Some internal video footage from the development of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl was leaked on social media, which included glimpses of some early beta Pokemon designs that were scrapped ahead of Gen 4’s release. The latest Pokemon leak came over 20 years after the footage was recorded.
As the first Pokemon games launched for the Nintendo DS, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were originally released in Japan in September 2006 before arriving in the West throughout 2007. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl made good use of the DS’ features, as the touchscreen was used extensively during Pokemon battles. Although Pokemon‘s fourth generation featured 493 critters for players to trade and catch, several creature designs were scrapped during development.
Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Documentary Leaks After Being Missing for 20 Years
Two decades after Pokemon Diamond and Pearl hit store shelves, a behind-the-scenes internal documentary video from Game Freak showed more designs than what was previously unveiled. The leaked footage was subsequently posted on Twitter by CentroLeaks. Centro stated that another user, Neos, obtained and ripped a DVD copy of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD – Make All. Several beta Pokemon designs were uncovered in the video footage, including a yellow-colored Shellos design. Given that Shellos and Gastrodon have blue and pink designs, the fact that another color for Shellos was considered is one example of how fluid the development of Gen 4 was. A beta design for Croagunk showed some elements which carried over into Toxicroak’s final design, such as raised eyebrows and red patches over Croakunk’s dark blue body.
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Leaked Beta Pokemon Designs from Diamond and Pearl Documentary
Glimpses of the Sinnoh starter trio’s earliest designs were spotted throughout the Diamond and Pearl documentary. While Turtwing, Chimchar, and Piplup went through a few iterations that kept some of their early designs intact, the footage showed that Infernape’s final design was used as a middle evolution of an unused mandrill Pokemon design. Additionally, Torterra’s early design was a mix of light brown, dark brown and green. By comparison, Empoleon’s beta design was just recolored for the final version, as the trident-shaped crown atop its head remained in place. Some scrapped evolution designs for Lumineon, Glameow, and Delibird were also seen in the documentary. While Delibird eventually received a Paradox variant called Iron Bundle in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Glameow’s evolution ended up being Purugly rather than the proposed concept.
It is worth noting that past Gen 4 leaks focused on unused Pokemon sprites originally planned for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. This included depictions of Arceus as a golden-colored figure with red eyes. However, the documentary footage uncovered a design for Arceus that had an appearance closer to the final version. However, the beta Arceus drawing showed the Alpha Pokemon with four eyes across its face rather than two, along with red streaks across its body.
Some scrapped design sketches of Dialga and Palkia were also shown off throughout the documentary. Given that the Sinnoh region featured plenty of Legendary Pokemon for trainers to catch, it remains to be seen if some of the scrapped critter designs will be repurposed for later Pokemon game projects.
- Released
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April 27, 2007
- ESRB
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E For Everyone
