#and it used to have wings on it's heels which is why the dex mentions it running fast

[adobe-outdesign]

Canon Pokedex Entries (That Belong To Beta Designs)

One interesting thing about Pokemon’s development history is that in the early gens, the ‘dex tended to be written early on, but then would never be updated after the designs were finalized. This means that a lot of Pokedex entries in the games apply to designs that we never got. I couldn’t find any collections of these “contradictory” entries, so I wanted to list them out here.

(Note that this strictly applies to Pokedex entries only. If you guys would be interested in seeing a list of similar non-Pokedex things, like typing or design elements held from the beta, let me know.)

Umbreon--Gold

When agitated, this Pokémon protects itself by spraying poisonous sweat from its pores.

We’ll start with an easy, well known one: Umbreon’s Gold entry mentions it spraying poison because it was originally meant to be a poison-type according to Gen 2′s Spaceworld beta.

Dragonair--FireRed

It is said to live in seas and lakes. Even though it has no wings, it has been seen flying occasionally.

Dragonair’s beta design was named “White Dragon”, and as you can see from the image above, it had no wings--hence why Dragonair’s FireRed entry claims that it flies without wings despite it very clearly having wings.

Arcanine--Blue/Red and Stadium

A Pokémon that has been admired since the past for its beauty. It runs agilely as if on wings.

A Pokémon whose beauty is legendary in China. It is said to run gracefully and lightly, as if it were flying.

Ignoring that the IRL location of China no longer exists in Pokemon, these entries mention it running “as if” it had wings or was flying. This is because Arcanine’s beta design, called “Wing”, had wings on its heels (which is also why Arcanine’s final design has clumps of fur around the legs).

Celebi--Gold

When Celebi disappears deep in a forest, it is said to leave behind an egg it brought from the future.

A very obscure and weird one. Celebi’s original design was based off of Kokopelli, a fertility deity worshipped by many indigenous cultures, such as the Hopi. Kokopelli is said to carry children on his back to give to women, hence this very weird Celebi entry that states that it brings eggs from the future. (Side note: this is also probably the biggest single improvement over the beta Gamefreak has ever done because seriously, what were they thinking).

Latias--Ruby

Latias is highly sensitive to the emotions of people. If it senses any hostility, this Pokémon ruffles the feathers all over its body and cries shrilly to intimidate the foe.

Latias appears to be fairly smooth in its final art, with not much implying it’s supposed to be feathery, and certainly not much implying it has enough long feathers to ruffle. This is because Latias and Blaziken were once one Pokemon; one that clearly had a lot more feathers than the final design does.

Shuckle--Gold, Crystal, and Black

The Berries it stores in its vase-like shell decompose and become a gooey liquid.

The fluid secreted by its toes carves holes in rocks for nesting and can be mixed with Berries to make a drink.

It stores berries in its shell. The berries eventually ferment to become delicious juices.

Another weird one. Based on Shuckle’s original design and its original Rock/Ground typing, Shuckle is either based off of snake wine of all things, or the act of fermenting alcohol in a jug or piece of pottery. This is why it has the category of “mold Pokemon” (”fermentation Pokemon” in the original Japanese) and why there’s an emphasis on it making fermented juices (alcohol) in the ‘dex.

Gligar--Gold and Ruby

It flies straight at its target's face then clamps down on the startled victim to inject poison.

Gligar glides through the air without a sound as if it were sliding. This Pokémon hangs on to the face of its foe using its clawed hind legs and the large pincers on its forelegs, then injects the prey with its poison barb.

It’s still somewhat there in the final design, but Gligar appears to be based off a facehugger, judging by the beta. It’s even possible that this is where the English name comes from (as in, H. R. Giger).

#pokemon #pkmn #beta pokemon #umbreon #dragonair #arcanine #celebi #latias #shuckles #gligar #outdesign posts things #was debating on including vulpix's entry about it being born with one tail because it originally had a pre evo with only three tails #but that's not a direct contradiction and it has to do with a pre evo rather than just an old beta design for vulpix itself

[adobe-outdesign]

my never ending search to acquire more and more obscure pieces of Pokemon media has lead me to understand some wild shit in gen 1 and 2. like anytime you think “oh that’s weird, why is [thing] like that” it’s probably either some obscure shit or something got changed in beta

for example, you know those weird-ass pokedex entries for Kadabra that are like “lol a kid turned into one of these once. no we’re not explaining anything”

well there’s this book in Japan called Pocket Monsters Encyclopedia released in 1996 that was never translated. It’s notable for basically being the Forbidden Adult Pokedex(TM) that we all want, as it has much longer ‘dex entries for each Pokemon along with more scientific data. While large portions have been retconned over the years, it offers some massive insight into what was going through the dev’s minds when writing this shit, and is 100% canon (for the time period it was written in).

anyway, while it was never translated, DidYouKnowGaming?, being the hero we all need, purchased a copy and had the same translator who translated the games themselves translate the book. Part 1 of the video is below, and I highly recommend you check it out if you like obscure vintage Pokemon shit.

Anyway, the point is that this is what it says about Kadabra:

FUCKING KAFKA. IN MY POKEMON. IT’S MORE LIKELY THAN YOU MIGHT THINK

So basically the ‘dex entries are referencing an in-universe book plot that’s a reference to The Metamorphosis, except due to a lack of space they fucking cut out the part about it being a book, which seems kind of important, but hey what do I know

(Side note: the ‘dex entries saying stuff like “it is rumored that” and “a theory exists” don’t quite line up with it being a book plot, so it’s possible this was retconned, or the book was based off an in-universe event. but this at least tells us why these weird-ass entries exist in the first place and that’s enough for me)

anyway the most important part of this is that the Abra line is confirmed to not be based on foxes, possums, or cats, but cockroaches. thank you for coming to my TED talk

#pokemon #pkmn #kadabra #outdesign posts things #also arcanine was originally going to be a legendary which is why the anime groups it with the birds once or twice #and why it has the title 'legendary' pokemon #and it used to have wings on it's heels which is why the dex mentions it running fast #this information is completely useless but lives rent-free in my mind #greatest hits