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Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts - Page 1

Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Torchickens
Date: 2014-04-21 19:40:00
In the Japanese main series Generation I games (excluding Yellow as the chairs no longer give you those messages in that version), for Safari Zone rest houses 2, 3, 4 (the prize house doesn't count); i.e. maps 223, 224, 225 respectively, there are hidden texts for when you press A on the bottom-left chairs.

These are, in order:

"ぼく と な" (rest house 2)
"はて つちっ" (rest house 3)
"の の
どに くてだって!" (rest house 4)

In IIMarckus' Pokémon Red text dump (and the Yellow one too), a translation of the rest house 4 one appears, and the two texts before it are likely translations for the rest house 2 and 3 texts, though they aren't literal translations:

I wish I could
catch POKéMON.


I'm tired from
all the fun…


SILPH's manager
is hiding in the
SAFARI ZONE.


The first two don't seem out of the ordinary, I don't know why they were removed, but the last one is not a true statement at all (well as far as I know). Interestingly "の", the original phrase is a katakana rendering for "Silph's Chief", and this is the Japanese name of the unused Chief Trainer class! A more literal version of the Japanese version is like; "I heard that somewhere in the Safari Zone the Silph's Chief is hiding".

Stilgar previously talked about the translated version in this thread.

I found these hidden texts thanks to this page about Generation I Pokémon oddities from the site 'Legendary Star Blob'.

If you go to those rest houses in the localizations or Japanese Yellow, the chairs no longer give you those messages.

Is it possible that in one point of development there were NPCs on those chairs?

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: PokeGlitchFanatic
Date: 2014-04-27 20:52:25
Man.Thats weird…

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Stilgar
Date: 2014-05-01 12:08:56
Sorry for replying only now, I have been away from home for more than a week.
Thanks for helping about the find, I didn't know they actually appeared in the game on the chairs. I am sure they belong to previous NPCs, since the "I'm tired from all the fun" is actually said in game by an NPC in a rest house, but it's slightly changed, it is something like "Whew, I'm tired from all the fun!".
This probably further hints as the fact that there was a different plot before and that the Silph's Chief probably appears in the Secret House where you get Surf, hence why the Silph-like machinery. Also, if you use a map editor, there are unused tiles of the "Poké" sign outside of Rest Houses and hidden PCs you can use with the WTW code, so probably the Houses had the same function of a Pokémon Center and you could bring Pokémon inside the Safari Zone, also the guy who said those lines is probably the one who usually stands on the couch, here's why the lines are together with the ones belonging to him in the text dump.
Damn, this makes me wish even more that a beta version with the different plot actually existed…

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Stackout
Date: 2014-05-01 13:20:27

Damn, this makes me wish even more that a beta version with the different plot actually existed…


The only proto we know about is that Game Center CX one.

I doubt we'll ever see a leak of any Pokémon proto. (obviously not counting that German Ruby debug ROM)

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Torchickens
Date: 2014-05-01 14:05:27

Sorry for replying only now, I have been away from home for more than a week.
Thanks for helping about the find, I didn't know they actually appeared in the game on the chairs. I am sure they belong to previous NPCs, since the "I'm tired from all the fun" is actually said in game by an NPC in a rest house, but it's slightly changed, it is something like "Whew, I'm tired from all the fun!".
This probably further hints as the fact that there was a different plot before and that the Silph's Chief probably appears in the Secret House where you get Surf, hence why the Silph-like machinery. Also, if you use a map editor, there are unused tiles of the "Poké" sign outside of Rest Houses and hidden PCs you can use with the WTW code, so probably the Houses had the same function of a Pokémon Center and you could bring Pokémon inside the Safari Zone, also the guy who said those lines is probably the one who usually stands on the couch, here's why the lines are together with the ones belonging to him in the text dump.
Damn, this makes me wish even more that a beta version with the different plot actually existed…


That's OK, I wouldn't mind if you didn't reply but I'm glad you did and shared something else to support the couch man theory. I'm happy that you found this and how it helped you learn more about those texts.

I heard IIMarckus say on your Jul thread that the hidden text from the Japanese versions is implemented like a hidden object, apparently in the same way the text for the NPC who sits on a couch works. I didn't notice that the unused text is grouped with the couch NPC texts. Nice find!

