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This article is a summary page for variations of certain glitches or phenomena such as Pokémon Cloning, glitch myths, beta elements, or a collective term for variations of glitch Pokémon which share similar names, sprites or other information.

Several glitches exist in the Pokémon games which were not caused by actual oversights in the programming, but rather technical limitations of the game's processing speed itself. Perhaps the most well known examples is the Tweaking glitch in Generation IV, which takes example of the game's relatively slow processing speed when the player travels quickly (preferably by cycling or surfing) between loading lines on the main map interface.

Examples of processing speed abusing glitches

Automatic dialog skipping

A player in the process of automatic dialog skipping in order to exit Professor Oak's laboratory without a Pokémon.

Automatic dialogue skipping refers to a phenomenum which is only present within the first generation of Pokémon games prior to Pokémon Yellow. It is presumably caused due to the game attempting to change the player's location on the map before a dialog string of high priority is displayed on the screen (often text which is automatically displayed once the player's x or y co-ordinate is of a certain value); however this theory has not yet been confirmed.

If the player continuously tries to pass an area where high priority text is displayed, it is likely that eventually glitchy effects would persist due to the player attempting to move away before the text is shown on to the screen. Often, the player's sprite will simply disappear from the screen and symbols will appear on to the screen. On rarer occassions however, the player might be able to 'escape' from the region where the high priority text is displayed.

The trick is most commonly used to escape from Professor Oak's laboratory without a Pokémon, although it can also be used to leave an Elite Four room for example.

Egg Nature glitch

The Egg Nature glitch is perhaps (along with Tweaking) one of the most useful examples, as it allows the player to temporarily see the nature of an egg before it hatches. To perform this glitch, the player can simply switch between his or her Pokémon storage boxes using the L and R buttons, so that the player switches between a hatched Pokémon and an unhatched Pokémon. If performed correctly, for a fraction of a second the player will be able to see the nature of that hatched Pokémon.

Explanation: Pokémon which are unhatched are actually determined by an extra variable. After the game confirms that this Pokémon is an egg from a range of possibilities the game will make that Pokémon appear as an egg and (later) hide its nature, after information about the Pokémon species, moves and characteristics have been loaded. There is a small (but relatively large) amount of time before the game finishes hiding the nature however, so the player may temporarily see the nature of an egg.

This glitch can also be used to see the other attributes shown in the box at the bottom-right of the screen, such as the type of the Pokémon which is going to hatch.

GTS palette glitch

Main article: Global Trading System glitches

The 'GTS palette glitch' is a rather minor example and can happen when the player quickly switches between storage boxes whilst logged on to the Global Terminal, such that for a fraction of a second of the Pokémon in that box will keep the palettes of Pokémon from the previous box (for example, a golden Dewgong is possible). This glitch occurs because of lag, when the game attempts to manage storage boxes and the Global Trading System simultaneously.

Manual dialogue skipping

Another minor example exists within the Generation I Pokémon games, this glitch is not to be confused with automatic dialogue skipping. Although the time interval between the player pressing the A button and talking to a non-playable character is miniscule, it is possible to change the direction an NPC is facing without actually speaking with him or her by pressing the A button and immediately using one of the arrow keys on the d-pad to walk away. For unknown reasons, this is easier to exploit Pokémon Yellow than on Pokémon Red and Blue.

Music mixing

Yet minor example, is 'music mixing' in the Generation III Pokémon games. If the game quickly switches between one sound track and another, both tracks will (for a short time) be played simultaneously when the new track is played (due to loading lag). This can easily be performed if the player uses the Bicycle to play the cycling theme and then quickly travels to a new location with different music. When both tracks are played simultaneously, the heard music for a fraction of a second will be distorted slightly. A similar phenomenum also exists in Generation I by saving whilst the tone of the background music is changing. In this case, the 'game saved sound' will either be of a higher or a lower pitch, depending on the frequency of the last note which was played.

Surfing on land

Main article: Surf on land

In the Japanese versions of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, if the player decides to use the Acro Bike to jump upwards or downwards whilst facing a left or right direction, for a fractional amount of time the game has not yet taken that the player is no longer facing the previous direction and hence still takes the player as facing upwards/downwards. In this sense, if the trick is performed correctly (and quickly) the player is able to surf on land where water was towards the previous direction.

Tweaking

Main article: Tweaking

The Tweaking glitch (as called by fans) is perhaps the most useful example and allows players to travel through a 'void' and thus, frequently have the ability to travel to locations that the player cannot usually access such as Flower Paradise. It is not to be confused with the Surf through Elite Four door glitch, which does not abuse in-game processing but rather an exploit in the tile data for a door in Aaron's (of the Elite Four) room.

Tweaking occurs when the player quickly travels between loading lines in the main map interface, usually be cycling or surfing (in Pokémon Platinum) but it is harder to perform on games older than Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, due to an improved map engine. When the player crosses one of these loading lines, the game should load map data for a seperate section of the overworld, however when the player quickly crosses between different loading lines in this way, such map data will be loaded for the wrong area after the player arrives in the next loading line (which becomes redundent) and a void may appear.

Players can also use the Tweaking glitch to walk into a door from the wrong direction (sometimes known as a 'zorch') and thus have the ability to walk into the black space behind the interior's entrance.