Debugging features within Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal

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Summary pages of debugging features within the Pokémon games:

Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow | Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal | Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Team | Pokémon Platinum | Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky | Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver




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This article is a summary page for different variations of a glitches, etc. when talked about as a whole.
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Reason given: Missing Pokémon Crystal debug menu information


Some parts of this article have not yet been fully reviewed by a member of this wiki's staff or QC team.

Data from the Internet can be inaccurate or false, and it is easy to misremember information. For this reason there is more likely to be incorrect information in this article. This template will be removed once the information is peer-reviewed and tested by a staff or QC member.


The unused text "Now on DEBUG..." used for MR. CHRONO. It remains in Pokémon Crystal.

Several unused features have been found within the coding of the final versions of Pokémon Gold, Silver and Crystal related to debugging.

Error codes

Main article: Error codes (Generations I and II).

Error codes from Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow re-appear in Gold, Silver but in the English versions they are untranslated from the Japanese version.

They appear in the form of '(x)エラー' (read as 'erā') in the Japanese versions, but as '(x)Df-' in the English versions.

This is because the index numbers of 'エ', 'ラ' and 'ー' in the Japanese versions are hex:83, hex:A5 and hex:E3 respectively, but in the English versions, 'D', 'f' and '-' use these values. If a hex:00 character is forced in the middle of a text string in Pokémon Crystal, '?' appears instead of '(x)Df-'.

MR. CHRONO RT/DF display

Dialog for a non-existing NPC named 'MR. CHRONO' can be found in Pokémon Gold and Silver. If the player forces a conversation with "MR. CHRONO" he will say; "I'm MR CHRONO" and "Now on DEBUG." respectively. Prior to the "Now on DEBUG" message, an interface is displayed which shows the current time according to the "Real-Time Clock" (RT) and the DF ('time difference'). Next to the time offset; either "ON" or "OFF" is displayed. "ON" denotes that the player is using Daylight-Saving Time and "OFF" denotes that Daylight-Saving Time is disabled.

Now on DEBUG.

The "Now on DEBUG." message will appear after the RT/DF display is exited. However, this dialog string does not appear to activate any further debugging features.

Test event XX?

A dialogue string "Test event XX?" exists within the coding of Pokémon Gold/Silver, where XX is any integer between 0 and 255, for example; "Test event 04?". XX is from a memory address related to the Real-Time Clock data.[clarification needed]

Pokémon and Trainer color test menu and TM/HM compatibility checker

Main article: Pokémon and Trainer color test menu and TM/HM compatibility checker
Altering the palette of Bulbasaur using the color test menu in Japanese Pokémon Gold and Silver.

The color test menus and TM/HM compatibility checker in Gold/Silver allow the player to change the colors of Pokémon or Trainers, and check if a Pokémon is able to learn a TM/HM.

The interface still exists in translated versions of the game, but in the English versions mojibake appears due to the screen not being localized.

Japanese text strings

The following Japanese text strings are used for this menu:

  1. Aきりかえ▶ ("A switches (to)")
  2. ノーマル (normal)
  3. レア (rare)
  4. おわりますか? ("Are you finished?")
  5. おぼえられる ("Can be taught")
  6. おぼえられない ("Cannot be taught")

Tileset color interface

The tileset color interface

The tileset color interface is an unused debugging interface; likely related to the Pokémon/Trainer color interface exists within Pokémon Gold and Silver.

Custom code must be written to generate the menu, but subroutines for the menu exist.

The menu is like the Pokémon and Trainer color debug menu, but enables the player to alter color settings for the map instead of Pokémon or Trainers.

Event data messages

Object event.

The event data messages are unused messages in Gold, Silver and Crystal that may have been used for debugging. They can appear in a text box through hacking or glitching. What they are meant to be for is undocumented.

  1. The window save area was exceeded.
  2. No windows avail-able for popping.
  3. Corrupted event!
  4. Object event.
  5. BG event
  6. Coordinates event