Unused Graphics

This is a sub-page of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness.

Dungeon Graphics#

Item Sprites#

Various unused item sprites, represented here using all 16 item palettes. The gear sprite was previously present and already unused in Rescue Team, while the shell and bone sprites are new to Explorers. Much like the previous game, these sprites are loaded into VRAM in every dungeon along with the other item sprites.

Tilesets#

This game includes a large amount of dungeon tilesets that were not used. They can be loaded in-game using this Action Replay code (for US versions):

121B0308 000000??

121B0248 000000??

Replace "??" with the hexadecimal code listed below and enter any dungeon.

The following tilesets do not have a corresponding used dungeon.

Tileset #000		0x00	This is the tileset used for the Test Dungeon.
Tileset #013		0x0D	An alternate tileset for Steam Cave.
Tileset #021		0x15	An alternate tileset for Quicksand Cave.
Tileset #032		0x20	An alternate tileset for Sealed Ruin. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Sky Peak Summit Pass and Deep Barren Valley, with an updated gray palette for the water tiles.
Tileset #041		0x29	An alternate tileset for Brine Cave.
Tileset #044		0x2C	An alternate tileset for Hidden Land. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Southern Jungle.
Tileset #047		0x2F	An alternate tileset for Temporal Tower.
Tileset #066		0x42	Rescue Team used this tileset for Silent Chasm. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Sky Peak 3rd Station Pass.
Tileset #067		0x43	Rescue Team used this tileset for Wish Cave B1F-B13F. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Destiny Tower 97F-99F.
Tileset #070		0x46	Rescue Team used this tileset for Pitfall Valley B1F-B10F.
Tileset #071		0x47	Rescue Team used this tileset for the Makuhita Dojo's Electric Maze.
Tileset #072		0x48	Blue Rescue Team used this tileset for the Makuhita Dojo's Rescue Team Maze.1
Tileset #073		0x49	Rescue Team used this tileset for Northwind Field 20F-30F.
Tileset #075		0x4B	Rescue Team used this tileset for Purity Forest 4F-7F. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Southeastern Islands.
Tileset #076		0x4C	Rescue Team used this tileset for Joyous Tower. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Zero Isle Center B43F-B45F.
Tileset #077		0x4D	Rescue Team used this tileset for Darknight Relic.
Tileset #078		0x4E	Rescue Team used this tileset for Tiny Woods.2
Tileset #080		0x50	Rescue Team used this tileset for Waterfall Pond.
Tileset #083		0x53	Rescue Team used this tileset for Mt. Faraway 10F-20F. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Zero Isle Center B14F-B16F.
Tileset #086		0x56	A palette swap of the tileset Rescue Team used for Waterfall Pond, which also went unused in said game.
Tileset #089		0x59	Rescue Team used this tileset for Buried Relic B1F-B20F.3
Tileset #092		0x5C	Rescue Team used this tileset for Meteor Cave.
Tileset #093		0x5D	Rescue Team used this tileset for Lightning Field.
Tileset #094		0x5E	Rescue Team used this tileset for Northern Range 1F-7F. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Sky Peak 9th Station Pass.
Tileset #095		0x5F	Rescue Team used this tileset for Solar Cave 1F-7F.
Tileset #097		0x61	Rescue Team used this tileset for the Makuhita Dojo's Poison Maze. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Zero Isle Center B38F-B40F.
Tileset #098		0x62	Rescue Team used this tileset for Northern Range 8F-16F.
Tileset #100		0x64	Rescue Team used this tileset for Frosty Forest.
Tileset #107		0x6B	Rescue Team used this tileset for Mt. Thunder Peak.
Tileset #110		0x6E	Rescue Team used this tileset for Mt. Blaze. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Inferno Cave.
Tileset #114		0x72	Rescue Team used this tileset for Thunderwave Cave. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Zero Isle Center B8F-B13F.
Tileset #115		0x73	Rescue Team used this tileset for Howling Forest 1F-7F. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Zero Isle Center B19F-B25F.
Tileset #116		0x74	Rescue Team used this tileset for Uproar Forest. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Zero Isle Center B33F-B35F.
Tileset #120		0x78	Rescue Team used this tileset for Purity Forest 30F-43F.
Tileset #121		0x79	Rescue Team used this tileset for Southern Cavern B24F-B50F.
Tileset #122		0x7A	Rescue Team used this tileset for Wish Cave B90F-B99F. It would eventually be used in Explorers of Sky for Left Cave Path.
Tileset #128		0x80	Rescue Team used this tileset for Stormy Sea B1F-B16F. It would eventually be overwritten in Explorers of Sky, by the new tileset used for Murky Forest.

