If the name MissingNo.Opens in a new tab means nothing to you, then you’re probably a relatively new PokémonOpens in a new tab player, so let us fill you in: MissingNo. is actually a Pokémon (sort of) that appears in Pokémon Red and BlueOpens in a new tab through a glitch. When the games first came out and the internet wasn’t as big a part of kids’ lives as it is now, MissingNo. was a mystical figure, a story your friend told you about and an oddity that did a bunch of fascinating and weird stuff to your game if you were to encounter and catch one yourself.
That was years ago, though, and MissingNo. has been a non-factor in subsequent Pokémon games… until its return in Pokémon Sun and MoonOpens in a new tab, thanks to the 3DSOpens in a new tab Virtual Console release of Red, Blue, and Yellow (via IGNOpens in a new tab).
Casual fans also might not know about Pokémon BankOpens in a new tab, a downloadable 3DS application that gives users an extended PC to store Pokémon from DS and 3DS Pokémon games. The software was recently updated to include compatibility with Sun and Moon, and alongside that update, a companion app, Poké TransporterOpens in a new tab, which allows players to transfer creatures from the Virtual Console versions of the first-generation games to the current-generation titles.
Some players checked to see what would happen if MissingNo. was transferred to Sun and Moon, and as you’d imagine, it causes some mayhem, although significantly less than in its native game. When transferred, it disappears from the Transport Box, and shifts the names of the Pokémon in your box over by one. For example, Twitter user blazevoirOpens in a new tab had his Tentacool renamed “MISSINGNO-,” his Rhydon renamed “TENTACOOL,” and so on.
If you try to Transport Pokemon in a box with Missingno., the names of the Pokemon get shifted over by one. pic.twitter.com/zpsMuMZSh8Opens in a new tab
— blazevoir (@blazevoir) January 25, 2017Opens in a new tab
Another player filmed the process, so check it out below, and long live MissingNo.
Featured image: Destro-the-Dragon/DeviantArtOpens in a new tab
