Unused items

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Unused content in the Pokémon games

Unused map locations | Early English promotional Pokémon names | Eternal Flower Floette | Bird type | Unused music | Unused encounter system (Yellow) | Unused Bulbasaur slot machine symbol | Unused Shadow Pokémon | Cacophony | Unused Japanese list strings (Generation I) | Unused items | Unused Pokémon data | Unused and redundant Egg moves

See also: S.S. Anne Ship Truck

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This article is incomplete. Please feel free to add any missing information about the subject. It is missing: {{{1}}}.
This article is a summary page for different variations of a glitches, etc. when talked about as a whole.

This page is about unused items, or pre-release items within the Pokémon games. For unintended items which give translated information from other bytes within the game see glitch items.

Within the Pokémon games numerous items exist, which for some reason, cannot be obtained through normal gameplay in the final release. Many of these items, particularly those from Generation I and Generation IV have been used as 'dummy' items in the sense that they account for features within the game which do not require an item such as the '?????' item in Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow (which acts as if the player is using the move Surf), or the Loot Sack in Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl and Pokémon Platinum which was not needed because it could be accessed by a seperate interface in the Underground.

Other items tend to have been used in a previous game before, such as the Scanner in Pokémon FireRed, Pokémon LeafGreen, or the Slowpoke Tail in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver. This is not surprising because many of the newer Pokémon games tend to use a slightly modified version of the previous game engine. For example, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen use a similar map engine of the previous games, namely Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire.

Finally, there are a few items such as the Lock Capsule which were added to the final game for completely unknown reasons, however the Lock Capsule may eventually serve a purpose, as some people presumed the Enigma Crystal to be an unused item until it was released in the Japanese versions of Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver through its distribution on Nintendo Wi-Fi. [1]


Unused items in Generation I

Generation I included many glitch items but only a few items within the game's coding have names or effects which suggest that they may have been once intended in the final game.

  1. ?????: The ????? item when used will act as if the player's Pokémon had used the move Surf. For this reason, it is often nicknamed the 'Surfboard' in the sense that Nintendo may have intended players to ride a Pokémon, or some kind of vehicle by simply using an item. There is no evidence to support this however, and there is also the possibility that Nintendo may have been using this item for either beta testing or as a place to define information about the move Surf.

2.Badges as items: Despite existing in the final game in the player's Trainer Card Badges exist as items within the coding of Pokémon Red, Pokémon Green and Pokémon Yellow. It is unknown why these can exist within the player's bag, however Nintendo may have used them as a place to store techincal information about the relevant badge or may have once intended Badges to be seen in the player's bag. These will give unintended effects when used in battle however and the Boulderbadge and the Cascadebadge will act as the 'Throw Bait' and 'Throw Rock' options of the Safari Zone respectively. The following items can appear in the player's bag:

  1. Boulderbadge
  2. Cascadebadge
  3. Thunderbadge
  4. Rainbowbadge
  5. Soulbadge
  6. Marshbadge
  7. Volcanobadge
  8. Earthbadge

3.Unused TMs: Item data for five unused TMs - TM51-TM55 exist within the game series. When used, these items will act like the equivalent HM, in the sense that for example, TM51 has the same function as HM01 - Cut. Unlike the equivalent HM however, the game will not consider these as key items and as a result the player is free to toss one of them and see how many he or she has. TM55 occupies a hexadecimal identifier of FF (255). An identifier of 255 is also used for CANCEL's function and as a result TM55 will hide itself and any other items the player has below it.

These items may have been designed as a location to store information about the existing five HMs however, and/or as filler data for values 251 to 255 in the bytes managing what type of items the player has in his or her bag (as the normal TMs 01-50 were programmed in the 'slots' before it), however this is unconfirmed.

4.Safari Balls in the item pack: Item data for the Safari Ball exists within the game series occupying a hexadecimal identifier of 08 (8), regardless of the fact that Safari Balls can only be used within the Safari Zone and the fact that these items cannot usually be used directly from the player's bag but rather from the 'THROW BALL' option of the Safari Zone battle system itself.

