Hi guys!
During this season of gen 8 leaks, I thought I could stay really on top of what's current posting this speculation about an alleged gen 7 leak (which for many of you - I understand - it's not even a mystery) Anyways, if you like, tell me what you think about it, and if you happen to have more info, please share
and help me shed some light on this topic.
I’ve been researching beta Pokémon and Pokémon-related trademarks for a couple of different reasons lately and a very old Sun & Moon “leak” struck me as it crossed both paths. Of course, I’m talking about the RootHoot leak posted on 4chan and 2ch (unfortunately, the page is now unretrievable) on March 6th, 2016
+ Original 4chan thread (now deleted) https://web.archive.org/web/20160313095225/http://fgts.jp/vp/thread/25472064
+ Original 2ch thread (now deleted) https://web.archive.org/web/20160313095225/http://tamae.2ch.net/poke/&usg=ALkJrhieVh2t1kFDPjxy3S56aIXWftodDA#2
The 4chan thread originally featured the two pics above plus a line-art of the owlet accompanied by the caption “おはようございます“ (Good Morning) and a couple of coloured details of the “fire starter” along with the line “準備はいい” (Are you ready?), I’m posting some screenshots of the original page below, as I luckily found a user who suggested this same theory back then and took some snaps while the pics were still on.
The “leak” was allegedly posted by a Japanese user and reveals a grass Owlet, (initially nicknamed RootHoot by the users) a water Dolphin/Seal creature and a rocky fire creature with pointy ears serving Ultra Beast vibes.
The “leak” was quickly dismissed as fake… just like many other seal/cat/owlet fake trios that kept popping up back in those days… but the weird thing is … this one in particular, was posted ONE MONTH before the starters’ names were posted on trademark_bot , and that's when the general public knew which real-life animals they were based off (that’s why many subsequent fake leaks got the three creatures right)
+ https://gamingreinvented.com/news/nintendo3dsnews/potential-pokemon-sunmoon-pokemon-trademarked/
The first starter’s trademark (Nyabby/Litten) was posted on March 27th and the other two (Rowlet and Popplio) on April 18th! The article above (dated April 20) chronicles the discovery. The starters were then officially revealed on May 10th 2016.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160313095225/http://fgts.jp/vp/thread/25472064
MARCH 27 2016 - Nyabby (Litten) is posted on trademark_bot
APRIL 18 2016 - Mokuroh (Rowlit) is posted on trademark_bot along with Popplio, revealing it was an owl (Fukuroh = Owl)
APRIL 20 2016 - Article about the community discovering the trademarkshttps://gamingreinvented.com/news/nintendo3dsnews/potential-pokemon-sunmoon-pokemon-trademarked/
MAY 10 2016 - Official Starters reveal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn25hijDL7c
So how could the leaker have possibly predicted what type of creatures they were before even knowing their names? Furthermore “RootHoot” has the exact same palette as Rowlet, and I have the feeling no fake leaker back in early 2016 would’ve imagined Game Freak going for the Ultra Beast look.
In conclusion, if this “leak” is fake, the artist got extremely lucky, as he correctly guessed the real-life inspiration of the starters, their general theme and Rowlet’s palette 2 months before the official reveal and 1 month before the trademarks were discovered.
A quick summary before continuing:
PROs
Where to go from here
+ To your knowledge, was the community speculating about a grass owlet starter in early 2016? (via leaks, riddles, pattern analysis or something?)
+ Is it possible the artist got so lucky, he correctly guessed the real-life inspiration of the grass starter, its palette and the starters’ general theme, one month before the trademarks were discovered?
+ Could the artist be a legit leaker who posted the actual concept art for the alolan starters?
+ Who were the Pokémon designers for Sun and Moon? Do they have online portfolios? We could try and match their style to the “leaker” style.
+ IF that’s the real the beta-Litten, was he supposed to be an Ultra Beast?
Grass owlets were a thing way back in 2012.
Designed by https://kostyurik.deviantart.com/art/Cactowl-295231634 and https://blazeknight-94.deviantart.com/ (check them out, their fakemon are awesome!) but was a grass owlet being speculated for sun and moom in early 2016? were there riddles pointing to a grass owlet starter ?
References and more pics
This is the post with the original screenshot by an user who proposed this very theory some time ago. He also added a closeup of an alleged mysterious pokemon taken from the Pokémon Direct clip posted on February 26th 2016, but I don’t believe that’s the same Pokémon at all
the comparison is, unfortunately, not accurate, and the similar greenish colouring is just a random noise hue. this is the right identification
More speculations, original pics and references on qbertp's blog
long version of the debunking of the alleged enhancement here
During this season of gen 8 leaks, I thought I could stay really on top of what's current posting this speculation about an alleged gen 7 leak (which for many of you - I understand - it's not even a mystery) Anyways, if you like, tell me what you think about it, and if you happen to have more info, please share
I’ve been researching beta Pokémon and Pokémon-related trademarks for a couple of different reasons lately and a very old Sun & Moon “leak” struck me as it crossed both paths. Of course, I’m talking about the RootHoot leak posted on 4chan and 2ch (unfortunately, the page is now unretrievable) on March 6th, 2016
+ Original 4chan thread (now deleted) https://web.archive.org/web/20160313095225/http://fgts.jp/vp/thread/25472064
+ Original 2ch thread (now deleted) https://web.archive.org/web/20160313095225/http://tamae.2ch.net/poke/&usg=ALkJrhieVh2t1kFDPjxy3S56aIXWftodDA#2
The 4chan thread originally featured the two pics above plus a line-art of the owlet accompanied by the caption “おはようございます“ (Good Morning) and a couple of coloured details of the “fire starter” along with the line “準備はいい” (Are you ready?), I’m posting some screenshots of the original page below, as I luckily found a user who suggested this same theory back then and took some snaps while the pics were still on.
