Debugging features within Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal

Summary pages of debugging features within the Pokémon games:

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

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

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/Trainer color test menu and TM/HM compatability 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.

In the Japanese version of Gold/Silver; the code for the menu is apparently located at three byte pointer 3F:54F1 (v1.0 and v1.1).

Whether the player will be editing Pokémon or Trainers depends on the memory address CF21, where an identifier of 00 activates 'Pokémon mode' and any other identifier activates 'Trainer mode'.

In the English versions, the menu is located at 3F:52C9, and the equivalent address for Pokémon/Trainer mode is CEED.

Instructions

Save states for the color test menus can be found here.

Use up/down to move the right facing cursor to point to either the red, green or blue scale.

When it points to the red, green or blue scale, the amount of that color can be adjusted by adjusting another cursor with left/right. The cursor positions further to the right mean much color, and cursor positions further to the left mean less color.

The colors will mix, for example, maximum red, maximum green and minimum blue will give the color yellow.

At the top-right corner of the screen there are two color areas, colored based on different areas of the sprite. Below the color areas are hexadecimal color codes.

A cursor points to what color area of the sprite will be changed from adjusting the color scales, and the cursor can be moved with left/right when there is no right-pointing cursor pointing to the color scales. This occurs after pressing up a few times.

If the A button is pressed the color alterations are lost, and either shiny (the first, third, fifth, etc. time A is pressed) or regular colors (the second, fourth, sixth, etc. time A is pressed) are applied to both color areas.

If the select button is pressed the next Pokémon or Trainer (by index number) will be displayed, but glitch Pokémon #252-255 and #000 cannot be accessed; the test menu starts at Bulbasaur and ends at Celebi, then loops around.

TM/HM compatibility checker

The TM/HM compatibility checker can be accessed with B. On the first line is red text. Next to 'v w?' (Japanese: おわりますか?) is the name of a TM/HM move, which can be adjusted with up/down.

On the second line is green text. Next to s...A (Japanese: はい...A) is either 'v u üs' (Japanese: おぼえられない) or just 'v u' (Japanese: おぼえられる). 'v u üs' means the Pokémon can't be taught the move on the line above by TM/HM. 'v u üs' means it can.

Accessing it with the Coin Case glitch

Using TheZZAZZGlitch's Coin Case glitch payload to the quantity of stored item 2, and the same basic method as in his Celebi trick, the following code can be used to activate the test menu:

Code

Pokémon menu:

inc b
ld a, 3F
inc b
ld hl, 52C9
rst $08 (CF)

04 3E 3F 04 21 C9 52 CF

Trainer menu:

inc b (04)
ld a, $3F
inc b
ld h, $CE
ld l, $ED
ld (hli), a
dec b
ld hl, 52C9
rst $08

04 3e 3f 04 26 ce 2e ed 22 05 21 c9 52 cf

Items

Pokémon menu:

In stored PC items starting from item 2:

(ANYTHING)x 4
PP Up x63
Great Ball x33
TM10 x82

Trainer menu:

In stored PC items starting from item 2:

(ANYTHING)x4
PP Up x63
Great Ball x38
TM15 x46
TM45 x34
Poké Ball x33
TM10 x82
TM16 x(ANYTHING)

Japanese text strings

The following Japanese text strings are used for this menu:

Ａきりかえ▶ ("A switches")
ノーマル (normal)
レア (rare)
おわりますか？ ("Are you finished?")
おぼえられる ("Can be taught")
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 debugging messages that can appear in a text box through hacking or glitching. What they are meant to be for is undocumented.

The window save area was exceeded.
No windows avail-able for popping.
Corrupted event!
Object event.
BG event
Coordinates event

Other debugging text

N/A - Possibly for an invalid map location (unused).

ERROR! - Used for an invalid field move.
????? - Used for an invalid Pokémon species.
Teru-Sama - The shared name for 29 unused items and less in Pokémon Crystal (list of hexadecimal index numbers).

External links

The Cutting Room Floor article about unused content in Pokémon Gold and Silver.