Unused items in Generation II

Generation II featured many more items, meaning that there are less free item slots in Pokémon Gold, Pokémon Silver and Pokémon Crystal. Unlike Generation I, Generation II would use two error handlers "?" and "Teru-Sama" which were both made unusable to refer to items with invalid data and thus prevent the player from seeing and using any glitch items. (i.e. the attempt of the game attempting to read information from other bytes as item data).

  1. ?: The game will use the error handler "?" to refer to the unused item with a hexadecimal identifier of 00, which has undefined data and a description of "?".
  2. Teru-Sama (x29): 29 items all of which are referred to as Teru-Sama with a description of '?' exist in Pokémon Gold and Silver which are presumably error handlers for undefined item data, or possibly placeholders for items which were once planned to exist. This can be supported by the fact that their hexadecimal identifiers are often in between items which were used in the final game. The name Teru-Sama is a Japanese romanisation, which roughly translates itself as 'lord sunshine' There are less Teru-Samas in Pokémon Crystal because some of these were eventually changed into real items such as the Egg Ticket.
  3. Unused HMs: Item data exists for HM08-HM12, regardless of the fact that there are only seven HMs which can be obtained through normal gameplay. Within the TM/HM pocket, these items have no use and use '?' as their description, with the exception of HM12 which has the description 'Attacks 5 turns with rising power' - which may refer to Rollout, but may simply be 'purely glitch', in the sense the game is attempting to read information from a close byte as description data. Like TM51-TM55 in Generation I, these were probably added as filler data for identifiers of 251-255, as identifiers 195 to 250 correspond to real TMs/HMs.
  4. Park Balls as item data: Similarly to the Safari Ball in other generations; although the Park Ball can normally only be used temporarily through the use of an additional interface in the Bug Pokémon catching competition, item data for the Park Ball and a description can be viewed from the player's bag through the use of a game-altering device. The Park Ball occupies a hexadecimal identifier of B1 (177).

Unused items in Generation III

Generation III included many more unused items. It is notable that many of these appear to be ported and slightly editted versions of items from older games, such as the Scanner in Pokémon Firered and Leafgreen, which is based off the actual item which can be found in the Abandoned Ship in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. These likely exist due to the fact that Nintendo in theory tend to use the older game engines to design the newer Pokémon games, therefore any older items would still remain within the game. It could also be suggested that these exist as placeholders, for the unlikely occassion that the player manages to transfer a key item from one Generation III series to another.

Various games

  1. ????????:The error handler ???????? is used internally in the third generation of Pokémon games, and later in Generation IV to denote 'dummy' and undefined identifiers for items. The game uses this error handler to denote items which occupy the 'slots' where no valid data exists. All of these items are given the description '?????' to prevent the game from otherwise attempting to display glitch dialog. These items usually have no Use option, however the game does not restrict any items from having the Give option, hence such items can be hold by a Pokémon and in fact are sometimes held by variations of the error handler for non-existing Pokémon; ??????????. By eliminating the Use option, this prevents the game from bringing up invalid information as event data, as glitch items did in Generation I. For most of these items however, if the Use option is enabled via a game-altering device the player will recieve a message that the item is unusable, depending on the game.
  2. Safari Ball: The Safari Ball, although normally never obtainable within the Bag interface remains as its own item within Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and later all of the main RPG third generation series games. The description for the Safari Ball in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen interestingly describes the appearance of the Safari Ball, probably because of the fact that these games tended to give more descriptive text about items than on Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. Other games used descriptions which would only refer to the fact that this type of Pokéball could only be used in the Safari Zone.

Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

List of unused items which were only obtainable in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

Many items from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire exist within the coding of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, but are no longer obtainable and all of these items, except for HM08 no longer have any use. These presumably exist within the game coding because theoretically, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen were developed from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire's original game engine. All of the following are Key Items, because Pokémon can be traded from Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire with other items such as the Fluffy Tail.

