Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Leak Reveals More Than 100 Scrapped Designs, Including Unseen Creatures and Missing Evolutions
A leak has revealed over 100 previously-unknown Pokémon designs created for Pokémon Diamond and Pearl that never made it into the final games. The collection includes early drafts of existing creatures, scrapped species, and cut evolution lines.
Among the cut content are evolutionary branches planned for existing Pokémon such as Delibird, Kecleon, Stantler, and Lapras, as well as baby forms of Plusle and Minun. Completely removed from the game were numerous creatures inspired by various animals and plants—including designs based on cranes, crickets, snails, molluscs, goats, mice, a platypus, and a swordfish, alongside plant-based Pokémon concepts like beansprouts and clover.
The leak also revealed alternative character designs for the region’s starter Pokémon, featuring different interpretations such as a foam-headed Water-type dog and a Grass-type wolf, departing significantly from the designs that ultimately appeared in the released games. The source of these designs stems from a long-lost documentary.