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"Missingno.", presumably for "missing number", is not so much a Pokemon
as the result of a programming oversight in the Game Boy Pokemon games RED
and BLUE. Missingno is best known as the Pokemon responsible for:
- Screwing up your Pokemon cartridge if you capture it;
- Allowing the (in)famous "Rare Candy Cheat";
- Crashing your Hall of Fame data.
Missingno. was a deliberate glitch added by the programmers of the game
to aid them in testing. It allowed them to progress quickly by giving them
access to many items straight away. It would appear that the beta version of
the game had land paths to Cinnabar Island which were removed. The Box Trick
would appear to be for the same reason. Missingno's picture is either a mass
of pixels in a backwards 'L' shape, (similar to a Tetris block) or a ghost
from Lavender Tower before recieving SLIPH SCOPE.
There is also a Pokemon similar to Missingno. with a glitched name
consisting of block shapes and the letter 'M'.
So what's the mystique? Basically, Missingno. has acquired so much
notoriety due to his presence in many of the Pokemon myths, especially
involving Mew, the much-vaunted and non-present #151. While the myths aren't
true, Mew's popularity ensures that Missingno. will always have a place in
Pokemon culture.
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