Glitch
Aglitch, also known as abug, is a software error that can lead to unintended behavior in software like thePokémon games. It can be triggered from mistakes within the game's code or by exploits that were not anticipated by the programmers, thus causing the game to react unexpectedly. Glitches present in Pokémon games can have a variety of effects, such as the disruption of graphics or audio effects, the appearance ofglitch Pokémon, the corruption ofsave data, or agame freeze where the game must be restarted to continue.
When noticed, glitches may be fixed by its developers in later releases of a game or derivative games. In some games, such asPokémon Ruby and Sapphire andPokémon X and Y,patches are released that fix glitches in Pokémon games directly.
Glitch Pokémon
- Main article:Glitch Pokémon
Glitch Pokémon are caused by glitches that have the game erroneously read placeholder data or non-Pokémon data as Pokémon data. Although many glitch Pokémon draw all their characteristics from data intended to be used elsewhere, some glitch Pokémon may have partially defined characteristics that are not intended to be accessed in-game: for example, in the case ofMissingNo., its name is well-defined, but itsbase stats are read from data intended to represent the parties of severalBikers.
Glitch moves
- Main article:Glitch move
Aglitch move is amove not intended to be part of the game, but accessible via glitches or cheating devices. While some glitch moves have no effect whatsoever, others may cause the game tofreeze when attempting to perform them. Usually, onlyglitch Pokémon will learn glitch moves.
InGeneration I, Ditto can be taught the glitch move-- bya glitch. Additionally,another glitch present in theTime Capsule allows Pokémon that evolve by trading to be taught several glitch moves.
Glitch types
- Main article:Glitch type
Glitch types aretypes that are solely used for glitch Pokémon or glitch moves. TheBird type is a leftover type thought to be a beta version of theFlying-type. All other glitch types are caused by erroneously reading other data as a type. Unlike regular types, glitch types often do not have any weaknesses, resistances, or immunities.
Glitch locations
There are several glitch locations which can only be reached by means of glitches or hacks. One of the most well known glitch locations isGlitch City. Several glitch locations part of theSevii Islands are retrievable by theirindex number pointers and do not have any other data; onlySevii Isles 8 and 9 have actual map data. There are also other beta locations such asan unused Safari Zone inGeneration II.
Glitch items
- Main article:List of unobtainable items
Placeholder items are often intentionally left in the game's code to prevent the game from crashing if the data is accessed, but without the intention to be accessible in-game. Placeholder items, such as theTeru-sama item inGeneration II, often appear at the end of the games'internal item lists.
Placeholder items may become regular items in later games of a generation: TheGS Ball,Clear Bell, andEgg Ticket, which only appear inPokémon Crystal, are programmed into the games'internal lists in places of Teru-sama items inPokémon Gold and Silver; if a corresponding Teru-sama is held by a Pokémon in those games, it will transform when being traded to Crystal.
Glitch items that will become regular items in a later game appear inGeneration II andGeneration IV. InGeneration III, all items introduced inPokémon FireRed and LeafGreen orPokémon Emerald are stored in a section of theinternal item list that is not accessible in an earlier game. Except for theGriseous Orb (which replaces a glitch item fromPokémon Diamond and Pearl), the same holds for all items introduced inPokémon Platinum andPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, as well as for all items introduced in games of a later generation.
Glitch Trainers
- Main article:Glitch Trainer
Glitch Trainers exist inGeneration I andGeneration II. They result from the game erroneously reading Trainer or party information from game code that is supposed to contain other information.
Glitch characters
InGeneration I andGeneration II, invalid values being interpreted as text (common in the names of glitch Pokémon and items) can cause portions of graphical assets, such as overworld tiles or HP bars, to be displayed as text.
Related articles
- List of glitches in Generation I
- List of glitches in Generation II
- List of glitches in Generation III
- List of glitches in Generation IV
- List of glitches in Generation V
- List of glitches in Generation VI
- List of glitches in Generation VII
- List of glitches in Generation VIII
- List of glitches in Generation IX
 | This article is part ofProject GlitchDex, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on glitches in the Pokémon games. |
