While there aren't any hidden codes in the game, there are a couple of secrets and odd glitches. Below, we list the most important ones. This page also includes the original secrets found in the Game Boy versions of Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow.

Note that there are tons of bogus tips on the web, ranging from pressing button combinations to increase damage to holding a button to ensure an easy catch. Sadly, according to the creators of the game, these codes don't work. Holding down buttons does not affect the odds in any way.

All of the slot machines have different odds, which change every time. To win big, play each machine 4 times, and if it hits 2 or more, then stick with that one, because it's probably hot.

Cut Down Grassy Areas

Once you get the HM "cut", your Pokemon can cut down grassy areas. Use "cut" and it will cut a two by two area. Wild Pokemon will not attack you in the area you cut.

Fish in Statues

Stand next to a statue and use a fishing rod. You will actually start to fish -- weird, huh? Sadly, there really isn't anything to this trick. You won't catch anything.

Pokemon Name Secrets

Did you know that the names you give your Pokemon in the Game Boy games directly affects their appearance in Pokemon Stadium? The secrets to the color variations lie in the names you give your Pokemon as well as your trainer ID number (assigned to you in Pokemon Blue, Red or Yellow, whenever you start a new game).

While there are a few secret nicknames that change only certain Pokemon's colors, there are a couple of naming tricks that result in different color variations. For example:

advertisement

As you can see, a Pikachu named "pikachu" will be a lighter yellow than the standard "PIKACHU". Similarly, a Pikachu nicknamed "PIKA" will be more orange in tone. This is not an isolated example. There are plenty of Pokemon that change colors according to their names. Here are some pointers:

Use upper case names to get standard colorizations

Use only lower caps (ie: poliwhirl) for alternate colors

Reverse the syllables (ie: DRILLBEE instead of BEEDRILL)

Leave out syllables (ie: MAGMITE)

Insert hyphens (ie: MEW-TWO)

Abridge the names (ie: PIKA)

The colorization difference depend entirely on the Pokemon. For example, the differences between a RHYHORN and a rhyhorn are rather subtle because of its grayish body tone:

Below, you will find some name suggestions that can you can use to assemble a more colorful Pokemon team (note that colors may vary slightly depending on your game ID):

Pokemon Number Nickname Colorization Cloyster #091 CLOYSACT6 deep blue head Dratini #147 TINI-DRA light blue Exeggcute #102 EXECUTENZA purple with red yolk Farfetch'd #083 FARFASH deeper brown Golbat #042 GOLBACT1 dark blue Goldeen #118 DEENGOL orange Golem #076 GOLEMACT2 reddish brown Graveler #075 GRAVACT2 dark gray Growlithe #058 GROWLAR orange Haunter #093 HAUNT-ER dark blue Hitmonchan #107 CHAN-MON greenish tone Kadabra #064 KAD-ABRA darker orange Koffing #109 KOFSTOR

KOFFACT4 red and green

maroon and green Lapras #131 LAPRANCE lighter blue Magnemite #081 MAGMITE green and red magnets Muk #089 MUKACT6

UMK brown

gray Nidorina #030 NIDOACT2

RINA-NIDO violet and green

brown mouth Nidorino #033 NIDOACT1 pink with blue ears Pikachu #025 PIKA orange Pinsir #127 PINSTOR purplish brown body Poliwhirl #061 POLIACT2 cyan Poliwrath #062 POLIMER light blue Sandslash #028 SLASHSAND darker yellow Scyther #123 SCY pea-green Snorlax #143 SNORLANCE greenish Tentacruel #073 CRUELACT4 cyan

Get Amnesia Psyduck

Have you ever wondered how you can get the elusive Amnesia technique in Blue/Red or Yellow? Well, it's hidden deep in Pokemon Stadium. Unlocking it will take a while, but it's definitely worth it. You have to register ALL 151 Pokemon in the Hall of Fame. Whenever you beat a tournament (or better even: Gym Leader Castle -- you only need to beat the final five trainers), your six Pokemon are entered into the Hall of Fame (even if you didn't use some of them in battle). It doesn't matter whether you use rental Pokemon or your own, but you can't have any gaps. Once you've filled it all up, you are awarded a free Psyduck bonus Pokemon that knows the Amnesia technique. You can now transfer it back to your Game Boy cartridge and play with it there.

Win Bonus Pokemon in Pokemon Stadium

Every time you defeat the Elite Four and your rival, you are randomly awarded one of eight semi-rare to rare Pokemon that you can then transfer to your Game Boy cartridge. The Pokemon is awarded to you after the credits sequence and you need to pick it up in Professor Oak's Lab. Note that the lab can only hold one Pokemon at the time, so pick it up right away or you may be forced to overwrite it when you beat Gym Leader Castle again.

All in all, you can win the following eight Pokémon:

#001 Bulbasaur : Pokémon Red and Blue players who picked Charmander or Squirtle as their starting Pokémon can finally get their hands on the powerful Grass/Poison type. It first evolves into Ivysaur, then into Venusaur.

: Pokémon Red and Blue players who picked Charmander or Squirtle as their starting Pokémon can finally get their hands on the powerful Grass/Poison type. It first evolves into Ivysaur, then into Venusaur. #004 Charmander : If you picked Squirtle or Bulbasaur, the powerful Charmander can finally be yours -- as well as its evolutions, Charmeleon and Charizard.

: If you picked Squirtle or Bulbasaur, the powerful Charmander can finally be yours -- as well as its evolutions, Charmeleon and Charizard. #007 Squirtle : Pokemon Yellow players may not care about this one either, but Red/Blue players who picked Bulbasaur or Charmander will finally find out why Squirtle is most players' #1 choice as the starting Pokemon. It evolves into Wartortle and Blastoise.

