Pokémon Rumors

March 12, 2007 – last updated

You may have heard rumors about the video games, cards, or animé. Here is a small collection of several I have found.

Green: True
Red: False
Blue: Mixed
Gray: Unconfirmed

RBY: Red/Blue/Yellow
GSC: Gold/Silver/Crystal
RSE: Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald
FrLg: FireRed/LeafGreen
DPP: Diamond/Pearl/Platinum
HgSs: HeartGold/SoulSilver
BW: Black/White
XY: X/Y
SM: Sun/Moon
SwSh: Sword/Shield
Others are spelled out

1. Zorua, Zoroark, and Other Gen. 5 Pokémon in Prior Games

DPP/HgSs/BW

I can't believe I'm saying this. As weird as this sounds, there are lots of rumors on the Internet about getting Zorua and Zoroark, as well as Snivy, Tepig, Oshawott, Reshiram, and Zekrom, in HeartGold, SoulSilver, Platinum, Diamond, and Pearl. Quite a few searches have been conducted by users looking for Action Replay (AR) codes for their copies of HgSs and DPP. Even immediately after many of the new Pokémon were revealed, there were already folks looking for AR codes. No, there is no illusory Zoroark in Pokémon Platinum, and there will never be. The fourth generation games end with Arceus (#493) and don't go any farther. Zekrom and Reshiram do not randomly replace Dialga and Palkia during the Spear Pillar cutscene. They are only in Pokémon Black and White and many games released afterwards.

2. Gold and Silver Remakes

GSC/HgSs

This rumor has been officially confirmed! There WILL be a Gold and Silver remake, titled HeartGold and SoulSilver, respectively. From the official Japanese Pokémon website, 『ポケットモンスター 金・銀』から10年新生『ハートゴールド・ソウルシルバー』今秋 発売! Translated, it says "10 years since Pocket Monsters Gold/Silver, HeartGold/SoulSilver to be released this fall!" Here are the official Japanese logos:

HeartGold/SoulSilver logos
HeartGold and SoulSilver Japanese logos

This entry was originally written before HeartGold & SoulSilver were confirmed. The previous text is quoted below:

This rumor has been spreading for quite some time. However, this one is unknown, as it may currently be a work-in-progress. If made, it will likely be for the Nintendo DS, seeing how Diamond and Pearl have been released and the Game Boy Advance is fading fast. Two good reasons are that the game coding to accept Pokémon from the Johto region was in Diamond and Pearl and FireRed and LeafGreen were released to compliment Red, Blue, and Yellow. A rumor existed that DuskGold and DawnSilver are registered trademarks owned by Nintendo (not true, but Nintendo does own Pocket Monsters WhiteGold and Pocket Monsters MoonStone). More recently, both the animé and the games have been making lots of hints regarding Gold and Silver, so maybe this shows that a remake is coming soon!

3. Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG)

Windows PC/Nintendo Wii

This is probably the single most-wanted game in Pokémon. It would be awesome to battle others à la World of Warcraft. For now, it's just imagination. Some people have taken the project into their own hands, such as Pokémon World Online, but many want an official one! A recent official announcement stated that an MMORPG is not in planning. We'll just have to keep waiting or just play the unofficial ones until then.

4. Mew

RBY/GSC/RSE/FrLg/DPP

Mew
Mew, #151

Mew--the biggest rumors have starred Mew. Nintendo has stated numerous times that there is absolutely NO way to get Mew without a Nintendo Event or hacking device. In disbelief, many people fabricated a variety of ways to obtain this elusive Pokémon. So, I will split this section up.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REAL WAY TO GET MEW
This real way was also long considered a rumor among many until people started doing it, finding out it's true.

A. The Truck

Truck from RBY
The truck that started it all

This has to be THE most famous method to not get Mew. Here's how it would (not) work: When you're in Vermilion City, you must trade with a friend without talking to the captain of the S.S. Anne, thus preventing the ship from leaving. Continue on with the game until you get HM03 (Surf) and HM04 (Strength). Return to the S.S. Anne and surf to a little area to the right. You will see a truck (this part is true). The speculation is that you'll get Mew if you use Strength on the truck. Sorry, but no Mew!

There is another way to keep the S.S. Anne from leaving, and that's to lose a trainer battle on the ship after talking to the captain.

...And recently I found out about a third way: Play the game normal, allowing the S.S. Anne to depart. Once you get Surf, head to the port. Save here, facing the exact same direction as in the picture:

Sneaking onto the S.S. Anne

Reset and load up your game. Without moving, bring up the menu and surf. You will literally surf on the guard! Move downward and you'll see the ship is gone, even though you can still "board" it. Surf east as normal.

The funniest part is that the truck appears again in FireRed and LeafGreen!

