Plenty of Pokemon Got the Axe
A Japanese manga that explores the origins of Pokemon reveals some unused monsters from the first generation games, Red and Blue. The book focuses on the life of Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri and shows four unused designs.
Game Freak’s James Turner, who designed many Pokemon himself, shared the manga via Twitter. Four unused designs are seen: a crocodile, a deer, a cactus, and what appears to be a shark or swordfish.
From the Satoshi Tajiri manga…
Early designs of Pokémon, including ones that didn’t make the cut.
Interesting, huh? pic.twitter.com/3Xkyzp9NIY— James Turner (@JamesTurner_42) May 16, 2018
The unused designs are surrounded by well-known Pokemon from the first generation such as Voltob and Blastoise. Although the designs are interesting, they will not likely make a return, as many of the plants and animals they are based on have been used in other Pokemon designs.
In a rare Time interview back in 1999, Tajiri talked about the low expectations of the first generation Pokemon games during a time when many considered the Game Boy to be a system on its last legs.
“They [Nintendo] didn’t expect much from the game,” he said. “Game Boy’s popularity was declining. Just when I finished the game and took it to Nintendo, I felt like a baseball player who slides into second base even though you know you’re going to be out, but then it turns out you are safe.”
But it was a huge success, largely because of the secret Pokemon that sparked rumors across school playgrounds.
“There were 150 characters, and Mew was number 151,” Tajiri said. “You can’t ever get a Mew without trading for it. It created a myth about the game, that there was an invisible character out there. Someone gives me Mew, then I give Mew to you, then you pass it on. Introducing a new character like that created a lot of rumors and myths about the game. It kept the interest alive.”