Dear Reader:
Game Freak talks about the creation of, and rumors behind Celebi
The latest video on Game Freak's YouTube channel takes a deep dive into the creation of Celebi. Check out a summary of what was revealed in the video below.
- designed by Hironobu Yoshida
- Mew wasn’t originally planned for Pokemon Red/Green, but was added in by Morimoto because he thought it would be cool
- Celebi was planned as a Mythical Pokemon from the planning stages of Pokemon Gold and Silver
- Celebi, Wobbuffet, and Dunsparce were all designed by Yoshida
- Yoshida thought of a design that was cute and fairy-like like Mew for Celebi
- Rumors spread that the Ilex Forest shrine was the key to gaining Celebi, which Game Freak had no hand in spreading
- the leading rumor was that you needed to bring both the Rainbow Wing and Silver Wing to the shrine
- this confused Game Freak staff at the time, as they didn’t recall adding this in, and have no idea how it came to be
- Game Freak remembered the rumor for Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver, and decided to add in a Celebi event at Ilex shrine
- nobody remembers what the shrine is for among the original staff
- Yoshida’s theory is that, back then they would use additional sprite parts to give texture to rooftops, staircases, rocks, & more
- they might have added in the shrine with these additional sprites just to spruce up the area