A new image claimed to be aleaked page from Japanese magazine CoroCoroshows previously unannounced new Pokemon fromPokemon SwordandPokemon Shield. The leak shows several of the recently announced new Galar region forms of certain Pokemon, including Galarian Zigzagoon and Galarian Weezing. Two new Pokemon are also shown, including what’s presumed to be a Galarian Arbok and a Ferris wheel Pokemon that could be a Galarian form or evolution of Masquerain, Kelfki, or Comfey.
The problem is that there’s broad agreement that the leak is a fake. The reasons why, however, are difficult to verify. Some are claiming that CoroCoro magazine only ever uses aPokemongame’s official logo, while this leak shows a logo using the “SWSH” shorthand forPokemon SwordandShield. Others have problems with the Japanese writing, noting a lack of furigana (pronunciation help) over the kanji, changes in how regional forms are referred compared to previousPokemongames, and generally sloppy writing in general.
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There’s also general criticism of the newPokemon designsthemselves, though this kind of criticism is rarely of substance and often backfires. The Galarian Arbok form shows that the snake is now brown, has a skeleton outline on their front, two lemon slice shapes, and has poison dripping from their mouth. It seems overly simple and sloppy in general as if the artist was trying to scream Ghost/Poison. The Galarian Masquerain seems like a better design, but turning the Pokemon into a Ferris wheel is odd enough.
Finally, there are the very small screenshots slipped in between the key art for each Pokemon. Even in a magazine, these screenshots would be microscopic. If the magazine is making text larger than the screenshots to be readable, then something’s off. CoroCoro does use small screenshots in their magazines, but they historically border them in bright colors to help them pop out from the page.
All evidence seems to indicate that this “leak” is faked. Someone with some time on their hands could easily have organized a mix of officialPokemon SwordandShieldimage assets for new Pokemon with fanart and then printed it. It wouldn’t be the first time. That doesn’t mean that this image is 100% proven to be fake, however. Galarian Arbok and Galarian Masquerain could beGame Freak’s next announcements forPokemon SwordandShield. Who could have predicted Galarian Weeezing, after all? But it’s still likely a fake leak.
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