A big win for furries as Nintendo’s Game Freak really puts an emphasis on the word “freak.”
Pokémon developer Game Freak has suffered a significant hack, leading to the leak of sensitive employee data and in-development Pokémon plans, including beta designs and other confidential information now circulating online.
The company confirmed the breach occurred in August 2024, with a third-party managing to steal a range of documents and data during the attack.
Among the leaked information are various details not intended for public eyes, such as the “Gaia” codename for the upcoming Gen 10 Pokémon game and the apparent codename for the Nintendo Switch 2: “Ounce.”
Additionally, it seems that Pokémon Legends: Z-A was originally set for a 2024 release but was delayed, and the Detective Pikachu film was initially conceived as part of a trilogy.
While the severity of this breach is undeniable, some fans are excited about the rare “behind the scenes” glimpses of Pokémon’s development before Game Freak lost its creative spark following the release of the Nintendo Switch. Game Freak and its partners, including The Pokémon Company and Nintendo, are known for being highly secretive about their game development processes, especially when it comes to building the lore of the Pokémon universe.
This secrecy extends to topics like the creation of the universe, the function of its animal-like creatures, and more controversial subjects like murder, consuming Pokémon, and even humans becoming sexually involved with Pokémon. However, the recent data breach has brought these hidden aspects to light, including beta sprites of Pokémon designs, concept artwork, and source code, sparking excitement and intense curiosity among fans.
In Pokémon Black and White for the Nintendo DS, the design of Gym Leader Elesa from the franchise’s fifth generation underwent significant changes from her beta version (shown on the left) to her final depiction (on the right).
While Elesa retains her signature yellow sleeveless dress, reflecting her affinity for Electric-type Pokémon, there are several notable differences in her final design.
Her large headphones, which were a prominent feature in the original concept and originally colored grey, were resized and turned white in the final release, becoming less visually dominant. Another key change was her outfit; the pre-release design showcased bare legs, whereas the finalized version introduced black leggings.
This modification not only altered the aesthetic but also gave her a more polished and modest appearance. The addition of leggings shifted her look from casual to something that felt more fashionable and functional, aligning with contemporary style preferences.
Despite these updates, core elements like her yellow color palette and the presence of headphones were maintained, ensuring that the character remained recognizable while modernizing her overall appearance.
Additionally, leaked character concept profiles revealed that Skyla, a fan-favorite from the series, was initially envisioned as being of Hispanic descent. The Japanese developers drew inspiration from real-world figures like Isabella Fontana and Jennifer Lopez, using their images as visual references during the design process.
The leak also revealed pre-release sprite design artwork for various Pokémon from the franchise’s third generation, which includes the games Pokémon Emerald, Ruby, and Sapphire for the Game Boy Advance.
If you’re a dedicated fan of the franchise, you might notice subtle similarities between certain Pokémon, such as Absol, Pelipper, Hariyama, and Clamperl.
Many of these designs appear to have gone unused during the development process. One notable example is an early concept for the Water-type starter, which featured a white, bunny-like creature wearing a pool floatie. This design was ultimately scrapped, with Mudkip taking its place in the final version.
Additionally, various sprite revisions and unused designs from Pokémon’s fourth and fifth generations have surfaced, along with concept artwork from the original 1997 anime. However, the most amusing aspect of these leaks revolves around the background lore of the Pokémon universe.
In this lore, Arceus, Giratina, Palkia, and Dialga are among the most powerful and significant Legendary Pokémon, each symbolizing core elements of existence. Their roles are central to the mythos of the Pokémon world, particularly in relation to the creation of the universe and the manipulation of time, space, and dimensions.
Game Freak never officially disclosed specifics about the creation and mechanics of the Pokémon world, but leaked files offer an intriguing origin story. According to these documents, the Pokémon universe began from a large egg, which hatched and gave birth to Arceus, the god Pokémon.
From the broken egg fragments, Giratina emerged and attacked Arceus but was ultimately defeated. Arceus then created two beings, Dialga (god of time) and Palkia (god of space), and tasked them with filling the world with life.
