Pokémon has a leaking problem

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl won’t be out until next week, but the long-awaited remakes have already been leaked due to retail copies releasing early. This is nothing new for The Pokémon Company, which has been forced to deal with multiple leaks in recent years. From the big reaction from Pokémon Sword and Shield to this new Diamond and Pearl leak, it’s safe to say that the Pokémon series has a notable problem keeping information under wraps.

Informed during the weekend by VGC, a Reddit user posted that they had obtained a North American copy of the upcoming Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The post has since been removed, but images and videos of the games have been floating around Twitter.

Leaks from upcoming Pokémon Switch games

The Gen 4 remakes were initially revealed in February. However, a few days before the official announcement, the leaker Pokémon Center said fans would soon get “the big news they’ve been waiting for,” along with photos of Dialga and Palkia from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. The leak turned out to be true, as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were unveiled shortly after.

At the same presentation in February, Pokémon: Legends Arceus was also revealed. However, on the morning of the presentation, the game was leaked, with clips of the trailer floating on Twitter, along with game descriptions.

The Pokémon Sword and Shield saga

Even further back, Pokémon games have had a tendency to leak, both before their launch and their announcements.

The best-known example is the 2019 Pokémon Sword and Shield, which suffered a handful of leaks before launch, followed by a lengthy legal chase. Months before launch, a leak emerged that ended up containing many true elements of the final games, including Team Yell, rival names, regional evolutions, and more.

Then the firestorm started in early November 2019, just before the games came out. A list of leaks from Sword and Shield detailed the Galar region Pokédex, Gigantamax forms, Galar forms, and more. We already knew select Pokémon from previous generations would not be returning to Sword and Shield, but these leaks further fueled the fire of “Dexit” outrage and backlash on social media.

Shortly after the release, attorneys for The Pokémon Company began searching for the Sword and Shield leakers. The lawyers said the leaks caused The Pokémon Company “irreparable damage” in its ability to commercialize the game. Later, The Pokémon Company filed a lawsuit against the leakers. Finally, in February 2020, Nintendo cut ties with one game post after another if its reviewers leaked images of Sword and Shield. All said and done, the Sword and Shield incident was one of the biggest leaks of 2019.

More leaks from Pokémon Switch and 3DS

Even further back, Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee were leaked just before their official reveal at E3 2018, while 2016’s Pokémon Sun and Moon dealt with the pre-launch leaks as the version exclusives only appeared. one week before launch.

As is often the case, not all the leaks have turned out to be true. Shortly after the release of Sun and Moon, Pokémon Stars were rumored to be coming to Nintendo Switch, a third version of the Alola adventure. However, it turned out to be Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon on 3DS, as the first Pokémon game the Switch got was Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee. A trademark for Pokémon Delta Emerald also emerged, but it never came into being.

And now, potentially due to all the repeated instances of leaked Pokémon games, Nintendo has become notorious for strict review copy distribution and complex embargo restrictions. Even with their best efforts to close the leaks, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have become yet another example of information being released ahead of schedule.

Fans are already reacting to the leaks, with some complaining about what they’ve seen so far, while others are mocking at the idea of ​​spoilers for a remake of a 15-year-old game. Still, it won’t be long until Pokémon fans can test the remakes for themselves, as Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will be released next Friday.

While you wait for the official release, check out our preview for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, where we call the remakes the “old-school Pokémon games we’ve missed.”

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.