The “leak” was allegedly posted by a Japanese user and reveals a grass Owlet, (initially nicknamed RootHoot by the users) a water Dolphin/Seal creature and a rocky fire creature with pointy ears serving Ultra Beast vibes.
The “leak” was quickly dismissed as fake… just like many other seal/cat/owlet fake trios that kept popping up back in those days… but the weird thing is … this one in particular, was posted ONE MONTH before the starters’ names were posted on trademark_bot , and that's when the general public knew which real-life animals they were based off (that’s why many subsequent fake leaks got the three creatures right)
+ https://gamingreinvented.com/news/nintendo3dsnews/potential-pokemon-sunmoon-pokemon-trademarked/
The first starter’s trademark (Nyabby/Litten) was posted on March 27th and the other two (Rowlet and Popplio) on April 18th! The article above (dated April 20) chronicles the discovery. The starters were then officially revealed on May 10th 2016.
- A recap of the gen 7 starter “leak” timeline:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160313095225/http://fgts.jp/vp/thread/25472064
MARCH 27 2016 - Nyabby (Litten) is posted on trademark_bot
APRIL 18 2016 - Mokuroh (Rowlit) is posted on trademark_bot along with Popplio, revealing it was an owl (Fukuroh = Owl)
APRIL 20 2016 - Article about the community discovering the trademarkshttps://gamingreinvented.com/news/nintendo3dsnews/potential-pokemon-sunmoon-pokemon-trademarked/
MAY 10 2016 - Official Starters reveal
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn25hijDL7c
So how could the leaker have possibly predicted what type of creatures they were before even knowing their names? Furthermore “RootHoot” has the exact same palette as Rowlet, and I have the feeling no fake leaker back in early 2016 would’ve imagined Game Freak going for the Ultra Beast look.
In conclusion, if this “leak” is fake, the artist got extremely lucky, as he correctly guessed the real-life inspiration of the starters, their general theme and Rowlet’s palette 2 months before the official reveal and 1 month before the trademarks were discovered.
PROs
- The art, though not Sugimori-ish in style, is clearly done by a professional artist and it has also been posted on 2ch, hinting at a Japanese leaker.
- the general concept is the same: grass owl, fire feline, water sea-lion. You might say the fire one is not really a cat, and that’s a valid point, however - in hindsight - the ears and eyes convey a feline ultrabeast look in my opinion. The water one might look more like a dolphin, but the shape of its eyes and the general posture is quite reminiscent of Popplio.
- The grass starter’s palette is the same
- the pics were “leaked” before the (unofficial) name reveal, when nobody had a hint about the starters’ look
- In a way, the fire starter “predicts” the Ultra Beast look, or at the very least shows Game Freak’s intention to go for Pokémon with unusual designs in gen 7.
- Anyone could post on 2ch through a VPN, furthermore, the original thread was deleted and the japanese captions are very basic. The OP could be a fake leaker pretending to be japanese to add credibility to its claims.
- The fire and water starter don’t really scream "cat” and “sea-lion”, the water one looking more like a dolphin.
- The drawing style is weird, and not Pokémon-ish enough.
- Grass owlets were speculated back in 2012, so it might just be a coincidence.
Where to go from here
+ To your knowledge, was the community speculating about a grass owlet starter in early 2016? (via leaks, riddles, pattern analysis or something?)
+ Is it possible the artist got so lucky, he correctly guessed the real-life inspiration of the grass starter, its palette and the starters’ general theme, one month before the trademarks were discovered?
+ Could the artist be a legit leaker who posted the actual concept art for the alolan starters?
+ Who were the Pokémon designers for Sun and Moon? Do they have online portfolios? We could try and match their style to the “leaker” style.
+ IF that’s the real the beta-Litten, was he supposed to be an Ultra Beast?
Grass owlets were a thing way back in 2012.
Designed by https://kostyurik.deviantart.com/art/Cactowl-295231634 and https://blazeknight-94.deviantart.com/ (check them out, their fakemon are awesome!) but was a grass owlet being speculated for sun and moom in early 2016? were there riddles pointing to a grass owlet starter ?
References and more pics
This is the post with the original screenshot by an user who proposed this very theory some time ago. He also added a closeup of an alleged mysterious pokemon taken from the Pokémon Direct clip posted on February 26th 2016, but I don’t believe that’s the same Pokémon at all
the comparison is, unfortunately, not accurate, and the similar greenish colouring is just a random noise hue. this is the right identification
More speculations, original pics and references on qbertp's blog
long version of the debunking of the alleged enhancement here
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