It is worth noting that tilesets #126 and #127 are those used by Ice Aegis Cave and Steel Aegis Cave respectively. These are new-to-Explorers palette swaps of tileset #49, (Rock Aegis Cave) and considering where they are located suggests that two leftover Rescue Team tilesets may have been overwritten by them late in development. Coincidentally, the tilesets Rescue Team used for Purity Forest 61F-79F and 80F-99F appear to be the only two Rescue Team tilesets missing from the data in all of the Explorers games.

Water Tiles#

Every dungeon tileset in the game has graphics for their respective dungeons' secondary terrain (water, lava, or void). However, a few tilesets are not used with any dungeon that features secondary terrain. This leaves their terrain graphics unused in regular gameplay; however, using the tileset Action Replay code in a dungeon that features any secondary terrain will allow them to be seen. All of these tilesets have their type set to water.

Tileset #14		0x0E	Used in Amp Plains.
Tileset #15		0x0F	Used in Far Amp Plains. Some of the tiles can be seen in the dungeon's waypoint.
Tileset #17		0x11	Used in Northern Desert 1F-7F.
Tileset #18		0x12	Used in Northern Desert 8F-15F.
Tileset #19		0x13	Used in Quicksand Cave.
Tileset #20		0x14	Used in Quicksand Pit. Some of the tiles can be seen in the dungeon's waypoint.
Tileset #33		0x21	Used in Dusk Forest.
Tileset #53		0x35	Used in Mt. Travail.
Tileset #82		0x52	Used in Crevice Cave. Some of the tiles can be seen in the dungeon's waypoint.
Tileset #85		0x55	Used in Shimmer Desert, as well as the Dojo's Poison/Bug Maze.
Tileset #90		0x5A	Used in Lush Prairie.

Also of note is that the Test Dungeon tileset has abyss as secondary terrain, which is unused within its only (already-unused) dungeon.

Dungeon Tiles#

To do: So far, this section mostly covers unused tiles relating to new tilesets. Unused tiles relating to reused Rescue Team tilesets should be covered as well.

Many dungeon tilesets include alternative ground tiles that will never generate as part of a dungeon floor:

Other Tiles#

This special tile was previously used in Rescue Team to mark blocked stairs inside Meteor Cave, which would remain blocked until the player defeated the Deoxys mirage present within each respective floor. No dungeon in any of the Explorers games uses such a mechanic, rendering this tile unused. Like the item sprites, it is still loaded into VRAM within every dungeon.

Object Sprites#

a024.wan

Grovyle's footprint, intended for Sentry Duty. Grovyle has 4 text placeholders for an appearance during this minigame, but the Pokémon is set to never appear, clearly due to Grovyle's relevance to the story. A differently colored version of this footprint, as024.wan, is used on the Exploration Team badge seen on the file select menu's top screen if the hero is a Grovyle.

p02p01a1.wan

Puffs of steam intended for "place" background P02P01A, which is used by the Hot Spring.

v23p04a2.wan

A darkened sprite of Lapras, as seen from a moderate distance. The first and third sprites included within this file are used at the end of Brine Cave (for a far and closer distance respectively) but this second intermediate state is not.

v26p07a1.wan

Intended for visual scene V26P07A, which is used during the post-credits cutscene. The first, second and third animations included in the file are used, but this fourth animation is not; it shows the regular Dialga glowing, which he only does in his Primal form during the Passage of Time scene while preparing to stop Celebi.

Japan Only#

The following already-unused sprites were removed during localization, and can only be found in the Japanese versions as a result.

d30p33a1-3.wan

Pieces of rubble intended for dungeon background D30P33A, which is one of the backgrounds used by Temporal Pinnacle.

h01p99c1.wan

A darker version of the bush hiding the stairs leading into Sharpedo Bluff. This sprite is intended for a nighttime version of Sharpedo Bluff's exterior, but it is only seen after the bush has already been removed.

h02p99c3.wan

Intended for H02P99C, the nighttime version of Sharpedo Bluff's interior. This sprite rapidly flickers in-game, resulting in a semi-transparent effect. It appears to have been intended as a glowing effect for the campfire seen during the night after the hero, partner and Grovyle return from the future.

