Almost all games of today go through a beta version of some sort, and Pokémon ones are no exception. Many years ago, I detailed the one for the second-generation games, which at that point had just come to light. The same has recently occurred for the games of the third generation some time ago, which becomes another prompt for a discussion here on this blog. It also makes this discussion somewhat late, but it's still got to be done to point out the interesting particulars of that beta version.
Like the previous one, some of the Pokémon species were pretty close to what was then finally had, but others looked very different. A notable one was an early form of what would become Blaziken, which looked more like a hawk and related to a different Pokémon. These and others in the beta were eventually retooled to the modern species families and evolution lines, as did their appearances. Of course, there were still many others that didn't make the cut - a good number - while only a few might be recognizable as similar to later Pokémon.
Meanwhile, the overworld maps had both major and drastic as well as minor and incremental changes. The latter was mostly conserved to cities and towns as well as some land routes, while the former occurred for a number of land routes and many of the sea routes. These sea routes in particular went from mostly barren to becoming more richly structured as seen in the final games. Notably, a few maps would only later on be developed for significant events like the encounters with the Titan Pokémon - also a late development.
Some miscellaneous tidbits are also pertinent. The early monikers for the versions appeared to have been "Vermilion" and "Indigo", which might have been an interesting twist. Wally, the sickly character, was also planned to have a more prominent role as a Gym Leader, albeit an up-and-coming one. Secret Bases had also been planned to be accessed differently with tools instead of the Secret Power move. Since quite a bit of the revelation was also recent, some of it also still needs to be dug through and examined even now.
Very much like the beta version for the earlier generation, a lot of things needed to be polished in the beta version for this one before they could appear fleshed out in the final version, something radically different from that. Yet much of the commonalities seem to suggest that development of the games were becoming quite standardized, in method and viewpoints. But then, that seems to be the point of most beta developments, and Pokémon going through that is only a (fine) matter of refinement.
One year ago: Making Road Runs with Pokémon
Two years ago: SA Factions: My First Four Weeks
Three years ago: How Many Pokémon for Each Role?
Four years ago: Pikachu and Bulbasaur Donuts
Five years ago: I Believe, in Love
Six years ago: (Wet and Wild) Local EX Raid, 4/12/2019
Seven years ago: Wallpaper: Pokémon 20th Anniversary
Eight years ago: Pokémon Couriers?
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