Specifically, the unused texts (in the English versions) are after the couch text for Route 3 and Route 9 Pokémon Centers (which is after the text for the Lavender Town, Cerulean City, Pewter City and Viridian City Pokémon Centers) and before the Vermilion City Pokémon Center. Those Route 3 and Route 9 Pokémon Centers do not belong to actual towns/cities/Cinnabar Island (I wish there was one collective word for this), so these texts probably wouldn't be for 'main' Pokémon Centers like maps, but it wouldn't seem likely of there being 3 extra towns anyway.

Also, to repeat what Stag019 said, the extra couch NPCs theory suits how PCs are found in the relevant rest houses in the same coordinates as they would be in a Pokémon Center, because the couch NPCs are found in Pokémon Centers, suggesting that these rest houses may have been at least reworked from Pokémon Centers.


Additionally, when healing at a Pokémon Center, the game saves your current location as the place to return to when using e.g. Teleport. The code checks if you're in one of the rest houses, and if so will not save your location.


I'm curious if in any of the Japanese versions entering one of these then using Teleport outside of the Safari Zone would warp you back in outside the rest house.

Edit: That's not how it works. You have to talk to the Pokémon Center nurse and heal in Generation I for Teleport's location to change.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: pokechu22
Date: 2014-05-01 16:55:15


Sorry for replying only now, I have been away from home for more than a week.
Thanks for helping about the find, I didn't know they actually appeared in the game on the chairs. I am sure they belong to previous NPCs, since the "I'm tired from all the fun" is actually said in game by an NPC in a rest house, but it's slightly changed, it is something like "Whew, I'm tired from all the fun!".
This probably further hints as the fact that there was a different plot before and that the Silph's Chief probably appears in the Secret House where you get Surf, hence why the Silph-like machinery. Also, if you use a map editor, there are unused tiles of the "Poké" sign outside of Rest Houses and hidden PCs you can use with the WTW code, so probably the Houses had the same function of a Pokémon Center and you could bring Pokémon inside the Safari Zone, also the guy who said those lines is probably the one who usually stands on the couch, here's why the lines are together with the ones belonging to him in the text dump.
Damn, this makes me wish even more that a beta version with the different plot actually existed…


That's OK, I wouldn't mind if you didn't reply but I'm glad you did and shared something else to support the couch man theory. I'm happy that you found this and how it helped you learn more about those texts.

I heard IIMarckus say on your Jul thread that the hidden text from the Japanese versions is implemented like a hidden object, apparently in the same way the text for the NPC who sits on a couch works. I didn't notice that the unused text is grouped with the couch NPC texts. Nice find!

Specifically, the unused texts (in the English versions) are after the couch text for Route 3 and Route 9 Pokémon Centers (which is after the text for the Lavender Town, Cerulean City, Pewter City and Viridian City Pokémon Centers) and before the Vermilion City Pokémon Center. Those Route 3 and Route 9 Pokémon Centers do not belong to actual towns/cities/Cinnabar Island (I wish there was one collective word for this), so these texts probably wouldn't be for 'main' Pokémon Centers like maps, but it wouldn't seem likely of there being 3 extra towns anyway.

Also, to repeat what Stag019 said, the extra couch NPCs theory suits how PCs are found in the relevant rest houses in the same coordinates as they would be in a Pokémon Center, because the couch NPCs are found in Pokémon Centers, suggesting that these rest houses may have been at least reworked from Pokémon Centers.


Additionally, when healing at a Pokémon Center, the game saves your current location as the place to return to when using e.g. Teleport. The code checks if you're in one of the rest houses, and if so will not save your location.


I'm curious if in any of the Japanese versions entering one of these then using Teleport outside of the Safari Zone would warp you back in outside the rest house.

Edit: That's not how it works. You have to talk to the Pokémon Center nurse and heal in Generation I for Teleport's location to change.


If one were to forcibly display the heal dialog in them, could that work? 

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: PokeGlitchFanatic
Date: 2014-05-01 20:26:34
God. The first gen was screwed up.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Stilgar
Date: 2014-05-01 21:00:45


Damn, this makes me wish even more that a beta version with the different plot actually existed…


The only proto we know about is that Game Center CX one.