Dialga and Palkia had offspring: Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit, whose abilities helped shape and enrich the world. To maintain balance over the expanding tree of life, Dialga and Palkia also gave rise to three other gods: Rayquaza (sky), Groudon (earth), and Kyogre (ocean).
These three divided the tree into the sky, land, and sea, with each taking guardianship of their respective domains. The world was then populated with Pokémon and humans, the children of Dialga and Palkia. Arceus, the creator, is said to awaken one day, ushering in a new era of prosperity for the world it brought into being.
Beyond the official mythos, more unusual lore-building stories have surfaced, including controversial tales about relationships between humans and Pokémon.
Several lore stories were leaked, including one particularly dark tale set in a distant past, when the line between humans and Pokémon was still unclear. This story follows a woman and her friends who cruelly entertained themselves by capturing and harming Slakoth from a nearby forest.
One day, while attempting to catch another Slakoth on her own, the woman was injured. She then encountered a Vigoroth with a torn ear, one that she and her friends had previously hurt. The Vigoroth attacked her, knocking her unconscious. When she awoke, she found herself by a strange lake, surrounded by injured Slakoth and Vigoroth, along with the bodies of those she and her friends had killed.
Terrified, she fainted again. Later, she mysteriously gave birth to a Slakoth child, which her friends unknowingly killed during one of their cruel games. Heartbroken, the woman took her Slakoth child’s body and disappeared into the lake. After this tragic event, her friends began treating Slakoth with newfound respect and compassion, having learned from the woman’s final act of love for the Pokémon.
This intriguing tale highlights a young village girl who became lost in the forest and encountered a man who offered her shelter in his cave. They lived together for a time, with the man mysteriously collecting berries each night.
Eventually, the girl realized that the man was actually a Typhlosion. Despite this revelation, they grew closer, and she became his wife, later giving birth to their child.
One day, the Typhlosion told the girl that her father was searching for her, but he could not let her return to the village. He foresaw a battle between himself and her father. Despite the girl’s desperate pleas, the Typhlosion was killed in the ensuing fight. Before dying, he asked the girl to burn his eyes, voice, and heart while singing a special song, a wish she solemnly fulfilled.
After his death, the villagers began to torment the girl and her half-Typhlosion child. One day, they wrapped themselves in a Typhlosion’s pelt, which transformed them fully into Typhlosion. They howled and vanished into the forest, never to be seen again, leading to the belief that Typhlosions are part-human.
This tale tells the story of two hunters who lived on opposite sides of a mountain near a lake, one in the west, the other in the east. The western hunter, though not particularly skilled, followed the laws of the land, while the eastern hunter was talented but cared little for the rules.
One day, the western man encountered a magnificent Rapidash. As he prepared to shoot, the Rapidash spoke, revealing that she had children and begged for her life.
Touched by her plea, the man spared her and instead asked her to be his wife. She agreed, and they lived together. Over time, she introduced him to other Rapidash, allowing him to hunt them under one condition: he must spare the females, who were her sisters, and the young Ponyta, who were their children.
Meanwhile, the eastern man killed a Ponyta and a female Rapidash, ignoring her desperate warnings. He took her mane as a trophy and rested beneath a tree. The western man, following his wife’s teachings, saw the mane and mistook the eastern hunter for a male Rapidash without offspring.
He shot his arrow, only to realize he had killed the eastern man, who had disguised himself with the stolen mane.
The Rapidash wife reminded her husband of the importance of respecting the laws of nature and hunting, and then she sorrowfully bid him farewell.
Another lore-building story, originally in untranslated Japanese, revolves around a Tauros, a bull-like creature, and a family of hunters. The family consists of an elderly father, a mother, an older brother, and a younger sister.
One day, the mother and sister set out to gather fruit, while the father and son go hunting. During their hunt, the father protects his son from a charging Tauros, injuring himself but managing to kill the creature. He teaches his son the importance of cutting off the horns and offering prayers to honor the spirit of the hunt.