p11p01a1.wan

A static version of the glowing wall pattern found in Brine Cave. The game uses visual effect #668 instead.

v05p01a1.wan

Various darkened leaves, floating motionless in the air. Intended for visual scene V05P01A, which depicts a paralyzed Treeshroud Forest.

v16p02a1.wan

The following content may induce seizures and has been hidden by default. Click to reveal:

Intended for visual scene V16P02A, which is used during time travel cutscenes.

v19p02a2.wan

Intended for visual scene V19P02A, which shows Primal Dialga roaring.

v22p03a3.wan

A darkened sprite of Wigglytuff, as seen from a distance. Intended for V22P03A, the nighttime cutscene showing Lapras swimming to meet Wigglytuff prior to the guild's Brine Cave mission.

v26p09a1-3.wan

The leaves from earlier, moving again. Intended for visual scene V26P09A, which is used when Dialga shows the hero and partner a vision of the healed Treeshroud Forest. The largest leaf can also be found in the Treasure Town debug room in the Japanese versions only.

Visual Effects#

#77#

Rescue Team used this move animation for Flame Wheel. In Explorers, this move instead uses visual effect #78.

#273#

A second healing animation used for Moonlight in Rescue Team, which got scrapped in Explorers. The previous game still used the regular healing animation alongside it, so it was most likely thought to be redundant.

#489#

While not assigned to any used or unused move, this visual effect's internal position and the internal name of the paired sound effect (SE_NUM_EFF_KIRIBARAI) heavily suggests this is a scrapped animation for the Defog move, presumably intended for hitting an opponent. Variants were made for all eight directions.

#507#

The attack animation assigned to Arceus's signature move, Judgment.

#508#

The attack animation assigned to Shaymin's signature move, Seed Flare. It would eventually see use in Explorers of Sky.

Dummied Out#

The following effects are not assigned to any VFX ID, but their sprites and animation data can still be found inside effect.bin.

File ID #61-1#

A scrapped hit animation for Icy Wind, based on the move's animation in the Generation III mainline games. Notably, Rescue Team did not use this animation either. The sprites are still loaded into VRAM upon using the move in both games.

Backgrounds#

D00P01#

Copied chunks of the unique background used on Mt. Thunder Summit in Rescue Team. This seems to be intended for the Set Dungeon Background Display Test, which can be accessed in the debug-enabled build by selecting D00P01 through the Ground Scene Check function in the Top Debug Menu. The script or background apparently broke at some point during development, as the unused room (which shares the layout of Beach Cave Pit) is always rendered using a regular dungeon tileset instead.

logo#

Found in every version and localization of the game, data/TOP/logo_0.bgp and /logo_1.bgp contain a combined Japanese logo for Explorers of Time and what appears to be the logo's drop shadow respectively. The Japanese version of Time uses background S11P02A instead.

title#

data/TOP/title_0.bgp and /title_1.bgp contain main menu backgrounds from Blue Rescue Team. The third background used in the aforementioned game is notably missing.

test#

data/TOP/test.bgp contains what appears to be remnants of the backgrounds Blue Rescue Team used on the top screen to display the player's Pokémon information within dungeons.

Partially Unused#

V03P07A (Second Time Gear Room)#

Only the upper portion of this room is briefly seen during the two accompanying cutscenes; the lower third, including the land bridge, remains out of frame.

Explorers of Sky makes full use of this background during Special Episode 4, and adds polish through a palette animation for the water as well as dithering between water color shades.

V03P08A (Volcano Time Gear Room)#

Just like the previous background, the lower third of this room remains unseen on the Explorers of Darkness title screen or the accompanying cutscene, leaving the platforms leading to the center area out of frame.

Notably, the existence of the "sixth" Time Gear in this room gets briefly hinted at during the story, but only five are ever located and used.

V05P03A (Waterfall Cave Geyser)#

Only the very upper edge of the grass can be seen in the accompanying cutscene.

P09P01A (Passage of Time)#

The cutscenes at the Passage of Time never pan up high enough to see the darkened line of trees in the distance.

V24P05A (Hidden Land)#

Raw Background	Object Sprite Included

The accompanying cutscene doesn't pan up high enough to see the upper third of this background, including the swirling red clouds. This was likely done intentionally to hide the clouds' outdated state, as they are portrayed smaller and far closer to Temporal Tower in its many other shots.

References#