Over 100 Scrapped Pokemon Designs Revealed in Rare Game Freak Documentary
A private Game Freak documentary chronicling the development of Pokemon Diamond and Pearl has been released, unveiling over 100 early and scrapped Pokemon designs that remained hidden for nearly two decades.
The internal DOC, titled Pokemon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD MAKE ALL, followed the games' two-year development from January 20, 2004. For almost 20 years, only a blog post by director Junichi Masuda acknowledged its existence.
Abandoned Pokemon Designs
One section of the documentary shows dozens of Pokemon design sheets scattered across the floor of Game Freak’s offices. Researchers conducted frame-by-frame analyses to reconstruct these designs, revealing early versions of familiar monsters like Piplup and Turtwig.
Piplup once wore a literal crown and a full parka, while Turtwig initially began as a Grass-type armadillo. Early Purugly looked far more like Glameow. Complete original concepts include a two-stage sandcastle family, a saber-toothed jackal with icicle fangs, and a constantly sleeping bear named Yasuraguma.Original Gameplay Footage
The preserved DVD also contains early gameplay, development footage, original Japanese commercials, and videos documenting the creation of Sinnoh’s online features. A full English translation is currently planned.
Sinnoh will never be the same, Lewtwo wrote when announcing the discovery, highlighting how these lost designs can enhance our understanding of Pokemon history. Fans and historians alike are eager to see what else this treasure trove might reveal about the iconic franchise.Frequently Asked Questions
Who produced the documentary?
The internal DOC was produced by Game Freak for its staff, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the development of Diamond and Pearl.
When was it released?
These documents were initially discovered in June 2026 when Pokemon historian Lewtwo obtained another copy from a separate source. The content has since been publicly uploaded on July 22, 2026.