{"id":29691,"date":"2026-03-21T18:53:04","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T18:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=29691"},"modified":"2026-03-21T18:53:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T18:53:04","slug":"speedrunner-discovers-creative-glitch-in-pokemon-firered-for-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/?p=29691","title":{"rendered":"Speedrunner Discovers Creative Glitch in Pok\u00e9mon FireRed for Switch"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

### Pok\u00e9mon Speedrunning: A Novel Glitch in FireRed<\/p>\n

Pok\u00e9mon has enchanted fans for years, establishing a unique spot in the speedrunning community that few games can rival. The series’ earlier titles, often featuring delicate coding, are filled with glitches that even novice players have encountered. These exploits serve as rare candies for speedrunners, and a recent time skip uncovered in the latest Nintendo Switch port of *Pok\u00e9mon FireRed* has sparked renewed interest and rivalry among competitors.<\/p>\n

Launched in conjunction with the series’ 30th anniversary, the updated version of *Pok\u00e9mon FireRed* drew speedrunners eager to discover new exploits. The most notable of these was accidentally found by Swiss speedrunner [iamClemi](https:\/\/www.speedrun.com\/users\/iamClemi). While in Professor Oak\u2019s lab trying to choose a Charmander with ideal stats, an unintended press of the L button\u2014a feature more significant on the Switch compared to the original Game Boy Advance\u2014unexpectedly accessed the help menu. During this occurrence, iamClemi observed the lack of a sound cue typically heard when collecting a Pok\u00e9 Ball. Although it didn\u2019t save any time right then, it ignited curiosity that would lead to major findings.<\/p>\n

Unveiling the help menu proved to have significant effects on gameplay. The omission of various sound cues notably changes interaction dynamics throughout the game. Scenarios such as gathering items or healing at Pok\u00e9mon Centers happen in silence, as if the game is lamenting the absence of its musical jingles. However, a major advantage arises when capturing wild Pok\u00e9mon; the normal delay for celebratory music is entirely removed, allowing players to instantly access the Pok\u00e9dex entry for the Pok\u00e9mon just caught.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is undoubtedly the largest time save identified in any Game Boy Pok\u00e9mon game since RNG manipulation was discovered nearly a decade ago,\u201d stated runner [Gunnermaniac](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1zjHSrnD8rQ) in a YouTube video. He currently holds the record for completing the [Elite 4 Round 2 category](https:\/\/www.speedrun.com\/pkmnfrlg\/runs\/yjqqrngm), a section exclusive to the *FireRed* and *LeafGreen* versions. This segment requires runners to capture at least 60 distinct Pok\u00e9mon, and the new glitch saves roughly 2.68 seconds for each capture. While two seconds may not appear significant individually, the overall effect can be considerable across multiple speedrun categories.<\/p>\n

Gunnermaniac himself acknowledges the potential threat this discovery poses to his existing record, which only heightens the excitement and competitive essence inherent in the speedrunning community. As players persist in refining their tactics and leveraging new exploits like this, the race to achieve the quickest completion times in *Pok\u00e9mon FireRed* promises to remain exhilarating. Speedrunners will undoubtedly keep exploring this classic title, pushing themselves and one another to investigate the intricacies of its coding and mechanics in search of perfection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n

### Pok\u00e9mon Speedrunning: A Novel Glitch in FireRed<\/p>\n

Pok\u00e9mon has enchanted fans for years, establishing a unique spot in the speedrunning community that few games can rival. The series’ earlier titles, often featuring delicate coding, are filled with glitches that even novice players have encountered. These exploits serve as rare candies for speedrunners, and a recent time skip uncovered in the latest Nintendo Switch port of *Pok\u00e9mon FireRed* has sparked renewed interest and rivalry among competitors.<\/p>\n

Launched in conjunction with the series’ 30th anniversary, the updated version of *Pok\u00e9mon FireRed* drew speedrunners eager to discover new exploits. The most notable of these was accidentally found by Swiss speedrunner [iamClemi](https:\/\/www.speedrun.com\/users\/iamClemi). While in Professor Oak\u2019s lab trying to choose a Charmander with ideal stats, an unintended press of the L button\u2014a feature more significant on the Switch compared to the original Game Boy Advance\u2014unexpectedly accessed the help menu. During this occurrence, iamClemi observed the lack of a sound cue typically heard when collecting a Pok\u00e9 Ball. Although it didn\u2019t save any time right then, it ignited curiosity that would lead to major findings.<\/p>\n

Unveiling the help menu proved to have significant effects on gameplay. The omission of various sound cues notably changes interaction dynamics throughout the game. Scenarios such as gathering items or healing at Pok\u00e9mon Centers happen in silence, as if the game is lamenting the absence of its musical jingles. However, a major advantage arises when capturing wild Pok\u00e9mon; the normal delay for celebratory music is entirely removed, allowing players to instantly access the Pok\u00e9dex entry for the Pok\u00e9mon just caught.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is undoubtedly the largest time save identified in any Game Boy Pok\u00e9mon game since RNG manipulation was discovered nearly a decade ago,\u201d stated runner [Gunnermaniac](https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1zjHSrnD8rQ) in a YouTube video. He currently holds the record for completing the [Elite 4 Round 2 category](https:\/\/www.speedrun.com\/pkmnfrlg\/runs\/yjqqrngm), a section exclusive to the *FireRed* and *LeafGreen* versions. This segment requires runners to capture at least 60 distinct Pok\u00e9mon, and the new glitch saves roughly 2.68 seconds for each capture. While two seconds may not appear significant individually, the overall effect can be considerable across multiple speedrun categories.<\/p>\n

Gunnermaniac himself acknowledges the potential threat this discovery poses to his existing record, which only heightens the excitement and competitive essence inherent in the speedrunning community. As players persist in refining their tactics and leveraging new exploits like this, the race to achieve the quickest completion times in *Pok\u00e9mon FireRed* promises to remain exhilarating. Speedrunners will undoubtedly keep exploring this classic title, pushing themselves and one another to investigate the intricacies of its coding and mechanics in search of perfection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29692,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=29691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=29691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=29691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gaitgames.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=29691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}