Truck from FireRed/LeafGreen

B. Bill's Secret Garden

Some people have noticed the small area behind Bill's house and created a rumor for Mew there. This method was sent in by technogeek00:

Supposedly there is a way to get into Bill's "secret" garden. The first thing you have to do is get a starter pokemon play the game untill you are allowed to trade, trade that to another game, then repeat to get the other two. Then trade them all back so you have 1 bulbusar, 1 charmander, and 1 squirtle. Then you play the game until you get to teh electric plant, stoping those three characters from evolving so they stay in their stage 1. In the electric plant you capture elctrobuzz and go directly to Bill's house and avoid all the trainers and run from all battles. Move Electrabuzz to your leader and have the 3 others following and 2 empty spaces.

Then you go into Bill's house and go to the back wall and supposidly hit A and a door appears after a message saying, the wall sounds hollow. Go through the door and Bill's Garden is there with all the charmander's, bulbusar's, and squirtle's you want. Then in the back of the garden theres a rock and when you touch it, mew comes out and attacks you, battle, capture and you have mew. then you have to get out of the garden and save right after you leave Bill's house or mew dies.

Really dumb, i cant believe people tried that.

C. Level 49 Magikarp

This one is kind of weird. First, you must put a Magikarp in the daycare without letting it get any experience points or items used on it. Then, run around until it gets to level 49 (this can get annoying). Retrieve the Magikarp from the daycare lady and level it up once more with a Rare Candy. Instead of evolving into Gyarados, it'll evolve into Mew! (Yeah, right.)

D. GameShark

Yes, this is one of only three real ways to get Mew. But plenty of codes will trick you, as well! 011564D1 is an example for Red/Blue/Yellow. All this does is change your starter's image to that of Mew. 019724DA (for Gold/Silver/Crystal) is another. It will change the second Pokémon in your group into a Mew...sort of.

E. Mystery Gift

I don't know where this one came from, but someone said that if you use Mystery Gift in Diamond or Pearl enough, you will eventually find a Mew. (But so far, Manaphy, Darkrai, and Deoxys have been given away through Mystery Gift!)

F. Get All 150

Catch all 150 in Red, Blue, or Yellow, and then talk to the Game Freak worker in the tower in Celadon City. He will give you a diploma and a Mew. This one does not work in the Japanese version either, regardless of that speculation.

5. The Spaceship

RSE

Back when Ruby and Sapphire was released, a rumor spread about the Space Center in Mossdeep City. The person outside says something about the spaceship launch number. Supposedly, if a certain number appears (often 100), you can board the ship and travel to space to catch a legendary Pokémon. Many times it is Deoxys. Of course, none of it is true.

6. Pikablu

RBY

Pikablu, the evolved form of Raichu, was a rumor going around surrounding Marill before the release of the English version of the first movie. Promotional images included Marill, as seen in the short, Pikachu's Vacation. Marill was one of 3 new Gold/Silver Pokémon to debut in this movie, the other two being Snubbull and Donphan. But Marill's resemblance to Pikachu caused this rumor to spread everywhere.

Marill/Pikablu
Marill, the Aqua Mouse Pokémon, A.K.A. Pikablu

7. Make a Master Ball out of any Poké Ball

RBY/GSC/RSE/FrLg/DPP

This rumor, which is told about all Pokémon games, usually includes pressing a combination of buttons when you throw a ball to catch a wild Pokémon. Of course, it doesn't actually work. It's highly random whether or not you'll catch something, in addition to how much you weakened it. Common combinations include Down+B, A+Right, L+Left, A+B+X+Y, Select+Start+A+B (this one resets the Game Boy), L+R+Select+Start (resets the DS), and even A+B+X+Y+Select+Start+L+R+Up+Right. Some varieties include selecting an Ultra Ball specifically. However, none of the games have coding to accept any of these codes as a way of altering the catch rate.

8. Gotta Catch 'em All!

RBY/GSC/RSE/FrLg/DPP

As another rumor starting with the original games (see Mew, F above), the rumor about extra Pokémon was not to be avoided. This one is still being spread, as well. If you catch all the Pokémon in any version of the game, you can get access to something really rare and special, often Mew, Celebi, Deoxys, Jirachi, Darkrai, Shaymin, and Arceus.

9. Digimon, Digital Monsters

RBY/GSC/RSE/FrLg/DPP

I seriously don't know where this rumor came from, but someone said you can get a number of Digimon in Pokémon games.

Agumon
Agumon

10. Celebi, the Time-Traveler

GSC

This falsification often involved the GS Ball, a reference to the anime. Sometimes you had to meet Ho-Oh, Lugia, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. Sometimes you had to find a flute. In Crystal version, it is possible to hack the GS Ball (ironic that the GS Ball exists in-game already) and meet Celebi.