I doubt we'll ever see a leak of any Pokémon proto. (obviously not counting that German Ruby debug ROM)


Do you mean the video with the Tajiri interview or there is more? I need to search more about this, especially if there are some in-game images (I doubt it, though).
Yeah, I know that the possibilities of a leak are very scarce, I'm hoping for never seen before art in the upcoming Sugimori artbook and I would be enough happy with it alone. If I had the capabilities and the knowledge I would have already recreated the plot based on the info we have with a Gen I hack.

Anyway, as Pokechu22 said, I was also thinking whether it is possible to force a healing dialogue to appear and then check if the Teleport works, who knows.


Sorry for replying only now, I have been away from home for more than a week.
Thanks for helping about the find, I didn't know they actually appeared in the game on the chairs. I am sure they belong to previous NPCs, since the "I'm tired from all the fun" is actually said in game by an NPC in a rest house, but it's slightly changed, it is something like "Whew, I'm tired from all the fun!".
This probably further hints as the fact that there was a different plot before and that the Silph's Chief probably appears in the Secret House where you get Surf, hence why the Silph-like machinery. Also, if you use a map editor, there are unused tiles of the "Poké" sign outside of Rest Houses and hidden PCs you can use with the WTW code, so probably the Houses had the same function of a Pokémon Center and you could bring Pokémon inside the Safari Zone, also the guy who said those lines is probably the one who usually stands on the couch, here's why the lines are together with the ones belonging to him in the text dump.
Damn, this makes me wish even more that a beta version with the different plot actually existed…


That's OK, I wouldn't mind if you didn't reply but I'm glad you did and shared something else to support the couch man theory. I'm happy that you found this and how it helped you learn more about those texts.

I heard IIMarckus say on your Jul thread that the hidden text from the Japanese versions is implemented like a hidden object, apparently in the same way the text for the NPC who sits on a couch works. I didn't notice that the unused text is grouped with the couch NPC texts. Nice find!

Specifically, the unused texts (in the English versions) are after the couch text for Route 3 and Route 9 Pokémon Centers (which is after the text for the Lavender Town, Cerulean City, Pewter City and Viridian City Pokémon Centers) and before the Vermilion City Pokémon Center. Those Route 3 and Route 9 Pokémon Centers do not belong to actual towns/cities/Cinnabar Island (I wish there was one collective word for this), so these texts probably wouldn't be for 'main' Pokémon Centers like maps, but it wouldn't seem likely of there being 3 extra towns anyway.

Also, to repeat what Stag019 said, the extra couch NPCs theory suits how PCs are found in the relevant rest houses in the same coordinates as they would be in a Pokémon Center, because the couch NPCs are found in Pokémon Centers, suggesting that these rest houses may have been at least reworked from Pokémon Centers.


Additionally, when healing at a Pokémon Center, the game saves your current location as the place to return to when using e.g. Teleport. The code checks if you're in one of the rest houses, and if so will not save your location.


I'm curious if in any of the Japanese versions entering one of these then using Teleport outside of the Safari Zone would warp you back in outside the rest house.

Edit: That's not how it works. You have to talk to the Pokémon Center nurse and heal in Generation I for Teleport's location to change.


As pokechu22 said, I was also thinking whether it is possible to force a healing dialogue to appear and then check if the Teleport works, who knows. But yeah, I am pretty sure the Rest Houses were modeled around PokéCenters since there are also tilesets with the Poké sign as I wrote before.
I've seen the IImarckus post indeed and I was very surprised to see the NPC is part of the tileset, I didn't expect that and never noticed it before in the tileset in the editor (indeed my suspicion that these lines were unused text also rose because they were grouped together with the NPC's other lines). Also thanks to him I figured out that the other binoculars-related dialogue referring to "a beautiful view" appear when you defeat or catch Snorlax, I have never noticed that before.


Also, probably you already know about this, but in Yellow, if you talk to the Jigglypuff in the Pewter City Pokémon Center and then to the Nurse, the dialogue "It looks very content asleep" will pop up.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Torchickens
Date: 2014-05-02 07:22:32

Also, probably you already know about this, but in Yellow, if you talk to the Jigglypuff in the Pewter City Pokémon Center and then to the Nurse, the dialogue "It looks very content asleep" will pop up.


