Pokémon Gen 10 Leak Teases Controversial Pikachu Redesign

Pokémon has changed a lot over the years but there are a few things that always tend to remain the same.

Starter Pokémon always consist of a Fire, Grass and Water type, you have a rival or sometimes two, your main quest gets sidetracked by a legendary Pokemon etc…

Something else that has remained a constant is Pikachu, who’s often regarded as the mascot of the franchise but I’d argue in recent years, it’s been sharing the limelight with other fan-favourite ‘mon, such as Eevee and Charizard.

Apparently though, Pikachu is getting a massive glow-up in the next game, not Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the one after it.

The Pokemon Company and Game Freak were recently hit with a massive data breach that released an extraordinary amount of information to the public, covering new and unannounced projects as well as some cancelled ones.

The next Pokémon game will apparently be titled Pokemon Wind & Waves and will be set in a region based on Southeast Asia. It’ll see players hop between various islands as well as explore the oceans.

Amongst the leaks though was an image of Pikachu from this mysterious new game, but not the Pikachu we know and love. The Pokemon Wind & Waves version will apparently introduce a redesign. It’s nothing too drastic as you can still clearly tell it’s Pikachu, but its design is slightly more refined, likely courtesy of the new graphics engine.

This isn’t the first time Pikachu has been redesigned either as I’m sure die-hard fans will remember the infamous Pika-chonk from the Gen 1 games. It was a rotund specimen that was later changed to better reflect the design seen in the anime but a reference to the OG was made in Pokémon Sword & Shield via Pikachu’s Gigantamax form.

Again, this new redesign that’s apparently being introduced in Pokemon Wind & Waves is far less drastic but I’m sure some fans will still take offence to it.

I’m just happy that the graphics are being improved at last. The next game in the series is apparently being produced solely for the Nintendo Switch 2 which means it’ll be able to take full advantage of the upgraded hardware and give the franchise the glow-up it sorely needed for so many years.

Of course, plans could change now that these leaks have surfaced…