Pokémon Black and White beta: Difference between revisions

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Like previous major releases, especially those that set a new generation, Pokémon Black and White went through multiple development stages, many of which included several elements that were eventually dropped or revised before the games' release. Some of these components can still be found within their internal data.

Pre-release

Pokémon names

According to Ken Sugimori in an interview, Oshawott's Japanese name was originally ラッコマル Rakkomaru.^[1] The name may be a combination of ラッコ rakko (sea otter) and 丸 maru (round; a common suffix in male Japanese names).

First partner selection screen

The prototype first partner Pokémon selection screen

The sprite used in the first partner Pokémon selection screen for Tepig is different in some early videos. The prototype sprite has a more triangular hind foot, with only one being visible on the sprite, and slightly different shading. Also, the silhouettes of the unselected first partner Pokémon are lighter compared to the final.

VS Sprites

Early VS sprites for Hilbert and Cheren can be seen in an early video which was broadcasted on Pokémon Sunday. Whilst Cheren's VS sprite has a few minor alteration with his eyes and shading, Hilbert's sprite received a complete overhaul. An early VS sprite for Bianca, lacking her Xtransceiver, was shown in the early video footage that came with an issue of Dengeki Nintendo DS.

In Excadrill's first appearance in a promotional video, its stripes were mirrored. However, this was not long-lived, as it was changed to its current appearance in the next video.

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  Hilbert's prototype VS sprite

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  Cheren's prototype VS sprite

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  Bianca's prototype VS sprite

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  Excadrill's prototype front sprite

Sprites

Beta Lass sprite

One of the C-Gear prerelease appearances showed a Lass with a different sprite than it currently does.

Music

In some early footage of Route 4, The Dreamyard can be heard playing instead of the correspondent seasonal variant of Route 4.

Region name

Some retailers in the United Kingdom (specifically GAME and Gamestation) used pre-release box art using the name Alleos for the region as opposed to its final English name, Unova. This name was also used at pre-release and post-release demo events in the United Kingdom.

Locations

Castelia City

In several pre-release screenshots and video footage, Castelia City's texture is noticeably different from the final version, with at least four different variations seen before the final release.

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  Image released on April 15, 2010

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  Animated view presented by Pokémon Sunday on April 18, 2010

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  Footage from the June 27, 2010 trailer that was broadcasted on Oha Suta

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  Image from a Pokemon.co.jp video

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  Image released on May 14, 2010

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  Another image from a Pokemon.co.jp video

Chargestone Cave

Pre-release screenshots of Chargestone Cave show rocks lying around the cave to be of a different shape and having a darker tone with less glow compared to the final version.

Skyarrow Bridge

On an early screenshot of within Skyarrow Bridge, a female Backpacker can be seen. This Backpacker was replaced by an Ace Trainer in the final release. However, in Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, exactly the same spot is occupied by a Backpacker, just like in the screenshot. In addition, two pre-release screeshots of Skyarrow Bridge depict a slightly different skyline of Castelia City.

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  Early image of Skyarrow Bridge

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  Second early image of Skyarrow Bridge

Pokémon Center

The prototype Pokémon Center shopping item list screen.

When buying items at a Pokémon Center, the part of the screen where the player can be seen is rotated.

Dream World

On early videos of Dream World, a Pikachu could be seen being encountered in the game and also later at Entree Forest indicating that it had been befriended. In the final versions, Pikachu cannot be encountered in any location in-game or in the Dream World, and the only way to catch one is transferring via the Poké Transfer.

Post-release

Items

Since the engine that powers the games is improved upon that of the Generation IV games, all items from Generation IV, including Poké Balls, Key Items and unused items, are present in the internal data, with the exception of HM07 and HM08, which are now blank space "?" items. However, most of these items are unobtainable. Other leftover items, like the God Stone, are specific to Pokémon Black and White and can be likewise obtained through modification of the saved game or cheating. Additionally, the Dragon Skull has a description but the player cannot look at it in-game since they are made to hand the Skull in before they can view the description.

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  God Stone

Hidden Abilities

Some Pokémon are programmed to have Hidden Abilities in Generation V, but cannot legally obtain them. These Abilities may have been distributed in a later generation or are currently still not obtainable. The Litwick's line Hidden Ability was changed between Generation V and Generation VI in favor of Infiltrator.

