Back in the days before smartphones pretty much instantaneously disproved all liars the second they opened their mouths, a lot of kids got secret information about their games through something akin to verbal chain letters. You'd be kickin' around at recess, hanging with your friends, when one of them would run over and tell you something amazing about Pokémon that you just had to try. This could be anything from a secret way to catch some mysterious new pocket monsters to unlocking hidden areas.
Of course, your friend hadn't actually been able to do it himself; he'd just heard about it from a friend of a friend who heard it from some older kid down the street whose dad works for Nintendo. Naturally most of what was told to you was complete and utter nonsense, but that didn't stop anyone from spending countless hours trying to trick their games into delivering them some sweet exclusive content.
The Devastation of Splash
The Eeveelutions
Yoshi Spriteswap
Yoshi Spriteswap
Short Version: You could unlock a special sprite for Dragonite that featured Mario's faithful dinosaur companion
Why We Believed It: Because those bastards at Nintendo Power told us it would work
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Most of the time when you heard one of these rumors it was from some jerkoff kid down the street who wanted you to think he was a total badass for knowing some awesome secret you didn't. However, with the Yoshi Spriteswap rumor it came from the most authoritative source imaginable; Nintendo Power.
Originally published as an April Fools' Day joke in 1999 this one-page prank spiraled out of control once it hit the playground. Magazines like Nintendo Power and GamePro often wrote exhaustive fake cheat codes or secrets in their April issues, but when expressed outside the confines of the magazine, the more telling aspects of the ruse remained unknown to the players.
To make matters worse, the proceedure of events demanded co-operation between two players with one kid leveling up another's Dratini and then trading it back. Needless to say when Nintendo Power's scam didn't work there was blood on the tarmac as former friends battled over custody rights of their mutually raised dragon-type like divorcing parents fighting over a child.
The Pokéball Pitch
The Pokémon Tinity
Pokémon: Creepy Black Edition
Pokémon: Creepy Black Edition
Short Version: An urban legend about a disturbing bootleg version of the original Pokémon games that added a ghost as a starter
Why We Believed It: The story was just too good not to believe
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While not exactly a schoolyard rumor, this creepypasta story about a mysterious bootleg cartridge got circulated so much online that people were looking for actual copies of it, hoping to see the disturbing gameplay for themselves.
It's better if I don't explain this one too much and just let you experience it for yourself. If you dare, click the cartridge and enjoy...
Pikachu, Raichu, Pikablu
Pikachu, Raichu, Pikablu
Short Version: With the help of a Water Stone and some mystical chanting, Pikachu or Raichu could evolve into a new water-type Pokémon called Pikablu
Why We Believed It: Because kids in Japan already had him and we saw him in Pokémon: The First Movie
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In the days leading up to the release of Pokémon: The First Movie in America, Nintendo was also preparing the launch of the Japanese version of Pokémon Gold and Silver which would be coming out a mere 11 days later. Naturally, press materials, screenshots, and other images of the new Pokémon had started surfacing in various magazines and online, but most American kids had no idea that a sequel to their favorite game was coming and so when they saw this stuff, they immediately assumed they were just unfound creatures within the games they already had.
Pikablu (real name: Marill) was the most popular of these new Pokémon thanks to its similarities to Pikachu.Both being mouse-like in appearance, people assumed they were related in some way and so rumors of a hidden evolutionary form, Pikablu, surfaced. Other Gold/Silver exclusives got their own rumors too, especially ones with origins in Red/Blue like Slowking and Steelix.
Bill's Garden/Mountain/Forrest
Bill's Garden/Mountain/Forrest
Short Story: A secret area full of rare and exclusive Pokémon could be found by accessing the vacant lot behind Bill's Sea Cottage north of Cerulean City
Why We Believed It: A strange gap in the mountains his house rested against could very easily be seen and there was no explanation for why it was there.
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Although there were many different stories of made-up Pokémon, very few rumors actually involved accessing new areas in the game. One such rumor though was Bill's Garden, a secret haven for rare Pokémon that, if accessed, would bring the player untold popularity because they were super cool by extension of their rare Pokémon collection.
The rumor started largely because of the gap behind the Sea Cottage Bill resides in. Being at the top of the map with no way of viewing beyond it, players had no idea whether what they saw was as far as it went, or there was a secret land just beyond their sight. Looking at it with a critical eye now, it's easy to see that the sprites required to complete the roof of Bill's house couldn't have been placed atop a mountain texture and so the gap was created, but you miss these things when you're a kid and you're all excited about catching something nobody else has.
Catch Mew If You Can
Catch Mew If You Can
Short Version: The mysterious Mew can be cought if you manage to complete a bizarre series of events in-game
Why We Believed It: After Pokémon: The First Movie debut in theatres it became impossible to deny that Mew definitely existed
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