10 Hidden Secrets Everyone Missed In Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen

If you are a Pokémon fan, you know its games are quite famous for having tons of secrets, easter eggs, and even small pranks hidden on every Route corner – and with Pokémon FireRed & LeafGreen, both the original 2004 duo and the recent Nintendo Switch 1 & 2 re-release, it is no different.

In fact, the immense popularity the franchise enjoys today is largely due to these hidden secrets, since the massive “boom” that Pokémon Red & Green had during their original launch in Japan back in the 90s was primarily caused by a glitch!

And that glitch is also known as the Pokémon Mew, since this little fellow actually originated from an accidental glitch, as it was added at the very last minute of the development as an internal joke by one of Game Freak’s programmers.

He intended to keep Mew as his tiny little secret that was never meant to be found. However, for some complex programming reason that not even he was able to explain at the time, the Pokémon ended up in the final version of the game, but with an absurdly low percentage of catching him in an organic way: about 0.125%. That was enough to instantly give Mew that legendary “mythical” status, and also make pretty much every Japanese player at the time completely obsessed with the game’s main essence of “catching them all!”

That is also why players began to expect some hidden secrets in every Pokémon game. I’m telling you this beautiful story because, now that FireRed & LeafGreen are back in the spotlight thanks to the Switch version, how about we look back at some of the most insane secrets in these games?

10 Gender Differences

A Cinephile's Touch for Gender Choice

If you read the official manuals for FireRed & LeafGreen, Game Freak explicitly states that choosing between a male or female protagonist doesn't change the game. However, that isn’t entirely true!

There is a small difference and also quite a cinephile easter egg that appears right at the start of the story inside the protagonist's house. Basically, it affects the movie that is playing on his TV.

If you choose Red (the male option) and interact with the TV in his living room, a dialogue box mentions a movie about “four boys walking on railroad tracks” – a direct nod to Stand By Me, the 1980s classic based on Stephen King's iconic book. However, if you choose Leaf (the female option), the same TV shows a movie about “a girl with her hair in pigtails” walking up a “brick road”, which is a clear reference to the classic The Wizard of Oz!

9 No Umbreon or Espeon

Blame the Clock

This is a bit of a sad one, mostly because FireRed & LeafGreen never actually warn you about it, and it is a detail that completely locks you out of obtaining Eevee's two coolest evolutions from the Johto region.

And the reason for that is because these games lack an internal clock system (a mechanic introduced in the second generation, with Gold & Silver), meaning that time-based events don't exist. Since Umbreon requires leveling up with high friendship at night, and Espeon requires the same during the day, it is impossible to evolve an Eevee into one of them.

So, without that lovely day and night cycle that usually makes the world feel even more alive, Eevee is stuck in its Kanto form here. Sad beep indeed.

Beyond the Itemfinder

Most Pokémon players know how the Itemfinder works, since it is quite straightforward: you scan the ground for invisible items, and it beeps when it detects something. Simple, right?

However, there are several “blind choice” items that the device completely ignores, meaning you have to know exactly where to stand to find them.

Some of these hidden freebies include Leftovers found at the exact spots where each Snorlax slept, a Macho Brace where Giovanni stood in the Viridian Gym, a PP Max on a single patch of land near the waterfall on Two Island, and even a Sacred Ash dropped by Ho-Oh after your battle at Naval Rock. It surely makes you wonder what else Game Freak hid in plain sight!

7 Free Coins

The Celadon Grind Skip

Collecting coins at the Rocket Game Corner can be a very slow process, even if the prizes – like an early-game Dratini – are completely worth it. Fortunately, the game has a secret boost for this grind.

Scattered across the floor of the Celadon Game Corner are invisible piles of coins that can be collected just by pressing "A" at the right spot. And no, you don’t even need the Itemfinder for this!

If you know where exactly to look, you can find piles of 20, 40, and even 100 coins. This is a lovely detail that actually existed in the original Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow and was faithfully brought back for the remakes.

