Leak Culture Is Ruining Pokemon

thegamer.com:

I don’t remember the last Pokemon game I played that I went into with no prior knowledge of what was going to happen. When I was a kid, the man at the secondhand video game store in Birkenhead Market had to explain to me why the copy of Sapphire he had for sale was functionally the same as the copy of Ruby I was after. He was even kind enough to explain that, thanks to the fact my friends had Ruby, I would be able to trade with them to complete the PokeDex, which wouldn’t be the case if I bought Ruby.

I’ve come a long way since then, and have completed many a PokeDex with the help of trading partners. But these aren’t the kind of spoilers that ruin my enjoyment of a Pokemon game, they’re basic mechanics. Things I wouldn’t want spoiled are new Pokemon, the existence of Mega Evolution, or new regional forms. You get the idea. The last game I played where those kinds of elements weren’t spoiled by leaks, however? Sun & Moon.

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That’s six years ago, if you’re counting, and leaks have become far more prevalent in those six years than in the 20 years before. There are a few reasons for this. Firstly, we’re more online than ever before. Secondly, Pokemon is more popular than ever before. Thirdly, leakers have unprecedented access to game files and insider knowledge. But mostly, leaking is now more profitable than ever before.

I’ve got no problem with people who lap up leaks like a Yamper gulping down water on a hot day. You do you, and if knowing the minutiae of Scarlet & Violet’s mechanics months before release is what gets you excited, then feel free to seek them out. But these days, they’re unavoidable, whether you seek them out or not.

Just now, as a test, I opened an