Exciting news for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet fans as the recent 2023 Pokémon San Diego Regional Championships event gave us more than just exciting battles between pro-Pokémon players. It appears that during the event, we may have been given a glimpse of some unreleased Pokémon that haven't been seen in previous games.
So in this article, we'll break down everything we know about this accidental leak, how it happened, what it could mean for the future of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, and upcoming Pokémon titles.
Pokémon Scarlet & Violet unreleased Pokémon accidentally revealed at recent Esports event
During one of the many live streams taking place during the Pokémon San Diego Regional Championships, we saw many players competing with each other in various Pokémon games. It was during one of these matches that we appeared to see new Pokedex entries that no one has seen before.
During the San Diego Regional Championships stream today, their manual sprite selector for team previews accidentally showed off Scarlet & Violet style menu sprites for Pokémon that are not currently in the games.
— Matt (@mattyoukhana_) January 8, 2023
They probably just have art for all 1008 species for the future. pic.twitter.com/ib9cBG18KS
Twitter user @mattyoukhana_ was one of the attendees at the event, and in their recent Twitter post, they break down exactly what happened: “During the San Diego Regional Championships stream today, their manual sprite selector for team previews accidentally showed off Scarlet & Violet style menu sprites for Pokémon that are not currently in the games. They probably just have art for all 1008 species for the future.”
In this post, @mattyoukhana_ also includes a screenshot to validate their claims that showcases six Pokémon. While the four middle Pokémon are well known (Kabuto, Garbador, Vanillish, and Volbeat), the two on either end are ones nobody has seen before and has sparked some speculation to stir among fans.
Some say that the new Pokémon may be part of an upcoming DLC or at least give us an indication that a DLC is in the making. The OP agreed with this possibility but refrained from making those speculations in the post as "some accounts (and YouTubers) will misconstrue my words and say that these are confirmed to return in DLC.”
Some commentators on the post even considered the possibility of the Pokémon being part of the new Fossil Pokémon lineup of the games. They stated: “Fossil Pokémon, something initially not featured at all in S&V. Along with them should come to newly introduced Fossil Pokémon as well. Spain does have a history with fossils; let’s not forget.”
So it appears that many possibilities have sprung forward thanks to this leak, but its always important to note that these are just speculations and shouldn't be taken as fact, as these Pokémon could even be in development for a future game and not specifically for Scarlet and Violet. So until we hear any official news from the developers, take all the information with a grain of salt.