Old Pokemon Demo Reveals New Unused Designs

A previously unreleased demo for a classic Pokemon game has revealed a treasure trove of unused designs for the monsters along with pre-evolutions and evolutions. The demo for Pokemon Gold and Silver was shown at Space World 1997, Nintendo's own trade show that ran through the early 2000s.

This was a particularly early demo while Gold and Silver were still in development, showing the game a full two years before it was released. That left a lot of time for plans to change, and thanks to a ROM dump of the demo, we can see just how much shifted during development.

Particularly notable monsters include pre-evolution versions of Growlithe and Meowth, and a fire-bear starter who was apparently replaced by the fire-type Cyndaquil. The sprite sheet even includes cut Pokemon that may have come back later, like a seal that looks suspiciously like Popplio from Pokemon Sun and Moon. Plus, it has tons of alternate art that was changed before final release, like a very different look at Gold and Silver's three legendary beasts.

Incredibly, this is the second look at unused Pokemon we've gotten in the span of only a few weeks. A recent manga detailing the life and times of Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri showed off some unused designs from the very first game. You can hear us chat about this batch of Pokemon insights around the 22 minute mark in the GameSpot Daily above.

Recently Nintendo detailed its upcoming plans for the franchise. Those included a surprise release of the free-to-play Pokemon Quest, the reveal of Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee, and the announcement that a new core Pokemon game for Switch is on the way next year.