Major Pokémon Scarlet and Violet leaks are now a flood (2024)

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are just under two weeks away from their release date, and the leaks have started in earnest. Leakers have published images of the game — presumably from an early copy — online, including some story details, starter evolutions, and whole bunch of new Pokémon.

If you’re looking to stay unspoiled ahead of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, you’ll want to look away — and maybe even stay off social media, where Pokémon is constantly trending as new information pours out online. Polygon can’t confirm authenticity on any of these leaks, but the images do look convincing.

[Ed. note: Potential Pokémon Scarlet and Violet spoilers ahead.]

Image: Game Freak/The Pokémon Company, Nintendo

The leaked Pokémon Scarlet and Violet information was published late Sunday into Tuesday, and has been disseminated through a number of Pokémon leaker Twitter accounts and on Reddit. The people responsible for the leaks appear to have obtained an early copy of the game; most leaks are offscreen photos of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet being played on a Nintendo Switch console. Other images appear to be straight from the game. The Twitter account where the first images originated, however, appears to have been suspended or deleted.

Unfortunately for Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, leaks of this sort have been increasingly common. In response, the company has been issuing takedown notices to stop information from circulating further.

One of the more anticipated leaks regards Scarlet and Violet’s starter evolutions: The leaker published a few photos of Fuecoco’s evolved form, which is reportedly called Crocalor. From these images, Fuecoco’s burst of fiery yellow hair transforms into a glowing hat. Since the initial leak, Fuecoco’s third form has supposedly been shown off, too. Crocalor, if the information is correct, will end up as Skeledirge, which, unfortunately, looks like a clown.

The next starter Pokémon whose evolution leaked is Sprigatito, which will evolve into Floragato, according to the unconfirmed photos. Floragato is especially cute, standing on two of its paws and playing with a yo-yo with its others. Its next form is allegedly Meowscarada, which looks like a human in a costume, which aligns with The Pokémon Company’s tendency to go all-in on humanoid forms as monsters evolve.

The last starter to leak is Quaxly, whose evolutionary line reportedly goes on to Quaxwell and Quaquaval. The images are a lot smaller than the others, visible in sprites and not detailed illustrations.

Leakers posted a few other screenshots that showed off reportedly new, unseen Pokémon and variants — Flamigo, a pink flamingo; Tarountula, a bulbous spider; Vivillon, the butterfly-like creature with a fancy color scheme; Paldean Tauros, which is painted a deep, dark black; and Dolliv, the Smoliv evolution. Other allegedly new Pokémon include Grafaiai pre-evolution Shroodle, a “toxic mouse,” and Nacli, a rock salt creature.

A potential parakeet Pokémon was posted, too, one that sports a fluffy bouffant hairdo. It can be seen in a video clip of what’s said to be Scarlet and Violet’s opening animation. The parakeet does look exactly like a Pokémon hidden in an earlier trailer from October, where the green bird is seen alongside a few other unannounced Pokémon on a mini map.

The real star of these leaks, however, is Cetoddle, who is just a little guy — a sweet, perfect baby that’s the pre-evolution for Cetitan. Unfortunately, to keep balance, The Pokémon Company has apparently made cutie LeChonk evolve into the deeply disturbing and yassified Oinkologne.

The Pokémon Company declined to comment, and Nintendo has yet to respond to Polygon’s inquiry.

The Pokémon Company is continuing to drip out new information about Scarlet and Violet before the Nov. 18 launch. Over the weekend — and after a leak from Pokémon Go data-mined files — The Pokémon Company showcased a new Pokémon with two forms, Gimmighoul. It’s part of a promotion between Scarlet and Violet and Pokémon Go; the treasure chest form seems to be what’s available in the mainline game, while the roaming form, without the box, is part of Pokémon Go.

The Pokémon Company also released a new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer on Tuesday morning, one it says fans “won’t want to miss.” The video didn’t include a ton of new information on the game, but it did hint at “Paradox Pokémon.”

Update: This story has been updated with The Pokémon Company declining to comment.

Update (Nov. 8): On Tuesday, a second series of new leaks — focusing on potentially unannounced new Pokémon — were published on social media. All of these monsters are unconfirmed, though some line up with Pokémon hidden in earlier trailers. We’ve updated this story to add in new details. Several leakers have been impacted by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s DMCA takedowns.

Update 2 (Nov. 8): Shortly after leaks were published online, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo have continued to issue DMCA takedowns.