#	Pokémon		Types		First Ability	Second Ability	Hidden Ability
0144		Articuno	Ice	Flying	Pressure	None	Snow Cloak
0145		Zapdos	Electric	Flying	Pressure	None	Lightning Rod
0146		Moltres	Fire	Flying	Pressure	None	Flame Body
0152		Chikorita	Grass		Grass	Overgrow	None	Leaf Guard
0153		Bayleef	Grass		Grass	Overgrow	None	Leaf Guard
0154		Meganium	Grass		Grass	Overgrow	None	Leaf Guard
0155		Cyndaquil	Fire		Fire	Blaze	None	Flash Fire
0156		Quilava	Fire		Fire	Blaze	None	Flash Fire
0157		Typhlosion	Fire		Fire	Blaze	None	Flash Fire
0158		Totodile	Water		Water	Torrent	None	Sheer Force
0159		Croconaw	Water		Water	Torrent	None	Sheer Force
0160		Feraligatr	Water		Water	Torrent	None	Sheer Force
0243		Raikou	Electric		Electric	Pressure	None	Volt Absorb
0244		Entei	Fire		Fire	Pressure	None	Flash Fire
0245		Suicune	Water		Water	Pressure	None	Water Absorb
0377		Regirock	Rock		Rock	Clear Body	None	Sturdy
0378		Regice	Ice		Ice	Clear Body	None	Ice Body
0379		Registeel	Steel		Steel	Clear Body	None	Light Metal
0485		Heatran	Fire	Steel	Flash Fire	None	Flame Body
0495		Snivy	Grass		Grass	Overgrow	None	Contrary
0496		Servine	Grass		Grass	Overgrow	None	Contrary
0497		Serperior	Grass		Grass	Overgrow	None	Contrary
0498		Tepig	Fire		Fire	Blaze	None	Thick Fat
0499		Pignite	Fire	Fighting	Blaze	None	Thick Fat
0500		Emboar	Fire	Fighting	Blaze	None	Reckless
0501		Oshawott	Water		Water	Torrent	None	Shell Armor
0502		Dewott	Water		Water	Torrent	None	Shell Armor
0503		Samurott	Water		Water	Torrent	None	Shell Armor
0574		Gothita	Psychic		Psychic	Frisk	None	Shadow Tag
0599		Klink	Steel		Steel	Plus	Minus	Clear Body
0607		Litwick	Ghost	Fire	Flash Fire	Flame Body	Shadow Tag
0608		Lampent	Ghost	Fire	Flash Fire	Flame Body	Shadow Tag
0609		Chandelure	Ghost	Fire	Flash Fire	Flame Body	Shadow Tag
0627		Rufflet	Normal	Flying	Keen Eye	Sheer Force	Hustle
0636		Larvesta	Bug	Fire	Flame Body	None	Swarm
0637		Volcarona	Bug	Fire	Flame Body	None	Swarm
Please note that abilities marked with a superscript are only available in the stated generation or later. For Generation III and IV games, ignore Hidden Abilities.

Shiny Pokémon

Every Pokémon in the game are programmed to have a Shiny variant, but some of them cannot be obtained legally. These Shiny Pokémon may have been distributed in a later generation or are currently still not obtainable.

#   Pokémon Type 0494 Victini Psychic Fire 0643 Reshiram Dragon Fire 0644 Zekrom Dragon Electric 0647 Keldeo Water Fighting 0648 Meloetta Normal Psychic

Locations

P2 Laboratory

If the player uses the "walk through walls" cheat, enters the P2 Laboratory and keeps walking down, there will be an untextured room with a few tables in it.

This seems to be an early version of Nuvema Town with both an incorrect tile set and building set. It also has different movement permissions. For whatever reason it is placed on the same map matrix as the P2 Laboratory interior.

Nacrene City

A different version of Nacrene Museum exists in the game. It contains vastly different textures and modified movement permissions.

Unused text

Several lines of unused weather effect text appear within the internal data of Black, White, Black 2, and White 2. Notably, quotes for fog exist within the text, implying that fog functionality was planned to exist in Black and White. While the final game does include foggy locations, such as Route 15, the fog weather condition does not appear in battles.

Unused Mystery Gift text

The game contains various placeholder text of the Mystery Gift covering as far into the future as 2020 for any possible Mystery Gift events in Generation V.

Anti-Piracy

The game will freeze at random intervals and prevent Pokémon from gaining experience points if it detects it is being played on an emulator or flash cart making progressing in the game past a certain level impossible.

References

See also

This game-related article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.