11. Latias and Latios

RSE

Yet another find-the-Pokémon game, the rumor states that Latias and Latios lived at the top of the Battle Tower. If you got enough wins, you could go up there and battle both of them. Often, they were cited as level 100.

12. so i herd u liek mudkipz

DPP

Based on the Internet meme, this transitory rumor was about an über Mudkip. If you beat the Elite Four 100 times, you would receive a Mudkip, level 999, with 999 in all of its stats, holding a rare item (can't remember what it was).

13. Elite Four...Hundred

RBY/GSC/RSE/FrLg/DPP

Beat the Elite Four hundreds of times and you get something rare...not.

14. Eeveelutions

RBY/DPP/XY/SwSh

"Using a Leaf Stone will give you a grass-type Eevee." It was a common misconception from the original Red and Blue, because the other three purchasable stones were used on Eevees. Leafeon didn't come until Diamond and Pearl, and at the time you could not use a Leaf Stone. You had to level it up near a strange rock in Eterna Forest, and that rock (along with the one to evolve Glaceon) would be present in every game through Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon.

X & Y introduced Sylveon, which evolved by using the new Pokémon Amie feature to boost its affection and by learning a Fairy-type move; it did not evolve with an item.

However, in Sword & Shield, in an attempt to simplify certain aspects of the game, Eevee can now evolve into Leafeon and Glaceon by using the Leaf Stone and Ice Stone, respectively. Sylveon has changed to require high friendship.

Eeveelutions
All the Eevee forms, except Sylveon

15. Other Strange Evolutions/Nintendo Crossovers

RBY/GSC/RSE/FrLg/DPP

Over the years, people made up many things about evolutions. Details are here.

A. Mewone-two-three

Again on Mew, people said Mew could evolve into Mewtwo or Mewthree, often using something fake or a Rare Candy.

B. Yoshi's Story

I'll say it now...there is no Yoshi in Pokémon, except for a couple trainers with that name! No, Dragonite does not evolve into it.

Yoshi from MK64
Yoshi!

C. It's-a me, Mario!

Mario is only alluded to on a couple game consoles. Mario is not a trainer with characters from the franchise as Pokémon.

D. Super Pokémon Bros.

Very recently, after a webcomic showed Bowser commanding Koopas and Goombas like Pokémon, another ephemeral hearsay spready of Mario characters in Pokémon. Please, people, it's ONLY a webcomic!

Koopa Paratroopa SMBGoomba from SMBMario from SMBBowser from SMBPiranha Plant from SMBBoo from SMWRex from SMW
Nope, none of these guys are in Pokémon.

E. I'm Bowser, bwa ha ha ha ha!

Nope, there's no Bowser, either. And he does not evolve from Torterra.

TorterraBowser
They do look similar, though!

16. Togepi

RBY

More rumors preceded Pikablu of an unreleased Pokémon...Togepi. Some people say that you get it by going to Grandfather Canyon in the game, which doesn't exist. Others say you go to Professor Oak after completing your Pokédex. Who knows? Those are all lies for catching it in the first generation game. Of course, we know quite well now that Generation 2 introduced Togepi, along with Togetic. Togekiss was introduced in Generation 4.

17. Buizel and Aipom

Animé

There was a massive debate over this rumor of whether or not Ash's Aipom (caught in the Battle Frontier) and Dawn's Buizel (caught in Sinnoh) would eventually be traded, as Buizel loves battling and Aipom loves contests, and their respected trainer liked the opposite. Eventually, the trade occured.

BuizelAipom
Buizel and Aipom had to be traded eventually

18. Mewthree

RBY/GSC/RSE/FrLg/DPP

This was a rather short-lived rumor about supposedly what could happen if Mewtwo evolved. This one is also proved false, including all the random evolution methods.

19. Pokémon Diamond and Jade

Game Boy Color

These are the biggest Pokémon rips to date. First, yes there is a Pokémon game called Pokémon Diamond (and Pearl) for the DS. It is not to be confused with the Game Boy Color hack.

Fake Pokémon Diamond
The infamous fake Pokémon Diamond

These are very interesting. The game itself is simply a poor translation of a Japanese game with no mention of Pokémon in the game--at all. Instead they call them "electric monsters." However, these monsters are a bit different than the Pokémon. You don't capture them with Poké Balls; instead you defeat them and use a DShoot (a cell phone-like device) to call them to you. Weird. And, by the way, the introduction takes about 10 minutes the watch and read all the text of the introduction. BORING!

A word of advice for buyers on eBay: unless you're searching to buy one of these fakes, be sure to read the entire ad for a Diamond game before bidding! (Apparently, eBay banned all sales of these fakes.)

