draws this sprite on the screen similarly to how the Professor Birch sprite is drawn in Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald during a new game's speech segment.

Unused Overworld Sprites#

Red#

At the end of Red's running spriteset are two unused sprites showing him looking diagonally. The blue of his sleeves is placed rather sloppily, and his hat is less refined when compared to his other sprites. It's unknown what those sprites were used for, and the only thing that can be gleaned from them is that they're basically identical to the first frame of Red pulling out a Poké Ball, only with a different arm position.

Leaf also has two unused sprites in the same spot as Red, though here they're just copies of her regular "walk forward" sprites.

Surfing#

Both Red and Leaf have an unused surfing spriteset, which shows them riding a Lapras-like Pokémon, instead of the generic shape that ended up being used in the final release. The player character rides a Lapras-shaped surf sprite in the Generation II games, so this may have been a callback that was ultimately scrapped.

Also worth noting is that here both the blob and the player are part of the same sprite, while the final Surf animation instead has one blob spriteset, and then a set of player sprites overlaid on top of it.

Also present are four alternate sprites of the player surfing, which, given their pose, seem to imply that at one point during the development one could "run" while surfing. Oddly enough, those sprites are 32x32, as opposed to the used ones being 16x32.

Sitting Boy#

Grouped alongside other generic male NPCs is a spriteset for a boy sitting down, known internally as "BOY4 (sitting)" (少年４（座り）). This character has an object event ID of 21, as well as frames and a palette defined, however the game never uses the ID at all. The Generation I games did feature "couch guys" in each Pokémon Center, though here they were changed to standard, standing NPCs (despite that, their dialogue in the source code is still preceded with "msg_sitdown".

Oddly enough, the directional frames of this NPC are in the wrong order, with the side frame and the back frame being swapped.

Male Receptionist#

Found after the various nurse/attendant sprites is a male version of Cable Club receptionist. This character has an object event ID of 67, as well as frames and a palette defined, however the game never uses the ID at all. This sprite is known internally as "PCMAN1", and is accompanied with the comment "Pokémon Center Mr1" (ポケセン兄さん１), which contrast with "Pokémon Center Lady" (ポケセン姉さん), which is assigned to the nurses and the receptionists for the Cable Club and the Union Room.

Deliveryman#

The Mystery Gift deliveryman is only ever seen behind a desk, which prevents one from ever seeing either his back or side sprites.

Back Sprites#

A small handful of stationary characters have their backs against a solid surface, leaving their facing north sprites to go unseen. Worth noting is that one can go behind Misty by surfing in the pool, but trying to talk to her from the back doesn't work.

Rematch Sprites#

Using the VS Seeker next to a trainer that's already been defeated may call for a rematch, which comes with an animation of the trainer shuffling in place before jumping in the air, trying to grab the player's attention. However, the VS Seeker cannot be used indoors, which causes some of the rematch sprites to go unseen.

Stationary Sprites#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

A good handful of stationary characters actually have a full set of walking frames which go completely unseen. These include one of the generic old man spriteset, the Gym Guide, the S.S. Anne Captain, Mr. Fuji, and the Officer. All but Mr. Fuji lacked walking frames altogether in the Generation I games.

Giovanni#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Just like in Generation I, Giovanni's side and walk north frames go unused. His back sprite also goes unseen here due to how his office in the Celadon Hideout was redesigned.

Celio#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Celio makes very sparing use of his walking frames, except for the walk north set. While his side walk frames do show up for a single frame each, the same cannot be said for his walk south frames, which go completely unseen.

Poké Dude#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Primo always uses the same movement script in his Teachy TV episodes, which doesn't include him walking south.

Male Clerk#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

The Poké Mart clerks have full directional movement, but the only one who is ever seen moving is the one on Route 1, and he never moves left to right.

Female Clerk#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Of all the female clerks/Silph workers, only one is seen moving, with that being the one in Prof. Oak's lab. And even then, she only moves up and down, never left to right.

Male Swimmer#

Unused Frames	Animated Sprites

Swimmers are seldom seen on dry land, let alone walking. The two ones on Route 19 walk left/right, and using the VS Seeker lets one see their walk south frames, though this still leaves the walk north frames unseen.

Male Tuber#

In FireRed and LeafGreen, male Tubers no longer exist as their own trainer class, instead relegated to being the second half of the "Sis and Bro" class, where they remain completely stationary. Using the VS Seeker will let one see their walk south frames, in the form of the "shuffle" done by startled NPCs, as well as their rematch animation. However this only applies to water-borne Tubers, as the only instance of a land-dwelling male Tuber is in the Trainer Tower, which doesn't let one use the VS Seeker. To add insult to injury, in the latter case the NPC has his back against a wall, which makes it impossible to see his back sprite.

Fame Checker Sign#

Object versions of the three types of signs exist, so they may appear in the Fame Checker when needed. However, the wooden signboard never appears there, due to it being only used for Trainer Tips, which don't contain any information which would warrant appearing in the Fame Checker.

Generic Pokémon#

A small handful of Pokémon have their backs against a solid surface, leaving their facing north sprites to go unseen.

The static Safari Zone exhibit Pokémon have a full set of directional sprites which go completely unseen. As for the Cerulean City Slowbro, while it can be talked to from every direction, it always remains facing south.

Mythical Pokémon#

Mew can only be met in the wild in Emerald, as part of the Faraway Island event. However, there it uses a brand new, full-sized directional spriteset, rather than the static 16x16 sprite seen here.

Despite receiving an overworld sprite and having carried-over held item data, Celebi was never made available in the wild in FireRed and LeafGreen.

Legendary Pokémon#

The Legendary Beasts can be found in FireRed and LeafGreen, but only as wild roaming encounter. Unlike in the Generation II games, at no point are they ever seen in the overworld proper, instead unceremoniously being set to roam after the player delivers the Sapphire to Celio. These sprites are colorized edits of the sprites found in Crystal.

While Deoxys can be found in FireRed and LeafGreen and Emerald as part of the Birth Island event, it only ever appears in the overworld in its normal forme. It only turns into its Attack Forme (FireRed) or Defense Forme (LeafGreen) after having been caught.

Ruby and Sapphire Trainer Card#

The trainer card (or at least, the tilemap of it) from Ruby and Sapphire still persists in FireRed and LeafGreen. The displayed sprites use the palette of the trainer card present in the game, due to the lack of its actual palette.