Summary
APokemonfan has shared an incredible fan art piece with the community, bringing the leaked beta versions of Shroomish and Breloom into the spotlight. 8-bit versions of both pocket monsters were revealed during developer Game Freak’s data breach, and thisPokemonartist wanted to modernize the grass-type mushroom and its evolution with a style fit to appear inPokemon GOor the upcomingPokemon Legends: Z-A.
Game Freak is the primary developer behind thePokemonvideo games, and the company suffered a major data leak back in August, despite details of the breach not emerging until October.Game Freak released a statementacknowledging the steps taken to ensure a breach wouldn’t happen again, but a wealth of assets and information, including staff details, was exposed in the process.
Posted on Reddit by rc1246, a piece of fan art was shared with thePokemoncommunity showing colorful, modernized versions of the beta Shroomish and Breloom. Shroomish’s beta design is not too far removed from the official one, but originally, the fungus monster didn’t have its green spots and wore a more cheerful expression. Breloom’s appearance from the games exists among thebest grass-type Pokemon designs, but the beta version carried realistic eyes, a yellow, green, and orange color palette, and looked more akin to a baby dinosaur than an evolved mushroom.
Pokemon Fan Art Gives Leaked Beta Shroomish and Breloom Designs a Modern Makeover
Several Redditors pointed out that the leaked beta design for Breloom resembled theiconic chocobos from theFinal Fantasyserieswith far less plumage, and another user thought the beta Shroomish looked like Kirby. Members of thePokemonsubreddit also pointed out that the beta versions didn’t look like they belonged together in the evolutionary chain. Additionally, one user gathered Shroomish was allegedly part of a three-evolution line, where the middle stage echoed Deku fromThe Legend of Zeldagames, and the final stage resembled a Korok. Furthermore, most of the community preferred the beta designs to the official ones, leaving fans to ponder other Pokemon concepts that never came to fruition.
Joining the fandom’s artistic corner, thePokemoncommunity created fan art for Warabbit, another unused Pokemon leaked in the data breach and water-type starter candidate duringPokemon X and Y’s development. Game Freak’s leak also included spoiler-heavy details about the developer’s upcomingPokemonprojects. Still, fans and artists alike have enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at unused Pokemon concepts and subsequently brought them to life through their artistic talent.
Pokemon
Pokemon is a franchise that needs no introduction. One of the most successful media empires in history, Pokemon spans games, television, films, manga, merchandise, music, and more.
