Oh, Pokémon Sword and Shield leakers. We hope you’re happy now. You’ve unleashed wild fan-art of super, super buff final evolutions for Grooky, Scorbunny, and Sobble.
As you’ve surely heard, Pokémon Sword and Shield are set to arrive next week. However you feel about Dynamaxing, the National Pokédex situation, rice cooking minigames and everything else the game’s going to entail, there’s one thing we can all agree on: they’re going to be the absolute hit of Nintendo Switch’s holiday season. Regardless of all the naysayers, the power of the Pokémon series cannot be denied.
For the fans, hype for the game’s release is right up there with that of a new Avengers movie. Which means, sadly, that it shares a similar problem—leaks and spoilers. It’s inevitable that high-profile releases in any media are going to be prone to this sort of thing (that’s the Internet for you), as many game developers have lamented.
The Pokémon universe thrives on the whole concept of players making new discoveries in new regions, which is part of the reason why Game Freak only drip-fed details about upcoming installments. It’s also a huge part of why the supposed starter evolution leaks have proven so upsetting for many fans. Picking a starter is the biggest decision of a Pokémon Trainer’s life, after all, and many don’t want to see their middle and final stages before their own Grooky, Scorbunny or Sobble evolves.
Whether you’ve taken a peek at the leaks that have been doing the rounds or not, here’s something that will alleviate all the controversy: an artist on Reddit has produced their own ‘leak,’ showing us what these evolutions absolutely won’t look like. It’s solid gold.
First, there are the three familiar starter Pokémon we know and love:
They’re followed by a fictional set of mid-stage evolutions that look pretty darn plausible (and also poke fun at the whole Fire/Fighting starter thing):
Finally, the magnificent final evolutions are revealed:
How much Fighting is too much Fighting? About this much. Still, isn’t it much better to have a little silly fun instead of bickering, boycotting and complaining?
Source: Reddit