Eager to prove himself, the brother later ventures out on his own and successfully catches a Sentret and a Marill. Following his father’s lesson, he cuts off their tails, offers prayers, and buries them.
Eventually, he hunts another Tauros, but when he returns home, he finds the house in disarray and his father gravely injured. The father reveals that the brother broke his promise to the Tauros by failing to perform the proper rituals. As a result, the mother and sister have been transformed into Tauros, their horns growing in as a sign of the curse.
The next morning, the father and son see two Tauros grazing in the field. Upon noticing them, the Tauros flee, confirming that the transformation of their family members is irreversible.
However, one of the most unsettling tales involves a female Octillery, known for its immense and fearsome suction abilities.
The story begins with a man who discovers a female Octillery washed up on a beach. Their relationship becomes both intimate and exploitative, blurring the boundaries between humans and Pokémon. After violating the Octillery, the man cruelly throws it back into the sea. The Octillery later gives birth to a child, a boy.
As this boy grows into a young man, he develops a violent streak, brutally killing Pokémon like Ursaring without hesitation or remorse. His escalating cruelty reflects a deeper loss of respect for nature and the creatures inhabiting the world. He finds a sword, symbolizing the tools of destruction and the choices that further distance him from compassion and harmony with the natural world.
Eventually, he meets an elderly Ursaring, who challenges him to reflect on his violent actions and urges him to reconsider his path. However, in a final, tragic confrontation with another Ursaring, both the young man and the Pokémon strangle each other to death, a stark portrayal of the destructive consequences of unchecked violence and severed relationships with nature.
Game Freak once developed an unsettling piece of lore involving the Pokémon Lapras, telling the disturbing story of a man who, while walking along a coastline, encounters and rapes a Lapras.
He sends it back to sea, only to find it at the same spot the next day, repeating the rape. Eventually the man dreams of the Lapras speaking to him, telling him she cannot come to him anymore but will send him their child. The following morning, the man returns to the shore and finds a boy, whom he takes in and raises until his death.
These deeply disturbing and graphic tales were reportedly found in internal files, never intended for public viewing. It is shocking to consider how Game Freak, unofficially, expanded the Pokémon lore with such dark, violent themes involving sexual assault, murder, and human-Pokémon relations resulting in hybrid children.
This contrasts starkly with the modern direction of the company, where inclusivity, diversity, and ugly masculine character designs dominate, as seen in recent releases like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, which reflect a shift towards more DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)-driven design goals.
This alleged contrast between Game Freak’s past and present is fascinating yet unsettling, highlighting how a company can evolve from extreme creative liberties to more socially conscious and queer centric decisions over time.
There are still numerous discoveries emerging from the leak, many of which you’ll need to uncover on your own. One notable revelation involves Tetsuo Yajima, the director of the Pokémon XY (and XYZ) anime, who reportedly received death threats from overly invested Tumblr users from abroad.
The backlash stemmed from the show’s portrayal of a canonical romantic development between Ash, the long-running protagonist, and Serena, the heroine of that particular generation.
It seems that certain so-called “fans,” unable to separate fiction from their own romantic ideals, were outraged that the series diverged from their preferred pairings between Ash and other female companions from previous seasons, leading to extreme reactions like death threats.
The situation highlights how niche segments of a fanbase can take their attachment to fictional relationships to unhealthy levels, prioritizing their own preferences over the creators’ narrative decisions, issuing threats of violence over fictional characters when things don’t go their way.
Given recent events and Game Freak’s apparent decline, it’s clear that Japan, Nintendo, and The Pokémon Company have been influenced by American cultural values and have since embraced “woke” ideologies. While Nintendo aggressively targets emulators and files questionable lawsuits against competitors, this particular hack feels justified in my opinion.
At the very least, it gives me a reason to care about the franchise again, if only for a short while. Regardless, this “teraleak” from Game Freak now joins the ranks of other high-profile security breaches in the gaming industry, such as the Insomniac Games hack.
