Before Gold and Silver

Recently, a surprising piece of Pokémon history came to light. Before the second-generation games of Gold and Silver came to be, there was actually a beta version of the games created as a test of their concepts. This beta version was exhibited two years before the games were officially released, though only bits and pieces had been shown through other means. It is only now that the remainder of the beta version's data surfaced, and this becomes an insightful look into the game's history.

As is true of any Pokémon games, the creatures or monsters called Pokémon are the vital part of the games, and are therefore the most insightful part of this beta version. The 151 Pokémon of the first generation are present, as are the 100 new species... though many are not in their current recognizable forms. Some forms never came to light, like an odd flower-like version of Bayleef, the first evolution of the Grass-type starter, provisionally named "Hanamogura" in Japanese; it was perhaps cut since it looked disconnected to Chikorita and Meganium, which more or less survived, and this was perhaps a good change. Other forms that never came to light are bearlike Fire-type starter forms and a disconnected form of Slowking's shell. Some baby forms were also cut, like those for Meowth, Ponyta, and even Tangela; as well, evolved forms for Ditto and Qwilfish were discarded. Interestingly, the "seeds" of later Pokémon seemed to have been sown, as in early forms for what would later become Mime Jr., Gorebyss and Huntail, and the Snover line. It's remarkable how all of these and more existed before they were recast.

As for the game itself, the beta version was apparently an attempt to create an "all-Japan" world, not just Johto and Kanto, which still affirms "worldly inspirations" even as far back as this. Transportation seems to have been planned to expand, with options for a skateboard (which has an allusion to a post I made last year) and riding on Lapras. Aside from this and other odd things, which may be actual bugs that still needed to be fixed before release, the game seems to be like any typical main series Pokémon game. Of course, the end result was that the final games were quite different from what was demonstrated.

It's quite possible for any piece of software, including games, to undergo major changes before they are released, and this beta version of the second-generation Pokémon games did exactly that. And yet, it shows that many elements and concepts of the game were retained, and even further developed beyond the second generation. Everything here is a surprise and fascination for any Pokémon fan, and shows how deep the games go with the ideas, even if they look different from how they are realized today.

One year ago: Red on a Bike