I didn't know this. The following Pikachu must be there and asleep (not moving) for this message to appear, so you can't do it without Pikachu in your party.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Stilgar
Date: 2014-05-02 10:46:38


Also, probably you already know about this, but in Yellow, if you talk to the Jigglypuff in the Pewter City Pokémon Center and then to the Nurse, the dialogue "It looks very content asleep" will pop up.


I didn't know this. The following Pikachu must be there and asleep (not moving) for this message to appear, so you can't do it without Pikachu in your party.


Uhm, so probably is the Nurse herself which says this line? Like "Oh, your Pikachu looks very content asleep"? Because if it refers to the Nurse falling asleep, it would be "She looks very content asleep", right?

Another suspicious line is in Saffron City, in the house with the girl writing the letter to the guy in Vermilion. If you talk to her, she will say:

"Thank you for
writing. I hope
to see you soon!

Hey! Don't look
at my letter!"

while the letter says:

"I was given a PP
UP as a gift.

It's used for
increasing the PP
of techniques!"

I suspect there might have been a swap between the two dialogues here (the dialogue is similar in the Japanese versions too), because the guy in Vermilion says:

"I'm getting my
PIDGEY to fly a
letter to SAFFRON
in the north!"

while the letter says:

"Dear PIPPI, I hope
to see you soon.

I heard SAFFRON
has problems with
TEAM ROCKET.

VERMILION appears
to be safe."

so logically-wise, the Saffron letter should be a reply for thanking the guy for writing her, not an advice about PP-UP, which makes more sense if it belonged to the girl.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Torchickens
Date: 2014-05-02 11:36:23

Uhm, so probably is the Nurse herself which says this line? Like "Oh, your Pikachu looks very content asleep"? Because if it refers to the Nurse falling asleep, it would be "She looks very content asleep", right?


Yeah, or let's not rule out it could be a 'narration'/a note from the player character like the "A sports game! Dad'll like that!" message when you talk to one of the TV screens in Celadon Department Store's 3F (incidentally this is called the 'TV Game Shop' and that's a Japanese term when applied to video games in general, we mainly just use 'video game' or 'computer game'. It can't be used here in the context of a plug and play game because there's a SNES next to the TV)  but that may be less likely as you have to talk to the nurse and Pikachu wouldn't be in your range of sight.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Stilgar
Date: 2014-05-02 13:47:26
I think it's sort of a comment by the Nurse about how cute is Pikachu when it's asleep (if you talk to Pikachu he's sleeping, indeed), because if the Nurse was asleep, the sentence should be "She looks so content…", the "it" probably refers to the Pokémon, also because you couldn't have this sentence when directly talking to Pikachu, since only his reactions pop up and no actual phrases when doing so.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: Bent`
Date: 2014-05-02 13:53:27



Also, probably you already know about this, but in Yellow, if you talk to the Jigglypuff in the Pewter City Pokémon Center and then to the Nurse, the dialogue "It looks very content asleep" will pop up.


I didn't know this. The following Pikachu must be there and asleep (not moving) for this message to appear, so you can't do it without Pikachu in your party.


Uhm, so probably is the Nurse herself which says this line? Like "Oh, your Pikachu looks very content asleep"? Because if it refers to the Nurse falling asleep, it would be "She looks very content asleep", right?


Yes, it is the nurse who says that. You also cant deposit Pikachu in the PC while its asleep from Jigglypuffs song.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: stag019
Date: 2015-01-23 05:55:46
I'm curious if in any of the Japanese versions entering one of these then using Teleport outside of the Safari Zone would warp you back in outside the rest house.

Edit: That's not how it works. You have to talk to the Pokémon Center nurse and heal in Generation I for Teleport's location to change.
I'm not able to actually test it to see if it's true, but in 96% certain that code 100% functionally identical is located in all 24 Generation I releases. It makes sense that if the code is in a newer release (English Red/Blue), it would also be in the older releases (Japanese Red/Green). Here is a list of the locations of the code in all 24 Generation I releases.

Re: Safari Zone: Mysterious hidden texts

Posted by: SatoMew
Date: 2016-12-23 13:44:52
TCRF says that there is an untranslated data corruption error used by the Cable Club in Red and Green.

https://github.com/YamaArashi/pokered-jp/blob/master/engine/cable_club.asm#L310-L318

Does it even exist in the English versions and, if so, is it returned as mojibake?