  1. HM08 (fully functional; can be used to teach Dive)
  2. Scanner (no longer functional)
  3. Acro Bike (no longer functional)
  4. Mach Bike (no longer functional)
  5. Go-Goggles (no longer functional)
  6. Basement Key (no longer functional)
  7. Blue Orb (no longer functional)
  8. Red Orb (no longer functional)
  9. Claw Fossil (no longer functional)
  10. Eon Ticket (usability unknown)
  11. Root Fossil (no longer functinal)
  12. Contest Pass (no longer functional)
  13. Devon Goods (no longer functional)
  14. Devon Scope (no longer functional)
  15. Letter (no longer functional)
  16. Magma Emblem (no longer functional)
  17. Meteorite (no longer functional)
  18. Pokéblock Case (no longer functional)
  19. Rm. 1 Key (no longer functional)
  20. Rm. 2 Key (no longer functional)
  21. Rm. 3 Key (no longer functional)
  22. Rm. 4 Key (no longer functional)
  23. Rm. 5 Key (no longer functional)
  24. Rm. 6 Key (no longer functional)
  25. Soot Sack (no longer functional)
  26. Storage Key (no longer functional)
  27. Wailmer Pail (no longer functional)

Pokémon Emerald

List of unused items which were only obtainable in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen

Many items from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen exist within the coding of Pokémon Emerald, but are no longer obtainable and all of these items appear to no longer have any use. These presumably exist within the game coding because theoretically, Pokémon Emerald was developed from an upgraded version of Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen's original game engine. All of the following are Key Items, because Pokémon can be traded from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen with other items such as the Pokédoll.

  1. Berry Pouch (usuability unknown)
  2. Bicycle (no longer functional)
  3. Bike Voucher (no longer functional)
  4. Card Key (no longer functional)
  5. Dome Fossil (usuability unknown)
  6. Fame Checker (no longer functional)
  7. Gold Teeth (no longer functional)
  8. 'Helix Fossil (usability unknown)
  9. Lift Key (no longer functional)
  10. Oak's Parcel (no longer functional)
  11. Old Amber (usability unknown)
  12. Poké Flute (usability unknown)
  13. Rainbow Pass (no longer functional)
  14. Ruby (no longer functional)
  15. Sapphire (no longer functional)
  16. Secret Key (no longer functional)
  17. Silph Scope (no longer functional)
  18. Tea (no longer functional)
  19. Teachy TV (usability unknown)
  20. TM Case (usability unknown)
  21. Town Map (no longer functional; was replaced with a Pokénav option)
  22. Tri-Pass (no longer functional)
  23. VS Seeker (usability unknown)


Unused items in Generation IV

The fourth generation of Pokémon games contain a significant amount of unobtainable items, especially after the release of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver as previous items such as Oak's Letter were usable within Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl and Pokémon Platinum but are unusable within Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver partly due to the fact that Sinnoh is unvisitable in the game. Like Generation III, these items likely exist because of evidence that Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were designed from the previous games. Interestingly, there are also a significant amount of items which are never obtainable as actual items within the player's bag, but are mentioned by other NPCs such as the Red Chain in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Other items like the Rule Book in the same games may have remained unobtainable because of their use in other interfaces within the game, or perhaps in the case of the Rule Book unneeded, because the Wi-Fi rules are mentioned in the game instruction booklet.