: Pokemon Yellow players may not care about this one either, but Red/Blue players who picked Bulbasaur or Charmander will finally find out why Squirtle is most players' #1 choice as the starting Pokemon. It evolves into Wartortle and Blastoise. #106 Hitmonlee : Even Pokemon Yellow players should be excited about this one. If you picked Hitmonchan, this is your only chance to get -lee (outside of trading with someone).

: Even Pokemon Yellow players should be excited about this one. If you picked Hitmonchan, this is your only chance to get -lee (outside of trading with someone). #107 Hitmonchan : Here's the second (and less popular) Hitmon character. Chances are you didn't pick this one -- so this fighting Pokemon will be a welcome reward.

: Here's the second (and less popular) Hitmon character. Chances are you didn't pick this one -- so this fighting Pokemon will be a welcome reward. #133 Eevee : In my opinion, Jolteon is the most powerful Electric Pokemon in the game. Eevee's other two evolutions, Vaporeon and Flareon aren't bad, either. The catch is that you only find one Eevee in the Game Boy games -- and you can only evolve it into one of the three. Here's your chance to get as many Eevees as you like. Cool, huh?

: In my opinion, Jolteon is the most powerful Electric Pokemon in the game. Eevee's other two evolutions, Vaporeon and Flareon aren't bad, either. The catch is that you only find one Eevee in the Game Boy games -- and you can only evolve it into one of the three. Here's your chance to get as many Eevees as you like. Cool, huh? #138 Omanyte : Did you get Kabuto when you had to choose between the Dome Fossil and the Helix Fossil? Well, Omanyte (and its evolution Omastar) can finally be yours.

: Did you get Kabuto when you had to choose between the Dome Fossil and the Helix Fossil? Well, Omanyte (and its evolution Omastar) can finally be yours. #140 Kabuto : Kabuto and its evolution, Kabutops, may have a lot of weaknesses, but they're still two of the coolest looking Pokemon in the game. Here's your chance to get Kabuto -- even if you picked Omanyte in the Game Boy quest.

Note that you don't need to beat the whole Gym Leader Castle mode if you want to win another bonus Pokemon. Once you have opened up the Elite Four Battle, you can just start from there.

Glitches

The following glitches can get you some cool things in your game, but be sure to follow directions carefully as they can also corrupt your game save file.

Clone Pokemon

This trick requires a second Game Boy, link cable and Pokemon game.

Warning: This a non-legit way to turn one Pokemon into two. However, it's rather risky and may corrupt your saved game file if not done correctly.

Trade the Pokemon to be cloned, and have the other player select a Pokemon that he or she does not care about. Trade them, and make sure the player receiving the bad Pokemon can see the other player's screen. When the Game Boy that receives the good Pokemon's displays "Waiting", get ready to shut the other Game Boy off. Timing is important.

Turn off the Game Boy that is receiving the bad Pokemon as soon as the "Waiting" message disappears. When the "Trade completed" message appears, turn off the other Game Boy. Both games will have the same good Pokemon when they are turned back on.

This trick is a glitch and will only work with Pokemon Blue and Red. It has been fixed in Yellow.

To get 99 of any item, first put the item you want to multiply in the sixth item slot. Now use FLY and go to Viridian City. Talk to the old man almost all the way north of the town. When he asks if you are in a hurry, say no and watch him catch a Weedle.

Right after that, FLY to Cinnabar Island. Make your way East and, when you you reach the water's edge, use SURF.

Swim up and down the beach until you run into a Pokemon called "M" (Missingno.) Once you see it, kill it or run away. Do not attempt to catch it! After you beat the glitchy Pokemon, you should have multiple copies of your sixth item.

Fight Land Creatures in Water and Catch Safari Pokemon Easily

This trick is a glitch and will only work with Pokemon Blue and Red. It has been fixed in Yellow.

To fight creatures that normally live on land in water and encounter Safari Zone Pokemon outside the area, go to the water around Cinnabar Island or Seafoam Islands (The only place you can be randomly attacked while swimming.) Swim along the shore of any island and you will fight land creatures. (You have to swim on a place where the square is half land and half water.)

Instead of fighting a set group of monsters in the water, you actually fight monsters from the last place you were. So to get Safari Zone monsters, you need to go to the section of the Safari Zone with that monster, let your time run out, then go to the coast. Using this trick, you can catch Kangaskhan, Scyther, and Tauros without any problems.

Find and Capture Mew

You can both find and capture Mew through a glitch in Pokemon Red, Blue, or Yellow. Here's how to find the rare Pokemon.

Before doing this, you will need to have a Pokemon that knows the Hidden Machine Fly. Two trainers in the game must be free to battle. If you had battled them before, you won't be able to do this glitch.

Head to Route 8 and stand in front of the Underground Path door. Take a step downward and hit the start button the game before the Gambler Pokemon trainer sees you for a battle. This is the first trainer you need to have freed up.

Fly to to Cerulean City and walk up to Route 24 and 25. Head over to another trainer that must be freed up, The Youngster who will be facing north and is to the left of a tree and item. He has a Slowpoke in his party. Make sure you're at the highest part of the route so he walks up to you. Defeat the trainer and fly to Lavender Town. Head west to Route 8 and your menu will pop up. Press B to exit and you will fight Mew.

Mew will be at level 7 and only know the move Pound. Make sure you have tons of Pokeballs and only save before this technique and after catching Mew!