First 8th gen Pokemon leaked via Pokemon GO network traffic

September 21, 2018

In an interesting turn of events the first Pokemon from the upcoming 8th Generation has been leaked.

Note: Image of the Pokemon is at the end of the article, don’t scroll down if you don’t want spoilers.

Gamefreak has been teasing that the first 8th Gen Pokemon would make its debut in the Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee games. The Pokemon was also said to come to Pokemon GO, the super popular mobile game.

While analyzing network traffic, fans were able to uncover the sprite image of the new Pokemon. We currently know nothing else about the new Pocket Monster other than what it looks like. Do note that this design could be changed when its expected to make its official debut in November.

So here’s a short summary of what happened. Most of Pokemon Go’s files including Pokemon images are stored server side. Pokemon Go developer Niantic accidentally were sending over this image for the chameleon Pokemon Kecleon earlier this morning.

Also in the Unity files for the game, the new Pokemon is listed as number 891, so it’s definitely Gen 8 and not a Gen 7 add-on like many were suggesting. The Alola Pokedex from Sun and Moon finishes at number 807.