It appears that, despite having been released over a decade ago now, Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver still have a few surprises tucked away! During an attempt to softlock their game by trapping themselves in Cianwood City without a surfing Pokémon or any means to obtain one, Reddit user alucardtheguy discovered that meeting these conditions cause an NPC in the Cianwood Pokémon Center to gift the player a level 15 Tentacool, thus providing a way off the island and preventing a softlock.

If you’re raring to see this evasive mechanic in action, you’re in luck, as the user posted a video demonstration provided below.

And as an added bonus for any shiny hunters out there, Twitter user @Sibuna_Switch was quick to confirm that the Tentacool can in fact be shiny! Happy hunting!

The Cianwood anti-softlock Tentacool can be shiny! pic.twitter.com/73BcaTFOWC

— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) August 27, 2020

Edited by bobandbill.