Pokémon Scarlet and Violet leaks cause division among fans

The release of Pokémon ScarletAnd Violet, The Pokémon Company has shown fans banger after banger. Trailers have given fans a look at the weed kitty Sprigatito, along with Fidough’s luscious buns; there are plenty of adorable little guys to scream about until the game comes out. It was all roses and cherry pie. But then the leaks happened, showing off starter evolutions and other new Pokémon. And while fans are largely still excited about the character designs, the fan community has never been more split over a generation of Pokémon.

[Ed. note: Potential Pokémon Scarlet and Violet spoilers ahead.]

It started in early November, when a Pokémon Go dataminer leaked Gimmighoul, a li’l coin-hoarding dude. Leaks continued to flow on Monday. People leaked new information about the three starter Pokémon, Sprigatito, Quaxly, and Fuecoco — including their evolutions — as well as new forms of returning Pokémon. The information has spread rapidly across Twitter, Reddit and TikTok — even though some leakers received DMCA warnings.

Though Polygon can’t confirm the authenticity of these leaks, they look very convincing — and they certainly have caused commotion among fans. For a number of fans, it’s especially a bummer to see that Sprigatito’s evolutions may very well be bipedal with a humanoid design. Bipedal evolutions have become a cliche in the Pokémon series, so fans were hoping that its final evolution might change it up.

Fans have expressed disappointment with other leaked designs, including Quaxly’s evolution — while Fuecoco’s evolutions have elicited mixed reactions. Some fans have even said that they wouldn’t train or level up their first partner Pokémon on their journey because they disliked these designs. A commenter on a TikTok about Quaxly’s leaked evolutions said, “at least scarlet and violet are consistent, all three starters look like hell.” The comment was liked over 2,000 times.

There is still plenty to be excited about other reveal. Fans have reacted in near universal admiration over developer Game Freak’s ability to deliver new cuties, like Smoliv, Greavard, and Lechonk. The Leaks revealed a new and beloved design. It is the pre-evolutionary Cetitan armless named Cetoddle.

Leakers have also speculated that there will be special “past” and “future” forms for certain Pokémon in each game version — a nod to the forthcoming games’ past-and-future theme — that leakers are calling “Paradox Pokémon.” In that batch of leaks, fans saw a badass robot Delibird and a lizardlike neon Salamence. Fans have expressed excitement for ancient forms of the “Paradox Pokémon” like Salamence, Volcarona, and Donphan. Some have even taken to TikTok comments to say that they’ll pick ScarletOver Violetin the case that the ancient forms were exclusive to that particular version.

The discussion has been mostly based on unconfirmed leaks. Fans will need to wait for the official release of the game on November 18 to see the final designs.