20. Wizards of the Coast or Nintendo

Trading Card Game

Once a rumor, now the truth, was that Nintendo would take over the TCG from Wizards of the Coast.

TCG back
Trading card back, used in all standard sets outside of Japan

21. Pokémon Battles in 3D

Pokémon Stadium/Stadium 2/Colosseum/Battle Revolution

This was a really old rumor, which repeated once Stadium 2, Colosseum, and Battle Revolution were about to be officially announced. This is another one that was proven to be true.

Pokémon StadiumPokémon Stadium 2Pokémon ColosseumPokémon Battle Revolution
Pokémon Stadium, Stadium 2, Colosseum, and Battle Revolution

22. Alleged Starters

DPP

Shortly after Diamond and Pearl were announced, a user by the name of PurpleKecleon created an image of three fake Pokémon, which she originally claimed were the starters. Of course, her different-typed Pokémon were proven to be jokes when the real starters (Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup) were unveiled.

PurpleKecleon's fake DP starters
The fake starters (click to see larger)

23. Atomic Number 74, 195.09 g·mol−1 (Platinum)

DPP

Another early rumor following Diamond and Pearl was the third version, dubbed by many as "Opal" or "Platinum". To the shock of many Pokémon fans, the next version was named Platinum and the star was Giratina!


Giratina's Origin Forme

24. PurpleKecleon Strikes Back

DPP

After PurpleKecleon hoaxed us with the DP starters, we didn't expect her to do it again (or would we...)! Anyway, this time, it was the Sky Forme Shaymin, recently announced by Nintendo. Lots of info on the origins of this rumor can be found here: https://eevee.livejournal.com/289857.html. Congratulations, PurpleKecleon, you fooled us all!

PurpleKecleon's fake ShayminShaymin
The first image is the fake Sky Forme (posted on /v/ on 4chan); the second is the real Sky Forme artwork by Ken Sugimori. Click the first image to see the original.

25. Charcoal

RBY/XY

This rumor is nearly as old as Pokémon Red and Blue. In fact, that's where it started. First, Charcoal is supposedly #006½, #000, or #152 (remember how old this is). He evolves from Charizard after some random event (it changes every time this rumor is passed on). Sometimes it's talking to a trainer 1,000 times or flying to Cinnabar Island to do the MISSINGNO. glitch. Or perhaps using a Fire Stone. Nintendo has stated that there is no such Pokémon in any of their games. Hackers have been able to prove this.

Pokémon X & Y introduced Mega Evolutions, and Charizard received two of them. Giving a Charizard the Charizardite X or Y items allows it to Mega Evolve into Mega Charizard X or Mega Charizard Y, respectively. The X form might resemble some of the early ideas of a Charizard evolution.

Here is a picture of a shiny Charizard, next to a picture of Mega Charizard X, which are something like what people have speculated that the mysterious Charcoal looks like:

Shiny CharizardMega Charizard X
Shiny Charizard and Mega Charizard X—not related to Charcoal

26. Kangaskhan's Baby

RBY/XY

Kangaskhan carries a baby Kangaskhan in its pouch. It is one of the few Pokémon that can only be female, and when it hatches from an egg the baby is already there. Many have hypothesized that Kangaskhan's baby is actually a Cubone, mostly due to the similar appearances of the Pokémon (such that the baby would have a similar appearance as a Cubone without a skull), but also due to a grim side effect of a glitch.

In the first-generation games (and their remakes), Team Rocket attempts to steal the Cubone within Pokémon Tower in Fuchsia City to sell their skulls, and they kill a Marowak who is protecting her Cubone child. When the player climbs the tower, they are stopped by a ghost, revealed by the Silph Scope to be the spirit of the aforementioned Marowak. This Marowak is uncatchable and must be defeated so she can pass peacefully into the afterlife.

When performing the MissingNo. glitch, it is possible to encounter ▄█ 'M ▓▒ instead. If ▄█ 'M ▓▒ or MissingNo. are caught, the game checks whether Cubone has been registered in the Pokédex; if not, a garbled entry is displayed. In addition, if a Rare Candy is used on ▄█ 'M ▓▒, it will evolve into Kangaskhan. (As a fun side effect, if ▄█ 'M ▓▒ is taught Fly beforehand, Kangaskhan will be able to use it; try battling with it in Stadium afterwards!)

Starting in Pokémon X & Y, Kangaskhan can Mega Evolve when holding a Kangaskhanite. As a Mega Kangaskhan, its baby hops out of the pouch, and the animations show a double-team (not the move Double Team) attack.

CuboneMarowakKangaskhanMega Kangaskhan
Cubone, Marowak, Kangaskhan, and Mega Kangaskhan