Various games

  1. ???: The error handler '???' is used by the game to denote items with invalid or undefined information. This error handler is useful, as it prevents the game using glitch dialog from other bytes in the RAM to denote the name of the item. Like in previous games, most items which use the error handler '???' have no 'Use' option, although they do have a 'Give' option.
  2. Cherish Ball: Although as of Generation IV it has been common for Nintendo to distribute many event or gift Pokémon in a Cherish Ball through a Pokémon Event or Mystery Gift the item itself has never been distributed on its own, or as an item held by a Pokémon. As a result, the item is as of now unobtainable within the player's bag without the use of a game-altering device. The ball has the description "A quite rare Poké Ball that has been specially crafted to commemorate an occasion of some sort." and if used, it has the capture rate of an ordinary Poké Ball.
  3. Park Ball: Similarly to the Safari Ball, although the Park Ball is normally only usable via a different interface which is in this case the Pal Park battle mode, item data does exist for if the player was to use a game-altering device to acquire the item in his or her bag. Like a Master Ball, its capture rate is 255x, hence the chance a player would capture a Pokémon using this ball is always 100%. Its description is "A special Poké Ball for the Pal Park."
  4. Safari Ball: As with previous generations, item data also exists for the Safari Ball in Generation IV even though it is only usable as part of an altered battle mode used in the Great Marsh, and later the Safari Zone in Johto. Its capture rate is the same as a Great Ball. Interestingly, its description is that it is a ball which can only be used in the Great Marsh; even though this is no longer the case in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
  5. Loot Sack: Item data for the Loot Sack exists within Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, Pokémon Platinum and later Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver regardless of the fact that the Underground used a seperate interface instead to allow the player to manage the items he or she obtains. The Underground was also removed in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, supporting the interpretation that these games were designed from the previous game engine.
  6. Rule Book: Item data for a Rule Book, which would contain rules on guidelines on how to trade Pokémon via the Global Trading System exists within the coding of the main handheld Generation IV games regardless of the fact that no mentioned guidelines were implemented into the final game. It is presumable that such a book was scrapped, because information on trading guidelines are mentioned in the game's instruction booklets and often error traps would stop the player from sending illegitimate Pokémon to other players, such as "This Pokémon cannot be traded."
  7. Seal Bag: Item data for a Seal Bag exists within the main handheld Generation IV games regardless of the fact that another interface was used, allowing players to store Seals in the PC instead. According to the game, the Seal Bag would hold up to 10 seals, however it is no longer useable.
  8. Magma Stone:The Magma Stone is a mentioned item by Buck in Pokémon Platinum, (although data for the Magma Stone also exists within Pokémon Diamond and Pearl) which would awaken Heatran if left at Stark Mountain. It is usually unobtainable within the player's bag however, as it remains hidden within Stark Mountain and in Pokémon Platinum, it is only temporarily in the possession of Buck until it is later returned. Regardless of this, item data for the Magma Stone exists in the Sinnoh based Generation IV games and later within Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
  9. Red Chain: The Red Chain is a mentioned item by Team Galaxy within Pokémon Diamond, Pokémon Pearl and Pokémon Platinum which was used to extract the gems from the bodies of Uxie, Mespirit and Azelf and combine them as a chain in order to control either Dialga or Palkia, as by capturing them in a Pokéball this would restrict their power. The item itself however, cannot be obtained in the player's bag within normal gameplay. Despite the fact that its item data was never used in these games, the Red Chain exists as item data again within Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, further supporting the theory that Nintendo used the engine of older games to develop the newer games. Its description in the player's bag is "A mythical chain that is said to link the legendary Pokémon that created the Sinnoh region. It is said that the Red Chain summons Dialga and Palkia when it is put together."

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver

  1. Lock Capsule: Item data exists within Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver for a Lock Capsule, however such an item is currently unobtainable. According to its in-game description, it is "A sturdy Capsule that can only be opened with a special key." Currently unused dialogue within the game include phrases such as "The Lock Capsule was delivered safely" and "The Lock Capsule is held in the strictest safekeeping." [2] which may suggest the Lock Capsule a either being a legitimate item which has not yet been released by Nintendo (which was the original case with Enigma Crystal) or as part of an older feature no longer present in the final game. The use of this item is currently unknown, as it always appears to give Rowan or Oak's message suggesting that the item cannot be used now.
  2. Photo Album: Item data exists within Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver for the Photo Album, regardless of the fact that photographs are normally stored in the player's PC instead. As an item in the bag, the Photo Album serves no use.
  3. SlowpokeTail: Interestingly, the SlowpokeTail is no longer obtainable in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver as it previously was in Pokémon Gold and Silver. Regardless of this, item data for the SlowpokeTail still exists. Like in the previous game, the SlowpokeTail serves no use, but can be sold for 4900 Pokédollars. An interesting fact is that its description does not directly refer to Slowpoke and rather states that it is "A very tasty tail of something.", which perhaps suggests that Nintendo were starting an attempt at lowering the concerns of people playing the games regarding animal cruelty.
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