6 The Empty Cave

The Mystery of Altering Cave

Outcast Island in the Sevii Islands holds a strange landmark: the Altering Cave. At first glance, it is a bizarrely empty cave filled with nothing but wild Zubats. However, as you have probably guessed by now, Game Freak rarely does things without a reason, which led to years of fan speculation about what was hidden inside.

The truth is that this cave was designed to use data from “Wonder Spots” (which are real-life event distributions) to “alter” in some mysterious way the wild Pokémon found inside, including some little monsters that are more interesting than Zubat (sorry, Zubat), like Teddiursa, Pineco, and Houndour.

However, this feature never fully came true outside of Japan, leaving the cave as a completely empty hole in the wall with no special attributes for most players.

5 The Pattern Bush Theory

A Buggy Conspiracy

This one is for fans who love a good conspiracy theory! Deep within the Green Path of the Sevii Islands lies the Pattern Bush, an area with a very specific, jagged vegetation pattern.

Many players found that weird, so when they zoomed out to see the full area, they noticed a striking resemblance to the green circuit board of a Game Boy cartridge, more specifically, for the original Red & Blue.

The funniest part of this theory for me (and also the reason it persists until today) is that the encounter list is quite buggy – literally. That’s because the Pattern Bush is exclusively filled with Bug-type Pokémon. And what were the original games most famous for? That's right: bugs! While Game Freak hasn't confirmed or denied it, it is a hilariously meta theory if you ask me.

4 Searching for Mew Under a Truck

Yeah, You Didn’t Read It Wrong

Remember that Mew story from the intro of this article? Well, at the time, fans were so obsessed with finding Mew organically that they refused to believe it was just a "prank" glitch.

Many were convinced there had to be a secret trigger to make the mythic little monster appear, and the most famous urban legend claimed Mew was hidden under a truck parked near the S.S. Anne in Vermilion City.

That urban legend became so legendary that Game Freak decided to play along in the remakes. In FireRed & LeafGreen, that same truck is still there in the exact same spot! If you manage to reach it, you can check underneath – but instead of Mew, you will find a lovely Lava Cookie.

3 Meet Nob Ogasawara

A Hidden Homage

It is hard to believe, but the English localization for early Pokémon games was almost entirely a one-man job: Nob Ogasawara was the man responsible for single-handedly translating every game from Red & Blue in 1998 all the way to Platinum in 2008.

To honor his hard work, Game Freak always found a way to include a mention of him in the games, but FireRed & LeafGreen included an extra touch to that homage! In these games, you can find an NPC named Hiker Nob, and it is a perfect tribute, since mountain climbing was Ogasawara’s real-life hobby.

2 Fancy a Sticker?

The Ultimate Show-Off

On the lower Sevii Islands, you can find an NPC who offers stickers for your Trainer Card. While it sounds simple, the tasks required to unlock them are absolutely grueling and time-consuming.

In total, there are three different stickers, each with four color-coded levels (Red, Blue, Yellow, and Gray). To reach the maximum level for all of them, you need to defeat the Elite Four 200 times, hatch 300 Pokémon eggs, and win 100 Link Battles (PvP).

By managing to do all of that, you are probably thinking that these stickers may offer some special effect… but not. They don’t grant any gameplay bonuses, meaning they are strictly for showing off and making life difficult for 100% completionists.

1 Lorelei's Plush Collection

A Master's Secret Hobby

Behind the house where you get your stickers (from the previous topic of this article) in the Sevii Islands, you might notice a little girl peeking through a window. If you talk to her, you discover that this is the home of Lorelei, the Ice-type member of the Elite Four.

And the NPC also tells you that Lorelei has the secret hobby of collecting Poké Dolls, but she never tells that to anyone. With that in mind, there is a hidden easter egg: every time you defeat the Elite Four, she brings a new plush home.

However, that requires beating the Elite Four too many times! You can “unlock” six pushies in total (Meowth, Chansey, female Nidoran, Jigglypuff, male Nidoran, and a giant Lapras), and you need to rack up a staggering 200 wins against the Elite Four. It is yet another feature that provides no items but offers a massive challenge for those wanting a 100% completion.