A year after the first one, a new leak of documents and production concepts has hit Game Freak and the contents are spreading across social media. The Pokémon developer has several upcoming games in the works, including a Generation X game, a Legends game set in Galar, and an MMO-style game that lets players explore multiple regions. But the leak isn’t just about the games that are on the way. We also learned a few interesting tidbits about older games and the inner workings of the company. While they may not be as exciting as “Generation X games will feature procedurally generated worlds,” here are a few takeaways.
Scarlet and Violet‘s DLC cost as much to make as a full game
I was pretty lukewarm on both of Scarlet and Violet‘s DLC expansions, but the Indigo Disk and Teal Mask were such big projects that they ended up costing as much as Pokémon Legends: Arceus‘ entire budget. According to the leaks, the add-ons sold around 6.15 million copies in the first 10 months, compared to the base Scarlet and Violet’s 27 million in sales. Arceus, meanwhile, moved roughly twice what the DLC did (14 million copies) at a higher price point, so Game Freak is looking to scale back budgets for its DLC packs to make the business model more sustainable.
Development Budgets:
– SV DLC: 500 million yen
– Legends 2/ZA: 2 billion yen
– Winds/Waves: 3 billion yen— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) October 13, 2025
Another interesting fact about Scarlet and Violet’s DLC is that while the final product ended up taking place in Kitkami and the Blueberry Academy in Unova (Black and White), the original plan was to set them in Kalos (X and Y/Legends: Z-A) and Alola (Sun and Moon).
The Pokémon Scarlet/Violet DLC was originally planed to be set in Kalos and Alola.
We ended up getting Kitakami and Unova. pic.twitter.com/V0gWImY9kB
— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) October 13, 2025
One of the original 151 nearly got a Gigantamax form
A big part of this leak was a swath of concept art for Pokémon Sword and Shield. The 2019 Switch games introduced a new battle gimmick called Dynamaxing that allows players to temporarily transform their monsters into powerful kaijus under certain conditions. Every Pokémon could use this technique, but a select few were able to take on new forms entirely, called Gigantamax forms, once they grew to the size of a skyscraper. One of the original 151 Pokémon, the poison-type monster Nidoking, was at some point in development going to have one of these forms. He would have sported a red crown and beard, as well as a cape on his back. It would have really leaned into the “king” part of the Pokémon’s name, but it was scrapped. It’s unknown if its female counterpart, Nidoqueen, would have also received a similar form.
— (Not) Centro Leaks (@CentroLeaks_alt) October 13, 2025
Team Star had a much different look
Team Star, the antagonistic team in Scarlet and Violet, is a group of student outcasts who decided to turn all their anger on their fellow classmates. But it looks like the group was pretty different in the early concept stages. Leaked concept art shows several adult leaders in Team Star, rather than the school-aged crew we ended up facing in 2022. Some design motifs survived the iteration process, such as each member having a float/vehicle they pilot that caters to their different aesthetics, but overall, it seems like Team Star would have had a much different role if this version of the group had survived. One member has a biker/monster truck theme, another has a Wailmer-run boat, and there’s also a cunty-ass car being held up by several Togekiss. It looks like this would have been piloted by a dapper male character, and I wish I could have met this queen.
— (Not) Centro Leaks (@CentroLeaks_alt) October 13, 2025
There’s no Black and White remake in development…yet
Game Freak has been putting out remakes of its old Pokémon games in chronological order, and given that the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes brought the Generation IV games to the Switch in 2021, fans have been speculating for years that a remake of Gen V’s Black and White is imminent. Well, that doesn’t seem to be the case. At least, not yet. The documents in the leak make note of what the team wants for a future remake, but it’s not currently listed on any of Game Freak’s pipelines. Another developer could take on the project like ILCA did for BDSP, but for right now, I think we can safely assume that an eventual Black and White remake is a ways down the line.
Game Freak nearly made a Pokéwalker mobile app
Game Freak had plans to create a PokéWalker app that would be compatible with Sword and Shield. This would have allowed you to take your Pokémon with you on your phone, play minigames, and even catch new monsters to send to your copy of Sword or Shield. The name “Pokéwalker” initially referred to a peripheral that was first introduced back in HeartGold and SoulSilver as a pedometer you could clip onto your clothes or bag, and was essentially a virtual pet compatible with the DS games. It sounds like this would have served a lot of the same function, but without the manufacturing costs.
— (Not) Centro Leaks (@CentroLeaks_alt) October 13, 2025
We almost got not one, but two Johto Legends games
Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the second game in the Legends subseries, and is set in the modern day. Before Game Freak decided to take us back to Kalos, it was considering going to Johto, the region from Gold and Silver. The idea was to have two games, Legends: Ho-Oh and Legends: Lugia, rather than just the lone game like Arceus and Z-A have been. Like Arceus, these games would have been a period piece with a protagonist shot through time into historical Johto and seeing the beginnings of Pokémon trainers. Hopefully Game Freak revisits the idea down the line, but we do know from the leaks the next Legends game will be set in Galar.
“Pokémon Legends: Ho-Oh / Lugia” (yes there were 2 versions for this one)
2024 marks the 25th anniversary of Gold and Silver.
A historical episode set in the past of the Gold and Silver era — “Pokémon: Tales of Then and Now.”
Aims to be the ultimate form of the Legends series.…
— Centro LEAKS (@CentroLeaks) October 13, 2025
Drama behind the scenes
Some of the documents refer to internal politics at Game Freak, including long-time series director Junichi Masuda being “banned” from directing mainline games for a period of time. According to translations of Game Freak personnel documents, employees considered the period up to Black and White to be largely dominated by Masuda and felt no one in the company could oppose him, leading to a “concentration of power” and disorganization within the studio. This eventually led to an argument between Masuda and character artist Ken Sugimori during the X and Y era, ultimately resulting in the company’s decision to remove Masuda from the director’s chair. Masuda has since stayed on as a producer and supervisor of mainline games, and was able to direct the remakes Let’s Go, Pikachu/Eevee and BDSP. In 2022, Masuda left Game Freak for a role at the wider Pokémon Company, where he acts as Chief Creative Fellow.
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More news is coming from this leak as we speak, so there might still be some major bombshells to come. But for now, we have a pretty good picture of what’s coming after Pokémon Legends: Z-A launches on Switch and Switch 2 on October 16.
