Any doubt about the Tajiri manga or the Helix Chamber beta assets could now be laid to rest, as there was a third point of confirmation on several of these designs. Blue was designed as the refined "third version" Pokémon fans are used to, but it came out very soon after Red and Green, and formed the basis of the localized versions seen elsewhere in the world.
In 2020, the Nintendo hack and subsequent leaks led to the source code of an early version of Pokémon Blue being made public. Further designs were passed up for Red and Green, but resurfaced in Pokémon Gold and Silver, both as final designs or appearing in the leaked 1997 Spaceworld demo of Gold and Silver before being removed again, like Mikon. Others seem to be different evolutionary stages of Pokémon that we know today, such as Mikon the baby Vulpix. Many seem to be based on kaiju from Godzilla and Ultraman films in the 1970s and 80s.
The sprites from this beta could also be matched up with some of the more obscured entries from the Satoshi Tajiri manga, helping to match names on the poll to some of these new designs. In February 2019, Helix Chamber came into possession of assets from a Pokémon beta, dating back to the time when it was still known as "Capsule Monsters." Within the data are a number of never-before-seen Pokémon, many of which are only partially programmed in. While some were unconvinced or felt that the fan researchers were seeing things that weren't there in the distorted images, a moment of vindication would soon arrive. Related: What Ultra Shiny Pokémon Are (& Where To Find Them) The analysis was able to reveal that these Pokémon sprite sheets matched up with internal data ordering, helping to identify what some of the infamous "Missingno" Pokémon may have been. Related: Pokémon’s MissingNo Glitch Explained: How It Really HappenedĪs fans began to pore over the documents, which were brightened and edited to avoid revealing too much, they were able to match up some final sprites from Red and Green to those on the chart, and identify which ones didn't seem to match up at all, such as a shark Pokémon labeled "Jaggu." Pokémon research group and fan site The Helix Chamber began an extensive effort to clear up and enhance these images and began cataloging names, partial sprites, and anything else that could be gleaned from the poll. Long-time Pokémon fan and art director of Pokémon Sword and Shield, James Turner, first drew the attention of the Western Pokémon community to the manga via Twitter. Accompanying the poll are some obscured sprite sheets, with both early looks at Pokémon that everyone has come to know and love and the first look at those that never made it to the public.
Within the chapter which discusses the early development, years before it would even be released in Japan, a popularity poll is included, showing how the developers decided what designs to incorporate into the game. A brief, single-volume special, the manga was mostly intended for school children and tells about the history of the video game industry in general and Pokémon in particular as part of his life's story. Satoshi Tajiri: The Man Who Created Pokémon was released in May 2018, detailing the life of the man who spawned the multi-billion dollar franchise. Or at least, that was the case, until a certain manga was released, giving the world a look at some of the Pokémon that never made it to Pokémon Red or Green for the first time. While interviews with developers and creators occasionally mention designs or ideas that never became official Pokémon, these are never seen by anyone outside the development process. Game Freak and The Pokémon Company are extremely tight-lipped about the development process, and any time it is acknowledged, these companies will insist that old documents from the pre- Pokémon Red and Green period no longer exist. More than most other popular series, fans of the Pokémon franchise rarely get a glimpse behind the scenes at how the games they love are made. It's not every day that 25-year-old lost Pokémondesigns resurface - especially when they're hidden away in an educational manga.